Angel Reese didn’t hold back when the WNBA All-Star starters were announced and the Atlanta Dream got blanked. Zero players. Not Rhyne Howard. Not Allisha Gray. Not even Reese herself, who leads the league in rebounds and has been posting double-doubles like it’s routine.
Before the Dream lost to the Washington Mystics, Reese let the frustration out. And she made it clear she wasn’t just speaking for herself.
“I expect to be disrespected,” she told ESPN’s Kareem Copeland. “For those two though, I think they work so hard and they put a lot of work in, and the way that they’re guarded every game and they adjust. The reason why we’re where we are is because of those two. For us not to have anyone was just a slap in the face, but they’re not going to say anything. I am.”
How the voting works
The starters are chosen through a weighted system. Fan votes count for 50 percent, with media and player votes each making up 25 percent. The top four guards and six frontcourt players with the best combined scores get the starting spots. Howard and Gray finished fifth and sixth among guards. Reese landed seventh among frontcourt players.
So they were close. Really close. But close doesn’t get you a starting nod.
A team that’s winning, but not getting love
The Dream are sitting near the top of the Eastern Conference standings. Howard and Gray are two of the best three-point shooters in the league. Reese is the league’s top rebounder and is averaging a double-double. On paper, it’s hard to argue that three players on a contending team shouldn’t have at least one starter among them.
But the voting didn’t see it that way.
“Congrats to the ones that were nominated, they were well-deserved,” Reese said. “But it’s a very big shocker to see that none of us were starters, especially where we are as a team in the league.”
She’s still optimistic about the reserves. The All-Star reserves will be announced later, and the players selected by coaches could easily include multiple Dream players. Reese said she’s confident she and her teammates will still make the roster. But the starter snub stung.
“I’m sure we’re still going to be All-Stars,” she said. “I have no doubt in my mind that we still will be, but I think it is important to note that none of us were starters on a team that has had so much success this year.”
For now, the Dream have to take the slight and keep playing. And Reese just gave them a pretty good rallying cry.
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