If you tuned into any WNBA All-Star Weekend coverage, you probably heard about the 'StudBudz' multiple times. The two pink-haired friends are Minnesota Lynx teammates, Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman, and have deemed themselves as the 'StudBudz' on their Twitch Channel.
The two started streaming on Twitch earlier this W season, usually talking all things WNBA. Their About section reads, "Just two Stud Budz who hoop and live our best life. Welcome to the Party." They have also hosted various guests from around the league. Players like Dijonai Carrington, Napheesa Collier, and Aubrey Griffin have all appeared.
Hiedeman told USA Today, "It really started off as two friends, we knew about Twitch, and said, 'Let’s just start streaming...' "It’s a platform that’s unique, that really no one in the W has touched, so we was like, 'Let’s be the first ones.'"
They had accumulated a decent following on Twitch, and when Williams was named an All-Star last month, the duo promised fans a 72-hour consecutive livestream throughout All-Star Weekend. And, to say they delivered would be an understatement.
StudBudz during All-Star Weekend
The stream started on Thursday when they arrived in Indianapolis, and they fulfilled their promise of not turning it off until Sunday when they got on the plane to head back to Minnesota. This livestream took the W world and social media by storm — personally, all I was seeing on my feeds for three days were clips from the StudBudz stream.
A big reason fans resonated with this StudBudz phenomenon, and they were named this weekend's MVPs, is that fans got to see a side to the WNBA that we rarely get to see. The stream showcased personalities of WNBA players beyond the court, and humanized them in a lot of ways. Fans got to follow them around to various events, from Team Collier practice to Williams' appearance in the Skills Challenge, the bench of the All-Star game, and nightly parties — with big names like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers all making appearances.
WNBA Commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, even made a few cameos ...
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert dancing to “Knuck If You Buck” on Courtney Williams & Natisha Hiedeman “Studbudz” 72 hour All-Star weekend stream 😂 pic.twitter.com/qQk1x1z2Ec
— Underdog (@Underdog) July 19, 2025
Their viewers peaked at over 24,000 people tuning in at one point — even capturing All-Star team captain Caitlin Clark's interest. Before the All-Star game, she told Hiedeman that she had the stream playing on her TV the night prior. Later, in an interview with ESPN, she claimed instead of avoiding them, she's been trying to find the two.
“i feel like everyone’s been trying to avoid the studbudz”
— zoe t cloud & t hiedeman fc (@wbbnxtdoor) July 20, 2025
caitlin: ive been trying to find them
man i love this crossover omg😭😭😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/8urtdQBIog
Williams and Hiedeman truly encapsulated exactly what WNBA All-Star Weekend should be all about, and that's the players having fun and enjoying themselves. I am sure the StudBudz did not expect their stream to blow up in the way it did — gaining over 48,000 followers in the last week. In fact, Williams told USA Today, "We are so surprised, honestly, we did not know how much love we’d be getting..." But surely the success they saw this weekend will lead to more opportunities for the duo - and I know fans cannot wait to see where it takes them next.