After year of change, John Hunter Nemechek and No. 42 team reaching new heights
Mack, who came to the team from Kaulig Racing, was just one of many changes Legacy Motor Club has gone through since the end of the 2023 campaign. Nemechek was brought in before the 2024 season as the organization moved from Chevrolet to Toyota. That change meant different ways of doing things, different tools and much to learn.
Nemechek and teammate Erik Jones struggled last year as Legacy Motor Club went through additional personnel changes. Performance has improved for the team owned by seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.
Heading into Sunday's Chicago Street Race, Jones is 16th in the season standings, 49 points below the playoff cutline. Nemechek is 23rd in the season standings but has had a career-high six top-10 finishes this season — his most recent a sixth-place result two weeks ago in Mexico. Nemechek has four top 10s in the last eight races.
The recent performance is a sign of how Mack and engineer Sydney Prince, who became the team's lead engineer in May, have worked well with Nemechek and given him a car he needs.
That goes back to what Mack heard in the offseason as he listened to the radio communication Nemechek had with his team last year.
Dustin Long,
'In his past, in lap one or two, they were on the radio already telling him how to drive,' Mack told NBC Sports. 'They were trying to lecture him on what he needed to do different, how to drive like somebody else.'
Along with Legacy Motor Club's cars getting better, Mack also seeks to give Nemechek more freedom on what he needs with the car.
'The sim driver could tell us something all week, but if (Nemechek) goes out and says 'You can't do that … the car is not capable of that,' we've got to trust what he's telling us and that's one of the biggest things.'
Nate Ryan,
That also relates to the information the team provides Nemechek to help him.
'We put together a ton of notes throughout the week on (such items as) differences of how he drives vs. other people,' Prince told NBC Sports.
'He'll retain that information and he'll go out there and run how he thinks he needs to drive the car and have that (information) in the back of his head, so if we need to change up something during practice or during the race, it's not necessarily changing his driving style to drive like other people — because none of the drivers are exactly the same — it's just notes to keep stacking on ways to get better.'
All of that has helped Nemechek perform better on the track since May, scoring sixth-place finishes at Pocono and Mexico, an eighth-place result at Texas and a 10th-place run at Kansas.
'I think it's confidence in your equipment,' Nemechek told NBC Sports. 'When I go out on the racetrack, I'm confident that I know that he car is going to stick and that I can push it. Last year, you never really knew what you were going to get from a correlation aspect, from unloading from sim to the racetrack.
'I know when I'm coming to the racetrack kind of where we're going to be as far as balance-wise. If it's not that way, it's not that way, but having confidence in them that we can make our cars better.'
Nemechek says his team's growth is just an example of what's taking place at Legacy Motor Club this season.
'I think that last year was a very big building year,' he said. 'I think there were a lot of things that we didn't do great as team last year at Legacy. I think the personnel changes, the hires, the people that are now running competition, that are running the tech side, shop guys, everyone has bought in.'
