ASG GMs draft, trade jabs: 'Can you score enough?'...
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- Cynthia Cooper won the coin flip and used the No. 1 pick on Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers, the leading fan vote-getter, saying "She is a leader on the floor"
- Caitlin Clark (Indiana Fever) finished second in fan voting and was placed on Team Spoon, where Teresa Weatherspoon used her first non-Bueckers pick on four-time MVP A'ja Wilson (Aces)
- Team Spoon's full starting five: A'ja Wilson, Olivia Miles (Lynx), Aliyah Boston (Fever), Jessica Shepard (Wings), plus bench of Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, Jonquel Jones, Courtney Williams, Kiki Iriafen and Nneka Ogwumike
- Team Coop's starters: Breanna Stewart, Kelsey Mitchell (Fever), Natasha Howard (Lynx), Gabby Williams (Valkyries), with reserves including Angel Reese, Marina Mabrey, Dominique Malonga, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young and Sonia Citron
- The All-Star Game tips off July 25 at United Center (Chicago Bulls' home), with the WNBA Shooting Stars event and 3-point contest on July 24 at Wintrust Arena, home of the Chicago Sky
- Becky Hammon (Aces) was named head coach of Team Coop and Cheryl Reeve (Lynx) will lead Team Spoon
- The teams compete for a $100,000 prize pool to benefit Chicago-based organizations focused on keeping girls in sports, with the winning team's paired charity receiving $70,000
- The 2026 game features just one rookie (Olivia Miles) and three first-time All-Stars in Shepard, Malonga and Mabrey
Why it matters: Cooper's "can you score enough?" jab crystallized the central draft tension: her scoring-first philosophy versus Weatherspoon's claim of a "well-balanced" roster. With $100,000 earmarked for Chicago girls-in-sports nonprofits, the league is using its showcase to fund local youth athletics — a concrete civic tie-in beyond the on-court product.
