The show opens with some final thoughts on the Angel Reese trade, resulting in her heading to Atlanta in exchange for two first round picks.

Then they touch on the departure of Jamila Wideman as GM of the Washington Mystics and how to properly identify who had what role in a front office power struggle.

The show then wraps up with a discussion on some great WNBA free agency targets, the best value pick in Monday's WNBA Draft and how to make sense of a completely chaotic NCAA transfer portal.

If you enjoy Ball Up Top, please let us know on Apple and/or Spotify. We’d love it if you left us five stars and a nice review to help spread the good word of ball knowledge!

The show opens with a discussion on the WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement, which is set to take effect this season. Seerat reported and dug into the various proposals throughout the marathon session of last-minute negotiations between the league and PA. All three discuss some of the intricacies of reporting on constantly evolving-and-breaking stories as well as some of the bigger implications of the deal.

After wrapping that discussion up, the trio preview the entire Sweet Sixteen field of the NCAA Tournament. They wonder if UConn and UCLA are winning in big fashion, why Tyler can’t lose regardless of how Oklahoma does against South Carolina and if Louisville can do the improbable…

0:00 - Show Introduction.

1:16 - WNBA CBA review.

9:20 - Sweet Sixteen preview.

Our musical intros are brought to you by Denver’s King of Mile HiFi, DLZMKSBTS. You can check out his music on Spotify and YouTube.

Now the motion heads to a council committee before returning to the general council for a vote.

The initial cost of the project started at roughly $54 million and has risen to over $81 million amid cost delays. For their part, the Wings have agreed to front the additional $27 million and cover any cost overruns necessary to get the facility built.

Andrew has all the information here in a new flash pod.

If you enjoy Ball Up Top, please let us know on Apple and/or Spotify. We’d love it if you left us five stars and a nice review to help spread the good word of ball knowledge!

The show jumps right in with a long discussion about the Player of the Year race. Who has the edge? Is it UConn’s Sarah Strong or Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes? After crunching the numbers and laying out the narratives, the attention turns to the First-Team All-American list. This is where Andrew starts to workshop what may be one of the hottest takes of all: Azzi Fudd may not be a first-team All-American. Naturally, Greer disagrees and a good, long debate ensues.

The show wraps up with a brief look at the Coach of the Year race. Greer makes a case for Shea Ralph, Andrew makes one for Dawn Staley while the entire crew looks at some of the underrated names that deserve consideration. Does Krista Gerlich, Molly Miller or Katie Abrahamson-Henderson have a legitimate case? We take a look.

0:00 - Show Introduction.

1:21 - National Player of the Year race…

26:58 - Projected First-Team All-American lists…

51:30 - Coach of the Year lists…

Our musical intros are brought to you by Denver’s King of Mile HiFi, DLZMKSBTS. You can check out his music on Spotify and YouTube.

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And after an insanely dramatic week that ventured into the uncouth between LSU and South Carolina, the crew discusses the battle between Kim Mulkey and Dawn Staley and why MiLaysia Fulwiley is now caught in the crossfire. They examine the dynamic guards transfer to Baton Rouge first through a basketball lens and then through a more global one.

If you enjoy Ball Up Top, please let us know on Apple and/or Spotify. We’d love it if you left us five stars and a nice review to help spread the good word of ball knowledge!

While the show was supposed to start with discussion about the WNBA CBA and recent developments, the WNBA decided to wait until the literal 11th hour on Tuesday night to, more or less, kill any momentum both sides were making in the negotiating process.

If you’d like to see Tyler and Andrew’s late night reactions, check out our video on our YouTube channel.

Finally, if you haven’t heard…

We’re going to be LIVE in Austin! On February 21, 2026, No Cap Space WBB will be hosting, in conjunction with Texas women’s basketball, Longhorn Legends Live, in the auditorium at the Moody College of Journalism. Tyler will emcee, Chauny will host and a who’s who of Texas hall-of-famers from the legendary 1986 team will be on a rotating panel to discuss their time in Austin and the legacy they left as the first NCAA women’s basketball champions to go undefeated.

If you want to brush up on that history, check out our Legendarium installment, Team of Destiny, by clicking here.

0:00 - Show Introduction.

:58 — LSU vs. South Carolina, Kim Mulkey vs. Dawn Staley and where MiLaysia Fulwiley fits in…

30:17 — Underrated and underseeded potential NCAA Tournament teams.

Our musical intros are brought to you by Denver’s King of Mile HiFi, DLZMKSBTS. You can check out his music on Spotify and YouTube.

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Tyler and Andrew are back on the show this week to discuss the recent happenings with the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement negotiation. Were the players too late for calling a strike? Is there a way that things can be salvaged for the players now that a delay to the start of the season feels inevitable?

If you enjoy Ball Up Top, please let us know on Apple and/or Spotify. We’d love it if you left us five stars and a nice review to help spread the good word of ball knowledge!

The show continues with a deep dive into Kim Caldwell’s postgame comments after the Lady Vols loss to South Carolina in which she said that there were ‘quitters’ on her team. Was she right to say it? Does she even have the credibility to call out her team like that? Andrew and Tyler discuss and debate.

Both hosts wrap the show with a discussion about the National Player of the Year in women’s college basketball. Does Mikayla Blakes have enough juice to catch up to UConn’s Sarah Strong?

If you haven’t already signed up for the free daily newsletter, you can subscribe above or share it with the women’s hoops fan in your life at the button below!

0:00 - Show Introduction.

3:50 - The state of WNBA CBA negotiations and if the PA was late to calling a strike.

29:00 - Kim Caldwell’s Tennessee growing pains.

51:00 - Is Mikayla Blakes vs. Sarah Strong a real Player of the Year race in women’s college basketball?

Our musical intros are brought to you by Denver’s King of Mile HiFi, DLZMKSBTS. You can check out his music on Spotify and YouTube.

With so many games on this weekend’s dockets and several individual previews coming on YouTube this week, we decided to switch things up on Ball Up Top. Chauny, Tyler and Greer hold things down and react to the WNBA schedule release, examine which NCAA women’s basketball rivalry could be the next great one and wonder why Vic Schaefer keeps trying to fight an imaginary battle with the media.

If you enjoy Ball Up Top, please let us know on Apple and/or Spotify. We’d love it if you left us five stars and a nice review to help spread the good word of ball knowledge!

The show opens with a discussion about the WNBA schedule and which matchups stand out. In usual hater fashion, Chauny has a potential Paige vs. Caitlin matchup circled while some of the other games on the list, including a Fever vs. Dream rivalry maker game, are discussed by Greer and Tyler.

After touching briefly on the growing rivalries in the WNBA and some of the attempts to manufacture them, Chauny poses the question of which rivalries in the college game need to be nurtured. Ahead of Tennessee vs. UConn this weekend, the crew runs down their list of who can take the mantle of “pre-eminent women’s hoops battle” in today’s landscape.

The pod wraps with a discussion on Vic Schaefer, who once again decided to defend his team to drastic degrees in his weekly media availability.

0:00 - Show Introduction.

1:13 - WNBA Schedule Reactions.

19:24 - Which Rivalries Are Going To Be The Next Great One?

Greer’s Pick: USC vs. UCLA

Tyler’s Pick: Iowa vs. Iowa State

34:40 - Vic Schaefer In The Press. Again.

Our musical intros are brought to you by Denver’s King of Mile HiFi, DLZMKSBTS. You can check out his music on Spotify and YouTube.

If you enjoy Ball Up Top, please let us know on Apple and/or Spotify. We’d love it if you left us five stars and a nice review to help spread the good word of ball knowledge!

On top of those teams is a Tennessee team that currently stands tied at the top of the SEC with South Carolina and Vanderbilt. Tyler and Greer discuss if there has been enough shown to start buying stocks in the Lady Vols.

0:00 Intro

1:16 UConn Vanderbilt Scheduled

9:54 Are Vanderbilt and LSU Contenders?

22:38 Is Tennessee Back?

29:00 UCLA vs Iowa and Ohio St in the Big 10

36:28 The Future of Neutral Sites in WBB

If you enjoy Ball Up Top, please let us know on Apple and/or Spotify. We’d love it if you left us five stars and a nice review to help spread the good word of ball knowledge!

The show jumps right in with a retelling of Texas head coach Vic Schaefer’s comments regarding his gauntlet road trip (@ LSU and @ South Carolina on back-to-back games). Tyler, Chauny and Greer lay out their opinions and their disapproval of the Longhorns coach’s agenda setting ahead of a big game against the Gamecocks.

After the crew touches on Schaefer’s scheduling comments and Ole Miss head coach Yolette McPhee-McCuin’s issue with her team’s lack of movement in the AP Top 25, the discussion pivots to midseason All-Americans and which players are on the top of that list.

If you want to read about one contender, consider a Ball-Knower’s subscription to get the full story on Richmond superstar Maggie Doogan and her ascent to the top of NCAA women’s hoops!

The show wraps up with a preview of South Carolina vs. Texas, one of the biggest women’s college basketball games of the year and a rematch of one of last season’s Final Four pairings.

0:00 - Show Introduction.

:46 - Vic Schaefer vs. The SEC, Coach Yo vs. The AP…

22:45 - Who are the Midseason All-Americans?

32:56 - South Carolina vs. Texas preview.

Our musical intros are brought to you by Denver’s King of Mile HiFi, DLZMKSBTS. You can check out his music on Spotify and YouTube.

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If you enjoy Ball Up Top, please let us know on Apple and/or Spotify. We’d love it if you left us five stars and a review to help spread the good word of ball knowledge!

0:00 - Show Introduction.

:53 - Chauny’s Best Moment: Las Vegas wins the 2025 WNBA Title.

14:40 - Greer’s Best Moment: A Big Year for No Cap Space WBB.

26:52 - Tyler’s Best Moment: Aaliyah Chavez Makes History With Oklahoma commitment.

38:56 - Andrew’s Best Moment: The Drama of the Dallas Wings, live and in person.

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If you enjoy Ball Up Top, please let us know on Apple and/or Spotify. We’d love it if you left us five stars and a review to help spread the good word of ball knowledge!

The show opens with a quick update on the ongoing WNBA collective bargaining agreement dispute. With Caitlin Clark’s comments at Team USA camp followed up by a conciliatory tone by NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday, it feels as though there’s an opportunity for both sides to have a 2026 season after all.

Our crew then dives into Team USA camp, the changing of the guard that may be happening and some of the deeper dynamics — sometimes jokingly called The Storrs Mafia or the-UConn-Media-Industrial-Complex — that go into selection and national team discussion.

That dovetails perfectly into a conversation about the NCAA Player of the Year races in women’s college basketball. While Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd continue to lead the way, our team asks if there are enough narratives in Big East play for UConn to build a case for their players? And where do other talented players from South Carolina’s Joyce Edwards to Richmond’s Maggie Doogan fit in?

0:00 - Show Introduction.

1:07 - Caitlin Clark, Adam Silver and the thawing WNBA Labor Fight…

12:01 - Unrivaled’s start and the leverage of player coalitions…

22:38 - Team USA Camp thoughts & reactions

41:20 - NCAA Player of the Year ladder

Our musical intros are brought to you by Denver’s King of Mile HiFi, DLZMKSBTS. You can check out his music on Spotify and YouTube.

If you enjoy Ball Up Top, please let us know on Apple and/or Spotify. We’d love it if you left us five stars and a review to help spread the good word of ball knowledge!

After dispensing with the pleasantries, the basketball talk begins with a preview of Wednesday night’s Cy-Hawk rivalry game between No. 10 Iowa State and No. 11 Iowa. The duo discuss how the Hawkeyes plan on defending superstar center Audi Crooks and if this is the Jada Williams breakout game basketball fans have been waiting three years for.

There were also some eye catching upsets in the last week of NCAA women’s basketball, from Kansas State managing to defeat No. 17 Ole Miss and Wisconsin pulling off a huge win over No. 20 Michigan State. Andrew and Tyler talk about their favorite moments in those games.

The show wraps with a couple more bigger basketball and culture discussions as Tyler breaks down his experience in Norman, Oklahoma so far covering star freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez before the duo get some jokes off about the fun trash-talking moment between LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson and Duke head coach Kara Lawson.

0:00 - Show Introduction.

1:05 - A’ja Wilson wins TIME Athlete of the Year.

18:50 - Iowa vs. Iowa State Preview

28:32 - Upsets of the week.

39:40 - The emerging movement of athlete led by Aaliyah Chavez.

51:15 - Flau’jae vs. Kara Lawson and the fun of ethical hate.

Our musical intros are brought to you by Denver’s King of Mile HiFi, DLZMKSBTS. You can check out his music on Spotify and YouTube.

Below are each staff member’s selection but we’d love to hear from you! Let us know in the comments or share our lists with your friends to figure out who can make the best moment list of the year.

Greer:

Paige Bueckers breaks the single game rookie scoring record with 42 points.

Skylar Diggins doing the electric slide in Minnesota.

Napheesa Collier’s unsung 50-40-90 season.

Pink wigs in the Target Center.

The back and forth battle brewing between A’ja Wilson and Dominique Malonga

Andrew:

A’ja Wilson’s WNBA Finals game three winner vs. Phoenix.

Napheesa Collier destroys Cathy Engelbert in exit interview.

Caitlin Clark’s high point: 32 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists vs. New York.

The mess of June’s Wings vs. Aces game.

The Rachid Meziane agenda ends on a positive note.

Tyler:

Studbudz take over All-Star weekend.

Players make a statement with ‘pay us what you owe us’ shirts.

Paige Bueckers and Haley Jones’ legendary meme.

Jacy Sheldon vs. Sophie Cunningham: The showdown.

Indiana’s playoff run.

Missed By Us (But We Wish We Had Back)

Ballhalla

Angel Reese vs. The Chicago Sky

Alyssa Thomas sets triple-double record

Kelsey Mitchell second half explosion vs. Connecticut

Kiki Iriafen vs. Sophie Cunningham preseason

Kiki Iriafen and Stef Dolson make a meme

If you love the show, we’d love and appreciate a five star rating on Apple podcasts as well as a kind review if you’ve got the time! We’re also on the road to 6,000 subscribers on YouTube and 3,000 followers on TikTok so if you enjoy our content here, tell a friend to tell a friend to follow us on their preferred platform!

Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!

Our intro music is made by Denver’s own DLZMKSBTS, the King of Mile Hi-Fi. Check out all his music on Spotify here and on Instagram here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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Tamika Tremaglio is now the Managing Director for the private equity firm Secretariat but was once the Executive Director of the National Basketball Players Association. In 2021, she was selected by NBA players to replace Michele Roberts and helped lead the union to a CBA with the league in 2023. Back in 2020, she also served as an advisor to the WNBPA in their 2020 negotiation.

Over the course of this podcast, she discusses the component of trust in negotiations, why the players feel like their leverage is the greatest and, perhaps most interestingly, whether the league should just scrap their existing CBA and start over completely.

If you love the show, we’d love and appreciate a five star rating on Apple podcasts as well as a kind review if you’ve got the time! We’re also on the road to 5,000 subscribers on YouTube and 2,500 followers on TikTok so if you enjoy our content here, tell a friend to tell a friend to follow us on their preferred platform!

Scroll ahead to hear…

0:00 - Show introduction.

1:15 - Tamika Tremaglio’s background.

3:04 - The art of a labor negotiation.

4:40 - How both sides view their leverage.

6:35 - What happens when trust is broken during a labor negotiation.

10:15 - The uniqueness of the WNBPA’s bargaining position.

13:38 - The idea of risk-reward as it pertains to the WNBA’s business.

17:02 - Where pure business and professional respect intersect in negotiations.

21:30 - The strategy of exercising leverage and why the WNBPA is doing it now.

24:13 - How WNBA revenue share works.

26:35 - How the NBA’s ownership of the W makes labor negotiations unique.

29:14 - Balancing the business with the humanity of a negotiation.

32:13 - How Unrivaled fits into the calculus of the labor fight.

34:54 - Could you rip up the CBA and effectively start over?

39:36 - Is the WNBA’s labor fight a microcosm of a broader labor movement in the United States?

Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!

Our intro music is made by Denver’s own DLZMKSBTS, the King of Mile Hi-Fi. Check out all his music on Spotify here and on Instagram here.

No Cap Space WBB is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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The Ringer WNBA Show’s Seerat Sohi joins Tyler, Chauny and Greer as they react to the Aces heading back to another WNBA Finals as well as all the other madness of the day.

If you love the show, we’d love and appreciate a five star rating on Apple podcasts as well as a kind review if you’ve got the time! We’re also on the road to 5,000 subscribers on YouTube and 2,500 followers on TikTok so if you enjoy our content here, tell a friend to tell a friend to follow us on their preferred platform!

Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!

Our intro music is made by Denver’s own DLZMKSBTS, the King of Mile Hi-Fi. Check out all his music on Spotify here and on Instagram here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

www.nocapspacewbb.com/subscribe

Our Playoffathon coverage continues over on YouTube where you can subscribe to our channel. We are live every night after each playoff game and will be doubling down as we head into the WNBA Finals at the end of this week. Who will meet the Phoenix Mercury there? That will be decided on Tuesday when the Indiana Fever and Las Vegas Aces play a win-or-go-home game in Michelob Ultra Arena. It doesn’t get any better than this and, to add on to the craziness that has been the WNBA postseason, the NCAA women’s basketball season starts in just over a month as well.

So if you’re considering signing up for our paid subscription tier, which gives you access to our Discord chat, exclusive content and Boots on the Ground features, you won’t be losing a thing when the W is done. We just move right into the next season because the basketball never stops.

Now, onto the column!

1. The Mercury Deserve Their Flowers As An Organization

To quote the venerable Dril, ‘under no circumstances do you gotta hand to them’. But in this case you do, in fact, have to hand it to Mat Ishbia.

What’s fascinating is that you can be from Phoenix and have two totally different opinions of the debutante owner depending on which basketball team you follow more closely. In a lot of ways, Ishbia feels somewhat reminiscent of James Dolan and his ownership of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers. As a fan, it’s felt that whichever of the two teams Dolan is more hands-off with is the team that ends up being more successful. While Ishbia has spent much of his tenure with the Suns appearing to meddle in the day-to-day affairs of the NBA franchise, he’s kept a relatively low profile in the W, writing the checks and allowing the Mercury to run smoothly.

That’s resulted in a state-of-the-art team facility that was able to play a role in attracting free agents like Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas. It’s also given General Manager Nick U’Ren, the Ball-Knower’s Executive of the Year, the latitude to build out the team as he sees fit. Trading for Thomas and Sabally was a masterstroke but, perhaps more importantly, it all came together in year one. It’s exceedingly rare in this league where free-agent or trade-driven superstar cores gel like this immediately. New York made it to the WNBA Finals in their first season with Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones but it took until 2024 for them to look the part of a champion. Seattle’s microwaved championship core never made it to the Finals before Noelle Quinn was let go as head coach. Shoot, even L.A., Dallas and Chicago, who tried to load up with veterans to hunt for a playoff spot, ended up not living up to their billing.

Yet somehow in Phoenix, where the offense runs through Alyssa Thomas in a way relatively unique in the W’s history, they are four wins away from a title. There may be a lot of flaws in Mat Ishbia as an owner. His organization has dealt with a few different lawsuits and now is on the receiving end of a slew of not-so-rosy stories about allegedly forcing employees to sign paperwork effectively waiving their right to sue for anything. The Suns look like a bit of a clown show and had to deal away Kevin Durant after a nothingburger of a tenure. And yet, things look about as good as they can on the women’s side of things. They flipped over their roster completely with a coach who has proven to be one of the better in-game tacticians in the league while also making the needed investments to compete.

If you choose to look at this with a glass half full mindset, it is a great precedent and signal to the next set of expansion teams coming into the league. Basically, if you invest appropriately, you too can be a Golden State, a Phoenix, Las Vegas or New York. The teams that are putting their money where their mouths are happen to be the ones succeeding. For a league and a sport that has been saying that investment will lead to success for over two decades, it’s nice to see that axiom be proven true time and time again.

2. Alyssa Thomas Is Having Her Legacy Postseason

I know that Alyssa Thomas and her play style aren’t for everyone. It’s important to note that that indeed is okay. To me, the more play styles you have in a sports league, the more interesting things can be from a schematic perspective. College football fans may hate to see a triple option or flexbone team but I sure love to see coaches try to figure it out. In the same vein, there just aren’t a lot of WNBA teams running inverted pick-and-roll with a physically gifted power forward who is a regular triple-double threat. It’s fair for some people to not enjoy the shoulder checks or the bull rushes down the floor. But I feel that it adds something to the game and forces great players and coaches to do something different. It can get to a point where it’s not so fun and that’s something that falls at the feet of officials (more on that in a moment).

I write that long preamble to say that we can’t discount Alyssa Thomas when all is said and done. Would it be fun if she had a more consistent jumper? Sure. But what the 33 year old Mercury superstar is doing this postseason is everything most of her detractors have been asking for for years. In this last semifinals series, Thomas averaged 20.5 points, 8.25 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game on 51% shooting from the field. For starters, those are MVP caliber counting stats. But beyond that, it shows a new willingness to shoulder the scoring load for her team. In past years, we’ve gotten 20+ point bursts out of AT but most playoff matchups had her finishing with anywhere between 13 and 18 points. This time around, Thomas is more than willing to go to the basket, try to get calls and feel comfortable taking it herself in crunch time. Usually when we’re assessing players at the MVP caliber level or higher, we like to see that extra gear in the playoffs. Something of a takeover gene, if you will.

This season, Thomas has given us that effort and what we’ve been treated to is a totally different player than who we typically see in the playoffs. Don’t believe me? I quite literally compared AT to Rudy Gobert earlier this year, remarking that they’re similar in that they can own a regular season but have clearly exploitable deficiencies come the playoffs. These last two weeks, the Mercury’s star forward has shut me up good.

If Phoenix manages to go the distance, it completely changes how we talk about Thomas and her impact in the WNBA. On some level, it’s reductive to distill legacy down into whether or not you win rings, but I do think part of winning championships as a superstar level player involves you having to find that gear of greatness. So far, AT has given us that gear and even a bit more. Regardless of how the Finals go, I do hope that Thomas finishes the season with a few more fans on her bandwagon. Count me among them. It’s been a phenomenal playoff run and deserves its flowers even while it’s happening.

3. A Gamecock Rivalry And Building The Hate Ethically

Here at No Cap Space, we often joke about this concept of ethical and unethical hate. As Chauny describes it, “Ethical hate is letting people know up front where you stand so if they choose to engage that’s on them. Basically a heads up that this argument isn’t being made in the the best faith so proceed with caution.”

In essence, knowing where the lines are between playful banter and personal attacks. If you’re someone who thinks they have a good concept of where that line is (which is the vast majority of fans, to be clear), then this postseason was tailor made for you. For the most part, a lot of the banter between teams has been relatively low impact in terms of depth. Napheesa Collier’s injury does cast a pall over some of this but generally, the beef all feels pretty self contained to basketball. Within that, I think we can all afford to let things be fun for a second. Take A’ja Wilson and Aliyah Boston, for instance. I love the fact that the four-time-and-reigning back-to-back MVP is airing out a former Gamecock heir apparent about a perceived special whistle. It’s great to see an up and coming superstar not scared at all of incurring the wrath of one of the faces of the game. These are good things that foster good discourse around the game. There is always a conversation to be had around some of the more specific ways sports and culture intersect and how they power public opinion. We should welcome those takes and critical views of the things we enjoy.

At the same time, however, we should be allowed to indulge in the sheer competition of it all. There are legacies on the line here and it feels like both Wilson and Boston know that. There is the connective tissue of South Carolina and Dawn Staley. There’s Wilson’s own hero’s journey that is woefully underdiscussed even though it underscores how remarkable her ascent has actually been. And then there’s Boston who, since a cruel-at-best-coded-at-worst framing as soft and a crier, has stepped into her power and embraced the title of tough player to go against. Everything that we like in sports is here. The drama, the backstory, the human emotions that power superhuman athletic performances culminating in an ending that is truly unknown to us until the moment it happens. This is the exact type of thing the WNBA has been asking for and it’s been delivered organically. Is it the size of the other rivalries the league office seems to prize? Maybe not. But it’s certainly a healthy foundation with which to build upon.

Whether it’s been Indiana vs. Las Vegas, Minnesota vs. Phoenix or any of the first round games, we’ve been given competitive matchups, elite trash-talk pre, during and post game and the most smoke anyone has had is for the officiating. It’s exactly what people have been asking for and I hope we appreciate it for what it is. Rivalries and legacies are being built here and everyone involved with the games seems to know it. Maybe larger scale media doesn’t but that’s okay. The Ball-Knowers know. And that’s enough for me.

4. The Possible Revolution (And Unintended Consequences) in WNBA Coach Hiring

Happy Trails, Noelle Quinn and Sandy Brondello.

The Seattle Storm, after a first round exit against Las Vegas, parted ways with Quinn while the Liberty did the same with Brondello after New York’s game three loss to Phoenix. The two don’t have a ton in common, when you line up their backgrounds and circumstances. But they are alike in that they’re both WNBA lifers who have been let go amid what seems to be an ever-shortening leash for coaches in the league. Let me be clear, I think it was time for Noelle Quinn to go. Whatever critiques one may have for Storm general manager Talisa Rhea and how this roster was constructed, it had the top end talent to be a WNBA Finals contender. When you line up the starting fives on paper, the Storm should’ve matched up well against anyone. Quinn’s rigidity in not utilizing her bench while also dealing with consistent allegations of fostering a negative locker room culture, it just didn’t feel like Seattle had a lot of good to point to heading into a pivotal offseason. Now, you at least can do a proper search, hire the right coach and be able to promise a vision when free agency comes around.

As for Sandy Brondello, it is quite a statement to fire your coach one season removed from a WNBA championship and then say in a press conference that she was on the block that season too. However people try to massage General Manager Jonathan Kolb’s statements, it was a revealing look at what the calculus actually was in parting ways. I can’t imagine Breanna Stewart is too pleased.

I’m intrigued about the possible clash of visions when it comes to Sabrina Ionescu. One of Kolb’s exit interview quotes concerned the pairing of his former No. 1 pick and Natasha Cloud. While he was careful to not say Ionescu’s dip in numbers were an indictment on Cloud, he did cite problems with Sabrina’s off-ball involvement. If Brondello felt that Ionescu wasn’t a true point guard but Kolb felt the opposite, how much does that clash of visions lead to a somewhat surprising parting of the ways? In any case, a WNBA expansion franchise is going to get a proven coach that can probably establish a high floor early.

While understandable (on some level) decisions, there is an interesting trend popping up in the W these last few years. Beyond the clear and sharp drop of black women coaches in the league — a necessary thing to point when a supermajority of the league are black women — there has also been a shift towards more modern coaching systems. The Atlanta Dream and L.A. Sparks found analytically driven motion-offense coaches in Karl Smesko and Lynne Roberts. The possible New York Liberty targets all have some type of NBA bonafides to them. If the trend continues and the so-called ‘old guard’ of WNBA coaches is phased out entirely, what does that mean for the coaching pipeline?

There’s an argument to be had here that new systems will, over time, permeate through coaching trees and make the technical side of the game better at every level. New York could hire a coach from the NBA like Lakers assistant Lindsay Harding and her system will filter to her assistants and whatever jobs they may take and assistants they may have. It’s one of the few places where trickle-down does tend to work. That move into the future of the game won’t come without consequence, however. If you allow the perception that longtime WNBA coaches don’t have the juice to contend with a new schematic revolution in the league, it will become shared reality eventually. Not only does that hurt people like Brondello but it hurts the next generation of coaches like Briann January or LaToya Sanders. They would also have to fight that perception.

Change is good but, like many things, it has to be done with respect to what is being changed. The revolution is here in the WNBA but it doesn’t mean everything (and everyone) has to be wiped away in the process. It may not be a concerted push or mandate to do so but even unconscious biases can eventually mutate into calcified worldviews. Food for thought as we discuss merits and risks during this coaching carousel.

5. Can You Actually Fix the Officiating Problem?

Before I start, I want to lay out what I think balance is in officiating. Effectively, I think of a well-officiated game is one where I don’t see officials disrupt the flow on the floor. If they are c

As the WNBA playoffs roll on, our crew has been hard at work giving you day-of previews and night-of recaps every single night of games. As it just so happens, game two of the Semifinals, featuring the Indiana Fever, Las Vegas, Phoenix Mercury and Minnesota Lynx, landed on our typical Ball Up Top recording night. Tyler and Chauny take the mic and break down everything that happened in game two as well as some of the major coaching changes, from Sandy Brondello in New York to Noelle Quinn in Seattle, and what comes next for both franchises.

If you love the show, we’d love and appreciate a five star rating on Apple podcasts as well as a kind review if you’ve got the time! We’re also on the road to 5,000 subscribers on YouTube and 2,500 followers on TikTok so if you enjoy our content here, tell a friend to tell a friend to follow us on their preferred platform!

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Noelle Quinn and her staff were let go in Seattle, New York Liberty players seemed mum on their commitment to the franchise ahead of a box office free agency period as some of the best elimination playoff games in recent WNBA history were played. In short, there’s never been a better time to be a women’s basketball fan and a subscriber to No Cap Space. As our W coverage rolls here and on YouTube, we also are ramping up our NCAA coverage heading into October.

Our Luxury Tax interview series continues this week, with South Carolina superstar Joyce Edwards and UConn transfer Serah Williams join the show. Those that pay into the ‘Ball-Knower’ tier here on NCS will get early access to those interviews along with a companion feature on each player. Keep an eye out and stay tapped in with us on all ends of the WBB spectrum!

Now, to the column…

1. Let’s Talk About Awards Season…

A’ja Wilson made history with her fourth WNBA MVP honor, making her the first player in league history to earn such a distinction. On top of that, she joins Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Lebron James as the only American professional basketball players to win four MVP’s before the age of 30. And how’s this for a cherry on top? Wilson is the first player in the history of the W to average over 20 points and 10 rebounds in two straight seasons.

That’s the kind of dominance we make GOAT arguments for.

Personally, I find it hard to root against Wilson. She, in a lot of ways, has the pro athlete hero’s journey that we ask of our athletes. While the former South Carolina superstar was immediately impactful from the moment she set foot in the W, the path to being a face of the league wasn’t easy. The Aces had a few postseason false starts, with Wilson herself having a “she’s great but can she win the big one” moment in 2022 with a possible game winner being blocked at the rim by Brittney Griner in the playoffs. The Vegas forward’s response over the next three years was to be one of the most dominant players that the league has ever seen.

