The 2026 WNBA All-Star Game saw Team Spoon beat Team Coop 129-122 at the United Center in Chicago on Saturday. A total of 19,783 fans attended that game, breaking the previous record of 19,487 set all the way back in 2007.
It’s yet another sign of the WNBA’s continued growth, and they actually even managed to outdraw the NBA’s All-Star Game for the first time ever. It wasn’t just by a small margin either, as the NBA’s game at the Intuit Dome drew 15,973 fans.
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Now, it should be pointed out that the Intuit Dome’s capacity is 18,000. Even if that arena was jam-packed, the NBA was not going to match the WNBA’s number. It wasn’t particularly close to being packed, though.
In contrast, the United Center has a capacity of 20,917 for basketball games. Not a single Chicago Sky player was playing in this 2026 All-Star Game, but the WNBA still came a lot closer than the NBA in packing that arena.
Those in attendance got to witness New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones rack up 22 points (8-17 FG), 13 rebounds, and eight assists for Team Spoon to win MVP. Rookie sensation Olivia Miles had a double-double, too, as she put up 11 points (5-5 FG), 12 rebounds, eight assists, and two steals.
As for Caitlin Clark, she recorded 17 points (6-17 FG), four rebounds, five assists, and one steal. Clark was letting it fly from well beyond the arc (5-15 from three) and made a fair few of them.
Team Coop was led by Kelsey Mitchell, who finished with 28 points (11-19 FG), four rebounds, two assists, and five steals. They were within touching distance for much of the second half, but weren’t able to push through and get the win.
With this being the 30th WNBA season, the league had legends Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Witherspoon pick the teams. It’ll be interesting to see what they decide to do for 2027. We don’t even know yet where that game is going to be played.
As for the 2027 NBA All-Star Game, it will be held at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix. With a lot of criticism surrounding its premier exhibition game, the league has tried all sorts of things to make it more interesting. The 2026 edition saw three teams: USA Stars, USA Stripes, and Team World.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was the most-watched NBA All-Star Game since 2011, with an average of 8.8 million viewers. The USA Stars were the ones who emerged victorious that night, and Anthony Edwards was named MVP.
