Angel Reese, Dream Notably Absent From WNBA All-Star Starters

The starters for the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game were revealed on July 2. And fans were quick to notice that no player from the Atlanta Dream — including star forward Angel Reese, guard Rhyne Howard, and guard Allisha Gray — made the starting lineup this season.

The 10 starters are Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell (all on the Indiana Fever), Paige Bueckers, Jessica Shepard (from the Dallas Wings), Olivia Miles, Natasha Howard (from the Minnesota Lynx), Gabby Williams (Golden State Valkyries), A'ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces), and Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty).

These starters were the byproducts of votes from several women's basketball communities. Fans comprised 50% of the vote, WNBA players 25%, and WNBA media 25%.

The @UnderdogWNBA X account posted a graphic showing where all the players landed with each ranking, and it showed that Howard, Reese, and Gray (respectively) were the first three players left out of the starting lineup, as their weighted scores were 11th, 12th, and 13th, respectively.

Voting results for 2026 All-Star starters: pic.twitter.com/ztrznAUkAF
— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) July 2, 2026

Ultimately, all three of these players will be named as WNBA All-Star reserves and will get their shine when the actual game takes place in Chicago later this month. But the fact that none of them earned a spot in either starting lineup, despite the Dream having a 12-7 record and being in fourth place in the league standings, is sure to raise eyebrows.

Atlanta Dream All-Star Starter Omission Not Because of Any Bias

While none of these three star players being named a 2026 All-Star starter feels like a mistake, the bottom line is that these results are completely objective, given that they're the result of a weighted voting scale. Therefore, claiming that one of these three players was snubbed doesn't exactly make sense.

In fact, if there's anybody who could be seen as at fault for these three not being named All-Star starters, it's the Dream fans. Rhyne Howard was the ninth-most voted-for guard, but was No. 4 with the media vote and No. 2 with the player vote. Therefore, if Dream fans voted for Howard as the media and her WNBA player peers did, she would have been named a starter.

Gray had the seventh-most guard votes among fans, while she was No. 8 according to the media and No. 6 according to other players. Reese has the sixth-most fan votes for forwards, the sixth-most votes from the media, and the sixth-most votes among her peers, which is remarkably consistent.

It's also worth noting that only four guards could be named starters, which hurt Howard and Gray's chances. If it were an even split of guards and forwards, then Howard would have earned that fifth spot, and Natasha Howard would've been left out.

Add us as a preferred source on Google