If you’re purely assessing value, I think it’s hard to vote against Wilson for MVP. She’s clearly the best player in the W right now and, when off the floor, the Aces simply aren’t a title contender. Here’s where the voting needs a degree of consistency…

Alanna Smith was named a co-Defensive Player of the Year, Natisha Hiedeman didn’t get Sixth Player of the Year and Cheryl Reeve got just two votes for Coach of the Year. There’s a legitimate question about what other Lynx players end up on the All-WNBA list. If a voter’s argument against Napheesa Collier was rooted in value and based on the comparative success of Minnesota without her in the lineup, shouldn’t the voting boost other players and coaches? Reeve, in particular, feels like a somewhat egregious omission even with Natalie Nakase rightfully deserving the honor. It just was surprising to see it not end up that close.

As we head into the next few years, it would be nice for us to get the voter transparency we require. At the very least, it would put an end to some of the general accusations of conspiracy or a shadowy cabal of voters aligned against specific players. At the absolute best, it lets players truly get to sit in their well-deserved award and not have to answer questions about anyone or anything else.

2. Seattle’s Coaching Search Is The Most Important in Franchise History

Noelle Quinn and her staff were let go by the Seattle Storm after a second straight underwhelming season and early playoff exit. Despite stacking the deck with Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins in 2023 free agency, the Storm haven’t been able to recapture the form of a consistent finals contender that they’ve enjoyed for the better part of the last two decades. Quinn, a former player who stepped almost immediately into a WNBA coaching role, was a good-but-not-great coach who seemed to be developing a reputation for fostering a poor team culture. Jewell Loyd left in 2024, alleging a toxic work environment, while exit interviews from this past week led fans to draw a variety of conclusions about what happened this year.

In some ways, it doesn’t portend anything positive for the WNBA. There are now no black women in head coaching positions and it doesn’t feel as though there is a super flush pipeline of talent on the way up. A lot of the ‘next generation’ in the college ranks, from Joni Taylor to Niele Ivey, have some degree of risk to them. The group below them, including Ashley Langford at Tulane and Dawn Thornton at Alabama A&M, probably need a couple more years before being attractive to a WNBA franchise. There’s former W players like Kristi Tolliver and Briann January, who should be among the first phone calls. Then there’s women in the NBA like Sonia Raman, Lindsey Harding Jenny Boucek and Mery Andrade who have the bonafides to return. The question is if they have the desire.

Whoever Seattle picks, it has to be a hit. As the complexion of the league changes, franchises come online and the balance of power starts to shift, the Storm cannot let themselves be left in the dust. That means Talisa Rhea, Seattle’s General Manager who has skated a bit on criticism of the last two years, needs to ace the hire and make some big signings in free agency. There’s a massive choice to make here and I’m curious how the coaching hire provides insight into her calculations. Do you throw it all out and build around Dominique Malonga, who has all the makings of the next league superstar? Or do they decide to continue to bridge generations, keeping Nneka and Diggins while trying to transition Malonga into the next woman up? History tells us that doesn’t usually work and the 19 year old French phenom is simply too good to mess around with. The Storm, for decades, have been the gold standard of the WNBA. But after a few years in the wilderness, and a gem of a prospect locked in on a long term, cost-controlled contract, it feels like there’s a fork in the road for Seattle. Hopefully, they choose right. This league is better when the Storm are contenders.

3. Indiana, Rising Tides and The W’s Cinderella Team

The Indiana Fever have, somehow, become the Cinderella team of this playoffs. Without a large chunk of their backcourt, including a top 3-5 player in the league in Caitlin Clark, the Fever managed to walk into Michelob Ultra Arena and steal Game One of the WNBA Semifinals away from arguably the hottest team in the league right now. Kelsey Mitchell put multiple Vegas players in the torture chamber as she led Indy with 34 points on 12/23 shooting, including a 4/6 outing from three point land. Natasha Howard and Aliyah Boston controlled the boards, combining for 22 of the Fever’s 35 while Odyssey Sims proved (once again) why she should be on a full-time WNBA roster.

It was a remarkable statement win for a franchise we half expected to just be happy to be there. Stephanie White has done a remarkable job coaching up this group, particularly getting point guard after point guard to step up when needed in the wake of Clark, Syd Colson, Aari McDonald, Chloe Bibby and Sophie Cunningham’s injuries.

In a lot of ways, this was the intended result of the Caitlin Clark effect. The former Iowa superstar brought a tidal wave of eyeballs and interest in the sport and the idea was that those eyes would eventually latch on to other teams or players, bringing the overall interest in the league up. While there’s been some less-than-enjoyable consequences of that, what we’re seeing happening in Indiana right now is what the Clark Effect looks like when it works. After years of uncertainty, the Fever brought in Kelly Kraskopf and Amber Cox to run the team. They went out and got White and brought in a bunch of players from Natasha Howard to Bri Turner, who are making a difference now. Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston’s are household names in the Indianapolis metro area and people are tuning in from all over the country to see a Fever team that doesn’t even feature Clark on the floor.

I know that it’s sometimes hard to look past the bad faith actors that entered the league with Clark. But the reality, when we get off Twitter and off the worst parts of the internet, is that most people found a love and enjoyment of this game through her and are now willing to stay without her. A little while back in a prior Five Out, I wrote about how that phenomenon was helping boost Indiana to the same type of geography and TV exposure was helping them enter the Dallas Cowboys/America’s Team territory. It feels now like we’re really getting there. The Fever are people’s gateway drug into the W. Given the fact that ratings exploded (1.8 million viewers on average this regular season, per ESPN) without Clark (and Angel Reese, to a different extent), I think it’s pretty easy to conclude that people didn’t turn their TV’s off en masse when the biggest young stars in the league sat on the bench. That’s good for the league, the playoffs, the Fever, and yes, all of us as well.

4. The 1-1-1 Format For Round One Was a Success. What Comes Next?

I can understand Karl Smesko and Becky Hammon. If I were a higher seeded team in the playoffs, I’d despise the 1-1-1 format of the first round as well. All of the advantage of two games at home effectively disappears and can be a lot trickier for teams that felt a high seed would buy them a better chance to advance to the semifinals. Now that the WNBA has charter flights, I think some of the concern around travel is unfounded. But it does make things harder if you don’t have the juice to really make a deep playoff run.

To that end, I absolutely love it.

To me, it separates the contenders from the pretenders. While still a three game series, every matchup has a little bit of win-or-go-home to it. Each elimination clash felt like something pulled straight out of March Madness. The SAP Center in San Jose felt, at times, louder than Ballhalla. Gabby Williams gave us a flashback to the 2024 Summer Olympic gold medal game (unfortunately for her, I might add) while Atlanta’s finish with Indiana was so chaotic I don’t think I can adequately describe it in print. Even in Phoenix, where the game didn’t come down to the last ten seconds, we saw individual greatness the likes of which we haven’t seen all season. Alyssa Thomas put up a historic 20-11-11 in an elimination game while Breanna Stewart put the entire Liberty franchise on her back in the fourth quarter and finished with 30 points and 9 rebounds. It was the perfect advertisement not just for the league but what the semifinals are likely to promise us.

5. Did New York’s Title Window Already Close?

I don’t necessarily blame Sabrina Ionescu for being a bit mum on whether or not she’ll stay with the Liberty. Assuming there isn’t a work stoppage while the collective bargaining agreement is being worked out, this upcoming free agency period will be the most pivotal in league history. If you’re a player that isn’t under contract and you’re committing to a franchise straight up, then you maybe need some words of wisdom from your agent. Ionescu is likely to have a multitude of suitors this offseason, particularly from the upstart Golden State Valkyries (Sabrina is from Walnut Creek, just outside of the East Bay). If she does decide to try something different, it calls into question the title window for the Liberty and what this big three may look like in the future?

Breanna Stewart was able to turn back the clock in the fourth quarter of their first round elimination game but got (statistically) next to no help to try and keep New York’s dream of a repeat alive. Jonquel Jones shot 1/10 from the field and 0/5 from three while looking completely out of sorts mentally. The Liberty’s supporting cast of Leonie Fiebich, Kennedy Burke and Emma Meesseman combined for 4/16 from the field while Natasha Cloud tried to contribute in different ways than just the scoring column. Meesseman, in particular, had a brutal series and calls into question the wisdom of assuming that her addition made the Liberty unbeatable (a take that I eat with shame).

The clear player missing this season isn’t Kayla Thornton — although she has been very missed — but Betnijah Laney-Hamilton. While she had taken a back seat as a scoring option with Ionescu taking more of the attempts in recent years, Laney-Hamilton’s defensive versatility and ability to be another player that could get her own shot in a pinch was vital to their title run in 2024. Without her, the holes were pretty clear and, without Thornton to help patch them, it made New York beatable in a way that even I wasn’t expecting.

So what comes next? Stewart is on the other side of 30 now and hasn’t looked like the same player that was on a GOAT trajectory a few years ago. Ionescu is an effective albeit flawed guard that you’d put in the same category as Kelsey Mitchell, Satou Saball and Kelsey Plum, to name a few. They can give you 37 as easily as they can give you 11 on 4/18 shooting. Jones has so many moments that remind you she was the 2021 MVP but something just didn’t click this year. Some of that can be explained away by the revolving door of rotations due to injury this year. The idea that teams can just flip the switch when everyone comes back isn’t really rooted in reality and a secret to that 2024 run was their health as a team. But with free agency providing a siren song of more money, options and flexibility, New York has a chance to either retool the franchise or go back in with this group of three and try again. The question is if they want the same.

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Phoenix Mercury @ New York Liberty

Series tied 1-1

9:00 PM ET, ESPN

A Quick Overview:

This game has a little bit of everything. Two storied franchises, at least one current MVP candidate up against a pair of past MVP winners, streaky shooters who can make or break a game, and plenty more. So naturally, I expect to see one hell of an environment in PHX Arena tonight. The Liberty managed to steal game one on the road after a missed Alyssa Thomas game winner at the end of regulation. From there, the series went to Brooklyn where the Mercury demolished New York to force a winner-take-all game three back in Arizona. As it stands, the game flow of this series has favored Phoenix but their opponent is still the defending WNBA champion. If Seattle taught us anything last night, it’s to not assume anything until the final buzzer.

Make-or-Break Matchup:

Each team has a single player that will make or break this matchup. Coincidentally, they both happen to be former college teammates at Oregon. Satou Sabally overcame a 2/17 game one performance with a 15 point, 7 rebound, 4 assist, 4 steal follow-up in the elimination game. In what was almost the exact inverse, Sabrina Ionescu went from a 16-6-7 line in game one to a 9 point dud at home on 3/13 shooting and 1/8 from three. It sure feels like whichever player shows up for their team is going to the team that advances.

Past the two of them, New York has to get more out of their two former MVP’s. Jonquel Jones has averaged 12.5 rebounds per game this series but just 7 points. Whatever has been happening since the start of September, the Liberty center has averaged single digit scoring. That will need to change in order for New York to have any shot at advancing.

Players To Watch (Phoenix):

DeWanna Bonner came off the bench and put up a respectable 14 point, 8 rebound line on 6/9 shooting. But the person I’m really interested to see tonight is Sami Whitcomb. The veteran sharpshooter is 3/14 over the last two games and just 3/10 from the beyond the arc. Granted, this is part of the ride with Whitcomb. Some days you might get nothing from her and on another night she can give you 15. If she heats up at all tonight, it could be trouble for the Liberty.

Much like last night felt a bit like an A’ja Wilson legacy game, Alyssa Thomas has a chance to have one here. Yes, it’s the first round of the playoffs but when we assess careers in the long term, elimination game performances matter. If she can deliver once again with Phoenix’s back against the wall, it’ll be another bright spot in what’s already been a hell of a career.

Players To Watch (New York):

What are New York’s big three prepared to do? You were embarrassed on your home floor in game two and now have to try and win on the road to keep the chance of repeating alive. You may not be able to count on Breanna Stewart to be 100% healthy but you need Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones. You can’t fall asleep in the second quarter and get completely routed the way that you did in game two.

New York won last year’s title fair and square. I don’t subscribe to the idea that losing this game further cheapens their ring last season. But I do think an exit here would leave me wanting especially when you consider the fanfare (driven by yours truly, no less!) around bringing Emma Meesseman after the All-Star game. This team was built to be able to meet these moments. It’s gotta happen here.

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Over on our YouTube page, we’re live every night of the playoffs. You can find last night’s video here or, if you want to listen to the recap in podcast form, you can listen to it above or on any podcast platform.

Now, let’s get to previewing!

Phoenix Mercury @ New York Liberty

NYL Leads Series 1-0

8:00 PM ET, ESPN

A Quick Overview:

We got some good news on the injury front. While Breanna Stewart disclosed to media this morning that she has a sprained left MCL, she went through shootaround and feels capable of playing tonight. That’s huge news for New York, who rely on her to be a defensive anchor who can handle the likes of Satou Sabally on the wing while providing help on the interior. Before her injury took her off the floor, Stewie put up a solid 18-6-4 line on 7/14 shooting from the field.

Phoenix lost the opportunity to retain homecourt and now have to entire what will likely be a raucous Barclays Center environment hoping to keep their season alive. While general rules of sports momentum would tell you that being on the road in this scenario makes winning extremely difficult, the Mercury don’t have much statistical drop-off when away from PHX Arena. If they want to prove they have championship bonafides, then this is the time to prove it.

Make-or-Break Matchup:

While some Mercury players struggled from the field in Game One, no one had a tougher night than Satou Sabally who finished with 9 points on 2/17 shooting and 1/10 from beyond the arc. Quite simply, you can’t put up that kind of line and expect your team to win. Remarkably, in spite of a really off night, the Mercury were one Alyssa Thomas layup from winning in regulation.

Asking their MVP candidate to carry them in that way again will be hard unless she has some help from the supporting cast and Sabally is the singular player that can make-or-break the game. On the other hand, Phoenix caught a lucky break with a great defensive performance from their bench and an awful shooting night by the Liberty’s rotation players. I don’t think Emma Meesseman and Kennedy Burke will combine for 1/11 shooting again so something will have to give on either end of the floor.

Players To Watch (Phoenix):

Alyssa Thomas is the engine of this Phoenix team and this is going to come down to her. Yes, Sabally needs to shoot better and you need a bit more from rookie Monique Akoa Makani and bench sharpshooter Sami Whitcomb (both combine for 4/18 from the field and 3/8 from deep). But this Mercury squad goes as far as AT does considering she is the system. While her near-triple-double is impressive, I still need to see some more finishing around the rim even in substantial traffic. Some of it can be chalked up to officials not properly being able to assess her because of her physicality (she can play through *a lot* of contact) but some of it comes down to the 33 year old point forward. You don’t necessarily need the range and three levels of scoring to be an MVP candidate. But when you are asking everyone to respect your ability as a top player in the league, you gotta be more efficient inside 10 feet. 7/18 isn’t going to cut it if you want to advance against this team.

Players To Watch (New York):

While Stewie is likely to be attacked defensively due to her injury and potentially limited mobility, the person I am watching closely is Jonquel Jones. The 6’6 former league MVP went 3/7 from the field but grabbed 12 rebounds in the game one victory. She’s impressive and maddening at the same time because you know she has these 25 point, 12 board performances in her. It just comes down to game flow and how much she’s factoring into the offense that day. Natasha Cloud was in a flow state on Sunday (9/12 FG and 3/6 3PT) so she understandably got a ton of touches but I really believe that New York’s equalizer is Jones. A dominant home performance from her, especially considering Phoenix doesn’t have a lot of size to counter with, feel like it could propel the Liberty to a win and sweep of the Mercury in the opening round.

Minnesota Lynx @ Golden State Valkyries

MIN Leads Series 1-0

10:00 PM ET, ESPN

A Quick Overview:

Minnesota rode a second quarter surge to a game one win in Minneapolis and now heads to some unusual territory: the SAP Center in San Jose, a replacement venue to adjust for some scheduling conflicts at the Chase Center. Considering the smashing success of Ballhalla this year, it feels like the move will actually help the Lynx, who may benefit from a semi-neutral venue. But Golden State is expected to come out swinging, echoing the passion of head coach Natalie Nakase who called out the officiating after the first matchup.

While the final foul counts were pretty even, that second quarter saw the Lynx go to the line 11 times which disrupted the Valks defense, sent some players to the bench and allowed Minnesota to claw back into the game after being down seven at the end of the first. Will Nakase get the fair fight she asked for after the loss on Sunday? I guess we’ll find out.

Make-or-Break Matchup:

The Valkyries, even with the foul trouble in mind, had a tough shooting night. As a team they went 30/59 from the field and 9/31 from beyond the arc. They were outrebounded by Minnesota and their top players simply didn’t shoot the ball very well. It’s not necessarily surprising, given that’s what the Lynx have done to teams all season long but they’ll need a bit more from their key contributors while forcing their bench to defend Natisha Hiedeman a bit better. The Lynx’s rotational star went 7/15 from the field and finished with 18 points and a remarkable +32 in plus-minus.

If the Valks are able to contain the Minnesota bench a bit better while improving their percentages, they have a shot to make this series a bit more interesting. The big question, to me, will be if they’re able to stay mentally engaged if they do run into foul trouble again. That kind of thing can take teams out of their game, as Nakase alluded to after game one. If they’re able to stay composed even through potential disruptions to their rhythm, then we may get a team something a bit more consistent.

Players To Watch (Minnesota):

Napheesa Collier is Minnesota’s constant and guarantees you a high floor pretty much any game she’s playing in. Which is why I think Courtney Williams is the player I’m most interested in watching this game. She finished with a good-but-not-great line in game one, scoring 11 points while adding 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals to her box score. But she is a much different player on the road. According to WNBA Stats, her shooting averages drop by 7% from the field and 9% from deep when away from the Target Center. With that said, she’s active in other ways, seeing no drop off in assists and an increase in activity on the boards. If they’re able to get her going while still getting strong production from Hiedeman off the bench, the Lynx will be who they’ve always been: a team of excellent players that just overwhelm you with numbers and talent.

Players To Watch (Golden State):

Veronica Burton gets her chance to cement herself as a potential all-star caliber talent tonight. She had a poor shooting performance in game one, going 3/13 from the field and 3/9 from three and the hope is that she’ll be able to pick up those percentages a bit. Her ball security (7 turnovers in game one) also has to be substantially better. The SAP Center is going to be different than Chase so while it’ll be a home crowd it won’t be a home hoop. Personally, I’m interested in seeing how Golden State shoots in general knowing that playing in San Jose isn’t the same as being in their normal arena. Beyond their point guard, Temi Fagbenle and Janelle Salaun are being asked to do a lot in this matchup against an elite Minnesota frontcourt. While you can only hope to contain Collier, I thought they did a good job limiting Alanna Smith and Bridget Carlton. The challenge is being able to anchor the pain enough that the Lynx’s guards don’t have a field day driving to the hoop.

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All kidding aside, I’ve thought a lot about the state of the world, what we do here at No Cap Space and the idea of sports as distraction while everything around us feels like it’s burning down in some form or fashion. On some level, there is merit to the idea that games placate us and create environments that inoculate us to the very real problems that exist in the world. But, on another, it allows us to remember the things that give life meaning. Whether or not we feel this way all the time or not, sports allows us to the ability to feel during a time when nihilism feels like the emotion du jour.

Nothing matters and everything does at the same time. I spent last Wednesday covering the Evergreen High School shooting in Colorado for CBS News here in Denver. I’ve covered all of the 2020 summer civil unrest in Oregon, wildfires in four different states in the last five years and the truly awful terrorist attack that took place in Boulder a couple months ago. All of that paled in comparison to a singular moment that I saw that is seared into my brain forever: a mother hugging her high school aged daughter after not seeing her all day. As her mother wept on her shoulder, the daughter looked completely disassociated and in a state of shock at what her life now was. All day, you sit and wait for your live shot and wonder ‘Is this really the country we want to live in? Where parents and students know that this type of event can be an eventuality regardless of where they live?’

It was a hard day, to say the least. Working in general assignment news desensitizes you to a lot, to the point that the gallows humor you employ to make it through your day can become foreign even to yourself. But the joy of what sports gives us is a reminder that there is still a space to feel. It’s okay to protect oneself from the horror that we see unfold every day while allowing yourself, every now and then, to indulge in the kinds of things that give life meaning. Namely, the feelings of joy, shock, sadness and awe without the sheer weight of the world attached to them. So yes, while sports is a little meaningless in the grander scheme of things, it also means everything for us in this current moment. It’s a place where we can feel authentically without many strings attached. The games end and we go on with our lives. But we had the moment to feel. And right now, that moment, that freedom to feel, means everything.

Now, to the column…

1. Day One Playoff Takeaways

Instead of a big paragraph about the first day of the WNBA playoffs, let’s run you through each matchup and a couple big conclusions we can draw through one game…

New York vs. Phoenix -

The entire complexion of this series, as well as New York’s hopes to repeat as WNBA champions, hinges on what exactly the status of Breanna Stewart’s injury is. The New York superstar went down with a non-contact left knee injury with about three minutes left in overtime and we’re waiting on a prognosis. Clearly, her absence would change the calculus of the postseason. On Phoenix’s end, you simply can’t have Satou Sabally shoot 2/17 and 1/10 from 3. But in addition to her, Alyssa Thomas can’t smoke game winning layups. As dominant as she is, this is always the knock on her as a true MVP candidate. You can get away with not having a perimeter shot but if you’re going to operate mostly within 10 feet then you have to be more efficient than 7/18.

Minnesota vs. Golden State -

Simply put, the Lynx look ready. This was a team effort across the board as five Minnesota players finished in double digits, led by Napheesa Collier’s 20. Natalie Nakase had a lot to say about the officiating in this one and I get it to a point. A game needs to be called consistently and if you’re letting physicality slide in the first quarter then you can’t start tightening up in the ensuing quarters. At the same time, the Lynx shot three less free throws than the Valkyries so it wasn’t a case of lopsided opportunity for Minnesota. What this game really came down to was the Lynx swinging the ball well (25 team assists), shooting efficiently (51.5% FG) and looking like the title team we’ve expected them to be from day one.

Indiana vs. Atlanta -

This was another one where the foul discussion overtook what actually happened in this game. And the thing that people didn’t notice as much was that Bri Jones was given the assignment to defend Aliyah Boston and it paid dividends for the Dream. Boston went just 3/9 from the field and Indiana shot 2/15 from 3 as a team. That isn’t going to win you any games no matter how messy the fouls are on either end. I can understand coaches being frustrated about bad calls and how it disrupts the rhythm and momentum of a matchup. But the fact of the matter is you’re going to lose when you shoot 13.3% from beyond the arc no matter what happens. I expect Gainbridge to be rocking and would be a little stunned if this didn’t go back to ATL for a Game 3.

Las Vegas vs. Seattle -

The title series sure feels like Vegas vs. Minnesota at this point. The Aces are as dominant as they’ve been at any point since this run really got started in 2022. Now they got some help courtesy of the Storm chucking up some absolute garbage, especially in the first quarter, but the way this Vegas team has rallied around each other is remarkable. NaLyssa Smith has been exactly what A’ja Wilson has needed and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus returned after giving birth to a whole child and going 3/3 from the field. One thing we don’t talk about in this league enough is how utterly remarkable that is. If you get combined 10/20 shooting performances from Jewell Loyd and Dana Evans off the bench, the Aces are going to be really hard to beat this postseason. It may be presumptuous but it sure feels like we’re going to get the Minnesota - Las Vegas title fight we’ve been asking for since the Aces winning streak started in earnest.

2. Jeff Pagliocca Is Realizing The Motion Is Not Sold Separately…

Tyler hit the nail on the head when we spoke last weekend about Angel Reese and the evolving situation with the Chicago Sky…

The currency is different in the WNBA. Because, frankly, motion in the WNBA is the biggest currency of all right now. And Angel Reese has the motion to go up against everybody right now and to that point.

Take a bow, my friend.

The chants in Wintrust Arena weren’t deafening by any means but they were loud enough to send the message to the Chicago Sky organization and anybody watching: this is Angel Reese’s team and that’s who the fanbase is here for. Maybe that’s why Courtney Vandersloot looked so surprised on the bench and why Jeff Pagliocca is suddenly so willing to work with Angel publicly.

Whether or not the message came down from owners Michael Alter or Nadia Rawlinson is irrelevant. Even if they wanted to back Pagliocca and his way of doing things, the fans have spoken. In fact, they’ve yelled and chanted it over and over. Pags can say that he speaks to Angel every day and that this chapter of what’s been a messy year in the Windy City has closed. But even he knows that his authority is as brittle as a crystal wine glass.

It is worth noting that in one of his last interviews of the regular season, Pagliocca still asserted that Courtney Vandersloot will return, that he has the ear and respect from ownership and that Tyler Marsh is the guy for the job. I have no doubt that Marsh is probably safe, given the mess this year was. But Vandersloot and Pagliocca’s continued insistence that this can work with Reese while they’re there feels like the power struggle isn’t done yet. It takes an awful lot of confidence to feel like you’ve got the leverage in a situation where tens of thousands of fans are chanting for you to be fired but since you’ve already burned the bridge by arbitrarily suspending Reese for one half, leading to her not playing for the rest of the year, but that’s sort of in line with how the Sky’s General Manager has conducted himself this year.

This offseason, provided there is no work stoppage (which isn’t a guarantee, mind you), will be a huge one for Chicago. If they aren’t able to get serious free agents to play alongside Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, I don’t know how you can salvage this moving forward. Pagliocca seems committed to doing so, as long as he’s the man with the final say. But he may come to learn that his word may not travel as far as he thinks when it’s being drowned out by the voices of a bunch of pissed off Chicagoans who are tired of their WNBA franchise being run like Bluth’s Original Frozen Banana Stand.

3. Thanks for Reading No Cap Space, Cathy Engelbert…

It’s a glib headline, yes. I don’t actually think that Cathy Engelbert is a regular NCS reader (although we do have some important people that are, and we very much appreciate your patronage!). In an interview with Khristina Williams on her podcast, In Case You Missed It, the WNBA commissioner had this to say about the Connecticut Sun and their potential sale and/or relocation.

A lot’s been written about what’s going on. I wouldn’t believe everything you read in this case. We want the best success for the Mohegan, for the Connecticut Sun and for the team. They’re still looking at their strategic options and what they want to do and we’ve been in touch with them periodically.

The fake news angle really is timeless, isn’t it?

What’s remarkable is that Engelbert immediately gives up the game just a couple sentences later.

You need a process because it would be chaos if you let anybody move to anywhere they wanted to go.

In the most Regina George voice possible, so you’re saying you are influencing the Mohegan’s selling process…

Mind you, this isn’t the Mohegan Tribe asking the WNBA to let them sell the team to an ownership group that will relocate them to Sheboygan. This was a once-minority owner of the Boston Celtics, aiming to buy the franchise for a market rate valuation and bring them to one of the biggest media markets in the nation. Then there’s the other group, also led by a former NBA owner, who wanted to keep the team in Connecticut. Mind you, the 2024-2025 Nielsen TV Market rankings list Hartford as a larger market than Las Vegas, Austin and Kansas City.

As the United States government, led by Senator Richard Blumenthal, takes an interest in the WNBA/NBA’s potential monopolistic ownership of its women’s basketball franchises, Engelbert probably has to tread lightly. It’s important to remember that she’s an accounting executive from Deloitte who still has to answer to her majority owners (the NBA) at the end of the day. While she can try her best to divert and obfuscate the conversation, the facts remain. The WNBA is handing franchises to NBA owners while doing nothing to fight the perception that it is nothing but a money pit for its partner league to take advantage of however they see fit. In Engelbert’s eyes, and by her own admission on the podcast, she loves that controversy is driving discussion. She said as much last year on CNBC while WNBA players were being buried under torrents of racist invective from every side of the spectrum.

She preaches order and stability within her business while welcoming chaos as a means to hike the price of the product. But what good does that do anyone when the NBA is still, on some level, setting the market for everything from franchise valuations to TV rights deals? I’m not sure if the end result of full divestment is even possible at this point but the fact that the government, from the U.S. senate to the state of Connecticut (who put in a bid to buy a minority stake in the franchise to keep them in CT), is involved is extremely noteworthy and important to follow as we continue inching towards a conclusion on a variety of labor disputes from the CBA to the Sun.

And Cathy, if you are reading, feel free to email me. My inbox is always open for a discussion.

4. The Case for WNBA Voter Transparency…

I’ve always been a little uncertain about media voting for postseason awards mostly because I don’t love the idea of us having the power to decide whether or not players hit certain performance incentives. I’d like to think that, on the whole, the press corps knows ball. But everyone has such different views on what is important and why when it comes to voting that it just doesn’t feel fair to the players that contracts are tied to what we believe. Especially since the vast majority of us didn’t play (though I’ll be clear, playing the game at a high level doesn’t exclude you from having terrible basketball opinions either).

When money is tied to these awards, I do think there’s a need for transparency. If you vote for someone that has the chance to be a supermax player or even potentially be able to get a little more in free agency by winning Sixth Player or Most Improved, you should have to be able to make your case as to why. Whether people respect your argument or not is a completely different discussion (one we’ll touch on in just a minute) but the idea that WNBA voters are allowed to sit behind a shroud of secrecy while they put their votes in feels wrong. We already have enough stans masquerading as reporters in the space and way too many commentators with clear agendas or biases with votes. If they’re able to have the luxury of deciding who deserves an award or an All-WNBA nod, they should be asked to defend it on its merits. Otherwise, we start running into the problems that awards shows like the Oscars do.

Which brings me to my next point…

5. …And the Problem of Parasocial Fandoms

The reason it feels sometimes that we can’t allow voter transparency is because fans simply can’t handle it. If there’s a legitimate criticism to levy against WNBA fans, be they new ones or those in the space for awhile, it’s that there’s too much parasocial behavior and the need to treat athletes like artists. There is just too much overlap in how A’ja or Angel or Caitlin Clark fans speak about their favorite players and how they might speak about Beyonce, Nicki Minaj or any other musical artist. I’ve always argued that the difference we need to be aware of is that art is a subjective medium. If I think a song sucks, it doesn’t mean the song sucks. But if a player shoots 1/20 and their team loses, that performance sucked. It has nothing to do with any other outside forces that influence opinion. The ball just didn’t go in the hoop.

But awards season blurs those traditionally hard lines to the point where it becomes difficult to admonish fans w

The WNBA regular season is coming to a close which means the award campaigns are in full swing. How do we think the teams are doing? Plus who has the best case for Coach of the Year and to make All-WNBA appearances?

