Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Jul 25

WNBA Stages 2026 All-Star Game in Chicago at 8:30 p.m. ET as Team Spoon Eyes $70,000

Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Jul 25

WNBA Stages 2026 All-Star Game in Chicago at 8:30 p.m. ET as Team Spoon Eyes $70,000

Q: With Bueckers, Clark, Wilson, Stewart, and Ogwumike headlining, which storyline will define the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game most?

The defining storyline is the league’s generational handoff, with Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark now positioned at the center of the WNBA’s biggest showcase during its 30th-anniversary season. That theme cuts across everything in Chicago. Bueckers and Clark were the top two fan vote-getters, drawing more than 2 million votes combined, and their matchup gives the event its clearest narrative: the WNBA’s newest headline stars taking over the league’s marquee stage. The fact that they are joined by rookie starter Olivia Miles, only the ninth rookie ever to start an All-Star Game, reinforces that this is not just a celebration of the present but a preview of the next era. The veteran milestones still matter, especially A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart each reaching an eighth All-Star appearance and Nneka Ogwumike making her 11th to tie Diana Taurasi for second-most all time. Those are major markers of sustained excellence, and Wilson versus Stewart remains the game’s purest superstar matchup. But if one storyline is most likely to define the night, it is the collision of star power, youth and visibility around Bueckers and Clark. The WNBA has deliberately framed this weekend around history, fan engagement and expansion of its audience, from the new honorary-GM format with Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon to the larger United Center stage. In that setting, the game’s biggest meaning is less about the final score than about who now carries the league forward.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 25

Chicago’s United Center hosts the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday night, with Team Coop facing Team Spoon at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming via Fubo.
Team Spoon enters as a slight betting favorite behind Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson and Olivia Miles, while Team Coop counters with Paige Bueckers and Breanna Stewart in a game lined at 279.5 points.
ABC starts coverage with “WNBA Countdown” at 8 p.m. and a 10:30 p.m. postgame show, while Tyla headlines halftime one day after releasing her new album “A*POP.”
The exhibition also carries a local fundraising stake: the winning side directs a $70,000 donation to its designated Chicago-area girls’ sports nonprofit, while the loser sends $30,000.