As the WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis approaches, the teams will begin taking shape.
Voting to help determine the starters closes Friday. The fans' votes count for 50%, the players count for 25% and the sports media count for 25%. The final scores will be calculated by averaging players' weighted rank from those groups. Then the top four guards and top six frontcourt players will be the starters, with fan voting serving as a tiebreaker if needed.
The 12 reserves are later chosen by the league's head coaches, who must vote for at least three guards and five frontcourt players, and then four names at either position. Coaches cannot vote for players on their own teams.
The two players with the most fan votes will serve as captains and draft players on «WNBA Countdown» on July 8 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) before the Las Vegas Aces face the New York Liberty.
With the logistics of choosing the All-Star rosters out of the way, ESPN's Kendra Andrews and Michael Voepel share their ballots predicting the starters and discuss who missed the cut.
Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever
Tied for first in assists per game (8.9); was an All-Star last year as a rookie
Clark missed five games with a quad injury and has been in a shooting slump from 3-point range (1 of 23) in her past three games. She missed Thursday's game against Los Angeles with a left groin injury, and it's unclear whether she'll join the team when it travels to Dallas on Friday. But Clark remains an ultra-elite playmaker even when her shot isn't falling. And defenses put so much emphasis on covering her that it opens up opportunities for her teammates. She was the early leader in fan voting, which is likely to hold up and put her in a captain's spot. — Michael Voepel
Napheesa
Read more on espn.com
espn.com
