The Kia Shooting Stars event at WNBA All-Star 2026 is done, and Team Washington took it down. Elena Delle Donne and Shakira Austin put up 35 in their opening round, then the Washington squad closed out Team Seattle 31-24 in the final to claim the trophy. Fun night. Good TV. Now let us talk about what it actually moves.
What Happened at the Kia Shooting Stars
The bracket came down to Team Seattle versus Team Washington in the final round. Seattle, anchored by Lauren Jackson and Flau'jae Johnson, locked in 24 points. Washington answered with 31. The margin was comfortable enough that this was not a photo finish. Team Mystics also posted a 31-point round in the wire recaps, which maps to the same Washington squad under different branding in the social posts. The event scoring format is cumulative shooting, not live basketball, so the numbers are event-specific and carry no box-score weight.
That last sentence is the important one.
What This Does and Does Not Move on the Board
Shooting Stars is a skills competition. It will not shift a spread, a total, or a player prop for next week's real games. No injury risk, no conditioning data, no meaningful fatigue signal. The honest answer is that the betting market does not reprice Washington or Seattle based on who drained the most shots in a bracket event on a Friday night in July.
What it does give you is a small, genuine mood read on Delle Donne specifically. She is a returning player whose availability has been a real question for the Washington Mystics all year. The fact that she competed, finished a round, and was sharp enough to post a headline number alongside Austin suggests she is feeling healthy and engaged right now. That is a qualitative data point, not a certified injury clearance, but in a league where the injury margin is thin and rosters are short, you track this stuff.
What to Watch Heading Into July 28
The next real game that matters for the Connecticut Sun and Washington Mystics on this schedule is Tuesday, July 28 at 7:30 PM ET, Connecticut at Washington. That is the number worth watching. If Delle Donne's presence and energy at All-Star prompts any line movement toward Washington before tip, that would be the market digesting the same qualitative signal. Watch the open and track whether Washington's number tightens or softens in the 48 hours after All-Star weekend closes out.
On the other side of the Tuesday slate, Toronto Tempo visits Minnesota Lynx at 8:00 PM ET. Minnesota also participated in Shooting Stars and posted 19 points in their round, which tells you almost nothing about the Lynx's defensive rating but does confirm the team was active and present at All-Star, which is normal and expected.
| Team | Shooting Stars Round Score | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Team Washington | 35 (early), 31 (final) | Won |
| Team Seattle | 26 (early), 24 (final) | Runner-up |
| Team Dallas/Detroit | 20 | Eliminated |
| Team Minnesota | 19 | Eliminated |
Nothing in the event scores predicts Tuesday outcomes. The table is a record, not a lean.
The Honest Caveat
I am not going to manufacture a betting angle out of a shooting competition. The edge, if there is one, is watching how the Connecticut at Washington line opens Monday and whether Delle Donne's All-Star activity gets priced in or ignored. If you see Washington tighten from a number that looked soft on Friday, that is the market catching up. If the number stays flat, maybe the market already had her healthy. Either way, you are tracking, not acting, until you see the line and the injury report together.
That is the read. Not a tip. Enjoy the rest of All-Star weekend, and let us talk Connecticut-Washington when the board firms up. You know where to find me.
BOL. If sports betting is no longer fun, please reach out to 1-800-GAMBLER.
