WNBAnything Rankings 2024: All-Star Snubs
With the 2024 WNBA All-Star rosters finalized this week, we take a look at the players who were left off, and rank how egregious the omissions were
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As of Tuesday night, we now know exactly which players will be making the trip to Phoenix for the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game. If you listened to the podcast I recorded with Kevin Pelton of ESPN and Calvin Wetzel of Her Hoop Stats (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) a couple of weeks ago you already have a good idea as to who I would've selected, but only now that we have the final list can we examine who was snubbed.
One thing I hate about the furor that tends to swell up around 'snubs' is that most people are desperate to yell about people who should've got in, without being willing to say who should've been left out. So let's talk about them. The system itself didn't help. Rosters of 12 rather than the usual 11 means there were two extra all-stars, but at least two of the Team USA group wouldn't have made it unless they were automatically in by virtue of their place on the Olympic roster. Chelsea Gray and Brittney Griner have simply missed too many games, even if they've been good since returning. Then, as we discussed in the podcast, Diana Taurasi, Kelsey Plum and Jewell Loyd all could've been debated on the fringe of being in or out. So all of those players being automatic all-stars limited the spots that were up for discussion.
Then, as is often the case, the fan voting didn't help. They only accounted for 50% of initial voting, but the players and media that made up the remaining 50% didn't result in a top-10 of dead cert all-stars. It always seemed likely she'd make it one way or another, but Caitlin Clark is another fringe candidate on merit, and her Indiana Fever teammate Aliyah Boston is probably further towards the 'no' side.
The final eight spots were selected by the league's coaches, who could choose from the next 36 highest vote-getters (which included almost anyone they might've wanted to vote for, except maybe Teaira McCowan, who didn't make the list). All eight choices were at least somewhat reasonable, even if they certainly wouldn't have been the group I chose. While I don't like looking at how many all-stars each team 'deserves', a third player from the 8-13 Fever ends up looking slightly ridiculous. For all her remarkable rebounding numbers and effort plays, Angel Reese is still shooting below 40% from the field despite taking the vast majority of her shots from inside 5-feet (and it's only that high after a recent uptick). On the opposite side, for all her positive play, Brionna Jones is a starting center somehow averaging only 4.9 rebounds per game (although she damn well should've been named an all-star last year, so if that's a slight make-up vote I have no problem with it). Nneka Ogwumike deserves to be there, but as Kevin argued on the podcast, is she even the most deserving Seattle Storm post?
Regardless of which players you think maybe shouldn't have made it, let's take a look at the opposite side - the players who were left off the list. In September when some of these players are in the frame for end-of-season awards, or in future years when we're looking back, who'll be the ones where we most frequently ask "how was she not an all-star?"
10./11. Tyasha Harris/DiJonai Carrington, Connecticut Sun
Maybe part of the problem here was that you could go in either direction, as happened in the podcast with Kevin and myself. Harris has provided the creation late in the shot clock and floor-stretching Connecticut needed at the point, while Carrington has been their first-choice perimeter defender and offered the downhill attack that they often need from the wing. Both are averaging double-digit points for one of the best teams in the league. However, the entire Sun starting frontcourt made the squad, and Connecticut lost three out of four just before coaches were asked to submit their ballots, so it's a little difficult to consider either of these two a true snub. Both are more players who "deserve a mention" in the discussion without actually sneaking on to too many final ballots.
8./9. Marina Mabrey/Chennedy Carter, Chicago Sky
If you were going to pick a perimeter player from the plucky Sky squad, you had two contrasting but somewhat reasonable options. Carter has been the electric scorer, reminding everyone why she was so exciting when she first came into the league a few years ago. She's also shooting a remarkable 54% from the field for a guard who largely creates her own offense. Mabrey hasn't been anywhere near as efficient, but she's more of a threat from deep, creates more for others, and her defensive efforts have allowed Chicago to play the three-guard lineups that have increased Carter's minutes. Mabrey's chances weren't helped by a recent run of poor shooting games, while Carter has only recently stepped into the starting lineup (and given previous character/behaviour questions may not have the best reputation among the coaches she'd have needed to vote for her). But both would've at least been waiting for the team announcements thinking they had half a chance. No such luck.
