With the Tuesday announcement of the All-Star reserves and the Wednesday
announcement of the replacements for injured All-Stars that will be unable to
participate, we now know everyone that is headed to Seattle for this weekend’s
festivities.
After breaking down the starting lineups for the East and West last week, now we
look at the reserves and replacement players and offer some key stats that
helped them earn their All-Star nod. We examine a combination of traditional
stats, advanced metrics and play type data from Synergy to share some key
numbers to know for this year’s All-Stars.
Notes: All stats are through games played on July 19. For advanced metrics
(eFG%, TS%, REB%, USG%, NetRtg, etc.), ranking are based on players that have
played at least 500 total possessions. For play type metrics (Post Ups, Spot
Ups, Isolations, Pick & Rolls, etc), ranking are based on players that have
played at least 10 possessions in that specific play type, unless otherwise
noted.
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Seimone Augustus, Minnesota Lynx
— Seventh All-Star selection for Augustus, Minnesota’s all-time leader in
points (5,340) and field goals made (2,162)
— Ranks 13th on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list (5,340 points) and 4th
all-time in two-point field goals made (1,908). She is the only
perimeter player to rank in the top five as she sits behind Hall of
Famer Lisa Leslie, Fever forward and East All-Star Candice Dupree and
former teammate Taj McWilliams-Franklin
— She is the second-most efficient player in isolations, scoring 1.25
points per iso possession, trailing only her teammate Maya Moore.
Augustus has shot 11-17 on isolations and her 25 points ranks seventh
overall and third in the West
— On jump shots under 17 feet, Augustus ranks second overall at 1.526
points per possession, behind teammate and All-Star replacement player
Rebekkah Brunson. Augustus has shot 14-19 on jumpers under 17 feet; her
73.7 field goal percentage is second only to Brunson as well.
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Skylar Diggins-Smith, Dallas Wings
— Third All-Star selection for Diggins-Smith; first as a reserve after
being voted in as a starter in 2014 and 2015.
— She is the only player in the WNBA to rank in the top 10 in both assists
(5.8 per game, 5th) and points (18.5 per game, 8th).
— She leads the league in both free throws made (127) and attempted (141)
and her 90.1 free throw percentage ranks 9th in the league
— She leads the WNBA in total points scored (406) and total minutes played
(741) over 22 games. She ranks second behind East All-Star Layshia
Clarendon in total assists (127)
— She has scored 105 points (4th overall and 3rd in the West) as the ball
handler in pick and roll sets. Her 0.946 points per possession on pick
and rolls ranks 8th overall and 4th in the West.
— She ranks second overall in both total points scored on handoffs with
24, trailing only West starter Diana Tauarsi (28) and points per
possession on hand offs with 1.143, trailing only fellow West reserve
Chelsea Gray.
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Chelsea Gray, Los Angeles Sparks
— Selected to her first All-Star Game in her first season as a starter
since entering the WNBA in 2015
— Gray leads the WNBA in 3-point percentage (50.9%) by a four percent
margin over fellow West reserve Seimone Augustus (46.9%)
— She ranks 11th in assists (4.2) and 13th in points (15.8), setting
career-highs by a wide margin in both categories; her previous bests
were 6.9 points and 2.7 assists set in rookie season (2015).
— Has a net efficiency rating of plus-11.4, meaning the Sparks outscore
opponents by 11.4 points per 100 possessions with Gray on the floor. It
is the seventh-highest mark in the league, and the best among players
not on the Minnesota Lynx.
— Gray leads all players with 94 total points scored on spot ups. Her
1.253 points per possession on those plays ranks 11th overall and her
66.2 effective field goal percentage on spot ups ranks 9th in the WNBA.
— She is the most efficient player on hand offs, scoring 1.273 points per
possession with limited attempts (5-8 FG). Her 75.0 eFG% ranks second in
the league and her 14 total points on hand offs ranks 9th.
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Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury (unable to play due to injury)
— Earned her fourth All-Star selection and first as a reserve after being
voted as a starter in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
— Griner leads the WNBA in scoring (22.3 per game), a 6.7 points per game
increase over her previous career-best set back in 2014.
