The 2025 WNBA All-Star Game took place this past weekend in Indiana, with fans from the region showing up to experience a weekend of amazing festivities. Of course, the players took the time away from the season’s intensity to enjoy themselves. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that sentiment is for long.
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In the NBA, the All-Star break is a pivotal part of the season. Players get a week off from basketball and use the time for other proclivities. Some players also take the break to replenish their bodies for the second half of the season. Others utilize the ability to clear their minds from the tumultuous strain of the NBA season by taking a mini-trip abroad.
That is, however, not the case in the WNBA. Play resumes on Tuesday, which doesn’t leave enough time for players to rest up for the rest of the season. New York Liberty guard Natasha Cloud, in particular, was vocal in her displeasure.
“Y’all, is it real life that we play already tomorrow?” Cloud said in a post on X, “All-Star gotta start being an actual week.”
At the moment, it appears players may need to advocate for more than just higher pay. Cloud isn’t the only player who criticized the WNBA’s lack of an All-Star break. Her Liberty teammate, Sabrina Ionescu, echoed the sentiment.
“I think it probably would have been more competitive if teams didn’t play in such a short amount of days … That’s something as we’re talking obviously, into our CBA, and understanding that All-Stars don’t really have a break,” she noted.
“We finish, we get on a flight the next day, we’re here, jampacked weekend, wanting to pour into the fans, show up to events, do 3-point contests, skills contests and then play in a game and fly right back to practice and play in three days,” Ionescu said.
The scheduling also appears to have brought down the excitement of the All-Star Game. A final score of 151-131 has once again led to the criticism the NBA has received for a while: a sheer lack of competitiveness. Ionescu believes the lack of an All-Star break is partially to blame.
The CBA conversations, meanwhile, have continued to grab the headlines. Before the All-Star Game, players even wore shirts stating, ‘Pay Us What You Owe Us.’ The WNBPA was reportedly discussing parameters regarding the details of a new CBA but notably was unable to find a common ground with the owners.
It’ll take more time negotiating, but these players deserve the money and the All-Star break. The WNBA has continuously looked for ways to increase the product, and a longer All-Star break will certainly be the right step in that direction.