If you love the show, we’d love and appreciate a five star rating on Apple podcasts as well as a kind review if you’ve got the time! We’re also on the road to 5,000 subscribers on YouTube and 2,000 followers on TikTok so if you enjoy our content here, tell a friend to tell a friend to follow us on their preferred platform!

Scroll Ahead to Hear…

0:00 Intro

2:35 Team Award Campaigns

43:31 Coach of the Year

56:29 All-WNBA Teams

Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!

Our intro music is made by Denver’s own DLZMKSBTS, the King of Mile Hi-Fi. Check out all his music on Spotify here and on Instagram here.

No Cap Space WBB is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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For those that are just finding us at No Cap Space through yesterday’s column on Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky (which you can read here in case you missed it), welcome! We’re a collective of five journalists, each with our own backgrounds in local TV/newspapers/digital, covering women’s basketball the way we feel it ought to be covered. Whether you’re just joining us or you’ve been a Ball-Knower for a while, we’re glad to have you in our community all the same.

If you missed any of our Sunday wrap show on YouTube, you can access it at this link or listen to it in podcast form above.

Five Out is a weekly column that runs every Monday here, touching on five big things that caught my attention in the last seven days. It can be things on, off or around the floor. And this past week, there was plenty of action everywhere to make a nice, meaty Monday column.

Let’s get to it…

1. Indiana Has Somehow Built A Culture With Caitlin Clark On The Bench.

Despite winning a WNBA championship in 2012 and pushing a legendary Minnesota Lynx to a Game 5 in 2015, the Indiana Fever have been in the wilderness for the better part of a decade. Draft picks didn’t pan out, coaches didn’t work and there just seemed to be a collective shrug by everyone in the league that “yeah, I guess Indiana kind of stinks now.”

Kelsey Mitchell stuck it out through the worst of this era while Aliyah Boston joined up in 2023 after being drafted first overall. The expectation in 2024 was that Caitlin Clark would take this team to the playoffs and she did. But there was still a lingering question among longtime WNBA media about whether or not the Fever remembered how to win as an organization.

Given everything they faced this year, on and off the floor, I think it’s fair to say that that dormant institutional knowledge came back to the forefront this year and has powered an improbable playoff run while their superstar has nursed one of the trickiest injuries in sports. Indiana managed to stay afloat amid turmoil, turnover and trades and have clearly built a culture that is sustainable with or without Caitlin Clark on the floor. They managed to navigate the disaster that was the DeWanna Bonner signing and exit, kept their heads afloat as guard after guard went down with injury and relied on their stars — Mitchell and Boston — to live up to their draft status and prove they could establish a playoff floor without Clark in the mix. The fact that they accomplished that should make any Fever fan optimistic about the future when their star guard comes back fully healthy.

There were plenty of times this year where the team could’ve fractured, packed it in or started to look towards the paycheck that the 2026 offseason promises. Instead, Stephanie White managed to keep the core together, Clark remained an active participant from the bench and the team coalesced around each other in a way that indicates they are built to last. If you’re a fan of Clark and are invested in her success, this is the best case scenario. Not only is it clear that she has a playoff team around her, it also indicates the organization is built and prepared to do what they need to do to maximize her window. That’s all you can really ask for from any organization. Some do, some don’t. But we all see the difference when it’s done right versus when it’s not.

2. Balhalla Is A Story of Success In Sports and Finding Joy In Resilience

Is there a better sports story this summer than Balhalla? The Golden State Valkyries, an expansion team with no superstars to speak of, operating on heart and guided by a Coach of the Year contender, have captured the hearts of WNBA everywhere. You couldn’t write a script more heartwarming than this. There’s Natalie Nakase, finally getting her first opportunity to run a team as one of the first Asian-American head coaches in the league’s history in a region with a deep and proud AAPI heritage. There’s journeywomen like Veronica Burton who have proven themselves to be legitimate starters in this league. There’s also international youngsters like Carla Leite and Iliana Rupert who are displaying just how global the game is becoming. And then you have Ballhalla.

Hail, Balhalla.

From the very beginning, Golden State’s management made a concerted effort to strike out on their own. It would’ve been extremely easy to try and lean into their connection to the Warriors and try to peel off the NBA fanbase that already exists in the Bay. Instead, the Valkyries let their own fans lead the way. San Francisco’s vibrant and historically significant LGBTQ+ population have been a driving force in building ‘Balhalla’ into an inclusive, fun, lighthearted and generally great fanbase. Everyone on the ground says that the atmosphere of Valks games is very different relative to the Warriors, and that may be a good thing. Our buddy maya goldberg-safir over at the wonderful rough notes had it pegged early on, writing the following about Balhalla back in June…

I can’t wait to better understand how these ‘vibes’ turn into memories, into traditions, into lore. Who will be our Heroes and Villains? Will whimsical fans start to stack rocks at select points along the route to Chase, like warriors marking the trail through Bay Area traffic? What love stories will unfold on the super gay Valkyries ferry? How far will our enthusiasm take us, and will fans ever chafe at the business decisions of this corporate league, betrayed to find it’s not actually the Bay Area’s latest grassroots community collective?

Chef’s Kiss.

Three months since that travelogue was published, Balhalla has already started to answer these questions. Sports, and the business alongside it, is all done in the shadow of capitalism. Just ask Liberty fans. But ultimately, we as fans find love in the small things. In the escape, the adrenaline of a buzzer beater or the anxiety of a final possession. It’s what makes us feel alive amid the unrelenting nihilism that permeates our current moment. As Dan Savage once wrote, it’s the dance that keeps you in the fight because it’s the dance you’re fighting for.

Golden State’s story is one of business and sporting success, sure. But it’s also a wonderful story about the cultivation of a fanbase — be they LGBTQ+, a Person of Color, or a mix of both — that dances all night amid unrelenting attacks on many of their personhoods. In every way, they’re worth rooting for, and I plan on doing that this postseason. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone that isn’t.

3. A’ja Wilson Is Having A Legacy Moment.

A’ja Wilson wanted that game against Minnesota. You don’t need to be an insider to know that. Becky Hammon came into the pregame press conference feeling loose and ready to engage with the press in the way that I personally really enjoy.

In her pregame press conference last Thursday, I asked her how she balances the idea of wanting to win this game while also knowing A’ja’s MVP case can be bolstered by a good individual game.

“Are you a voter?”, she asked me.

“I am not, which is why I have no skin in this and can ask you right now,” I quipped back.

What came next was a Becky Hammon special, in which she referenced Wilson playing hotter than a Wingstop frying pan, praising the chain’s fries and ranch while dropping this gem of a quote.

“I think at the beginning of every year, every voter starts with ‘who is better than A’ja Wilson?’”, she said.

It’s a good question, one worth a legit discussion up until about two days ago. The tricky thing about this year’s MVP race is that Napheesa Collier hasn’t necessarily done anything to lose the award. She’s been consistent and on top of her game in every matchup she plays in. When Phee is off the floor, the Lynx are still a top four unit but with her, they’re a finals team that borders on a different level of greatness. There’s just one problem.

When A’ja Wilson is on and her team is clicking, the Aces are the same kind of team.

You can argue there’s a recency bias in what A’ja is doing but a 14 game sample in which the Aces haven’t lost a single game is a little bit more than making a snap judgement based on one individual matchup at the end of the year. Was it a symbolic statement to the world that Vegas dominated Minnesota in T-Mobile Arena with Wilson completely taking over the game to the tune of 31 points and 8 rebounds? Sure. But to try and water it down to recency bias over one game discounts the run Wilson has been on since the All-Star break.

In the 19 games since the league returned to play, Wilson has averaged 24.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.1 blocks per game on 52% shooting from the field.

Not bad, right?

And even with Wilson’s performance in June, a below-average-by-her-standards month in which she averaged 20.4 points and 9.1 rebounds on 40.6% shooting, you can probably throw that out alongside the games Collier missed due to injury. If that’s an equalizer, then who would you say has been better this season across the sample?

I understand that there may be some degree of fatigue, a desire to see Collier finally get her recognition and moment for the player that she’s become. But we can’t let the need for sharing the spotlight obfuscate the obvious fact: A’ja Wilson is in the midst of the type of moment that creates all-time legacies. This is an MVP run, a 14 game win streak that has completely turned around the fortunes of the Aces as a franchise. They looked dead in June, a formerly great team that won a pair of championships before age and the rest of the league caught up. Instead of going quietly into that night, Wilson pulled her team together, started to play at a level we simply don’t see often (if ever) in the WNBA and now Las Vegas looks like they could be a contender to win title number three.

That’s greatness. The kind of greatness that we tell our kids about when we’re old. It would be malpractice to watch it pass by in the moment and not understand its significance. Might it result in Wilson’s fourth MVP, a feat never accomplished in this league before? Perhaps. But, more importantly, it’s a legacy run that asserts Wilson as a potential Greatest of All Time contender. Appreciate it when it happens because they don’t come around often.

4. The Politicians Are Getting Involved With Connecticut’s Fight To Keep The Sun…

This morning, United States senator Richard Blumenthal sent a letter to the WNBA regarding a “reported interference in the Mohegan Tribe’s negotiations with competing bidders for the ownership of the Connecticut Sun women’s basketball team and to warn that any attempts by the WNBA to block efforts to keep the Sun in Connecticut could violate federal antitrust laws.”

This news comes on the heels of a report that the state of Connecticut is considering trying to buy a minority stake in the team to keep it within the state. How might that work? According to WTNH, the state could make an investment in the team through their multibillion-dollar pension funds. So far, the discussions haven’t gone any further than that but the fact that we now have political influence on two ends to keep the Sun in Connecticut is noteworthy.

Perhaps even more noteworthy is Sen. Blumenthal’s decision to invoke the term ‘antitrust’ in the opening paragraph of his letter to the league. I’ve argued in the past that the NBA’s ownership of the WNBA has started to create conflicts of interest in which it seems that there is pressure being exerted on Cathy Engelbert and the W to try and tilt the scales of expansion in favor of awarding franchises to those with NBA ties. The last four new franchises — Golden State, Portland, Toronto and Cleveland — all are run by groups that are directly tied to the NBA as existing majority or minority owners. The next two teams — Detroit and Philadelphia — also contain ownership groups from the NBA’s orbit.

What’s made the Sun deal so strange is the attempt by the league to influence who the Tribe sells to and what becomes of the team. There seems to be a clear desire to extract an expansion fee from Boston instead of simply relocating the team while also providing a handout for Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, who submitted a bid to presumably bring the Comets back.

While all generally unseemly and shady in practice, the introduction of political influence to the saga may mark a significant point in the W’s history. Most of these politicians, I’d gather, don’t know about the intricacies of the WNBA/NBA ownership web. Once they get wise to that concept, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was more discussion of antitrust if the league decides they want to continue to dictate how the Mohegan Tribe sells their team and to whom.

In short, buckle up. This has the chance to get really interesting.

5. Chicago Has Officially Crossed The Rubicon.

In the year 49 BCE, Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon River with his army and invaded Rome. He took back control of the Senate, more or less became an autocrat and precipitated the long but steady fall of the Roman Empire.

The idiom we use now, when discussing passing a point of no return, is ‘crossing the Rubicon’.

In Chicago, we are officially at the point of no return.

In my Sunday column, I laid out the historical precedent that led us to this point and opined that this only ends one of two ways: with Angel Reese being traded or general manager Jeff Pagliocca getting fired.

After seeing what happened in Las Vegas last night, I’m even more convinced that there is no way back for either party.

Angel Reese, suspended for the first half of the Aces game due to the fracas that ensued after her comments to the Chicago Tribune, didn’t play at all. The team cited issues with her back, which has been bugging her this year, as the reason she didn’t enter the game.

Maybe I’m too cynical but I have a hard time believing that.

If the team knew the back was an issue, what was the purpose of suspending her? What was the point of speaking as though everything was just fine with regard to her health? Why even put out a statement in the first place?

Either the team sat Reese or she refused to go back into the game.

In any case, it points to an unfixable fracture between the second year star and the front offi

With the WNBA regular season wrapping up in just eight days, Chauny and Greer take over the podcast to break down the scenarios and worst possible matchups for the top seeded teams. Who should be worried about whom and what series combinations could give us the most chaos? Our duo takes a look at all of them and what it means for each team.

The pod also touches the competitive advantages of some of the inconsistent late season scheduling by the league, the Dallas Wings deciding to try and push Arike Ogunbowale for First-Team All-WNBA and how real the Phoenix Mercury are as they head into the postseason.

If you love the show, we’d love and appreciate a five star rating on Apple podcasts as well as a kind review if you’ve got the time! We’re also on the road to 5,000 subscribers on YouTube and 2,000 followers on TikTok so if you enjoy our content here, tell a friend to tell a friend to follow us on their preferred platform!

Scroll Ahead to Hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction.

2:40 - The WNBA’s late season scheduling and competitive advantages…

7:35 - Dallas Advocating For Arike Ogunbowale as 1st Team All-WNBA?

11:36 - Who is making the WNBA playoffs?

31:25 - Worst possible first round matchups for top teams?

Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!

Our intro music is made by Denver’s own DLZMKSBTS, the King of Mile Hi-Fi. Check out all his music on Spotify here and on Instagram here.

No Cap Space WBB is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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It’s been a little light this week on the paid tier content, I know. But rest assured, this week was about getting interviews and the legwork to make sure your September is stuffed to the gills with insider content, analysis and some fantastic guests and profiles. If there were ever a time to get a free trial or hop on the Ball-Knower tier for a month, now is the time!

Now, let’s get to the Watch Guide!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

www.nocapspacewbb.com/subscribe

Tyler, Greer and Chauny are back on the pod this week with a couple broader topics as the regular season winds down in the WNBA. The show opens with a discussion about Candace Parker’s Chicago Sky jersey retirement and some of the simmering beef between her and Angel Reese. After a conversation about the concept of standing on business and when to do it, the discussion turns towards the WNBA playoffs.

With so many teams clogging the top six seeds, regularly jockeying for position, the show turns to a relatively simple question: who is the toughest matchup for each playoff team?

If you love the show, we’d love and appreciate a five star rating on Apple podcasts as well as a kind review if you’ve got the time! We’re also on the road to 5,000 subscribers on YouTube and 2,000 followers on TikTok so if you enjoy our content here, tell a friend to tell a friend to follow us on their preferred platform!

Scroll Ahead to Hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction.

3:05 - Candace Parker’s Jersey Retirement and the Game Within the Game…

18:20 - Toughest Matchup For Each Playoff Team…

Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!

Our intro music is made by Denver’s own DLZMKSBTS, the King of Mile Hi-Fi. Check out all his music on Spotify here and on Instagram here.

Additionally, we’ve gotten some requests recently about additional donations for the NCS crew. If you don’t want to do a full subscription but want to support our work in any capacity, we are also opening up donations via Venmo as well. For those that have asked, we can’t tell you how much we appreciate and rest assured it is going back into the company to provide you with the best WBB coverage you can find!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

www.nocapspacewbb.com/subscribe

Most teams have somewhere between six and seven regular season games left on their schedule while the difference between playoff qualification and elimination is one win or loss. If that doesn’t get you out of bed and ready to watch the WNBA, I don’t know what will. Add in a couple of increasingly compelling award races and we’ve got plenty to talk about going into the postseason. All season long I’ve been wondering how long it would take for the discourse to return to (semi) normal in the W and it feels like right now there’s no think pieces, no agitation outside the usual suspects and a chance to let the basketball do the talking.

It’s kind of nice, isn’t it?

If you missed any of our Sunday wrap show on YouTube, it’s here available as a podcast. We’re also expanding our coverage with Ball Up Top on Wednesdays, a Thursday night recap and weekend preview pod on Fridays and the Wrap on Sundays. Right when you need it, we’re ramping up for the stretch run as well. So tell a friend to tell a friend so you can stay up to date on all the action as we barrel towards one of the most fun Finals chases we’ve had in the W in the last four or five years.

Now, to the column!

1. Phee vs. A’ja For MVP. Buckle Up, Folks.

Guys, it’s okay to debate about awards. We don’t need to kumbaya and treat this like everyone gets a trophy at the end of the year. It’s sports. It’s competitive. As long as things stay within the lines (a big ask, I know), we should be comfortable standing behind our faves and their on-court cases for major awards. It’s part of what makes the game fun!

To that end, the race for MVP is officially on.

After A’ja Wilson’s 36 point ,13 rebound performance against Washington I opined on Bluesky that eventually the multi-time MVP had to be taking the lead in the race if she continued to do this. It was out of Napheesa Collier’s control, being injured and all, but if another player is repeatedly putting up guady statlines in your absence we’ve gotta have the conversation at some point, right?

Well, Phee returned to the Lynx lineup after 22 days out and put up 32 points and 9 rebounds on 11/16 from the field, 2/3 from deep and 8/9 from the line.

Game on.

With just seven or so games left in the regular season, and one matchup against each other, this MVP race is shaping up to be one for the ages. To put it in historical context, we’ve had two truly close battles for the award in the last 15 years in the W. In 2023, Breanna Stewart edged out Alyssa Thomas by just seven total votes and Wilson by 13 to win. Ten years earlier, Candace Parker outlasted Maya Moore by a mere 16 votes. It wouldn’t surprise me if this season is just as close.

Wilson has been the engine of a Las Vegas Aces turnaround that no one seemed to think was possible. Since the All-Star break, the reigning MVP is averaging 24.2 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game all while propelling the Aces to a 10 game winning streak.

Collier has been the difference between the Lynx being a very good finals team and a historically great one. She’s having her most efficient shooting year ever, is flirting with a 50-40-90 season (currently 54.3% FG, 37.8% 3PT, 90.7% FT) and still remains one of the top defensive players in the league.

You can’t really go wrong with either and if I bristled at the notion of pre-emptively awarding Wilson the MVP last season after just one month of play, I have to be consistent and say the same about Collier now. It’s a legit race and that September 4th matchup between the two may just be a Game of the Year contender.

2. Dominique Malonga For Sixth Woman of the Year? It’s Not That Crazy When You Think About It…

One of my favorite things to do is watch team social media accounts towards the end of the year. Subtly, you start to see little posts and pieces of content that range from subtly including historical context in stats to outright announcing MVP candidacies. On Saturday, Seattle Storm PR put out a curious tweet that led me to believe they’re trying to quietly push a narrative to the forefront…

Kind of interesting to make sure to include two Sixth Player of the Year winners, eh? Almost as if the wheels are turning to try and make a push for French rookie Dominique Malonga to be involved in the race. On the surface, one might think that it’s a bit late for this. I even wrote the other week in Five Out that Malonga was a lot like Rickea Jackson in that they came on extremely strong late in their rookie seasons but they hadn’t been out-front early enough to be in contention for an honor like Rookie of the Year. But when I started to dive into the Sixth Woman of the Year numbers, I realized the Storm may actually have a point.

Since the All-Star break, Malonga has averaged 12.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game on just 20.5 minutes per game. Her field goal percentage sits at around 57% from the field while she’s also become quite a prolific offensive board getter. Anyone watching her can see the potential, from her length to her defense down to the little things like her ability to reset screens and be an effective roller. When you start to find statistical equalizers, like Per 36 Minutes numbers, Malonga’s average skyrocket to 19.9 points and 12.4 rebounds per game. Compare that to Naz Hillmon, the Sixth Woman of the Year frontrunner, whose Per 36 averages come out to around 12.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

I can understand the argument that arriving late to the party can take you out of contention for a seasonal award and that it can sometimes be the fault of a coach rather than a player. But Sixth Woman of the Year is one of those rare awards where minute variance may actually be somewhat acceptable. After all, it’s an honor for the best bench player in the league. You could make an argument that Malonga isn’t your normal rotational center but, as of now, she hasn’t started in a single game this year. Maybe she should be getting a little more play than we’ve given her this year?

3. Are The Liberty Too Hurt To Contend?

After a dreadful two-loss weekend, the New York Liberty have now lost four of their last five and are now in a dogfight to keep a top four seed in the playoffs. Keep in mind, the difference between No. 4 and No. 5 is home court advantage in the best-of-3 opening round. To say that it matters a bit more in the WNBA would be an understatement. For example, if you’re New York wouldn’t you rather get Phoenix or Seattle at home rather than on the road in an elimination game?

But my concern is that this has just been the year from hell in terms of injuries. I know Indiana fans can relate. The Liberty are down basically their entire bench frontcourt plus Breanna Stewart and now Sabrina Ionescu has picked up an injury that sidelined her in a pivotal Saturday matchup against Atlanta. At this point I’m genuinely not sure who else they can lose and still remain competitive.

The belief is that Ionescu’s injury isn’t long term and that Stewart is aiming to be back before the playoffs but that still doesn’t solve the issue of Nyara Sabally (knee injury) and Izzy Harrison (concussion), two vital rotational pieces for New York. You saw it against Chicago, in which Emma Meesseman and Jonquel Jones were simply outrun by the trio of Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso and Elizabeth Williams. Against the best and deepest frontcourts in the league, how long can you expect to reasonably hold out before the dam breaks?

New York’s greatest asset last season was their depth and the ability to throw out talented and versatile defenders at any point in the game. They legitimately ran 8 deep with 6’1+ long defenders that could also shoot. Those players are still on the roster, the issue is that a good chunk of them are in street clothes. With just a couple weeks until the playoffs, the Liberty are caught between two hard places: they need to win games but also need to be patient with their stars to prep for a long postseason run. I don’t envy Sandy Brondello but if you dig deep and prove your championship bonafides with a skeleton crew roster, you’ll be set up well to win it all when you get everybody back.

4. The WNBA’s Treatment of the Mohegan Tribe Is As Bad Optically As It Is Economically…

I have a video coming on YouTube today that explores this more in depth but the gist of it is this: the WNBA is screwing up the Connecticut Sun deal to a point where I genuinely am wondering if the only route to true success for this league is to divest from the NBA entirely.

For those that need a quick refresher: the Sun were going to sell the team for about $325 million to a former Boston Celtics minority owner named Steve Pagliuca. His idea would be to buy the team, relocate them to Boston and play some games in Providence on the dates that conflicted at TD Garden with the Celtics and Bruins. The WNBA, more or less, spiked that deal, hoping to entice the Mohegan Tribe to sell the franchise to the league for roughly $250 million so they could relocate it to a market of their choice, preserving Boston as an expansion franchise that could fetch a hefty fee. This past week, further reporting came out that the Sun are considering taking the team completely off the market with an added revelation that the WNBA had come to the Tribe with an offer to buy the team and relocate them to Cleveland once before.

I’m no Juris Doctor but it feels like messing with someone’s business like this constitutes some type of tortious interference. If the argument is “well the Tribe aren’t owners but instead Governors of a franchise that is owned by the league thus they can set the market”, are we not talking about a monopoly?

Let’s face it: the economics here are terrible. I’ll eventually have a full column about why the W would be foolish to follow the NBA’s business practices of short-term gains at the expense of long-term fandoms but let’s focus on the Sun for now. Yes, the NBA and its existing Board of Governors comprise the majority of the WNBA’s control and voting power. But what kind of message does it send to the non-affiliated owners — Larry Gottesdiener and his group in Atlanta, the Alters in Chicago, Force 10 in Seattle or even L.A.’s consortium — and what their value to the league itself is? It’s no secret that there’s always been a schism between the non-NBA circle and the existing powers-that-be. The issue is now the shamelessness of the current cultural moment has brought that to light and now we’re seeing just how much of a ratfuck this is all turning into.

What exactly is the incentive for even billionaires like a Jimmy Haslem (the money behind the Nashville expansion bid) or the big money involved in Austin’s expansion to even try? The message being sent here is ‘we’re taking care of the NBA guys first and then we’ll talk’. And, given that the NBA has just sort of fallen upwards into its’ success on the back of a TV rights bubble that seemingly is never going to pop, is that really who you want to take your cues from? And why does every WNBA franchise have to be rooted in an NBA city? On one hand, the idea of full-year round basketball in a market carries some interest but the WNBA is also trying to establish itself as its own unique brand away from its’ male counterpart. Isn’t a market like a Nashville or Austin more interesting?

But beyond that, I have a huge issue with how this all looks. The Mohegan Tribe, as I’ve outlined before, are one of the most successful ownership groups in the WNBA’s history. None of these supposed business geniuses in the NBA managed to turn a profit for their W franchises in the early years of the league. The Tribe did. Many of the NBA owners didn’t even care to have a team, let alone take care of it. At a time when the W was on life support, the Tribe stepped up. It feels a little on-the-nose to have a collection of moneyed white dudes try to shortchange and dictate terms of ownership to one of just two Native American ownership groups in professional sports. As I’ve written before, the message is a terrible one on a bunch of different levels. Basically, you’re telling the independent owners who helped build the league to where it is that their contributions aren’t valued and that what Tilman Fertitta wants, Tilman Fertitta gets.

To be clear, I’m not naïve. This is capitalism, baby, and the way of the world as we know it. But just because things exist as they are doesn’t mean we immediately have to shrug our shoulders and bury our heads in the sand. It’s underhanded and unnecessary. My hope now is that the Tribe pulls the sale, takes the exciting core that they have and goes and wins a title with it in a few years. Make Cathy hand you that trophy with a smile on your face.

5. Paige vs. Caitlin And How To Keep Arguments Straight…

Paige Bueckers is finally receiving the Caitlin Clark treatment. After a 44 point explosion against Los Angeles late last week, the 2025 No. 1 overall pick was blitzed, double and tripled in the subsequent two games against Seattle and Golden State. While she managed to not allow that to turn into turnovers, Bueckers shot uncharacteristically bad from the field (2/7 vs. Seattle, 3/12 vs. Golden State) which brought an end to her season-long double figure scoring streak. Still, 30 games above 10 points per on average is pretty damn good.

Here’s where things get a little fuzzy and why we have to keep our arguments straight with regard to Paige and the others she’s compared to.

Yes, the Wings rookie has had a tough adjustment to the type of swarming defense Clark received all the way through her debut season. But that doesn’t necessarily matter in the Rookie of the Year race. Is Sonia Citron getting the Caitlin Clark treatment? Has she the entire year? No? Then it shouldn’t necessarily be part of the argument for Rookie of the Year. Furthermore, there is no doubt that CC managed to improve her team in her first WNBA campaign, guiding the Fever to the playoffs after a 13-27 season the year prior.

Is Paige doing that? Not particularly. But it’s worth noting the Washington Mystics are 3-7 since trading Brittney Sykes so if we’re utilizing a ‘rookie makes team better’ argument, it hasn’t really borne itself out even with Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron getting expanded roles.

This isn’t to take digs on Soni’s ROTY candidacy. Instead, it’s to try and give us all a little perspective and understanding that Paige for Rookie of the Year and Paige as the next Caitlin Clark are two separate arguments.

If you want to make the arg

Today we’re discussing Angel Reese’s impact now that she’s fully healthy for Chicago, the Aces complete turnaround and where Phoenix goes from here. After the review, we look at the week ahead. The Watch Guide remains the same, giving you even deeper dives on what to watch for as the standings get tighter and the stakes higher.

We’ve gotten some requests recently about additional donations for the NCS crew. If you don’t want to do a full subscription but want to support our work in any capacity, we are also opening up donations via Venmo as well. For those that have asked, we can’t tell you how much we appreciate and rest assured it is going back into the company to provide you with the best WBB coverage you can find!

Friday, August 15

Minnesota Lynx (28-7) vs. Indiana Fever (19-16): 7:30 PM ET, ION

Why It’s Worth a Watch: Minnesota is on the final leg of a three game road trip that included New York and Atlanta (both losses). Oh, and it’s a back-to-back tonight against the Fever who are coming off five days rest. Tired legs vs. fresh legs. You do the math. Yet in spite of that disadvantage, I wouldn’t be shocked if the Lynx made this a game. Matchups like this are the difference between playoff contenders and champions. Meanwhile, Indiana is fighting for their postseason lives. A win here could get you closer to Phoenix and New York, but a loss brings you a bit too close to the 8th or even 9th seed. There’s your stakes.

What to Watch For: Jessica Shepard had a phenomenal night against Brittney Griner and Bri Jones, pacing Minnesota with 15 points and 16 rebounds so I’m interested in her upcoming battle with Aliyah Boston. Courtney Williams will probably want a bounceback game after a 3-14 performance in the loss to Atlanta. For the Fever, I’m watching how Odyssey Sims plays given her ever increasing significance. They need to start fast because Minnesota won’t let them back into a game the way Connecticut did.

Must Watch Score: 8.5/10

Seattle Storm (18-18) vs. Dallas Wings (9-27): 7:30 PM ET, ION

Why It’s Worth a Watch: The Storm, like the Fever, are trying to stave off postseason elimination. With about eight or nine (depending on the team) games left in the regular season, every win counts. Seattle has just a half game lead on Los Angeles who don’t play again until next Tuesday. All the pressure is on them in this matchup as Dallas just plays for the end of the year.

What to Watch For: Paige Bueckers went thermonuclear against L.A., setting multiple records en route to a 44 point performance, and I’m curious how she follows that up. Skylar Diggins and Brittney Sykes are much better defenders than Kelsey Plum and Julie Allemand, so how will Bueckers adjust? In light of her performance, will Chris Koclanes decide to empower her by running things through her more? There’s a lot of cool to follow there. Unfortunately, I have a feeling the Storm frontcourt is going to tear the Wings apart. To that end, Dominique Malonga may have herself a game. If we get big minutes from her, this game turns into a really fun future superstars showcase.

Must Watch Score: 7.5/10

Golden State Valkyries (18-17) vs. Phoenix Mercury (21-14): 10:00 PM ET, ION

Why It’s Worth a Watch: This game has some of the highest stakes of the weekend from a postseason positioning standpoint. The Mercury were run out of the gym on Thursday night against Las Vegas and now welcome in a Valkyries team that has the capability of doing the same. Golden State, for their part, wants to keep pace with Indiana and can draw level with them if the Fever lose to Minnesota.

What to Watch For: The Mercury started to flow in the second quarter when they ran the offense a little less through Alyssa Thomas. The unintended consequence was Thomas looking visibly frustrated at times. I can attribute that to a fierce competitor who really wants to win but sometimes it feels like Kahleah Copper needs to be a bit more than a spot up shooter. How this big three of AT, Kah and Satou Sabally handle these big moments is important to understanding just how far they can this postseason.

