Pick and Roll: 2025 All-Star Weekend special

Welcome back to Pick and Roll, powered by FanDuel. 

Join me and TSN.ca’s Brianne Spiker as we highlight everything you need to know about WNBA storylines as the season continues.

This week, we’re back with our second annual All-Star Weekend special. 

Last year, Spiker cashed Team WNBA as sizable underdogs against Team USA and this year she's back with a pick on the game and one bet for Friday night. 

FanDuel has us covered with a number of markets for the game itself, along with player props for both the three-point contest and skills competition, so let’s take a look at those before getting to Spiker’s picks. 

WNBA All-Star Friday Night 

THREE-POINT CONTEST 

After winning the contest in 2024, Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray is back to defend her title with the third-longest odds at +330. 

Leading the way in the field of four shooters is New York Liberty sharpshooter Sabrina Ionescu at +105. The 27-year-old has competed in the contest once, winning in 2023 with a record-setting 37-point display. 

Between Gray and Ionescu on the odds board is Los Angeles Sparks point guard Kelsey Plum at +290. In 2022, Plum failed to advance out of the first round of this event with just 14 points in her first ever three-point contest. 

Lexie Hull of the Indiana Fever is a small longshot at +470 to win the event. She is shooting 46.8 per cent from beyond the arc this season. 

Rounding out the group of five is Washington Mystics rookie Sonia Citron. Citron leads all rookies with 35 made three-pointers this season. She is the first rookie since Rhyne Howard in 2022 to compete in the event. That year, Howard reached the final before finishing in third place. 

SKILLS CHALLENGE 

Oh yeah, Gray won both of these events last year and is back to defend both. 

This time, she's the favourite at +250 to win this event after winning by over two seconds in the 2024 final. 

Behind Gray is a trio of players participating in the Skills Challenge for the first time. 

Priced accordingly, Skylar Diggins, Natasha Cloud and Courtney Williams all could get hot at the right time and prevent Gray from being the first player to win back-to-back years since Allie Quigley won it four times in five years. 

Rounding out the group is Erica Wheeler of the Seattle Storm at +600. The 34-year-old is back at All-Star weekend for the first time since playing in the game and doing the three-point contest in 2019. 

TEAM CLARK VS. TEAM COLLIER 

After Team WNBA played Team USA as prep for the Olympics in 2024, we are back to two captains picking the teams for a summer showcase. 

This year the captains look a little different. After two years of Team Wilson vs. Team Stewart, we have a battle between two of the new faces of the league with Team Clark taking on Team Collier. 

Unfortunately for fans, Team Clark will be missing their captain as Caitlin Clark has shut herself down for the weekend due to injury. 

With that in mind, it explains why the spread leans so much in favour of Team Collier as -5.5 favourites on FanDuel. 

Napheesa Collier is a +360 favourite to win MVP as she looks to become the first team captain to win the award. 

Leading the odds to win MVP on Team Clark is Ionescu at +650 with A’ja Wilson not far behind at +800. 

Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers will start for Team Collier and is +2000 to win MVP while Mystics rookies Citron and Kiki Iriafen will play for Team Clark and are longshots at +2800 and +7000, respectively. 

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese will come off the bench for Team Collier and is +5500 to win MVP. 

SPIKER’S TAKE 

For this one, I'm going to give my All-Star Game MVP predictions for each side. 

On Team Clark, I would agree going with Sabrina Ionescu here. With Clark out of the lineup, it will give Ionescu even more opportunity to shine.

In 20 games this season, Ionescu has failed to hit double digits in points just four times and if she gets hot from three, she's hard to stop. Against the Seattle Storm on July 6 she went 5-for-11 from three and she hit three threes in her last outing against the Indiana Fever on Wednesday. 

For Team Collier, I'm going to go off the board a little and pick guard Skylar Diggins to have a big game. 

It's hard to find a player whose competitive fire burns hotter than Diggins' and she's enjoying another strong season in Seattle this year, averaging 17.5 points and 5.8 assists (fifth in the WNBA). She has hit double figures in points in all but one game this season. 

She will also have the advantage of built-in chemistry as Storm teammate Nneka Ogwumike is also playing for Team Collier.

Also, I know already that Diggins will ask the refs for a review (or two) during the game. Now that you can take to the bank.