WNBA All-Star voting tipped off late last week, sparking the far-too-early conversations about which players sit atop the league’s hierarchy.
With two expansion teams, All-Star spots are becoming more and more competitive, and neither the Toronto Tempo nor the Portland Fire probably expected to roster an All-Star in their inaugural season. But as both teams hold seven wins, we may see some new uniforms represented in Chicago—and no expansion player has a better argument than the Tempo’s Brittney Sykes.
A look back at Sykes’ near All-Star snub
Sykes, a 10th year veteran, was technically an All-Star as a member of the Washington Mystics last season.
She wasn’t voted into the initial All-Star rosters, but was named a replacement for Caitlin Clark once Clark was ruled out of the game due to injury. Her absence on the initial ballot was heavily debated by media, fans and players alike, especially as her two rookie teammates, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen. were named to the game.
So has enough changed for Sykes that she deserves to be a primary candidate for her team?
Last year, her profile suffered greatly behind poor efficiency. Among the 23 players who averaged 15 points or more per game, she was in the bottom four in field goal percentage. While her 3-point percentage has continued to dip this season, her 2-point percentage is up nearly 10 percent compared to her final season in Washington, boosting her overall efficiency with it. More notably, her points per game sat at a solid but expected 15.4 with the Mystics. As a member of the Tempo, she’s boosted it to 20.7—third in the entire WNBA.
That kind of scoring feels like a golden ticket to All-Star weekend. It trumps any kind of efficiency concerns, as it does to a sub .500 team record. She’s also top 10 in steals-per-game, which has been one of the calling cards of her veteran career. While it’s worth mentioning, it’s still hard to believe that her defense will hold much weight in All-Star voting, especially when Toronto’s team defense has been unimpressive.
Sykes has been carrying Canada’s first WNBA team
Sykes excellence in the first year of the Tempo’s history is more than meaningful just for a potential All-Star appearance.
It validates her own abilities, which last season fluctuated between lead offensive engine as a member of struggling Mystics teams to bench spark plug for a Seattle Storm team that made real postseason noise. Success hasn’t followed Sykes everywhere, but it’s certainly showing it’s head in Toronto.
Expansion teams are lucky if they can find a “face of the franchise” in their first couple years, let alone their inaugural campaign. While they’ll undoubtedly be looking for a young cornerstone as their top priority, Sykes and teammate Marina Mabrey—who absolutely has her own argument for being an All-Star—are giving a city and a country something to root for. In many ways, that should be more validating than an All-Star accolade. The Tempo have sold out the Coca-Cola Coliseum in all seven of their home games thus far.
As the Tempo fight to get above .500, I believe there’s enough evidence that Sykes deserves to be the first All-Star in franchise history. As Cat Ariail noted on Friday, Sykes consistency and on/off numbers suggest that she’s been contributing to wins more than her teammate Mabrey, although there is a world in which both players make it to Chicago. In the past it’s been hard for sub-.500 teams to have two players named to the All-Star game, but after the 11-11 Mystics sent three players there last season, anything is possible.
Sykes has proved herself past efficiency debates and the politics of team records. If 20.7 points per game isn’t good enough to get to Chicago, then who knows what is…