Must Watch Score: 9/10

Saturday, August 16

New York Liberty (22-14) vs. Atlanta Dream (23-13): 2:00 PM ET, CBS

Why It’s Worth a Watch: I think Phoenix is fading a bit so I’d argue that New York, Atlanta and Las Vegas are the three teams vying for that second seed. Right now, the Dream hold a half game lead on the Aces and a full game lead on the Liberty. You see where I’m going with this? One game can be the difference between 2nd and 4th. Every single game matters especially in the W’s playoff format. A top four seed has home court advantage for the Best-of-3 first round. If you’re Atlanta or New York and drop one too many, you might end up in a much harder do-or-die playoff situation if it comes to that. Plus, we get some amazing individual matchups. Game of the Season candidate if both teams play to their potential.

What to Watch For: Sabrina Ionescu and Rhyne Howard feel very similar in that they can run hot and cold as shooters. When they’re on, the 2020 and 2021 number one picks are top 8 players in the league. When they’re off, it can look like Spice Adams shooting threes in open gym. If even one is cooking on Saturday, we’re in for a treat. Natasha Cloud vs. Allisha Gray is a great defensive stopper vs. dominant scorer matchup while the chess match between Sandy Brondello and Karl Smesko should be a blast for scheme scholars.

Must Watch Score: 9.5/10

Las Vegas Aces (23-14) vs. Washington Mystics (16-20): 3:00 PM ET, League Pass

Why It’s Worth a Watch: The Mystics are on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs but that doesn’t mean they’re completely out. All it would take is a couple wins to be right back in the mix. The only tough part is they’re facing off against the hottest team in the WNBA right now. Could it get out of hand? Maybe. But there’s a cool narrative thread happening with these two teams. Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen bear some resemblance as players to Jackie Young and A’ja Wilson which gives us this cool young team vs. what-they-can-be story.

What to Watch For: A’ja Wilson has been on fire this August which will make this game a great test for Kiki Iriafen. In a lot of ways, it’s A’ja vs. Baby A’ja. A matchup of single-leg-sleevers. Potentially great television. Speaking of must-watch players, Chelsea Gray has successfully turned the clock back three years. The Point Gawd has returned to form at last and looks as good as she looked in the 2022 Conference Semifinals vs. Seattle. If you’ve been around, you know what I mean. If you haven’t, here you go. Enjoy. How Sonia Citron handles her and Jackie Young will be a fun storyline as well.

Must Watch Score: 7.5/10

Connecticut Sun (8-27) vs. Chicago Sky (9-26): 4:00 PM ET, CBSSN

Why It’s Worth a Watch: Both the Sky and Sun have been eliminated from the playoffs so you’d expect this to be a pair of teams that are just going through the motions before the year is out. Right? Wrong. Tyler Marsh and Rachid Meziane are building cultures in their respective cities and a game like this matters. It’s why you see the Sky beating New York and the Sun winning three in their last four. I expect the players to come out with the same energy they have all season and treat this like something it may not even be. That’s what makes both teams fun future buys…

What to Watch For: This frontcourt battle is going to be a blast. Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who has come on strong late in the year, and Tina Charles taking on Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese. Size, scoring, versatility, intensity. You get it all. There’s also a fun LSU vs. LSU story with Reese meeting Sun rookie Aneesah Morrow. Connecticut’s backcourt duo of Saniya Rivers and Leila Lacan is quickly becoming one of my favorite tandems in the league and when they’re shooting well it’s legitimately a treat to watch.

Must Watch Score: 7/10

Sunday, August 17

Seattle Storm (18-18) vs. Washington Mystics (16-20): 3:00 PM ET, League Pass

Why It’s Worth a Watch: Not only is this Brittney Sykes’ first trip back to Washington since they traded her, this one feels like a bit of a make-or-break for the Mystics. A loss to the Aces will put them right on the edge of the cliff but a second loss to Seattle would tip them off the rocks and into the water. The schedule feels ripe for the Storm to rip off two wins before the last two games (Indiana, Minnesota) of their five game road stand. Can they do it against a Mystics team — one that’s won the previous two matchups against Seattle, it should be noted — that will probably be fighting for their playoff lives?

What to Watch For: I don’t even know if we’d get it but I want to see Dominique Malonga vs. Kiki Iriafen minutes. Those two are, to me, future All-WNBA forwards. In the backcourt, Brittney Sykes sees her old Mystics teammate in Sonia Citron. Given that the trade was, on some level, motivated by Washington going all in on Citron and Iriafen and letting Sykes go to a win-now team, will there be any added intensity? Especially given that the playoffs are more or less on the line? I would like to see it!

Must Watch Score: 7/10

Golden State Valkyries (18-17) vs. Dallas Wings (9-27): 4:00 PM ET, League Pass

Why It’s Worth a Watch: These are the exact games that no playoff hopeful should drop if they want to stay in the hunt. Dallas is inconsistent but has shown the ability to scare the hell out of (or even beat) teams that are better than them on-paper. Golden State is also a somewhat streaky team, winning or losing in bunches. If there’s a game on the schedule that feels like it could become weird in a hurry, it’s this one.

What to Watch For: Veronica Burton vs. Paige should be pretty fun. The former Northwestern superstar is a top candidate for Most Improved Player and has really come into her own as an impact player on both ends of the floor. How she defends Paige will be a cool battle to watch. Golden State has the size advantage and I’ve spilt enough ink about the Wings frontcourt issue. It wouldn’t surprise me if we saw a big game out of Iliana Rupert or Janelle Salaun.

Must Watch Score: 7/10

Indiana Fever (19-16) vs. Minnesota Lynx (28-7): 7:00 PM ET, CBSSN

Why It’s Worth a Watch: All the reasons outlined above, except even more stakes.

What to Watch For: What that↑ said.

Must Watch Score: 8/10

Monday, August 18

Connecticut Sun (8-27) vs. New York Liberty (22-14): 7:00 PM ET, League Pass

Why It’s Worth a Watch: This might be the most skippable matchup of the weekend but there’s still some possibility.. Belgian superstar Emma Meesseman sees her former national team head coach across the floor in Rachid Meziane and Connecticut does have an advantage in this one, assuming the injury report remains the same throughout the weekend. The Liberty’s loss to the Sky showed that their lack of depth in the frontcourt leaves them vulnerable over the course of a game especially if the threes stop falling. Connecticut does have a decent rotation of Tina Charles, ONO and Aaliyah Edwards. Maybe we might see something we weren’t expecting. After all, it happened at the start of August!

What to Watch For: Assuming Izzy Harrison, Nyara Sabally and Breanna Stewart are out for this game as well, the frontcourt minutes for New York will be vital. Jonquel Jones needs to continue to be the 20+ point per game scorer she is capable of being while Sabrina Ionescu just needs a couple threes to fall. But Connecticut will have Tina Charles to counter and Nelson-Ododa, who to me feels like the player that will decide this matchup. If she is playing her best, she can be a dimension New York doesn’t have right now.

Must Watch Score: 6.5/10

Las Vegas Aces (23-14) vs. Chicago Sky (9-26): 8:00 PM ET, NBATV

Why It’s Worth a Watch: This is another fun frontcourt matchup and while it’s likely to end in a blowout, we get Angel vs. A’ja. How will Becky Hammon handle her interior? Wilson on Kamilla Cardoso with NaLyssa Smith on Reese? Do they go bigger with Kiah Stokes and play them more traditionally, letting the shooters take advantage of the Sky’s perimeter defense? And it’s crazy to believe given that the season is almost over but this Tyler Marsh and Becky Hammon’s first time meeting one another as head coaches.

What to Watch For: Wilson is on a tear right now and this feels like one of those games where the master shows the pupils how it’s done. Both Reese and Cardoso will be superstars in their own rite but for now the belt belongs to A’ja. I’m a sucker for young upstars vs. bonafide champions so this is right up my alley.

Must Watch Score: 8/10

If You Can Only Watch One Game A Day…

Friday, August 22 - Minnesota Lynx (28-7) vs. Indiana Fever (19-16): 7:30 PM ET, ION

Saturday, August 23 - New York Liberty (22-14) vs. Atlanta Dream (23-13): 2:00 PM ET, CBS

Sunday, August 24 - Seattle Storm (18-18) vs. Washington Mystics (16-20): 3:00 PM ET, League Pass

Monday, August 25 - Las Vegas Aces (23-14) vs. Chicago Sky (9-26): 8:00 PM ET, NBATV

Honorable Mentions -

Friday, August 22 - Golden State Valkyries (18-17) vs. Phoenix Mercury (21-14): 10:00 PM ET, ION

No Cap Space WBB is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with oth

It’s Tyler, Chauny and Greer on this episode of Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast, recording on a Wednesday morning to make sure you got all the most recent reactions to a stacked Tuesday night of games. The Liberty defeated the Lynx, the Sun upset the Mystics while the Sky showed some fight and the race tightens between Las Vegas, Phoenix and Atlanta.

Our crew discusses all the major WNBA action from last night while taking a look at some of the more macro stories in the league as well. Is A’ja Wilson really making an MVP push? What do we make of the Connecticut Sun’s franchise sale troubles and how much much tighter can the seeding race get in the WNBA?

If you love the show, we’d love and appreciate a five star rating on Apple podcasts as well as a kind review if you’ve got the time! We’re also on the road to 5,000 subscribers on YouTube and 2,000 followers on TikTok so if you enjoy our content here, tell a friend to tell a friend to follow us on their preferred platform!

Additionally, we’ve gotten some requests recently about additional donations for the NCS crew. If you don’t want to do a full subscription but want to support our work in any capacity, we are also opening up donations via Venmo as well. For those that have asked, we can’t tell you how much we appreciate and rest assured it is going back into the company to provide you with the best WBB coverage you can find!

Scroll Ahead to Hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction.

2:05 - Lynx vs. Liberty Recap.

17:10 - The Race For A Top 4 Seed.

20:53 - The Aces Late Season Surge.

28:40 - How For Real Is Phoenix?

Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!

Our intro music is made by Denver’s own DLZMKSBTS, the King of Mile Hi-Fi. Check out all his music on Spotify here and on Instagram here.

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After a week of great games, jockeying in the standings and some MVP caliber performances from some of the top players in the league, we get five topics that are as hoop-heavy as you can get.

In case you missed our Sunday wrap show, you can access it here as a podcast or below on YouTube. Be sure to like, share and subscribe or give us a five star rating and review on Apple if you enjoy the show! We always appreciate it and the growth of No Cap Space WBB doesn’t happen without you!

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Chauny, back by popular demand, is in the host seat once again. One might say that in a group where everyone eats but there’s a clear star, she’s the Paige Bueckers of this ship. After a bit of internal crisis at such realizations, the show opens with a simple question: is there anyone in the same tier as the Minnesota Lynx right now? Andrew argues that Atlanta and New York could still get the best of them in a multi-game series and the debate ensues. After touching on Alanna Smith’s Defensive Player of the Year candidacy, the crew discusses the mess happening in Chicago and where the fault lies for an organization that feels caught in a death spiral. The show wraps with a look at another team in turmoil, the Seattle Storm.

Scroll ahead to hear…

0:00 - Show Introductions

4:59 - Is Minnesota in a tier of their own?

22:17 - Alanna Smith’s Defensive Player of the Year candidacy…

24:04 - The Sky is…falling…

43:31 - Storms in Seattle…

Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!

No Cap Space WBB is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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As we mentioned last week, the column will now include a Monday podcast that comes from our Sunday live wrap shows on YouTube. It’ll cover the biggest games of the day and some of the biggest news items between Thursday and the end of the week. Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast will now be dropping every Wednesday morning instead of Tuesday to give you two evenly spaced out podcasts that talk women’s basketball!

Keep an eye out for more Overtime Select coverage this week as well. Chauny was down in Atlanta for the weekend getting you caught up on the next generation of women’s hoops stars and the WNBA legends they’re working with this summer (and that’s before we start to get into NCAA previews). In short, it’s a great time to be a women’s basketball fan!

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Chauny is in the host chair with Tyler and Andrew as the trio discusses the recent action near the WNBA trade deadline. Brittney Sykes is now in Seattle and the pod breaks down how the move benefits both teams. The discussion then covers the hottest teams in the league right now including the Los Angeles Sparks who continue to surge towards a playoff spot before wrapping up with a discussion around DeWanna Bonner, Sophie Cunningham and how rivalries grow organically in the WNBA.

Scroll ahead to hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction

6:11 - Trade Breakdowns…

25:30 - What is L.A.’s ceiling?

46:05 - Connecticut Sun/WNBA sale drama.

53:10 - One last look at DeWanna Bonner’s Indiana exit.

Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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Ball Up Top will be each Wednesday previewing the week ahead. It's all a part of our desire to get you a little more content and women's hoop talk!

Be sure to subscribe, like and rate us five stars on Apple, Spotify or wherever you're listening!

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The trio open the show with news of Kennedy Burke’s injury and how the short turnaround times are hurting the WNBA as a league and may become a source of contention at the CBA Bargaining table. The show wraps up with a discussion on the upcoming trade deadline and some of the best moves top teams can make.

Scroll ahead to hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction

2:15 - The WNBA’s Injury Issue & The Effect on CBA Negotiations

15:00 - Cam Brink’s Return and What It Means For L.A.

36:50 - One Move We Want To See At The Trade Deadline

Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!

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In longtime WNBA fan circles, there is a term called ‘Messy Monday’. Effectively it means that at the start of the week, we’re due for some fun things to talk about. Instead of a Messy Monday, we got a Meesy Monday this week with Belgian superstar Emma Meesseman joining the defending WNBA champion New York Liberty.

Tyler, Chauny and Greer are on the pod this week opening with the implications of the move and what it means for the rest of the league. The conversation then moves to the WNBA players and their ‘Pay Us What You Owe Us’ shirts at the All-Star game as well as the CBA negotiations continuing with the league. After a quick piece on the impact of the Studbudz 72 hour stream in Indianapolis, the crew takes a look at the season ahead and some predictions for the second half of the year.

Scroll ahead to hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction

1:39 - Emma Meesseman joins New York Liberty

6:55 - Are the Liberty the best starting five in WNBA history?

22:06 - The future of the WNBA/WNBPA CBA negotiations…

39:30 - Buy/Sell for the second half of the WNBA season…

Summer is here so get fitted for all your functions with Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! Check out their new ‘Summer School’ hat series and rock your favorite school in style as well as our No Cap Space WBB collection. In partnership with Homefield, we’ve curated all their women’s basketball merch into one place here.'

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Scroll ahead to hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction

1:27 - DeWanna Bonner to Phoenix reactions…

6:30 - All-Star roster reactions…

25:30 - Biggest surprises halfway through the WNBA season.

45:00 - Team USA/FIBA Americup takeaways

Summer is here so get fitted for all your functions with Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! Check out their new ‘Summer School’ hat series and rock your favorite school in style as well as our No Cap Space WBB collection. In partnership with Homefield, we’ve curated all their women’s basketball merch into one place here.

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To say this was a Messy Monday in the WNBA might be an understatement. Expansion franchises, a big trade as well as All-Star starter announcements? That’s basically asking for a packed Ball Up Top on a Tuesday. Tyler and Chauny have the wheel and dive into everything that happened this past week and in the past 36 hours to get you ready for another slate of games in WNBA world.

Scroll ahead to hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction

2:47 - Expansion Thoughts and Reactions.

21:37 - NaLyssa Smith Trade Reactions.

38:16 - All-Star Starters Reactions.

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The pod continues with a discussion about the Los Angeles Sparks and whether or not the team can do a bit better than one of the worst in the western conference. While looking at the free agent possibilities, it opened up a discussion surrounding the Washington Mystics and their potential frontcourt duo of the future.

Scroll Ahead to Hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction

2:31 - DeWanna Bonner and the Fever break up.

21:46 - What to make of Caitlin Clark’s shooting slump…

39:27 - Is this a lost season for the L.A. Sparks?

49:34 - Is Kiki Iriafen/Shakira Austin the frontcourt of the future for the Mystics?

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This was a busy week in the WNBA and naturally there is plenty to discuss. Andrew and Chauny hold it down and discuss Caitlin Clark’s return from injury and how serious the Fever are as contenders with her in the lineup. Afterwards, Andrew talks through his experience in Vegas for Aces vs. Wings and his press row perspective of the dustup between Chris Koclanes and DiJonai Carrington.

The two continue the pod with a dive into the Angel Reese point forward experiment as well as Phoenix’s status as a legit contender in the WNBA. The show wraps with a quick hit on who is a pretender and who is for real a quarter of the way through the regular season. 0

Summer is here so get fitted for all your functions with Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! Check out their new ‘Summer School’ hat series and rock your favorite school in style.

Scroll Ahead to Hear…

0:00 — Show Introduction

1:52 - Caitlin Clark is back so how serious are the Fever as contenders?

14:40 - Andrew’s press row view of the Dallas Wings dynamic.

33:57 - The Angel Reese point forward experiment in Chicago…

47:15 - How for real are the Phoenix Mercury now that Kahleah Copper is back?

57:16 - Pretenders vs. Contenders

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Andrew and Tyler hold things down on this week’s episode of Ball Up Top. With so much happening in the league just one month into the regular season, the two open the show with a general enthusiasm of how well positioned the W is. Whether it be top teams or interesting superstars, there’s something for everyone this year. The discussion veers towards the Minnesota Lynx and their status as a WNBA analog to this year’s Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA.

Some other major topics are touched on, including the positive early returns on Golden State as a franchise, what on earth Chicago does next and whether or not Indiana should open space to hold on to Aari McDonald. With Paige Bueckers still out of the lineup, Andrew and Tyler opine on the Rookie of the Year race and if there should be an age limit to ROTY for overseas players entering the W for the first time.

Scroll ahead to hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction

2:19 - The WNBA’s great storylines to come this year.

6:39 - Does Minnesota feel like the Oklahoma City Thunder this year?

20:05 - Should Indiana hold on to Aari McDonald?

27:28 - The Rookie of the Year Race and the selection criteria…

44:26 - Is Golden State a future dark horse contender based on their foundation?

52:01 - Tumblr is OUT on Chris Koclanes!

The WNBA season is here and there’s plenty of ways to support your team, pro or college. To get your summer fits right and repping women’s basketball the way it deserves to be repped, head on over to Homefield! Our No Cap Space WBB collection has curated all of their women’s basketball gear into one easy place for you to find. Use code NOCAP15 to get 15% off your first order!

Our intro music is courtesy of Dlzmksbts, Denver’s King of ‘Mile HiFi’. You can stream his music on Spotify here.

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You can find the podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your pods. Be sure to rate, review and (hopefully!) give us five stars!

Scroll Ahead to hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction

1:59 - How much of a juggernaut are the New York Liberty?

16:05 - The Las Vegas Aces are getting sponsorship money again…

27:37 - Early impressions of the Aces…

34:10 - Injuries across the league and hardship contracts.

42:55 - Stock up/stock down

The WNBA season is here and there’s plenty of ways to support your team, pro or college. To get your summer fits right and repping women’s basketball the way it deserves to be repped, head on over to Homefield! Our No Cap Space WBB collection has curated all of their women’s basketball gear into one easy place for you to find. Use code NOCAP15 to get 15% off your first order!

Our intro music is courtesy of Dlzmksbts, Denver’s King of ‘Mile HiFi’. You can stream his music on Spotify here.

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With a few data points under our belt, we’re finally ready to talk some true basketball in the WNBA world. Then the Indiana Fever announced that Caitlin Clark would be out for around two weeks with a left quad strain. So, there went that news cycle! Of course, given Clark’s status as a top five guard in the league and the Fever’s best player, it’s a pretty huge deal. So this Tuesday we open the show discussing whether or not Fever fans should be worried, how Aliyah Boston can lead the way and if this actually might be a positive for Indiana come playoff time.

The pod rolls on with a discussion of which new coaches we are putting stock in and who we may be a little out on before wrapping up with some trade machine takes and realizing that there might not be a home for Arike Ogunbowale this year if Dallas truly thinks the pairing of her and Paige Bueckers/DiJonai Carrington may not be a long-term fit.

Scroll ahead to hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction

2:40 - Caitlin Clark Injury News and What the Fever Do Next…

21:17 - Stock Up/Stock Down of New WNBA Coaches

50:06 - Too Early Trade Machine Takes

The WNBA season is here and there’s plenty of ways to support your team, pro or college. To get your summer fits right and repping women’s basketball the way it deserves to be repped, head on over to Homefield! Our No Cap Space WBB collection has curated all of their women’s basketball gear into one easy place for you to find. Use code NOCAP15 to get 15% off your first order!

Our intro music is courtesy of Dlzmksbts, Denver’s King of ‘Mile HiFi’. You can stream his music on Spotify here.

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Now, to the basketball. There’s so much to discuss. We open the hoop talk with a bit on the new look Fever and honor DeWanna Bonner reaching third on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list. Also on the docket? The New York Liberty and what constitutes a juggernaut, is it time to start monitoring how much of a superstar Rhyne Howard really is and whether or not we are on Arike Ogunbowale trade watch.

Scroll ahead to hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction and Quick Hit on Postgame Show.

7:30 - Honoring DeWanna Bonner’s career and climb up the scoring ladder.

13:07 - Are the Fever already further along than we had originally expected them to be?

23:39 - Liberty vs. Aces recap.

34:06 - Favorite teams based on early impressions.

44:20 - Agenda Watch.

54:53 - Discussing the Paige Bueckers/Arike Ogunbowale fit in Dallas.

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This week is about big swings and bold predictions. If you missed this week’s Five Out (which you can find here), Andrew laid out his five bold (and not so bold) predictions for the WNBA season ahead. On this episode of Ball Up Top, Chauny and Tyler take a crack at their hottest and spiciest takes this coming year.

Spring is in full swing and summer is around the corner so if you want to update your wardrobe ahead of the good weather, head on over to Homefield! Our No Cap Space WBB collection has curated all of their women’s basketball gear into one easy place for you to find. Use code NOCAP15 to get 15% off your first order!

Our intro music is courtesy of Dlzmksbts, Denver’s King of ‘Mile HiFi’. You can stream his music on Spotify here.

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Scroll Ahead to Hear…

0:00 — Show Introduction

3:15 - Preseason Thoughts: College Trips

9:00 - The ‘Multiple Faces of The League’ Discussion

12:35 - The Players That Have Impressed in Preseason

23:20 - Paige Bueckers Early Evaluations

27:24 - Shyanne Sellers Signing to Atlanta

36:48 - WNBA Roster Issues

44:15 - The Aces Kiersten Bell Issue…

56:20 - Paige and the Consistent Coverage Equity Discussion

Spring is in full swing and summer is around the corner so if you want to update your wardrobe ahead of the good weather, head on over to Homefield! Our No Cap Space WBB collection has curated all of their women’s basketball gear into one easy place for you to find. Use code NOCAP15 to get 15% off your first order!

Our intro music is courtesy of Dlzmksbts, Denver’s King of ‘Mile HiFi’. You can stream his music on Spotify here.

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After a few weeks off our normal weekly format due to the NCAA Tournament, Ball Up Top is back to its regularly scheduled programming. This week, Tyler, Chauny and Greer dive into what the early takeaways have been from WNBA Training Camps officially kicking off.

Scroll Ahead to Hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction

2:00 - Seattle Storm

6:10 - Golden State Valkyries

10:15 - Los Angeles Sparks

12:50 - Las Vegas Aces

19:15 - Phoenix Mercury

25:50 - Dallas Wings

33:50 - Minnesota Lynx

38:10 - Chicago Sky

45:20 - Indiana Fever

56:30 - New York Liberty

59:10 - Washington Mystics

1:03:50 - Connecticut Sun

1:09:27 - Atlanta Dream

Spring is in full swing and summer is around the corner so if you want to update your wardrobe ahead of the good weather, head on over to Homefield! Our No Cap Space WBB collection has curated all of their women’s basketball gear into one easy place for you to find. Use code NOCAP15 to get 15% off your first order!

Our intro music is courtesy of Dlzmksbts, Denver’s King of ‘Mile HiFi’. You can stream his music on Spotify here.

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Chauny, Tyler and Greer hoped on the podcast for an emergency show that you can find here in audio form and on YouTube (video link is below). Be sure to subscribe to us on those platforms as well and, if you have a women’s basketball fan or enthusiast in your life, send us their way so they can stay up to date on everything happening in the game!

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We also have some fun things to announce! As always, you can get 15% off your first Homefield order using NOCAP15. We are also nearing 100 paid subscribers on Substack and, once we get there, Chauny and Andrew will clue you in on the origins of ‘Slack Mamba’, ‘Ethical Hate’ and debate the merits of both as it comes to Sabrina Ionescu. Be sure to rate, review, give us five stars if you can on Apple or Spotify and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube page as well.

Scroll Ahead to Hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction

3:49 - Atlanta Dream Draft Recap

10:04 - Chicago Sky Draft Recap

15:35 - Connecticut Sun Draft Recap

21:00 - Dallas Wings Draft Recap

26:36 - Golden State Valkyries Draft Recap

31:48 - Indiana Fever Draft Recap

36:06 - Los Angeles Sparks Draft Recap

39:57 - Las Vegas Aces Draft Recap

44:30 - New York Liberty & Phoenix Mercury Draft Recap

45:27 - Seattle Storm Draft Recap

52:49 - Washington Mystics Draft Recap

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For those that are still looking for end-of-day content, we have nightcap wrap up shows on YouTube for every day of games. You can find that on our YouTube page where we just passed over 3,000 subscribers. Thanks a ton to everyone that has tuned in and tapped in with us over the years!

Our wrap show is attached here as a podcast for everyone to listen to whenever you want to as we get into another 12 hour slate of games today. Now, let’s get to the column!

1. Women’s March Madness should move to neutral sites for the first two rounds and I’m tired of it being treated like a hot take

I’m somewhere between Mugatu taking crazy pills in Zoolander and the Joker saying “I’m tired of people saying it’s not”. Folks, we have evolved past the need for home site matchups and the only people left arguing for it seem to be fanbases who ostensibly benefit from it because they never actually have to travel.

I’m going to lay out five reasons why I feel like we’re ready for this. It’s time.

* From an aesthetic and production standpoint, I’m sick of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament looking like an NIT. The March Madness logo slapped on a team’s home floor does absolutely nothing for me. It certainly doesn’t make me feel like I’m officially watching the NCAA Tournament. Call it superficial but I do believe these things matter subconsciously to viewers and fans.

* There’s a fair argument over travel and suitable host sites for the first two rounds (I mean, we’re in Birmingham and Spokane this year for God’s sake) but how accessible are some of these home sites? We got lucky this year with South Bend and Baton Rouge being the only two tough ones. But in the past we’ve had to contend with Starkville, Oxford, Blacksburg, Bloomington, Ames, the list goes on. Again, this is great for local fanbases but this tournament, respectfully, isn’t about you guys. March Madness is an event that, to me, is built to capture national interest in the sport. There is an entire regular season to see your team.

* I also don’t love that home sites are primarily built around a single program when there are four teams present. You may burn some fans if you put a first round in Denver, for instance, but a big draw for March in your city is that you pay a ticket and just get to go watch anybody hoop. I was in Sacramento during the 2023 men’s tournament and I can tell you firsthand that fans there for other teams became Princeton fans over the course of two days. You miss that at home venues. They have their team and they’re staying with them.

* It creates an environment where the women’s tournament doesn’t feel like it has that mainstream juice until the Sweet 16. Maybe that’s by design — let the men’s tourney hold court the first weekend and then the women take over — but it’s a risky proposition if the men have a year like this one when a lot of the biggest brands are still in the mix.

* And finally, I don’t think the sport should be governed by fear of ridicule anymore. At this point, why should any of us care? There will always be an adjustment period for people to come out to the opening two rounds but not making that choice out of fear of a lack of crowd is ignoring the fact that not even every top 16 team draws well in their own arena anyway. It may take a year or two to catch on but I’d rather get that out of the way now than continue to push it past.

2. Larry Vickers hire solidifies that the HBCU pipeline is very real in women’s college basketball

Larry Vickers move to Auburn from Norfolk State was a seismic one when you consider the implications to the HBCU coaching pipeline. In a lot of ways, it solidified that the mobility offered by those jobs is as good as any other mid-major program. In just four years, we’ve seen Vanessa Blair-Lewis move from Bethune-Cookman to George Mason, Tomekia Reed from Jackson State to Charlotte and now Vickers from Norfolk State to Auburn. That’s two mid-majors and a high-major with a significant history of success in women’s college basketball.

There is a question about what it means for HBCU coaches on a more complex level. As highlighted in prior stories, there is a belief among some that to be a coach at a school like that is almost to understand that you are there for a greater purpose than just your career. To take on a job like that has a nobility and an altruism in it given the funding gaps and disparities that exist between HBCU’s (historically black colleges and universities) and PWI’s (predominantly white institutions). But at the same time, if that upward mobility is offered then it creates an environment where you can do better by the kids by getting better coaches. It also means that schools can find success that can achieve some semblance of economic gain for the university writ large.

It may not lead to a massive wave of coaching hires but a power four taking a shot on Vickers tells me that there is a consideration that success in the SWAC or MEAC isn’t qualified anymore. If you win in those leagues, you are a winner and deserve a shot at a better job. If he manages to achieve success on the Plains, then expect more people to look towards HBCU’s for their next head coach. That, to me, is a win for everyone even if there is a complexity to it.

3. Can revenue sharing concepts keep head coaches at their mid-major programs? It’s something to keep an eye on.

I was thinking a lot about this when it appeared that Molly Miller wouldn’t be going to Arkansas. We know now that Arizona State was instead the choice but in the moment I wondered if GCU was able to offer her a sweet enough deal to be able to stick around for a little while longer.

With the incoming House settlement that will allow players to fully be paid and a revenue sharing model implemented in collegiate sports, the concept of which program gets what slice of the pie is going to be a fascinating story going forward. In some ways, we’ve seen it play out in the past with certain university presidents and athletic directors deciding that women’s hoops is a priority for the school. Old Dominion and Louisiana Tech are two such examples who enjoyed unparalleled runs of dominance from the late 1970’s all the way up to as recently as the early 2000’s. There are places that we would call ‘basketball schools’ — like Gonzaga or San Diego State on the men’s side — but not any true WBB schools at this current point in time.

As revenue sharing becomes a story that will change how athletic departments handle their business, I’m curious if some places decide to throw their weight behind women’s hoops. Which creates an interesting discussion about coaches and what they want to stay and do. If you’re at a mid-major, for instance, that doesn’t offer football and instead is willing to give you a higher share of a smaller budget, is that actually better than going to a power four that is only handing you one or two percent of a bigger pie? When I look at Carly Thibault-DuDonis at Fairfield, for instance, that’s what I see. Why go to Wisconsin when you know you’re going to be taken care of in the future here?

