…At WNBA All-Star. And I can’t believe it’s over. I’ll just be over here reliving my favorite Orange Carpet interviews, like the one with with Jessica Shepherd, or Ari Chambers, or Jonquel Jones and Rae Burrell and Lauren Betts and Kiki Iriafen and ok basically that one is a bunch of them wrapped into one, you get the idea. More on the weekend from heaven below. 

Drake has taken over a New Jersey hotel, but you can’t stay there. Unless you’re famous, like Devin Booker or Yeat. The invite-only retreat, which he rebranded as “NOCTA Manor,” after his Nike apparel line, is all about luxury and glamour… and padel tournaments and karaoke). No one really knows what the reason for the week-long pop-up was. But rich people don’t really need reasons for stuff.

I’m always fascinated to hear about the minds behind fan edits, and some of the best videos on the internet are NBA fan edits specifically. Complex’s Andrew Hartley talked to some of those TikTok editors. 

Last week, I kept opening mutuals’ IG stories and seeing these skydancers scaling one of Manhattan’s most grandiose buildings. It turns out it was an Adidas party to celebrate their latest drop, featuring Camilla Morrone, Coco Jones, and other celebs. Read more on it here. And if you work at Adidas, can I come next time?  

By now we all know about LeBron’s fourth decision. He’ll be in Philly next year, so everyone get ready for Eagles fans to be #likethat about another team. No shade, they are crazy and I love them, and it will be fun now that they’re going to win the championship. Here’s how your favorite athletes reacted, in case you missed it. 

That headline is misleading because there truly was no bad. But there was messy, and I’ll give you a quick overview of that, and encourage you to look deeper into it if you so desire. 

Former couple Dijonai Carrington and NaLyssa Smith got into a bit of a public spat at the StudBudz party (all caught on the 72-hour stream — more on that below, by the way). Dijonai went to Threads to casually clear some things up, making some explosive allegations in the process. After you’re done reading this newsletter, you’re gonna want to read every single Tweet and Thread and article on this matter. 

But let’s get into some of the good. And I am making sure to say some, because every minute was incredible and I cannot possibly cover it all. 

First of all, remember when I basically broke the news that the New York Liberty’s Marine Johannes and Golden State Valkyries’s Gabby Williams were dating? Of course you do, because you remember all my newsletters. Anyways, it’s now public knowledge, and has been for a while. Which is great, because now we get lovely sound bites like this one from Gabby.

And a special one-legged jumpshot, which Marine is famous for, and Gabby practiced all weekend and nailed in-game.  

Former WNBA legend Elena Delle Donne was on the winning team of the Shooting Stars competition and now everyone wants her to unretire. 

Jonquel Jones was caught (off-camera) on the StudBudz stream saying the Lynx deserved to win the finals in 2024 (over her team, the Liberty). New York fans were distraught, but not as distraught as JJ was in this presser when she apologized. Jonquel, get behind me. I will protect you. Caitlin Clark will too, it seems.

I had a great time at the Reign by Run-A-Muck party, which Syd and TP hosted. They were everywhere all weekend. Some were lucky enough to see them at the TOGETHXR house, others even luckier to see their tight tens. 

We can’t talk about this weekend without mentioning Paige Bueckers, who was kind of a tonesetter. Especially when she was yelling at me about how good of a first date she is. 

She was also partying on the StudBudz stream better than the rest of them, and let me tell you, because I saw it firsthand, at the “Bird’s Eye View” party, you really couldn’t get her off the dance floor. Not that I was trying (or would ever try)! Same for Holly Rowe, by the way. 

My colleague, Aliya Kisivo, got some fun interviews with Pinterest and a couple of my favorite players. Stay tuned for those on Wednesday! 

If you have a chance to go to WNBA All-Star Weekend at any point in your life, make sure to do so. You will not regret it. 

I figured after the newness of StudBudz streams wore off, the numbers might dwindle or the Budz would be too busy to keep up with it, or they’d just want to focus on something else. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.  

At a brunch in Chicago this weekend, I talked with Natisha Hiedemen (aka ½ of StudBudz — sometimes also referred to Stud and Bud by internet users, in which case I believe spiritually Natisha is Bud) about how Twitch has changed her life.  

Candidly, I’ve never really followed streamers. It’s not a rule I have or anything, they just don’t come across my desk often. That all changed when StudBudz started streaming (their first one was in June of 2025). Their channel helped contextualize the entire industry for me. 

If you want to read more about the StudBudz’s friendship and story, read Emma Carmichael’s piece on them in GQ. But as far as their foray into Twitch goes, Hiedemen (or T, as the WNBA world calls her), says they didn’t put any thought or planning into their decision to stream at all. 

It was as easy as deciding they wanted to do it, creating an account, and going live that same day. They started with a few dozen people watching or so, and now, a little over a year later, their 72-hour long stream for All-Star Weekend garnered millions of views.

For all the partying that takes place on the stream, it has more serious moments, too. Last year they delivered real-time updates about the CBA and laid out the players’ frustrations. And although I’m positive they helped prove WNBA player’s marketability and limitless potential for creative and synergetic brand partnerships through their Twitch streams, T told me she doesn’t feel like they can take full credit for strides made in the CBA discussions, but she does think it was beneficial.  

“But…I feel like we just really get to show a different side of the players that people have been wanting to see for a long time.”

Her favorite moment on stream happened in the very early days, when she’d have her old Lynx teammates (she’s on the Seattle Storm now, but her partner-in-crime, Courtney, is still in Minnesota) like Napheesa Collier or Bridget Carleton pop on the stream.

The thing that really stuck out to me was how important StudBudz's chat is to her. She shouted them out multiple times during her panel with Twitch exec Robin Tilotta, saying they had become her friends. And friendship is obviously really important to T. 

You can tell she enjoys streaming, and she’s good at it. She’s funny, charismatic, feisty, unafraid, and sincere. But you can also tell she probably wouldn’t feel as passionate about it if she wasn’t doing it with her best friend. 

“We’re best friends and now we get money together,” she told the audience with a big smile about her and Courtney’s content relationship. 

“To be able to be ourselves and be accepted, that’s a step [for] society. It’s really coming to light that you can be whoever you want to be, and still be successful and get the attention you deserve. Me and Courtney really embrace who we are and try to break down that barrier for everybody.”