WNBA Live offers Legends Game, autographs and lots of chances to shoot hoops

WNBA Live—the league’s official fan experience during All-Star Weekend—annually offers player meet-and-greets, games, pop-up shops and other interactive areas for fans, but this year’s event featured something new for fans of Indiana basketball.

The Legends Game, which took place on a court in the center of the WNBA Live’s space at the Indiana Convention Center, included some of the state’s past and present star basketball players. The game drew a crowd of some 250 to 300 people, who filled up the small number of stands surrounding the court.

The event, organized by Indianapolis summer basketball program The City League, consisted of former Miss Indiana Basketball honorees and other top-tier athletes that played high school ball within the state. Among the most recognizable names was Maya Makalusky, a rising freshman forward for Indiana University who won the 2025 Miss Basketball award.

Austin Taylor, executive director of The City League and a member of the weekend’s host committee, said the game created ” a great opportunity to celebrate the rich legacy of Indiana girls basketball” in a way that allowed for multiple generations of former and current players to participate.

“I didn’t anticipate there would be this big a crowd to come out and watch,” he said. “It was really cool that the girls were kind of honored and that it actually turned into a pretty big event. I didn’t expect that.”

Lauren Wheeler, a mother of three girls from Brownsburg, caught the end of the game while walking around WNBA Live. Her family also attended the All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge event on Friday night. Following the Legends Game, kids were allowed on the court to shoot around with some of the players.

“To see something like this, it’s special, because it makes kids like mine feel like they could actually be a part of something like this,” she said.

The Legends Game was just a part of a much larger event that offered WNBA sponsors a chance to impress fans and gave those fans a chance to meet some of their favorite players.

Midday on Saturday, Hannah Webb was sitting on the floor with friends waiting for the Indiana Fever’s Aliyah Boston, a three-time All-Star, to appear to sign autographs. Webb drove to Indianapolis from the Peoria area to go to the All-Star Skills Challenge on Friday night and the All-Star Game on Saturday.

“We’re big fans of basketball. We love women’s basketball,” Webb said. “So we wanted to come and meet players and get signatures.”

At the top of her wish list? Courtney Williams, who plays for the Minnesota Lynx and is a co-creator of the Twitch streaming channel Studbudz. But she was also excited about seeing Boston, whose had drawn enough admirers to wrap around the event’s center court.

Webb said she and her friends were staying in an Airbnb rental close to downtown and had no problems parking close to the action.

“This has been awesome,” she said of WNBA Live and the festivities overall. “It’s amazing. All of the events are super fun.”

Other fans made their way through dozens of activities created by league sponsors.

DashPass created a sneaker cleaning station, where fans could sit in a chairs similar to those you’d find at a shoeshine stand to have their kicks cleaned up.

Coach sold bags that could be customized by artists on site or with the stamp of their favorite WNBA team. State Farm Insurance offered fans a chance to shoot from the logo, a reference to an ad featuring Fever star Caitlin Clark. Dick’s sporting goods had a pop-up store with activities that included shooting hoops. The winemaker Le Crema offered a tasting room for those fans who are over 21.

In fact, dozens of brand activations at WNBA Live offered fans of all ages a chance to get in the on the basketball action.

Many of the fans at WNBA Live on Friday morning were local, among them D.J. Parker of Franklin, who previously worked for the Indiana Fever. “This has been a long time coming for the WNBA to get to this level and to have so many people excited” about the league and the All-Star Weekend, she said.

Webb said she’s been thrilled with “the evolution of the game—not just with the fan base but also with the physicality and the actual competitiveness of the game. That’s drawing that extra interest, and it’s incredible.”

Dennis Cox of Indianapolis came to WNBA Live with son, Dennis Cox II, 13, and Chloe Cox, 11, to support the community and the WNBA.

“I like that there’s different types of activities and that you can get pictures and things signed,” Chloe said about the WNBA Live event.

The Cox family was headed next to Monument Circle to participate in activities there. On Saturday morning, Dennis Cox had volunteered at the All-Star Bounce event that had 2,500 kids dribbling down Monument Street toward Monument Circle.

Cox said he was surprised that WNBA Live wasn’t more crowded. “But that’s OK,” he said. “That means I can enjoy it.”