Latest news with #SylviaFowles
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
WNBA champion Sylvia Fowles shows up for Lynx's second-straight Commissioner's Cup final
The post WNBA champion Sylvia Fowles shows up for Lynx's second-straight Commissioner's Cup final appeared first on ClutchPoints. WNBA champion and Minnesota Lynx legend Sylvia Fowles was in attendance for her former team's second-straight Commissioner's Cup final, this time against the Indiana Fever. Minnesota is in the middle of another terrific regular season, currently sitting at 14-2 overall. That record is good enough to put the team squarely into first place in the overall standings, two and a half games ahead of the second-place Phoenix Mercury. Napheesa Collier is the current frontrunner for league MVP, leading the WNBA in points per game at 24.4 while also recording 8.5 rebounds. Advertisement The Lynx are trying to rekindle their glory days of the 2010s, a period during which Sylvia Fowles played a significant part. The eight-time All-Star helped Minnesota win two of its four titles during this period, earning Finals MVP honors in 2015 and 2017, while also being named regular season MVP in 2017. The all-time great center, who retired in 2022, was seen walking into the Target Center on Tuesday to support the Lynx as they vie to repeat as Commissioner's Cup winners. Tuesday night is another opportunity for the Lynx to cement their dominance at the top of the WNBA. Minnesota is coming off a successful 2024 season that ended in heartbreak. Napheesa Collier and company lost a Game 5 epic against the New York Liberty, who won their first championship ever that year. Fortunately, it looks like this year's squad has used this result as a stepping stone rather than a setback, and the Lynx are now pulling away in the standings. While Collier is the face of the franchise, she is certainly not alone on this roster. Minnesota has three other players averaging double figures, including four-time All-Star Kayla McBridge, former All-Star Courtney Williams, and All-Defensive forward Alanna Smith. The Lynx are a balanced team that currently leads all teams in both offensive and defensive rating, which undoubtedly makes a legendary player like Fowles proud. Advertisement Currently, Minnesota is locked in a battle with the Caitlin Clark-less Indiana Fever. While Indiana only sits at 8-8, when healthy, this team is a title threat. Still, no matter what happens tonight, the Lynx have to like where they stand in the WNBA hierarchy. The group just needs to remain healthy while continuing to grow throughout the year. There's still a lot of regular season left. Related: Courtney Williams' dad got hyped before Lynx-Fever Commissioner's Cup final Related: Red Panda suffers scary fall during WNBA halftime show
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chicago Sky Link Angel Reese With WNBA Legend in New Post
Chicago Sky Link Angel Reese With WNBA Legend in New Post originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Chicago Sky overcame the Los Angeles Sparks 92-85 at Arena on Sunday, led by star Angel Reese, who notched a season‑high 24 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and a steal. Advertisement This marked her fourth straight game with at least 15 rebounds, the most all-time. On Tuesday, the WNBA honored Reese as its Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the past week, a stretch in which she averaged 19.7 points, 17.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.7 blocks per game, shooting 48.9% from the field and 92.3% from the line. Later on in the day, the Sky took to X with their "Stat of the Week," noting that Reese's 647 career rebounds already rank in the franchise's top 10. With that, she joins the company of many Sky greats, including eight-time All-Star and two-time Finals MVP Sylvia Fowles, who remains Chicago's all-time leading rebounder with 1,832 boards. Reese arrived in Chicago as the seventh overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft out of LSU. In her rookie campaign, she smashed the league's single‑season rebounding record, hauling in 446 boards (13.1 per game). Advertisement She was the fastest player in WNBA history to reach both 400 rebounds and 400 points, and she strung together 26 double‑doubles in just 34 games, the most ever by a rookie. Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5)David Gonzales-Imagn Images In Year 2, Reese has continued asserting herself as the WNBA's premier rebounder. She currently leads the league in rebounds per game (12.6) and has become the fastest player ever to reach 500 points and 500 rebounds, doing so in just 38 games. She also notched her first career triple‑double on June 15, pouring in 11 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, and remains the face of the Sky franchise. Related: WNBA Responds to Big Caitlin Clark News on Sunday Related: Chicago Sky's Kamilla Cardoso Shares New Photo With Indiana Fever Player This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Times
30-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
WNBA power rankings: Could Angel Reese's hot streak boost Chicago Sky?
