Why the WNBA All-Star MVP wasn't able to enjoy any of it

CHICAGO — For 19 seconds, a silence fell over the makeshift pressroom in the bowels of United Center that was only interrupted by the clicking of camera shutters and Jonquel Jones’ sniffling.  

The veteran New York Liberty forward’s gaze was covered by her hand, obscuring the glistening trophy and the crowd of reporters from her view. 

"I couldn’t really enjoy the weekend,” Jones said before the tears began. “I’m sorry.”  

Jones had just been named 2026 All-Star MVP after she led Team Spoon to a 129-122 win over Team Coop on Saturday, July 25, with 22 points and 13 rebounds. In her 22 minutes on the court, she was just two assists shy of a triple-double.  

Her postgame presser was poised to be an upbeat and celebratory victory lap.  

Instead, it was a reminder of just how quietly resilient Jones has been en route to becoming the league’s first player to win a regular-season MVP, Commissioner's Cup MVP, Finals MVP and All-Star Game MVP.  

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Shortly after WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert presented Jones with her latest hardware, the 6-foot-6 center took the mic and told the largest All-Star crowd in league history that she’d just played with fresh grief due to the passing of her late aunt, Marilyn Knowles.  

“My aunt meant a lot to me; she was one of the matriarchs in our family,” Jones said. “Lot of great family parties and get-togethers that happened at our house. My best memories were her being in the kitchen and making great food for us. Show her love in that way.” 

But that wasn’t the only thing weighing on Jones’ heart.  

What brought Jonquel Jones to tears?  

One of the first questions directed to Jones referenced an appearance she made Thursday on the StudBudz viral 72-hour livestream, in which she was heard telling Lynx guard Courtney Williams that she believed the Minnesota Lynx deserved to win the WNBA championship over the Liberty in 2024. As that clip gained traction, so did the fan backlash towards Jones. 

Jones emphasized that she’d let her guard down because she and Williams are close friends. Her point, she clarified, was that sometimes you can still end the season without a league title even if you have the best team on paper. She added that a similar scenario unfolded in the 2019 season when she was with the Connecticut Sun as they lost to the Washington Mystics in the Finals. 

"I feel like what I said was taken the wrong way, and I'll take accountability for that as well," Jones said. "It was definitely a gut punch for me. I don't want people to ever feel like I was doing anything other than trying to put my best foot forward for our team, so I apologize." 

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The coach who helped Jonquel Jones become an MVP  

Jones was willing to miss her aunt's memorial for the All-Star game because she asked her family for permission, and she found solace in the fact that she’ll be available to spread her late aunt’s ashes, an event set to take place on a different day. 

And if you weren’t paying close enough attention to the action on the floor, it would’ve been very easy to nearly miss the impressive stat line that Jones was quietly brewing.  

For Jones, playing through difficult circumstances is nothing new.

“It’s been a way for me to escape whatever was going on in my life,” she said. “It has always been the thing that I run to when things get tough.”  

Before the native Bahamian left her island to play for George Washington University, she needed help from Diane Richardson at Riverdale Baptist School in Maryland. Richardson, who is currently the basketball coach at Temple, was coaching at Riverdale when Jones was looking to break in as a student-athlete in the United States.

In a cherry on top of Saturday’s already sentimental moment for Jones, Richardson was there to watch Jones’ night unfold. 

"She was just crying with me in the back before I came up here," Jones said of Richardson. "When I moved from the Bahamas, a little kid who nobody knew, I wasn’t the scene basketball-wise. And she decided to just trust her gut ... and the rest was history. I also gained a second mother."  

In addition to an eclectic set of MVP awards, Jones previously won Most Improved and Sixth Player of the Year. She's also one of nine players to ever dunk in the WNBA All-Star Game, a group that grew larger on Saturday thanks to Dominique Malonga.

When Jones considers what she kept constant to reach this level of distinction as a WNBA player, she thinks back to her childhood.  

“This is everything that I dreamed about when I was a kid," Jones said. "I told my parents when I was 5 years old that I was going to be a professional athlete. The plan never changed. Even when it looked murky, even when I didn't know how I was going to get it done and when I was on the phone calls with random coaches in the Bahamas, hoping that somebody would give me a chance.

“But when I put everything into perspective, I’m living every single dream that I've ever had."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Why the WNBA All-Star MVP wasn't able to enjoy any of it