The WNBA concluded its All-Star weekend Saturday night with the All-Star Game, putting a bow on what was a very entertaining weekend of on-court festivities. Frankly speaking, this WNBA All-Star weekend was far more enjoyable than many in recent NBA meetings because of one factor old-fashioned competition.
Starting with the Skills, which was won by Allisha Gray of the Atlanta Dream, the ladies that participated competed to win, completely forgoing the “too cool for school” temperament that plagues NBA players in their competition. There were no players casually casting up shots with their offhands or proceeding through the passing drills with a laissez-faire attitude. The fact the players were into it, drew me in as a fan.
In the All-Star game, the league institutes a format in Olympic years in which the WNBA All-Stahands proceed through the passing drills with a laissez-faire attitude. The ladies’ focus made the competition serious. The National team will due to the fact they want to show the country why they are on the team and that they are the best grouping of talent to bring the gold back to the US. The WNBA All-Stars will approach the game with the respect necessary because there will always be several All-Stars who think they got jobbed in not being on the team, thus leading them to come out and play like they have something to prove.
In what was a compelling and mostly competitive matchup, the WNBA All-Stars defeated the US National Team 117-109. Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale dropped all 34 of her points in the second half, including 21 in the third quarter as she was named MVP. Ogonbowale also took home MVP in the last such formatted contest back in 2021.
Though they should, we know they won’t because Adam Silver is commissioner and hell-bent on running the league into the ground, the NBA should consider such a format for the All-Star Game in Olympic years. With the players looking like they would rather be doing anything else other than playing basketball during the game, the NBA All-Star is on life support, as interest in the contest is now at an all-time low. Adopting this format could give the game the shot in the arm, at least once every four years, that it desperately needs.
The NBA may exceed the WNBA in several areas, but one of them may not be All-Star Weekend and from that perspective, they have much to learn from their female counterparts.