Of course, the typical factors remain: salary, assistant pool, recruiting budget, facilities and more. But the revenue sharing piece of this is a really interesting subplot to watch and I wonder if it has the chance to be something of an equalizer for schools that want to make it a priority to advance women’s basketball at their schools.

4. The lack of mid-major upsets feels like a post-COVID market correction

I’ve seen a lot on the men’s and women’s side of the tournament about how the predictability of the last couple years has been a result of NIL and the transfer portal decimating mid-majors and allowing the richest programs to simply get richer. While I would agree that those two concepts play a significant role, I also think we’re forgetting another component: this is a post COVID market correction. Allow me to explain…

In the two to three seasons following the pandemic, a ton of upperclassmen had the ability to take fifth and sixth years of eligibility because of the blanket waiver provided by the pandemic. Mid-majors were able to load up on talent while maintaining some of the best players in program history for another season. Take 2022, when South Dakota’s Hannah Sjerven was a sixth year senior and helped lead the team to a Sweet Sixteen appearance. While that had the upfront benefit of giving your team a shot to make the second weekend or upset a higher seeded high-major, it caused roster congestion. Some top mid-major players transferred out of their programs out of a lack of playing time or staying behind stars that had taken one more year than anticipated. It also pulled away playing time, development and an opportunity for younger athletes to be able to get their own chance to gain valuable late season experience.

In the women’s game, I think the gap between high major players and mid major players is still substantial because the difference in athleticism is much more than it is in the men’s game. Over there, you can just be a good athlete without being a great basketball player and that can help overcome disparities come March. In our game, the athletic gap coupled with the skill issue makes the first and second round a daunting proposition for any mid-major that doesn’t have substantial experience. And as we are finally fully out of the realm of experience being the great equalizer, mid-major coaches will need to find something else.

5. A quick Monday preview of the matchups ahead…

Because of Five Out, our Ball-Knower’s Daily Watch Guide won’t be going out today. But surprise! That means you get it here. These are somethings I’m looking for in each of the games ahead…

I have Michigan State upsetting NC State in my bracket. I love this Spartan team and while they can run very hot and cold, they have a good complement of shooters, length and defending that can hang with this incredible guard group that the Wolfpack have. Beyond that, they’re gritty and can handle a lot of in-game adversity. The team that doesn’t get tight is the team I like in these tournaments.

Texas feels like they’re rolling but I want to see how they handle a plucky Illinois team that has given more than a couple top end programs their share of fits this season. A lot of people want that Tennessee vs. Texas rematch and I would classify myself as one of them. But I’m not counting the Illini out wholesale just yet and you shouldn’t either.

Ava Heiden vs. Raegan Beers sounds like a very fun matchup along with the Hawkeye - Sooner backcourt battle we’re about to see. If there’s any chance of an upset today, I think it’s in the 6 vs. 3 games. What I’m most curious about is if OU fans can sell out the Lloyd Noble Center. This would be the year for it.

Alabama vs. Maryland feels the most electric of any matchup. There are shooters and there will be pace. Sarah Ashlee Barker vs. Kaylene Smikle is one of the best pure scorer matchups of the season.

Once again, the question of how 100% Aneesah Morrow and Flau’jae Johnson are will matter especially against this Florida State teams. Makayla Timpson is an effort rebounder in the same way Morrow is and Ta’Niya Latson is a scorer. I would love to see Latson get a shot at a Sweet Sixteen here but we’re in the PMAC for this so anything goes.

West Virginia vs. North Carolina is going to be some nasty hoops in the same way Alabama vs. LSU football circa 2007 was nasty football. Expect some hard nosed defense on both ends of the floor and no basket is going to come easily. But I’m psyched to see if we get a JJ Quinerly legacy game in Chapel Hill.

Both of the back end games for UConn and USC don’t feel in jeopardy of upset but I think the question is how good they look in their games. The Women of Troy got started a little slow against UNC Greensboro before taking the reins and running away with the game. The Huskies look like world beaters and that continues what we’ve come to expect.

It’ll be a great day and hang with us on YouTube later in the night for another nightcap on No Cap!

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All their success earned them the third #1 seed overall and the alleged ire of a coach out west.

Texas can prove something tonight by either following in the footsteps of South Carolina and hanging over 100 on their opponent, or Southern California and stumbling out the gates a bit.

Regardless, of how they do it, the good folks at Slander U believe they’re going all the way and bringing that national championship back to Austin and sparking a major transfer in the process.

Teej and Mr. Blah Blah join Chauny to discuss how Texas will win the Natty like only they can. Enjoy an episode chock full of all the slander you can handle.

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Be sure to subscribe to No Cap Space WBB here or on Apple or Spotify to get every pod straight to your device the minute it goes live. If watching on video is more your speed, each individual segment will be posted to YouTube throughout the week!

Our second episode of the week brings you out into the world of Sports Twitter (the good version) where SiriusXM’s Katie Nolan and Underdog Fantasy’s TylerIAm are ready to bring their hottest takes to the pod.

Both discuss their favorite players, biggest swings in terms of bracket predictions and provide an overall vibe check on teams that fans might have questions about heading into the first weekend.

Scroll ahead to hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction

2:13 - Katie Nolan joins the show.

42:45 - TylerIAm joins the show.

If you haven’t already, be sure to enter our No Cap Space WBB Bracket Challenge on ESPN.com to see if you can best any of us, Katie or Tyler this March and get a chance to win a free subscription to our paid tier as well as some Homefield merch. And if you want to take a look at Homefield’s offerings, we curated all their women’s basketball gear into the No Cap Space WBB Collection. Take a look and use NOCAP15 for 15% off your first order!

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On this inaugural episode, we welcome in Texas Longhorn legend Fran Harris, a former Southwest Conference Player of the Year, SWC All-Decade Team Member, 1986 NCAA National Champion and 1997 WNBA Champ with the Houston Comets. She tells us about the mentality needed to win the Tournament and her favorite memories from that ‘86 team that finished undefeated and was chronicled in our Legendarium installment ‘Team of Destiny’. Fran was also heavily involved in Austin’s WNBA expansion bid and dishes a bit on what comes next for them as well as teases a new developmental league in women’s basketball that she’s trying to spearhead.

After Fran, longtime friend of No Cap Space Seerat Sohi of The Ringer joins Tyler and Chauny to chop it up on all things March Madness. The trio break down their favorite matchups, storylines, picks and more.

Scroll ahead to hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction

2:26 - Fran Harris joins the show.

31:08 - Seerat Sohi joins the show.

If you haven’t already, be sure to enter our No Cap Space WBB Bracket Challenge on ESPN.com to see if you can best any of us, Seerat or Fran this March and get a chance to win a free subscription to our paid tier as well as some Homefield merch. And if you want to take a look at Homefield’s offerings, we curated all their women’s basketball gear into the No Cap Space WBB Collection. Take a look and use NOCAP15 for 15% off your first order!

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After months of predicting, projecting and figuring out who the top teams are in the world of NCAA women’s basketball, we still have no idea! This Tournament might be one of the most open in recent memory, with four programs that could reasonably be national champions but no one really head and shoulders above everyone.

For starters, announcements from No Cap Space WBB!

* Get your look right with the No Cap Space WBB Collection on Homefield! We partnered with (in our unbiased opinions) the best collegiate apparel brand in the country to curate every piece of women’s basketball gear on their site, giving you a one stop shop for some great March Madness fits off. And if you use code NOCAP15, you get 15% off your first order!

* Also join our ESPN Bracket Challenge! Compete against us, your favorite media personalities and some of the greatest women’s basketball players in the history of the game. Think your skills of deduction and prediction are better than legit hall-of-famers? Well, now is a chance to find out!

* 1st Place Receives: 1 Year free subscription to No Cap Space WBB’s Ball-Knowers’ Substack Tier plus a $50 Homefield gift card.

* 2nd Place Receives: 6 month free subscription to No Cap Space WBB’s Ball-Knowers Substack Tier plus a Homefield tee of your choice.

* 3rd Place Receives: 3 month free subscription to No Cap Space WBB’s Ball-Knowers Substack Tier plus a Homefield hat of your choice.

* Consider a free trial or subscribing to our Ball-Knowers paid tier of No Cap Space WBB on Substack. You’ll be getting special features, daily previews for every round of games in the NCAA Tournament and access to our subscriber chat, which will be rolling all month long.

* And finally, NO CAP SPACE WBB IS HEADED TO TAMPA! We’ll have not one, not two, but three sets of Boots on the Ground at the 2025 Final Four this year. It’s a situation where we truly couldn’t do it without you, your views, subscriptions, likes, comments and shares. Just a year after we were told to, in essence, get our numbers up to be on the radar, we are here covering the NCAA Tournament in full. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you all. You are a fundamental part of helping us put together the most comprehensive women’s basketball coverage anywhere.

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Be sure to rate and review Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast wherever you get your pods and subscribe to our work on Substack and Youtube.

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0:00 - Show Introduction

3:13 - Postseason Award Reactions

22:24 - Conference Tournament Previews

22:30 - Big 12

31:11 - ACC

37:00 - Big Ten

47:32 - SEC

Ball Up Top is brought to you in part by Homefield. Prepare for Tourney Season with some gear from Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! A new No Cap Space collection is coming soon on the side so stay tuned and get your merch while you can!

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Andrew has to cut out of the pod early but that gives plenty of time for Greer to take the ISO and announce to the world that UConn might finally be back as a regular title contender. The pod wraps with Tyler and Greer’s Final Four projections with just a couple of weeks left before Tournament season starts.

Ball Up Top is brought to you in part by Homefield. Prepare for Tourney Season with some gear from Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! A new No Cap Space collection is coming soon on the side so stay tuned and get your merch while you can!

And a big shoutout to DlzMksBts, who provides our intro and outro music on podcast platforms. Check out his new project, ‘Bough’ by Deca & Dealz available on Youtube and Spotify.

Scroll Ahead to Hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction.

3:18 - Marina Mabrey trade request reactions.

17:44 - WNBA All-Star: Should we be worried about the NBA’s flop and what are the best and worst ideas for the W’s All-Star Week?

36:15 - Is UConn officially back? Does South Carolina’s ceiling look different?

1:00:07 - Final Four Projections

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Ball Up Top is brought to you in part by Homefield. Prepare for February and the NCAA Tournament season with some gear from Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! A new No Cap Space collection is coming soon on the side so stay tuned and get your merch while you can!

Scroll ahead in the podcast to hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction.

4:01 -WNBA Free Agency Winners & Losers

35:43 - Is the UConn - Tennessee rivalry finally coming back to prominence?

53:22 - The National Freshman of the Year race: Who leads? Who will win? Who is in the Top 3?

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You can also listen to it in podcast form above or on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to rate, review us (and give us five stars!).

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Scroll ahead in the recording to hear…

0:00 - Show introduction

1:50 - Game reactions: South Carolina.

11:45 - Game reactions: Tennessee.

25:40 - What is the next WNBA Free Agency domino?

38:25 - Should the Seattle Storm still select Olivia Miles with the No. 2 pick?

52:06 - What NCAA program has the most pressure in the home stretch?

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Here is the full breakdown of who gets what…

Los Angeles: Kelsey Plum, No. 9 Overall Pick

Seattle: No. 2 Overall Pick, Li Yueru

Las Vegas: Jewell Loyd, No. 13 Overall Pick

On a special emergency pod, Tyler, Chauny and Andrew break everything about the trade down and who wins, who got better and what it means for the rest of the season ahead.

Be sure to rate the podcast five stars and leave a (hopefully good!) review on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts!

Get ready for the year ahead with some gear from Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! The new Homefield knit sweaters and bomber jackets are perfect gifts to kick off your new women’s basketball year in style.

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Scroll ahead to hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction.

1:20 - Chennedy Carter’s split with the Chicago Sky

16:56 - Unrivaled Surprises.

39:20 - NCAA Bracketology Thoughts

1:09:20 - Lauren Betts, Player of the Year Race and How to Market Bigs

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Chauny, Tyler, and Greer are holding it down for this week’s edition of Ball Up Top as WNBA core and restricted contract conversations opened up. Notably Chennedy Carter hasn’t received her qualifying offer which the crew dives into. Plus following South Carolina’s dominant win against Texas, have they made a case for #1? Lastly, a look ahead to the official start of Unrivaled.

Ring in 2025 and get ready for the year ahead with some gear from Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! The new Homefield knit sweaters and bomber jackets are perfect gifts to kick off your new women’s basketball year in style.

Scroll ahead in the pod to hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction

1:17 - Chennedy Carter’s Free Agency and Chicago Sky decision making.

18:06 - South Carolina’s case to be #1 in the nation.

30:27 - NCAA Title Odds and how the media talks about contenders midseason.

29:54 - Unrivaled preview

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We’ve got premiere talent names and thanks to interviews coming out of Florida for Unrivaled, we know some of them are looking or may be looking for new homes. The rumor mill is churning at peak efficiency and this is all before we get to a very loaded 2025 WNBA draft.

A storied franchise is at the heart of all this excitement as the Los Angeles Sparks are looking to get back to their winning ways and are in a good position to do it with the #2 draft pick to go with an already talented core.

Sparks assistant general manager Eli Horowitz sat down with No Cap Space WBB to discuss all the buzz surrounding the exciting young team, the changes being made and the blueprint they’re looking to follow in order to get back to true Hollywood form and hang yet another banner from the rafters at now Crypto.com Arena.

Thanks for reading No Cap Space WBB! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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Ring in 2025 and get ready for the year ahead with some gear from Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! The new Homefield knit sweaters and bomber jackets are perfect gifts to kick off your new women’s basketball year in style.

Scroll ahead in the pod to hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction

2:49 - Examining the Kiyomi McMiller situation unfolding at Rutgers.

15:38 - Three hot takes about WNBA Free Agency (starts January 11th).

30:27 - NCAA Title Odds and how the media talks about contenders midseason.

43:45 - Unrivaled preview and who the most intriguing 3x3 player will be.

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In the meantime, enjoy a nice audio addition to the column. On Sundays, our team will be live on Youtube for what we’re calling ‘Tonight in Women’s Basketball’. It’s a working title, so it’s subject to change. But effectively it’s a wrap of the biggest games of the weekend and some true hoop analysis. That is followed up every Monday morning with this column which examines five big storylines in the past week of the sport and how those intersect with our broader culture. Then, on Tuesdays, you get ‘Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast’ that takes three topics that are currently dominating the discourse in women’s basketball.

We’ve got something for everyone and that’s just the start. The Legendarium also returns from its’ winter break this Wednesday and there’s some upcoming features we’re really excited to bring you as well. But for now, let’s get to the column…

Complete this sentence: This is the most wide open Naismith WBB Player of the Year Race since _____ …

I’d say it was 2019. Each season we’ve had, at most, a two horse race for women’s basketball’s highest honor. In fact, you could make an argument that since 2007, we’ve only had a couple of seasons where the race hasn’t been somewhat predetermined. I mean, just look at the past winners.

2024: Caitlin Clark (2nd)

2023: Caitlin Clark

2022: Aliyah Boston

2021: Paige Bueckers

2020: Sabrina Ionescu

2019: Megan Gustafson

2018: A’ja Wilson

2017: Kelsey Plum

Prior to 2017, Breanna Stewart won three straight which was preceded by Brittney Griner winning two straight, Maya Moore winning two and Candace Parker as well as Tina Charles winning one. In short, there was a best player and we knew pretty early on who that would be. In 2018 and 2020, Wilson and Ionescu led the pack pretty much wire-to-wire. 2021-2024 was mostly two person races.

But this year? It feels a lot like 2019, in which you had Gustafson, Ionescu, Arike Ogunbowale and Asia (now AD) Durr named as finalists. Any one of them could have taken the award home that year and it feels like the field might be even deeper in 2025.

There’s NCAA leading scorer Ta’Niya Latson, who has scored less than 20 points in a game once this year and that came when she left after 11 minutes with an injury. She’s scored over 30 points six times through 15 games. Behind her on the list is Hannah Hidalgo, who has systematically ripped the soul out of damn near every top 25 team the Irish have played this year. Then there are stat stuffing superstars like LSU’s Aneesah Morrow (18.1 PPG, 14 RPG) and Vanderbilt’s Khamil Pierre (22.8 PPG, 10.9 PPG). Harvard senior Harmoni Turner is lighting the world on fire in the Ivy League. And that’s before we get to JuJu Watkins, the prohibitive favorite coming into this year. Or maybe Lauren Betts, the best player on the best team in America with the stats to match (19.8 PPG, 10 RPG). Paige Bueckers? Raegan Beers? The list is quite literally 10 deep.

The hardest challenge this year might not be in picking a Naismith winner but in picking finalists. It’s indicative of talent dispersal via NIL and the transfer portal (a net good for the game) but also how deep the pool of talent is getting in the sport, a result of the last decade of increased investment in women’s basketball at all levels. In short, the college game has never been in a better place than it is now and I can’t recall a more open race for the top player in America. That, in itself, is worthy of celebration.

Olivia Miles has made the leap and it suddenly makes the WNBA Draft very interesting…

Guys, it’s time to talk about Olivia Miles. The knock on the senior point guards’ game for years was whether or not she had the goods against top end competition. Even for the most ardent Miles stan, it was hard to defend when you looked at the numbers. In games vs. Top 25 opponents in 2022-2023, Miles was regularly under 15 points with low to mid efficiency shooting nights and hunted a bit defensively. The advanced analytics didn’t necessarily support the idea of her as a potential star at the next level.

What a difference a year makes.

In what is the greatest three point shooting glow up since Jackie Young magically came alive in Las Vegas, Miles has completely transformed herself from a near career 25% three point shooter to ripping off a ridiculous 48% clip 14 games into the season. With enough games for an effective sample, it appears that the range and deep ball efficacy is here to stay. What stood out to me in the Irish’s win over No. 17 North Carolina Sunday was the method in which she got her shots. These weren’t pick and pops or spot up threes. She was creating space off the dribble and hitting stepbacks with Lexi Donarski (a solid defender at this level) waving a hand in her face. It didn’t matter. Miles is playing with a confidence we haven’t seen her play with before.

And it opens up the question: does Curt Miller at least consider her at number one?

I know what you’re thinking.

“What a stupid hot take, Andrew. I come here for nuance not nonsense!”

But hear me out. Maybe I am truly nuts but I see shades of Arike Ogunbowale in Hannah Hidalgo. The pairing of Miles and the latter aforementioned ND superstar has paid dividends beyond belief. If you can get this kind of production out of Miles and make it work with a high energy, somewhat ball dominant guard, who is to say you can’t at the next level with arguably an upgraded version? The way she hits the lane and almost picks her passes in slow motion feels very Chelsea Gray-esque and I feel like the more I watch Miles play, the more that feels like the comp. Everything about Olivia’s game has improved and, had she not had an injury last year, I’d say it’s worth an even closer look given Paige Bueckers’ history with being sidelined herself. That’s not to neg Paige by any means. Instead, Miles is playing so well — and against top competition at that — that it’s worth warranting a bit more litigation at the top pick. Obviously there’s motion and marketing to consider but I’ll leave you with this: Miles is a fantastic personality, great with the media (check out our Luxury Tax episode with her to see firsthand) and already has something that can be branded and packaged. After all, who doesn’t love the goggles!?

Players have arrived in Miami for Unrivaled. What is the most exciting thing to watch for?

The players are in town, the jerseys have been unveiled and it’s time to get prepared for the inaugural season of Unrivaled. I personally can’t wait to see what’s in store. We’ve written pretty exhaustively about how the league’s business savvy is worth emulating if you’re a person working in the WNBA offices. The 3x3 league unveiled Sephora as the league’s official and exclusive beauty partner, also outfitting the league’s glam room. Opill, which is an over-the-counter contraceptive, will also be a league partner.

What I love about these additions is that they are exactly the kind of partnerships longtime WNBA fans have been clamoring for. Essentially, go find the brands that are utilized by your players, that they’ll be passionate about pushing and it will make for a seamless collaboration. Unrivaled seems to understand on a grass roots level what the fanbases are asking for and how to leverage that into marketing dollars. There’s something to be said about the comparative youth of the league’s executive management relative to the W’s and it’s being put on full display. If Unrivaled is a success in year one, I’d be throwing bags from the big orange to entice c-suiters in Miami to come to New York.

The games themselves are also going to be a lot of fun. The thing we’re going to explore in Ball Up Top and what I’m most curious about is what players games’ translate best to 3x3 and who might take a second to get acclimated. Ironically, the best player in this format isn’t going to be playing (Kelsey Plum) but I think there are others with 3x3 international experience like Dearica Hamby and Azura Stevens that are going to surprise some people with how dominant they can be. With an emphasis on player development, I’m also curious how that shows up on the court over the course of the protracted season. Will we see Angel Reese, for instance, work on her mid range jumper since the format is more conducive to trying it? The win for Unrivaled is it feels interesting on a number of levels. When you’re just trying to break into an already crowded American sports landscape, that’s a win before you even tip off the first game.

WNBA Free Agency “begins” on Saturday…

WNBA Free Agency starts on February 1st if you consider the starting point when players can officially sign contracts and offer sheets. But realistically, it begins on Saturday, the 11th. From that day until January 20th, teams can make qualifying offers and core certain players that they want to exclusively negotiate with. Expect players like Kelsey Mitchell of the Indiana Fever to get cored and set the stage for what free agency will look like moving forward.

The craziness will come with who doesn’t get cored, who wants to maximize a one year deal before the next collective bargaining agreement is signed and what qualifying offers are made. While I don’t expect top end players like Brittney Griner, Breanna Stewart or Kelsey Plum to change teams even for a season, I think the middle ground of the W is going to change substantially. Arguably the most interesting thing to watch in that nine day span is what the Connecticut Sun will do. They’ve got a really great young core in place and two aging superstars who, I would argue, have topped out in terms of their contributions. That’s not to say Alyssa Thomas and Dewanna Bonner can’t still lead a playoff contender but I think the championship window might be closed on them at this stage of their careers. Does Connecticut run it back for one more season or do they allow the duo to go to open market? My hot take is that depending on how competitive Golden State wants to be out of the gate, they could be an interesting fit for both to jumpstart a new franchise.

There’s also a good chunk of ‘reserved’ players — those who have less than three years of service and thus would negotiate exclusively with their previous team if given a qualifying offer — that can be legit pieces to any team. Veronica Burton, Emily Engstler, Natasha Mack and Li Yueru are on this list, for instance.

With interest in the W at an all-time high, expect plenty of discussion over the course of the next month. It’s gonna be a doozy.

The System vs. The Player: Where the column stands on the Dawn Staley - Milaysia Fulwiley discourse.

So I’ve started to see this discourse pop up since the UCLA vs. South Carolina game online and, admittedly, I’ve contributed to it a bit myself. Those that have watched South Carolina this year have been expecting Milaysia Fulwiley to fully break out and assert herself as a player on the level of a Hannah Hidalgo or JuJu Watkins. After all, she really is the third figure in that high powered recruiting class. But, unlike the previous two, Fulwiley has been mainly playing a bench role for South Carolina, having some good games and some quiet games here and there. In spite of that, the Gamecocks are back to being the war machine that they’ve been the past four-plus years and will likely be right back in the national title conversation.

So who is right here?

It turns out, everyone and no one. Because when it comes to South Carolina, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The system vs. the star is quietly one of the major schisms in sports fandom that divide a lot of our values and viewpoints.

Do I personally want to see Fulwiley unleashed? Where she may play you out of certain possessions because of lax defense or a turnover but can make you double take with an insanely acrobatic finish at the rim or a dime to set up a three on the perimeter? Absolutely. To me, Fulwiley is one of the most exciting players in women’s college basketball so of course I, the consumer without a vested rooting interest in South Carolina’s success, want to see that. But just because that’s what I want doesn’t mean that it’s best for the team.

Dawn Staley’s job is to win games and develop her players into future pros. She isn’t here to market kids and make the motion. Could she do that? Sure. But the system is what wins at South Carolina. Everyone eats, minutes go to the hot hands and those that commit to the system and to winning are rewarded. Fulwiley, for her part, is a hardworking player with her own agency. A lot of women’s basketball fans want her to transfer because they want to see her cook but it’s pretty clear that Milaysia wants to stay at SC, learn under Staley and be a better version of herself as a player. Folks trying to force a transfer (partly because they don’t like South Carolina too) are going to be disappointed because she isn’t going anywhere.

The trick of this dance is that South Carolina fans also have to understand that player motion and system is an either/or proposition in today’s world. Criticism of ‘Dawn Staley is the star of the program’ is kind of b******t considering we never levied that same critique on Roy Williams or Bill Self, who are multi time national champions that don’t have a ton of bonafide NBA or NCAA superstars to point to. I mean, Tyler Hansborough is one of the most accomplished players in UNC history. Systems exist and in those systems, coaches fit players into it and they win a ton of games. Staley isn’t unique in that way and frankly doesn’t warrant the criticism for doing what successful coaches have been doing for decades.

But within that, fans need to understand that it does mean the potential for diminished publicity for their players. Caitlin Clark or JuJu Watkins is the system. Hannah Hidalgo is allowed to play through her mistakes. That may not mean a championship ring in April but it does mean some more column inches or talk show minutes. If you have a system like this that values the whole, it means you’re going to win but potentially at the cost of superstardom. Sometimes it feels that the only thing acceptable for some in the Gamecock fanbase is to have *everything*. When you’ve seen UConn recei

A special end of year Ball Up Top is here! As you get ready to pop some champagne, hit the club or just hang at home and relax, we got you covered with the best moments in women’s basketball this 2024 season, a New Years resolution for the sport and one hot take for 2025.

Ring in 2025 and get ready for the year ahead with some gear from Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! The new Homefield knit sweaters and bomber jackets are perfect gifts to kick off your new women’s basketball year in style.

Scroll ahead to hear on the pod…

0:00 - Show Introduction.

2:58 - Best Moments of 2024.

23:35 - Women’s Basketball New Years Resolutions for 2025.

40:40 - One Hot Take Prediction for 2025.

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News was dropping all over the place on Monday with the Dallas Wings and Washington Mystics filling their head coaching vacancies and Unrivaled completing their roster with Sabrina Ionescu. With some of these moves and trends shifting the landscape of women’s basketball, Tyler, Chauny, and Greer dove in with their thoughts on this week’s Ball Up Top.

The holiday season is here and there’s no better present than some gear from Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! The new Homefield knit sweaters are a perfect winter gift for the college ball-knower in your life…

0:00 Intro

0:52 Dallas Wings coaching hire and the trends of this WNBA Coaching Carousel

19:54 Sabrina is Unrivaled

28:58 Are guards the future of women’s basketball?

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Editor’s Note: This episode was recorded before Florida State’s December 19th win over Jacksonville. Latson rolled her ankle in that game but head coach Brooke Wyckoff told the media that her star guard will get some time to rest before ACC play starts. Wishing her a speedy recovery!

Tap in to hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction

0:52 - Ta’Niya’s summer offseason work and her mindset around scoring.

5:47 - Being invited to Kelsey Plum’s ‘Dawg Camp’ and what she learned there.

9:46 - Dream NIL deal ideas and Ta’Niya’s love for legos and its’ influence on her game.

13:41 - Her upbringing and how being a military kid made her a better basketball player.

18:00 - How to leave a legacy at Florida State and Latson’s status as a standard bearer for Florida high school girls basketball players.

You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you get your pods. All of our Luxury Tax episodes are also in video format on YouTube along with our post-games and video essays. Subscribe to be get notifications of live shows and updates on new content when it comes out. And follow along with us on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok!

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On this episode you’ll hear…

3:30 - Summer of preperationand USA Basketball

11:30 - Harmoni’s charity foundation

16:30 - Why Harvard and why stick with them the whole way as other schools approached?

25:40 - What has made start to this season so special and WNBA aspirations

You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you get your pods. All of our Luxury Tax episodes are also in video format on YouTube along with our post-games and video essays. Subscribe to be get notifications of live shows and updates on new content when it comes out. And follow along with us on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok!

The holiday season is here and there’s no better present than some gear from Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! The new Homefield knit sweaters are a perfect winter gift for the college ball-knower in your life…

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After a big week of NCAA women’s basketball agendas, Chauny, Greer and Tyler are in the booth with another episode of Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast. The three topics this week touch on a couple of different subjects across the sport. Chauny opens the show with an ISO of her own, putting a cap on the Caitlin Clark TIME Athlete of the Year discussion while expanding on Andrew’s points in Five Out. Afterward, the trio discuss who the top three contenders are for the NCAA Player of the Year as we prepare to turn the page into 2025. The show wraps with a conversation about the teams in the NCAA Top 25 and who is worth buying and selling.

Skip ahead to hear…

…an ad! The holiday season is here and there’s no better present than some gear from Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! The new Homefield knit sweaters are a perfect winter gift for the college ball-knower in your life…

Now onto the show…

0:00 - Show Introduction and a special thanks from the No Cap Space WBB crew.

6:25 - A Chauny ISO and the TIME Athlete of the Year discussion…

24:00 - Who are the top three contenders for NCAA National Player of the Year?

37:30 - Buy or Sell: NCAA WBB Top 25 Week 7.

And now…a special ISO from Chauny…

Another week, another news cycle filled with unproductive dialogue surrounding Caitlin Clark.

The rookie phenom made headlines after being named Time’s Athlete of the Year and gave the quotes that many had been asking for throughout the season to quell any rumors about whether or not she was ok being an extreme right-wing avatar. This led to a bizarre response from Washington Mystics co-owner Sheila Johnson in which she asked “why couldn’t the entire WNBA been put on the cover and said ‘the WNBA is the league of the year’?”

Ok.

My immediate reaction to the soundbite was why? Why are we taking this moment to make this argument again, why? Especially when she acknowledged how race and privilege play a part in media coverage, a la Paige Bueckers at the ESPYs. What was supposed to be accomplished with this very public interview that once again put a damper on the achievement of one of the most popular representatives of the league? A player that six of the 12 GMs voted in poll this past April saying they would take in a heartbeat if they were starting a franchise. How do you think this particular strategy will get the legends the flowers they deserve? I've said this before on Twitter that our black legends deserve so much more than to be trotted out every time Caitlin accomplishes something in an attempt to browbeat new fans into caring about them.

It especially irks my last good nerve when the league itself has done literally nothing to tell its own story when given the chance, but a 22-year-old is expected to carry the league history around in her Prada bag and pull it out any and every time she receives any type of recognition.

