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CHICAGO — Caitlin Clark tried. She really did. The Indiana Fever star scored the first bucket off Saturday’s WNBA All-Star Game off a steal. An actual, real-life display of extra effort. And Clark didn’t let up, darting around the backcourt like a pest as the opposition brought the ball up the United Center floor, not doing too much as much as trying to do something.She even made a plea before the teams returned to the locker room at halftime, telling ESPN’s Holly Rowe that the fans paid a lot of money to get in the building, and maybe all the players could do a little more than just walk around. A bit of a won’t-somebody-think-of-the-children request, made with the best intention.
And then, in the third quarter, after that clarion call? The most interesting thing to happen on the court was Clark stopping by courtside seats to dap up actor Jason Sudeikis’ daughter.
Alas, another All-Star exhibition came and went as just that: A facsimile of real basketball, an exercise in fun and camaraderie, with a dash of moment-making and leg pulling along the way. Team Spoon held on for a 129-122 victory over Team Coop before a WNBA All-Star Game record crowd of 19,783. So it goes. The problem of non-competitive midseason spectacles lives on for another group to try to solve.
New York Liberty forward Jonquel Jones led Team Spoon with 22 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, taking home MVP honors and making her the only player in history to be MVP of the league, the WNBA Finals, the Commissioner’s Cup and the All-Star Game. Jones dedicated the night to her recently deceased aunt, whose memorial service was Saturday.
“This one is for my auntie,” Jones said while accepting the award.
Clark added 17 points — 11 of which she scored in the first five minutes — and Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles posted an 11-point, 12-rebound, eight-assist effort. The Indiana Fever’s Kelsey Mitchell led Team Coop with 28 points — so at least Indiana fans could be rapt start to finish — and Toronto Tempo guard Marina Mabrey added 23 points in her first All-Star appearance.
If there was any moment that might linger in perpetuity, it occurred midway through the second quarter: Dominique Malonga sprinted down the floor in transition, Angel Reese found her with a pass from the wing and the 6-foot-6 Malonga rose for a one-handed dunk that created some welcome delirium.
It was the fifth dunk in WNBA All-Star Game history, and the first since 2022. Malonga became the youngest player to record a double-double (12 points, 13 rebounds) in the event.
The first half indicated how this would go: The teams combined for 145 points and shot a combined 71 3-pointers before the break.
The general ennui continued, with Jackie Young and Paige Bueckers getting shots up during replay reviews and timeouts in the third quarter. Before a fourth quarter that might have seen the intensity ramp up, there was Courtney Williams, dancing on the court, a turn of events that was hilarious and a sure sign that things weren’t about to get overserious.
At the end, commissioner Cathy Engelbert took the floor to hand over the MVP award, was drowned out in a wave of boos, and everyone left to get on with the rest of the season. The WNBA’s players have put in exhausting effort to affect meaningful change within their league over the past couple of seasons.
Fixing All-Star Games, one presumes, can be someone else’s problem.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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