– Fan-Voting Closes on Thursday, July 12; All-Stars to Be Revealed by ESPN2 on Tuesday, July 17 –

– Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018 Set for Minneapolis on Saturday, July 28 Live on ABC –

NEW YORK, July 5, 2018 – Former WNBA MVPs Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx and Elena Delle Donne of the Washington Mystics are the leading vote-getters after the first fan returns of WNBA All-Star Voting 2018 presented by Verizon. The first 15 days of fan voting generated 37 percent more votes (489,583) than the same period in 2017 (357,882).

The 15th WNBA All-Star Game will take place on Saturday, July 28 at Target Center in Minneapolis. ABC will televise the game live at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT.

Under the revamped format for Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018, a pool of 22 All-Stars will be selected without regard for conference affiliation through voting by fans (40 percent of the vote), current WNBA players and head coaches (20 percent each), and a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters (20 percent). The two All-Stars, regardless of conference, who receive the highest overall vote totals will serve as team captains and draft their respective rosters from the remaining pool of 20 All-Stars.

Moore, the 2014 WNBA MVP and a starter in each of her five All-Star appearances, leads all players with 25,496 votes. Delle Donne, the 2015 MVP and a four-time All-Star selection, is second with 24,152 votes. Moore was the top vote-getter for the 2016 and 2014 All-Star Games. Delle Donne paced all players in 2015 and as a first-year player in 2013, when she became the first rookie in WNBA history to earn the most votes.

Moore and Delle Donne are followed in this year’s voting by two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks (21,136), 2009 MVP Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury (20,460), and 10-time All-Star Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm (20,362). Bird is tied with Tamika Catchings for the most All-Star selections in WNBA history.

Rounding out the top 10 vote-getters are 2016 WNBA Rookie of the Year Breanna Stewart (19,354) of the Storm, rookie standout A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces (18,768), reigning MVP Sylvia Fowles of the Lynx (17,843), three-time All-Star Skylar Diggins-Smith of the Dallas Wings (16,177), and 2016 MVP Nneka Ogwumike of the Sparks (16,103).

See below for the first fan returns of WNBA All-Star Voting 2018 presented by Verizon:

1) Maya Moore (MIN) 25,496
2) Elena Delle Donne (WAS) 24,152
3) Candace Parker (LA) 21,136
4) Diana Taurasi (PHX) 20,460
5) Sue Bird (SEA) 20,362
6) Breanna Stewart (SEA) 19,354
7) A’ja Wilson (LV) 18,768
8) Sylvia Fowles (MIN) 17,843
9) Skylar Diggins-Smith (DAL) 16,177
10) Nneka Ogwumike (LA) 16,103
11) Brittney Griner (PHX) 15,386
12) Seimone Augustus (MIN) 12,145
13) Lindsay Whalen (MIN) 9,889
14) Jewell Loyd (SEA) 9,818
15) Chiney Ogwumike (CON) 9,452
16) Chelsea Gray (LA) 9,403
17) Tina Charles (NY) 9,268
18) Rebekkah Brunson (MIN) 8,940
19) Liz Cambage (DAL) 8,680
20) Alana Beard (LA) 6,458
21) Natasha Howard (SEA) 6,315
22) DeWanna Bonner (PHX) 6,005
23) Angel McCoughtry (ATL) 5,672
24) Kayla McBride (LV) 5,524
25) Victoria Vivians (IND) 5,420
26) Kristi Toliver (WAS) 5,061
27) Kia Nurse (NY) 4,998
28) Odyssey Sims (LA) 4,772
29) Gabby Williams (CHI) 4,467
30) Allisha Gray (DAL) 4,235
31) Diamond DeShields (CHI) 4,186
32) Tiffany Hayes (ATL) 4,120
33) Candice Dupree (IND) 4,078
34) Jonquel Jones (CON) 3,514
35) Cecilia Zandalasini (MIN) 3,452
36) Alyssa Thomas (CON) 3,281
37) Allie Quigley (CHI) 3,233
38) Kelsey Plum (LV) 3,196
39) Jasmine Thomas (CON) 3,155
40) Kelsey Mitchell (IND) 3,134

After all votes are tallied, players will be ranked within each of the four voting groups – fan votes, player votes, head coach votes and media votes. Each player’s score will be calculated by averaging her weighted rank applied to the respective voting groups. The 22 players with the highest overall score will form the player pool for Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018.

On Tuesday, July 17, the 22 All-Stars will be announced. In the following days, the captains will draft their respective teams from the remaining 20 All-Stars to form two 11-player rosters. Details about the draft will be announced at a later date.

The All-Star rosters will be revealed on Thursday, July 19 during ESPN2’s telecast of a game between Washington and Dallas (8 p.m. ET tip-off).

The head coaches for Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018 will be the head coaches of the two teams with the best records through games on Friday, July 13. The head coach whose team has the best record will coach the All-Star team captained by the highest vote-getter.

On Friday, July 27, the All-Star team captains and head coaches will meet to determine starters for Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018. The starting lineups will be revealed that night on ESPN2 (7 p.m. ET) during a live telecast of the WNBA All-Star Welcome Reception in Minnesota.

WNBA All-Star Voting 2018 presented by Verizon tipped off on Tuesday, June 19 and will conclude on Thursday, July 12 at 11:59 p.m. ET. WNBA fans may submit one full ballot each day through WNBA.com (desktop or mobile) or the WNBA App (available on Android and iOS). Fans may also vote for up to 10 players per day on Twitter. All current WNBA players on team rosters are eligible to receive votes. Additional details regarding voting can be found at http://www.wnba.com/vote/howto/.

For ticket information about Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018, fans may visit lynx.wnba.com/allstar/.

Maya Moore, Elena Delle Donne Lead After First Returns of All-Star Voting

Game Preview: Tamika Catchings Makes Final Appearance Against Seattle Storm

Seattle Storm to Honor Three Seattle Women, Tamika Catchings During Inspiring Women Night presented by Russell Investments