INDIANAPOLIS — Napheesa Collier scored a record 36 points to help her team beat Team Clark 151-131 in the WNBA All-Star Game that was devoid of defense and full of 4-point shots.
This record offensive effort came a year after the league’s annual exhibition game was a competitive contest that pitted the U.S Olympic team against WNBA All-Stars.
The game capped off a weekend during which negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement took center stage. Players wore warmup T-shirts
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before the game that said “Pay us what you owe us.”Collier was named the game’s MVP. As she waited to get her trophy, the crowd chanted “Pay them more,” and All-Star Brittney Sykes held up a sign saying “Pay the Players.”
Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, an All-Star reserve for the second straight year, had six points and nine rebounds for Team Collier.
Captain Caitlin Clark was unable to play for her team because of a groin injury she suffered earlier this week. She still served as ambassador for the weekend.
Known for her logo 3-pointers, Clark would have loved a chance at the 28-foot 4-point shot that was added to this game. Both teams took advantage of the deep shot en route to the record-setting offensive night.
The 151 points scored by Team Collier broke the mark of 143 in 2023. Collier’s point total broke Arike Ogunbowale’s previous record of 34 points last year.
The combined total of 282 also surpassed the previous high of 270, set in 2023.
While there was little defense, both teams challenged plays in the fourth quarter with the game not in doubt. One was successful and one wasn’t.
The game also featured first-year players Paige Bueckers, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen making up the largest rookie contingent at the game since 2011. Citron and Iriafen were on Team Clark, and Bueckers was a starter for Collier’s team.
New rules
Besides the 4-point shot, the game also included a 20-second shot clock instead of the normal 24 and the ability for teams to substitute during live play. There also were no free throws — not that there usually are many in an All-Star Game — until the final two minutes of the game. Instead players were automatically awarded the points. Skylar Diggins attempted the only free throws of the game with 1:01 left. She made both.
All four rules had been used at some point during previous All-Star Games, but not all in the same one.
Stars put on show for celebrities
The All-Star Game brought the stars out in Indianapolis. Rapper GloRilla performed at halftime while musicians Common and Jennifer Hudson sat courtside near WNBA greats Lisa Leslie and Tamika Catchings. Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton sat in a suite and received the loudest ovation from the crowd when he was shown on the videoboard.