Team Spoon beat Team Coop 129-122 at the United Center on Saturday night, in a 2026 WNBA All-Star Game that did what these games are supposed to do and put up 251 combined points doing it.
Jonquel Jones was the difference and the MVP, finishing with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists — one rebound short of a triple-double in an exhibition, which is a harder thing to do than it sounds when nobody is boxing out.
The franchise first
For Golden State, the result mattered less than the fact of the night.
Gabby Williams became the first player in Valkyries history to start a WNBA All-Star Game — her first All-Star start, and her second selection overall. Cynthia Cooper drafted her to Team Coop, where she started alongside Paige Bueckers, Kelsey Mitchell, Breanna Stewart and Natasha Howard.
That is respectable company for a player on an expansion roster, and she earned it on the season she is having: a career-best 15.0 points per game while shooting a career-high 35.6 percent from three on more than five attempts a game. The volume is the part worth noticing — Williams has spent most of her career known for defense and transition play rather than perimeter shooting, and taking five threes a night at that clip is a different player than the one who came into the league.
How the rest of it looked
The teams were assembled by Hall of Fame general managers — Cooper for Team Coop, Teresa Weatherspoon for Team Spoon — with Becky Hammon coaching Coop and Cheryl Reeve coaching Spoon.
Bueckers led Team Coop, in the sort of All-Star showcase that has become routine for her quickly. The scoreline tells you roughly how much defense was played, which is the correct amount for a July exhibition in front of a Chicago crowd that turned out in numbers the league would not have drawn for this event a decade ago.
One note on what is circulating
There is a clip going around involving Williams, her France teammate Marine Johannès, and Johannès's signature one-legged three-pointer, with Williams reportedly remarking that the shot is much harder than it looks.
We have not been able to confirm the specifics — when it was filmed, or whether Williams attempted the shot during Saturday's game itself. It is a fun moment either way, and we would rather describe it accurately than quickly. If a verified version surfaces, we will update.
