2022 WNBA All-Star Game: Aces’ A’ja Wilson, Storm’s Breanna Stewart lead first round of fan voting returns

Fan voting for the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game got underway earlier this month, and the first round of returns came in on Friday. Leading the way, to little surprise, are Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson and Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart. As it stands, those two stars would be the captains.

After using a Team USA vs. Team WNBA format last year due to the Olympics, the league has returned to a playground-style captain’s draft for this year’s All-Star Game. The two players who receive the most fan votes will be named captains and select their teams from the available player pool during a live television broadcast. 

As per usual, starters will be determined by the fans, media and current players. Fans will account for 50 percent of the votes, while the media and players will each account for 25 percent. Voting opened on June 3 and will run through June 20, with the starters announced on June 22. The league’s coaches will then pick the reserves, which will be announced on June 28. Once the players are set, the All-Star Draft will be held on July 2, ahead of the game in Chicago on July 10. 

Here’s a look at the top vote-getters so far (players in bold would be starters if voting ended today):

A few brief takeaways:

• Wilson and Stewart have a clear lead for the captains roles, but Parker and Plum are still within striking distance. 
• The Aces and Storm are on pace to have six of the 10 starters.
• Fowles was recently sidelined with a cartilage injury in her knee and has been ruled out indefinitely. It’s unclear how that will impact fan voting, but it’s likely she won’t be able to play in the game — a real shame considering this is her final season.
• Howard is only about 700 votes behind Loyd, and has a real chance to be the first rookie to start an All-Star Game since Shoni Schimmel in 2014