While the 2024 All-Star Game doesn't tip off until Saturday, this year's WNBA Skills Challenge and STARRY 3-Point Contest promise to light up Phoenix's Footprint Center on Friday.

The evening's programming will allow fans to watch as towering center Brittney Griner shows off her speed and mobility before putting 2024's most statistically excellent three-point shooters to the test.

In addition to the two annual events, the night will also showcase the first-ever WNBA All-Star 3×3 Exhibition, with the Olympic-bound 3×3 National Team taking on USA Basketball's 3×3 U23 National Team.

To make things even more interesting, Aflac has promised to supplement the Skills Competition and 3-Point Contest's prize pool with a $55,000 bonus for each winner.

Skills Challenge highlights league's best

Perhaps the least straightforward event in Friday's series, the Skills Challenge — in which five players will compete in a timed obstacle course testing their dribbling, passing, speed, and shooting abilities —should come down to the wire. Each contestant will attempt to complete the course as quickly as possible, with the two fastest first-round players advancing to a head-to-head final.

Ten-time WNBA All-Star Griner (Phoenix) headlines the Skills Challenge roster, accompanied by Mercury teammate Sophie Cunningham as well as Allisha Gray (Atlanta), 2019 WNBA All-Star MVP Erica Wheeler (Indiana), and newly acquired Connecticut guard Marina Mabrey.

Mabrey will be competing in both the Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest, taking the court for the first time since her requested trade from Chicago sent her the Sun.

Top shooters put their skills on display

Despite Sabrina Ionescu and Caitlin Clark reportedly declining to participate, some of the WNBA's best shooters will be on display in tonight's STARRY 3-Point Contest. Shooters will tally up points from five set shooting locations around the arc plus two additional "Starry Range" deep shots worth three points each.

2021 WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones (New York) will enter a battle of the bigs with Washington's Stefanie Dolson, who sits second in the league in three-point field goal percentage this season with 48.5%.

But Jones and Dolson will face stiff competition from Kayla McBride (Minnesota), who leads the league in three-pointers made, as well as the aforementioned Gray and Mabrey.

WNBA All-Star Weekend adds 3×3 Exhibition to the mix

Tonight’s debut 3×3 Exhibition will serve as a warmup for Team USA's Rhyne Howard (Atlanta), former WNBA player Cierra Burdick, college star Hailey Van Lith (TCU), and Dearica Hamby (Los Angeles), who came on to replace Sparks teammate Cameron Brink after her season-ending ACL tear.

The Olympians' U-23 opposition is also gearing up for a major event, with collegiate squad members Christina Dalce (Maryland), Morgan Maly (Creighton), Cotie McMahon (Ohio State), Lucy Olsen (Iowa), Mikaylah Williams (LSU), and Serah Williams (Wisconsin) set to play in the 2024 FIBA 3x3 Nations League tournament in Mexico City starting July 22nd.

Where to watch the WNBA Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest

All three events will air on ESPN starting at 9 PM ET on Friday, July 19th.

UCLA-bound high school senior Sienna Betts led the West team to a decisive 104-82 victory over the East in the McDonald's All-American Girls Game held last night at New York's Barclays Center.

The 6'4" forward contributed 16 points, seven rebounds, and two assists, earning MVP honors for her performance. ​

Betts is currently the class of 2025's No. 2 overall recruit. Only Texas-based point guard Aaliyah Chavez, who recently committed to the Oklahoma Sooners, ranks above her.

Betts to join sister Lauren Betts at UCLA next year

Betts's performance is a good indicator of her potential impact at UCLA next year. There, she'll join forces with her sister Lauren Betts, the senior currently leading the Bruins to this season's NCAA Final Four after transferring in from Stanford.

The Betts sisters' arrival is highly anticipated, with Lauren opting to forgo the 2025 WNBA Draft in order to play out her final year of college eligibility alongside her little sister.

“For me, it [committing to UCLA] was a lot about how the coaches care about you off the court, and the coaches at UCLA, they really care about your mental health,” Betts told The Flagler College Gargoyle after committing last year. “Every team that I’ve ever been on, we’ve been a family… So, they really cared about that part of basketball for me, and they showed me that on my visits and when I called to talk to them.”

Betts in good company as McDonald's All-American Game MVP

In Brooklyn, Betts showcased her ability among the sport's best high school talent. Recent McDonald's All-American MVPs have all gone onto fuel prominent NCAA programs, including top-ranked recruits UConn's Sarah Strong, South Carolina's Joyce Edwards, USC's JuJu Watkins, Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo, and UCLA's own Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez.

