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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.
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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.
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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.
Team Spoon center Jonquel Jones (35) hugs guard Caitlin Clark (22) with the WNBA All-Star MVP trophy at the United Center. (Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images)
Jones shined on the floor, then moved me off the floor with the vulnerability she displayed during the postgame press conference. She dedicated her MVP award to her aunt, who recently passed away. Before sharing that, she was moved to tears while clarifying comments she made about the 2024 WNBA Finals on a live stream over the weekend.
It served as a reminder that, as incredible as she is as a basketball player, she's still a human being first. We ultimately don't know what (or how much) players are carrying at any given time; there's always room for a little grace.
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The 3-pointer reigns supreme
We'll start here: of the 225 shot attempts taken, 127 of them (56.4%) came from beyond the arc.
Team Spoon's Caitlin Clark , back in the All-Star fold after missing last year's game due to injury, got the party started with a trio of long-range bombs en route to an 11-point first quarter. Team Coop's Marina Mabrey came off the bench and drilled five 3s of her own, dropping 17 points in the opening frame.
Allisha Gray (5-of-9) bombed away from deep, particularly in transition. Jones made four (out of 11). Kelsey Mitchell drained five of her own, including some difficult looks in the fourth quarter as Team Coop attempted to make a late comeback.
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The 3-point revolution hasn't quite hit the same heights in the W as it has in the NBA, but it's certainly trending that way. A point my Dunker Spot co-host Steve Jones always hits during All-Star time is that the prevalence (and proficiency) of 3-point shooting is why All-Star Games can get a bit wonky in terms of competitiveness. A hot streak from one team paired with a cold streak from the other can put a game juuust out of reach, making it less likely that we get the competitive run we're used to in fourth quarters.
We love gamesmanship
Among the coolest moments in the game for me, in no particular order:
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Gabby Williams taking and making a one-legged 3 early in the first quarter, a likely nod to the All-Star in her life .
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Rhyne Howard committing a foul in the backcourt to stop a transition opportunity (and thank goodness the refs didn't call a transition take foul).
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To open the second quarter, a back-screen play drawn up to get Dominique Malonga a lob (she failed to convert).
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An actual coaches challenge early in the third quarter from Team Spoon; it was unsuccessful, with that announcement being met with a hearty "thumbs down" from A'ja Wilson.
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A'ja hitting her near-patented forearm tap after a multiple-offensive rebound sequence that eventually ended in a put-back layup (with no free throws).
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Breanna Stewart not-so-sarcastically signaling for a double-dribble call during an Olivia Miles drive (and eventual bucket).
Nobody will ever confuse an All-Star Game with a playoff contest, so it's always a bit cool when you either get flashes of "real" hoops, ref-gotta-call-that competitiveness, or some subtle nods like the Williams 3.
The league is in great hands
Miles nearly dropped a triple-double (11 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals) in her All-Star game debut, and did so without missing a shot. Malonga (12 points, 13 rebounds) not only dunked, but became the youngest player in All-Star history to log a double-double.
We do have to give it up for the dunk, though:
We got flashbulb moments from Paige Bueckers , Clark, Howard, and Kiki Iriafen . Sonia Citron didn't miss a shot in her 11 reserve minutes. It was a quieter night for Angel Reese , though:
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She might've given us the funniest moment of the night with her interaction with A'ja Wilson.
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She still grabbed five boards and racked up four assists, with Team Coop outscoring Team Spoon by 11 points in Reese's nine minutes of action.
There is so much young talent in the league to be excited about. Aside from treating the fans, showcasing the next wave of superstar talent is kiiinda what this format is for.
Other takeaways
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I hope Aliyah Boston is OK! After playing the opening 4:57 of the game, we didn't see her on the court again. Nneka Ogwumike opened the second half with the other Team Spoon starters (Miles, Clark, Wilson, Jessica Shepard ) with the MVP Jones soaking up a bunch of the second-half big minutes.
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I kinda felt bad for Tyla, this year's halftime performance. I'll just kindly say the crowd reaction didn't match how well the actual performance went. I'm curious to see who gets the nod next year.
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The actual funniest moment of the night came during a timeout. If you've been to a sporting event, specifically a basketball game, there always comes a moment where the arena MC tries to hype the crowd up. It may be a video on screen, a noise meter of some sort, a call-and-response bit, you get it. For this particular break, we got "If you're single, make some noise" and "If you're in a situationship, make some noise." An A+ for creativity, but I don't know if we should run that one back.
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I feel like A'ja is obligated — yes, obligated! — to warn us ahead of time if she's going to participate in a basketball game without the leg sleeve. You can't just surprise us like this!
