Team Collier throttles Team Clark in 2025 WNBA All-Star Game
Team Collier led wire-to-wire in a 2025 WNBA All-Star Game blowout victory over Team Clark, whose captain and Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark sat out due to a groin injury.
The game got off to a high-scoring start aided by a new 4-point shot marker added on the court specifically for tonight, but Napheesa Collier’s squad opened up a big lead in the second quarter and led by 22 at halftime. Collier set a new All-Star Game scoring record with 36 points en route to winning MVP of the game while Skylar Diggins broke Sue Bird’s assist record with an 11-point, 11-rebound, 15-assist triple-double off the bench.
In addition to its namesake, Team Clark was also dealing with injuries to A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young and Satou Sabally. Wilson and Young played limited minutes while Sabally sat out along with Clark.
WNBA players make statement
After the players’ union met with the WNBA Thursday and once again came away frustrated with the economic model proposed by the league, the All-Stars came out wearing warmup shirts that said, “Pay Us What You Owe Us”. Salaries and revenue share remain primary sticking points for the union in the collective bargaining negotiations.
No one was smiling more broadly during All-Star introductions than Kayla Thornton, (who also put her V’s up) a first-time All-Star in her tenth season, and the first-ever All-Star for the expansion Golden State Valkyries. Thornton even got a shout out from Cathy Engelbert in the commissioner’s annual midseason address
Aliyah Boston, the Fever star and No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft, gets a rousing ovation from her home Indiana fans as well.
Now it’s Team Clark’s turn to be introduced!
A certain injured team captain and namesake will likely be introduced last and get the loudest cheer…
Nneka Ogwumike may simply have been keeping her hands open to wave to the crowd, but it certainly seemed like she was highlighting all ten fingers for her tenth All-Star appearance as she was announced as a starter for Team Collier.
Team Collier introduced
The same stage used during introductions for last night’s events is being used tonight to introduce each All-Star roster, starting with Team Collier!
Angel Reese gets a nice ovation from the Indianapolis crowd despite being back in her rival’s building.
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WNBA All-Star Game almost underway!
It’s almost time for tip-off from Indianapolis! We hope you’re excited to watch the WNBA’s brightest stars all share the court tonight — I know I am, and from the looks of things, so is Caitlin Clark who will still be performing team captain duties for her team despite not actually playing tonight due to her most recent groin injury.
ESPN’s WNBA ASG presence grows
You always want to look for markers that show a pro league’s growth beyond the the important standard bearers such as media rights deals, ticket sales, viewership, franchise valuations etc… Here’s one you probably don’t know: ESPN had 140 staffers working onsite for last year’s All Star Game in Phoenix. This year? The company has close to 200 staffers in Indianapolis.
Engelbert hints at more All-Star events
As a television product as well as an in-fan experience, Friday’s WNBA Skills Challenge and the 3-Point Contest left you wanting at least one more event. During a press conference on Saturday night with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, the Commissioner was asked by Aaron Barzilai of Her Hoops Stats if there were any plans to add something such as a rookie versus sophomore game for future WNBA All-Star Games. Engelbert agreed that the night needs more events.
“We’ll definitely be looking at different ideas, different formats beyond the skills and three point,” Engelbert said. “I got a lot of fans asking me today at WNBA Live: ‘We want more W this weekend.’ We’re going to look at that and hopefully deliver something in the future on that.”
If the league and players can work it out through bargaining, this feels like a no-brainer to add more content for fans. As important: It will offer more opportunities for players to make money and get involved in the weekend, especially if they were not selected for the All Star Game.
Ionescu’s great 3-point gesture
INDIANAPOLIS — Washington Mystics guard Sonia Citron said that she received more texts and messages last night from her friends about Sabrina Ionescu saying she would split the 3-point shootout prize money with Citron than about the Mystics rookie’s performance in the actual event.
One of your views on WNBA All-Star weekend
We’ve just received a wonderful email from WNBA fan Betty Meadows, who enjoyed the skills challenge and 3-point contest last night! Here’s what Betty had to say about this weekend’s action:
“I am disappointed that Caitlin won’t be playing tonight. However, I will support her and all the other players by watching the game tonight. The 3 point challenge and skills challenge was great last night. Kudos to everyone that participated. I was especially impressed and proud of Ionescu, Cloud, Wheeler and Hull. Everyone that participated was so supportive of one another. Actually made me smile and enjoy the challenges. Thanks to the WNBA for making this All-Star Game and challenges possible and creating such a remarkable experience for me.
One last comment, I think all of the winning participants in the challenges should be paid at least $100k. They’re professionals and put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into their training.
Thanks again and Congratulations to all of the WNBA players!!
Looking forward to the game tonight!!”
Remember, you can be featured in tonight’s coverage as well by sending us an email like Betty did: [email protected].
Keep an eye on Diggins
If I was picking a non-starter to have a big game tonight, I’d put a flyer on Skylar Diggins. This is a homecoming for Diggins, an Indiana Miss Basketball out of South Bend’s Washington High School and of course a star at Notre Dame. I profiled Diggins for Sports Illustrated in 2011 — met her mother and stepfather, saw the rec centre where she built her game — and she’s going to have a ton of family in Indianapolis, a city that once upon a time served as the site of a crushing defeat.