6./7. Courtney Williams, Minnesota Lynx/Skylar Diggins-Smith, Seattle Storm
This pair may be on different rosters, but in both cases we're looking at high-performing lead guards on good teams who may be worth more to their squads than the raw numbers suggest. Both have settled quickly on new teams, playing immediate leader and distributor roles, and are often at the point-of-attack on two of the best defenses in the league. Diggins-Smith will hope to improve her sub-par outside shooting, and Williams's combination of endless long-twos and virtually zero free-throw trips will continue to drive me slightly insane, but both are having useful seasons for successful teams. Both have been all-stars before, and neither would've been out of place on this year's squad.
4./5. Ariel Atkins, Washington Mystics/Rhyne Howard, Atlanta Dream
Here we have two exceptional wings who probably didn't quite make it due to the numbers the coaches will have seen before filling out their ballots. Firstly their teams haven't been good, which never helps a player's case. Secondly, the shooting percentages - 38% from the field for Howard, 40% for Atkins, and 31%/32% respectively from 3-point range - aren't great. So despite their impressive moments and the loads they've been carrying for their respective teams, neither quite had a strong enough case for the coaches to vote them in. Howard will also have been hurt by her current ankle injury, which means she's missed five of Atlanta's 18 games, and as we saw with Brionna Jones last year the coaches are often reluctant to vote in players they think might not actually be available for the game.
3. Alanna Smith, Minnesota Lynx
Now we're starting to hit the players who have a really justified gripe that they won't be in Phoenix. Minnesota have gone from a thoroughly mediocre team in 2023 to one of the best performers in the league with only two new starters - the aforementioned Courtney Williams, and Alanna Smith. Despite a lack of true size in the paint, the Lynx have been the best defensive team in the league, with Smith solidifying the back line and becoming one of the league leaders in blocks. On the offensive end she's given Minnesota a strong roll threat on the pick-and-roll who's also shooting 45% from 3-point range on over three attempts per game when defenses fall away from her into the paint. Napheesa Collier is obviously Minnesota's superstar, but through her first 20 games with the Lynx it looks like they may have found her perfect complement in Smith. Given the standings midway through the season, a third Lynx player at the all-star game would not have been at all unreasonable, and Smith is the clearest choice.
2. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, New York Liberty
New York Liberty fans, players and coaches will all happily tell you how important Laney-Hamilton is to their team. The advanced stats will also thoroughly back that up, with the on/off numbers indicating the Liberty are a ridiculous 24.6 points per 100 possessions better when Laney-Hamilton is on the floor. She's the one good perimeter defender in their regular starting lineup, which means she has a lot of responsibility at that end of the floor (and will be in the running for All-Defense teams at the end of the year, and maybe even Defensive Player of the Year). She's also averaging over 12 points per game on 46% from the field and 38% from three, chipping in with assists, steals and rebounds, and generally playing a key role for the best team in the league. She should be going to Phoenix, and I'm honestly a little surprised the coaches overlooked her. Maybe the star power in New York overshadowed her, but a fourth Liberty all-star would've been fine (and the number of games Courtney Vandersloot missed removed her from the equation). Hopefully Laney-Hamilton gets to spend a couple of extra days on a beach somewhere instead.
1. Ezi Magbegor, Seattle Storm
Perhaps the most glaring omission of all is another Aussie post, again playing a key role on one of the league's five good teams. Maybe Ogwumike jumps out more as the new addition and higher scorer in the paint for Seattle, but they've been a highly effective tandem who both deserve recognition. Ogwumike tends to be the primary defender on the biggest opposing threat in the paint, but Magbegor is the enforcer and rim-protector behind the defense, sitting just behind A'ja Wilson for the league lead in blocks. She's an efficient finisher inside and one of the league leaders in offensive rebounds, producing over 13 points per game without ever really needing any plays to be run for her. Both Magbegor and Smith should have bigger things to worry about than the all-star game as soon as the regular season comes to a halt, with the final Australian Olympic squad needing to come together and prepare for Paris as quickly as the Americans. But they should've had one more game to play before switching their attention to the Opals.
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