Jonquel Jones lifted Team Spoon over Team Coop 129-122 in the WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday, then added the game's MVP to a season that already carried a rare place in WNBA history. The Liberty forward finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists before a record crowd of 19,783 in Chicago.
That made Jones the only player in history to be MVP of the league, the WNBA Finals, the Commissioner’s Cup and the All-Star Game. She said basketball has always been her escape and that she talked with her family before deciding to play on the same day as her aunt's memorial service.
Caitlin Clark's halftime plea
Caitlin Clark gave Team Spoon the first basket of the game off a steal and later asked at halftime whether the players could do a little more than just walk around. “I want to put a great example of what the game is, for the fans and young people that come to watch,” Clark said. “That’s really important. I take that seriously, so hopefully we did that in a decent manner.”
Clark finished with 17 points, 11 of them coming in the first five minutes. The second half did not turn into a grind; the score stayed close enough for the game to keep its pace, but Jones' late control from the middle of the floor gave Team Spoon the separation it needed.
Dominique Malonga's second-quarter dunk
The game's clearest flash point came midway through the second quarter, when Dominique Malonga dunked after a pass from Angel Reese. It was the first dunk in the WNBA All-Star Game since 2022, and it came in a game that had already drawn attention from fans packing the arena. Paige Bueckers summed up the play with a short line after the game: “She makes it look easy,” she said.
Malonga also became the youngest player to record a double-double in the event, finishing with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Her dunk, Clark's plea and Jones' response gave the game a sharper edge than the exhibition label usually suggests, even as the final margin held at seven points.
Team Coop's scoring load
Team Coop still had enough shot-making to keep pressure on the finish. Kelsey Mitchell led Team Coop with 28 points, Marina Mabrey scored 23 and had a 17-point first quarter, and Olivia Miles added 11 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Napheesa Collier's All-Star scoring record remains 36 points.
For readers tracking Jones rather than the box score, the practical takeaway is simple: the All-Star MVP race is no longer just about one explosive quarter or one highlight clip. Jones paired production with a rare historical sweep, while the game's biggest live moments came from a steal, a halftime challenge and a dunk that had not happened in this game since 2022. The only unresolved piece is whether Clark's halftime plea changed anything after the break; the scoreboard never answered that for her.
