WNBA All-Star Weekend underway in Indy
Dinner with Stephanie White, Indiana Fever party, GMA, team practices, Caitlin Clark scratched from events due to injury, Lexie Hull fills in for 3-point contest. A successful start for Indy.
It’s Indianapolis’ time to shine once again, and they’re delivering.
The city and Indiana Fever answered when the WNBA reached out asking if they would be interested in hosting All-Star Weekend for the first time. There was a conflict with Dallas, per league source, and after several conversations, the Fever accepted.
And when this city does something, it goes all-in. No shortcuts.
They set a new standard.
That’s now become the expectation with big events — from March Madness to the Big Ten Football Championship Game, WWE, etc. It certainly helped that they just hosted NBA All-Star Weekend 17 months ago.
Things got rolling on Thursday as most arrived to town. For those flying in, there was no question about what was going on in Indy. Banners, details, and even a replica basketball court were showcased at Indianapolis International Airport.
As guests exited down the escalator, there was a banner of Caitlin Clark and Gatorade greeting them to town — then baggage claim was decked out.
The primary item on the players’ agenda this weekend was an important meeting Thursday afternoon. It was negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with the WNBA. The current one is set to expire at the end of October.
More than 40 players from across the league were there to listen, participate, and show their support as they want more from the league given its record growth. There will be a lot more on this in the next few months.
Several players made clear on Friday that the sides remain far apart. They’re not even close to the same zip code. It starts with a larger share of pie, and the players are seeking revenue sharing.
Later Thursday, Stephanie White was part of a special event hosted at Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse — just a few blocks from Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
White (like me) enjoys wine — and so fittingly, she was invited to be the special guest at an event for Jackson Family Wines. It was moderated by ESPN’s Marc Spears and hosted by wine educator Katie Werthmuller.
There were countless parties and events downtown Thursday. One of them was a Fever welcome party attended by the players. A good time was had.
GMA
The day began early — very early — for a handful of Fever players on Friday. As in 6:30 a.m. or so.
The All-Star host committee invited ABC’s “Good Morning America” to do the show from Indy, setting set the table for a big weekend. So ABC went live from Morris Bicentennial Plaza, just north of The Fieldhouse.
Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell, and Sydney Colson joined, as did other players and musical guests BIA and G-Eazy.
Clark Out For the Weekend
Women’s basketball in Indianapolis (and across the league) has underwent a significant transformation over the last 15 months thanks to Clark arriving at the No. 1 draft pick.
Truly, every game is a home game.
For the second year in a row, she was the top vote getter for the All-Star game. And she committed to making her 3-point contest debut in Indy.
That vision stalled out and never happened after she suffered a right groin injury Tuesday against Connecticut. She sat out of the back-to-back in New York — and is now out for formal All-Star events.
She issued the following message through the team.
I'm so excited for Indy to host WNBA
All-Star this weekend. I want to thank the Indianapolis Host Committee and all of the people that have put endless work in over the past year to put this event together. I know this will be the best All-Star yet.
I am incredibly sad and disappointed to say I can't participate in the 3-Point Contest or the All-Star Game. I have to rest my body.
I will still be at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for all the action and I'm looking forward to helping Sandy coach our team to a win.
Can't wait to see you all out there!
Tickets are already sold out. But her absence from the court will definitely impact interest and the TV audience — which was 3.44 million one year ago, easily a new record.
Washington Mystics guard Brittney Sykes and Atlanta Dream forward Brionna Jones were named as All-Star replacements by WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. They replaced Clark and Satou Sabally (Mercury).
Talking ‘Bout Practice
The All-Stars were at The Fieldhouse for the first time on Friday morning for a light practice and a media session. All players were made available on Salesforce Court, where the Fever practice.
Most conversations centered around CBA talks, especially the likes of Nneka Ogwumike, Napheesa Collier, and Breanna Stewart. It’s good that they’re getting major platforms to share their feelings and priorities.
However, it’s also supposed to be a weekend for fun and to celebrate the league. It’s a balancing act, difficult to do both well at the same time.
We heard from Boston and Mitchell as they discussed the CBA, as well as another All-Star nod, the Fever’s togetherness, and supporting one another.
It was Captain Clark, since Caitlin was automatically one of two team captains based on All-Star voting.
Since the injury, however, she’s now Coach C.
She plans to have fun at the game, and help head coach Sandy Brondello from the New York Liberty. But let’s be real: it’s an All-Star game; there’s not a ton of coaching.
There’s no way it doesn’t bother Clark to miss this time. She’s a competitor and wants to be out there. But she needs rest — and for her body to get right. She’s been dealing with injuries since Week 1 of training camp.
Mitchell was the only one to make the half-court shot to end practice. Call it home-court advantage.
Hull Fills In, Wants to Do It Again
At 8 a.m. Friday, the WNBA announced that Fever guard Lexie Hull would replace Clark in the 3-point contest. She’d be one of five competitors.