We are about four years removed from the WNBA’s 25th season that took place in 2021 and let me tell you something America, the league give an absolute piss poor effort to commemorate that milestone. There was no tribute to fallen franchises, specifically the iconic Houston Comets, there were no games featured on ESPN Classic (instead me and the Bonnet Gang crew were trying to watch old games Youtube with Twitter friends via spaces and it was pretty much a disaster). Reader, we were in the trenches.

Fast forward to today and we still have to rely on a sort of digital oral history via old fans online to keep narratives straight, highlight different players, and disperse the lore of the league because the WNBA still won’t invest in storytelling and capitalize off this moment by really showing new fans why they should love the game as a whole instead of just chastising them for not doing the leg work before they came in.

Case in point, our own Andrew Haubner just wrote another banger for The Legendarium on Pearl Moore and really dug into what made her run so special. While we here at No Cap Space will always answer the call to do the work to cover the game, it would be nice if the entity with significantly more resources and connections could make more of an effort to do the same as well.

It is my prayer that the league makes the decision to be a protector of its own brand next year as we all will get a season of peace because let’s be honest, Paige ain’t got the motion to cause all this fuss. Apologies, that hate slipped out before I could stop it. But in all seriousness, we had a season of growing pains, now grow up and get in the booth!

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This week, it’s Andrew, Greer and Tyler. After a busy WNBA week capped off by the Golden State Valkyries expansion draft, the crew looks into what the free agent market might be moving forward. Andrew argues that the W’s newest franchise holds all the cards while Greer and Tyler discuss some of the most intriguing possibilities to join up in the Bay Area.

Afterwards, the three discuss the NCAA tiers list from this week’s Five Out column. Each brings a different team from the list and places them where they think it’s best. Plus, a special spotlight on one team in particular: the Tennessee Lady Volunteers. Is Kim Caldwell bringing the swagger back to Rocky Top? It’s all in this week’s pod, available wherever you get them!

Skip ahead to hear…

0:00 - Show Introduction

1:58 - Will Golden State go star hunting in free agency or build organically after their expansion draft?

23:10 - Is Tennessee back? Or at least moving in that direction?

30:45 - NCAA Tiers

You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you get your pods. All of our Luxury Tax episodes are also in video format on YouTube along with our post-games and video essays. Subscribe to be get notifications of live shows and updates on new content when it comes out. And follow along with us on X, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok!

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This week it is Tyler, Chauny, and Greer on deck following a full week of Thanksgiving Hoops chaos. Do the rankings reflect where teams should be? Who is currently in the lead for the National Player of the Year? Plus a dive into the WNBA schedule release and the upcoming Golden State Valkyries expansion draft.

You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you get your pods. All of our Luxury Tax episodes are also in video format on YouTube along with our post-games and video essays. Subscribe to be get notifications of live shows and updates on new content when it comes out. And follow along with us on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok!

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If you want to skip ahead to specific topics…you can check out the time codes.

0:00 - Show Intro and

3:00 - Who is the number one team in NCAA women’s basketball right now?

16:35 - The questions surrounding USC and South Carolina.

35:45 - Is the analytics movement coming for the WNBA?

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Andrew and Tyler bat lead off in the inaugural show. Here are the time codes for you to hear each topic…

0:00 - Show Introduction.

2:45 - The latest on the Seattle Storm EEOC complaint, reporting of schism within locker room and between players, coaching staff.

18:00 - WNBA Draft Lottery Results and why Paige Bueckers could actually work in Dallas.

32:56 - Hailey Van Lith and TCU’s resurgence and why the two portal winners — Oregon and Auburn — will be a Game of the Week contender.

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Tyler and Chauny will be in the building for both #9 North Carolina State vs #1 South Carolina and Virginia Tech vs Iowa so be on the lookout for boots on the ground coverage!

You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you get your pods. All of our Luxury Tax episodes are also in video format on YouTube along with our post-games and video essays. Subscribe to be get notifications of live shows and updates on new content when it comes out. And follow along with us on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok!

The college season is here! Watch in style with Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here!

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The college season is here! Watch in style with Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here!

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2023-2024 Record & Results: 38-0 (16-0 SEC) NCAA National Champions

Who graduated:

Kamilla Cardoso: 14.4 PPG, 9.2 REB, 2.0, AST

Who transferred out:

That doesn't happen at South Carolina. Just kidding, nobody this year.

Who transferred in:

Maryam Dauda, forward: 10.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.2 APG, Past School

Who is coming back:

Te-Hina Paopao: 11.0 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 3.7 APG

Raven Johnson: 8.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 4.8 APG

Milaysia Fulwiley: 11.7 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.2 APG

Sania Feagin: 6.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.0 APG

Ashlyn Watkins: 9.2 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.1 APG

Tessa Johnson: 6.6 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 1.1 APG

Bree Hall: 9.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.5 APG

Chloe Kitts: 9.1 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.4 APG

Sakima Walker: 2.0 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 0.1 APG

Adhel Tac: DNP-injured

The Players You Know:

The defending champs bring back pretty much the entire roster so all names are probably familiar but a few stood out on the well oiled machine that is USC.

It was the clip viewed round the world, literally, as Milaysia Fulwiley dazzled the crowd with a nifty layup during the Gamecocks’ season opener in Paris. The world was put on notice then and made sure her name was one to remember.

Tessa Johnson stepped up as a freshman in key moments during the NCAA Tournament and showed the future is bright for USC.

Raven Johnson capped the revenge tour off with impressive defense against the insanely talented Caitlin Clark and gave Gamecock faithful one of the most memorable highlights in program history.

The Players You Need to Watch:

Freshman forward Joyce Edwards is here and Joyce Edwards is her. I've had the privilege of watching her in a few local highschool tournaments and the motor matches the talent. She was involved in every play on both ends of floor and that has continued during her preseason debut as a Gamecock.

Forward Maryam Dauda is a familiar name having played against the Gamecocks while at Arkansas and her skill set coupled with her energy caught the eye of Dawn Staley, who praised her specifically in a press conference last year. Look for her to give the Gamecocks even more versatility in the frontcourt.

Season Expectations:

Last year the young Gamecocks were a literal question mark and they managed to go undefeated and win a national championship. This year the expectations are somehow higher. USC retooled and the dominance honestly should continue and end with another title. The big names on the roster have even more experience and the new kids on the block have the hunger necessary to help make it happen.

Games You Can’t Miss:

vs. UConn, Feb 16: Old money versus New Money with New Money trying to balance the scales. The title count is still heavily in UConn's favor, but the Gamecocks have blown out the Huskies several times over the last few years both in regular season and in title games. At this point, UConn has something to prove.

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2023-2024 Record & Results: 29-6 (13-5 Pac-12) NCAA Elite Eight

Who graduated:

McKenzie Forbes: 14.3 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 3.3 APG

Kayla Padilla: 7.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 2.6 APG

Kaitlyn Davis: 6.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.7 APG

India Otto: 1.1 PPG

Who transferred out:

Taylor Bigby: 4.8 PPG, 1.5 RPG, transferred to TCU

Kayla Williams: 2.5 PPG, 1.3 RPG, transferred to Cal

Roxane Makolo: 0.9 PPG, 1.4 RPG, transferred to Georgia

Who transferred in:

Kiki Iriafen: 19.4 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 2.3 APG, transferred from Stanford

Talia von Oelhoffen: 10.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 5.0 APG, transferred from Oregon State

Who is coming back:

JuJu Watkins: 27.1 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 3.3 APG, 2.3 SPG, 1.6 BPG

Rayah Marshall: 10.2 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 2.0 BPG

Clarice Akunwafo: 2.1 PPG, 3.0 RPG

Dominique Darius: 2.1 PPG, 3.0 RPG

Malia Samels: 1.5 PPG, 1.1 RPG

Aaliyah Gayles: 1.1 PPG, 0.9 RPG

The Players You Know:

JuJu Watkins. Enough said.

Kidding aside, the Women of Troy will run through their sophomore guard. Watkins is a superstar already and is going to command the attention of every defense that plays USC. But what head coach Lindsay Gottlieb has managed to do is retain much of the talent around her while augmenting the starting five with portal stars. Rayah Marshall was, and still is, the unsung hero of this team and does so much work defensively and on the boards. Now you add Kiki Iriafen, a versatile defender with a consistently expanding offensive game at three levels and you have a clear upgrade from their frontcourt last season. Talia von Oelhoffen joins and is a sneaky good addition. The Oregon State system is very structured in its roles and those that have followed TVO since high school know that she is a scorer that can play in a more free flowing offense like USC’s. I’m interested to see the degree to which she breaks out. That four are an amazing core to begin with.

The Players You Need to Watch:

Unmentioned within our primer are all the recruits that are coming to USC. In a way, this is a team that is built to win titles in a year or two after another year with Watkins as the centerpiece. The portal additions say ‘win now’ but then you look at everyone coming to win tomorrow too. 6’3 freshman Vivian Iwuchukwu will get great experience learning behind Iriafen while the guards all bring major pedigrees. Kennedy Smith is the reigning California Gatorade Player of the Year and Rian Forestier averaged 25.8 points and 13.9 rebounds per game at a 6A high school in Texas. Then you add Avery Howell, an alternate for the 2024 Canadian Olympic team and Kayleigh Heckel, who won gold with Team USA at the U18 FIBA Americup and you have a deep bench behind TVO, Malia Samuels and Watkins. It may take some time for them all to gel together but it gives Coach Gottlieb plenty to work with especially after a year in which South Carolina proved that the key to a modern champion is rotational flexibility and talent in every seat on the baseline.

Season Expectations:

Title or bust for USC, in my opinion. I wouldn’t necessarily call them a favorite because the other SC exists and UConn is bringing back a team that bounced the Women of Troy in the 2023 Elite Eight. But the goal is clear: give JuJu options to ease her burden on offense and let her cook. I’m very interested to see which freshmen step up and how the front court rotation shakes out with Iwuchukwu, Lauren Williams, Rayah Marshall, Clarice Akunwafo and Kiki Iriafen. The fact that I can name five potential impact players — two of which are already stars in Iriafen and Marshall — is a testament to the roster construction. The engine is Watkins but there is more here than there was last season. I’d be stunned if a team got them out before the Final Four. After that, we just might be treated to some of the most anticipated basketball games of the season.

Games You Can’t Miss:

vs. No. 20 Ole Miss, Nov. 4 12:00 pm ET — The opener and against a team that hangs its’ hat on stifling defense. A great early season test.

vs. Notre Dame, Nov. 23 4:00 pm ET — A potential Final Four preview and one of the best guard battles all year. TVO - JuJu vs. Hidalgo - Miles? Yes please!

vs. UConn Dec. 21 8:00 pm ET — A rematch of last years’ Elite Eight. Paige vs. JuJu. Need I say more?

vs. UCLA Feb. 13 10:00 pm ET — The Battle of Los Angeles, Part 1. The frontcourt fight here will be the best part of this one. Kiki Iriafen vs. Janiah Barker.

vs. UCLA Mar. 1 9:00 pm ET — Battle of L.A. Part 2. Might be for a Big Ten regular season title depending on how it all shakes out.

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2023-2024 Record & Result: 33-5 (14-4 Big 12) NCAA Elite 8

Who graduated:

Shaylee Gonzales: 9.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.7 APG

Who transferred out:

Deyona Gaston: 8.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 0.4 APG, Transferred to Auburn

Amina Muhammed: 6.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 0.9 APG, Transferred to Oregon

Khadijah Faye: 5.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 0.2 APG, Transferred to Pittsburgh

Gisella Maul: 2.3 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 0.5 APG, Transferred to Cal

Who transferred in:

Laila Phelia: 16.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.0 APG, Transferred from Michigan

Kyla Oldacare: 5 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 0.5 APG, Transferred from Miami

Who is coming back:

Madison Booker: 16.5 PPG, 5 RPG, 5 APG

Rori Harmon: 14.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 7.8 APG, 3.1 SPG

Taylor Jones: 12.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 0.3 APG

Shay Holle: 7.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2 APG

The Players You Know:

Texas rosters a spoil of riches. Three players in Rori Harmon, Madison Booker, and Laila Phelia, have all led teams to success while also racking up individual accolades. Now they all come together on one team with incredible pieces surrounding them to fill the gap. 

Harmon is returning from a torn ACL but when healthy is one of the best two-way players in the entire nation. From the moment she stepped on campus in Austin she was given the keys to this team. Now, entering what could be her final season in burnt orange, there is a sense of build that has now happened where this feels like it could be THE year for Texas.

In Harmon’s absence, Booker introduced herself to the nation. The 6’1” forward took over the point guard responsibilities after Harmon’s absence and grew her game by the day. There is an argument to be made that her midrange jumper is the most unstoppable shot in the entire nation.

Phelia is the new face but brings a resume of her own from Michigan. Named to the All-Big Ten first team, she now enters a new role as an option rather than being the system. Fully expect Phelia to thrive as yet another great two-way player on this team. (For more on Phelia’s transfer, check out our interview with her from this Summer here!)

The Players You Need to Watch:

If I could make a postseason award, I would make the National Player that Does the Things Nobody Else Wants to Do Award. The name is still being workshopped. The point still stands however and Shay Holle would be a contender.

Holle truly does whatever the Longhorns need. Oftentimes it is her defensive prowess, which earned her a spot on the Big 12 All-Defensive Team, highlighted by her five steal effort against Baylor last year. Getting a chance to see her play up close at the Big 12 Tournament last year was so incredibly revealing to just how disruptive she is.

Another one of the “others” on this team, but a player who certainly can earn some national recognition, is Aaliyah Moore. Moore was making her way back from a major injury in the prior season and by the end of the year had found her stride. In the Longhorn’s final eight games, Moore made her way into double-figures scoring, three of those being double-doubles. Texas has starting quality size between Moore and Taylor Jones and even more size in their depth. Don’t be surprised to see Moore shine now that she has been back and healthy for an extended period.

Season Expectations:

There are no expectations too high for the Longhorns this season. At times in the buildup to this college season it has felt that the focus has stayed on the blockbuster teams of USC, UConn, and South Carolina, and don’t get me wrong they have earned it in various ways. But Texas is right there with them. It will be a new challenge this year as the team enters the SEC, and they go in ranked #2 in the conference from the preseason SEC polls, but they will be facing a much tougher schedule compared to the Big 12.

The good thing is that I trust defense. And Texas might end up being the best defense in the nation. I also trust the growth of Madison Booker, who absolutely shined as a freshman and now has some incredible reinforcements headed her way. 

It is a high standard, but anything below a Final Four will feel like a disappointment. Defense wins championships right? Texas has a defense. Need a star for the big moments? Texas has several. It will be on them to live up to the bar they have set with the talent on this roster, but I fully believe in them being able to reach it.

Games You Can’t Miss:

vs. #1 South Carolina, 1/12 (away), 2/9 (home) : We might end up getting a game three of this series in Tampa.

vs #7 LSU, 2/16: Vic Schaefer vs Kim Mulkey with a whole bunch of talent on the court? Yes please. 

Vs #10 Oklahoma, 1/2: High ranked rivalry game and revenge from Big 12 regular season sweep last year.

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You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you get your pods. All of our Luxury Tax episodes are also in video format on YouTube along with our post-games and video essays. Subscribe to be get notifications of live shows and updates on new content when it comes out. And follow along with us on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok!

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Don’t get me wrong, you SHOULD be excited when your team lands that five star recruit, but let’s go beyond the ranking and find out more, this time with 2025 five star recruit and Oklahoma’s Gatorade Player of the Year Keeley Parks.

"Relief”. That was the word Parks used to describe how she is feeling now that her recruitment process is winding down, just one visit remains with Kansas.

September was about as packed as it gets for a recruit. The Parks family was traveling around the country, hosting home visits, and attending events like the Wootten Camp in Las Vegas, on what felt like more days than not over the course of the month.

It takes a toll on these major recruits, including missing out on major events in their lives.

“I’ve been gone every single weekend of September for visits.” said Parks. “It’s been a lot, but I’m also super thankful because a lot of people don’t get the opportunity to do it. But I have missed out on Homecoming, football games, all that.”

There is a very difficult to balance for recruits on the verge of making a life changing decision. Parks and her family have been intentional in finding that balance.

“I think I’ve had a good schedule of calls and stuff because a lot of schools want to talk like right after the visit.” said Parks. “I kind of just take a moment and be like I can’t do it today and just more like reflect on the visit”.

One thing Keeley won’t miss out on however, is getting her nails done. Like never. Every three weeks to be exact. Usually pink and white, yet to be determined if we will see a shift in the color choice to team colors down the road.

The other thing that is always for certain for Keeley is you won’t catch any of her Norman High teammates on aux. That is all her.

Naturally, we had to find out what is on the playlist. Parks loves NBA Youngboy and the other artist admittedly caught me a big off guard.

Keeley: And I love Rod Wave, even though his music’s kind of chill.

Tyler: You get kinda sad listening to Rod Wave before the game, don’t you?

Keeley: No, no, no. I don’t think so. Every time I listen to Rod Wave, I play great.

Well future school, you know what you need to put in the pregame playlist.

Now that we have gotten to know Parks a bit better, let’s dive into those potential future schools.

Parks announced her six finalists: UCLA, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Baylor, UNC, and her home team Oklahoma.

When asked about the potential of representing her hometown program, Parks described it as being both “cute” and “cool”, along with acknowledging the unique aspect of having her support system so close.

Parks has crafted herself into an incredibly multifaceted player that has the feel of being able to fit into any system, mainly because she is actively playing in several different roles across high school and Summer play.

“For high school, I’m always on the ball.” said Parks. “In AAU, it’s nice to be around other elite players because I can go off the ball and go on the ball too. And they make plays for a lot easier than high school”.

As her decision nears, Parks’ values in that decision have become increasingly clear.

* “I really want to have a good culture and teams with good culture usually win”

* “Immediate impact. I want to go somewhere where I’ll play right away and try to win a championship.”

* “Player development, like after basketball or even going to the WNBA”

So what is a prospective fan getting if Parks commits to their school? For starters, are getting something deeper than just an elite basketball player. You’re getting a person who loves to do TikTok dances and will be looking to earn her way to the locker room aux. You’re getting a player who deems her ability to lead by example her most underrated skill.

It goes beyond the ranking.

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Tyler and Andrew sit down and run through everything that happened in another banger of a matchup between New York and Minnesota. Among the topics discussed…

* Andrew gets his own victory lap.

* How the Liberty fought back from a first quarter hole on the road.

* Breanna Stewart reminds the world she’s a Tier 1 player.

* The impact of Alanna Smith’s injury for Minnesota.

* The Lynx’s offensive stagnancy late in the game.

* What happens heading into Game 4.

You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you get your pods. All of our live show episodes are also in video format on YouTube along with our post-games and video essays. Subscribe to be get notifications of live shows and updates on new content when it comes out. And follow along with us on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok!

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The Minnesota Lynx came back from not but two double-digit deficits in regulation to force overtime, beating the Liberty 95-93.

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The in-depth rules for the draft can be found here, but generalizing, each team can protect six players. The Golden State Valkyries will have the option to select one player from the remaining rostered players.

Another big aspect, as explained by Richard Cohen of Her Hoops Stats, is that players that who have been cored twice can not be selected in the Expansion Draft.

As we went through the entire WNBA, we gave vibe checks of who teams might want to keep and who they might want to let go.

Los Angeles Sparks

Likely protected players: Cameron Brink, Rickea Jackson, Dearica Hamby, Azura Stevens, Rae Burrell, Lexie Brown/Zia Cooke

Potential Valkyries pick: Zia Cooke/Kia Nurse

Dallas Wings

Likely protected players: Arike Ogunbowale, Satou Sabally, Jacy Sheldon, Maddie Siegrist, Teaira McCowan, Jaelyn Brown

Potential Valkyries pick: Kalani Brown

Washington Mystics

Likely protected players: Aaliyah Edwards, Shakira Austin, Brittney Sykes, Stefanie Dolson, Ariel Atkins, Jade Melbourne

Potential Valkyries pick: Emily Engstler

Chicago Sky

Likely protected players: Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso, Chennedy Carter, Rachel Banham, Diamond DeShields, Elizabeth Williams

Potential Valkyries pick: Isabelle Harrison

Atlanta Dream

Likely protected players: Jordin Canada, Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard, Aerial Powers, Naz Hillmon, Cheyenne Parker-Tyus/Haley Jones

Potential Valkyries pick: Cheyenne Parker-Tyus/Haley Jones/Laeticia Amihere

Phoenix Mercury

Likely protected players: Diana Taurasi (if this isn’t it), Natasha Cloud, Sophie Cunningham, Rebecca Allen, Natasha Mack, Celeste Taylor

Potential Valkyries pick: Kiki Herbert Harrigan

Indiana Fever

Likely protected players: Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, Lexie Hull, Damiris Dantas, Temi Fagbenle/NaLyssa Smith (hold for trade)

Potential Valkyries pick: NaLyssa Smith/Grace Berger

Seattle Storm

Likely protected players: Ezi Magbegor, Jordan Horston, Gabby Williams, Nika Muhl, Mercedes Russell, Sami Whitcomb

Potential Valkyries pick: No pick due to UFA clause

Las Vegas Aces

Likely protected players: A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, Megan Gustafson, Kate Martin

Potential Valkyries pick: Kate Martin (if not protected)

Connecticut Sun

Likely protected players: Alyssa Thomas, Marina Mabrey, Ty Harris, DiJonai Carrington, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Veronica Burton

Potential Valkyries pick: Caitlin Bickle

Minnesota Lynx

Likely protected players: Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride, Courtney Williams, Alanna Smith, Bridget Carleton, Myisha Hines-Allen

Potential Valkyries pick: Diamond Miller/Alissa Pili

New York Liberty

Likely protected players: Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Courtney Vandersloot, Leonie Fiebich, Nyara Sabally

Potential Valkyries pick: Kayla Thornton

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Paye joined No Cap Space’s Tyler DeLuca, Greer Engonga, and Andrew Haubner to discuss that transition, joining the ACC, meeting Tara VanDerveer at 11 years old, and more!

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No Cap Space’s Greer Engonga and Tyler DeLuca got the chance to talk with Olivia Miles about her journey to returning to the court, the mindset that the Fighting Irish currently possess, and so much more.

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Now she returns to Atlanta looking to win another championship at Overtime Select as she captains her team the All-Knighters. We talk about both of those competitions plus her recruitment journey in Davidson’s interview with No Cap Space’s Tyler DeLuca and Andrew Haubner.

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No Cap Space’s Tyler DeLuca sat down with Beers in person to discuss all of that and more.

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From a young age the 25th ranked player in the 2025 class knew she wanted to be a Husky and spoke with No Cap Space about her commitment, her growth as a player, and how Overtime Select is aiding that growth.

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Tyler DeLuca, No Cap Space WBB

What's up everyone? Welcome back to the No Cap Space here in Atlanta, Georgia, at Overtime Select, Tyler Greer boots on the ground. We have a very special guest. Khalis Fisher is here in the building. I mean, thank you, first off, for joining us here. We're very excited to get the chance to talk to you. I mean, what has this experience been like? Just to start off, because we've talked with Mia Paulo now GG (Banks), we've just been so impressed. It's our first time being here at Overtime, we've been so impressed by the whole setup here, and like, all the pro facilities and everything going on, what has been like? What is the thing that's impressed you most from your Overtime experience so far, and what do you feel like has been your biggest takeaway?

Kelis Fisher

I would say, you know, the competition. Everybody here is great. You know, everybody going big places here, and it was, it's really fun to be down here and play a couple people with other players on the floor while fans come and watching it after the game. People want to take pictures. So it's like, dang, like, I'm actually here in this big event for everybody to get an opportunity to be here. And it's everybody first time for, like, the girls that actually compete in these events.

Greer Engonga, No Cap Space WBB

So you're representing ISO world, right? And championship weekend, um, you guys had a massive comeback against the All Knighters. And so you guys are going to be here for championship weekend. Can you talk about, the makeup of your team, because to come back against that team, the way that you did was very impressive. What was the message of the fourth quarter, right, to get yourselves back on track?

Kelis Fisher

Oh, we was like, our message, we was like, we gonna win, because we don't want to be here 10 o'clock at night, doing a bubble breaker, competing in another game back to back. So our plan, our mentality, was a goal. We gonna win. It's gonna be one and done, and we're gonna go on to the championship and we're gonna win it like, we just want to win. We didn't want to play two, three games, we already have each other. Y'all winning, playing together and being focused .

Tyler

As you mentioned, you did win that game, you are going to be in championship weekend. For you, what makes your team championship caliber? \What do you feel like sets you all apart from the other teams of all championship weekend that can lead you to winning that championship?

Kelis Fisher

I would say, you know, being disciplined, staying focused, um, also, you know, having fun on the court. You know, we be serious, but we also have fun. You know, we all play together when somebody going, we keep getting them the ball because, you know, they going, we celebrate with them. We just be having fun, really. And you know, when somebody not doing something, we just let you know, like, Yo we gotta crash boards, and we all stick together no matter what.

Greer

You've got an opportunity to play with some really good players on ISO World, who's impressed you on your team?

Kelis Fisher

I would say Kaleena (Smith). Kaleena and Saniyah Hall. Saniyah Hall our first game, she came out real strong. Scored like 24 points or something like that. Like seven rebounds. You know, she was doing everything defense, offense, and she was still celebrating our team, going to cheer for everybody else. You know, Kaleena, I think, being the youngest on our team. She also impressed. She was a, one of the big reasons why we won our last game, you know, coming in clutch at some points. So I would say, yeah, them two. You know, everybody else did great too. So I would say maybe them two.

Tyler

How has it been with this being more tournament style in that way, you know, like, where obviously, you know, had you lost that game, you didn't, but had you lost, but, like, obviously, you would have, you know, the next game. But how does that change the mentality from a player perspective, or is it just, hey, we're playing the game, we gotta go win it.

Kelis Fisher

No, I don't think it would change, like, our mentality. Because, like, if we were to lose that game, I just feel like it like, a ll right, we lost, but now we got, we got a bubble breaker, and we know we could beat the team, because we just won, and the team that we would have played, we already beat them. So it's like, yeah, we could go again, and it would just be, like a second chance. But we all still had the same mentality, because we still go to the same place, but I feel like it wouldn’t change anything. But dang, we gotta play late again.

Tyler

You avoided the late night and that's, that's, that's, that's a double win. You won the game and you avoided the late night. So yeah, you left there with more than just something

Greer

So we've been asking all of the players that we've been doing interviews with if, obviously, ISO World's super talented, but if you could add one WNBA player and one college player to your team to secure the championship who would you add?

Kelis Fisher

So for WNBA, I'm going to choose Angel Reese. You know, she from Baltimore. We both from Baltimore. You know, stick together. You know her double doubles and get it. And for college, bring Paige (Bueckers) back. I would say, yeah, them two.

Tyler

Well, speaking of Paige, you got to be up close and be able to work with her over the course of this Takeover weekend. Talk to me about what was coach Paige and being around her and being in this environment with her. Obviously you guys won't play with each other at UConn, but being able to have that UConn connect there and everything. How was that?

Kelis Fisher

I liked it a lot. It was, like, it was really fun, you know, I got to see, like, how she worked, how she moved, you know, it was really fun hanging around her, you know, her being a coach. And when we was playing, she was coaching, yeah, we were still playing and having fun. But, you know, you can see that she's still wanted to win. So, like, yeah, I just like that mentality of her still wanting to win, but also still having fun, still cheering for us and stuff like that. And she got in our shooting drills when she was coaching, you know, she got some good coaching plays because them plays was working.

Tyler

We have heard that twice now!

Kelis Fisher

Those backdoor cuts were working!

Tyler

Clipboard is certified?

Kelis Fisher

Clipboard is certified, check that off.

Greer

Love to hear that. So speaking of Paige and UConn, you know you committed super early in the process. What gave you the confidence to commit to UConn as soon as you did, or as early as you did?

Kelis Fisher

I would say because, well, it was my dream school. UConn was my dream school. I've been wanting to go to UConn forever, since I was a kid, and like, I told my coaches and my mom, and it was like, yeah, you're gonna have to work it for you know, I always play my game. You know, when I wanted to go to UConn, I didn’t see coach Geno, no, no, assistant coach, like, nowhere. So, like, I would just plan my game. Yeah, I was racking up offers, but I think that was my dream school, and the day where I was playing, because I always played up in AAU. I seen coach Geno at somebody else game, because it wasn't my game, but we was playing. I was playing against one of his players, and that is how originally I got, you know, I wasn't thinking I would just play like, just doing me, staying focused, playing like, offense and defense, you know, just having mentality of wanting to win, that's how I got there. So it's like, when I committed, I was like, I had no second thoughts. I had no second guesses or second doubt, like, I already trust him. He was already like an experienced coach, and I build a connection with him. So I was like, Yeah, I want to go here.

Tyler

What about UConn? I mean, obviously the wins and everything speak for itself, yes. But what about UConn made it your dream school so early on?

Kelis Fisher

They was a winning team, you know, he really, he was really experienced. He came in as a young coach already winning. You know, even still with multiple championships, they build legacy. You know, after basketball, his players still go on and, like, build with, like, other stuff, even if it's like broadcasting, you know, the legacy, I just feel like the legacy, carries on and like, he know where I want to go, and I feel like he he could get me there. He going to get me there.

Greer

You brought up that you're a two way player, right? Played offense and defense. I know you played defense because I saw you swat a ball away and GG (Banks) came here and talked about your defense specifically, the way that you protect the rim as a guard. Where's that instinct come from?

Kelis Fisher

I feel like I learned a lot from my brother. You know, him being tall, like, I always wanted to be tall. You know, his wingspan is real long, so, like, he always been athletic, and, like, been able to jump high. And, you know, a lot of people tell me, like, Kelis, like, you're really athletic, you jump high. Like, as a small guard, you could slap backward on your layups. And I just, I just be jumping. Like, sometimes, like, I don't know how high I could jump, you know, like, I literally, like, when my teammates, like, will be in practice, sometimes, like, they're just come and do a pump fake, and I jump, I cleared her head, like, I just jumped over. I was like, I didn’t know I could jump that high. So, like, sometimes, like, I just play real close, you know, sometimes I'm not gonna jump at everything, but I know, like, when a ball go in there, I'm, like, if you go up, like, I could get that. I could jump and get that. So, yeah, I'm gonna try, you know, like, no easy buckets. But I know, like, like, that would be the center job, like the guard to not to be in foul trouble. But with that, I think I just used my athleticism and my wingspan to my advantage with speed.