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NBC Sports
2 hours ago
- NBC Sports
2025 WNBA Power Rankings (Week 8): Storm surge; Lynx rebound from Commissioner's Cup loss
The Minnesota Lynx may have lost the Commissioner's Cup to the Indiana Fever, but right now, it's them and then every other team. The Seattle Storm are working their way up the rankings, while teams like the Los Angeles Sparks, Chicago Sky and Dallas Wings shuffle spots at the bottom. Between the Commissioner's Cup and All-Star announcements, it was another busy week in the WNBA, and with another week, comes updated power rankings. WNBA Power Rankings These rankings reflect where each WNBA team stands after week eight of the 2025 season. Teams are ranked 1-13 and are grouped by tiers. Past Rankings: Preseason, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7 Minnesota Lynx (17-2) | Prior Rank: 1 - The Minnesota Lynx played 4 games last week, which included the 2025 Commissioner's Cup, a game that they loss. But since the Cup doesn't count towards the regular season standings, the Lynx were a perfect 3-0 in week 8, which includes a gritty, come-from-behind win over the Chicago Sky on the second night of a back-to-back. All the Minnesota Lynx do is win, and they were rewarded with two All-Stars, Napheesa Collier and Courtney Williams, as a result. They will also grab the top spot in these power rankings for the third week in a row. COURT IS HEADED TO ALL-STAR. ⭐️ Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) July 6, 2025 Minnesota Lynx (17-2) | Prior Rank: 1 - The Minnesota Lynx played 4 games last week, which included the 2025 Commissioner's Cup, a game that they loss. But since the Cup doesn't count towards the regular season standings, the Lynx were a perfect 3-0 in week 8, which includes a gritty, come-from-behind win over the Chicago Sky on the second night of a back-to-back. All the Minnesota Lynx do is win, and they were rewarded with two All-Stars, Napheesa Collier and Courtney Williams, as a result. They will also grab the top spot in these power rankings for the third week in a row. COURT IS HEADED TO ALL-STAR. ⭐️ Phoenix Mercury (13-6) | Prior Rank: 2 - The Mercury will hold on to No. 2 for another week after snapping a two-game losing streak. What's concerning for the Mercury is after just recently becoming whole, both Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper had to miss their game against the Dallas Wings on Monday due to ankle and hamstring injuries, respectively. Sabally, one of the team's two All-Stars this year, was spotted in a walking boot on Sunday during the team's practice. Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally is in a boot on her right leg. #WNBA Desert Wave Media (@DesertWaveCo) July 6, 2025 Fortunately for the Mercury, their other All-Star is Alyssa Thomas, and with Thomas on the court, the team will always have a chance. She connects everything for the Mercury. She's their best, most important and most valuable player. This marks the 15th time the Phoenix Mercury has had multiple All-Stars in the same season! Greatness isn't new in Phoenix. This Is Mercury Basketball. Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) July 6, 2025 Thomas stuffed the stat sheet and notched the 12th triple-double of her career in the Mercury's dominant 102-72 win over the Dallas Wings. Another game, another triple-double for AT 🔄 Alyssa Thomas dropped 15 PTS, 10 REB, 15 AST, & 2 STL to notch her 12th career triple-double vs. the Wings. This also marks her 3rd career game with 15+ PTS and 15+ AST, passing Courtney Vandersloot for most in WNBA history!… WNBA (@WNBA) July 8, 2025 However, her teammate Sami Whitcomb, stole the show with a career-high 36 points and seven made threes on the night. Her 29 points in the first half is the most points scored in a half by a WNBA player this season. Sami Whitcomb was ELECTRIC in her career-high performance vs. Dallas ⚡️ 36 PTS (12-19 FG) 7 3PM (7-11 3PT) 6 REB 2 STL#WelcometotheW WNBA (@WNBA) July 8, 2025 The Mercury have been winning games all season with starters missing from the lineup. This is what they do. They get key contributions from across their team, and based on recent reporting, more help may be on the way. With the second best record in the league, they land the No. 2 spot for the third week in a row. DeWanna Bonner is expected to sign with the Mercury, per @MAVoepel. Bonner would be making a return to Phoenix where she played 10 seasons and won two titles. Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 8, 2025 Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally is in a boot on her right leg. #WNBA This marks the 15th time the Phoenix Mercury has had multiple All-Stars in the same season! Greatness isn't new in Phoenix. This Is Mercury Basketball. Another game, another triple-double for AT 🔄 Alyssa Thomas dropped 15 PTS, 10 REB, 15 AST, & 2 STL to notch her 12th career triple-double vs. the Wings. This also marks her 3rd career game with 15+ PTS and 15+ AST, passing Courtney Vandersloot for most in WNBA history!