CHICAGO — Breanna Stewart ranked fourth in the first fan vote returns of the WNBA All-Star election process. 

Chris DeMarco went through the list of reasons why Stewart deserves her eighth All-Star nod next month.

“She’s just consistent,” he said. “Both hands, two-way player, does a lot for our defense, switchable, and offensively, just has a knack for getting the ball, and then getting points for us when it matters, making plays when it matters. So she’s been phenomenal. Our roster — players in and out — and she’s been sustainable all year, just consistently. She’s an absolute winner when the game is on the line.” 

Stewart, who generated 255,879 votes in the first week, was one of three Liberty players who cracked the top 40 list of fan favorites. 

Jonquel Jones, a five-time All-Star, checked in at No. 28 with 53,742 votes, and Marine Johannès was at No. 36 with 41,245. 

Four-time league MVP A’ja Wilson (308,249 votes) and 2025 Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers (298,027) topped the list. 

Fever star Caitlin Clark, who finished first in the fan vote in each of the past two years, sits in fifth place with 253,602 votes. 

The 2026 WNBA All-Star Game will be played at United Center in Chicago on July 25. 

Fans account for 50 percent of the vote for WNBA All-Star starters, while current players and a media panel account for 25 percent each. 

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The WNBA is expanding its regular season from 44 games to 50 starting next year, the league announced Wednesday. 

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement that demand for the league has never been greater. 

“This move,” Engelbert said, “reflects our commitment to growing the game and creating more opportunities for fans to watch the best players in the world and experience the extraordinary talent and competition that define the WNBA.” 

Skylar Diggins said she never thought she’d see the day when the WNBA played 50 regular-season games. 

“That’s a lot of games,” said Diggins, who appeared in all 32 games of her 2013 rookie season. “I’m curious to see how it works out next year but that’s all above me. … 

“We understand it’s a lot of games … we’ll just have to see how it works out.” 

Last season, teams played a record 44 games — up from 40 in each of the previous two seasons. Prior to that, the WNBA played 36 games in 2022. 

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Betnijah Laney-Hamilton didn’t play Wednesday after receiving an injection in her surgically repaired left knee this week. 

“That was pre-planned,” DeMarco said of the shot. “We expected her to play tonight, but she got a night off.”