WNBA Announces All-Star Reserves, Dominique Malonga Earns First Nod

· Yahoo Sports

The WNBA announced its 2026 All-Star reserves, and Seattle Storm second-year player Dominique Malonga earned her first career All-Star selection. 

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WNBA All-Star Weekend will take place from July 24 to July 25 in Chicago, and the All-Star Game will start Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC. On July 2, the league announced the All-Star Game starters. 

On July 7, the league announced the 2026 WNBA All-Star reserves, which feature Sonia Citron, Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard (ATL), Marina Mabrey, Kelsey Plum, Courtney Williams, Jackie Young, Kiki Iriafen, Jonquel Jones, Dominique Malonga, Nneka Ogwumike, and Angel Reese.

Malonga, who is only in her second season, will get to play in her first All-Star Game at the age of 20, which is the third youngest All-Star in league history. 

Building Tradition 

Malonga is the 12th player in the Storm's franchise history to be selected as an All-Star. She was drafted with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 draft with the expectation of being the franchise player. 

In the 20-year-old's rookie season, she played 42 games, only missing two games. She averaged 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds while playing 14.3 minutes per game. 

The 6-foot-6 center is now averaging 15.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game while shooting 39.3 percent from three. Seattle is rebuilding the roster after parting ways with former head coach Noelle Quinn at the conclusion of the 2025 season. 

First-year head coach Sonia Raman has increased the usage of Malonga. Last season, she averaged a usage rate of 25.3, and this season leading the team in usage rate with 31.7. 

The second-year center is leading the team in points per game and has expanded her game. 

Building in the Offseason

During the offseason, Malonga played on the Breeze in Unrivaled, a three-on-three professional women's basketball league. She averaged 16.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, and one assist in 14 games. 

She became the second player in league history to dunk in a game on Jan 24 against the Lunar Owls BC, and she recorded seven double-doubles. 

The Storm center spoke on the Young Man & the Three Podcast and spoke on who she built her game around. "I really grew up watching Kevin Durant because physically he was actually what I could relate and so I really grew up watching him," she said. 

She added, "On the girls' side, I grew up watching Breanna Stewart. I loved her game, and that's really what I'm mimicking a little bit." 

During the offseason, she shot around with Durant and recently worked on her game along side him.

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