The 2026 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game is beginning to take its final shape, and the reserve list announced on July 7 gives the selection process a clearer edge. The 12 reserves are not the entire story — the 10 starters were already known — but they do finalize most of the 22-player pool that will feed a showcase game in Chicago on Saturday, July 25.
The headline is Nneka Ogwumike, whose 11th All-Star selection ties Diana Taurasi for second-most in WNBA history behind only Sue Bird’s 13. In a league that keeps refreshing itself through young talent and new storylines, Ogwumike remains one of the constants. That matters because All-Star selections are not only about current production; they also reflect sustained value, and few players have offered that for as long.
The reserve group is also notable for its mix of established names and first-timers. The league selected three guards, five frontcourt players and four players at either position, giving Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon a roster pool with enough balance to make the drafting stage interesting. The All-Stars will be divided into teams on Friday, July 10, when the two best records determine the head coaches.
Among the first-time selections are Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen and Dominique Malonga. Citron’s rise is especially easy to explain. After being the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, she made the WNBA All-Rookie Team last season and followed that by producing 18.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg and 3.5 apg. Those numbers do not just justify the nod; they show why her reputation moved quickly from promising to unavoidable.
Elsewhere, the reserve list includes Jonquel Jones, Angel Reese, Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard, Courtney Williams, Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum and Marina Mabrey. That is a strong sign that the league’s current All-Star conversation is not limited to one archetype. It includes scorers, creators and versatile frontcourt players, and it gives the July 25 game enough star power to match the stage at United Center in Chicago.
There is still a small but important wrinkle here: the starters had already been announced, which means the reserve list is best read as the last major piece of the puzzle rather than the whole picture. But that does not make it secondary. In a 30th season celebration, the reserve selections help define not just who gets to play, but how the league wants this moment to be remembered.
For Ogwumike, the milestone is the cleanest headline. For the league, the larger takeaway is that the All-Star pool now has a recognizable blend of legacy, production and first-year arrival. That is usually how a good All-Star group looks: not just famous, but representative of where the game is right now.
