WNBA All-Star Recap: Jonquel Jones Takes MVP in Front of a Record Chicago Crowd and the Card Market Reacts
Team Spoon beat Team Coop 129-122 as Jonquel Jones posted a 22-13-8 MVP night and 19,783 fans set a WNBA All-Star attendance record. Here is what the showcase means for Jones, Kelsey Mitchell, and Caitlin Clark cards this week.
A Record Night in Chicago
The 2026 WNBA All-Star Game delivered on every front Saturday night. Team Spoon beat Team Coop 129-122 at Chicago's United Center in front of an announced crowd of 19,783 - a new WNBA All-Star attendance record. New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones walked away with the MVP trophy after a 22-point, 13-rebound, 8-assist night, while Kelsey Mitchell led all scorers with 28 and team captain Caitlin Clark chipped in 17.
For a league whose card category has been the fastest-growing corner of the hobby for two straight years, an All-Star weekend that sets an attendance record is not just a basketball story. It is a demand signal.
The Jonquel Jones Question
Jones is the exact profile of player the WNBA card market has historically underpriced: a former league MVP and champion whose flagship rookie cards have traded at a fraction of what comparable resumes cost in other sports. An All-Star MVP in front of a record crowd tends to produce a short, sharp spike in eBay velocity, and Jones has a relatively thin early-card supply from her 2016 rookie year.
- Jonquel Jones rookies: Expect the quick flip crowd to hit her 2016 Rittenhouse cards first. Pop counts are low, so even modest demand moves prices.
- Kelsey Mitchell: A 28-point showcase night keeps her in the conversation, but her market has always lagged her production. Watch whether this finally changes.
- Caitlin Clark: Her cards no longer need an All-Star game to move, but captaining a winning team in a record-setting showcase reinforces the floor under her market.
What Collectors Should Actually Do
All-Star spikes are usually sell windows, not buy windows. The pattern across the last several WNBA All-Star cycles is a 48-to-72-hour surge in sales volume followed by a drift back toward pre-game prices. If you are holding Jones or Mitchell cards you have been waiting to move, this week is the moment. If you are buying, patience through mid-August has historically been rewarded.
The bigger takeaway: a 19,783-person record crowd for an All-Star game is the kind of mainstream traction that keeps new collectors flowing into the WNBA category - and that is what sustains prices long after the highlight reels fade.
The regular season resumes this week, with the stretch run and playoff push ahead. For card purposes, the second half is where MVP narratives get written - and MVP narratives are what move markets.