… Sami Whitcomb was ELECTRIC in her career-high performance vs. Dallas ⚡️ 36 PTS (12-19 FG) 7 3PM (7-11 3PT) 6 REB 2 STL#WelcometotheW DeWanna Bonner is expected to sign with the Mercury, per @MAVoepel. Bonner would be making a return to Phoenix where she played 10 seasons and won two titles. Atlanta Dream (12-7) | Prior Rank: 3 - The Dream are 1-1 in their last two home games with a one-point loss to the Seattle Storm and a win over the Golden State Valkyries. The Dream were without Rhyne Howard for their matchup with the Storm, but a familiar foe is why they lost that game. They have not been able to consistently overcome their late game execution issues in close games. Against the the Valkyries on Monday, they did, and it resulted in a win. The Dream and Storm have identical records and they have split their head-to-head matchups this season. The Storm do have the most recent win, but Atlanta was missing one of their two All-Stars, Rhyne Howard (Allisha Gray being the other). More importantly, while Seattle and Atlanta are nearly tied in Defensive Rating (99.7 and 99.9 respectively), the Dream have a better Offensive and overall Net Rating (6.6 as compared to 3.9). For now, that's enough for Atlanta to edge out Seattle for No. 3 this week. Well deserved @howard_rhyne 🥹 Make ATL proud. #DoItForTheDream Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) July 6, 2025 Atlanta Dream (12-7) | Prior Rank: 3 - The Dream are 1-1 in their last two home games with a one-point loss to the Seattle Storm and a win over the Golden State Valkyries. The Dream were without Rhyne Howard for their matchup with the Storm, but a familiar foe is why they lost that game. They have not been able to consistently overcome their late game execution issues in close games. Against the the Valkyries on Monday, they did, and it resulted in a win. The Dream and Storm have identical records and they have split their head-to-head matchups this season. The Storm do have the most recent win, but Atlanta was missing one of their two All-Stars, Rhyne Howard (Allisha Gray being the other). More importantly, while Seattle and Atlanta are nearly tied in Defensive Rating (99.7 and 99.9 respectively), the Dream have a better Offensive and overall Net Rating (6.6 as compared to 3.9). For now, that's enough for Atlanta to edge out Seattle for No. 3 this week. Well deserved @howard_rhyne 🥹 Make ATL proud. #DoItForTheDream Seattle Storm (12-7) | Prior Rank: 6 - The Seattle Storm bounced back from their blowout loss to the Golden State Valkyries by going 2-0 in week 8. Those two wins came against the shorthanded Atlanta Dream, who were without Rhyne Howard and the New York Liberty who were missing Jonquel Jones. The Storm's record this season against the two teams ranked immediately ahead them is 2-1 versus Phoenix and a 1-1 split with Atlanta. It's worth noting that in their matchups with both the Mercury and Dream, both opponents were missing at least one star player, while Seattle had their three recently named All-Stars (Skylar Diggins, Nneka Ogwumike and Gabby Williams) all available to them. Seattle can only play who is in front of them, but it's important context for assessing how to rank these teams against one another. With that context, Seattle will still move up two spots this week to No. 4, but they won't overtake Atlanta (same record) or Phoenix (one-game lead in the standings ) just yet. this is so cute😭 aysia (@aysiacchanell) July 6, 2025 Seattle Storm (12-7) | Prior Rank: 6 - The Seattle Storm bounced back from their blowout loss to the Golden State Valkyries by going 2-0 in week 8. Those two wins came against the shorthanded Atlanta Dream, who were without Rhyne Howard and the New York Liberty who were missing Jonquel Jones. The Storm's record this season against the two teams ranked immediately ahead them is 2-1 versus Phoenix and a 1-1 split with Atlanta. It's worth noting that in their matchups with both the Mercury and Dream, both opponents were missing at least one star player, while Seattle had their three recently named All-Stars (Skylar Diggins, Nneka Ogwumike and Gabby Williams) all available to them. Seattle can only play who is in front of them, but it's important context for assessing how to rank these teams against one another. With that context, Seattle will still move up two spots this week to No. 4, but they won't overtake Atlanta (same record) or Phoenix (one-game lead in the standings ) just yet. this is so cute😭 New York Liberty (12-6) | Prior Rank: 4 - While New York has a half game lead over both Atlanta and Seattle for third in the standings, they will fall another spot this week to No. 5. Even with the return of Leonie Fiebich to the lineup, the Liberty are losing at a faster rate than they are winning in the last few weeks and that's largely due to the loss of Jonquel Jones, who is not expected to return to play until after the WNBA All-Star break because of a right ankle York is 2-4 in their last six games. In week 8, they went 1-1 with the Los Angeles Sparks and Seattle Storm, and they had to overcome a deficit to beat the Sparks. Fortunately for New York their next six games are at home, where both of their All-Stars, Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart, typically