Latest news with #2023Finals
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
WNBA Finals Trend Should Worry Fever After Commissioner's Cup Win
WNBA Finals Trend Should Worry Fever After Commissioner's Cup Win originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Indiana Fever's championship hopes might not be as strong as many thought coming into the 2025 WNBA season. The 2012 champions are still trying to figure things out under Stephanie White and multiple new players. Advertisement Amid an 8-8 start to the season, the Fever visited the Minnesota Lynx (14-2) for the Commissioner's Cup championship game, in which they beat the 2024 WNBA Finals runners-up 74-59. They pulled off the upset despite not having Caitlin Clark available for the game. This was a notable win for the Fever, who were visibly excited after securing the in-season tournament against the best team in the league. Natasha Howard led the way with 16 points, followed by Sophie Cunningham's 13 points and Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell and Aari McDonald, who scored 12 points apiece. Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark wasn't available for the 2025 Commissioner's Cup final. Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images As great as this result was, it could be bad news for the Fever. The Athletic's women's basketball X account shared on Wednesday that the last two Commissioner's Cup losers ended up having the last laugh and winning the championship months later. The Las Vegas Aces took revenge against the New York Liberty in the 2023 Finals, while the Liberty did the same against the Lynx last year. Minnesota returned to the Commissioner's Cup final, as the past two WNBA champions did, playing a high level of basketball. Advertisement Led by leading MVP candidate Napheesa Collier, Courtney Williams and a group of hungry players, the Lynx have serious chances to take down the Liberty. They have been the most consistent team in the league this season, but other squads, such as the Phoenix Mercury, Atlanta Dream and Seattle Storm, are also exceeding expectations. The Fever are still championship hopeful, but they need to make some tweaks before joining the candidates' table. Related: Caitlin Clark Takes Jab at Rivals After Commissioner's Cup Win This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
WNBA viewer's guide: Paige Bueckers' debut, Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese and everything else to watch this season
The WNBA returns on Friday with storylines aplenty to fuel the league's 29th season. For the first time in the league's existence, New York is the reigning champion entering opening weekend. Caitlin Clark is refreshed and rejuvenated with a new-look Indiana Fever team that could compete with the standard-bearer Liberty and Las Vegas Aces for the title. And a litany of All-Stars led by Kelsey Plum, Brittney Griner, Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally are in new places ahead of a monster free agency market in 2026. The regular season expands to 44 games for the first time, up from 40 the past two seasons and 36 in 2022. The playoffs will also look different. The first round will remain a best-of-three, but shift to a 1-1-1 format to ensure each playoff team hosts at least one game. The Finals will be a best-of-seven series for the first time in a 2-2-1-1-1 structure. Advertisement Here's a full viewer's guide for the weekend's games, the overwhelming number of new coaches, the odds leaders and one question for each team this season. All games are available on WNBA League Pass if not airing nationally on ESPN/ABC, ION or CBS. Opening weekend schedule, how to watch Friday Dream at Mystics, 7:30 p.m. ET (ION) Lynx at Wings, 7:30 p.m. ET (ION) Sparks at Valkyries, 10 p.m. ET (ION) Saturday Aces at Liberty, 1 p.m. ET (ABC) Sky at Fever, 3 p.m. ET (ABC) Storm at Mercury, 10 p.m. ET Sunday Mystics at Sun, 1 p.m. ET Lynx at Sparks, 6 p.m. ET Paige Bueckers will be the center of attention in Dallas and around the country as she begins her rookie season. (Photo by) (Sam Hodde via Getty Images) What to watch for this weekend Debuts: Paige Bueckers will make her WNBA debut on Friday night. Fellow rookies Aziaha James and Madison Scott (Wings); Dominque Malonga (Storm); Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen and Lucy Olsen (Mystics); Aneesah Morrow and Saniya Rivers (Sun); Hailey Van Lith and Maddy Westbeld (Sky); Sarah Ashlee Barker (Sparks); Aaliyah Nye (Aces); Rayah Marshall (Sun); Te-Hina Paopao (Dream); and Makayla Timpson (Fever) will all potentially hit the court over the weekend. Advertisement It is also the debut for the Valkyries, who open their season at home at Chase Center, where they netted more than 17,000 fans for their preseason debut. That contest will feature the first official game for Kelsey Plum in Los Angeles. We'll see the first real action from Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones in Atlanta, while Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally open their Phoenix careers at home. Swag: The Liberty will receive their championship rings and watch the championship banner raised into the