The McDonald's All-American Game has a storied history of highlighting promising players, with past MVPs subsequently laying the foundation for future superstars.

Less than a day after Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles shocked the women’s basketball world by opting to enter the transfer portal rather than declare for the 2025 WNBA Draft, the Irish’s transfer fall-out has continued.

Sophomore guard Emma Risch and freshman forward Kate Koval have also entered the portal, with Koval — who started in 10 games this season — leading the Irish in blocks.

Between transfer moves and graduating seniors, sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo remains Notre Dame’s only returning starter — a sharp turn for an Irish squad ranked No. 1 in the country just six weeks ago.

Other top NCAA programs see transfer portal movement

Notre Dame isn’t the only top-tier program experiencing a roster shakeup after exiting the 2025 NCAA tournament.

LSU sophomore forward Sa'myah Smith entered the transfer portal after the Tigers’ season ended in Sunday’s Elite Eight. USC sophomore guard Aaliyah Gayles subsequently followed suit after the Trojans fell to UConn on Monday.

Schools like TCU have become national contenders via the transfer portal, with the Horned Frogs recruiting both Hailey Van Lith and Sedona Prince ahead of their first-ever Elite Eight run. Former Kentucky center Clara Silva is the latest transfer to commit to TCU, as the team comes off their best tournament finish in school history.

The modern era of NCAA roster-building is upon us, with top players taking the reigns as ambitious teams scramble to fill offseason gaps.

The NWSL is looking to sign a new Sunday night TV deal, according to a Sports Business Journal report published this week.

The league is targeting a two-year deal starting in 2026, with both new and existing TV partners interested in picking up additional NWSL games.

NWSL looks to build on multimillion dollar TV deal

The NWSL is currently two years into a four-year, $240 million TV partnership with ESPN, Prime, ION, and CBS Sports. However, the current contract doesn’t cover the entire schedule. And with league expansion planned for 2026, even more inventory is on the way.

SBJ notes that the market for this season’s lineup has been strong. In fact, all four media partners have already sold out all their 2025 advertising slots.

“You cannot find a place to spend right now,” IMG’s Hillary Mandel said at a recent Business of Soccer event hosted by SBJ. “We know what’s motivating interest is the fact that there’s no place to invest. That’s a phenomenal story in such a short period of time."

ESPN spotlighted for TV network-owned Sunday lineup

ESPN could be a prime candidate for a Sunday package, with the network set to move on from Sunday Night Baseball after the 2025 MLB season.

The NWSL has traditionally leaned into network-owned nights, with Prime airing Friday night matchups and ION running Saturday double-headers.

The NWSL’s most recent contract subsequently added serious value to the league. And the returns have networks coming back for more, setting up a potential bidding war and easing growing pains as new teams join the fold.

UCLA will hit the court for their first-ever NCAA Final Four on Friday, but as they extend the most successful season in program history, the Bruins have looked anything but green.

“We said talent was going to be our floor,” UCLA head coach Cori Close said after Sunday’s Elite Eight win over LSU. “Our character, our chemistry, our habits were going to be our ceiling.”

With just two losses on the season, UCLA’s status as a first-rate NCAA title contender has actually been years in the making.

Roster-building paves the way to the Final Four

In 2022, the Bruins signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, stacking their roster with top high school standouts Gabriela Jaquez, Kiki Rice, and Londynn Jones.

UCLA then upped their game even further last year, when 2022 No. 1 overall recruit Lauren Betts transferred in from Stanford — a move that fueled the Bruins all the way to the Sweet 16 with the promise of even greater success.

“Everyone came to UCLA for this reason: to do something we haven't done in a really long time,” Jaquez said on Sunday. “[I’m] just really proud of my teammates, the staff, the coaches, just continuing to get better every day and grow from each season prior.

With Lauren Betts at center, UCLA leans on depth

As one of the most dominant post players in college basketball, Betts is at the literal center of every UCLA performance. But that doesn’t mean the Bruins lack the depth it takes to handle a team like Final Four opponent UConn.

“When we have a deep team, I don’t have to be in the game at all times,” Betts said. “I have a team full of players who are just amazing and talented in their own right, and they put in the work.”

All in all, UCLA is coming into their own after developing much of its squad from the ground-up. Now it's time to make the case that patient roster-building can pay off on NCAA basketball’s biggest stage.