play very well. Hopefully, they can use home court to their advantage to steady the ship, but with so many losses recently, they fall to fifth this week. SHOUTOUT TO OUR ALL-STAR CREW 🤩🍿 Catch @breannastewart & @sabrina_i20 on the big stage in Indy at @WNBA All-Star 🌟 New York Liberty (@nyliberty) June 30, 2025 New York Liberty (12-6) | Prior Rank: 4 - While New York has a half game lead over both Atlanta and Seattle for third in the standings, they will fall another spot this week to No. 5. Even with the return of Leonie Fiebich to the lineup, the Liberty are losing at a faster rate than they are winning in the last few weeks and that's largely due to the loss of Jonquel Jones, who is not expected to return to play until after the WNBA All-Star break because of a right ankle injury. New York is 2-4 in their last six games. In week 8, they went 1-1 with the Los Angeles Sparks and Seattle Storm, and they had to overcome a deficit to beat the Sparks. Fortunately for New York their next six games are at home, where both of their All-Stars, Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart, typically play very well. Hopefully, they can use home court to their advantage to steady the ship, but with so many losses recently, they fall to fifth this week. SHOUTOUT TO OUR ALL-STAR CREW 🤩🍿 Catch @breannastewart & @sabrina_i20 on the big stage in Indy at @WNBA All-Star 🌟 Golden State Valkyries (9-9) | Prior Rank: 5 - The Valkyries drop one spot this week after losing two games in a row. They are in the middle of a four-game road trip, in which they have started 0-2. The Valkyries have a much better home than road record. Of their nine wins this season, only two have occurred on the road, both against the Los Angeles Sparks. The Valkyries will likely need their sole All-Star, Kayla Thornton, to go to another level for them on the road because if that trend continues, they could be in for a tough stretch, as they only have two games at home between now and August 3. She's been giving All-Star. Now it's official. @KBT_5Blessed to the big stage, named to @WNBA All-Star Reserves. 🌟@Sephora | The Firsts Golden State Valkyries (@valkyries) July 6, 2025 The Valkyries are in a three-way tie for the sixth best record in the WNBA with the Indiana Fever and Las Vegas Aces. Since they have beaten both teams in their head-to-head matchups, they will get the No. 6 spot this week. Golden State Valkyries (9-9) | Prior Rank: 5 - The Valkyries drop one spot this week after losing two games in a row. They are in the middle of a four-game road trip, in which they have started 0-2. The Valkyries have a much better home than road record. Of their nine wins this season, only two have occurred on the road, both against the Los Angeles Sparks. The Valkyries will likely need their sole All-Star, Kayla Thornton, to go to another level for them on the road because if that trend continues, they could be in for a tough stretch, as they only have two games at home between now and August 3. She's been giving All-Star. Now it's official. @KBT_5Blessed to the big stage, named to @WNBA All-Star Reserves. 🌟@Sephora | The Firsts The Valkyries are in a three-way tie for the sixth best record in the WNBA with the Indiana Fever and Las Vegas Aces. Since they have beaten both teams in their head-to-head matchups, they will get the No. 6 spot this week. Indiana Fever (9-9) | Prior Rank: 8 - The Fever played three games during week 8, which includes a win in the Commissioner's Cup, and went 2-1. Unfortunately for them, the Cup does not count towards standings, so they are still .500 on the season. However, it will be considered for purposes of these rankings. The Fever went into Minnesota, without the services of Caitlin Clark, and beat the best team in the WNBA on their home court. Couple that with finally getting their first win over the Las Vegas Aces since 2020, in dominant fashion, and snapping a 16-game losing streak and that's how they end up ahead of the Aces this week at No. 7. GOT IT DONE 💯#NowYouKnow Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) July 2, 2025 Also, there is more good news for the Fever. Even though fellow All-Stars, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell, have been holding it down for the Fever during her absence, their All-Star Captain, Caitlin Clark, is expected to return to play from a groin injury for their matchup on Wednesday with the Golden State Valkyries. Stephanie White says that, barring any regression, Caitlin Clark will be available tomorrow against the Valkyries.