Who is competing in WNBA Shooting Stars
The Shooting Stars lineup has a very good Minnesota connection
The WNBA’s 2026 Kia Shooting Stars field is getting some deserved attention, and the Minnesota pairing is especially fun: Rebekkah Brunson with Lynx guard Courtney Williams.
Brunson brings the kind of rebounding and interior presence that made her so important to Minnesota for years. Williams is, naturally, a very different sort of basketball problem. She sees passing angles that appear to exist only briefly, then somehow gets the ball through them. I am curious how that combination translates to a shooting competition, where the format usually rewards rhythm and a little improvisation.
Why this event works I like the former-player and current-player mix here. Elena Delle Donne, Lauren Jackson, Brunson, and Deanna “Tweety” Nolan give the event plenty of history, while the active players bring a different pace and a chance for newer fans to connect the names on the court with the teams they watch now.
It is also a nice reminder that All-Star weekend does not have to be only about the biggest individual stars. A good skills event can show personality, old connections, and the less obvious parts of how players see the game. From what I have seen, those are often the moments people end up discussing afterward.
The practical detail The event is scheduled for Friday, July 24, at 8 p.m. Eastern. I will be watching for the chemistry between Brunson and Williams, although I am not pretending to have a reliable prediction about who wins. Shooting competitions have a way of making every confident forecast look silly by the second round.
The full participant list is in the WNBA announcement attached here.