{"id":956752,"date":"2026-11-03T12:48:12","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T12:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/956752\/"},"modified":"2026-11-03T12:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T12:48:12","slug":"the-10-most-iconic-moments-of-the-2026-season-as-told-by-wnba-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/956752\/","title":{"rendered":"The 10 most iconic moments of the 2026 season, as told by WNBA Art"},"content":{"rendered":"


Rhyne Howard<\/a> jumped, reached her arm up and swatted away 6-foot-11 Han Xu<\/a>‘s shot. The 6-2 Howard’s block against a player 9 inches taller than her was a highlight of the Atlanta Dream<\/a>‘s 85-83 win, which completed their semifinal sweep of the New York Liberty<\/a>. But the reaction from Howard’s teammate Allisha Gray<\/a>,on the bench — eyes open wide and lips pursed, impressed — drew more attention.<\/p>\n

“That’s going to be a WNBA Art drawing after this,” ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo said on the broadcast during a replay of Gray’s reaction.<\/p>\n

Meg Stacy, the Chicago-area artist behind the viral WNBA Art account on Instagram, obliged<\/a>. She drew Howard’s block with Gray’s face in the foreground and posted it with the caption “what rebecca lobo said…”<\/p>\n

Receiving a shout-out on national TV during a playoff game is a normal part of Stacy’s life now. She has been featured on Sue Bird’s podcast, invited to WNBA All-Star Weekend and has met several current and former WNBA players.<\/p>\n

“The whole thing is wild,” Stacy said. “I’m like in their world now.”<\/p>\n

But it’s a far cry from when she made her first WNBA Art post on May 9: a smiling cartoon basketball and the words “Watch this space.”<\/p>\n

Stacy documented the most impressive, heartwarming and meme-able moments of the 2026 WNBA season. With the season now over and the Golden State Valkyries<\/a> crowned champions, we’re putting on our big WNBA Art googly eyes to look back at 10 of the most iconic moments of the season.<\/p>\n

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Olivia Miles’ dominance from the start of her rookie year was one of 2026’s top storylines. On May 14, less than a week into the season, Stacy drew a picture of Miles — the No. 2 pick in April’s draft by the Minnesota Lynx<\/a> — next to the words “2026 ROTY?” A month later, Miles continued confounding fans with her talent, leading to Stacy’s version of the “Charlie Conspiracy” meme from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” Charlie tries to uncover the truth about Miles’ rookie status. How could a rookie be that good? There was no adequate response to that question throughout the season — except to award Miles the 2026 Rookie of the Year.<\/p>\n

Crashout Jar (July 12)<\/p>\n

Regarding her favorite posts, Stacy said, “I like any of the pieces that are really niche and very ‘if you know you know’ and real fans would find them hilarious.” Her July 12 drawing of the Toronto Tempo<\/a>‘s Marina Mabrey<\/a> putting money into her “crashout jar” with a shoe flying in the background would certainly qualify. Mabrey introduced the jar in a January YouTube video as an accountability tool to quell her fiery outbursts on the court: $1 for curse words, $40 for a scuffle and varying prices for other offenses. And the shoe? It hit Mabrey after Betnijah Laney-Hamilton<\/a> threw it toward teammate Jonquel Jones<\/a> in a July 12 game between the Liberty and the Tempo. Mabrey has yet to announce the final total of 2026’s crashout jar.<\/p>\n

Dunked (July 26)<\/p>\n

Dominique Malonga<\/a>‘s dunking ability started making headlines even before the Seattle Storm<\/a> drafted her into the WNBA. So fans were eager to see her do it in her first All-Star Game. Malonga didn’t disappoint, dunking off an assist from Team Coop teammate Angel Reese<\/a> in the second quarter. The two are shown jumping and celebrating moments after the slam. Stacy emphasized the importance of love in her art: “For me, the league that I love and the fandom that I have around me, we really do lean into the love between the players and the love of the game.”<\/p>\n

A’ja vs. CC (Aug. 7)<\/p>\n

Although most WNBA Art posts capture iconic moments outside of gameplay, there are reminders that fierce on-court competition defines the W. How better to demonstrate this than a drawing of two of the top players in the league going at it? In an Aug. 6 game between the Las Vegas Aces<\/a> and Indiana Fever<\/a>, Caitlin Clark<\/a> threw the ball up, but 2026 MVP A’ja Wilson<\/a> swatted it up and away. The two are shown here jumping, reaching to capture it, with Wilson winning the battle as the Aces went on to defeat Indiana 86-84 in overtime.<\/p>\n

