Her Hoop Stats All-Star Draft
By Calvin Wetzel and Christopher Zwart
The teams for this year’s WNBA All-Star Game will be selected via draft by the two players with the highest number of fan votes, Elena Delle Donne and A’ja Wilson. They will first select players from a pool of starters, then they will continue by drafting reserves. You can catch it on ESPN2 at 9:30 ET.
Here at Her Hoop Stats, a couple of our contributors did a draft of our own. Note: this draft took place before Napheesa Collier was announced as an injury replacement.
Here are the results:
Starters
Christopher Zwart (representing Elena Delle Donne): Liz Cambage
My first pick in this year’s All-Star draft is Liz Cambage. Liz Vegas has scored in double figures in every game she’s played this year, which is impressive for a player averaging only 23.9 minutes per game. Over her last five games, Cambage has averaged 18.2 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks. Add to that her defensive rating of 85 (despite a lack of defense played in All-Star games) and you have all you need to make her the easy first pick of the draft.
Calvin Wetzel (representing A’ja Wilson): Jonquel Jones
Despite a slump in which she failed to reach her scoring or rebounding average in any of Connecticut’s five straight losses, Jones still leads the league in rebounds and blocks per game and is in the top ten in points. Even in a down year from behind the arc (she’s shooting 29% after combining for 46% in ’17 and ‘18), she’s a capable shooter who can protect the rim and control the glass on both ends. My first pick had to go to someone who can impact both sides of the floor.
Christopher: Brittney Griner
To go along with 6-foot-8 Cambage, drafting the 6-foot-9 Griner next gives Team Zwart arguably the most formidable front court imaginable. Griner had a slow start to the season, but has ramped up her offense and has become the current league leader in points per game with 18.9.
Calvin: Chelsea Gray
I wavered between Gray and Kayla McBride here — I like McBride a little better because of her shooting ability, but Gray was the only true point guard among the starters. In the end, scarcity won out, and I went with the league’s only player averaging at least ten points, five assists and four rebounds per game.
Christopher: Kayla McBride
Taking McBride with my third pick gave me one of the best three-point shooters in the WNBA, hitting over 47% from deep this season. She’s also the best three-point shooter in the starters poll. A can’t miss pick.
Calvin: Kia Nurse
As expected, choosing Gray meant that I lost my opportunity to get McBride, so Nurse is the only starter remaining shooting above 30% from deep. I’m taking her here because I need a backcourt partner for Gray, and Nurse (1.19 points per shot) is a more efficient scorer than Loyd (0.97).
Christopher: Jewell Loyd
I rounded out my starters with Jewell Loyd, who returned to action on July 19 after missing nearly a month of action due to injury. Before she went down, Loyd was averaging 18.6 points per game over her last seven games.
Calvin: Natasha Howard
Being under investigation for domestic abuse has a way of rendering one undesirable in fake drafts. Howard falling to this spot has little to do with her play on the court — she has been outstanding on many levels this season — but it seems as though neither of us wanted the PR nightmare that comes with picking someone in her situation.
Reserves
Calvin: DeWanna Bonner
The only player in the league with a higher scoring average than Bonner is her own teammate, Griner. I’ll take 18 points per game off the bench.
Christopher: Nneka Ogwumike
One of my early MVP candidates for this season, Nneka was an easy first pick from the reserve pool. While she is an offensive force for the Sparks, she can also get it done on the defensive end, as she’s grabbed nearly 25% of her team’s rebounds this season.
Calvin: Allie Quigley
Since I missed out on McBride, I had to go with the two-time defending Three-Point Contest champion here.
Christopher: Courtney Vandersloot
It’s hard to pass up Vandersloot, who currently leads the league in assists.
Calvin: Diamond DeShields
As a Sky fan, I was secretly hoping to get the whole backcourt, but two out of three ain’t bad. DeShields leads all guards in rebounds per game.
Christopher: Tina Charles
Going into her seventh All-Star Game, Charles leads the league in usage rate and is fourth in points per game.
Calvin: Sylvia Fowles
The league leader in field goal percentage at pick number 17? Yes please.
Christopher: Kristi Toliver
Toliver is second in the league in assists per game with 5.8. She has averaged 7 assists to go along with 12.2 points over her last five games, both above her season average.
Calvin: Erica Wheeler
I needed a point guard to back up Gray, and Wheeler has a much better three-point percentage, more assists and fewer DWIs than Sims.
Christopher: Alyssa Thomas
A top-ten rebounder still on the board? Easy pick for me.
Calvin: Candice Dupree
I’ll round out my team with one of the smoothest ballers in the game — Dupree gives me experience and style points.
Christopher: Odyssey Sims
Sims, a sixth-year veteran, is playing in her first All-Star Game this year. She’s having a solid season as she ranks in the top ten in both points and assists.
Summary
If you like this content, please support our work at Her Hoop Stats by subscribing for just $20 a year. All stats are compiled from WNBA.com and basketball-reference.com for games through July 22, 2019.
