Jonquel Jones Completes the MVP Grand Slam as Record Crowd Packs WNBA All-Star

Jonquel Jones took over All-Star night in Chicago, and the WNBA got the party it deserved for its 30th season. Team Spoon beat Team Coop 129-122 on Saturday at the United Center in front of 19,783 fans, the largest crowd in All-Star Game history. The old record of 19,487 had stood since 2007. Nobody played defense, everybody had fun, and a few real pieces of history got made along the way. Jones Completes the MVP Grand Slam Jones was the story of the night. The New York Liberty center put up 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists with four threes, and she walked away with All-Star MVP honors. That makes her the first player in league history to win the regular season MVP (2021), Commissioner's Cup MVP (2023), Finals MVP (2024), and now All-Star MVP. No one else has the full set. It hit different for her too. Jones played this weekend after losing her aunt, and she got emotional during the trophy ceremony. "No matter what mood I'm in, basketball can pick me back up," she said afterward. Hard not to root for that. Clark Came Out Firing From the Parking Lot Caitlin Clark missed last year's All-Star Game in her home city of Indianapolis with a groin injury, so she made up for lost time fast. She scored 11 points in the first two and a half minutes, including logo threes from 33 and 37 feet. She finished with 17 points, five made threes, and five assists in the win. The whole game was a shootout. The two teams combined for 127 three-point attempts. Kelsey Mitchell led Team Coop with 28 points, and Marina Mabrey poured in all 23 of her points in a red-hot first half. Mabrey is the same player who matched the WNBA single-game scoring record with 53 points back in June, so nobody in the building was surprised. Malonga Throws Down and the Record Book Gets Busy The loudest moment of the night belonged to 20-year-old Seattle center Dominique Malonga. The 6-foot-6 rookie sensation caught a pass from Angel Reese and threw down a right-handed dunk in the first half, the first dunk in a WNBA All-Star Game since Sylvia Fowles in 2022. She finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Nneka Ogwumike quietly made history too, passing Maya Moore for the most career points in All-Star Game history. Add in A'ja Wilson accidentally blocking Reese at the rim and then apologizing mid-play, and this one had everything. SBA Takeaway The betting angle here is bigger than one exhibition. A record crowd in an NBA-sized arena, national ratings buzz, and multiple stars producing viral moments all point to a league that keeps growing its market footprint. Second-half WNBA totals have been creeping up all season, and games involving Clark, Mabrey, and Mitchell keep rewarding the over when the pace is right. Jones reminding everyone she's the most complete big in the game also matters for Liberty title futures, since New York's championship price still carries value at most books heading into the stretch run. As always, treat futures as informational context and shop your lines. Related Reading - WNBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago: New Format, Big Stars, and How to Bet It - Azzi Fudd Drops 30, Makes History, and Calls Out Steph Curry - Caitlin Clark Drops Historic 45-10 Game as Fever Stun Storm