The WNBA revealed its 2026 All-Star reserves on Tuesday, and the Angel conversation started almost as soon as the list landed. The 12-player group will feed into a 22-All-Star pool for the July 25 game at Chicago's United Center, with Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon set to sort rosters from that field.
That matters now because the reserves often shape the rest of the All-Star picture. Starters were already set by fans, current players and a media panel, but the league's coaches held the power to fill the reserve spots, choosing three guards, five frontcourt players and four players at either position regardless of conference. The result is a list that still leaves room for argument before the final rosters are chosen.
Marina Mabrey is part of the reason the announcement drew attention. She earned her first All-Star bid after a season that included two games with nine 3-pointers and a tie for the league's single-game record with 53 points on June 25. Jessica Shepard also got her first nod, while Veronica Burton, the reigning Most Improved Player and an All-WNBA second-team selection, was among the players added to the pool.
The debate, though, quickly turned to the names left out. Alyssa Thomas leads the league in assists and still ranked No. 15 in rebounds and No. 27 in points with a 51.5 field goal percentage, yet she did not make the reserve list. Kahleah Copper, a four-time All-Star averaging 20.6 points with six games of 25 or more points, also missed out despite her volume and shot-making.
Brittney Sykes made the omission harder to sort. She was the league's No. 8 scorer, and she had been No. 5 in scoring when a noncontact plantar fascia injury sidelined her in mid-June. Her absence created a clean statistical case for a reserve spot that was never going to be judged on scoring alone, especially with coaches balancing position needs and the four at-large selections that could have gone anywhere on the floor.
That is the central tradeoff in this system: the coaches are not simply ranking the best numbers, but building a 12-player reserve group that covers guards, frontcourt players and flexible slots. They also could not vote for their own players. If a player cannot play in Chicago, Cathy Engelbert will name a replacement, and Kelsey Plum's availability could make that question matter again. The league will also name the All-Star coaches from the two teams with the best records after games on July 10, which means the final shape of the showcase still has one more turn before the league's 30th anniversary season reaches its midpoint.
