While the Sun didn’t have any players that were named All-Stars this year, guards Marina Mabrey, Jacy Sheldon, and Saniya Rivers, as well as forward Aneesah Morrow all attended events throughout the weekend.
From meet and greets to Unrivaled appearances and attending the AT&T All-Star Game itself, the Sun were spotted everywhere around Indy.
Mabrey explores All-Star Weekend
Mabrey was on the move during All-Star weekend and made appearances at Unrivaled, the Orange Carpet and more.
The WNBA’s famous Orange Carpet took place Thursday night. There, Mabrey arrived with fellow Sun teammate and guard Saniya Rivers. As they took to the carpet, media and influencers were able to ask them exciting questions as they showed off their style.
On Friday Under Armour hosted a group of middle school girls basketball players from public schools around Indianapolis and gave them a first look at ‘Unrivaled HQ” with a special appearance from Mabrey, who led them around as their tour guide. Players were then able to interact with Mabrey, take pictures and get autographs rom her. Then they all made a TikTok with her at the end of the event.
Mabrey enjoyed interacting with fans throughout the weekend and shared what her favorite fan interaction was.
“I’m gonna have to go with Under Armor. We had a bunch of little girls here that came and they got to see me. They got to see all the things that we do here at Unrivaled. And they were really excited about it. We made some TikTok’s and things that were relatable to them. So I hope that we made a mark,” Mabrey told The Next.
Mabrey made a second appearance at Unrivaled on Saturday where she helped assist with a shooting competition with fans. She also attended the Kia Skills Challenge on Friday night and the All-Star Game on Saturday as a fan.
While at the All-Star Game, ESPN mic’d up Rivers and Mabrey for some fun conversations. The duo has been known for going live on Instagram throughout the season and entertaining fans with pure comedy.
“It was great! Me and Marina have this energy together that attracts a lot of different people,” Rivers told The Next. “So I think they mic’d up the perfect pair right there. And it’s an All-Star game, so it’s hard to really commentate the game, because everybody’s coming down, shooting three pointers, four pointers, whatever, no defense. So we were just talking about a whole bunch of random stuff, whatever was on our phones or whatever just came up in our mind. There was a point we were talking about popcorn and Shirley Temple’s. I just think that just shows like, how comfortable we are together and how we’re just authentic to ourselves.”
Rivers told The Next at practice on Tuesday that she did in fact get her Shirley Temple but with three cherries instead of two, which is what she had originally asked for.
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Rivers of entertainment
Rivers participated in many events during WNBA All-Star weekend and remained present. She also spoke highly of her experience and, as a big foodie, that she wished she had more free time to explore new restaurants in the area.
“What didn’t I do? I mean, I had a lot of appearances, some business things,” Rivers said. “And I had a lot of fun too, meeting up with some of the girls from different teams. I’m new here, [I’m a] rookie, so just making friends and partying a lot…I wish I got to try the food there, but I think I only ate like, one restaurant because I was so busy with everything. But I had a lot of fun and made some money, too.”
On Friday, Rivers was at All-Star practice walking around with a mini microphone while talking to and interviewing various All-Stars. She actually didn’t know that was what she was going to be doing when she first arrived at Gainbridge Fieldhouse that morning.
“So that’s the thing. They came and handed me the mic and told me to just be me. I was just like, ‘Oh, I can do that.’ So I just came up with the most random questions, and a lot of the questions had to deal with whoever I was talking to. So I just feel like everybody just knows, I’m just a good person. I’m a good energy person, [I] make everybody feel good, [I] make everybody laugh. So I just think it was the perfect decision for them to put me on the mic. And no, I made a lot of good conversations, and I think a couple of videos went viral. If you hand me a mic, I’m gonna do what I do,” Rivers said with a laugh.
Rivers also discovered that she actually has a lot in common with Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams and gravitated towards her. Williams and Lynx teammate Natisha Hiedeman, also known as StudBudz, took over the weekend, and really the entire women’s basketball world, with their 72 hour live Twitch stream.
“That camera was on 24/7 but no, Courtney, that’s another one I didn’t know we would be as cool as we were, but we were vibed out the whole weekend,” Rivers said smiling. “So [I] definitely found a friend in her. Whoo StudBudz, like I said, that camera was live and recording every moment. So you got to watch a few things that you say. But I’m just glad they’re being authentic to themselves, because I know I’m authentic to me. I love that their coach supports it, their coach was on StudBudz multiple times. So I love it. I’m a fan. I would never hate on it. So I love what they got going on.”
Morrow on the move
Morrow attended All-Star weekend due to collaborations with CarMax and Coach, which both had activations at WNBA Live. She was also featured in a Coach commercial alongside other WNBA rookies from the 2025 draft class as well as a banner on a building in downtown Indianapolis.
