Chicago Sky's Angel Reese won't start in WNBA All-Star Game after finishing 1 spot out

Chicago Tribune

8 hours ago

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese will have to wait another week to see if she's selected as an All-Star for the second consecutive season.
The second-year forward was not one of the 10 starters named Monday for the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game on July 19 in Indianapolis.
After last year's game ahead of the Paris Olympics pitted Team USA against a team of non-Olympian All-Stars, the All-Star Game will return to a standard format this year. The teams will be captained by Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, who received the most votes from fans.
Voting for the starters — four guards and six frontcourt players — was weighted among three groups: fans (50%), players (25%) and media (25%).
Joining Clark and Collier are guards Paige Bueckers (Dallas Wings), Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream) and Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty) and frontcourt players Aliyah Boston (Fever), Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle Storm), Satou Sabally (Phoenix Mercury), Breanna Stewart (Liberty) and A'ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces).
Reese finished seventh among frontcourt players with a weighted score of 7.75; Sabally was sixth at 6.5. Reese was fifth in fan voting for the frontcourt but 12th in both player and media voting.
The remaining 12 All-Star spots will be selected by the league's 13 head coaches, with three slots for guards, five for frontcourt players and four positionless selections. The reserves will be announced Sunday, and the captains will draft players to their rosters July 8.
Reese is averaging 12.4 points and a league-high 12.6 rebounds through 16 games. On paper, that might seem like a slight decline from her rookie numbers of 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game. In reality, Reese has taken a major step forward in her development this season while adapting to a new role as a playmaking forward who spends a significant amount of time with the ball in her hands.
Reese is averaging 3.8 assists, double her rookie average of 1.9. She ranks 19th in the league in assists and second among frontcourt players, percentage points behind the Los Angeles Sparks' Dearica Hamby (3.82 to 3.81).
The shift has come with some growing pains — Reese is second in the league in turnovers (3.4 per game) behind Clark (5.9) — but she has grown into the on-ball role. That has been most evident over the last eight games, in which Reese averaged 14.8 points, 13 rebounds and five assists while shooting 44.9% from the field.
Some things have changed, but Reese's prowess on the boards has remained a reliable constant for the Sky. She averages a league-high 4.3 offensive rebounds — a full rebound per game more than second-place Brionna Jones (3.3) of the Atlanta Dream.
Reese typically shoulders the toughest defensive assignment, matching up with stars such as Collier and Wilson. Reese is tied for sixth in the league in steals (1.8) with teammate Ariel Atkins and ranks second behind the New York Liberty's Jonquel Jones in defensive rebound percentage (41.6%).