Hull is close with Clark, she was a first-round pick of the Fever and is popular among fans. However, she has also shot the 3-ball really well. She’s made 46.8% of attempts, which ranks fourth in the league.
So she earned it.
She didn’t get to practice and tried to maximize the five-minute warmup, but there were a lot of decisions to make on the fly.
“I was trying to figure out whether to pull from the left or pull from the right, where to put the money ball rack, which side to start,” she said afterward. “There's so many choices. I didn't even know that you had all these choices.
“I think more than anything, it's over so fast. So you really only have one chance. If you have a tough start — I had a tough start — it’s hard to get back into it.”
Hull, wearing the team’s navy uniform, elected to start on the right corner (in front of the Fever bench). She missed her first four attempts, but made the money ball on the first rack.
As she said, a tough start.
There were five racks, plus two Starry balls wroth three points each. The top two scores moved on to the final round.
Hull’s 20 points were not good enough to advance.
“It's awesome, it's so fun,” she said, beaming. “The fans were great. I definitely felt them. I heard them. I wish I could do it again right now because I feel like I was so nervous at the start and all of us were. So it's just a fun experience, really proud to be part of it, proud to represent the Fever. It's been a fun weekend.”
After she was eliminated, Hull went over to say hi her teammates courtside. There was a large group of them. Clark handed Hull her cup to drink from. Looked like a refreshing beverage.
“I was disappointed because I wanted to make it to the finals for them and because they were there supporting me,” said Hull. “So I'm so just grateful for their support. A lot of them came out tonight and yeah, we'll have fun.”
Earlier in the day, this funny moment happened after practice. Sabrina Ionescu volunteered as a ball rack as rookie Sonia Citron got shots up.
3-Point Contestants, Scores
Kelsey Plum (Los Angeles Sparks) | 22
Sonia Citron (Washington Mystics) | 19
Lexie Hull (Indiana Fever) | 20
Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty) | 25
Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream) | 25
Gray won in 2024 and Ionescu in 2023.
It was fitting for both to advance to the final round — where Ionescu finished made both Starry balls to outlast Gray 30 to 22.
Ionescu will be receiving a total prize of $62,575 — $2,575 from the WNBA and another $60,000 kicked in from league partner Aflac.
At her press conference, she shared that she had promised to give Citron half for being a bold rookie putting herself out there. And the other half would go to Ionescu’s foundation.
The Skills challenge was held before the 3-point contest. (And it feels like they need another event; two isn’t enough.)
Gray tried to defend her titles — she won both last year — but she was unable to do so. Former Fever guard Erica Wheeler received the largest cheers from the Fever-heavy crowd. She was edged by Natasha Cloud in the finals.
So it was a Liberty sweep. Here were the participants:
Natasha Cloud (New York Liberty)
Skylar Diggins (Seattle Storm)
Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream)
Erica Wheeler (Seattle Storm)
Courtney Williams (Minnesota Lynx)
It was a successful Friday night. The total attendance was 15,139.
Other Notes
Shawn Sullivan served as public address announcer for Friday night.
WNBA Live (inside Indiana Convention Center) is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. It’s the final day. Tickets are $28.40. Kids 12 and under are free, but are required to have a ticket.
Make sure to walk Georgia St as well. There are several activations there.
Clark took part in a lot of events on Friday. Including being a surprise guest on a podcast “A Touch More” for Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe. She had events for State Farm, Nike, Wilson, and more.
Aliyah Boston and Candace Parker recorded their debut episode of a new video podcasts “Post Moves,” which premiers on July 30 and they plan to drop a weekly episode on Wednesday. I attended the event Friday and will have more on it, but their chemistry was obvious.
Fever forward Natasha Howard has signed on to be an athlete correspondent for EssentiallySports. She spoke at an event on Friday, and plans to submit content to be used for the "She Got Game" newsletter.
Howard: “I'm thrilled to partner with EssentiallySports—they truly get what WNBA fans want: real, behind-the-scenes access. They're committed to elevating women's basketball, and I'm excited to go beyond just highlights and stats. As their Athlete Correspondent, I'll be sharing my perspective, stories, and experiences in a way that helps fans feel even more connected to the game and the players they love.”
Unrivaled has a presence at All-Star Weekend. Over at 416 Wabash Event Space — at 416 E Wabash Street. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. Lexie Hull visited on Friday.
On Saturday, the newly refurbished basketball court at Willard Park will be unveiled. Sophie Cunningham will make an appearance from 11 a.m. to noon. Indiana Sports Corp, Hoopbus, Indy Parks, and Gatorade teamed up to get it done.
GloRilla headlines the All-Star halftime act. BIA will perform before tip-off.
Over at University of Indianapolis, 40 of the top-high school-age prospects from around the world will participate in Basketball Without Borders Global Women’s Camp. It’s a three-day event.