The WNBA went all out for its 30th-anniversary All-Star game, taking measures such as appointing Teresa Weatherspoon and Cynthia Cooper as honorary GMs and offering a $100,000 charitable prize pool, to name a few. However, in front of a historic 17,963-strong United Center, the game produced a highlight that had not been seen since Sylvia Fowles, when center Dominique Malonga threw the hammer down for a dunk, much to the joy of Angel Reese.
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With around 6:27 left in the second quarter and Team Spoon leading 48-45, Angel Reese dished an assist to Malonga, the 6-foot-6 center for Team Coop, in the paint. Malonga found herself all alone driving inside the paint, as neither Caitlin Clark nor Olivia Miles could get to her in time. With the gates wide open, Malonga did not need any second invitation as she made the dunk.
Malonga went right to Reese to celebrate with a chest bump. Team Coop trailed by one point after this play. The duo high-fived each other as well, while getting back on defense.
At just 20 years old, the Seattle Storm center becomes the youngest player in WNBA history to perform a dunk in the All-Star Game, and just one of seven players to do so, as per a Storm release. Malonga is also the youngest player to grab a double-double in an All-Star Game with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Ironically, Malonga had not dunked for the Storm in her first 63 regular-season games. It’s safe to say that Malonga can now speak to Flau’jae Johnson, who challenged that she would not speak to Malonga if she did not dunk in the All-Star Game.
This dunk assumes significance as it marked the first instance in over four years since a player dunked in a WNBA All-Star Game. WNBA legend Sylvia Fowles performed a similar feat in the first half of the 2022 All-Star Game when she dunked on a breakaway opportunity, much to the delight of the crowd of over 9,500 packed into Wintrust Arena at that time. Notably, she had a dunk in the first and last All-Star Games of her career. The first one came in 2009.
The four-time Defensive Player of the Year was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame in front of the faithful Minnesota Lynx crowd at the Target Center. For the fans, the game was full of excitement as Team Spoon held on for the 129-122 All-Star Game win.