CHICAGO — For the second year in a row, Paige Bueckers and Breanna Stewart will be able to do something they never could when they were each starring in different eras at UConn: Play together as teammates.
Bueckers and Stewart will stand together as WNBA All-Stars, playing for Cynthia Cooper’s “Team Coop” on Saturday night at United Center. For Stewart, it’s her eighth appearance; for Bueckers, her second.
Another former Husky whose career overlapped with Stewart will also be in Coop’s starting lineup as Gabby Williams is also making her second appearance in the game.
WNBA greats Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon drafted the All-Star teams from players that were either voted as starters by fans, media and fellow players or chosen as reserves by the league’s coaches. Las Vegas’ Becky Hammon is coaching Cooper’s team, and Minnesota’s Cheryl Reeve is in charge of Weatherspoon’s squad.
“Honestly I’m just really happy to be here and be surrounded by so many amazing women and All-Stars and Hall of Famers and people that I’ve looked up to my entire life,” Bueckers, the team captain, said. “I never want to take these moments for granted and just really soak it up and enjoy building relationships with people.”
Breanna Stewart, left, of the New York Liberty slaps hands with Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings during a practice session for the WNBA All-Star game in Chicago (Getty)
Stewart played at UConn from 2012-16 and Bueckers came along four years later, from 2000-25. In last year’s game, both played for Team Collier, picked by another former UConn great, Napheesa Collier. The ex-Huskies won.
In another All-Star storyline, “Bayou Barbie” is back in Chicago. With her own Barbie, too.
Angel Reese is playing in her third game , this time, she is representing Atlanta in her first season with the Dream following a messy split with the Chicago Sky.
“It’s so crazy, full circle,” Reese said, “I’m back here in Chicago, again, where it kind of all started. … Coming to Atlanta, I mean it’s been a dream come true, literally. It’s helped me in so many different ways.”
Reese, 24, is on Team Coop for this weekend’s showcase event, alongside Wings star Bueckers and Liberty legend Stewart. Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and four-time MVP A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces headline “Team Spoon.”
Minnesota guard Olivia Miles, part of “Team Spoon,” is the only rookie picked for the All-Star Game in the WNBA’s 30th season. The No. 2 pick in this year’s draft is averaging 19.3 points and 5.9 assists in 26 games for the Lynx.
“It’s definitely weird being the only rookie, but I know I belong and I’m happy to be here,” Miles said. “It’s an honor. Definitely grateful, and yeah, just soaking it all in.”
Reese starred at LSU before she was selected by Chicago with the No. 7 pick in the 2024 draft. The 6-foot-4 forward earned the nickname “Bayou Barbie” while helping the Tigers win the 2023 national championship.
Fast forward to Friday, when Mattel unveiled a Reese Barbie doll with a pink Angel No. 5 jersey and special Reebok basketball shoes.
“I remember, I think it’s been three years now, since the Bayou Barbie came about when I was in Baton Rouge, and I used to put Barbie stuff on merch and stuff, and I wasn’t really supposed to,” Reese said. “So I told them I really wanted to have a Barbie doll one day, and to have Barbie is like, you got to be iconic.”
Reese averaged 14.1 points and 12.9 rebounds over his first two seasons with Chicago. But the Sky won just 23 games in her two years with the team.
Reese was critical of Chicago’s play at the end of last season. She apologized to the team for her comments and was suspended for the first half of a game against Las Vegas.
She was shipped off to her new home in April, traded to the Dream for two first-round draft picks.
“The double-doubles, they don’t matter unless we’re winning,” Reese said. “So I’m just really happy to be with Atlanta. They have welcomed me with open arms. It feels like a really safe place for me. It’s the safest I’ve ever felt, the most loved I’ve ever felt. And I’m really happy be with them.”
Atlanta is 16-10 at the break, and Chicago has a 9-18 record. Reese is one of three All-Stars from the Dream, joining Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray.