New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu called for top WNBA players to get a longer midseason break, after a blowout loss in Saturday night’s All-Star Game.
Team Collier beat Team Clark 151–131 in front of 16,988 fans at a sold-out Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, despite Caitlin Clark not competing due to an injury.
“I think it probably would have been a little bit more competitive if teams didn’t play in such a short amount of days,” Ionescu, who scored 12 points for Team Clark, said after the game.
ESPN and ABC had coverage of WNBA All-Star Weekend, but TV ratings for Friday and Saturday night’s broadcasts have not yet been released. Last year, a record 3.44 million viewers tuned in to a special Team USA vs. Team WNBA All-Star showcase ahead of the Paris Olympics.
Ionescu won her second 3-point contest Friday night, and said she was going to give half of her $62,575 prize money to Mystics rookie Sonia Citron, who was eliminated in the first round, and donate the other half.
Calendar Close-Up
Ten of the WNBA’s 13 teams played games on Wednesday, and there were no games Thursday. The All-Star Weekend included the skills and 3-point competitions Friday, and the game on Saturday. There are no games Sunday or Monday, and 10 teams return to action Tuesday.
“All-Stars don’t really have a break,” Ionescu, an All-Star each of the past four seasons, said. “We finished (the last regular-season game), we get on a flight the next day, we’re here, jam-packed weekend, wanting to pour into the fans, show up to events, do the 3-point contest, skills contest, and then playing the game, and fly right back to practice and play in three days.”
Ionescu said players “want to be able to come out here during this time, put on a great show for the fans, but also take care of our bodies because we don’t have time—we enter our grueling second half of the season.”
Ionescu indicated getting a longer All-Star break would be a priority for her as talks continue about a new collective bargaining agreement.
