If no one else will speak up for her Atlanta Dream teammates, Angel Reese says she will.
Despite Atlanta tied atop the Eastern Conference standings at 12-8, no Dream players were selected as All-Star Game starters. Reese said the exclusion of her teammates Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray, and other Dream players, was “disrespectful.”
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“I expect to be disrespected,” Reese said. “For those two, though, I think they work so hard, and they put a lot of work in, and the way that they’re guarded every game and they (have to) adjust. The reason why we’re where we are is because of those two.”
All-Star Game starters were released earlier in the day Thursday by the league. The selections are determined by a weighted combination of voting categories: 50 percent by fan votes, and 25 percent from each of player votes and selected media votes. Howard ranked in the top four in media and player voting but only ninth in fan voting. Gray ranked seventh in fan voting but eighth by media and sixth by players. Reese ranked sixth across the board.
Reese listed various statistical categories in which Dream players rank among the top. Reese leads the league with 11.6 rebounds per game (11.6), and Howard leads the league with 2.5 steals per game and ranks second with 3.2 3-pointers per game. Guard Jordin Canada ranks second in the league with 2.1 steals a game.
“We’re not first in the conference by just anything,” Reese said. “For us not to have anyone was just a slap in the face.”
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On Wednesday, Olivia Miles (Minnesota Lynx), Paige Bueckers (Dallas Wings), Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana Fever) and Caitlin Clark (Fever) were announced as guard starters. Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty), Jessica Shepard (Wings), A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces), Aliyah Boston (Fever), Gabby Williams (Golden State Valkyries) and Natasha Howard (Lynx) were named frontcourt starters.
The Dream backcourt duo just missed the cut, having the fifth- and sixth-highest voting scores among guards. Reese was the first player out among bigs, ranking seventh among frontcourt players.
“Congrats to the ones that were nominated; they were well-deserved,” Reese said. “But it’s a very big shocker to see that none of us were starters, especially where we are as a team in the league.”
Only two teams have two players averaging at least 20 points this season: the Toronto Tempo (9-10) with Marina Mabrey (21.2) and Brittney Sykes (20.1), and the Fever (11-8) with Mitchell (21.6) and Clark (21.2). Neither of the Tempo players were named starters, while both Fever players were.
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Sykes didn’t make the top 11 overall, while Mabrey was ranked No. 4 in the player rankings and No. 6 in the media rankings, but No. 12 in the fan rankings, which brought her score down.
“I haven’t really said much this year in the media, because honestly it’s been tough for me over the last two years,” Reese said. “But I feel like it was important for me to speak for my teammates that don’t necessarily speak for themselves all the time.”
Reese, who is in her third WNBA season, is playing her first season with the Dream. She’s been on an All-Star team every season, including as a rookie starter. Howard and Gray have each been All-Stars three times.
“I know the work they put in,” Reese said. “I know the reason why I’m in Atlanta is because of them. I know that the team’s success is based off those two as well.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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