WNBA All-Star Format Announced

NEW YORK—The WNBA has announced a new format for Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018, which will be played on Saturday, July 28 in Minneapolis.

Under the revamped format, two captains will draft the 2018 All-Star teams from the pool of players voted as All-Stars.  The captains will be the two All-Stars, regardless of conference, who receive the highest vote totals. 

To complement the change from the traditional matchup between the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference that was used in the previous 14 All-Star Games, the WNBA will also implement a new voting process for selecting the 22 All-Stars.  Rather than having to select an equal number of players from each conference, voters will now choose the All-Stars without regard for conference affiliation.

The selection of 2018 All-Stars will be conducted through a combination of voting by fans (40 percent of the vote), current WNBA players and head coaches (20 percent each), and a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters (20 percent). 

Fans will be able to vote for their top 10 players regardless of position or conference.  Players, coaches and the media panel will each vote for 22 players, selecting nine guards and 13 frontcourt players regardless of conference.  Players and coaches may not vote for members of their own team.

“Delivering on the promise to constantly innovate and entertain is driving this All-Star format change for our fans and partners,” said WNBA President Lisa Borders. “This bold and innovative approach to Verizon WNBA All-Star provides an opportunity to put the best of the best in our showcase event.”

On Tuesday, July 17, the pool of 22 All-Stars will be announced.  In the following days the captains will draft their respective teams from the remaining 20 All-Stars to form two 11-player rosters.  Specific details about the draft will be announced at a later date.

The All-Star rosters will be revealed on Thursday, July 19 during ESPN2’s telecast of the Washington Mystics at the Dallas Wings (8 p.m. ET tip-off). 

The head coaches for Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018 will be the head coaches of the two teams with the best records following games on Friday, July 13.  The head coach with the best record as of that date will coach the team captained by the highest vote-getter.

On Friday, July 27, the All-Star team captains and head coaches will meet to determine starters for Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018.  The starting lineups will be revealed that night on ESPN2 (7 p.m. ET) during a live telecast of the WNBA All-Star Welcome Reception in Minnesota.

WNBA All-Star Voting 2018 presented by Verizon will tip off on Tuesday, June 19 at 2 p.m. ET and will conclude on Thursday, July 12 at 11:59 p.m. ET.  WNBA fans may submit one full ballot each day through WNBA.com (desktop or mobile) or the WNBA App (available on Android and iOS).  Fans may also vote for up to 10 players per day on Twitter.  All current WNBA players on team rosters are eligible to receive votes.    Additional details regarding voting can be found at http://www.wnba.com/.

Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018 will be played at Target Center on Saturday, July 28.  ABC will televise the All-Star Game at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT.  For ticket information, fans may visit lynx.wnba.com/allstar/.

—Staff Reports