The head coach of the Atlanta Dream, Karl Smesko, has responded to the fact that none of the Dream players were selected as starters for the WNBA All-Star Game. He had a few Atlanta players in mind that should've made the list.

Smesko found himself in a contrasting position compared to coaches celebrating their players' selection as All-Star Game starters. When asked by reporter Emmanuel Glaze about the Dream not having any starters for the All-Star Game, Smesko had a few words to say.

"It's really disappointing," Smesko said. "We had three players who were so close to making it, and I felt deserving of being starters by the merit of the play. Now, the voting is half the fans, and we didn't get as much fan voting as we would like, and that kind of put us in a tough position to get anybody as a starter."

Star Angel Reese and veteran guards Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray are the top three scorers of the team, averaging 14.8, 18.6, and 18.4 points per game, respectively. While Howard leads the league in steals with 2.5 per game, Reese leads the league in rebounds with 11.6.

"As a coach, you have to vote in three of our players because they are three of the top 10 players in the league," he added. "And then you're going to have to put a fourth in, all from the same team, and you know, coaches like to spread things around a little bit. So, I'm just hoping that all of our players who deserve to be on the All-Star team end up making it."

The fourth player that Smesko talked about was Jordin Canada, who has been averaging 11.5 points, seven assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game. Let us look at how the Dream players performed in the All-Star voting.

No players from the Atlanta Dream as starters of the All-Star Game

The voting for the All-Star Game was divided into three categories: fan voting, media voting, and player voting. Fan voting held the most weight at 50 percent. Meanwhile, the remaining two categories each accounted for 25 percent of the total weight.

If we look at the fans' vote, Reese ranked sixth, Gray ranked seventh, and Howard ranked ninth, according to the WNBA official website.

Then, in the media and players' voting lines, Reese ranked sixth in both. Howard ranked second in players' voting and fourth in media voting. Gray ranked sixth in players' voting and eighth in media voting.

Reese reacted to the voting, saying she expected her name not to be there, but was more upset for Howard and Gray.

"I expect to be disrespected," Reese said, per the Athletic. "For those two, though, I think they work so hard, and they put a lot of work in, and the way that they’re guarded every game and they (have to) adjust. The reason why we’re where we are is because of those two."

The Dream currently stand fourth in the league standings and have a record of 12-8. While Smesko and Reese are disappointed that no Atlanta players were selected as starters, they will look forward to the 12 reserve spots that will be announced on Tuesday, July 7.

The All-Star Game will take place on Saturday, July 25, at United Center in Chicago, at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Did Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, or Angel Reese get snubbed, or did the voters get it right? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Dhruv Singh

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore