Candace Parker is on her way to earning her seventh WNBA All-Star nod and is within reach of being named captain.
After the first returns of fan votes, Parker is third (17,475) behind the Las Vegas Aces forward A’Ja Wilson (21,688) and Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart (20,866).
This will be Parker’s seventh All-Star nod and second with the Sky if she remains among the top vote-getters when the final results are revealed on June 22.
The All-Star Game will be played at Wintrust Arena on July 10.
WNBA players and media will join fans in voting for the All-Star starters. Fans account for 50% of the vote and current players and the media account for 25% each. Four guards and six frontcourt players will be starters for the All-Star Game.
The two captains, the two All-Star starters who receive the most fan votes, draft their team by selecting from a pool of eight players who represent the starters and then a pool of 12 reserves.
Courtney Vandersloot (13th) and Kahleah Copper (17th) were also among the leaders after the first returns of fan voting. Coaches for the 2022 All-Star game will be the two coaches with the best record regardless of conference following games on June 24. The coach with the best record will coach the team whose captain earned the most votes.
The Aces and Storm had the most players represented in the top 10 after the first returns with three apiece. In addition to Wilson, the Aces’ Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young received the most votes. While Sue Bird and Jewell Loyd joined Stewart among the top 10 vote-getters.
Chicago is a first-time host to the WNBA All-Star game. The previous two games, in 2019 and 2021, were held in Las Vegas. In 2020 the game was canceled due to COVID-19. Before 2019, the game had never been held in the same city for consecutive years.
Last year Team WNBA which included Parker, Vandersloot and Copper beat Team USA 93-83. It was Copper’s first time being named an All-Star.
No Sky player has ever been named the All-Star MVP, but Parker — as a member of the Los Angeles Sparks — was named MVP of the game in 2013 after finishing with a double-double, 23 points and 11 rebounds.
