The WNBA's All-Star starters were announced Thursday, and Angel Reese wanted it on the record that she thought her team got overlooked.
The complaint
No player from the Atlanta Dream was named a starter for the July 25 All-Star Game at Chicago's United Center — a snub Reese called out directly. "For us not to have anyone was just a slap in the face, but they're not going to say anything. I am," she told reporters, ESPN reported, casting herself as the one willing to voice what teammates would not.
Reese, one of the league's biggest draws, has been among its most productive players this season, ranking near the top in rebounding. The Dream entered the break as one of the stronger teams in the standings, which sharpened the sense among the group that it deserved at least one starting nod.
How the starters shook out
The 10 starters were led by the Indiana Fever, who placed three — Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell — alongside established stars such as A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart. Starters are chosen by a formula that weights fan voting at half, with players and media splitting the rest, a system that can push a popular name ahead of someone with a comparable on-court case. Reese and her Dream teammates, by several accounts, finished just outside the cut at their positions.
Reserves still to come
The starters are only half the roster. The remaining spots — the reserves — are chosen by the league's head coaches and were still to be announced. By most expectations, the Dream will not be shut out entirely once those selections are revealed, and Reese herself is widely expected to be named an All-Star for a third straight year.
That likelihood did not blunt her point. Her objection was less about whether she would ultimately make the team than about respect — a public insistence that a strong Dream season earned more recognition than the starting ballot gave it. Whether the coaches' picks smooth it over will be clear soon; for now, Reese has made sure the snub did not pass quietly.
