{"id":827482,"date":"2026-07-27T18:47:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T18:47:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/827482\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T18:47:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T18:47:18","slug":"the-lessons-of-the-wnbas-triumphant-all-star-weekend-get-off-the-net-and-lean-into-the-joy-wnba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/827482\/","title":{"rendered":"The lessons of the WNBA\u2019s triumphant All-Star Weekend: \u2018get off the \u2019net\u2019 and lean into the joy | WNBA"},"content":{"rendered":"

If your perceptions of what the WNBA<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> by the New York Liberty\u2019s Jonquel Jones.<\/p>\n

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\u2019t playing or the chance to spend time alongside friends they don\u2019t usually play with for those who are.<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s All-Star Game<\/a> 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 \u201cPay them!\u201d<\/a> ringing out in Gainbridge Fieldhouse.<\/p>\n

A year later, the CBA is done<\/a> and players are getting paid, but the weeks preceding this summer\u2019s All-Star Game were filled with no shortage of headaches and problems. An offseason taskforce designed to improve foul calls and officiating resulted<\/a> in changes in policy and practice that are still being rolled out; incidences of hard fouls<\/a>, such as when Alyssa Thomas accidentally pushed her fist into Caitlin Clark\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s not all: the week before the All-Star Game saw two incidents that went against the spirit of the league\u2019s \u201cNo Space For Hate\u201d platform<\/a>, which was unveiled last year and \u201creflects the WNBA\u2019s unwavering commitment to protecting its players and upholding the values of inclusion, respect, and unity\u201d. The Toronto Tempo\u2019s head coach Sandy Brondello was caught<\/a> on a hot mic calling Atlanta Dream star Angel Reese a \u201cprotected species\u201d, and Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham brazenly used transphobic language in an apparent attempt to defend herself against the nickname \u201cMaga Barbie\u201d.<\/p>\n

Brondello issued a heartfelt apology<\/a> to Reese and was suspended for one game. Cunningham told ESPN she wants to \u201cprotect young girls in the locker room\u201d from \u201cbiological men\u201d \u2013 a phrase that GLAAD has identified<\/a> as a hate term \u2013 and then doubled down on her stance.<\/p>\n

Coverage of those events (and more) appeared to have reached even Obama himself. \u201cYou\u2019re great. You\u2019re fantastic. Don\u2019t let all this nonsense get you down,\u201d Obama told Clark. \u201cTo have that much immersion in nonsense … don\u2019t lose that joy. The game\u2019s the game, and you\u2019re a hooper. You\u2019re always hooping, and you\u2019re on a nice little run right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

(\u201cMy hands were getting a little bit sweaty, and I don\u2019t really get nervous for anybody,\u201d Clark told reporters after the interaction. \u201cBut that\u2019s somebody like, just his presence commands a room.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Former president Barack Obama met the WNBA All-Stars on Friday. Photograph: Paul Beaty\/AP<\/p>\n

In other words, this year\u2019s 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 \u2013 including a replay center that should make for stronger officiating next season \u2013 that indicate things are only getting better for the WNBA.<\/p>\n

Throughout the weekend, players and coaches embraced the success of the league while acknowledging there\u2019s room for more. Speaking to reporters Friday, Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams emphasized staying positive when she can. \u201cI lean into the love, for sure. I feel in the W, as opposed to men\u2019s sports, there\u2019s more pressure to be online,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel it just depends on who you are. If you like to be on the \u2019net, be on the \u2019net. If you don\u2019t like the \u2019net, get off the \u2019net.\u201d<\/p>\n

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: \u201cI think the biggest mistake is maybe the people that talk the most know the least on some of these topics. They don\u2019t have a good pulse on our league at times.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t really pay attention so much to what everybody else is saying either. I\u2019m busy trying to win games \u2026 and put a great product on the court,\u201d she continued. \u201cAnd, hopefully, as many people as possible want to come to see great basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not everyone in the league is as offline. The average age of WNBA players<\/a> is approximately 27; adults in their 20s have nearly universal internet use<\/a>. The StudBudz \u2013 the duo of Williams and Seattle Storm guard Natisha Hiedeman \u2013 ran a 24-hour Twitch livestream of the weekend\u2019s 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\u2019s also one that can be a lot of fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of great players here with different backgrounds, different stories,\u201d Dallas Wings forward Jessica Shepard told the Guardian on Friday. Those differences only make the league stronger, she added.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think anytime you have diversity, anytime you have people who have different stories, it definitely creates a nice environment,\u201d Shepard said of the league. \u201cI think also for the younger generation, it gives everyone someone to look up to that maybe has a similar story to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what \u201cAll-Star is really all about,\u201d Las Vegas Aces center and four-time MVP A\u2019ja Wilson told the Guardian. \u201cWe come together in this place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabby Williams and Paige Bueckers during Saturday\u2019s All-Star Game, which drew a record crowd of 19,783. Photograph: Nam Y Huh\/AP<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one person in the WNBA who can\u2019t avoid the internet, it\u2019s Engelbert. As the head of the league, Engelbert bears the brunt of joy and disappointment from fans, coaches, owners, and, most importantly to her, the players.<\/p>\n

While addressing the media on Saturday, Engelbert admitted her leadership could improve. She acknowledged there are \u201cprocesses around fines, suspensions, and investigations,\u201d and dismissed the idea that the league only looks into certain instances in response to social media outcry. The CBA negotiations were \u201ccontentious\u201d, she added, but Engelbert said that this year \u201cwe\u2019re in a really good place.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also explained player safety is constantly top of mind, and that includes what happens on and off the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe internet is a very complicated place,\u201d Engelbert said, a sentence that practically vibrates with relevance in 2026. \u201cAnd, someone gave me this term, keyboard warriors are very, very adamant to get their messages through to our players, whether it\u2019s through DMs, whether it\u2019s through other means.\u201d<\/p>\n

One way Engelbert personally plays to continue to nurture a safer environment for the league\u2019s athletes is to reach out directly more frequently. The commissioner said she believed \u201cplayers don\u2019t want to hear from us all the time\u201d, but learned at a meeting with the WNBPA last week that crucial league communications are often missed by players who didn\u2019t receive them or aren\u2019t reading articles about those announcements. When it comes to that two-way street between the league and players, \u201cthere\u2019s no doubt I need to be better,\u201d Engelbert said. \u201cEverybody needs to be better at communication, I think, all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city of Chicago and maybe even the WNBA (including Engelbert, who oversaw it all) can bask in a job well done and a weekend where joy and celebration of 30 seasons<\/a> of WNBA was the mission. The entire league gets back to work this week, but will do so after riding a very singular, and very special, kind of high.<\/p>\n