INDIANAPOLIS — Napheesa Collier was the biggest of the All-Stars on Saturday as her team beat Team Caitlin Clark 151-131 at Gainbridge Coliseum. The Minnesota Lynx forward scored an All-Star-record 36 points as her team dominated throughout.

The players spent a lot of the weekend sending a message that they want to get paid more by the league as both sides are in the midst of collective bargaining. The city of Indianapolis embraced hosting the game, and the fans showed out in full force despite Clark being sidelined by injury.

Much more dialogue will come throughout the rest of this season on labor negotiations, and the injury status of marquee players such as Clark will be a continuing topic.

But here, we grade the individual performances of the 22 All-Stars on court (and Friday’s participants in the 3-point contest and skills challenge). Indianapolis gets an A-plus for all it did to publicize the game and turn downtown into a celebratory space. Which players got the other top grades?

Jump to: Team Collier | Team Clark | 3-point contest | Skills Challenge

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Team Collier dazzles with creative three-player layup sequence

Team Collier gets crafty with a behind-the-back assist and a wraparound pass that leads to a smooth finish at the rim.

Winners: Team Collier

Napheesa Collier, F, Minnesota Lynx
Grade: A+

This was as close to a one-woman show as an All-Star Game could be for MV-Phee. She was 13-of-16 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 from the foul line. This game doesn’t count toward regular-season stats, but Collier is shooting 94.6% (105 of 111) from the free throw line this season. Collier, who leads the league in scoring (23.2 PPG), is the season MVP favorite for the first-place Lynx. So perhaps Saturday was just a prelude to her picking up that trophy in a couple of months.

Skylar Diggins, G, Seattle Storm
Grade: A+

A native of South Bend, Indiana, Notre Dame legend Diggins was terrific in the All-Star Game back in her home state. She had the first triple-double — 11 points, 11 rebounds and 15 assists — in WNBA All-Star Game history and seemed to have a great time doing it. Diggins, making her seventh All-Star Game appearance, is averaging 17.5 points and 5.8 assists this season for the Storm.

Kelsey Plum, G, Los Angeles Sparks
Grade: A

Plum had a hot start and for a while looked as if she might contend for MVP before Collier ran away with it. The longtime Las Vegas Aces star now in her first season in Los Angeles finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. And she gets extra credit for some of fun antics, such as guarding former Aces teammate A’ja Wilson all the way down the sidelines and out of bounds on one comical sequence in the first half.

Nneka Ogwumike, F, Seattle Storm
Grade: A

She was nearly perfect from the field — going 7-for-8 — and that included 2 of 2 from behind the arc. Ogwumike had a career-high 30 3-pointers last season, and she is sure to break that mark this year with 27 on the season already. The 10-time All-Star also had 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

Allisha Gray, G, Atlanta Dream
Grade: B+

Last year’s double-winner of the 3-point contest and skills challenge competed in both events again this season. That’s impressive even if she didn’t successfully defend either title. Then Gray, who is averaging a career-high 18.4 PPG this season, had 18 points Saturday, going 5 of 12 from behind the 3-point arc.

Courtney Williams, G, Minnesota Lynx
Grade: B+

Williams and her Lynx “Studbudz” teammate Natisha Hiedeman made the most of being everywhere and enjoying everything on All-Star weekend. So Williams gets extra credit for that. She also had work to do: Williams competed in the skills challenge and in Saturday’s game, where she finished with 13 points, 5 assists and 2 rebounds.

Paige Bueckers, G, Dallas Wings
Grade: B

In her first All-Star Game, the Rookie of the Year favorite and No. 1 draft pick made her mark by facilitating, just as Clark did last season. Bueckers had eight assists to go along with six points.

Alyssa Thomas, F, Phoenix Mercury
Grade: B

This might seem like a high grade considering Thomas had just six points. But consider how efficient she was: 3-of-4 from the field, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and plus-14 in 13 minutes of play. Thomas, the face of the Connecticut Sun for so long, has now become a favorite of the X-Factor and has made the Mercury a potential title contender.

Kayla McBride, B-, Minnesota Lynx
Grade: B-

A replacement player for Atlanta’s Rhyne Howard, “McBuckets” is another player with Indiana connections as she also starred at Notre Dame. She helped lead the Lynx to the WNBA Finals last year and is big part of them being in first place now. She had 15 points Saturday, but gets dinged a little for going 4 of 12 from the field

Breanna Stewart, F, New York Liberty
Grade: B-

It was a fairly quiet All-Star Game for Stewart, who won her third WNBA title last year and is trying to help the Liberty repeat. Stewart went 4-of-8 from the field Saturday for 8 points, plus had 4 rebounds and 2 assists. But she gets extra credit for passing to injured Rhyne Howard on the bench and allowing her to take a shot.

