Published by LiveWire Sports Media
Chicago — July 25, 2026
The 2026 WNBA All-Star Game delivered on every front Saturday night at the United Center, as a record crowd watched Caitlin Clark’s Team Spoon outlast Marina Mabrey and Team Coop, 129-122, in a night that mixed history-making performances with a growing storyline around Commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s leadership.
Record Crowd, Record Season
A total of 19,783 fans packed the United Center, setting a new all-time attendance record for a WNBA All-Star Game — topping the previous mark of 19,487, which had stood since 2007. It was a sharp jump from last year’s 16,988 in Indianapolis, and a clear sign of how far the league has come since it last brought the All-Star Game to Chicago in 2022, when the event was held at the smaller Wintrust Arena.
Engelbert used her pregame news conference to frame the weekend as part of a broader breakout season. She noted the league has already surpassed 73 million unique viewers through 117 broadcasts this season — more than the entirety of last season’s record 63 million — and that 29 games have averaged over a million viewers so far, compared to just 11 for all of last season. Attendance leaguewide is up 16% year over year, with more than 2.2 million fans through games at the season’s halfway point. Calling it the league’s “largest, most immersive, and most accessible” All-Star Weekend yet, Engelbert said the growth reflects investments in both player and fan experience.
The Game: Team Spoon Wins a Shootout
Named for Liberty general manager Teresa Weatherspoon, Team Spoon jumped out to an early lead behind long-range shooting from Clark and never fully let go of it, despite a late push from Team Coop (named for Cynthia Cooper-Dyke) that cut the deficit to single digits. The final score, 129-122, capped a game with 127 combined three-point attempts and very little defense — exactly the kind of showcase All-Star weekend is built for.
Eight Team Spoon players scored in double figures. Clark finished with 17 points, four rebounds and five assists, while Allisha Gray added 19 points off the bench. Rookie Olivia Miles nearly posted a triple-double, finishing with 11 points, 12 rebounds and two assists shy of the mark — making her just the third rookie in All-Star Game history to record a double-double.
For Team Coop, Kelsey Mitchell led all scorers with 28 points, with Marina Mabrey adding 23 off the bench, Paige Bueckers contributing 12 points and seven assists, and Dominique Malonga posting a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double. At 20 years old, Malonga became the youngest player in WNBA history to record an All-Star Game double-double.
The Headline: Jonquel Jones Makes History
The biggest individual story of the night belonged to Liberty center Jonquel Jones, who came off the bench to post 22 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists — two assists shy of a triple-double — en route to All-Star Game MVP honors.
The performance made Jones the first player in WNBA history to win all four of the league’s marquee MVP awards: regular-season MVP (2021, with the Connecticut Sun), Commissioner’s Cup MVP (2023), WNBA Finals MVP (2024), and now All-Star Game MVP (2026). She’s also the first player to record double-doubles in four separate All-Star Games.
Jones dedicated the win to her aunt, Marilyn Anita Knowles, who died recently; the game fell on the day of her memorial. “My aunt passed away not too long ago, and today is actually her memorial. I got permission from my family to be here and to celebrate this moment,” Jones said afterward. “This one is for my auntie.”
Jones wasn’t the only player to make history Saturday. Seattle’s Nneka Ogwumike, entering the night second on the All-Star Game’s all-time scoring list behind Maya Moore, scored 11 points to move into first place with 127 career All-Star points.
The Other Story Line: Engelbert’s Leadership Under the Microscope
Even amid the celebration, the weekend doubled as a referendum on Engelbert’s leadership, a topic that has followed her for weeks. Asked to describe her relationship with the commissioner, four-time MVP A’ja Wilson gave a pointed but lighthearted answer, saying her main interaction with Engelbert comes when accepting trophies from her.
Engelbert acknowledged the criticism directly, telling reporters she plans to “institute more frequent communication” with players going forward — including texting them more regularly. It was a notable admission from a commissioner who is currently facing questions about whether her contract, which expires at the end of this year, will be renewed. WNBA players’ union president Nneka Ogwumike declined to say directly whether she believes Engelbert should stay on, saying only that the union will “rock with” whoever is in the role.
Engelbert also addressed player safety and online harassment during her availability, an issue that has intensified this season following high-profile incidents involving Caitlin Clark.
Takeaway
The 2026 All-Star Game captured a league in the middle of two stories happening at once: a business and viewership boom that’s setting records on almost every front, and a leadership credibility question that isn’t going away just because the arena was full. Jonquel Jones’ historic MVP performance and the record crowd will be the headline; whether Engelbert’s promised “more frequent communication” changes the tenor of that second story is one of the bigger threads to watch as the second half of the season begins.
Great Article Mr. Wire! Waiting To Hear If Cathy Actually Responds To Congress…Personally I Think Changes Need Made, and She Is A BIG ONE! Thanks For Bringing The Important Hightlights To Us!