{"id":77710,"date":"2025-07-20T10:05:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T10:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/77710\/"},"modified":"2025-07-20T10:05:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T10:05:09","slug":"wnba-all-star-game-winners-losers-pay-us-shirts-napheesa-collier-record-indy-as-host","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/77710\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA All-Star Game winners, losers: \u2018Pay Us\u2019 shirts, Napheesa Collier record, Indy as host"},"content":{"rendered":"

The WNBA\u2019s midseason showcase is officially over after Indianapolis took center stage. The festivities were capped by Team Collier\u2019s 151-131 victory<\/a> over Team Clark.<\/p>\n

From Friday night\u2019s skills competition and 3-point contest to Saturday night\u2019s record-breaking performances, the All-Star Game mostly delivered \u2014 even without Caitlin Clark, whose injury prevented her from competing in the events as her Indiana Fever played host. But there\u2019s always room for improvement.<\/p>\n

Here are the winners and losers from 2025 All-Star Weekend.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Winners\u201cStud Budz\u201d<\/p>\n

Lynx guards Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman provided fans with a behind-the-scenes look at All-Star festivities. They streamed the entire few days on Twitch, broadcasting everything from conversations in their hotel room to parties to locker room scenes.<\/p>\n

Among the highlights:<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cStud Budz\u201d capturing commissioner Cathy Engelbert dancing to Crime Mob\u2019s \u201cKnuck If You Buck\u201d at a party on Friday night.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Storm star Nneka Ogwumike walking into Williams\u2019 hotel room Saturday morning to alert her to an upcoming WNBPA meeting.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Fever star Aliyah Boston taking a drink away from Caitlin Clark at a party while Clark was on-screen, and Williams providing an almost-instant reaction to Thursday\u2019s CBA meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Stud Budz\u2019 has been the highlight of everybody\u2019s weekend,\u201d Collier said.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a sentiment felt by many.<\/p>\n

Napheesa Collier<\/p>\n

Continuing with the Lynx theme, Collier was the star of Saturday\u2019s All-Star Game. Not only was she efficient, making 13 of her 16 shots en route to setting an All-Star single-game points record, but as captain she picked a winning team that also set the record for most points. Collier has been one of the two MVP front-runners in the first half of the season, and Minnesota has the league\u2019s best record. Collier continued her positive momentum in Indianapolis with another standout performance.<\/p>\n

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One play, two WNBA All-Star Game records \ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n

\u25fd\ufe0f Napheesa Collier \u2014 Most PTS in the ASG (36+)
\u25fd\ufe0f Skylar Diggins \u2014 Most AST in the ASG (12+)<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa5 @WNBA<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/SjlYeR5j8d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Unrivaled<\/p>\n

Though the women\u2019s basketball world descended to Indy for the All-Star Game, Unrivaled also had a strong presence around the festivities. Saturday was an important day for Unrivaled, as it announced NIL deals with 14 of the top players in college basketball: LSU\u2019s Flau\u2019jae Johnson, JuJu Watkins, Hannah Hidalgo, Sarah Strong, Azzi Fudd and Olivia Miles. Strong, Hidalgo, Fudd and Texas\u2019 Madison Booker told reporters that they hope to play in the league once they enter the professional ranks, as the upstart winter league continues to show signs of longevity in the basketball landscape. Unrivaled launched last year as a winter professional women\u2019s 3\u00d73 league, co-founded by Breanna Stewart and Collier.<\/p>\n

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NEWS: Unrivaled is signing 14 women\u2019s college basketball players to NIL deals.<\/p>\n

The signing class includes players such as JuJu Watkins, Lauren Betts, Hannah Hidalgo, Azzi Fudd and Flau\u2019jae Johnson. pic.twitter.com\/qOx6qAgtH6<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Indianapolis as host<\/p>\n

Even amid Caitlin Clark\u2019s absence from all of the competitions due to injury,downtown Indianapolis was still the epicenter of the women\u2019s basketball world. Fever three-time All-Star Kelsey Mitchell assumed the de facto host role, welcoming fans to the game on Saturday, but by that point, the city had already made a strong impression.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an incredible weekend,\u201d Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum said. \u201cThis is my fourth time, and I thought by far it was the most packed, not just from the game standpoint, but 3-point contest, skills contest. The Orange Carpet was live. Every event that I saw that a player was doing was absolutely packed.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was WNBA-related signage all over the city \u2014 in the airport and on streets \u2014 with the city putting up speciality street signs for all 13 teams. It would have been almost impossible to miss the presence of the event.<\/p>\n

