WNBA All-Star: 3 under-the-radar players who should be getting voters' attention

Yahoo

8 hours ago

The WNBA announced the top 40 vote-getters in WNBA All-Star fan voting last week and the top five were no surprise: Caitlin Clark, Napheesa Collier, Aliyah Boston, A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart.
But there are some names who were further down the voting list who still should get a closer look. With All-Star voting ending on Saturday, here are three players who may have flown under the radar but deserve some more attention.
Brittney Sykes, Washington Mystics
The Washington Mystics are the youngest team in the WNBA this season, but they have been one of the season's biggest surprises, sitting just a half-game outside of playoff position with a 6-8 record. Brittney Sykes, the team's 31-year-old guard, has shown leadership to the two rookies on the team, and ranks eighth in the league in points per game. Her teammates do not question it; 'Slim' is an All-Star.
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'I've seen the progress from Slim the past three years," Mystics forward Shakira Austin said on June 17, when Sykes scored 32 points to help the Mystics beat the Chicago Sky. "This is the year where she's really putting it together, like both what she can give physically for us, but also mentally, just being that leader."
'I want to add to that, because [I was just] talking with our coaches about that willingness to see the game and understand what was needed,' Washington coach Sydney Johnson said. 'Whether it was turning up her defensive pressure or finding teammates, drawing and kicking out and then that softened up things, that's what All-Stars do.'
Still, Sykes was in 28th place in the early returns of All-Star voting with 76,549 votes.
Natasha Cloud, New York Liberty
Coming off their WNBA championship, the New York Liberty didn't just run back the roster they had. During the offseason, New York acquired Natasha Cloud from the Connecticut Sun, and she's been a key part of the team's success so far. While her scoring numbers aren't huge, her ability to facilitate scoring does show up in the stats: Cloud is ranked third in the league with 6.5 assists per game. Considering she just joined a team full of veterans who are used to playing with each other, she's meshed well.
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'It's just a really free-flowing offense, and I feel like that helps players like [Cloud], who is just so great at reading and reacting,' her teammate Sabrina Ionescu said in early June. 'And it's just like a player-led offense, and I think that's why she does so well. It's because she's just not put in a box of like, this is the only thing you can do. It's like, go out there and be a basketball player. Read, make the right play for the team, and then you can go out there and score and average 20 [points] a night.'
Cloud was ranked 29th in the early returns of All-Star voting, just behind Sykes with 74,280 votes.
Kayla McBride, Minnesota Lynx
'This is Mac. This is what she does.'
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Cheryl Reeve wasn't surprised by Kayla McBride erupting for 29 points in 30 minutes in the team's win on Saturday over the Los Angeles Sparks. Playing without superstar Napheesa Collier because of her back injury, someone on the Lynx roster had to step up.
McBride has been in Minnesota since 2021, and this is the player she has been for them. She's averaging 16.1 points per game for the Lynx, putting her in the top 20 for the league. But she was 40th among all players in All-Star voting with 44,378 votes. She started the season late for personal reasons, but in the nine games she's played, she's proven her worth to the Lynx.
WNBA All-Star starters are chosen by a combination of fan, player and media votes, and fans can vote here or on the WNBA app. Coaches then vote to choose reserve players. The top two vote-getters will be named captains, and the captains will then choose their teams. The All-Star game is on July 19 in Indianapolis.