The 4 big winners from WNBA All-Star Weekend

WNBA All-Star Weekend has come and gone, and it was an action-packed couple of days in Chicago. The competition began on Friday night, as Azzi Fudd, Natisha Hiedeman, Bridget Carleton, Marina Mabrey, Rhyne Howard, and Janelle Salaun battled in the Three-Point Contest.

Then, on Saturday night, Team Spoon beat Team Coop 129-122 in the All-Star game, headlined by big performances from Jonquel Jones, Allisha Gray, Caitlin Clark, and Nneka Ogwumike, among others.

Here were the biggest winners from All-Star weekend.

Azzi Fudd, Dallas Wings

The Dallas Wings guard became the first-ever rookie to win the Three-Point Contest at All-Star Weekend. Fudd made 17 of 27 threes in the first round, before ultimately edging out Bridget Carleton in the final round with a score of 30 (after hitting 21 of 27 threes). Portland Fire guard Bridget Carleton came in second place.

“It’s fun to do because — and I don’t want to sound cocky — but it’s easy to me, just the set shot,” Fudd said after the win. “Take the ball from the rack; it really is muscle memory. It’s what I’ve been doing since I was young.”

Fudd is shooting 38.7% from three in her rookie season. As the winner of the three-point shootout, she earned a $70,000 prize.

Dominique Malonga, Seattle Storm

The 20-year-old French phenom dunked for the first time in her WNBA career on Saturday night. Malonga, named an All-Star in her second season, finished the All-Star game with 12 points and 13 rebounds, but no moment was as big as her breakaway slam. She joins Lisa Leslie, Jonquel Jones, Brittney Griner, and Sylvia Fowles as players to have dunked in WNBA history.

Malonga is having a superb sophomore campaign for the Storm, averaging 16.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 47.6% from the field.

Jonquel Jones, New York Liberty

Jonquel Jones’ list of accolades keeps on growing. The Liberty star won All-Star Game MVP after pouring in 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists, adding to her collection of hardware that includes a Finals MVP (2024), a Commissioner’s Cup MVP (2023), a league MVP (2021), and six All-Star appearances. Jones became the only player in WNBA history with all four MVP awards.

Jones’ weekend, however, was somehow tainted by the fact that a controversial comment of hers was picked up on Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman’s StudBudz stream on Thursday night. Jones told Williams that the Minnesota Lynx deserved to win more than the Liberty in 2024, a comment that almost instantly went viral and angered Liberty fans.

“What I said, it didn’t really come out in the way that I meant it,” Jones said Saturday, while visibly emotional. “What I was just saying is that you can have a team that has a lot of chemistry, that is great on paper, that has had a great season, and it’s still not enough to get it done, and that’s what I was trying to explain to her with that whole clip.

Courtney Williams (Minnesota Lynx) and Natisha Hiedeman (Seattle Storm)

It was the second consecutive year of the StudBudz stream, and it was once again a huge hit. The 24/7 livestream did not come without its controversial moments (see: above), but Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman successfully took fans behind the scenes for the biggest weekend of the WNBA season while continuing to showcase their own inimitable personalities.

On top of the StudBudz stream, both players also had their own on-court responsibilities at All-Star, too.

Williams appeared in her third All-Star Game, adding 12 points and 7 assists in 19 minutes off the bench. Hiedeman was not an All-Star, but appeared in the Three-Point Contest. (Hiedeman tallied the lowest score in the field, finishing with 17 points in the opening round).

Williams and Hiedeman have now become an integral part of the All-Star Weekend viewing experience.