Barclays Center rafters ahead of season tip-off on Saturday. They'll do it in front of the Aces, who beat New York in the 2023 Finals but lost to them in the semis last year. It's been a heated rivalry over the last two seasons, and there's the potential for the two to meet again in the semifinals or Finals come the fall. Rivalries: The league knew what it was doing with its salivating platter of season openers. Caitlin Clark and the beefed-up Indiana Fever host Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso and the Chicago Sky, who added their own major names in free agency. The ABC matinee is the first of five meetings that are spread out month by month throughout the season. The Fever added WNBA champions DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Cloud and Sydney Colson, as well as Sophie Cunningham, to the roster. The Sky brought home point guard Courtney Vandersloot, a member of the Liberty's championship squad, to add veteran presence for its young group. Oddsmakers favorites It's rather close at the top of the WNBA champion betting lines at BetMGM, creating a clear top tier of talent. The lines moved tighter between the Liberty, Aces and Fever last week after preseason games began. Advertisement The reigning champion Liberty (+225), former two-time champion Aces (+275), stacked Fever (+300) and Finals runner-up Lynx (+400) are the favorites to battle it out for the top four spots, while there is an understandably steep drop-off to the next teams: the Mercury at +1400 and the Storm (+3500). The Liberty will be without starting wing Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, the head of their defense, who could be out for the season with injury. The Aces acquired Storm two-time champion Jewell Loyd in a three-team trade that sent Kelsey Plum to Los Angeles. They'll have to work around a lack of depth in the frontcourt, which they have done before, while rookie Elizabeth Kitley works her way fully back from an ACL injury that kept her out last season. And the Lynx remained quiet in free agency, but didn't need to be loud after falling a whisker short of a championship. MVP A'ja Wilson (center) and the Aces are looking to climb back to the top of the league after falling in last year's semifinals. (Photo by) (Ethan Miller via Getty Images) For your MVP consideration There is no doubt that the top five 2024 MVP vote earners will again lead the competition for the season's award. Reigning MVP and Las Vegas Aces forward A'ja Wilson is going for a record fourth MVP that would break a tie with Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson for most all-time. Advertisement New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, who won the 2023 award, needs one more to tie the four with three MVPs. Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier and Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas, after an 11-year career in Connecticut, are seeking their first trophies. As is Clark, who finished fourth in MVP as a rookie while leading the league in assists and 3-pointers. There are only two guard winners in the league's 29-year history. Neither Cynthia Cooper nor Diana Taurasi was a point guard. Additional names in the preseason conversation are Liberty forward Jonquel Jones, Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike, Mercury wing Kahleah Copper and Dream forward Brittney Griner. The CBA cloud on the season The WNBA Players Association (WNBPA) and league are negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) after the union opted out of the current one the day after the WNBA Finals ended. Multiple players have said the union is willing to strike, and WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson did not rule out a work stoppage when speaking with reporters earlier this month. A new deal needs to be ratified by the start of the 2026 season. Advertisement At the core of the conversation is the league's 11-year media rights deal reported at $200 million annually. Players want the money to filter down, as it historically has for other leagues netting growing media rights deals. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has repeatedly said the media deals will lead to higher salaries. The supermax is $249,244 in 2025. The hard salary cap, maternity and parental benefits, pensions, prioritization and revenue sharing are all potential sticking points between the team owners and the union. The charter flight plan introduced by the league a year ago will also need to be codified in the deal. The implementation of a new CBA will usher in a new WNBA landscape. The vast majority of players, with the exception of those on rookie contracts, did not sign beyond the 2025 season to benefit from higher salaries and benefits under the newly negotiated deal. It could create a flurry of movement in free agency when teams have the majority of their cap free and players can team up with each other in signing places. Seven new coaches take the clipboard The phrase 'first-year head coach' will be uttered often this month. Seven of the 12 existing teams went in a new direction in the offseason, and all but one are first-time head coaches in the league. With