Sparks’ Gray an All-Star for third time
The guard is voted into the starting lineup for the July 27 game in Las Vegas.
Sparks guard Chelsea Gray was selected to play in her third consecutive WNBA All-Star game, the league announced Thursday. Gray was voted into the starting lineup for the July 27 game in Las Vegas.
Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne will be one of the captains who will choose a team. Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson will be the other captain.
Sparks forward Candace Parker was a captain last year and her squad defeated the team selected by Delle Donne, who was the leading vote-getter this summer.
Gray and the other votegetters in the top 10 will be in the pool of starters selected by the captains. The other guards are Jewell Loyd of Seattle, Kayla McBride of Las Vegas and Kia Nurse of New York.
The frontcourt starters will be Las Vegas center Liz Cambage, Phoenix center Brittney Griner, Seattle forward Natasha Howard and Connecticut forward Jonquel Jones.
Fans accounted for 50% of the voting, with media and players each making up 25%. Reserves will be announced Monday.
Gray recorded the eighth triple-double in WNBA history on Sunday in a 98-81 victory over the Mystics when she had 13 points, a careerhigh 13 assists and a careerhigh 10 rebounds.
Gray, who had a careerhigh 29 points earlier this season, leads the league in freethrow shooting at 96.3% and is averaging 13.3 points, 5.4 assists and 3.8 rebounds.
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The Sparks (7-7) return to play Friday against the Indiana Fever (6-10) in the second game of a three-game trip, but Parker is questionable because of sprained right ankle. She was injured early in a 74-62 loss to the Wings in Dallas on Tuesday, when the Sparks had a three-game winning streak broken. Guard Alexis Jones (knee) and center Maria Vadeeva (knee) will not play. Vadeeva was recently injured while playing with Russia in the EuroBasket tournament. The Sparks said she’s being evaluated by medical staff and is out indefinitely.