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WNBA fans got an unprecedented glimpse into the league’s All-Star Weekend thanks to a 72-hour livestream from basketball duo the StudBudz. And if you don’t know them by now, you’re definitely going to want to change that.
Who are the StudBudz?
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Courtney Williams and Natisha “T” Hiedeman both play for the Minnesota Lynx. Earlier this year, they put their friendship to work in a new way by starting up a Twitch channel called StudBudz, where they’ve streamed game reactions, casual interviews with other players, or just hanging out.
What sets StudBudz apart from any other attempts to cover the WNBA is, of course, that the call is coming from inside the house. Who better to bring fans on a journey into the league than actual WNBA players? It isn’t just that Williams and Hiedeman know the game, but they know the players. They’ve got a perspective that’s unrivaled—and the fact that they’re damn entertaining has certainly played a role in how quickly their channel was growing even before All-Star Weekend.
“I think that me and Courtney just embrace who we are as people, who we are as athletes,” Hiedeman previously told Forbes. “And I think that’s kind of where the name came from. For sure, we’re just two stud buds hanging out.”
Court Williams
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Williams’ college career saw her playing for the South Florida Bulls all four years. She was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury in the first round of the 2016 WNBA draft, chosen eighth overall. She was quickly traded to the Connecticut Sun the same year, where she played through the 2019 season. After that, she spent time with the Atlanta Dream, went back to the Connecticut Sun, played a year with the Chicago Sky, and finally landed with the Minnesota Lynx in 2024.
Natisha “T” Hiedeman
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Hiedeman joined the WNBA in 2019 after spending her college years playing for the Marquette Golden Eagles in Milwaukee. She was actually initially drafted by the Lynx before getting traded (and waived by) the Sun. After a little more moving around, she ultimately played her first WNBA game with the Sun after all and, like Williams, signed with the Lynx in 2024.
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StudBudz livestreaming WNBA All-Star Weekend
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Williams was chosen for the All-Star roster, and Hiedeman opted to tag along to help run a 72-hour livestream of the event. That meant they weren’t just covering gameplay, but everything going on over the weekend, from parties to hallway chats to hotel room pranks.
For fans interested in the sapphic side of the WNBA, that meant a whole lot of relationship theories got confirmed (or as close to confirmed as we can get), and new theories may even have formed.
But a lot of the best moments, and what captivated viewers to the point that StudBudz were all anyone was talking about for most of the weekend, were just players and other WNBA figures being themselves, cutting loose, and having a great time with their pals.
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The WNBA didn’t need humanizing—fans have long been invested in the people behind these games—but it did offer a deeper dive and a more intimate look behind the curtain than we ever could have hoped for.
This article originally appeared on Pride: Who are the StudBudz? The basketball duo behind the 72-hour WNBA All-Star livestream