Angel Reese, F, Chicago Sky
Grade: B-

Reese, the league’s leading rebounder, had just 6 points but she still grades in the Bs thanks to nine rebounds and finishing plus-17 in her 17 minutes of play. Plus, Team Collier was so good we just don’t think anyone should get an average grade. — Michael Voepel

Losers: Team Clark

Kelsey Mitchell, G, Indiana Fever
Grade: A

The Fever fan favorite has been on an efficient scoring run in the regular season that carried over to the All-Star Game. She led Team Clark with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, plus had 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. And no one has more of an appreciation for the resurgence of the Fever franchise than Mitchell, who is in her eighth season in Indiana and has seen the best of times blossom after the worst.

Kiki Iriafen, F, Washington Mystics
Grade: A

The rookie and No. 4 draft pick was dynamic and fun in her first All-Star appearance, getting a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. She was 7 of 15 from the field. Iriafen has been a big part of the Mystics’ better-than-expected 11-11 season.

Kayla Thornton, F, Golden State Valkyries
Grade: A

In her 10th season, the veteran is having a career year as she helps launch the Valkyries expansion franchise. This was her first All-Star Game appearance, and she made the most of it with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists.

Gabby Williams, F, Seattle Storm
Grade: A-

Making her first All-Star appearance in her seventh WNBA season, Williams made her presence felt. She finished with 16 points and 5 assists. Admittedly her talent on defense wasn’t on display at the All-Star Game, but expect it back as soon as the regular season resumes.

Brionna Jones, F, Atlanta Dream
Grade: B+

Jones is known for her quiet, dependable efficiency, and that described her in this All-Star Game. She played just 12 minutes but went 5-of-6 from the field for 11 points, adding 3 rebounds and 3 assists. A replacement player for Satou Sabally, Jones capitalized on her opportunity. And she has been a very good addition to the Dream this season.

Sabrina Ionescu, G, New York Liberty
Grade: B+

Ionescu made a huge contribution to All-Star Weekend with another exciting performance in winning the 3-point competition, and we want to give her some extra credit for that here. Saturday, she was 4 of 8 from the field for 12 points, plus had 7 assists.

Aliyah Boston, F, Indiana Fever
Grade: B-

She has been a tower of strength for the Fever since she was drafted No. 1 here in 2023. So it was nice to see her get a lot of love from the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd for this game. She had 9 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists Saturday.

Sonia Citron, Washington Mystics
Grade: B-

Like Iriafen, No. 3 draft pick Citron got a chance to be an All-Star as a rookie. She also took part in the 3-point shooting contest Friday, and Sabrina Ionescu shared part of her 3-point winnings with her. Saturday, Citron had 11 points, 2 assists and 2 rebounds on Saturday.

Brittney Sykes, G. Washington Mystics
Grade: B-

Sykes was the replacement for Clark, and she had an overall good night — except for behind the arc, where she was 0-for-9. Still, she had 16 points, 7 assists and 3 rebounds. This season, she’s been a good mentor for fellow All-Stars Citron and Iriafen, who are rookies with the Mystics.

A’ja Wilson, F, Las Vegas Aces
Grade: C

The three-time MVP has dealt with some injury issues this season and didn’t want to play a lot Saturday. She was in for 12 minutes and finished 2 of 4 from the field for 4 points, plus 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Now it’s back to trying to figure out how to help bring more consistency for the 11-11 Aces.

Jackie Young, Las Vegas Aces
Grade: None

The two-time WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, back in her native state of Indiana where she grew up in Princeton and then starred at Notre Dame, played just 1 minute due to dealing with an injury. — Voepel

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Sabrina Ionescu ‘redeems herself’ after loss to Steph Curry

Sabrina Ionescu jokes with Holly Rowe about redeeming herself to win her second WNBA 3-point contest.

3-point contest

Friday’s festivities had a New York flavor. The Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu won the 3-point shooting contest for the second time in three years, while teammate Natasha Cloud took home the skills challenge title.

It’s the second time in WNBA history that players from the same team have won both competitions, which have been held at every All-Star Game since 2019, but the first time that has happened with two different players. In 2024, Allisha Gray of the Atlanta Dream won both competitions, but she was unable to successfully defend either title Friday.

Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty
Grade: A

After sitting out last year, Ionescu returned to show why she and four-time winner Allie Quigley are the only acceptable answers for the WNBA’s 3-point contest GOAT.

For anyone else, Ionescu’s score of 25 in the first round — tied for second best of the night — would have been a highlight. Ionescu made 13 of her last 16 shot attempts, including a deep 3. For Ionescu, that was just a warmup.

