The stars were out as the WNBA All-Star game descended upon Indianapolis, from history-making on the court to fashion moments on the Orange carpet, we’ve got a recap of everything the girlies had up their leg sleeves.
The action-packed festivities began on Thursday, July 17, with a catwalk as the players showed off their athletic bodies and incredible sense of style while walking the league’s Orange Carpet presented by the dating app Bumble. The Chitown Barbie, Angel Reese, popped out in a head to toe leopard fit complete with dark sunnies, a high bun, and a cute merlot lippie. And our favorite M’VP, 7-time All-Star A’ja Wilson, paid homage to her classic in-game style—a long leg sleeve covering only one leg—with a wine-colored gown featuring a thigh-high split showing off her perfect gams.
Before the players who comprised Team Clark (with Captain and Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark) and Team Collier (with Captain and Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier) faced off, other WNBA stars set the Gainbridge Fieldhouse on fire during the Starry 3-Pt Contest and Kia Skills Challenge on Friday night. New York Liberty guard, Sabrina Ionescu, took home her second three-point contest trophy while her teammate Natasha Cloud held it down in the skills challenge rising victorious in a stacked competition.
The talk of the weekend quickly became the 72-hour livestream hosted by Lynx players Courtney Williams and Natisha Heideman—who affectionately go by the name “Studbudz”—that featured moments like the WNBA’s commissioner Cathy Engelbert dancing to “Knuck If You Buck”, Caitlin Clark finally having a little fun and 2025 No.1 pick, Paige Beuckers, belting out Keyshia Cole‘s “Love”. Fans tuned in to the stream for all of the behind-the-scenes fun that ESPN would not have dared to air.
It remains to be seen how the league will feel about all the footage once all the fun subsides, but WNBA lovers are demanding that the Studbudz become a permanent part of the All-Star Weekend. We’re here for it!
The weekend had so many standout moments that the game itself seemed to have less fanfare than the events leading up to it; nonetheless, the girls delivered. One of the most beloved parts of the WNBA All-Star is the 4-point shots that the players tend to rack up easily. Plus, as the league continues to exceed expectations, the celebrities in attendance have multiplied.
Among the celebs in attendance were basketball legend Dawn Staley, rapper Plies, NBA players Bam Adebayo and Tyrese Haliburton as well as Hall of Famer Pau Gasol, WNBA legend Lisa Leslie, and Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts. But it was ATT halftime performer GloRilla who had the girlies on their feet. Performing her hits “Let Her Cook,” “Typa,” and “TGIF,” the Memphis native proved, yet again, that she knows how to put on a show.
It wasn’t all fun and games for the players as they took the media time and the increased eyes on their league to address the ongoing pay disparity in women’s basketball by donning “Pay Us What You Owe Us” t-shirts during warmups. As they near the next CBA, WNBA vets and newcomers alike are preparing to make a big push towards increases in salary, revenue sharing and percentages of what the league takes home from their talents. Currently, WNBA players only receive around nine percent of league revenue in comparison to NBA players who net between 49 and 51 percent. The whooping difference has long been a point of contention for women players.
“The biggest thing that’s the holdup right now is we want more salary, we want bigger salary, and that type of thing, but we want to talk about the percentages and the revenue share,” said WNBPA President Breanna Stewart. “Based on their most recent proposal, we just aren’t able to get to a place where we’re actually even talking about the same thing.”
The weekend was capped off by an impressive 151-131 victory for Team Collier in which league veteran Skylar Diggins recorded the first triple-double in WNBA All-Star game history and Napheesa Collier notched 36 points to help lead her squad to a W.