In April 2011, Texas A&M beat Notre Dame 76-70 in the title game at then Conseco Fieldhouse to win a national title after Diggins, then a sophomore, led the Irish to an uspet win over UConn with a 28-point performance. Call me sentimental but I’d like to see the Seattle Storm guard, now 34, put in a big performance tonight
Reese on the influx of women’s basketball podcasts
In recent days, a wave of new shows has followed Reese’s lead. Aliyah Boston and Candace Parker announced their new video podcast Post Moves, which will dive into behind-the-scenes stories and the state of the game. Azzi Fudd is launching Fudd Around and Find Out, produced in partnership with iHeartMedia and Stephen Curry’s Unanimous Media, while Sue Bird’s Bird’s Eye View continues to deliver in-depth WNBA conversations through Vox Media and Togethxr. With stars like Reese at the forefront, the podcast boom in women’s basketball is proving there’s a massive appetite for players’ unfiltered voices.
As we’re now within half an hour from tip-off in Indianapolis, here’s a reminder on tonight’s starting lineups from Team Clark and Team Collier:
How the WNBA can capitalize on Clark even more
One of the buzzwords often heard in sports media today is “eventize.” But the word is far from new. For instance, a 2004 New York Times Magazine piece on the explosion of DVDs as a marketing play reveals that “eventize” is a word the writer has been hearing a lot around Los Angeles. From the piece: “As in, ‘We really need to eventize the hell out of this release. For the ‘Star Wars’ debut on DVD, that meant parties, paparazzi, robots and a red-carpet treatment that mimicked in miniature the fanfare accompanying a big-screen theatrical opening. A boffo event, in short.”
The word pops up frequently these days when discussing Netflix’s sports ambitions or a broadcaster’s desire to make something feel big. The sports content marketplace is crowded and one way to separate yourself is making a broadcast feel like an event. That will be case this weekend in Indianapolis as the WNBA descends on the city for All-Star Weekend, even without Caitlin Clark participating in the event because of injury. The league made a smart move by anointing Napheesa Collier and Caitlin Clark team captains and having them select teams. That mini-event delivered a ton of earned media, which is always a bigger win than a paid marketing campaign.
The most successful sports leagues steal ideas from other leagues — or simply use their might to swipe them — and here is where the WNBA should swipe from the NFL, NHL, MLB, college football and other leagues.
The WNBA needs to “eventize” more regular-season games, and a priority for the 2026 season should be using the popularity of Caitlin Clark by scheduling the Fever to play a game at either Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the Colts in Indianapolis, or a unique outdoor venue in the Midwest, such as Wrigley Field. (Clark is a lifelong Cubs fan.)
Collier picks up a big win off the court
INDIANAPOLIS — Saturday was an important day for Unrivaled, as the league co-founded by WNBA All-Star captain Napheesa Collier announced NIL deals with 14 of the top players in college basketball on Saturday.
Unrivaled announced deals with Azzi Fudd (UConn), MiLaysia Fulwiley (LSU), Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame), Flau’jae Johnson (LSU), Ta’Niya Latson (South Carolina), Olivia Miles (TCU), Kiki Rice (UCLA), Sarah Strong (UConn), Syla Swords (Michigan), Lauren Betts (UCLA), Sienna Betts (UCLA), Madison Booker (Texas), Audi Crooks (Iowa State) and JuJu Watkins (USC).
“This transformational, first-of-its-kind initiative brings together the best of the best and reflects our deep commitment to elevating the women’s game and holistically supporting athletes,” Luke Cooper, Unrivaled’s president of basketball operations, said in a statement.
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The WNBA is at an inflection point. The league has experienced record-breaking jumps in attendance, ticket sales and TV viewership in three consecutive seasons. A massive media rights deal valued at $2.2 billion over 11 years begins in 2026. After more than a decade of staying stagnant at 12 teams, the WNBA finally expanded to Golden State this season and will have welcomed five more teams by 2030.
All of this growth comes with the looming backdrop of collective bargaining negotiations. The current collective bargaining agreement expires on Oct. 31, 2025, and the players and league appear far apart on a resolution, as Satou Sabally called the league’s latest proposal a “slap in the face.” Though players fought for the WNBA’s survival during the last round of negotiations in 2019, they now have leverage thanks to the exploding business of women’s sports.
The below section of The Athletic’s anonymous player poll deals with player priorities for the CBA negotiations, as well as their desires for salary increases and on league expansion.
INDIANAPOLIS — We just finished pregame on-court availability and a number of players took themselves of the MVP conversation for tonight’s All-Star Game. Rule out Allisha Gray, Nneka Ogwumike, Kayla Thornton, and Sonia Citron among others. A’ja Wilson also unlikely to play big minutes tonight as she continues to recover from a right wrist injury.
Do players think Clark will be league’s face in five years?
There is not one defining feature that makes up the face of a sport. A player’s success on the floor is important, but so is her social omnipresence, her brand prominence and her desire to be a voice on topics that not only involve her but her peers. The WNBA’s face of the league does not have to be its best player, or even its most decorated. The WNBA currently has stars from various generations competing. A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier highlight a group that entered the league in the mid- to late-2010s, while Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers are among a recent crop of stars.
So who do WNBA players think will be the face of the league in five years? To answer those questions, The Athletic’s anonymous player poll is back. The player chosen most frequently by her peers may not surprise you — but the player receiving the second-most votes sure might.
