13 Things and Takes After 1 Week of WNBA Ball
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Hello friends, I’m back after a very fun few days where I:
Went to Costco
Took golf lessons (if anyone knows where I can buy some cheap left-handed clubs let me know)
Was featured in WSlam’s list of Creators Making Waves (!) ((Along with a lot of other very cool people!!!)
Was featured in Fox News (??) for a very bad (and very online) Indiana Fever joke (no this is not a link to that website it’s a link to my tweet)
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Enough about me, let’s talk hoops.
13 Things and Takes After WNBA Week 1
Caitlin Clark is the real deal
I’m not going to go long on Clark because I think she’s dominated the news cycle already, but I’d be an absolute freak to not acknowledge that her game, sponsorships and viewership numbers as massive, massive wins for me, you, the WNBA and the sport of basketball.
After four games, the Indiana Fever are 0-4, but if you’ve been following along, Game 1 and 2 were nothing like 3 and 4. The team is improving — not that progress is always going to be so linear — but there have been some sneak peeks at what this team could look like when it gets going for real whether that be in June, July or 2025. Patience is key but it’s fair to be excited.
If you missed it, this is THE Clark highlight of all highlights so far:
Clark’s stats so far: 17 points per game (41.2% shooting from the field, 34.3% shooting from 3), 5.5 assists, 4 rebounds, 6.5 turnovers. Lot to work on still, but she’s figuring it out.
We’ve already had a Diana Taurasi meltdown
Listen, she did make 7-of-11 threes in that one at damn near 42 years old. She’s still (sometimes) got it.
The Golden State Valkyries are here
Welcome to the league, Valkyries. I wish ESPN could provide us an in-game graphic for how many people Googled what a Valkyrie is.
Regardless, I think the logo and colors rule. I’m happy they didn’t go with the Warriors color scheme.
The Las Vegas Aces’ players got $100,000 each and the league is not happy
The short: The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority announced via a video taken in the Aces locker room that they will be sponsoring every player on the roster.
That means rookies like Kate Martin and Dyaisha Fair will add more than double their current salaries. The WNBA is investigating this as a Not Totally Illegal But Certainly Very Frowned Upon thing in terms of fairness, competitive balance and this maybe being a loophole way for the Aces to circumvent the cap.
Maitreyi Anantharaman from Defector wrote a great piece on the situation.
Looks like Chelsea Gray will be out for some time, but thankfully not the whole summer
We haven’t seen Gray play since injuring her foot in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals last year. It finally mattered last night in a loss to the Mercury (more on that later).
Gray hasn’t ruled out playing in the Olympics, which will begin in late July.
This Cameron Brink tweet is killing me
Napheesa Collier and Alyssa Thomas were the Week 1 Players of the Week
And deserved it. Thomas was the shoulder-less wrecking ball she has been for lord knows how many years, averaging 16.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists as the Sun are 3-0.
Collier is averaging 24.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists for the 2-0 Lynx.
Breanna Stewart or A’ja Wilson have won four of the last six MVPs… I wonder if one of these two can bring home the hardware this year.
Welcome Back, Woman!
I’m legitimately speechless.
Nobody is having more fun than Angel Reese
No. 7 draft pick. A trip to the Met Gala. Latto center court at your game. Going on stage with GloRilla. Getting twerked on by Megan Thee Stallion. Investing in DC’s newest women’s soccer team. Supporting her colleagues online. And averaging nearly a double-double (11.5 points and 8.5 boards) through her team’s first two games. What a life.
Finally, Nika Muhl had her work visa cleared
This situation was getting ridiculous. The Next has more details. She scored 6 points with 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 20 minutes in her debut.
Dearica Hamby is dominating
Hamby’s a two-time All-Star and champion so great play is nothing new, but THIS level of play is. It’s only been three games, but she’s had a 29-point, 9-rebound night, 20/14 double-double night, and last night’s 17/18 double-double. Her efficiency has been spectacular, too (26-of-44 from the field overall).
Sabrina Ionescu to Breanna Stewart no-look passes are becoming the norm
The Liberty are sorta running it all back (with a few tweaks) after last year’s Finals collapse, so the chemistry between their stars is crucial to pay attention to.
Kahleah Copper rules
We knew this but now we’re seeing it in a new city. The Mercury pulled a big win over the Aces in Las Vegas last night with Copper dropping 37 points on 15-of-23 shooting. It was her second 30+ point night in a row.
Even without Brittney Griner, Phoenix (2-1) is cooking with the Natasha Cloud-Copper backcourt. They’re a tough out again!
That’s all from me for now.
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