all-star team

CHICAGO — Jonquel Jones had 22 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, helping Caitlin Clark and Team Spoon outlast Marina Mabrey and Team Coop 129-122 in the WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday night.

Dominique Malonga had a first-half dunk for Team Coop, but Team Spoon had eight players score in double figures in an All-Star Game that featured 127 three-point attempts and very little defense. Allisha Gray had 19 points for Team Spoon, and Clark finished with 17.

The WNBA celebrated its 30th season by holding its first All-Star Game in Chicago since 2022. This time, the marquee event was played in front of a record crowd of 19,783 at the United Center instead of the smaller Wintrust Arena in downtown Chicago, a sign of how much the league has grown.

Jones, a 32-year-old center for the New York Liberty, was named MVP. Nneka Ogwumike scored 11 points for Team Spoon while passing Maya Moore (119) for the most career points in All-Star Game history.

Kelsey Mitchell had 28 points for Team Coop, and Mabrey scored all of her 23 points during a red-hot first half. Malonga finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

WNBA greats Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon drafted the All-Star teams from players that were either voted as starters by fans, media and fellow players or chosen as reserves by the league’s coaches. Las Vegas’ Becky Hammon coached Cooper’s team, and Minnesota’s Cheryl Reeve was in charge of Weatherspoon’s squad.

Clark went 5 for 15 from beyond the arc and had five assists in her return to the All-Star game. The Indiana Fever guard missed last year’s event in Indianapolis because of a groin injury.

The 24-year-old Clark came out firing, connecting from 33 feet and 37 feet on her way to 11 points in the first 2 1/2 minutes. She buried another three early in the second quarter off a slick no-look pass from Minnesota Lynx guard Olivia Miles, the only rookie selected for the game.

Clark and Mabrey each put on an offensive show, but Malonga got the biggest cheer of the night. The 6-foot-6 center from the Seattle Storm ran down the lane, got a pass from Angel Reese and threw down a right-handed jam with 6:24 left in the first half.

Reese jumped up and down as Malonga finished the play, and the two exchanged a mid-air chest bump on their way back down the court.

It was the first dunk in a WNBA All-Star Game since Sylvia Fowles in 2022. Lisa Leslie (2005), Jones (2017), Brittney Griner (2019) also have accomplished the feat.

Leslie was on hand for the festivities, along with South Carolina coach and former WNBA guard Dawn Staley. Former NBA star Dwyane Wade also was courtside.

Cohen writes for the Associated Press.

CHICAGO — Bayou Barbie is back in Chicago. With her own Barbie, too.

Angel Reese is playing in her third WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday at the United Center. This time, she is representing Atlanta in her first season with the Dream after a messy split with the Chicago Sky.

“It’s so crazy, full circle,” Reese said, “I’m back here in Chicago, again, where it kind of all started. … Coming to Atlanta, I mean it’s been a dream come true, literally. It’s helped me in so many different ways.”

Reese, 24, is on “Team Coop” for this weekend’s showcase event, alongside Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart. Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and four-time MVP A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces headline “Team Spoon.”

WNBA greats Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon drafted the All-Star teams from players who were either voted as starters by fans, media and fellow players or chosen as reserves by the league’s coaches. Las Vegas’ Becky Hammon is coaching Cooper’s team, and Minnesota’s Cheryl Reeve is in charge of Weatherspoon’s squad.

“Honestly I’m just really happy to be here and be surrounded by so many amazing women and All-Stars and Hall of Famers and people that I’ve looked up to my entire life,” Bueckers said. “I never want to take these moments for granted and just really soak it up and enjoy building relationships with people.”

All-Stars Angel Reese, left, and Paige Buekers, right, joke around before practice at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Friday.

(Paul Beaty / Associated Press)

Minnesota guard Olivia Miles, part of “Team Spoon,” is the only rookie picked for the All-Star Game in the WNBA’s 30th season. The No. 2 pick in this year’s draft is averaging 19.3 points and 5.9 assists in 26 games for the Lynx.

“It’s definitely weird being the only rookie, but I know I belong and I’m happy to be here,” Miles said. “It’s an honor. Definitely grateful, and, yeah, just soaking it all in.”

Reese starred at LSU before she was selected by Chicago with the No. 7 pick in the 2024 draft. The 6-foot-4 forward earned the nickname “Bayou Barbie” while helping the Tigers win the 2023 national championship.

Fast forward to Friday, when Mattel unveiled a Reese Barbie doll with a pink Angel No. 5 jersey and special Reebok basketball shoes.

“I remember, I think it’s been three years now, since the Bayou Barbie came about when I was in Baton Rouge, and I used to put Barbie stuff on merch and stuff, and I wasn’t really supposed to,” Reese said. “So I told them I really wanted to have a Barbie doll one day, and to have Barbie is, like, you got to be iconic.”

Reese averaged 14.1 points and 12.9 rebounds over two seasons with Chicago. But the Sky won just 23 games in during that time.

Reese was critical of Chicago’s play at the end of last season. She apologized to the team for her comments and was suspended for the first half of a game against Las Vegas.

She was shipped off to her new home in April, traded to the Dream for two first-round draft picks.

“The double-doubles, they don’t matter unless we’re winning,” Reese said. “So I’m just really happy to be with Atlanta. They have welcomed me with open arms. It feels like a really safe place for me. It’s the safest I’ve ever felt, the most loved I’ve ever felt. And I’m really happy to be with them.”

Atlanta is 16-10 at the break, and Chicago has a 9-18 record. Reese is one of three All-Stars from the Dream, joining Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray.

While Reese is suiting up for “Team Coop,” Howard and Gray are playing for “Team Spoon.” Weatherspoon coached Chicago during Reese’s rookie year.

“I love her. Like you see her, she’s so positive,” Reese said of Weatherspoon. “She comes in every day and just is always just happy. And you just want somebody in your life like that. And she’s a legend. She’s a legend of the game. She’s done a lot of amazing things that I want to do as well.”