The WNBA All-Star Game will come to Target Center July 28, and the way the two teams will be chosen just changed dramatically.
Under the old system, voters selected players for the Western and Eastern conference teams. But under a new process, rather than having to select an equal number of players from each conference, voters will choose players without regard to conference affiliation. Then, as team captains, the top two vote-getters will choose the two rosters using a back-and-forth draft system.
Votes will come from a combination of fans (40 percent), current WNBA players and head coaches (20 percent each) and a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters (20 percent). Fans will vote for their top 10 players regardless of position or conference. Players, coaches and the media panel will vote for 22 players, selecting nine guards and 13 frontcourt players regardless of conference. Players and coaches cannot vote for players on their own team.
Voting will begin on June 19 and end July 12. The pool of 22 All-Stars will be announced July 17. Following the captains' draft, the two rosters will be revealed July 19 during ESPN2's telecast of the Washington-Dallas game. On July 27 — the day before the game — team captains and head coaches will meet to determine the starting lineups.
The All-Star coaches will come from the teams with the league's two best records following the games of July 13.
Kent Youngblood