Tyler

I mean, you got the whole every attribute checked off, like you got everything you need. I am intrigued. It sounds like you know you're familiar with UConn across the board. Give me your starting five, all time, Dream Team of UConn Huskies, okay.

Kelis Fisher

Maya Moore, Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart, Aaliyah Edwards, and I would throw Paige in there again.

Greer

I mean, there's really no wrong answer. I love that you blended like old and new, a lot of them will be on my team too.

Tyler

I mean, you can't really go wrong. You can't I mean, I know for us, we're, like I said, we were impressed, like being able to see your game last night. So I'm interested in, how has your game grown since being in Overtime and everything. And, like I said, I can't get over the facilities and everything here, and the pro level experience that you're able to get here. What do you feel like on the court has been your biggest growth?

Kelis Fisher

I would say, you know, knowing what I could do against other better players. You know? I say like, because, since we here. When we go to college, we all going to play against each other again. So just knowing, like, my opponent, knowing what they could do, knowing what I could do against them, you know, basically it's like film, but you're playing against, like, playing against your opponent you're gonna play in the future. So I say, like, know what I could do against, like, in big events. So when I get to UConn, it's gonna be way bigger, like it's gonna be 1000s of fans. So I can perform in front of 1000s of crowds, 1000s of people. And I would say, like, knowing, like when we're down and we're losing and they're not cheering for us. I still could play my game like just having a mindset of just being focused in the facility. I would just say having, like, when we practice and stuff, playing with good people and make me work harder.

Tyler

I love that you mentioned, like, the crowd, aspect to and everything, because the atmosphere here, with all the lights, everything, do you feel like that has helped Like, yeah, just like, mature your game?

Kelis Fisher

I feel like I am playing in a bigger, like, a bigger facility, like, people, fans come in there, you know, all the lights flashing, like, sometimes I get in my eyes, but it's like, I gotta stayed focus, but lights flashing and showing, like, how it is and and how the atmosphere is, all this positive energy. But when I get to UConn, it is gonna be crazy,

Tyler

You know, the lights are still gonna be bright.

Kelis Fisher

Yeah those lights gonna be bright.

Tyler

So it's, this is like the perfect stage to get you ready for those bright lights. You’re gonna be ready.

Greer

I do want to know, Championship Weekend, bright lights, lots of attention, but if you can have like, one celebrity show up.

Kelis Fisher

Nick Minaj.

Tyler

Oh, that was quick,

Yeah, literally, she is my favorite. Oh, my gosh, I wanna go to a concert.

Tyler

What’s your favorite song?

Kelis Fisher

I would say, Moment for Life.

Tyler

Oh, that's a good I can't even hate on that.

Kelis Fisher

lBut she got so many so it's like, oh, I can't wait to go to her concert. Yeah, I will say Nikki, though.

Tyler

Sp speaking of

From the core values of the Iowa program that will serve as guides for the future to the past history of Iowa girls 6v6 basketball that still is impacting the style of play in the state today. Jan Jensen gave us the understanding of what makes Iowa Women’s Basketball what it is in the present and going forward (with a couple hot takes thrown in) plus an inside look into what makes Caitlin Clark so special.

You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you get your pods. All of our Luxury Tax episodes are also in video format on YouTube along with our post-games and video essays. Subscribe to be get notifications of live shows and updates on new content when it comes out. And follow along with us on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you get your pods. All of our Luxury Tax episodes are also in video format on YouTube along with our post-games and video essays. Subscribe to be get notifications of live shows and updates on new content when it comes out. And follow along with us on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok!

Tyler DeLuca, No Cap Space WBB

What's up everyone? Welcome back to the No Cap Space, a very special edition of luxury tax. We're not in our rooms right now on Streamyard. You can tell we're here at Overtime Select, and we got one of the top stars in the game. GG Banks of YGE, the team captain, class of 2027 GG, thank you for joining for one of our very first in person interview. Like this is making history.

GG Banks

Yeah for sure.

Tyler

And history is something you're just kind of getting cool with making, the very first triple double in OT Select. So first off, you're in that game, right? Take us back to that game, do you know the triple double is coming? Do youhave any idea what the stats are?

GG Banks

No, honestly, the rebounds part, I mean, the points part, you know, that's just kind of like, you know, a part of my game, the rebound part was just like somebody shot a far shot, and I'm there. It wasn't like, I’m like fighting for the rebounds. The assist that’s something I'm good at. But when you in the middle of games, you don't really, like pay attention to that stuff. You're just going through the motions. So once it came out, I think it was halftime, they told me I was like, five, five, and I had like six points. I'm like, okay. So that's when, I think third quarter came, second half, and I was just, you know, on a roll. And I didn't really notice until after the game, he came up to me. Tom was like, You just had a triple double. Matter of fact, no, he said I had nine at first. So I'm like, okay, I was looking on Twitter or Instagram, they said I had a triple double. And like he came back up to me, like, you just had the first triple double. And I'm like, wow, you don't really see how big it is in the moment. But then once everything comes out, people come up to you and they keep getting brought up. It's like, you know, this is kind of lit.

Greer Engonga, No Cap Space WBB

Not that you want to change your game at all, but now, knowing that you can do that, like, how do you feel like, attacking the boards as a guard, you know, you get out in transition, that's a big plus, if you're able to as a guard. So now, how are you approaching the game, knowing that you can do that and do without even thinking?

GG Banks

I'm probably just, you know, it's always gonna take confidence, like beginning of that. I didn't really know I could rebound. Now you see me getting boards a little bit, my assists are growing up way more. I'm just trying to get everybody touches. I'm just letting it flow at this point,

Tyler

I know triple doubles are like a thing in women's basketball, where it's like, hey, if you could be an next triple double queen. How does that like, you know, obviously, like, Alyssa Thomas is one of the ones with that. Sabrina doing it in college especially. Is that something that we might be striving for here? The next triple double queen?

GG Banks

I mean, I guess so. I'm just letting it happen.

Tyler

I respect it. I do want to dive in, because obviously, you're the captain of your team here at OT Select. And one of the coolest things to me about OT Select is the say y'all got in creating your team, and with the jerseys, with the name, can you break down the jersey look and the name and why you made those decisions to go with what you did?

GG Banks

So okay, I'm starting with a jersey. So the jersey was just type of, like, you know, I'm energetic. I'm outgoing. I'm not boring. So, like, anything I do, it's gonna be extra. So coming with the jerseys, I knew I wanted to add pink into it, so they sent me the color options, and I said I want pink in it. I didn't know what it's gonna look like. And that's when we start, like, you know, the pink was in, the pink was the YGE part. The rest of it was black, white. And I'm like, that's, that's too simple. I want, you know, something crazy. So, you know, at first it was like a little tie dye. And that's not me. So I was thinking, Okay, I just started looking on Instagram, you know how stuff pop up on reels, and I'm like, Okay, I want, I want to do, like, a camo. So seeing that, at first, I didn't really, you know, of course, I'm gonna like it, but I really see how good it was. Came here for captain’s week and saw the jerseys, and it was just like, wow. Like, this really got put together. The name came along just from, you know, me being a young goat as a female. And I'm like, I'm gonna just make it Young Goats Elite. And now I feel as though, you know, we just gonna roll with it.

Tyler

I love it again. And I mean, the I like that, you put your personality into it. So, like, just for you, in general, it's very rare you get an opportunity to, on this scale, to be creative in that way. So what was like? Was it just fun to be able to do that? What did you learn? Anything from that process?

GG Banks

I learned, you know, just to be creative. And you know, you could use yourself, and a lot of stuff, like my personality, everybody says that reflects the jersey, like it's just extra ordinary. And then it's also like, you know, it was just fun. They taught us so much stuff, the procedure to do that. It took a while, but, you know, it came out. It was worth it. So I feel as though, it was just amazing.

Greer

What were your teammate’s reactions to the jersey?

GG Banks

Oh, my God, they was bragging. They were like “Yo GG got the best jersey”. Seeing that for my teammates was just so, like, it just made me smile. And then after that, you know, tell everybody, y'all like playing in these I like playing with you. Just amazing. They they love them.

Tyler

Speaking of your teammates, I'm interested. Obviously, we're now leading up, you know, we're at takeover weekend right now, but we're gonna be leading up to championships. What makes your team championship caliber in your eyes?

GG Banks

Oh, my God. Honestly, just our chemistry. You know, we practiced the first week we was here. We practiced two days, two practices, and it looked like we practiced for about the whole year. It's a lot of great talent in the room. But you know, once you step on the floor, you're not thinking, y'all gonna click immediately. So I feel the off court helped us a lot, you know, we were eating together, you know, bonding together before the games. And I just feel as though the talent all comes in when it gets on the floor. You know, we talk a lot of stuff out, and then, you know, some of these players I never played with, so me, being a captain, point guard and the leader, I gotta step up, you know, and talk to them when stuff gets hard, when somebody's down, not having a good game. So I just feel as though, with stuff like that, it brings us together.

Greer

So you're bringing up your teammates and chemistry that you guys have been able to develop here, who's a player that you haven't played with before, but who's really impressed you that's on YGE?

GG Banks

Honestly, I'm gonna just say this right now. All of y'all impress me. I’ll just say that. But one person that like, like yesterday, she wasn't on my team. Middle of the game, she says, “Yo, I hate not playing with you”. And I'm like, yo, I started smiling, because that's my girl, and it's Stella (Lockhart) I play with, you know, Jessie (Moses) I play with, O (Oliviyah Edwards), I play with a lot of them at USA. I knew Jessie for so long, but Stella, I never played with. In the first week, and I didn't know we was gonna come out like we've been playing together for years! I mean, fast breaks, I'm waiting for her to get down the floor with me throwing the dimes. We go on block parties. I mean, it's just amazing, like, we see each other on the floor. And you would think we have been playing for years, but, you know, just playing where I like to get her open, and it's just, I just love playing with her since then. But she's an amazing player. She's so underrated. So it's like, when she get on a big stage like this, you know, as a leader, as a captain, I'm trying to, you know, build her as a player. So that's just a big thing for me.

Tyler

You mentioned the big stage of this, and at something like, so this is our first time here, seeing everything here. And this is pro level. This is like the top of the top, we were genuinely impressed with everything, with the stage and the facilities here, just in general. How do you feel like being a part of Overtime Select is preparing you, whether it be for the attention that might come or for the facilities, or kind of whatever route you want to take with that. I'm just interested, what has been your biggest takeaway?

GG Banks

Just just playing through a lot of things, you know, Overtime, here they have a lot of rules. When it's on the big stage, you know, sometimes you're playing three on four. You doing one on ones. I mean, you got grab and go, which is you don't give a ball to the ref. You could just go. So it's just different rules, you know, and this just learning how to play with different players. Like, you see trades are happening right now, you don't know what's really gonna happen. So I mean, and honestly, it's nothing wrong with Overtime. Like, they give you everything you need, you get food, you get everything you need. Nothing's wrong. It's always positive vibes. You know, the people here are amazing. I mean, I don't want to be nowhere else Overtime, it's amazing. And they did so much for me. I'm just thankful.

Tyler

I love it. All right, we're going to have you put your captain, your general manager, hat back on even. Okay, so to your team right now. You keep your roster. You don't take anyone off or anything, one WNBA player and one college player that you could add going into the championship weekend to secure the dub for your team. Who you pick?

GG Banks

Now probably I need another guard. So I'll probably go Hannah Hidalgo and then I'll probably say I need another I need, like a, you know, like a big flash four, probably say, A’ja Wilson,

Greer

You can't go wrong. Yeah, y'all gonna win. I think y'all got it. Let's get back to your game on the court a little bit. Last night, we watched you in the All Star game, 5v5, talk about your layup package because the things that you do when you get around the rim that you're able to improvise, is that just natural? Are you thinking about it like you want to swoop it? How are you formulating what you're going to do?

GG Banks

Before I get there, you know, I'm fast paced. So once I've crossed halfcourt I'm already thinking about what I'm gonna do, you know, shout out to my girl, Kellis (Fisher), there's no hate I love you. But it was, I knew she liked, she likes to block like she could block me, she's long. So I just feel as though this one layup. I had to bring the ball out, and I'm not left handed, so I didn't even know it was gonna go in, but I had to bring it out, and I made it. I mean, it's just, it's just natural, but you have to read the defender. Some of the layups, you know, if they hedge, I gotta do a little something. But as I got older, I had to progress my layup package, because, you know, they're bigger, they're stronger, they're taller, so I don't want to just get pushed around or, you know, look crazy. So I gotta do a little something.

Tyler

I feel like you need, like, sound effects on your layups, like we need to get sound effects in the arena whenever you're going for a layup. But no, like you said, we've been so impressed with your game. And we're not the only ones, obviously, so many coaches and everything. From a young age, you’re getting interest. I'm just interested, what is your mindset and maneuver? Because I can't imagine, right? Like, already. So, like, just for you and for your family. Like, what is, what is the mindset as you're, kind of going through the process, obviously, still plenty of time and everything. But as you're going, you're really starting to dive into it, what's the mindset like, and how do you handle the new attention, the new eyes that come to your game?

GG Banks

This happened at a young age. You know, you’re still learning a lot of stuff. So, you know, just going to my parents, my directors, the managers that I had, and just, you know, asking them questions when something don't feel right, or I'm confused. That's just honestly a helping guide for me through this process. And, you know, just asking coaches early, how do I fit in your program, and building bonds early, not rushing it, you know, overthinking, just letting all play out. Because as a young guard like me, you don't want to stress yourself too young to where, the point where, like, you rush and make a decision. So I feel as though I'm just taking it slow right now, leaving it up to God and my mom. But it's definitely an awesome process. You know, getting calls left and right when you come out of tournaments. It's just an amazing feeling. And you just know you're getting better and better. So I feel as though it's just up from here.

Tyler

Has there been a call that shook you the most?

GG Banks

Probably bec

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She sat with No Cap Space WBB at Overtime Select’s Tournament in Atlanta to discuss her path, committing to UT and what she hopes to get out of the elite high school tournament.

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Tyler DeLuca, No Cap SPace WBB: Let's dive into what you got going on here. Because I mean, this is great. This is our first time here Overtime Select. We flew in to be here over the weekend and we've been so impressed by everything. So what has your experience been like over the course of this kind of tournament and what are you taking away the most from your Overtime Select experience so far?

Mia Pauldo: This is the environment for real basketball. I mean, they put us in great positions to be successful, whether that's on social media or showcasing our skills on the court, showcasing our personalities off the court. I think Overtime — this sets us for from greatness, for college, for the WNBA. They're setting us up now so when we get there, we're already prepared. But I always love Atlanta, and Overtime, they treat us great. They give us all the gear they They feed us. I mean, this is the place to be, right?

Greer Engonga, No Cap Space WBB: So you're representing Double Dynasty. And we know that every Captain got to choose and design their jerseys. So can you talk about what went into your design process for the Double Dynasty jerseys?

Mia Pauldo: It's me and my sister. Her favorite color is blue and my favorite color is red. We wanted to do something like different. But it was just really just wanting to be different with the design and stuff like that. But we did a little like the x and little smiley face [on the jersey]. We’re killing you but we still smile while doing it. And I that was the thought process behind it. And it's two of us, that's double and then we're creating our own dynasty.

Tyler: For you, the creative process in that…that's very unique. Especially on a stage like this, to be able to have your creativity shown in that way. What did you learn through that process?

Mia Pauldo: I would really just say, don't overthink it, whatever comes to mind. You got to write down our thoughts. Me and Mya took about, like, probably two weeks to come up with this. And Overtime definitely helped us with it. They gave us different types of color palettes and stuff like that. But they were just like, ‘hey, whatever you're thinking about, just do it, and it's representing you as well. So just put a little bit of everything into it.’ But then they'll overthink it, and it can be so simple because we're overthinking it. And we're just like, ‘listen, we just gotta come up with one name, because it's gonna be it's gonna be tough. Don't matter what we call it because we're going to be winning.’

Greer: Perfect segue for my next question because you're here. You're a captain of a team that's going to be a champion. So what makes Double Dynasty championship power? Why can you guys be posting that trophy in September?

Mia Pauldo: I mean, the type of teammates we have like me and Mya are grateful for being captains but we're already point guards. So we have to deal with different personalities on the regular. No matter what type of team we’re on so that gave us a step ahead of the game from any other team. But I feel like we have the different different types of personnel to put it together. And it just clicked like that, probably not the first half in our first game when were just getting clipped! But then we start finding our rhythm and stuff like that. I just feel like all our personality, our team chemistry, is perfect. Our coach, Coach Sa’de [Wiley-Gatewood], she she went to Tennessee for one year and then she went to Maryland. She's a great coach. Great energy. But I just feel like the players that we have, me and Mya don’t even score. We're just facilitating and they're getting their own on that. So like we all got this different type of talents to put it all together.

Tyler: Well, have you put your GM Captain back on? Keep everyone on your roster . You get to add one WNBA player and one college player to your current roster to secure your the on championship weekend. Who are you picking?

Mia Pauldo: That's a great question. Alright, WNBA, I need to go with A’ja Wilson. A’ja Wilson or Breanna Stewart. It's one of those. I'm not gonna pick one between because I don't know, I don't know y'all pick that for me! Those are the two. And then for college I'll definitely say I like JuJu Watkins because she could get it done all around the court. And probably, she coached [in OT Select], Paige Bueckers. She’s got the IQ. Between those two…I'm not a person that picks one person.

Tyler: Listen, you've been working with a duo. It's been duos your whole life. It’s okay! You mentioned being coached by Paige. How was ‘Coach Paige’? How was that and like, you got JuJu here as well, Flau’jae, Jada Williams being here. Is there anything you've been able to kind of take away specifically from them?

Mia Pauldo: This isn't my first time being around them. Like, I've been around them multiple times, so I'm not really fangirling over them like all the other girls. I'm happy to see that all the other girls are excited to see them, because it's like, they really are doing big things. I'm proud of them but my mindset is like ‘y'all are people’, and I'll look up to them though because they're doing great things. I want to be in that position one day as well. But I'm definitely taking away how they carry themselves. I mean, just their off court etiquette and their style and everything like that. Because on the court I watched them but off the court, that's what I want to see. Like they got some drip! Hey, Paige, JuJu Watkins, Jada Williams, Flau’jae, they had all drip on last night a lot. But no, Paige as a coach, though she's really calm and collected. She’ll really sit here and be like ‘stop playing games,’ because she already knows we're good players. She was actually setting up some real good plays. Yeah, she definitely wrote up some stuff last night. We definitely executed and scored off those things. She really a great coach. So if she wanted to be a coach when she get out in the WNBA or college, she’ll be a great coach.

Greer: I love that you got some people on your team that you’ve probably never played with before. So can you tell us who you've been impressed by on Double Dynasty and getting to play with them.

Mia Pauldo: I'm definitely impressed by Kate harping because I didn't — when you were practicing, we only had two days of practice. She didn't really show off her bag like that. So when she got in the game and she made a big impact on the game and I'm like, ‘Yes, this is what we need.’ Yes, she's that player where she don't need to show that off the court, she don't need to show that in practice, because in the game, she's got to get it done. Deniya Prawl, she's really versatile and she was showing off some moves. And I've seen her play before but playing with her I feel like I could just get give her the ball and we space out and get it done. But all the players on our team, they really impressed us. But I feel like we still got some more stuff in the bag to show through our playoffs. Because we're just getting warmed up. That was just a warm up, and nobody see nothing yet. The real hoops are on the way.

Tyler: Has there been someone that you got to against that you're like, I'm not familiar with the game?

Mia Pauldo: I would definitely say GG [Banks] and Tay [Brown]. They’re really impressive because I've been around them. We've been around the same program, AAU and all that stuff. They looked up to us because I always played up. They're younger than us. So the progression they've made when they grew up, I'm just proud of them and they're doing big things. GG’s just creative and she's really different and Tay as well. They really use what they do, that they learn while training with pros and stuff like that in the game. And I love to see my younger sisters doing that stuff.

Tyler: We do have to talk about the hoodie. We got to talk about the Lady Vols. Obviously a new coach. Take us through what was a moment where you realized ‘I want to go to Tennessee.' This is the place that I and both of you want to be.’

Mia Pauldo: I would definitely say when we went on a visit, it was after the first day. The coaches, the coaching staff, that's probably like the youngest coaching staff in the country. So they're able to relate to us. They're able to have regular conversations with us. Not only about basketball, because we're going to be living there. We're going to be around them 24/7 so that's not going to be the only thing you want to talk about. But when it is time to get serious, they know how to do their job and you know, it was really coach [Gabe] Lazo. He was the one really recruiting hard on me and my sister when he was at Mississippi State. And then when he went to Tennessee. And then we fit Coach Kim's coach playing style when we went there. She was all prepared with a video. She showed how she was at Marshall and then clips of me and Mya and how those two correlated to each other. Now they could push how she put us in the game of college. And it was just interesting because no coach put in the time to do that, not during our during a vision and stuff like that. And they got the bag. That's the play. The NIL is just great there. I mean, it’s perfect and the campus is beautiful. I mean, everything just came together.

Greer: Thompson-Boling Arena, that's you're going to be your home coming up. What do fans of the Lady Vols need to know about the Pauldos that they might not know yet?

Mia Pauldo: We definitely bring the energy. We definitely bring the energy. We could score. Everyone knows we could score. But we do other things. We play defense, we get down, we get ready on the court and off the court. We're not Hollywood, we're not those people that like walk around like we're cool. We actually want to talk to people and actually want to make relationships. And, that's what I want people to know. Because if someone wants to come up to me and we can have a conversation because I'm just a person. I'm just doing big things, but we could do it together. Yeah, the women's basketball game is changing every day and everyone can be a part of it.

Tyler: I love your perspective on — whether it's talking about the college stars here or talking about yourself — that idea of ‘we’re all here’. How do you handle Tennessee? The legacy of Tennessee is lengthy, to say the least. And knowing there's gonna be some jerseys above your head that are some legendary names up there. So for you, when you're thinking about the legacy and really trying to return Tennessee to some form of that legacy, is that something you think about, is that something that you're excited for? Is that a challenge you're looking forward to? What is your kind of mindset when it comes to knowing the history of Tennessee and how you and your sister can potentially get get that back on track in that way?

Mia: Yes, that's definitely our goal. Me and Mya want to bring back that championship vibe, that legacy that Candace Parker and all all of them had back then.That's our goal. We want to bring that but it's not going to happen overnight. We know it's going to be a process. And I feel like we're doing that right now in high school. I mean, obviously, it's two different things but we want to correlate that energy to college but step up our game on that level. We're going to be playing in the hardest conference, the SEC. Tennessee has all the equipment to get us ready for that when we step on the big stage. So, yeah, I would definitely say that, you know, Candace Parker has my [jersey] number. So I'm trying to get some connects, see what I can do about that. But like, at the same time, I respect what she did. And her number deserves to be retired. She's the G.O.A.T at Tennessee. So if I should my number, I just bring it to Kobe, number 8 because number 24 is retired. 33 is retired. 23 a lot of numbers are retired. I'm like, ‘Hey man, clearly got two numbers on this.’ Just being out of legacy school, me and Mya got some big expectations but we are ready for those.

Tyler: Yeah, I love your perspective on this. And to kind of wrap this up here, we can be real honest about this. We're gonna play a little game. Who's better between you and your sister?

Mia: I'm always honest. Go ahead. That hit me.

Tyler: All right, here we go. Who takes the longest to get ready?

Mia: Honestly me. Depends on the day but mostly it's me. I'm not gonna lie. Really be me. I'll be trying to get my life together. Yep, try wake up and looks up like that.

Tyler: Who’s on AUX?

Mia: Uh, honestly, whoever's not driving.

Tyler: What's the rotation?

Mia: We listen to the same type of music, we bumping each other’s music. But it depends on the vibe we are. She playing R&B music and I'm in a hip hop mood. I tell her ‘not this music’ and she’ll switch it. I mean, we don’t argue about the songs. She probably did, like, one or two times. But we liste

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Tyler DeLuca, No Cap Space WBB: Alissa, thank you so much for joining us today. Let's start off with the Commissioner's Cup. First off, ‘Champagne, Cheryl’. Some of those pictures we were getting of Champagne Cheryl were kind of crazy. Can you take us into what the celebrations were like after the Commissioner’s Cup game? Because every picture I saw, it looked lit. It looked like a good time.

Alissa Pili, Minnesota Lynx: No, it was for sure. That whole game, it was a battle. So I think that just made it that much more rewarding. I mean, the locker room after it was pretty crazy. They put plastic bags over the room because they already knew it was about so it was cool. My first year, and it's the Minnesota Lynx first time winning the Commissioner’s Cup, so it was a big deal. And everybody was just going crazy. They brought the champagne they had…I don't know how many bottles there was a lot. They were just it was fun. It was really fun. I think we were probably there at the arena for like a cool hour 30, almost two hours after the game, just celebrated. And even on the bus, like on the way back to the hotel, everybody was still turned up. So it was a good time. It was really fun.

Tyler: From a player perspective, with an in season tournament like this, can you tell the difference? The championship game, it's probably gonna have that feel but like in the build up to that? Because I think sometimes when we talk about in season tournaments from the outside looking in, we might not get the the feel. That ‘this one matters more’. From the player perspective, what is that feeling like with the in season tournament?

Alissa: It was really cool for us to just establish our spot. Winning that tournament in the middle of the season, I think our team was so new. We have a lot of new faces and the way we were clicking from the beginning up to the Commissioner’s Cup tournament. And also, a big motivator was definitely the money. So that was a nice little reward to get that. But I think overall, the biggest thing for us was just to kind of prove and establish ourselves at that point of the season.

Greer Engonga, No Cap Space WBB: So you bought up the money. You're a rookie. We know what rookie salaries are like in the W so to get a lump sum like that, I want to know, how did you treat yourself after winning the Commissioner's Cup?

Alissa Pili, Minnesota Lynx: It’s funny that you asked that because I didn't really do nothing with the money yet. I've been, you know, I got my rookie salary, like you said, so I've been trying to be an adult.

Chauny Powell, No Cap Space WBB: You didn’t least roll around in it? Make some snow angels??

Alissa Pili, Minnesota Lynx: I was spraying it for sure. I was turnt, I’m not even gonna lie. But no I just been trying to help budget my stuff better. And with that amount of money, it was just good to kind of just see where I'm at financially and get myself started since this is my first year with a real job. I'll be helping my family out too. So I know they were probably happy.

Chauny: That first time out when you got to learn the budget and, you know, go get groceries and the light bill…it gets real in the field. So having won the Commissioner's Cup, what's the attitude like amongst the team? Because I know Cheryl was talking heavy afterwards ‘Y'all gotta talk about us. Now, y'all got to.’ And I was like, ‘hey, respect. We do. We do have to talk about y'all now.’ And then I saw you at All Star flexing with the Commissioner’s Cup. I love that. So how's the team mentality heading into the second half of this season?

Alissa: I think we're all just excited to see where our trajectory goes. And we've had a great start so far. But like I said, it's harder. My experience from being in college, that home stretch is so hard because as the games go on and everybody gets tired. And then you've played everybody so many times so everybody's kind of just adjusting and finding new ways to to do that against the same team. So I feel like this home stretch was really important for us to do well and just to find different ways where we can still be us and have our identity but also just keep winning and be successful in that aspect.

Greer: I want to talk about the people who were left behind — not left behind — but were in Minnesota over the break, right? Like Rebekah Brunson, Katie Smith, these are two of your assistant coaches with the staff who've been pros. You just talked about the the grind of being a pro, right? So while Cheryl was handling business overseas, what were they in your ear about over the break?

Alissa: So three of our starters weren't there so it was more reps for me and people on the bench too. Defense was huge. I think it was something we worked on. Just being aggressive and knowing our help, show and all that. I mean, Cheryl is all about defense and that's something that you know you have to make sure you're on point to be to be able to play for her. So I think that was a big thing because it was something that our second group kind of struggled with sometimes. After being on break for a couple weeks, the plays kind of went out the window. So just getting the rust off and getting back to that. Just learning how to continue to be aggressive and and find ways to just score, move the ball, because our offense is really fluid when we move the ball and and are aggressive. And so those are main things like that we focus on coming out of the break.

Chauny: I feel that though because a long holiday break and you go back to work, and it’s like, what do I even do? I forget my job description. Why am I here? But what's it been like so far playing for Cheryl Reeve because she's one of the legends in the game, coaching wise, and has a very strong personality. We've seen it throughout but she still seems like she's 10 toes down about y'all. What has that been like?

Alissa: It's been really fun. I think, playing for a coach like that who has been there and done that, won championships and I feel like coming in, I already had the utmost respect for her. Just being on the inside and seeing how she coaches and how she is with the team and the players, it definitely just made me trust her and made me have comfort in knowing I'm in good hands. And so rookie season, it's tough but I think when you have a good coach and a good supporting staff like that, like I do, it just kind of takes some stress off my shoulders for what's in store. And so even though it may be tough right now, I know that they have a plan. And I mean, Cheryl, like you said, she's…she could be…she's brutally honest. And that's something I love in a coach. Because, growing up, my dad was my main critic and he would never sugarcoat nothing and that's how I respond well to things. And so having a coach like that's straight to the point and doesn't BS or nothing like that it it helps me to to elevate and get straight to the point of things I need to improve on and things she needs from me. And then also the respect thing too comes from, like, she doesn't just do that with her rookie. She does that with her stars, everybody on the team. She doesn't care who it is.

Chauny: There's smoke for everyone!

Alissa: But at the same time she rides for us hard. She makes that known and like she's very supportive and she's just overall a great person. I love talking to her and I've had conversations with her and I feel like going into them, I'll be kind of nervous but once you talk to her, she makes it really easy and she just wants what's best for all of her players. So knowing that it just it helps me kind of be more open to talking and kind of wanting to just be the best player I could be and make those improvements and things like that.

Tyler: I'm interested in that because you mentioned that the staff having a plan. I think, just generally over the years, Minnesota has been a franchise where it feels like development has been something that is allowed, And sometimes in the W especially with the roster crunch, that's just not something that you see from every organization. So I'm curious on the inside, what has been the conversations? Like ‘what is that plan?’ When it comes to ‘this is the track we want you on.' This is where we want you developing.’ From the outside looking in, I was so excited to see you going to Minnesota because I knew of the track record when it comes to giving young players time to find their space in the W so what kind of is that plan that you guys have discussed?