— Chloe Peterson (@chloepeterson67) July 8, 2025 Indiana Fever (9-9) | Prior Rank: 8 - The Fever played three games during week 8, which includes a win in the Commissioner's Cup, and went 2-1. Unfortunately for them, the Cup does not count towards standings, so they are still .500 on the season. However, it will be considered for purposes of these rankings. The Fever went into Minnesota, without the services of Caitlin Clark, and beat the best team in the WNBA on their home court. Couple that with finally getting their first win over the Las Vegas Aces since 2020, in dominant fashion, and snapping a 16-game losing streak and that's how they end up ahead of the Aces this week at No. 7. GOT IT DONE 💯#NowYouKnow Also, there is more good news for the Fever. Even though fellow All-Stars, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell, have been holding it down for the Fever during her absence, their All-Star Captain, Caitlin Clark, is expected to return to play from a groin injury for their matchup on Wednesday with the Golden State Valkyries. Stephanie White says that, barring any regression, Caitlin Clark will be available tomorrow against the Valkyries. Las Vegas Aces (9-9) | Prior Rank: 7 - Even though the Aces are still at .500 this week, they fall one spot to eighth after going 1-1 in week 8. While their win in NaLyssa Smith's first game as a starter looked great, it was against the Connecticut Sun, a team with the worst record in the league and only two wins on the season. It also followed one of their worst losses of the season, a 27-point beatdown at the hands of the Indiana Fever. A positive for the Aces is that Smith looked good in her second game while securing a double-double and was moved into the starting lineup after the beating they took from Indiana. Her addition to the team should improve their offense and help to keep defenses honest against the Aces. For now, the Aces get the No. 8 spot this week. NaLyssa Smith first Aces start 11 PTS 10 REB 2 STL 5-7 FG BIG DAWG NaiLyssa Muse (@NaiLyssa_Muse) July 6, 2025 Las Vegas Aces (9-9) | Prior Rank: 7 - Even though the Aces are still at .500 this week, they fall one spot to eighth after going 1-1 in week 8. While their win in NaLyssa Smith's first game as a starter looked great, it was against the Connecticut Sun, a team with the worst record in the league and only two wins on the season. It also followed one of their worst losses of the season, a 27-point beatdown at the hands of the Indiana Fever. A positive for the Aces is that Smith looked good in her second game while securing a double-double and was moved into the starting lineup after the beating they took from Indiana. Her addition to the team should improve their offense and help to keep defenses honest against the Aces. For now, the Aces get the No. 8 spot this week. NaLyssa Smith first Aces start 11 PTS 10 REB 2 STL 5-7 FG BIG DAWG Washington Mystics (9-10) | Prior Rank: 9 - The Mystics snapped a two-game losing streak on Tuesday by defeating the Chicago Sky in a two-point win to pull back within one game of .500. The Mystics have gotten better at executing in close games, but they need to string together a few wins in a row to rise in the standings and in these though they will remain at No. 9 this week, things are trending up for the youngest team in the league. It was announced Sunday that two of their rookies, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen, had been selected as All-Star reserves. They will join Paige Bueckers as the only other rookie All-Stars from the 2025 class. For the first time since 2011, 3 rookies will be playing in the All-Star game together ⭐️ This is just the 5th time in league history that 3 or more rookies have been named All-Stars in the same season Paige Bueckers, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen have stood out in their first… WNBA (@WNBA) July 6, 2025 Washington Mystics (9-10) | Prior Rank: 9 - The Mystics snapped a two-game losing streak on Tuesday by defeating the Chicago Sky in a two-point win to pull back within one game of .500. The Mystics have gotten better at executing in close games, but they need to string together a few wins in a row to rise in the standings and in these rankings. Even though they will remain at No. 9 this week, things are trending up for the youngest team in the league. It was announced Sunday that two of their rookies, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen, had been selected as All-Star reserves. They will join Paige Bueckers as the only other rookie All-Stars from the 2025 class. For the first time since 2011, 3 rookies will be playing in the All-Star game together ⭐️ This is just the 5th time in league history that 3 or more rookies have been named All-Stars in the same season Paige Bueckers, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen have stood out in their first… Los Angeles Sparks (6-13) | Prior Rank: 10 - The Sparks went 1-1 in week 8, losing to the New York Liberty and beating the Indiana Fever on the road. This is who the Sparks have been all season. It's really a toss up between LA, the Chicago Sky and Dallas Wings for spots 10-12 in these rankings. These teams are within a half game of each other, are all playing shorthanded and have kept pace with each other over the course of the season. Since the Sparks have the longest win streak of the three teams at a whopping one game, they will move up two spots to No. 10 this week. Chicago Sky (5-13) | Prior Rank: 10 - The Sky drop one spot this week because they are on a two-game losing streak, but there's no way to ignore the improvement in their play over their last several games, which starts with their sole All-Star this season, Angel Reese. ⭐️2x