“Being able to [have a] partnership with them has been amazing, just the experience overall, but also being around WNBA live. I was there, and I was able to interact with fans and take pictures, autographs, everything,” Morrow told The Next. “So I would say, honestly, it was really good. I know that I went to [All-Star Weekend in] Phoenix last year, but I wasn’t really able to interact as much. But with this being my rookie year, it was really fun.”
Morrow’s favorite part of the weekend was being able to spend time with her family. Morrow grew up in Chicago and Indianapolis is just under three hours south of her home city.
“I would definitely say, my family being able to come down there, in Indianapolis, but they live in Chicago, so they were able to come down there and just be able to get that whole experience with me. Last year, I kind of went by myself, and I’ve been doing a lot by myself, but actually them being able to see my process, and how busy I actually am, was great,” Morrow said.
Sheldon’s 24 hour appearance
Sheldon spent most of her week off in Nashville with her mom but made a brief appearance at WNBA All-Star, where she got to highlight her first signature sneaker, the JS: 01. Sheldon appeared in an event with Panini and had her shoe release party with HOLO Hoops.
“Me and my mom went to Nashville. It was so fun. That’s one of my favorite places. I love country music… I could literally sit there and listen to live music all day. So it was a lot of fun,” Sheldon told The Next. “I was there [Indianapolis] for, oh geez, probably 24 hours, but I had an event with Panini that went really well. [I] got to meet a lot of fans, and then [I] was able to have my shoe release party with HOLO. So it was a lot of fun.”
Sheldon’s favorite part of her weekend was being with her family, friends and teammates as she was able to put the seriousness of her basketball career aside.
“Just being surrounded by my family and friends and teammates, and getting to see a lot of people I haven’t seen in a long time and to catch up with them…So that was awesome,” Sheldon said.
Fans were surprisingly welcoming to Sheldon and she said she had a great time interacting and meeting them. In the past the Connecticut Sun and Indiana Fever rivalry has made her not feel as supported by Indiana fans.
“[At] the Panini event I got to meet so many fans, met a lot of Indiana fans too,” Sheldon said. “They were actually very nice to me so that was a lot of fun. But yeah, they were great, they’re always great and getting to see them in that environment was really cool.”
Growth of the league
This year’s All-Star Weekend really showed how much growth and progress the WNBA and women’s basketball have made over the last few seasons.
“I think just seeing how much it’s grown over the years, All-Star never used to be this lit, with so many people here. So I’m happy to see the game growing and just to see all the progress that we’ve made since I entered the league. And I know that I didn’t enter it that long ago, but I know that I’ve seen a huge jump, even for the seven years,” Mabrey said.
Morrow saw this year’s All-Star in a perception of growth for the WNBA. She acknowledged that it was important that fans were able to see players in a different light and see that they are human just like everybody else.
“I would just say, the exposure to just investing in players outside of them being a player, like a human, and the things that they like, the things that they value,” Morrow said. “And I got to see that a lot during All-Star, specifically with certain players, like, you get to see that fans care about who you are off the floor and they want to know more about your life and everything.”
Mabrey noted how special it was that WNBA players are now being recognized and noticed in public, something that wasn’t as common a few years ago.
“Just all the people out, noticing everyone. They’re noticing all the players. ‘Oh, there’s that one, there’s this one. We want pictures.’ They’re waiting outside the hotels. They’re at all the events, they’re participating, and I think that’s huge for the league, for that kind of visibility. So to see the expansion, to see more teams, more people coming out to every All-Star Weekend, I think that it’s only going to get bigger. And I think this is just the start of something really big,” Mabrey said.
A WNBA family reunion
All-Star Weekend is filled with comradery every year and often acts as a reunion for players and coaches, former and present. The setting appears to be less serious compared to WNBA regular season games.
“We know that it’s really hard to become an All-Star in this league, and we know that it takes a lot of hard work. So when we come and we support and we celebrate whoever made it this season, it’s kind of our time to be together and get to know each other a little better, and catch up with our friends and even get to know the rookies or the rookies getting to know the vets and stuff. It’s a time for us to come together and celebrate what we did,” Mabrey said.
Rivers enjoyed the comradery between all the players in attendance throughout the weekend and said it was her favorite part of attending All-Star. It was also important for fans to see the the players getting the chance to interact off the court and now they get to look forward to next year’s All-Star Weekend, which is rumored to be in Las Vegas.
“But I think just the fact that we could put basketball to the side for a couple of days and just hang out and be ourselves. I got to know a lot of people outside of the game, because, some people I look at I’m like,’ Oh, I don’t know how I feel about them.’ Because on the court, that’s all I know. But then off the court, you get to know people’s personalities, what they like to do, and just talking about random things. So I think that was just the most exciting part,” Rivers said.