Alissa: First and foremost, I think she just wants to bring out the competitor side of me and even though I'm a rookie, I feel like she just wants me to be more aggressive and just be more like, not outspoken, but step into this leadership role even though it may not be comfortable for me. Especially because, coming in here, I'm a rookie, I don't have no place. So with a team full of a lot of players who are vets and it's kind of hard to do that sometimes. So I feel like her asking me of that is just speaks volume of what she she wants me to be and what her plan is for me. And it's the same story in college. I came in as a freshman and quiet, timid, all that. And by my senior year I stepped into this leadership role where I was being more vocal. And I did a good job of stepping into that leadership role. So I think it's kind of a reset for me where I have to find my voice again and find the ways that I could step into that role. And honestly, most of the time it comes from what I do on the court and so when I'm in a position where I can't do that as much, I gotta find different ways to contribute that to the team.

Greer: I think the kind of like personality shift that you're talking about also happened for a different player on your team, in Napheesa Collier, right? Like, she wasn't a very demonstrative player. Like, this year, we've seen her answer with other teams…

Chauny: Hold on! She was turned up last year too! This is a progressive I've we've watched the Phee smoke tour!

Greer: It took five years, you know what I mean? Or four years of her being in the W to kind of unleash that side of her. I'm curious to know, because then you got somebody on the opposite like Courtney Williams, right? Who loves that, right? So who do you look to in the Lynx locker room? They they drafted you seven. So they have plans for you, like you said. But which vet are you really connecting with right now?

Alissa: I think they're all great and, like I said, I've been shy, I've been timid a lot of the time and I'm starting to kind of break out of that now, at this point of the season. I would definitely say Phee has been a big part of that. In practices, and just like in general, like me and her we'll have personal conversations about not even basketball sometimes. And then Courtney, obviously, she's just a very outspoken person so every time, especially in practice, she'll let me know something I'm doing that she needs me to do better. And so I feel like, as a collective — all of our all of our vets — they've done their best to kind of help me and put me in better positions to succeed. To answer your question. I would say Phee because she's my position and I could relate to her more. And, like you said, me and her kind of had the same personality. Coming in, I feel like she's somebody who could really, and has really, helped me with just being in the W, being a rookie and all that.

Chauny: And in that same vein, what's it been like watching her this season? She's an MVP candidate. She's on everybody's radar and having a season that will honestly, in a franchise that has a lot of Legends, could stamp her name. What's it been like watching what she's doing this season?

Alissa: It's been amazing. Like, I'll be on the bench, I'll be hyped. She be doing some crazy things. And the way she carries herself, the way she plays, it's just so respectable. She's an amazing athlete and she does so much for this team. I feel like her child on the bench, just watching her, being inspired. And so I feel like when you have a player like that who's having a season like she is, it’s super inspiring. I think it just gives me motivation and hope to know that I have somebody like that on my team who really has my back and will hopefully help me get to be in that role.

Chauny: You see the vision in the future. So Sylvia found Sylvia Fowles been around? You got to meet her?

Alissa: She's been to a bunch of our home games. So I've gotten to meet her and talk to her a little bit. She's super cool. I like her.

Chauny: You got Sylvia Fowles, Rebekah Brunson, Katie Smith, Napheesa Collier. Like, you are vetted out. Has that sunk in? Just how many legends you have around you?

Alissa: Not really. It

Among the topics…

A’ja Wilson’s win in the face of a less than dominant effort.

Kamilla Cardoso’s ceiling.

Teresa Weatherspoon’s rotations and late game decision making.

Angel Reese’s offensive rebounding and the discourse around it.

The Aces vibes and A’ja’s comments about refereeing.

Andrew explains the television decision making behind Maya Moore’s jersey retirement ceremony and the NBATV broadcast.

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You can listen to the podcast here or check out the full transcript below.

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Andrew Haubner, No Cap Space WBB: So it doesn't happen often that we get this Olympic break. The last time that happened for you guys, it was kind of wonky with COVID occurring. In your first true WNBA/Olympic cycle, what's three weeks off kind of life for you?

Azura Stevens, Los Angeles Sparks: It's a long time just to not be in a practice environment and not have games. So it was nice to have a little break. I was injured, obviously the first half of the season, so I didn't really play much. But toward the end of the break that we had before we all had to be back, I took a little vacation. I went home. I'm from North Carolina, so I have a good team of people there, a couple of trainers, a strength trainer. I have a physical therapist there that I work with. So I hit them up as soon as I knew the break was coming. I kind of got my schedule set and I just kept sort of building on the work that I had already done to get myself back onto the court prior to the break. So it was still nice to be around my family. I have a little orange tabby cat, so it was really nice to see him too because he's at home with my parents right now. But mentally it was nice just to sort of be in the comfort of the familiarity of my house and stuff. But physically, I still kind of kept up with my same routine that I have out here in LA.

Chauny, No Cap Space WBB: You played with Liz Cambage and Skylar Diggins on that Dallas Wings team and [this was] 53 point Liz and I know y'all were pretty cool. Then you go and play with Candace Parker eventually in Chicago and win that title. So being able to play with those two type of vets and what they've done for the league, what were you able to take from them?

Azura Stevens, Los Angeles Sparks: Liz was like my big sister. She still is; we're still very close. But my rookie year especially, it was hard. It's hard for these rookies coming in. You have literally no break. So being able to just learn from her and just spend a lot of time with her on and off the court helped me so much to get through that season. And then Skylar, I learned so much from her as well. Just the way that she leads, the way that she approaches the game, and just being a pro I was able to just watch and I loved playing with her too. She was one of my favorite guards that I played with. And then I went to Chicago and before Candace was there, I played with Jantel [Lavendar]. She was a really good vet for me. She wasn't physically there in the bubble, but we were connected a lot, just calling and texting, and she was always giving me advice. Cheyenne [Parker-Tyus] was a great vet for me too. I loved playing alongside her and then I would be so remiss not to mention Sloot (Courtney Vandersloot) and Ali [Quigley], because I love them so much. Theyreally have become like my family. So I learned so much from them over the course of my three seasons there, just in the way that they approach the game.

Chauny: Fast forward to today, where you're still young for the earth and you're still a young team. But like, you're kind of one of the elder statesman. You've been around the league, you've seen some things. What do you kind of feel your role is in all this?

Azura: I'm one of the leaders. I know that just, you know my age, but also my experience.I mean, I won in this league. Not everybody can say that and there's a lot of experience that comes from it. And we do have a younger team but I think, even looking at our roster, it's not super old. We have some older players, but it's still a lot of young vets like my age and around my age. Then we have — we're all kind of younger — but I think in that I am one of the leaders. I try to lead by example more than talking. I'm not gonna say a bunch directly in practice but I really like to build relationships. So I've taken the rookies under my wing. I love them both so much, and even the younger players, like Zia [Cooke] is one of my closest friends on the team and we will be friends for life. So that's kind of my angle on how I try to lead is just building relationships, because it's bigger than just playing, you know? One day we're not going to be playing but these types of relationships that will last beyond the court. And every place I've been, I've built life long friends. So I try to just turn around and do the same thing.

Andrew: So let’s talk rivalries since you had a few at UConn. What was the first moment you had where you're like, ‘Oh, I really don't like Notre Dame?’

Chauny: Yeah, bring us to the hate!

Azura: We played them in Gampel and we weren't really playing good. I don't know if people really remember those games but they were insane. It was like, 11 pros playing in those games when we played. It was crazy but we were down, I think, and then we started coming back. And Gampel was always loud and a sell out. But that day you could not hear in that arena because it was just so packed. Everybody was just so hyped up. And it was like at first we weren't playing good and then we started coming back. So then all of us were just getting more and more into it. And I remember the specific play. Marina [Mabrey] had the ball and she was trying to drive on [Napheesa Collier]. She was about to and she traveled. So she held the ball up like this, and she was making a face. And Phee went and just grabbed it out of her hands! It was so epic. Because Phee is quiet and she doesn't want smoke, but she wanted smoke in that moment and then we all got fired up after that. It was so cool.

Chauny: So wait now that we're here, since we're still in that line of thinking, and you brought up Zia. I'm from South Carolina so I'm a Gamecock fan. I grew up watching UConn. That was the first team that when you learn basketball [you think] dynasty, right? Uh, lately, we've had the upper hand just a little bit!

Azura: I can't even lie, you guys have and I loved Dawn [Staley]. Like, I love Dawn. I met her when I was playing on the USA team a long, long time ago and I always loved just how down to earth she is and how she really has a special relationship with players. And then she's just such a good coach on top of that. So it's just really awesome. I have a lot of respect for her. And that's why I don't go too hard on the Gamecocks! I'm like, you know, Dawn is doing her thing down there!

Chauny: Look, I got nothing to say. But honestly, y'all was smacking the taste out of our mouth at first. We had to do something to balance the scale. Right now, where you're looking at it, you know, we have the defending champions coming back. Y'all still got Paige [Bueckers] and Azzi [Fudd] and something to prove. Would you say that it's grown into a rivalry? Would you call it a rivalry yet?

Azura: I think for sure. I think for sure, over the years, we've seen the evolution of South Carolina. But just being against Connecticut it's always a pretty good game. It's been so fun just to watch the college girls. Honestly, I don't usually always watch too much in the regular season but I always watch almost every game of the tournament just because it's so exciting. It's so exciting to see, to be on this level and see the passion and fire that's still building in youth women's basketball. It’s special to see that. And I'm sure that, for the the super older veterans, it's awesome to see that too because that's what you play for.

You play to give somebody else a dream, somebody that's coming up. Like you want them to look up and see, ‘okay, I can do that too.’ So to look back and see so many young girls still wanting to play. It's awesome. And they're really good too. Like, that's the part I like the most about it is they're very skilled. They're very fundamental. It's not just like, ‘okay, they're playing’, but it's like, ‘these could be game changers. Legendary type players.’ So it's really cool just to see that. And I'm excited for this season, honestly. I can't really say too much but I'm definitely not going overseas so that that's like a little prelude to something that might be happening soon. But I'm gonna be coming to some college games.

Andrew: Okay, I'm glad you mentioned the overseas thing, because you've been over there a lot. You benefited from it a lot. And I think the big discussion right now has been, especially in the wake of the Olympics, just how many good players are out in the world. Is it interesting when you go over there and you see and are exposed to just how good the talent is?

Azura: I honestly love going overseas. So it's hard for me sometimes with different conversations that have been had in the past from the league and players about, like, ‘oh, it sucks going over there.’ I personally enjoyed going over there. I have a couple seasons where I didn't. There was some teams that weren't the best but the older I've gotten, I've learned how to adjust more to playing over there. And I always benefit from it, playing and getting confidence just playing a European style. I really like the way that the game is played over there. And even just, the older I'm getting now, GMs [have] asked me what players do I know. So being able to go over there and see different players, or play with different players, I'm able to come back and share some of my experience of playing with this player, or let's give this girl a chance.

But I think it was so awesome to see the Olympics, how competitive it was on both sides, but particularly the women's side. I think historically, it hasn't been as competitive. But this year the games were all really good. Nigeria did incredible. And I know they lost a ton of players, so to see them still be able to rally was like, really, really cool. Australia did really good. Belgium, I loved watching them. I'm really close with Julie Allemand. I'm really close with Emma [Meeseman]. So I was cheering for them. And I know everybody on Twitter knows that Gabby [Williams] is like my sister so I was watching all of France's games. Literally, doesn't matter what time it was. I was tuned in, and I was so sad that they lost in the end. Of course, I'm USA, but she played incredible and it was just awesome to just see her thrive on that type of stage. I've always been a believer and have known that she's capable of that but just for me to be able to watch that and everybody else, just in her home country with her family there. It was really special just to witness that.

Andrew: As the game has grown, I have never in a sport, been around so many discussions about ‘what does it mean to be a new fan? an old fan? How do you adequately support? How do you adequately reign and change?’

What is that discussion been like among players? Because I would imagine there, there has to be, on a human level, at least a feeling of missing the window, right? Because kids are coming in with NIL and TikTok and all this other stuff. How do you guys, as players, navigate those discussions? Like, what does it mean to you to be a proper steward for your next generation? And for two rookies on your team, for instance, that have insane aura, as the kids say right now.

Azura: Yeah, I think, I think it's incredible. Honestly, I think it's so cool just to see the attention in general that the sport is getting. It's really like a prime time right now for women's basketball on multiple levels. Not just us, but even college like I mentioned earlier, I think it's really cool. It's special just to see. I tell Cam and Rickea all the time, I'm so proud of how they handle all of this pressure. Because we were coming up and there was no press. There was pressure to perform in this but it wasn't the whole media aspect. There wasn't Twitter and Instagram and Tiktok and everything. Sports betters. There was none of that. That's a whole other thing. They have a lot of pressure and we all have it now, but it's particularly them. They have the pressure of adjusting to this league and then they have the spotlight on them, the camera on them.

I mean, Angel and Caitlin. It's insane the amount of pressure that they have on them. And I think about that a lot. I mean, I think they both handle it really well. But they're human at the end of the day like, all of the rookies are, we all are. So I think it's just crazy, honestly, just the type of pressure they have on them. But I mean, we're all playing a sport that we love, so at the end of the day there's no pressure. You just go out, you play, you compete, you keep getting better, and let the naysayers be the naysayers, you know? But I think it's really funny, and it's cool to see, like, they all have little fan bases that are just…one has her fan base. Angel has her fan base. Rickea has her little army. Cam has hers. It's funny to see that because I don't really think it was like that either. I'm sure with Diana and stuff, it was probably like that. But they didn't have Twitter, so it was different but now it's like, we have the general fan bases and then they all have their own fan bases. So I think that's really like cool to see too. And I don't know how much they real

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Among the discussion topics…

* Most impressive Team USA player in the Tournament so far…

* How much is the rest of the world catching up to the Americans?

* Why Nigeria is the best story of the Olympics so far (if you missed our write up earlier in the week, click here)

* Which players to watch ahead of the knockout rounds…

* Who is the best international player that isn’t currently in the WNBA?

As always, you can subscribe to the Youtube channel to get notifications of rapid reaction shows and video specific pieces of content the minute they go live!

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But at just 32, Thibault-DuDonis believes in an ethos typically espoused by coaches much older and further along in their career: that fit matters most and success is where you make it.

“We don't do what we do for the money,” she says. “If we had wanted to, we could have done that this offseason but that's not something that we're here to do”.

Thibault-DuDonis’ life has always been in basketball. Her father, Mike Thibault, has been a fixture in the WNBA for over a decade and her brother, Eric currently coaches the Washington Mystics. But Carly decided to walk a different path. After graduating from Monmouth University she joined Florida State as a Director of Recruiting, then jumped to Eastern Michigan as an assistant in 2014. She preferred college basketball, its’ inherent relationship building and the opportunity to spend time creating a program in her image.

While an assistant at Eastern Michigan, she met another MAC assistant coach from the University of Buffalo who shared a similar passion for the sport.

Blake DuDonis isn’t from a WNBA family. He didn’t even play college basketball. Instead, his career started as a student-assistant at Gardner-Webb. In addition to his duties running the student newspaper on campus, he spent two years helping head coach Rick Reeves. Eventually, his career started to take off as well. He took an assistant coaching job at Merrimack College, which turned into a full-time gig back at Gardner-Webb. Now that he was in the ranks of women’s college basketball, he started to climb. One of his first stops was on the shores of Lake Erie.

“We met at a recruiting event,” Blake remembers. “And as we were leaving, I was like ‘hey, you want to grab a bite real quick before we go our separate ways?’ and Carly was like ‘No, I don’t’. So, you know, a bit of an inauspicious start!”

The two started as friends in the coaching world. Even though they saw each other once a year, it became easy to talk about the game, talk more and confide in one another. The difficulty of maintaining a relationship while coaching college basketball is a challenge unique to many when they enter the profession. But to Carly, it was part-and-parcel of a life she was accustomed to.

“Early on in dating, I didn’t know it was hard for people,” she says. “But what immediately clicked [with Blake] was that I didn’t have to apologize for leaving the dinner table to take a phone call or that I got home at 9 pm instead of 6 pm.”

At first, she’d profusely apologize to him for missing obligations because of the constraints of the job. But Blake already knew what he was dealing with. He too would have to work crazy hours, be on his phone constantly and have to travel regularly. The two were bound by basketball and bolstered by a burgeoning love. As they advanced in their careers, sacrifices were made. Neither wanted to do long distance for too long and that led to some hard discussions. At one point, Blake left the coaching industry while Carly went to Mississippi State. Carly, for her part, had to deal with the guilt of feeling like she’d hamstrung Blake’s career. But those trials would eventually lead to the perfect fit the couple are currently enjoying. They made their way to Minnesota and that’s where the Fairfield story truly begins.

“We were able to be in the same business in the same place for the first time,” he explains. “Her at [the University of] Minnesota, me at [the University of Wisconsin] River Falls and coaching with an AAU team and being able to bounce ideas and kind of work through things and each of our situations together.”

It was, in many ways, a testing ground for the two of them. They’d come home and commiserate over their respective jobs but also would bounce ideas off each other. They’d talk strategy, personnel management, working with their assistant coaches and quickly, they realized they had the capability of working with each other When the Fairfield job opened up, Carly received and offer, took it and Blake came with her as her top assistant.

While the concept of couples coaching is not entirely new in women’s college basketball, Carly and Blake work extremely hard at keeping their marriage separate from their profession. On the floor, it’s all business to the degree that recruits sometimes aren’t aware and players rarely see them as anything other than coaches.

“We're here to do the job,” says Blake. “One of our kids even joked [with us] the other day. I was leaving to recruit and Carly kind of gave me a side hug. [The player’s] like, ‘that's the first time I've seen them hug in two years.’”

With their goals taking precedent and Carly in the lead, Fairfield quickly became a power in the MAAC. After a 15-15 debut season, the Stags went 31-2. They were 20-0 in conference play, won their conference tournament and gave No. 14 Indiana a run in the first half of the first round of the NCAA Tournament before the Hoosiers ran away with the game. They advocated fiercely to be ranked in the AP Top 25 and played a style of basketball that many in the media took notice of. As the energy around the program began to crystallize, it started to feel like this small Jesuit school in Connecticut was here to stay.

But at this point in the story, you’d expect the two to jet off for a bigger and better job. No one would blame them. Carly’s name was in the mix for multiple high-major gigs and there were phone calls from power programs to the Thibault-DuDonis house. At no point, they say, did the two entertain them all that seriously. They have big aspirations for Stags women’s basketball and take inspiration from a school of similar size and religious affiliation on the other side of the country. '

“We’ve joked we’re trying to be Gonzaga east,” says Carly. “I don’t think that’s far fetched. Obviously it’s something you have to sustain year after year but I don’t think that’s a pipe dream for us. With consistency and resources and getting the right people, I think that’s a possibility.”

Adding to Carly’s bullishness on the prospect is Fairfield’s close proximity to New York City (about a 50 minute drive), its’ facilities (which she argues are on par with some Big East schools) and an alumni base energized by the idea of a successful basketball program.

All those years of travel, of working with programs big and small, bouncing around from the SEC to the heartland to the northeast have now paid off. They take inspiration from a variety of places. Carly draws on her own father and brother, on former Mississippi State mentor and current Texas head coach Vic Schaefer’s defensive methods, on the ball movement displayed by Drake and South Dakota State and on Blake himself and the three point shooting strategy he utilized in Division III.

It works in tandem, from the two of them to their players to their program. And while they could replicate the success at a bigger school, Carly and Blake are more interested in being where their feet are. Would the WNBA one day come calling? Carly says if they did she wouldn’t be very interested, especially if it was her family.

“I couldn’t have worked with my Dad, we would have killed each other,” she jokes. “We’re too similar. My Dad and Eric can work together. Eric and I can work together. Those are the combinations.”

As for Blake, he’s enjoying his role as a top assistant and ace recruiter for the Stags. The two of them, after years on the road, are finally enjoying what many couples in industries like coaching dream of: the chance to work in the same place in a job that both people enjoy. While other programs may come calling, the duo don’t plan on leaving anytime soon. And that should be music to the ears of Fairfield fans and those that love a good mid-major.

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Almost a decade has passed and Ejim now deftly maneuvers through the ticket lines and security checkpoints, wearing headphones and not worried about her destination. The journey will be the most special part of this particular summer. For in just a week, a little girl that had to fly alone to leave Alberta and compete in youth tournaments in Toronto is going to be representing Canada in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

She, along with the nation whose colors she will be wearing, have come a long way.

“There’s a lot more opportunity now,” Ejim says. “When I was playing, there was no opportunity. It may not be a two mile walk to find a basketball gym but it was a four hour flight to Toronto.”

Yvonne is the oldest sister in a family of 11 children, the daughter of Nigerian-Canadian dual nationals. She had four older brothers — Melvin, Kenny, Deon and Ryan — that helped cultivate her love of basketball. But initially, she was a tennis player.

“Serena Williams, she’s still kind of like my idol to this day,” she says.

As her brothers excelled on the hardwood, Yvonne started to follow them, gravitating towards basketball. Melvin, a former star at Iowa State, was a particularly big influence on her and helped her develop her skills as a player. If you were to ask her now who was the bigger influence — Melvin or Serena Williams — she’d have a tough time answering.

“I mean…both?” says Yvonne with a laugh. “Can I pick both?”

As her brothers progressed in their careers, she started to find her footing amongst the Canadian elite as well. At 13, she was selected for a U16 cadet camp. Despite being much younger and smaller than most of her counterparts, Yvonne was able to see a path to playing for the senior team one day.

“I was super scared,” she remembers. “I think I left camp still not knowing what was going on. But I think the next time, just having been around [Team Canada], being comfortable and understanding a bit of their play, I think that really set in stone that I can do this.”

It wasn’t until 2022 that Team Canada’s Olympic head coach, Victor Lapena, started to take notice of her. The Federation put on a pseudo-U-23 Tournament called GLOBL JAM and Ejim brought home gold. Impressed by her ability to play any position on the floor and do whatever was asked of her, Lapena asked her to try out for the senior team. Rather quickly, she found herself playing in the FIBA AmeriCup with Team Canada.

At just 22 years old, she is a part of what may be a golden generation up north. Along with Aaliyah Edwards and Laeticia Amihere, Ejim represents a coming wave of players that, when combined with the current crop of U19 guards, could make Team Canada as good as any in the world. But before she could zero in on the goal of being an aspirational figure for young girls across the country, she had to impress the veterans.

“I was so excited, nervous, scared, anxious, like all of the emotions,” she explains. “You have to adjust quickly to a lot of things. I think it just takes that next level of wanting to be there.”

With longtime national teamers and WNBA veterans like Natalie Achonwa, Sami Hill and Shay Colley welcoming her with open arms, Ejim found a place on the roster. Team Canada won Bronze at the 2023 AmeriCup and qualified for the 2024 Olympics. At one point in the NCAA regular season, she asked her Gonzaga head coach Lisa Fortier to release her so she could compete in Canadian qualifier games for Paris. Now, she hears that there will be a small pocket of Spokane, Washington rooting as hard for Team Canada as Team USA when the games begin.

“I’m just grateful,” she says of the support she’s received from Zags fans. “I think, if anything, they’ve always been supportive of me. So whatever support they can give — give to my team — I’m very grateful for it.”

Ask most Gonzaga supporters and they’ll say she’s pretty easy to root for. In addition to her personality, which has already won over fans who see her regularly around Spokane, she’s one of the most dominant players in program history. In 2024, she took home the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year award, averaging 19.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while guiding the Bulldogs to their first NCAA Sweet 16 since the 2014-2015 season. By the end of the year, Ejim was named an Honorable Mention All-American, WCC Player of the Year and WCC Defensive Player of the Year.

“[It was] probably one of the most fun times I’ve had playing basketball,” Ejim says. “The group of girls that we had, I mean we had almost our whole team come back. I think it was very special and a great time to be in.”

Now, with a little bit of time off, she enters the 2024 Olympics fresh and ready to play. The games, the new food — she said she’s willing to try the escargot! — and the experience will be special. But what Yvonne is really excited about is the clothes. In Spokane, she’s known as a bit of a thrifter with a passion for crafting a tunnel fit worthy of the WNBA.

“I get so excited because I see a lot of different fits,” she explains. “Everyone looks so cool or so unique or like themselves and I kind of want to be able to be in a space that does that because we have a couple tunnel fits at Gonzaga but not as much. It’s every game for the W.”

Her teammate, Maud Huijbens, got her into the activity. Now they’re thrifting buddies, taking freshman forward Lauren Whittaker with them whenever they’re all free. They get some recommendations from their coaches and head to Value Village or Global Neighborhood Thrift & Vintage. But nothing compares to what she’s about to wear in Paris for the opening ceremonies.

“I’ve been anticipating this gear since they first told me to start packing!” says Ejim, laughing. “When they first sent out the form to fit for all of the gear, I was like ‘I don’t know how I’m gonna get everything back!”

Luckily, her Dad and brother are coming to Paris, as are some friends. There’s a few extra bags to go around and since Melvin has his own Team Canada gear from his playing days, Yvonne thinks she’ll have a full accounting on the way home. But past the fashion, the fun and being in France, the sentiment of representing the flag matters deeply to her. A dual-national Nigerian-Canadian, who still craves her mothers Ẹ̀bà whenever she comes home, Ejim wants to be an inspiration for young girls all over her country. A representation not often seen in the past but one increasingly more visible in Canadian culture.

“In Canada, I feel like we have a lot of diversity so there’s definitely people that I knew that had similar experiences to me,” she says. “I’m very happy and very proud that I got to grow up in that environment and in that culture, learn a lot of that stuff and take what I’ve learned from that into different areas of my life.”

As she prepares to float the Seine, draped in a Lululemon bomber jacket embroidered with Canadian art, Ejim sees herself as a leader in a cultural and athletic movement. One that, along with others in her generation, will hope to inspire the nation and every young girl with a dream of playing basketball on the biggest stages. Just like her idol did.

“I’m trying to do what I can for the sport of basketball [in Canada],” she says. “Kind of like Serena did for the sport of tennis.”

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Elsewhere around the league, Front Office Sports reported that the WNBA is nearing a $2.2 billion dollar broadcast deal over the next 11 years. The rights agreement will be one of the most valuable in women’s sports history and put the WNBA on par with sports organizations like Major League Soccer.

Andrew and Tyler break down the implications of both in a rapid reaction show on Youtube and in podcast form. What will the Sky be getting? Is Mabrey better off in Connecticut? How will she handle being on a team with longtime rival DiJonai Carrington? And what does an influx of money mean for a looming collective bargaining agreement negotiation with the league and how much money players will earn?

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She dives further into her defensive mentality, gives her thoughts on guarding Caitlin Clark and Kellogg’s infamous pre-tournament speech. Afterwards, Quinerly jokes with the crew about her dream NIL deal, one of her strangest in-game traditions and her upbringing in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia.

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You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you get your pods. All of our Luxury Tax episodes are also in video format on YouTube along with our post-games and video essays. Subscribe to be get notifications of live shows and updates on new content when it comes out. And follow along with us on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok!

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You can find the podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you get your podcasts. Be sure to subscribe, like and follow. You can also follow along and subscribe to our YouTube channel as well where most Luxury Tax episodes are available in video form.

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And be sure to subscribe to our Youtube page as well to get notifications for every new live stream, postgame show, reaction video and Luxury Tax series submission. Below are the top vote getters and selections for Team USA and Team WNBA.

Top All-Star fan vote-getters

* Caitlin Clark, Fever -- 700,735 votes 

* Aliyah Boston, Fever -- 618,680 votes 

* A'ja Wilson, Aces -- 607,300 votes

* Breanna Stewart, Liberty -- 424,135 votes

* Angel Reese, Sky -- 381,518 votes

Team WNBA roster

* DeWanna Bonner, Sun

* Aliyah Boston, Fever

* Caitlin Clark, Fever

* Allisha Gray, Dream

* Dearica Hamby, Sparks

* Brionna Jones, Sun

* Jonquel Jones, Liberty

* Kayla McBride, Lynx

* Kelsey Mitchell, Fever

* Arike Ogunbowale, Wings

* Nneka Ogwumike, Storm

* Angel Reese, Sky

Team USA roster

* Napheesa Collier, Lynx

* Kahleah Copper, Mercury

* Chelsea Gray, Aces

* Brittney Griner, Mercury

* Sabrina Ionescu, Liberty

* Jewell Loyd, Storm

* Kelsey Plum, Aces

* Breanna Stewart, Liberty

* Diana Taurasi, Mercury

* Alyssa Thomas, Sun

* A'ja Wilson, Aces

* Jackie Young, Aces

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The senior opens up on a variety of topics, including her decision to leave South Carolina and return to her home state, being a part of Kelsey Plum’s Dawg Class, why she wasn’t considering going pro and an improbable Final Four run with the Pack this past year.

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From workouts to mindset and the conversation she had with Dawn Staley at the start of the season, the curtain gets peeled back on one of the greatest teams in women’s college basketball history.

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Andrew Haubner and Tyler DeLuca broke the whole game down start to finish. The two touch on what is starting to work in the Clark/Boston dynamic, NaLyssa Smith’s breakout third quarter and what to make of the Sky’s new rotations. They also discuss Angel Reese’s WNBA ceiling, her foul troubles in the game and Chennedy Carter’s emergence as one of the most electric scorers in the league.

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The duo also rundown the revenge game for Skylar Diggins-Smith, taking on the Phoenix Mercury for the first time since joining the Seattle Storm and whether or not the Connecticut Sun can remain undefeated after a red hot 9-0 start to the WNBA season.

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You can find and listen to our podcasts here in the Substack app or site as well as on Apple, Spotify and everywhere you get your podcasts. Be sure to follow and subscribe there as well as to our Youtube page to tap in with us live after games.

Topics covered on the show today include…

0:00 - Fever vs. Liberty recap.

7:35 - Should expectations be adjusted for Caitlin Clark?

17:30 - The Fever’s changing and evolving team culture.

39:05 - Sabrina Ionescu’s role on the Liberty two games into the year.

42:10 - Where does Indiana get their first win?

44:44 - Cam Brink’s rookie debut.

51:07 - Angel Reese’s rookie debut.

1:01:00 - How the rookie class is changing expectations in the W.

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Coach Gottlieb breaks down some of her history playing for Scarsdale high school with future Duke WBB legend Hilary Heieck (ne Howard) and against future WNBA hall-of-famer Chamique Holdsclaw. She also touches on her coaching philosophy, leveraging social media in the age of the transfer portal and winning the final Pac-12 championship.

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Rough Cuts is a chance for you as the fan to dig deeper. A chance to hear more from a player that had a quote you really loved. At No Cap Space, there is no dead money. So enjoy all our content and we mean all of it.

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