Voting for the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game concludes Saturday, June 29, and with their star-studded starting lineup, the Seattle Storm are sure to have several representatives at the annual exhibition.
Last week, the WNBA released an early return of All-Star fan votes that featured three Storm players: Nneka Ogwumike at No. 13 overall, Jewell Loyd at No. 21 and Skylar Diggins-Smith at No. 28. That’s not a guarantee that every one of those players will be named an All-Star—the fan vote counts for 50 percent of the overall vote, with player and media votes accounting for 25 percent apiece—but we know that Loyd, as a member of the USA Basketball Women’s National Team, will already be participating, and it would be a surprise if at least one of Ogwumike and Diggins-Smith didn’t make it as well.
With that in mind, as we wait for the final results to be tallied, let’s take a brief look at each of the Storm’s best players and their cases for WNBA All-Star consideration.
Nneka Ogwumike
Of Seattle’s big-name players, Ogwumike probably has the best case to be named an All-Star. She’s been the team’s most consistent player, averaging 17.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game while scoring at her usual high efficiency (60 percent true shooting; No. 13 in the WNBA), and she’s also leading the Storm in steals at two per game. Ogwumike has made a Hall of Fame career of efficient, fundamentally sound play, and she’s been as valuable as ever in her first season in Seattle, with her steadiness keeping the Storm afloat during a rough early-season patch. At 33 years old, Ogwumike is still one of the WNBA’s top frontcourt players, and she’s well-deserving of a ninth career All-Star appearance.
Jewell Loyd
![Seattle Storm v Chicago Sky](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/WA0X--hBhrE5kV47xp3Ld4t43dQ=/0x0:2475x3713/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:2475x3713):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25510842/2154565402.jpg)
Back in 2021, the WNBA introduced the USA Basketball Women’s National Team to its All-Star festivities as a way of keeping the annual event going during an Olympic year. The league will take a similar approach for 2024: Team USA’s 5×5 team will be competing against a 12-player roster of WNBA All-Stars, meaning that everyone who is on the Olympic team, which was announced on June 11, automatically qualifies to be a part of the All-Star Game.
That includes Loyd, who will be making her sixth-career All-Star appearance. The WNBA’s leading scorer in 2023, Loyd has not been quite as consistent thus far in 2024, but still ranks No. 6 in the league in scoring (19.3 points per game) and is averaging a career-high 5.5 rebounds per game. Loyd is the Storm’s primary perimeter scorer, and she’s among the best in the league at creating her own shot, resulting in plenty of highlight-reel buckets that make her a must-watch player in any type of game—especially an All-Star game.
Skylar Diggins-Smith
![Seattle Storm v Dallas Wings](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GUc_HTSCkuFhd3jPiVIfMUGicXM=/0x0:2475x3712/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:2475x3712):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25510835/2156810882.jpg)
Diggins-Smith was introduced alongside Ogwumike as Seattle’s two major offseason additions, and though she missed all of last season after giving birth to her second child, she’s making up for lost time in her first season with the Storm. It took Diggins-Smith a few games to get back into game shape and to adjust to her new teammates, but she’s still averaging 14.4 points and 6.2 assists per game, the latter of which ranks No. 5 in the WNBA. If the fan vote ends up being similar to how it looked in last week’s reveal, Diggins-Smith will need to rely on respect from her peers and WNBA media to make the All-Star Game, as she currently ranks sixth among non-Olympian guards in fan votes.
Ezi Magbegor
![Seattle Storm v Las Vegas Aces](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/29khQtlzwkN3EvGtZEb1r_foz9k=/0x0:2791x4186/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:2791x4186):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25510855/2157787586.jpg)
Magbegor’s name wasn’t on the list of the top 30 fan vote-getters in the recent reveal, but that doesn’t reflect just how indispensable she’s been for Seattle. The young center is averaging 13.5 points and a career-high 9.1 rebounds per game, and she’s also been one of the league’s top defensive playmakers, posting averages of 1.6 steals and 2.4 blocks. Perhaps most importantly, Magbegor has been the centerpiece of a Seattle defense that currently ranks third in the WNBA in defensive rating (94.4 points allowed per 100 possessions); that may not be enough to convince fan voters, but players and media may see things differently, and it would be hard to argue with them if they do.