Jonquel Jones scored 22 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and handed out eight assists on July 2, 2026, leading Caitlin Clark and Team Spoon to a 129-122 victory over Team Coop in the WNBA All-Star Game before a record crowd of 19,783 at the United Center in Chicago.
United Center Crowd and Historic Chicago Return
The league celebrated its 30th season by bringing its marquee midsummer showcase back to Chicago for the first time since 2022. Rather than returning to the smaller Wintrust Arena, the event filled the United Center to a record crowd of 19,783, offering a clear visual marker of the league’s surging attendance and cultural footprint.
On the floor, the game followed the modern All-Star blueprint: high-octane offense, minimal resistance, and a barrage from beyond the arc. The two rosters combined for 127 3-point attempts as Team Spoon placed eight different players into double-digit scoring figures. Team Coop countered with a game-high 28 points from Kelsey Mitchell and a flawless first-half shooting display from Marina Mabrey, who poured in all 23 of her points before intermission. Yet Team Spoon maintained control down the stretch to secure the 129-122 win.
Jones Takes MVP Honors as Career Milestones Fall
Jonquel Jones cemented her dominant evening by earning the game’s MVP honors. The 32-year-old New York Liberty center controlled the paint and facilitated the offense alongside her scoring output, anchoring a Team Spoon squad that needed every bit of her 22 points and 13 boards to fend off Team Coop.
The night also featured historic shifts in the record books. Nneka Ogwumike contributed 11 points for Team Spoon, a performance that allowed her to pass Maya Moore (119) for the most career points in All-Star Game history. Meanwhile, Seattle Storm center Dominique Malonga provided the game’s most memorable athletic highlight, running down the lane for a first-half dunk off a pass from Angel Reese that drew a roaring reaction from the Chicago crowd.
Caitlin Clark Returns and the Starters’ Ballot Discrepancies
Caitlin Clark made her triumphant return to the All-Star stage after missing last year’s event in Indianapolis due to a groin injury. The Indiana Fever guard wasted no time igniting the offense, connecting from 33 and 37 feet out to rack up 11 points within the first 2 1/2 minutes. She finished the night with 17 points—shooting 5 for 15 from beyond the arc—along with five assists.
Clark’s path to the starting lineup highlighted a fascinating disconnect between different voting blocs. While fans and media members placed Clark near the very top of their ballots among guards, Clark earned only the 11th-most votes from her fellow players. WNBA All-Star starters are determined by a weighted formula where fan voting accounts for 50%, while player and media panels account for 25% each.
That same peer skepticism touched other marquee names. Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell joined Clark as starters for the Fever, but Boston—who finished No. 1 in fan voting—slotted down to No. 8 among her peers. Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum experienced a similar drop, ranking No. 6 with fans but falling to No. 12 on player ballots.
A New Draft Format and Star-Studded Courtiside Presence
The exhibition introduced a structural shift this summer. Rather than relying on the top two fan vote-getters to serve as captains, the league tapped WNBA greats Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon to serve as honorary general managers and draft the teams from the pool of selected starters and reserves. Becky Hammon managed Cooper’s squad, while Cheryl Reeve directed Weatherspoon’s bench.
The preliminary selections saw Bueckers, Clark, and Boston clear the milestone of 1 million fan votes each. The frontcourt selections featured A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart making their eighth All-Star appearances, joined by Jessica Shepard, Natasha Howard, and Gabby Williams.
“It’s an honor to be an All-Star, even though I’ve had a few of them,” Stewart said. “Each one is really special, and I’m not taking it lightly.”
Breanna Stewart, via TribLive
Reserves Selection and the Unresolved Coach Dilemma
With the starting rosters and the exhibition contest now in the rearview, attention turns to how the remaining roster spots shake out. Head coaches across the league face the task of selecting the 12 reserves for the team pools, voting for three guards, five frontcourt players, and four flex selections regardless of conference affiliation, with the strict rule that coaches cannot vote for their own players.
Whether the sharp divide in player voting for starters will influence how coaches view fringe candidates remains an open question as the league finalizes its full roster depth.