Dat Way (Aug. 19)<\/p>\n

Reese’s historic season was at the forefront of W conversations as the Defensive Player of the Year helped guide Atlanta to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2013. But she was a mainstay on WNBA Art for other reasons. “I am an Angel Reese fan,” Stacy said. “But people would assume on my page, ‘You must be obsessed with Angel Reese.’ No, she just gives moments all the time that are meme-able that you have to cover.” WNBA Art’s most-liked post of the season depicts Reese in an Aug. 18 game versus the Aces showing exactly which way the possession arrow should go.<\/p>\n

Calm Down (Aug. 20)<\/p>\n

Generating iconic moments on and off the court seems second nature for Paige Bueckers<\/a>. At the end of the first half of the Dallas Wings<\/a>‘ 91-85 win over Indiana on Aug. 20, Bueckers committed an intentional foul on Clark, which the Fever star did not appreciate. Clark threw the ball and shouted in Bueckers’ direction, to which two-time All-Star Bueckers replied, “Calm down,” with an outstretched arm. “me @ everyone for everything all the time” Stacy captioned the post.<\/p>\n

The Sun Sets (Sept. 23)<\/p>\n

Not all WNBA Art drawings are memorable in a fun way. Before the Connecticut Sun<\/a> played their final game on Sept. 24 to a sold-out crowd at Mohegan Sun Arena, Stacy said she cried as she posted this “sunset” picture. “My heart goes out to Connecticut and their fans,” she said. “Drawing that piece made me so emotional and that got a lot of messages from people that shared all these moments with family growing up … If you look at the comments on that post, [there is] someone who shared special memories with their mom who had passed away. … It’s so beautiful that people can be brought together like that.” The Sun are relocating to become the Houston Comets this offseason.<\/p>\n

Clutch Gene (Oct. 1)<\/p>\n

Has Arike Ogunbowale<\/a> always been clutch? (Spoiler alert: yes.) On the left, Ogunbowale sinks a game-tying 3-pointer over Gabby Williams<\/a> to force overtime in Game 2 of Dallas’ first-round playoff series against Golden State. On the right, a collegiate Ogunbowale (who had been defended by Williams until a screen caused a defensive switch just moments before) sinks a game-winning jumper in overtime of Notre Dame’s 2018 NCAA Final Four win against UConn. There’s a heartwarming sense of nostalgia here for any fans who have watched players like Ogunbowale grow from college to the pros. And there’s a sense that Williams, known as a defensive specialist, wouldn’t find any part of this picture heartwarming.<\/p>\n

Right Hand Blue (Oct. 8)<\/p>\n

There was another game within Game 2 of the LibertyDream semifinal series. As the two teams got tangled up, it looked like they were playing Twister and Breanna Stewart<\/a> was tasked with “Right hand blue!” Stacy explained that as her account grew, the messages she received from fans consistently used one word: levity. “They kept saying, ‘Thank you for bringing levity. You’re the levity that we needed. … Levity, levity, levity,'” Stacy said. “So I think as the season progressed [bringing levity] became the goal.”<\/p>\n

Champions (Oct. 31)<\/p>\n

On Halloween — in front of a Chase Center crowd dubbed Boohalla for the holiday — the Valkyries became WNBA champions in just their second season. They also became the first team to win the championship in a season without an All-WNBA selection. Finals MVP Williams’ 30 points tied for the most points in a winner-take-all Finals game and helped lead Golden State to victory. Two Valkyrie swords triumphantly make the A in “champions” to close out a memorable 2026 season.<\/p>\n

What’s next?<\/p>\n

Now that the offseason is upon us, what’s next for Stacy and WNBA Art? “No offseason,” she said. She has plans to expand her coverage to Unrivaled and other women’s sports leagues and to collaborate with WNBA and women’s college teams.<\/p>\n

“Maybe one day throw a man in there, I know that’s not my demographic,” Stacy said. “I might test the water at some point and throw an NBA Art out there and see how people react to it. But obviously the big draw is women’s sports when it comes to my page, so I do plan on continuing coverage, and I really don’t see any stopping coming any time soon.”<\/p>\n

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