ALL-STAR BARBIE⭐️ Angel Reese is officially a 2025 WNBA All-Star🤩 Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) July 6, 2025 The Sky are 2-3 in their last five games. Their three losses were all on the road against the Valkyries (by five points), Lynx (by 5 points) and Mystics (by two points). All of these games were close and Chicago was without Kamilla Cardoso for all three. Chicago's improved play also coincides with an impressive six-game stretch from Angel Reese. Angel Reese's last six games: 17.8 PPG 17.0 RPG 4.8 APG 1.7 SPG 45.8% FG 88.2% FT— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) July 8, 2025 While Chicago will fall to No. 11 this week, they should feel encouraged that the team is starting to move in a better direction. Chicago Sky (5-13) | Prior Rank: 10 - The Sky drop one spot this week because they are on a two-game losing streak, but there's no way to ignore the improvement in their play over their last several games, which starts with their sole All-Star this season, Angel Reese. ⭐️2x ALL-STAR BARBIE⭐️ Angel Reese is officially a 2025 WNBA All-Star🤩 The Sky are 2-3 in their last five games. Their three losses were all on the road against the Valkyries (by five points), Lynx (by 5 points) and Mystics (by two points). All of these games were close and Chicago was without Kamilla Cardoso for all three. Chicago's improved play also coincides with an impressive six-game stretch from Angel Reese. Angel Reese's last six games: 17.8 PPG 17.0 RPG 4.8 APG 1.7 SPG 45.8% FG 88.2% FT While Chicago will fall to No. 11 this week, they should feel encouraged that the team is starting to move in a better direction. Dallas Wings (6-14) | Prior Rank: 11 - The Wings are 1-1 in their last two games and if the Sky hadn't beaten them in all of their head-to-head matchups this season, they would have a case to be ranked ahead of them this week. The Wings' most recent loss was a 30-point blowout to the Phoenix Mercury, a team who they had just beaten on their home court while Phoenix was at mostly full strength. So while Dallas is down some key players in Arike Ogunbowale and DiJonai Carrington, losing to the Mercury, albeit on the road, while they were without both Kahleah Copper and Satou Sabally is a bad that loss, the Wings had a very impressive win over Phoenix that was led by their three rookies. Paige Bueckers had already been playing well which is why she's a first-time All-Star and earned Rookie of the Month honors for June. No.1 Draft Pick in May 🤝 @Kia Rookie of the Month in June Paige Bueckers delievered some performances worth remembering during her second month as pro, capping off June with 21.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 5.0 APG#KiaROTM | #WelcometotheW WNBA (@WNBA) July 3, 2025 But in their win over the Mercury, Aziaha James led the way with a career-high 28 points and JJ Quinerly also stuffed the stat sheet to help Dallas secure the win. Young & poppin it 😮💨 Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) July 4, 2025 Like Chicago, things are looking up for the Wings and once they get Arike and DiJonai back, we can start to get a better sense of the team's potential, but for this week, they will land at No. 12. Dallas Wings (6-14) | Prior Rank: 11 - The Wings are 1-1 in their last two games and if the Sky hadn't beaten them in all of their head-to-head matchups this season, they would have a case to be ranked ahead of them this week. The Wings' most recent loss was a 30-point blowout to the Phoenix Mercury, a team who they had just beaten on their home court while Phoenix was at mostly full strength. So while Dallas is down some key players in Arike Ogunbowale and DiJonai Carrington, losing to the Mercury, albeit on the road, while they were without both Kahleah Copper and Satou Sabally is a bad loss. Despite that loss, the Wings had a very impressive win over Phoenix that was led by their three rookies. Paige Bueckers had already been playing well which is why she's a first-time All-Star and earned Rookie of the Month honors for June. No.1 Draft Pick in May 🤝 @Kia Rookie of the Month in June Paige Bueckers delievered some performances worth remembering during her second month as pro, capping off June with 21.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 5.0 APG#KiaROTM | #WelcometotheW But in their win over the Mercury, Aziaha James led the way with a career-high 28 points and JJ Quinerly also stuffed the stat sheet to help Dallas secure the win. Young & poppin it 😮💨 Like Chicago, things are looking up for the Wings and once they get Arike and DiJonai back, we can start to get a better sense of the team's potential, but for this week, they will land at No. 12. Connecticut Sun (2-16) | Prior Rank: 13 - It's officially been over a month since the Sun last won a game on June 6. They have the worst record in the league and two wins on the will keep them at No. 13 again this week. Connecticut Sun (2-16) | Prior Rank: 13 - It's officially been over a month since the Sun last won a game on June 6. They have the worst record in the league and two wins on the season. This will keep them at No. 13 again this week.
