The Atlanta Dream set a single-season franchise wins record last year by maintaining their core, adding Angel Reese via a trade, and, despite a midsummer setback, matching the league’s fourth-best record in the WNBA. Reese leads the league with 11.7 rebounds per game. Rhyne Howard (18.9 ppg) and Allisha Gray (18.3 ppg) are each among the top 15 scorers. Yet none of the trio were chosen as All-Star starters on Thursday. In fact, the Dream didn’t have any representative among the 10 starters selected, a development Reese called “disrespectful” on Thursday. She was particularly frustrated that Howard and Gray were left out of a pool that included Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell of the Indiana Fever; A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces; Paige Bueckers and Jessica Shepard of the Dallas Wings; Natasha Howard and Olivia Miles of the Minnesota Lynx; Gabby Williams of the Golden State Valkyries; and Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty. “I expect to be disrespected,” Reese said, per ESPN. “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 have to 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.” Reese, Howard and Gray were among the most notable snubs in a process that is drawing scrutiny after ESPN’s Alexa Philippou reported Thursday night that only about 85 of the WNBA’s roughly 180 players submitted ballots for starters ahead of the July 25 exhibition at Chicago’s United Center. In her first season with the Atlanta Dream, Angel Reese is again leading the league in rebounding with 11.7 boards per game. Fans accounted for half of the vote that determined the starters, while players and a media panel each contributed 25%. Every voter submitted one ballot listing four guards and six frontcourt players. Fans could vote once per day over a 17-day window on WNBA.com or the WNBA app, with the option to select up to four guards and six frontcourt players per ballot, and three “2-for-1” days where votes counted double. After votes were tallied, players were ranked by position within each voting group, and a weighted score was calculated from fan, player, and media votes. The four top guards and six top frontcourt players by score were named starters, with fan voting serving as a tiebreaker if needed. The ESPN report noted that the uneven player voting participation partly stemmed from a distribution error.
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