Sabrina Ionescu\u2019s 3s<\/p>\n

Ionescu had 12 points in 20 minutes of All-Star Game action, but her performance on Friday night in the 3-point contest<\/a> will be one of the lasting memories. She made 11 3s in a row at one point in her final round and dazzled the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd. After becoming only the second multi-time 3-point contest winner, Ionescu called Stephen Curry after her performance to celebrate, and she created a viral moment when discussing what she plans to do with the $60,000 bonus she receives from Aflac and the WNBPA for winning. (She\u2019s going to give half to Mystics rookie Sonia Citron.)<\/p>\n

WNBPA in the spotlight<\/p>\n

Players recognized an opportunity and used it to highlight their case for increasing salaries as part of the ongoing CBA negotiations.<\/p>\n

They wore shirts during pregame warmups that read, \u201cPay Us What You Owe Us.\u201d During the on-court trophy presentation, fans broke into a \u201cPay Them\u201d chant, and Mystics guard Brittney Sykes stood behind Engelbert with a sign that said \u201cPay The Players,\u201d which was clearly visible on the ABC broadcast. For the players, getting this messaging out more broadly is a win.<\/p>\n

The talks between the WNBA and the WNBPA loomed over the events. The sides met Thursday afternoon, with more than 40 players \u2014 a record, per the WNBPA \u2014at the bargaining session. Liberty star Breanna Stewart characterized the meeting as a \u201cwasted opportunity,\u201d while Plum said the sides still have a \u201clong way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert called the meeting \u201cconstructive\u201d<\/a> and said she still has confidence a deal can be reached before the Oct. 31 deadline, but the labor situation appears tense.<\/p>\n

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\u201cPay them!\u201d<\/p>\n

WNBA All-Star fans drowned out commissioner Cathy Engelbert during her presentation of the game\u2019s MVP award.<\/p>\n

With several CBA conversations in Indy this weekend, players warmed up in shirts that read \u201cPay Us What You Owe Us.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/XXwjktwYxG<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

LosersFriday night events<\/p>\n

Friday night\u2019s events to kick off All-Star Weekend were undoubtedly successful and exciting. Natasha Cloud won the skills challenge and Ionescu won the 3-point contest. But the two events wrapped up in 70 minutes, leaving a feeling that fans deserved even more. There are more than enough WNBA stars who would be interested and eager to participate in more events. Engelbert acknowledged that change might be coming.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll definitely be looking at different ideas, different formats beyond the skills and 3-point (contest),\u201d Englebert said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to look at that and hopefully deliver something in the future on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The WNBA has come a long way since broadcasting such events on Friday afternoon of All-Star Weekend, as was the case as recently as 2023, but more can be done. Perhaps the league should copy Unrivaled\u2019s one-on-one tournament.<\/p>\n

All-Star Game intensity<\/p>\n

Welp.<\/p>\n

If fans wanted to see a competitive All-Star Game, they should have elected to watch last year\u2019s exhibition between Team USA and the WNBA All-Stars instead of the 2025 showcase. Of course, the formats are different, and last year\u2019s exhibition \u2014 won 117-109 by Team WNBA \u2014 served as an important tune-up for the U.S. Olympic team before the Paris Games. But it\u2019s still hard to avoid comparing the contests. Team Collier and Team Clark combined to score 142 first-half points on Saturday, and Team Collier\u2019s 151 points set an All-Star Game record. Stewart said afterward that the quick turnaround between the first half and the second half of the season contributes to the quality of Saturday\u2019s play.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur game is a little bit competitive, but not as much as you probably want or the viewer wants, but we play on Tuesday, and it\u2019s Saturday,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cSo it would be lovely to be able to have a little bit more time to rest and relax, because what we do this weekend is a sprint.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most All-Star guards<\/p>\n

The streak is finally over!<\/p>\n

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Record breaking performance \ud83c\udfc6<\/p>\n

Napheesa Collier is your #2025WNBAAllStar<\/a> MVP!#PhantomCam<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/ngWk3MwNR7<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/FjKZaySHTa<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 WNBA (@WNBA) July 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For the first since 2013, a guard did not win All-Star MVP. The Athletic asked Plum about the streak pregame. \u201cDon\u2019t jinx it. They get all the love,\u201d she said, while knocking on the floor.<\/p>\n

There were some standout guard performances: Skylar Diggins recorded the first triple-double in All-Star Game history, Mitchell scored 20 points, and Allisha Gray had 18 points, but Saturday night was about the forwards. In addition to Collier\u2019s performance, Mystics rookie Kiki Iriafen posted a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double, Valkyries All-Star Kayla Thornton had a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double, and Ogwumike scored 16 points to move into second place for most career All-Star points.<\/p>\n

(Photo of Napheesa Collier: Michael Hickey \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n