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Caitlin Clark expected to return to Fever Wednesday as TD Garden game approaches
'I think it's just nice to get back out there and get into the flow of playing with my teammates again,' Clark told reporters Tuesday. 'It's going to be fun to get back out there hopefully and just feel things again. I don't know what the type of minutes I'm going to get will look like, but just when I'm out there compete, play hard.' Advertisement Clark, who last week was voted an all-star starter and captain in her second season, has played just nine games this season. She's averaging 18.2 points, 8.9 assists and 5.0 rebounds while playing 33.3 minutes per game. When she returns, White said Clark will play under a minutes restriction. 'I hope to play a decent amount, maybe upper 20s,' Clark said. 'Just depends how I feel and how the game goes and what the team needs as well. I feel pretty good, but I'm probably going to try not to overdo it as well and put myself in a good position going forward.' This was Clark's second stint on the sidelines this season due to injury. She missed five games from May 28 to June 10 with a left quadriceps strain. Advertisement The Fever are 4-5 without Clark this season. That doesn't include their Commissioner's Cup championship win last week over the Minnesota Lynx. Clark celebrated the team's first Cup victory, but acknowledged sitting out hasn't been easy. She played all 40 games as a rookie last season. 'It's obviously hard sitting out and watching for a few weeks so I'm definitely excited to get back out there,' she said. 'It's been challenging mentally just staying in it. You're way more busy when you're hurt than when you're coming in and all you do is scout film and come out here and walk through things. I'm in here hours on hours on hours trying to get my body right and do everything I can to put myself in a position to be available the rest of the year. That's certainly my goal and I feel good about that.' Julian Benbow can be reached at
NBC Sports
7 hours ago
- NBC Sports
Tyler Johnson announces his retirement from the NHL
Tyler Johnson announced his retirement after playing 13 NHL seasons and winning the Stanley Cup twice with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Johnson called it a career in a lengthy message posted on social media. Johnson had battled injuries in recent years and is set to turn 35 on July 29. 'As a short kid from a small town, I saw my chances of playing in the NHL as very slim,' Johnson wrote on Instagram. 'But my family — my parents, Ken and Debbie, and my grandparents — believed in me when doubt clouded my mind. Their unwavering faith turned that dream into reality.' Listed at 5-foot-8 and 191 pounds, Johnson won at just about ever level, capturing the Western Hockey League and Memorial Cup championships in 2008 with his hometown Spokane Chiefs and the Calder Cup championship with Norfolk of the American Hockey League in 2012. The NHL brought more success, as he skated in 863 regular-season and playoff games since debuting in the league in 2013, putting up 498 points. Johnson was part of the Lightning's core when they reached the final in 2015 and helped them hoist the Cup back to back in 2020 and '21. Johnson finished with Chicago, playing three seasons with the Blackhawks, and Boston, signing with the Bruins early last season following his training camp tryout. 'After a lifetime devoted to hockey, I'm ready for what's next,' Johnson said. 'This moment is bittersweet, but I leave the game with no regrets.'
