Rhyne Howard was left off a 2026 WNBA All-Stars ballot because the league still forces voters to choose guards and frontcourt players, even as it has moved to positionless All-WNBA voting. The result was a narrow call that pushed one of the Dream’s most productive players out of the guard pool.
Voting closed on Saturday, and the format matters because starters are decided by player, media and fan voting, with those groups accounting for 25 percent, 25 percent and 50 percent, respectively. The top four guards and top six forwards or centers will make the All-Star Game lineup, while the WNBA’s 15 coaches will pick the 12 reserves, including three guards, five frontcourt players and four regardless of position.
Howard’s case was strong on the numbers. She was leading the fourth-place Dream with 18.6 points per game, 3.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.5 steals, production that usually puts a player squarely in an All-Star conversation. Before the two Dream games after the vote was submitted, she was still at 18.1 points, 3.2 assists and 2.6 steals while taking 3.2 3-point attempts per game, a line that only reinforced how much she was carrying.
The problem is that All-Star voting still asks voters to sort players by position, even though the league abandoned that approach for its first- and second-team All-Pro selections in 2022. That mismatch can leave voters choosing between labels and value. One ballot writer said Howard sat on the line between guard and frontcourt, arguing she looked more like a small forward and that the scoring volume and perimeter defense were enough to give her the last guard nod. That same ballot also left out Bueckers and Sonia Citron, a reminder that the format can squeeze out players who would have made an open list.
There was some lineup debate elsewhere on the ballot too. Kelsey Plum was considered likely to miss the All-Star Game with a lower-leg injury, while the Mercury were plus-2.2 with Natasha Mack on the floor and Alyssa Thomas did not post a positive net rating. But Howard’s omission is the sharper story because it shows how the WNBA can be positionless in one major honor and still positional in another. The coaches will settle the reserves next, but the bigger question is whether the league eventually stops making All-Star voters guess where a player belongs.
