The โFuture is Unrivaledโ 2026 Crew Seems to be Having a Good Time In Miami
Oh my ๐
Oh my ๐
She is glowing ๐ฅน My heart โบ๏ธ
I love that he actually said this more than words can express ๐
Congrats to Barbie and Rhy ๐
This time, itโs coach Karl Smesko ๐๐
Congratulations to both of them, as both of them have been absolutely unstoppable this month ๐ฅ
I've seen behind-the-back passes before, but this one had something extra.. If you watch the second replay, she put the perfect spin on the ball for it to change angle on the bounce, and land right in Jackie Young's hands.
Point gawd, indeed ๐ฅ
Her streak of 20+ point performances and high efficiency games continues at a clip unmatched by a guard ๐ฅ
For anyone else, this would probably be a career game ๐ But for the reigning MVP, itโs just another Thursday in a season full of standout games ๐ฅ
Update (July 30, 10 PM): There is now a third rally planned for the Minnesota/Indiana game as well.
The news went out on social media today that a rally similar to the one in Seattle has been planned for the Moda Center before the Portland/Seattle game. It seems fairly clear that this is becoming a situation that extends outside of Seattle โ and because of that, it seems important to inform people on why exactly this is happening.
Here are some details that are missing from most coverage:
The key organizer of the Seattle rally is a former Seattle FOX-affiliate journalist, who now hosts a political podcast. That podcast is the same one that broke the news about the two girls and their conversation with the Storm owner on Tuesday.
That organizer makes statements through the podcast and social media like the following recent ones:
>Ignoring the skin color of the young men shooting each other only guarantees more of them will die. It might make white Seattle progressives feel good about themselves, but it won't fix sh*t.
That person often comments on claims about a "Global rise in left-wing terrorism", asking things like "Why wonโt Democrats aggressively condemn left-wing violence?" and "You think we're living through fascism? Wait until the socialists take over."
Another of the key organizations backing the Storm protest runs a merch store selling clothing that features their logo and brand. And the third organizer is from an organization that writes not about fairness, but about "safety" and "danger" in their mission statement about shielding women and girls.
The organization that provided the t-shirts to those two girls is run by a person who stated this week that "Liberal white women are our biggest obstacle". This person, like the first organizer, reposts J.K. Rowling commentary, and this week implored Rowling to "please keep this going", offering to buy the author tickets to the upcoming Fever game in Chicago.
This same person also appears on FOX News and posts comments attacking Dr. Fauci, etc.
It seems likely that someone connected with these individuals purchased the expensive seats that the shirt-wearing girls were sitting in โ right next to the bench, where they would be seen by the entire area, and on camera. The first organizer says the seats were $1300 and "gifted by a generous donor".
The person who is publicizing the flyer for the Portland rally (which I have not seen elsewhere, to date) is a FOX News journalist. One of the two young girls has previously appeared on Fox news, and the same company sent another young girl for a Fox interview just five days before the game, promoting the same shirt. They have a discount code with the girl's name that they're pushing to sell their merchandise.
The goal behind sharing this information is to help anyone who may be in the area, or attending these games, to understand that these are not simply "organic" gatherings from unaffiliated citizens. These events are organized by people who have very clear political goals, and are using the coverage generated by their actions to help promote their podcasts, merchandise, and talk-news appearances.
There is a clear pattern of attempting to bait people into reacting in a way that can then be used to generate national news stories, to drive engagement. It is being done intentionally, and used to capture sound bites and video clips to further specific personal, financial and political goals.
If you are in the area, or planning to be at these games, please be aware.
On Saturday at All-Star Weekend, StudBudz Courtney and Natisha decided to host their own party, rather than showing up at another pre-planned event, for the first time. Courtney rented out the club, and invited athletes and friends alike to participate.
This video collects all the highlights from that final night of partying โ and their thank-you and emotional goodbye at the and of All-Star Weekend. And it's a perfect finale to the series of highlight videos, because it emphasizes the thing that's so attractive about the WNBA aside from the basketball โ the power of friendship.
In a time where there can be many things to be upset about, I hope the the expression of love, fun and joy can be what we remember.
It's been a lot of fun collecting all the highlights, and I hope you enjoy!
Previous videos:
Yes, โshooters shootโ, but they also might bring along mathematics, and some extra analytics help ๐
If there were questions about why someone like Kayla McBride might not want to do the event on short notice, this is probably why. Success begins with preparation!
So many great shots from the weekend. What were your personal favorites from All-Star 2026? Share them with us! ๐
Continuing the series of highlight videos from the StudBudz 72-hour All-Star weekend steam, here's a party-only montage of the excitement and festivities on Friday night.
There's a bunch of hotel shenanigans, a special performance by T, and Dana Evans cuts loose in the party bus. Also, I believe that the sight of Temi Fagbenle singing can heal all sickness.. DiJonai also reasserts her spot as the StudBudz biggest fan โ to Jackie Young's slight embarrassment. And we get a glimpse of the impact they have on young fans, as well as older ones.
The very last video in the series, with highlights from the special debut of the StudBudz own hosted All-Star party (featuring a bunch of our favorite WNBA stars) will drop tomorrow afternoon.
Here are all of the previous videos to date:
What an amazing, entertaining weekend for the WNBA All-Star's 2026 edition. Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman captured it all (and partied through it all), and brought their look at the real All-Star experience to us with their 72-hour live stream.
This third day has so many memorable moments: lots of singing, T's brief romance with Ellie, Issa Rae and Keke, the rookie moments, Court's reaction to the Shooting Stars competition, Cait's gift delivery, Cheryl Reeve, and the Budz' chemistry with everyone.
Through all three days, the takeaway is that the WNBA is all love at the end of the day.
If you'd like to catch up on the first two parts, here they are:
StudBudz: 13 Minutes of All the Partying from Stream Day One
One of the funniest interview segments. The StudBudz dropped in in a lovably chaotic way, and the hosts spent the next two minutes trying to steer the broadcast back in time for commercial ๐
For any of you who may have been wondering if the StudBudz were going to survive all the partying from day one: they were able to wake themselves up (to their own surprise) and run through a packed second day of WNBA-related All-Star activities.
Here's a montage I've put together of all the daytime action from day two (and a little teaser of the second night of partying โ with another vid soon) ๐
This video includes reviving Natisha in the morning, Court getting pressed by Ellie, Flau'Jae's little brother Aydin, more Mabrey Moments, some special guests including Jake from State Farm, joking with Queen Phee, tongue-twisters, lip gloss and gossip during the 3-point competition, and more.
(And if you need to catch up on day one, here's a link to the arrival day montage of shenanigans from the night before.)
What a weekend!! Day three video coming soon.
Honestly, this was really fun. 2024 was special, but I love that the players came out and really played during the second half. Taking out the 4-point shots definitely helped.
We eventually got defense, people setting screens (Paige got hit with a stiff one from JJ!), and in general, lots of skill on display. Dom's dunk was the icing on the cake ๐
Also, the production, the intros and stage design, etc. were great. And a new All-Star record with 17,963 fans coming out ๐ฅ The intro with all the historical players and staff, and Holly fighting back tears gave me goosebumps.
Also seeing JJ getting love after everything she's done in her career.
Anyway, just grateful for this league, and for the reminder that love still wins out at the end of the day โค๏ธ And I'm curious to know what everyone else thinks!
Angel with the assist!! What a great moment for Dom, and for the future of the WNBA ๐ฅ
Oh my ๐ We may have never seen a mascot so smooth, so elegant, and with so much.. Aura?
Ellie charms the entire room, and may have even made Natisha blush. One of a kind!