There are a lot of valid strategies for voting for All-Stars, including voting for the best players, the most fun players, or whomever plays for your favorite team. For my vote and, more importantly, this article, I’m attempting to identify the six frontcourt players and four guards who have had the best seasons at the time of this writing. So Stefanie Dolson won’t be on my ballot, even though she would make the game infinitely more fun. 

I’m going to choose six frontcourt players and four guards (as per the rules) who have been awesome through the first five weeks of the season. I can’t wait to compare this list to the All-WNBA teams at the end of the season.

I found it fascinating that the WNBA website lists each player’s fantasy points on the ballot, along with points, rebounds, and assists. Fantasy points are a reasonable proxy for overall production, but I worry I sometimes fall into the trap of evaluating players by their fantasy value rather than their real-life value. That’s not the end of the world, but it's not really appropriate here, either. If I vote for Rhyne Howard it should be for her contributions to the Atlanta Dream, not her contributions to my fantasy team, insofar as they are different.

What I realized from completing this exercise is that there are going to be a lot of “All-Star snubs” this year. There are literally a dozen players that I believe have a reasonable case to be an All-Star starter who I could not find room for on my ballot. Just try to keep that in mind before you take to social media to lament how your favorite player got robbed.

Frontcourt

Napheesa Collier, Forward, Minnesota Lynx

Phee would be my MVP to this point in the season, though it is closer than I would have anticipated. Her numbers are quite comparable to A’Ja Wilson’s, but Collier has played two more games and been much more efficient. It also doesn’t hurt that the Lynx have the best record in the league and the Aces are eighth in the standings. Collier leads the league in points and is sixth in rebounds.

A’Ja Wilson, Center, Las Vegas Aces

It seems like Wilson was out forever but she only missed three games before returning for the Aces’ home loss to Seattle Friday. The three-time WNBA MVP could very well be on pace for her fourth award. Her per-game numbers are absurd. She ranks fourth, second, fourth and first in points, rebounds, steals and blocks per game. She is averaging 2.0 steals per game and 2.7 blocks. If she can maintain those averages, she would become just the second WNBA player ever to average at least 2.0 steals and 2.0 blocks in a season. That being said, I don’t think you can be the MVP when your team is below .500 in games you play.

Breanna Stewart, Forward, New York Liberty

Stewart has struggled from three this season but she is still second in the league in ppg and 14th in the league in true shooting percentage. She could actually be a darkhorse MVP candidate if she starts shooting like she has throughout her career, but even while shooting 22.2 percent on threes she has been awfully good for the Liberty.

Satou Sabally, Forward, Phoenix Mercury

I think it would be perfectly reasonable to have Stewart, Sabally and Thomas in any order. Sabally gets the edge over her teammate due to playing more games. Sabally has been well-known for her scoring, and she is leading the league in usage due in part to Kahleah Copper missing most of the season. I have been equally impressed with Sabally’s rebounding, as she has averaged 8.1 per game. Like Stewart, Sabally hasn’t yet shot the ball well from deep. She doesn’t have the same track record as Stewart but if Sabally’s shooting improves in the second half, she could make an All-WNBA team for the second time in her career.

Alyssa Thomas, Forward, Phoenix Mercury

Is Thomas the best player never to win an MVP award? That may be worth diving into in a future article, especially if Napheesa Collier wins MVP this season. Thomas is a three-time All-WNBA and five-time All-Defensive team selection. She has the most career triple-doubles, with 15 between the regular season and playoffs. Sabrina Ionescu is second with four triple-doubles. Thomas leads the league with 8.9 assists per game while averaging 14.4points and 7.2 rebounds per game. She is also anchoring the team with the fourth-best defensive rating in the league.

Nneka Ogwumike, Forward, Seattle Storm

I think there are seven forwards you could reasonably pick for this spot. I went with Ogwumike because her team is out to a surprising 8-5 start and she is basically the only post player on her team who has played well. Ezi Magbegor has struggled while rookie Dominque Malonga has struggled to earn significant playing time. Meanwhile, Ogwumike is averaging 20.1 points and 9.9 rebounds per 36 minutes.

Guards

Caitlin Clark, Guard, Indiana Fever

No guard has won WNBA MVP since Diana Taurasi in 2009. Caitlin Clark will almost certainly end that streak, though probably not this season. She barely reached my games-played threshold but she is averaging 41.7 fantasy points per game, nearly five more than any other guard. She is eighth in the league in usage and second in assists. She still commits way too many turnovers but that should change as she gains more experience in the league.

Sabrina Ionescu, Guard, New York Liberty

Ionescu and Caitlin Clark are fairly similar players, but it seems nearly impossible to compare them because their team contexts are so different. Ionescu has played five more games but Clark is averaging 2.2 more minutes per game. Clark has committed more than twice has many turnovers per game as Ionescu, but Ionescu plays with two other point guards and Breanna Stewart, while Clark has all of the ball-handling responsibilities in Indiana. I feel like I’m punishing Ionescu for playing on a better team but Clark is averaging 3.5 more assists per game, and that was just too much for me to ignore.

Allisha Gray, Guard, Atlanta Dream

I had to have at least one guard from the 9-4 Atlanta Dream. While it's not Rhyne Howard’s fault that Dream head coach Karl Smesko has her shooting too many threes, I gave the nod to Gray because she is so much more efficient than her teammate. Gray is averaging 20.2 ppg on 49.7 percent shooting from the field and 43.2 percent on threes. Gray is sixth in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio, and I believe she is a better defender than Howard as well.

Brittney Sykes, Guard, Washington Mystics

Much like the last frontcourt position, this spot came down to seven different players. I finally landed on Sykes as a nod to her carrying the Mystics to a surprising 5-7 record. Sykes has be considered the frontrunner for most-improved player. She is averaging 20.6 points per game, well above her previous career-high of 15.9. Her 4.8 assists per game are also a career high, and she is third in the league in usage. I thought she was miscast as a number one scoring option but she has more than proven up to the challenge. Sykes still leads the league in free throw attempts while shooting 81.0 percent from the line.