Top Players Who Could Be First-Time WNBA All-Stars and Potential Snubs

Who will get their first nod? And who will just barely miss out?

Jessica Shepard is the only player in the league to have a triple-double this season—and she’s completed the feat twice. | Jerome Miron/Imagn Images

Earlier this week, the league announced that A’ja Wilson and Paige Bueckers lead all players in early fan voting for the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game. Aliyah Boston, Breanna Stewart and Caitlin Clark round out the top five. 

There are plenty of players who have seemingly guaranteed their spots for All-Star weekend in Chicago next month, including rookie Olivia Miles. The Lynx guard has been putting on a show in her first few weeks in the league, but who else will be joining her as a first-timer? 

A quick reminder on how voting works: For starters, fans account for 50% of voting while current players and the media each account for 25%. Once starters are determined, the league’s head coaches will select 12 reserves. 

With that in mind, our Sports Illustrated WNBA staff picks non-rookies who will be receiving their first All-Star nod, plus who is likely to just miss out. 

Who should make their first WNBA All-Star appearance? 

Dan Falkenheim: Veronica Burton. Her ascension has been something to behold: Before arriving in Golden State, she hadn’t averaged more than 16 minutes, four points or three assists per game in a single season. That changed quickly. She finished ninth in MVP voting and took Most Improved Player honors last season, and she has only continued to grow this year. Burton is averaging career highs in points per game (14.0), three-point shooting percentage (36.9%) and usage rate (22.5%) while also cutting down her turnover rate (11.3%, a career low).

To put a finer point on that last stat, Burton has a better assist-to-turnover ratio (3.4) than any starting guard in the league. (Better than Paige Bueckers!) Burton is a gritty, tough defender, too. She should make her first All-Star appearance, yes, and she should also be talked about in the same conversation as the league’s other top guards.

Clare Brennan: Jessica Shepard. After five seasons with the Lynx, Shepard joined the Wings this year and is enjoying a breakout campaign in Dallas. She is averaging a career-best 13.7 points, 11.5 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game, is third in the league in win shares (2.9) and is the only player with a triple-double this year, with two on the season. A Swiss Army knife forward, Shepard has made an impact on Dallas’s offense on multiple levels. She can bring the ball up the floor, score efficiently, cut to the basket and dominate the glass, helping bring Wings coach Jose Fernandez’s offensive scheme to life. Another point in the All-Star case for Shepard: the Wings’ 9–6 record. With the addition of Shepard (and other newcomers, including No. 1 pick Azzi Fudd), Dallas has gone from a middling team to a title contender in the course of a year. The Wings’ 30-point win over the reigning champion Aces, in which Shepard nearly notched a third triple-double, showed what this group is capable of when firing on all cylinders. 

Blake Silverman: Carla Leite. The 22-year-old French guard has been plucked in the expansion draft two years in a row—last year with Golden State and then by Portland ahead of this season. Although the Fire are middling at 8–9, their start to the year has greatly exceeded expectations. Coming into the league with the Tempo, Portland was expected to be the lesser of the two, building its roster with a much more future-forward focus compared to Toronto. Bridget Carleton has been a big part in Portland’s better-than-expected start and would be a fine first-time All-Star candidate herself, but I’ll give the nod to Leite here for the incredible start to her season.

She’s powered the Fire’s offense in masterful fashion, leading the team in both scoring and assists as we inch toward the midway point of the season. She’s coming off her best performance of the season with 20 points and 10 assists in the Fire’s win over the Storm on Wednesday when she became the youngest player to have a 20-point, 10-assist game in league history. The guard group may be too crowded for Leite to get the nod this year, but as one of the best passers across the league with the scoring pop to go with it, she deserves to have her name in the conversation.

Shakira Austin, who is having a career year so far, could benefit from the positional makeup of the All-Star ballot. | Steven Bisig/Imagn Images

Emma Baccellieri: Shakira Austin. The Mystics center is finally back to full health and having a career season: 14.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, all personal highs. There are relatively few WNBA bigs making that kind of an impact across the scoresheet: The only players to record this many boards and assists while scoring in double figures are A’ja Wilson, Shepard and Angel Reese. I think it could be enough to earn the first All-Star nod for Austin. It’s worth noting the positional makeup of the ballot does play a factor here: Each 10-name ballot has spots for six frontcourt players and four guards. Given the guard power across the league, I’d like to see this switch to four in the frontcourt, four guards, and two swing spots that can go to any player. But with the frontcourt-heavy ballots that we see right now? Austin has earned a spot.  

Who will likely be snubbed? 

Falkenheim: Jordin Canada. The problem for Canada is that the list of potential All-Stars at guard is loaded. Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark, Olivia Miles and Kelsey Plum seem likely to be named starters. Seven more potential spots could go to guards. For the sake of argument, say Kelsey Mitchell, Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, Sonia Citron and Jackie Young take five of those spots. That leaves, at most, two reserve selections to divvy up between Burton, Marina Mabrey, Courtney Williams, Fudd, Chelsea Gray and Canada. 

Even if she isn’t chosen, she is having an All-Star caliber start to her season. Canada is a dogged perimeter defender and is averaging 2.1 steals per game, second best only behind Howard. She has totaled 1.9 win shares—ninth most among guards—and is tracking for career highs in assists per game (6.7) and shooting efficiency (50.8% effective field goal percentage). In a crowded group, though, she may just miss out.

Brennan: Brittney Sykes. This doesn’t fall under the traditional conception of a snub. Still, it’s unclear if Sykes will be able to participate in All-Star weekend after dealing with a plantar fascia injury in the Tempo’s June 16 game against the Fever. Toronto has said she is expected to make a return this season, but did not provide a timeline. And that’s a real shame, because Sykes was having a career year with Toronto. Whether or not she can compete in Chicago come July, Skye’s prolific campaign deserves to be recognized. Averaging 20.1 points (fifth in the league) on 42.1% shooting, Sykes has been the offensive engine for the expansion side. Much of Sandy Brondello’s offense went through Sykes, with her usage percentage (28.5) ranking fifth in the league. An explosive guard and dynamic playmaker, Sykes is also a disruptive on-ball defender. Due to her injury and the limited guard spots on the ballot, Sykes is unlikely to earn an All-Star nod this year, but her play merits acknowledgment.

Silverman: It pains me to say, but Kahleah Copper. Statistically, she should be an All-Star, currently eighth in the WNBA in scoring and on the heels of a 41-point, 10-rebound performance against the Sparks on Saturday. What hurts her case is the Mercury’s dreadful start to the season, currently 4–12 and ahead of only the Sun and the Storm. A complete free fall after a run to the WNBA finals last season, even when you consider Satou Sabally’s departure.

Still, Copper has been an offensive engine for a Phoenix team that has struggled on both ends of the floor. The problem with Copper’s All-Star case is that Alyssa Thomas will likely get in and will the coaches put two players from the struggling Mercury in? I doubt that, unfortunately. Thomas should be a shoo-in, leading the league in assists next to Clark while she continues to average close to a triple-double (14.2 points, 8.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds per game thus far). Copper was snubbed last year after she made four All-Star teams in a row. Her scoring numbers this year are better than any season besides her career year in 2024 during her first season with the Mercury. Unfortunately, though, Phoenix’s drastic slide may be too much to overlook on a crunched All-Star roster.

---