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07/03 13:47 CDT More than half of WNBA players miss All-Star starter vote, AP
source says
More than half of WNBA players miss All-Star starter vote, AP source says
By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Basketball Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --- More than half of the WNBA 's 180 players didn't submit their
ballots for All-Star starters ahead of this month's game in Chicago, a person
familiar with the balloting told The Associated Press on Friday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of
the voting. It's unclear why so many players didn't cast their votes. However,
the Los Angeles Sparks were one of the teams that didn't have all of its
players vote due to some operational errors.
"Players were sent ballots via email," the Sparks said in a statement. "Some
players indicated that they didn't receive the email or weren't aware of it
until after the voting period had closed. That's something we take
responsibility for as an organization, and we'll have a more robust process
going forward."
Fan vote accounts for 50% of the overall vote while players and a media panel
each are 25%. It's been that way since 2017.
New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu said her team has never had an issue
getting players to submit their ballots.
"We always vote. But I do think especially if they're weighed as much as they
are, like teams should be making sure that their players are voting like it is
important. There should never just be a team that like, doesn't get the ballot.
...That's something that every player should be getting the opportunity. And if
the player doesn't want to vote, then that's on them."
The league announced the All-Star starters on Thursday.
ESPN was the first to report the lack of ballots.
Like the media, each player is given a link to a voting site as well as an
individual username and password. Those are supplied by the league to the teams
who distribute them to the players.
Sparks guard Kelsey Plum was lower in the player balloting than she was from
the media and fans. She is second in the WNBA in scoring, but has only played
in a dozen games because of injuries. She was 12th among players votes after
ranking sixth by the fans and fifth by media.
She finished seventh in the voting overall for the guards. Even if the Sparks
had all voted, it wouldn't have been a guarantee that Plum moved up to the top
four spots. In the past, players have said that they have either voted for
their entire team on the ballot or for friends or college teammates which has
led to some skewed results. Some do take it seriously and pick who they think
are the best players.
All-Star starter Caitlin Clark was right in front of the player balloting
finishing in 11th. She was picked as an All-Star starter as she was second in
the fan vote and third in the media rankings.
___
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