— The two-time Defensive Player of the Year has led the league in blocks
each year since entering the league in 2013 and already ranks 8th on the
all-time list with 467 blocks in just 137 career games. No other player
in the top 25 has played fewer than 200 games
— Griner ranks third in usage rate with a career-high mark of 28.4%. She
trails only fellow All-Stars Tina Charles and Breanna Stewart in usage
rate.
— She has scored a league-high 205 total points on post-ups – 42 more than
any other player. She is one of only three players to score at least 100
points on post ups (Tina Charles 163 and Sylvia Fowles 155); all three
are All-Stars.
— Griner has excelled in post up defense, allowing opponents to shot just
5-27 (18.5%) against her in the post. That is the lowest percentage
allowed among player that faced at least 20 post up possessions.
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Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles Sparks
— Earns her fourth All-Star selection, becoming the sixth former MVP to be
selected to this year’s All-Star Game, joining Candace Parker, Diana
Taurasi, Elena Delle Donne, Maya Moore and Tina Charles.
— She ranks in the top 10 in scoring (4th, 20.1 per game), rebounding
(10th, 7.7 per game) and steals (2nd, 1.95). She trails Sparks teammate
and All-WNBA defender Alana Beard by just one steal.
— She ranks third in both field goal percentage (59.6%) and true shooting
percentage (68.8%), which accounts for the added value of 3-pointers and
free throws
— Ogwumike ranks in the 95th percentile or higher in each of the following
play types: transition (100th), off screen (100th), cuts (98th), Pick &
Roll: Roller (95th) and Put Backs (95th)
— A versatile offensive player, Ogwumike gets at least 10 percent of her
offense on five different play types – none greater than spot ups
(19.9%), followed by Cuts (15.3%), Post Ups (13%), PR Roller (12%) and
put backs (10.3%).
— She ranks first in transition efficiency as she scores 1.714 points per
possession on transition possessions. She is shooting 17-22 (77.3%) on
those plays.
— Ogwumike leads all players with 74 total points scored on cuts to the
basket. Her 1.609 points per possession and 77.8% FG% (28-36 FG) leads
all players with at least 15 cut possessions.
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Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm
— Earns her first All-Star selection in the same year her Seattle Storm
first host the All-Star Game
— Stewart ranks in the top six in the WNBA in rebounds (9.0 per game,
4th), points (19.7 per game, 5th) and blocks (1.47 per game, 6th).
— Stewart is the only player to rank in the top 10 in field goals made
(129, 5th), 3-pointers made (30, 10th) and free throws made (86, 7th).
The benchmarks for the top 10 for games played through July 19 are: 114
FGM, 81 FT and 30 3PM.
— Ranks 2nd in the WNBA in usage rate (28.5%), trailing on East All-Star
starter Tina Charles
— Stewart ranks fifth overall in double-doubles (7); she is third in the
Western Conference behind Glory Johnson and Sylvia Fowles
— Her 88 total points scored on spot up player ranks second overall behind
fellow West reserve Chelsea Gray. Stewart is shooting 29-68 on spot ups
with an effective field goal percentage of 55.1%.
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Rebekkah Brunson, Minnesota Lynx (replacing injured Brittney Griner)
— Making her fourth All-Star appearance and first since 2013 in her 14th
WNBA season
— Brunson ranks third all-time in rebounds (3,106) trailing only Lisa
Leslie and Tamika Catchings; Brunson is one of only five players with at
least 3,000 career rebounds
— Brunson is the all-time leader in offensive rebounds (1,108) and is one
of only three players with at leaste 1,000 career offensive rebounds
— After attempting just 12 3-pointers (and making two of them) in her
first 13 seasons in the WNBA, Brunson has added the 3-point shot to her
game this season, shooting 18-41 so far from beyond the arc
— Brunson ranks sixth in the WNBA in 3-point percentage (43.9%) after
shooting just 16.7% (2-12) for her career entering this season.
— Her 72 points scored on spot ups ranks 8th overall, while her 53.7%
shooting (29-54) on spot ups ranks 5th.
