By Jordan Morey

There’s still time to vote your Indiana Fever players into the 2023 WNBA All-Star Game. The Fever have a trio of well-deserving nominees, including rookie phenom Aliyah Boston, veteran guard Kesley Mitchell and double-double machine NaLyssa Smith.

This year’s All-Star game will be played in Las Vegas at the Michelob Ultra Arena, home of the defending champion Las Vegas Aces, on July 15 at 8:30 p.m. ET and air on ABC.

Fan voting makes up 50 percent of All-Star consideration while player and media voting accounts for 25 percent each.

Voting for the All-Star game closes on Wednesday at 11:59 pm ET, and fans are allowed to vote once daily at vote.wnba.com, on the WNBA App, or by commenting under an official voting post coming from the WNBA Instagram account or 12 team’s accounts with a hashtag of a WNBA player’s first and last name (#FirstNameLastName) or Instagram handle. On Wednesday, the third “2-for-1 Day” will occur, with fan votes counting twice.

2023 WNBA All-Star Voting: Vote Today for Boston, Mitchell, and Smith »

After all votes are tallied, players will be ranked by position (guard and frontcourt) within each of the three voting groups. The four guards and six frontcourt players with the best score will be named as starters, with fan voting serving as tiebreakers.

All three of Boston, Mitchell, and Smith have put together compelling cases for All-Star selection.

Aliyah Boston, frontcourt
Key stats: 29.1 MPG, 16.0 PPG, 7.7 RPG (3.1 OREB), 2.1 APG, 1.5 BPG, 66.4% FG, 50% 3PT, 76.7 FT, three double-doubles.

When the Fever drafted Boston with the No. 1 overall pick in April, General Manager Lin Dunn and head coach Christie Sides both shared how the University of South Carolina product could lift the franchise back to winning ways.

If the first half of her rookie season is any indication, Boston’s well on her way to becoming the player the Fever had hoped for – and fans across the globe have taken notice.

The first round of voting on June 13 showed Boston had 23,594 votes, good for the fourth-most of any player in the WNBA. She trailed just Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson (35,968), the New York Liberty’s Breanna Steart (32,926) and the Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner (28,387).

Thus far this season, Boston leads all rookies in points, rebounds and blocks, among other stats.

Boston, who has already broken several Fever and WNBA rookie records, hasn’t missed a game and leads the entire league field goal percentage while ranking 19th in scoring average, 14th in rebounds per game and seventh in blocks.

While she’s had several memorable games, Boston’s top performance so far was against the Washington Mystics on June 13 when she led the Fever in points (23), rebounds (14) and assists (six). According to ESPN Stats & Info, Boston was the youngest player in WNBA history and the first player in Fever history with 20 points on 75 percent shooting, 10 rebounds and five assists.

“She’s incredible. She’s just special,” Sides said of Boston.

Thanks in part to Boston’s imposing authority around the rim, paired with Smith’s dominance on the boards, the Fever as a team rank third in the WNBA in rebounds per game as well as field goal percentage.

“I’m just learning and experiencing and trying to be a great teammate,” Boston said.

Boston has undoubtedly earned herself a spot in the All-Star game and should be considered the favorite to be named Rookie of the Year by the season’s end. Just Catchings (2002) has earned the honor of Rookie of the Year in Fever history.

“(Boston) just keeps getting better every game,” Sides said. “She just keeps doing something different every game that puts us in a good position to win.”

Kelsey Mitchell, guard
Key stats: 33.5 MPG, 17.5 PPG, 2.5 APG, 1.6 RPG, 1.0 SPG, 42.5% FG, 37.7% 3 PT FG, 85.7% FT

In her fifth year, Kelsey Mitchell has continued to prove she’s one of the preeminent scorers in the WNBA. This season, Mitchell again leads the Fever in scoring and is ranked 13th in the league at 17.5 points per game and fourth in 3-pointers made.

Against the Mystics on June 13, Mitchell moved into second place on Indiana’s all-time scoring list, passing Katie Douglas (2,564); she now trails just Tamika Catchings (7,380 points) in franchise history.

But Mitchell doesn’t simply put up big numbers, she comes up with clutch plays. Most notably her step-back, last-second jumper to give the Fever a 92-90 win over the Chicago Sky on Thursday.

In all 11 games this season, Mitchell has recorded at least 15 points eight times and 20 or more four times.

“She definitely has the ‘it,’” Sides said. “There’s just players that have ice in their veins. They think they’re going to make it every time. That’s who she is.”

On and off the court, Mitchell is helping lead the Fever. Mitchell already has one major honor this season, as she was the recipient of the WNBA’s Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award.

When the first round of votes came back, Mitchell (6,415) had the 24th most votes of all players and ninth-most votes among all guards.

NaLyssa Smith, frontcourt

Key stats: 28.8 MPG, 14.1 PPG, 9.5 RPG (7.3 DREB), 1.5 APG, 43.1% FT, 76.2% FT.

Before the 2023 season tipped, there were signs Smith was in for a special sophomore year.

In the Athletes Unlimited season finale this past March, Smith dropped 50 points to clinch the individual championship in the offseason league where players changed teams weely.

That momentum has spilled into her second season with the Fever.

Following her Fever rookie season where she made the All-Rookie Team, the No. 2 pick from the 2022 draft has put up career numbers.

This season, Smith has recorded five double-doubles in 11 games and ranks fifth in rebounds per game among all players. She has scored in double figures in 10 of 11 games played and accomplished 12 or more rebounds three times, including 15 against the Connecticut Sun.

While Smith has dazzled on countless occasions, her top performance came against the Mercury on June 11 when she scored a career-high 29 points on 11-for-19 shooting while pulling down 11 rebounds and dishing out four assists.

“I think it’s just the will to win,” Smith said of her improved play.

In the first round of voting, Smith had the 25th most votes (5,951) which was 13th of all front court players.

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