CHICAGO — What a difference a year makes.
Last year, there was a bit of understandable tension hanging over All-Star festivities as negotiations toward a new collective bargaining agreement were underway — though progress wasn’t being made at a speed anyone was comfortable with.
Fast forward to this year, and everything felt lighter. Celebratory. Fun.
The actual All-Star Game was a free-flowing one, filled with highlights, bouts of gamesmanship, and a ton of buckets. It was also historic: 19,783 fans were in attendance, setting an All-Star Game record.
Team Spoon came away with the victory, defeating Team Coop 129-122 in a wire-to-wire effort. Here are some of the biggest takeaways from Saturday night’s game.
Jonquel Jones is a winner
Regular-season MVP in 2021. Commissioner’s Cup MVP in 2023. Finals MVP in 2024. And after racking up 22-13-8 off the bench in Saturday night’s win, you can add a 2026 All-Star game MVP to the resume. She’s now the only player in WNBA history to go 4-for-4 like this.
You got the usual blend from Jones: pick-and-pop 3s, paint baskets after rolls, closeout attacks, initiating the occasional ball screen and dirty work on the offensive glass. A lot of her assists came within the flow of what constitutes as All-Star offense, but it was still a bit startling that she came so close to a triple-double in this one.
