'StudBudz' Takes Over All-Star Weekend and Breaks WNBA Narratives Along the Way

“I think it changed a lot of things,” Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier said on the impact StudBudz had for the WNBA over All-Star weekend. “I think it changed the way people see the W, the way that you’re going to be covered in the W, the exposure of the W. It also gets so negative online… of course when we’re on the court it’s going to get chippy… but that doesn’t mean I don’t respect people off the court [or] that we’re not friends.”

Collier was speaking to the the negative social media discourse that surrounds much of the league, with many fans feeling players don’t like each other based on heated moments between competitors on the court.

Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve echoed the sentiment telling the media Monday, “ I felt that the experience was very cathartic, because of the wrong narrative that’s out there, that’s being pushed and is maybe louder than what the actual narrative is… I think being able to push that aside and say that’s not what’s real this is what’s real and now we’re going to get back to being competitive and that’s okay… but then they all genuinely care about each other.”

Even heavy hitters like Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton mentioned needing StudBudz merch, and Dave Portnoy notably posted, “I’ve never downloaded Twitch or any streaming platform in my life. That was until today. Studbudz has done more marketing for the @WNBA with their 72 hour stream than the bozos running the league have done since its inception. They are hilarious and humanize everybody.” 

In a season rife with online division among fanbases, StudBudz are flipping the script. "I think it was dope just for everyone to see we really are a community... We show each other love all the time so I think it was kind of nice for everybody to look in on how we give it," Williams said of their Twitch-takeover.

And judging by the overwhelmingly positive fan reactions, it’s something that’s been sorely missing.