Some wins carry a bittersweet feeling that box scores can’t capture, and New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones‘ 2026 All-Star Game MVP Award was one such win as she dedicated it to a special someone. Winning the award was more than just an achievement for Jones, who broke down into tears as she dedicated the award to her aunt, who had recently passed away.
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Jones led Team Spoon to a 129-122 win with a near triple-double, logging 22 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists, but the postgame celebration took an emotional turn as she teared up speaking about her aunt.
“My aunt meant a lot to me; she was one of the matriarchs in our family,” she said per writer Myles Ehrlich on X. “Lot of great family parties and get togethers that happened at our house. My best memories were being in the kitchen and making great food for us. Show her love in that way.”
Jones was able to attend the game, she said, as her family had decided to cremate and spread her aunt’s ashes at a later date. She had received permission from her family to attend the All-Star game, where she became the only WNBA player to win all four MVP awards. Jones was the regular-season MVP in 2021, the Finals MVP in 2024, the Commissioner Cup MVP in 2023, and now the All-Star Game MVP. Her night was truly a rollercoaster of emotions, playing an All-Star Game so close to the death of a beloved family member.
Jones went on to talk about some of her previous comments. The 2024 WNBA champion had previously implied that the Minnesota Lynx should have won the 2024 championship. The Lynx faced defeat in a 3-2 Finals series against the Liberty, but Jones thought the Lynx deserved the win, as she said on a Studbudz livestream. She made an emotional statement in this regard as well.
“New York means a lot to me, the organization means a lot to me, our locker room, our chemistry what we’ve built,” she said. “I never want to misrepresent that. I never want people to feel like I wasn’t putting my best foot forward to our team and I apologize.”
Regardless of her past comments, Jonquel Jones showed the world why she deserves the MVP Award for the All-Star Game, with a very impressive stat line for the night.
Jonquel Jones powered Team Spoon while chasing history
Jonquel Jones’ comments came after one of the best performances in her All-Star career. She logged a near triple-double in just 22 minutes off the bench to earn All-Star Game MVP honors.
Jones wasted no time making her impact, logging nine points, seven rebounds and six assists before halftime as Team Spoon built a commanding lead. She then took over during the third to put away the game for good, logging eight points in the period. By the fourth quarter, history was within reach.
2025 saw Skylar Diggins become the first player in WNBA history to record a triple-double in an All-Star Game. Last night, Jones fell just two dimes short with eight assists. Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, in charge of Team Spoon tonight, even informed the star of how close she was, with Jones later recalling her words,
“Run some plays to get it done,” Jones recalled with a smile. “It didn’t happen, but that’s OK.”
Jonquel Jones wasn’t the only player on the verge of breaking records. Olivia Miles, the Lynx’s rookie All-Star, nearly recorded a triple-double. She finished the game with 11 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists, as Team Spoon saw eight players finish with double-digit points in the seven-point win.
The game itself had many other highlights, including Indiana Fever star Kelsey Mitchell pouring in a game-high 28 points for Team Coop in a losing effort, as well as Dominique Malonga making the first All-Star Game dunk since Sylvia Fowles in 2022. The game also saw 19,783 fans fill up the United Center, per CBS Sports. Jones’ efforts, despite her deep personal sorrow, put Team Spoon in prime winning position.