Can Four Sparks Make the All-Star Game?
Twenty-two players will be selected to play in this year’s WNBA All-Star Game hosted at the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN. If just the fans decided, four members of the Los Angeles Sparks would make the trip at the end of July. That number is surpassed only by the defending champion and host Minnesota Lynx who currently have 5 players in the top 22 by fan vote. Fans represent only 40% of the decision-making process in All-Star selections, however. The remainder of the voting power is split evenly between by players, coaches, and media votes.
Having four players on the All-Star roster would be unprecedented for the Sparks. LA has sent 3 players to 5 of the 14 showcases. That includes 2017 when Candace Parker, Nneka Ogwumike, and Chelsea Gray all played in the All-Star Game in Seattle.
Parker, Ogwumike, and Gray are three of the four Sparks players on track to make the All-Star selections this year. They are joined by Alana Beard.
Alana Beard has appeared in four All-Star Games over her 12 seasons in the WNBA, but has not participated since 2009. At the peak of her career in 2006 she averaged 19.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 steals.
While she has become less of a scorer since moving to LA in 2012, Sparks fans clearly value her consistency — she has started every game for the Sparks in the last 3 years. In 2017 Beard won WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. This year, she ranks 3rd in the league in steals per game and 6th in turnover rate among regular players by only turning the ball over on 2.5% of possessions.
Chelsea Gray is on track for her second All-Star appearance with her first coming just last year. Last year she produced impressive stats: 14.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 4.4 assists per game. This year she has performed just as well in points and rebounds while increasing her steals to 1.6 per game (tied 3rd with Beard) and increasing her assists to 5.2 per game (4th in the league).
Nneka Ogwumike has appeared in All-Star showcases in 4 of her 5 years in the WNBA. Of course, the year she didn’t was in 2016 when there was no All-Star game. That year, Ogwumike won WNBA MVP, which is even more impressive. In 2018, Nneka averages 16.3 points per game by scoring 1.25 points per scoring attempt including when fouled. That makes her the 8th most efficient scorer among WNBA regulars. She’s also cleaning the glass with 7.7 rebounds per game which ranks 8th as well.
Candace Parker will likely make her fifth WNBA All-Star Game appearance. Her first appearance was in 2008 — the same year she won both Rookie of the Year and MVP. Parker is in the running to win MVP this year as well. There is only one other player in the league, Liz Cambage, who shoots as high a volume of shots and scores more efficiently. Parker also distributes the ball, leading all forwards in assists with 4.4 per game.
When you look at the numbers, it’s no surprise that four Sparks qualify for the All-Star Game based solely on fan voting. Will they be making the trip to Seattle when all is said and done? Find out when the 22 players are announced on July 17th.
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All stats are compiled from the WNBA.com database as of July 10th, 2018.
