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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Dan Lyons

Lynx Coach Deeply 'Disappointed' in Minnesota All-Star Snubs Despite Dominant Record

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve believes her first-place team deserved more than two players on the WNBA All-Star roster. | Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Lynx have dominated the WNBA so far this season, running out to a 17-2 record—four games clear of any other team in the league in the loss column. Of course, fans wouldn't really know it based on the recently released roster for the upcoming All-Star Game.

The league's 22 All-Stars, which were officially named this week, are well-distributed throughout the league. Of the WNBA's 13 franchises, 12 have at least one All-Star, with the Connecticut Sun as the only roster left out. Eight franchises have multiple players, but none landed more than three players on the All-Star roster. That honor went to the Indiana Fever (with guard Caitlin Clark selected as a captain) and Seattle Storm.

Of course, the Lynx are five games up on the Storm in the Western Conference, and are seven games better than the Fever (though they did lose the Commissioner's Cup final between the two sides). As a result, Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve is very disappointed that her team was held to just two All-Star selections: forward Napheesa Collier (a team captain along with Clark) and guard Courtney Williams.

"I don't know why only Phee and Courtney are All-Stars when you have the best team in the league by a few games. There are teams that are below us in the standings by a lot that have three All-Stars. Historically, teams at the top get a minimum of three, often times four. So, really disappointing.

"Really, really happy for Courtney. The obvious one was Phee. But we are disappointed in the coaches' voting with regard to their selections for All-Stars."

The 10 All-Star starters were voted on by fans, current WNBA players and members of the media, while the league's 13 head coaches selected the 12 reserve players.

Forward Alanna Smith likely has the best argument from the Lynx roster; she has been dominant on the inside for Minnesota, blocking 2.4 shots per game (second in the league to A'ja Wilson) while scoring 10.1 points and adding 5.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Guard Kayla McBride is second on the team with 14.9 points per game and certainly had a strong argument to be included as well.

The Atlanta Dream, Las Vegas Aces, New York Liberty, Phoenix Mercury and Washington Mystics each tied Minnesota with two selections each.

The All-Star Game will be played on Saturday, July 19 at Indianapolis's Gainbridge Fieldhouse.


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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Lynx Coach Deeply 'Disappointed' in Minnesota All-Star Snubs Despite Dominant Record.

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