Historic WNBA All-STAR Weekend
Photo by Sports Illustrated.com
This WNBA All-Star weekend was one for the books! Lots of stars and familiar faces came to show their support and watch the amazing talents of the WNBA stars. Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union, Anthony Davis, Demar DeRozan, and Tracy McGrady were all sitting courtside during this weekend full of fun. Not to mention, the halftime performance was hosted by Grammy-award-nominee, Kehlani. But aside from all the stardom around the court, the real star power happened on the court.
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
The Las Vegas Aces took the win for the 2023 Kia Skills Challenge, completing the course in just 45 seconds in the final round thanks to Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray. In the 3-point contest, Sabrina Ionescu not only won, but demolished the competition. Ionescu also broke not one, but two records while competing in the final round. She only missed two shots her entire last round and even had twenty consecutive makes! Her back-to-back 3’s surpassed the previous record of 19 consecutive makes set by Craig Hodges in 1991. She went on for a final score of 37 out of a possible 40 points, which is the new record for both NBA and WNBA! Even Stephen Curry hopped on the media just to repost Ionescu’s performance stating, “Ridiculous.”
The actual All-Star game which took place on Saturday, July 15th, ended with Team Stewart defeating Team Wilson 143-127. The 4-point shot has made its second appearance in the all-star game and its attempts did not disappoint. As a matter of fact, one player that utilized the 4-point range was Jewell Loyd. Loyd finished the game with a record 31 points, and they were all from beyond the arc. That’s right, Jewell bagged nine 3-pointers and one 4-point shot. To make her performance even more outstanding, she not only was awarded the 2023 all-star MVP, but did all of this on parents’ 40th anniversary. What an amazing night for Jewell Loyd with a great show she put on for her parents! The 2023 WNBA All-Star weekend was a stellar and historic success. Will what happened in Vegas stay in Vegas, or will the players exceed expectations in Phoenix next year?