In the final, Ionescu missed her first two shots and her last three, which led her to say she was “pretty disappointed” because she “missed a few easy ones.” Everyone else was amazed by Ionescu making 11 consecutive shots at one point, including the deep 3, reminiscent of her record score of 37 during the 2023 final.

Ionescu settled for a 30-point round, giving her two of the three times WNBA players have scored 30-plus in the 3-point contest since the current format was adopted in 2021. Quigley, with a round of 30 in the finals, was fittingly the other player to reach that mark.

Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream
Grade: A-

Going last as the defending champ, Gray set up the anticipated showdown of the past two winners by making four shots and the money ball from each of the last three racks. That tied Ionescu’s score of 25 in the opening round. Gray got on a similar roll from the left wing in the finals, going 5-for-5 after making the deep 3 from that side, but it was already too late to catch Ionescu. Gray missed her first four shots of the finals and went 0-of-5 from the top of the key. Gray’s score of 22 points in the finals nonetheless matched the best round by anyone but her and Ionescu.

Kelsey Plum, Los Angeles Sparks
Grade: B

The middle of Plum’s round put her in the early lead. She made three from the top of the key, the right deep 3 and four of five from the right wing. Had Plum made her final shot, worth two points, she would have made things really interesting for the two finalists. Instead, Plum finished third behind the two previous champions.

Sonia Citron, Washington Mystics
Grade: B-

The lone rookie in the field might have needed to move her money ball rack. Citron made four of her high-arching shots from the left wing and all five from the top of the key but went 1-of-5 from the right wing with double points for all shots. Simply flipping the two wings would have given Citron a couple more points and pushed her out of last place. For that spot, Citron’s score was more than respectable.

Lexie Hull, Indiana Fever
Grade: B-

The Fever’s only player to compete Friday was a late replacement for teammate Caitlin Clark, who had to withdraw due to injury. Early on, it looked like Hull’s shot — reliant on a large vertical jump — might not translate to the 3-point contest. She had just three points through the first two racks before making one of the deep 3s. Hull caught fire down the stretch, making eight of her last 10 shots — including four of five from the money ball rack — but it wasn’t enough to reach the finals. — Kevin Pelton

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Natasha Cloud beats buzzer to win WNBA Skills Challenge

Natasha Cloud beats the buzzer with 1.1 seconds to spare, edging Erica Wheeler’s 37.5 to win the WNBA All-Star Skills Challenge.

Skills challenge

Natasha Cloud, New York Liberty
Grade: A

I thought Cloud was out of the finals after she needed all three attempts on both 3-point shots, but she managed to race through the final pass and the hoop for a layup just ahead of Erica Wheeler’s time of 37.5 seconds. Cloud ended with the night’s two best times, displaying a mastery of both skill and the strategy that can separate winners from losers in the skills challenge.

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Team Collier dazzles with creative three-player layup sequence

Team Collier gets crafty with a behind-the-back assist and a wraparound pass that leads to a smooth finish at the rim.

Erica Wheeler, Seattle Storm
Grade: A-

The longtime member of the Indiana Fever got a huge cheer from the crowd when she referred to her home-court advantage in the competition. It looked like that might be enough to carry the 2019 All-Star MVP to victory, overcoming a gaffe in the opening round. Focusing on fundamentals and making her first shot or pass, Wheeler had enough cushion to advance even though she smoked her first layup attempt. In the finals, Wheeler set the bar for Cloud, but slowing down when she needed multiple attempts at the above-the-break 3-pointer cost her.

Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream
Grade: B-

The defending champ, Gray moved quickly through the course — perhaps too fast for her own good. Gray was already trying to move on to the next station when she missed her first chest pass and had to double back. Gray needed all three attempts, leaving her too far behind to reach the final round despite strong shooting.

Courtney Williams, Minnesota Lynx
Grade: C

After a strong start with bounce passes, Williams wasn’t clean enough the rest of the round. Williams needed multiple attempts on her outlet passes and shots, leaving her with a score of 42.0 seconds that surpassed only Diggins. Ahead of playing in Saturday’s All-Star Game, that left Williams time to focus on her livestream with Natisha Hiedeman.

Skylar Diggins, Seattle Storm
Grade: C-

Diggins’ opening round reflected an issue with the skills challenge rules that the NBA and WNBA haven’t rectified after the San Antonio Spurs were disqualified at NBA All-Star Saturday Night for attempting to exploit it. Because players move on with no penalty after three missed shots (or passes), there’s no actual benefit to making the last shot — as Diggins did from all three locations. The time Diggins spent on those attempts doomed her to the first round’s slowest time. — Pelton