Inside the Lynx’s All-Star weekend: Cheryl Reeve’s favorite meal, ‘StudBudz’ livestream and CBA negotiations

For Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, All-Star weekend in Indianapolis starts with Harry & Izzy’s.

“They have a tremendous lunch special,” she said. “I will be getting their [chicken] sliders. There’s a shrimp cocktail. Their sauce is incredible — it’s what they’re known for."

That’s the beauty of All-Star weekend: a blend of business and pleasure. For the Lynx contingent — Reeve and All-Stars Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams — the next few days will blur the lines between work and play. There’s the game, of course, but also a 72-hour livestream, collective bargaining agreement talks that could shape the league’s future, and maybe a spa appointment or two.

The All-Star Game is Saturday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

When Natisha Hiedeman packed to join her best friend and teammate, Williams, for All-Star weekend, she grabbed battery packs and chargers.

The Lynx guards are capitalizing on their viral Twitch channel, “StudBudz,” which boasts more than 39,000 followers, with a 72-hour livestream from Indianapolis.

“We booked and busy,” Williams said. “So we just gon’ take everybody along with us.”

The concept is simple: show everything, from electric scooter rides to getting ready for the WNBA Orange Carpet.

“We just gon’ bring the vibes and keep the camera rolling,” Hiedeman said. “We want to give the people access that you don’t normally get.”

Williams said the attention is good for the game. Reeve agrees — and said she’s happy her players can monetize their personalities — even if she doesn’t understand what they’re doing.

“I just know, as Courtney says, ‘They’re poppin,’” Reeve said Wednesday. “Apparently, they’re poppin’. They are really looking forward to All-Star and what they have goin’ there. … Obviously it gives a lot of other people joy.”

Even if Williams knew cameras wouldn’t make it into practice — “Cheryl ain’t goin’ for that” — they still got their coach on the stream.

In one clip from Thursday night, Reeve threw her arms around Williams and Hiedeman, dancing to a Bobby Shmurda song. McBride jumped in. Laughter and shouts of “Yeah, Cheryl!” filled the frame — a moment Reeve later jokingly insisted was AI-generated.

McBride didn’t plan to be in Indy.

When WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert called, McBride was in a salon chair, getting her hair done for a Turks and Caicos vacation.

That trip was scrapped, but McBride is grateful.

“As you get older, they get more special because you never know how many more you’re gonna get,” McBride said. “And then also, having Cheryl as the coach, Phee, Court, having our staff there — it just hits different.”

Her teammates are hyped she’s along, and a bit agitated it took this long.

“We’re the number one team, so we deserve to have three players,” Williams said. “I think we should have four, but I ain’t gonna go there.”

McBride is excited about the addition of a four-point shot to this year’s game — a chance to show off the range she worked on during the Unrivaled season.

Still, she plans to carve out moments to relax between CBA talks, livestream appearances and the game.

“I’m just gonna get a dabble everywhere I can,” McBride said. “I’m the oldest of the group, so … I’m gonna find a spa.”

For Collier, All-Star weekend is also about the league’s future.

The Lynx forward is not only an All-Star team captain, she’s a leading voice in talks that could reshape revenue-sharing, roster expansion and player compensation.

The WNBA and its players union are meeting this weekend for their first in-person collective bargaining talks since December, with negotiations still far apart. The CBA expires after this season; players such as Collier have signaled a potential walkout if a new deal isn’t reached by October.

“Sitting down in front of people and talking it out, I feel like we’ll be able to make some good strides,” Collier said.

As the players’ association vice president and Unrivaled co-founder, Collier knows what it takes to build a basketball business.

“I think now more than ever, players understand the business,” Collier said, “especially women’s athletes — our bodies, our image is a business."

Lynx forward Jessica Shepard said she’s had “a lot of conversations with Phee” ahead of this weekend.

“In the last CBA, there were maybe some things that didn’t help player one through 12,” Shepard said. “Phee noticed that, and she’s doing a great job of trying to voice [that] for everyone.”

Balancing family life, entrepreneurship and elite basketball isn’t easy, but Collier thrives on compartmentalization.

That balance fuels her steady leadership through a demanding season. Both Williams and McBride give the Lynx an A-minus for their play so far — a nod to their success and a reminder that tougher challenges await.

For now, though, Indianapolis offers a pause, celebration and a stage for three stars and their coach to showcase more than their game.