the addition of expansion team Golden State, which hired former Aces assistant Natalie Nakase as its head coach, there are eight teams with new leadership. Advertisement All four lottery teams are starting anew. Expect more spread-out offenses from Los Angeles with Lynne Roberts, who led Utah to three consecutive NCAA tournaments, and Atlanta with Karl Smesko, the engineer of Florida Gulf Coast University's reign as one of the most successful mid-major programs. The Mystics and Sydney Johnson, an assistant with Chicago a year ago, are rebuilding with an eye on youth development. And Dallas' fresh era is spearheaded by Chris Koclanes, a longtime assistant in Connecticut with first-year Dallas general manager Curt Miller. Tyler Marsh, a two-time championship-winning assistant with the Aces, took over in Chicago. In Connecticut, the Sun stepped outside of the league and hired Rachid Meziane, a 19-year coaching veteran of the French Ligue Feminine. The standout hire of the offseason is in Indiana, where the Fever brought home former Sun head coach Stephanie White, a guard on the inaugural team who coached for the Fever as an assistant (2011-14) and head coach (2015-16). One question for each team Atlanta: The Dream hasn't reached the semifinals since 2018, and the Finals since 2013. Will Smesko's collegiate five-out system work with free agent bigs Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones? Advertisement Chicago: Two-time WNBA champion Courtney Vandersloot is back in town to run the offense. Have Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese taken the necessary next step to lead Chicago back to the postseason? Connecticut: After the mass exodus of the core, the Sun are in a unique rebuild without the infrastructure of major markets. Will Connecticut be a playoff competitor behind returner Marina Mabrey, and what does the landscape look like for the franchise beyond 2025? Dallas: Arike Ogunbowale said she wasn't going to put pressure on this team, and those involved have been clear that it's rebuild mode from top to bottom. How solid of a foundation can the Wings build around Bueckers ahead of a new CBA? Golden State: The expansion team's leadership has been clear that a championship within five years is a goal. Already a tall ask, is a spot in the lottery for a chance at drafting Lauren Betts, Olivia Miles or Azzi Fudd the best bet? Advertisement Indiana: The front office went all-in to build around No. 1 overall draft picks Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston while each are on bargain rookie contracts. A championship is realistic, but can they check all the boxes and draw the requisite luck to lift the trophy in October? Las Vegas: The 2024 roster was, in their own estimation, out of sync from training camp to the semifinals. Head coach Becky Hammon said last week she's done with the dogs, she wants 'hungry wolves. We're building the pack.' Can a new pack of wolves find the requisite drive and deliver the trophy back to the Aces? Los Angeles: Injuries crushed the team in recent seasons, but there's sunlight on the horizon around Dearica Hamby, Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink, who's on track to return from an ACL injury she sustained in June. Before 2020, LA had missed the playoffs only four times. Can the new group and head coach break the original franchise's five-year drought? Advertisement Minnesota: There's a sour taste in the mouths of the Lynx, who weren't thought of much a preseason ago, after the way Game 5 of the WNBA Finals ended in New York. Was last season a blip, or will the four-time champions build off that success and bitterness to win their first title since the four-titles-in-seven-seasons group of the 2010s? New York: General manager Jonathan Kolb's vision is to become a 'legacy franchise,' and to do that means stacking championships on the heels of finally winning the original franchise's first. With slight roster adjustments that include losing two regular-season starters, can they become the fourth team to repeat as WNBA champions? Phoenix: The Mercury are in a new post-Diana Taurasi era with a fresh 'Big 3' built around Kahleah Copper, Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas. Do they have enough talent around them to reach the top tier of the league again, or will they need more beyond the trio? Seattle: Their superteam didn't pan out in 2024, but in the end, they nabbed the No. 2 draft pick. Will their offense step up alongside their top-four defense to go deep into the postseason? (And how quickly will we see 6-foot-6 French sensation Dominique Malonga dunk in a game?) Advertisement Washington: The Mystics are facing their rebuilding era head-on and acknowledging their plans to grow through development. Will they find enough pieces (and healthy ones, given injuries to Shakira Austin and Aaliyah Edwards) to build around come the offseason? Commissioner's Cup: June 1-17. Championship game between the winner of the East and the winner of the West on July 1, hosted by the team with the better winning percentage. All-Star Weekend: July 18-19 in Indianapolis Final day of regular season: Sept. 11 Playoffs: Sept. 14-Oct. 17
