RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesJonquel Jones celebrates with Team Spoon teammate Caitlin Clark after their win in Saturday night’s WNBA All-Star Game in Chicago. Photograph: Sage Zipeto/Getty Images
If your perceptions of what the WNBA is like in 2026 are largely shaped by narratives derived from and driven by social media, the scene in Chicago at WNBA All-Star Weekend would have proved a surprise.
The mood Friday morning at the Barack Obama Presidential Center was downright ebullient. And, sure, to a degree that was because No 44 himself clocked in for about an hour of practice. The former president briefly showed off some moves in his jeans and loafers after he was surprise-attacked by the New York Liberty’s Jonquel Jones.
But there was something else in the air: everyone was just excited to be there. All-Star provides a brief respite from the slog of the regular season, a couple of days of either total rest for those who aren’t playing or the chance to spend time alongside friends they don’t usually play with for those who are.
Last year’s All-Star Game was held in Indianapolis under a cloud of tension. The players were preparing for what would prove to be a months-long period spent negotiating terms for a new collective bargaining agreement. Fans, who often get their WNBA news from social media, made their support for the athletes known; the game ended with chants of “Pay them!” ringing out in Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
A year later, the CBA is done and players are getting paid, but the weeks preceding this summer’s All-Star Game were filled with no shortage of headaches and problems. An offseason taskforce designed to improve foul calls and officiating resulted in changes in policy and practice that are still being rolled out; incidences of hard fouls , such as when Alyssa Thomas accidentally pushed her fist into Caitlin Clark’s throat during a game last month, were handled through the proper league channels but were inflamed online, by people genuinely invested in the league but also those who just want to stir up problems.
And that’s not all: the week before the All-Star Game saw two incidents that went against the spirit of the league’s “No Space For Hate” platform , which was unveiled last year and “reflects the WNBA’s unwavering commitment to protecting its players and upholding the values of inclusion, respect, and unity”. The Toronto Tempo’s head coach Sandy Brondello was caught on a hot mic calling Atlanta Dream star Angel Reese a “protected species”, and Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham brazenly used transphobic language in an apparent attempt to defend herself against the nickname “Maga Barbie”.
Brondello issued a heartfelt apology to Reese and was suspended for one game. Cunningham told ESPN she wants to “protect young girls in the locker room” from “biological men” – a phrase that GLAAD has identified as a hate term – and then doubled down on her stance.
Coverage of those events (and more) appeared to have reached even Obama himself. “You’re great. You’re fantastic. Don’t let all this nonsense get you down,” Obama told Clark. “To have that much immersion in nonsense ... don’t lose that joy. The game’s the game, and you’re a hooper. You’re always hooping, and you’re on a nice little run right now.”
(“My hands were getting a little bit sweaty, and I don’t really get nervous for anybody,” Clark told reporters after the interaction. “But that’s somebody like, just his presence commands a room.”)
In other words, this year’s All-Star Game could have been messy. Instead, it was one of the best weekends in league history, and ended with a historic attendance (19,783 people showed up for the game at United Center) and a series of announcements from Commissioner Cathy Engelbert – including a replay center that should make for stronger officiating next season – that indicate things are only getting better for the WNBA.
Throughout the weekend, players and coaches embraced the success of the league while acknowledging there’s room for more. Speaking to reporters Friday, Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams emphasized staying positive when she can. “I lean into the love, for sure. I feel in the W, as opposed to men’s sports, there’s more pressure to be online,” she said. “I feel it just depends on who you are. If you like to be on the ’net, be on the ’net. If you don’t like the ’net, get off the ’net.”
Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon echoed that sentiment. When it comes to how stories about the WNBA reverberate through the media and social media, Hammon said: “I think the biggest mistake is maybe the people that talk the most know the least on some of these topics. They don’t have a good pulse on our league at times.”
“Honestly, I don’t really pay attention so much to what everybody else is saying either. I’m busy trying to win games … and put a great product on the court,” she continued. “And, hopefully, as many people as possible want to come to see great basketball.”
Not everyone in the league is as offline. The average age of WNBA players is approximately 27; adults in their 20s have nearly universal internet use . The StudBudz – the duo of Williams and Seattle Storm guard Natisha Hiedeman – ran a 24-hour Twitch livestream of the weekend’s events, and plenty of people use Threads and Instagram to speak to and interact with fans. The internet can be a dark place, but it’s also one that can be a lot of fun.
“There’s a lot of great players here with different backgrounds, different stories,” Dallas Wings forward Jessica Shepard told the Guardian on Friday. Those differences only make the league stronger, she added.
“I think anytime you have diversity, anytime you have people who have different stories, it definitely creates a nice environment,” Shepard said of the league. “I think also for the younger generation, it gives everyone someone to look up to that maybe has a similar story to them.”
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