WNBA All-Star Game delivers excellence and a ‘powerful’ message
The match, between the top stars in women’s basketball, was more than just a spectacle — it was a moment for players to be heard
Napheesa Collier left the match with an MVP trophy and her team coming out on top. (Lorie Shaull/Wikimedia Commons)
Indianapolis played host to more than just a basketball showcase on July 19 — it became the epicentre of a rising movement.
The 2025 WNBA All-Star Game delivered dazzling performances, but what unfolded at centre court went well beyond the scoreboard. Team Collier’s 151–131 victory over Team Clark will live in the record books, but the evening’s true legacy was written in bold letters, worn on the players’ chests: “Pay Us What You Owe Us.”
The message, delivered moments before tip-off on matching warmup shirts, wasn’t performative. It was personal, collective, urgent. Just days after a CBA meeting left players disheartened and increasingly frustrated, the WNBA’s best arrived in solidarity, refusing to separate their stardom from their struggles. Their demands were simple but long overdue: a fairer share of league revenue, meaningful increases in salaries, expanded benefits, and real infrastructure for long-term growth.
Nearly 17,000 fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse echoed the sentiment. When Commissioner Cathy Engelbert presented Napheesa Collier with her All-Star MVP trophy, the building shook with chants of “Pay them! Pay them!”— a rare and powerful moment of player-fan unity. Kelsey Plum called it “a very powerful moment,” and it was clear the message had landed.
On the floor, Collier lived up to the MVP billing in every way. She exploded for 36 points on 13-of-16 shooting, knocked down four four-pointers, and grabbed nine rebounds in a performance as efficient as it was emphatic. It set a new All-Star scoring record and anchored Team Collier’s run from the opening minutes to the final buzzer.
Skylar Diggins, meanwhile, made history of her own. Playing in front of a hometown crowd, the Indiana native recorded the WNBA’s first-ever All-Star triple-double: 11 points, 12 rebounds, and a game-high 11 assists. Her orchestration of the offense was clinical and confident, offering a timely reminder that Diggins remains one of the league’s sharpest floor generals.
Among the many stars on the court, it was rookie Paige Bueckers, who added an unexpected layer to the night. Starting in her first All-Star Game, the 23 year old not only drilled a deep four-pointer and set a rookie assist mark but also proved unafraid to raise her voice off the court. Following the CBA talks earlier in the week, Bueckers described the league’s counteroffers as “kind of disrespectful,” noting that the sacrifices WNBA players make deserve more than symbolic gestures. They deserve structural change.
That sentiment resonated widely. WNBA Players Association President Nneka Ogwumike, speaking on behalf of more than 40 players who attended the CBA meeting, called it “a wasted opportunity.” With league attendance surging and a $2.2 billion media rights deal freshly inked, the players argue that now is the time to fundamentally rethink compensation models.
Despite the tension, the weekend wasn’t stripped of joy. Sabrina Ionescu and Natasha Cloud shined in the Friday night festivities, winning the 3-Point Contest and Skills Challenge respectively. There were smiles, sideline jokes, and a celebration of the culture that makes this league unique but that joy was always rooted in something deeper.
In the end, the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game wasn’t just a spectacle. It was a convergence of excellence and intention, a moment when stars on the rise and legends in their prime stood together, not just to entertain, but to be heard.
Team Collier may have claimed the scoreboard, but the night belonged to every woman who put on that black T-shirt and reminded the world that the game doesn’t thrive without them — and they’re done waiting.