Candace Parker had her jersey retired by the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday, a fitting tribute for the two-time MVP, Rookie of the Year and one-time champion and Finals MVP. It is the first of two jersey retirements Parker will receive this summer, the second coming on Aug. 25 in Chicago, where Parker won her second WNBA title. Advertisement 'What a winner,' Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. 'Everywhere (Parker) went, she won, and not all of us can say that.' As the WNBA brings in a new generation of stars and begins a new chapter in the national consciousness, honoring Parker is a reminder of how much of the WNBA history runs through her. Parker was drafted to one of the league's original franchises, forming a frontcourt tandem with the Sparks' first allocated player and current Hall of Famer, Lisa Leslie. She featured in some of the league's best rivalries as Los Angeles regularly faced off against the Phoenix Mercury in the Western Conference playoffs and then against the Minnesota Lynx for four consecutive postseasons (two of those matchups coming in the Finals). Her battles against Sylvia Fowles, perhaps the league's greatest center and the player taken directly after Parker in the 2008 draft, highlighted those series. Parker was one of the league's first high-profile free agents to change teams via the terms of the collective bargaining agreement enacted in 2020, and she helped bring Chicago its first WNBA championship. She then finished her career in Las Vegas alongside A'ja Wilson, who grew up idolizing Parker and represents the next evolution among dominant posts. Throughout her career, Parker set new standards for her peers and those who followed her. Multiple current power forwards like Nneka Ogwumike cite Parker as their inspiration for allowing them to expand their games beyond the back-to-the-basket role. Dearica Hamby, who had a child before her second season like Parker, credited the likely Hall of Famer for making being a mom and a WNBA athlete accessible and cool. Others point to Parker's success in the media space as an example of how to build a second career even while still playing. All eyes on 3. @Candace_Parker x @WNBA — Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) June 29, 2025 'It's hard to tell the story of the WNBA without Candace Parker,' said Chicago coach Tyler Marsh, who coached Parker as an assistant in Las Vegas in 2023. 'She's changed the game and inspired so many, not just women, but men as well. Coaches, players, anyone that's been associated with the sport, she's made a lasting impact on.' Advertisement Parker brought success to all of her stops, from Tennessee to Las Vegas. She didn't just attach herself to winning situations — she achieved new heights, ones that those programs haven't managed to replicate. The Lady Vols haven't won a championship since Parker graduated, and the Sparks have yet to even make the playoffs in the five years since she left. Chicago has been through four coaches in three seasons, and the Aces struggle to recapture their championship identity. Parker was a unique talent who changed the way the WNBA game looks. Even without her jerseys in the rafters, you can see Parker's fingerprints in Angel Reese bringing up the ball to facilitate the offense or Wilson extending her shooting range. Parker's legacy lives on in the play of this WNBA era. Here are this week's power rankings: The Lynx are the league's best fourth-quarter team with a plus-23.9 net rating in the final period coming into this week. Even without Napheesa Collier, the expectation was that Minnesota would figure out how to emerge with a win against Washington, especially after the short-handed Lynx had rolled through the Sparks with a late run three days earlier. Instead, the Mystics suffocated Minnesota in the final 10 minutes, limiting the Lynx to 9 points and one field goal, which came with 8:48 to play, compared to six turnovers. Washington fought hard through screens, keeping Minnesota mostly out of the paint and forcing an offensive foul on a moving screen. Sug Sutton was nearly impossible to clear out at the point of attack. Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austin easily jumped out to the perimeter to make passes difficult. The Mystics were a little foul-happy, keeping the Lynx in the game by conceding 12 free throws, but their activity level and aggression on that end were otherwise on point. Getting a young team to be so connected and alert on defense is an impressive accomplishment for Sydney Johnson and his coaching staff. The last turnover from Minnesota wasn't even necessarily a takeaway by the Mystics, but they had so thoroughly disrupted the Lynx for 40 minutes that Courtney Williams lost her focus and didn't catch the inbounds cleanly, allowing Sutton to pounce, pick up the loose ball and score the winning layup. Sutton secured the win by once again keeping Williams out of the paint and forcing one last miss. Advertisement Washington has a league-average defense as the youngest team, allowing the Mystics to remain competitive despite offensive struggles. They've played the most clutch minutes of any WNBA team, and those learning experiences will pay dividends as this young core continues to grow together. With Kamilla Cardoso away from the Sky representing Brazil at the AmeriCup, Reese was given the opportunity to play center for extended minutes for the first time this season and acquitted herself reasonably well against Golden State. But Chicago's defensive identity comes from its two-big lineups (check out Elizabeth Williams' block party against the Sparks on Sunday), and with Reese back at power forward, she had a historic performance in the Sky's win. Reese became the fourth player in WNBA history to post at least 24 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists, joining Parker, Leslie and Tina Thompson. She's assumed a greater playmaking role in Courtney Vandersloot's absence and functions well out of the high post. Her seven assists against the Sparks even shortchanged her passing, as she deserved an assist to the cutting Michaela Onyenwere with a laser into the paint. Reese's finishing has taken a step up in June, as her 2-point percentage improved from 31 percent in May to 48.5 percent this month, and Los Angeles was powerless to stop her high-angle layup attempts. You never have to worry about Reese playing hard; her motor was a differentiator in both of Chicago's wins over the Sparks this past week, as the Sky continued to execute down the stretch while L.A. grew stagnant. The focus on Reese's efficiency sometimes overshadows what she does at an elite level. Even if she can't be a No. 1 scoring option, her ability to create possessions is unlike almost anyone else. She overpowered every defender L.A. threw at her, even a fellow All-Star in Hamby. She led both teams in points, rebounds and assists, impacting the game in so many ways. WNBA teams have a full year of tape on Reese, but they haven't figured out how to take away what she does well. This has to be the saddest jump ball I have ever seen. Myisha Hines-Allen flies in for an offensive rebound and battles to keep possession away from Shakira Austin. But once a tie-up is called, Hines-Allen gives the least possible effort on the ensuing jump ball, deliberately violating to move on with the game. The WNBA doesn't need this. The amount of time it takes for referees to set up jump balls, to explain the rules of where players can stand, and then to properly execute a throw is too long. There are all sorts of violations between players touching the ball too early, illegally handling the ball before a teammate or simply needing a redo because the toss was improper. There was a violation to start the game between Minnesota and Phoenix earlier this season. If players aren't interested in even winning the tip, there is no reason to have a jump ball beyond the opening tip. Switch to a possession arrow, and keep the game flowing. Possessions like these are unnecessary. Nye continues to be coach Becky Hammon's preferred choice in the closing lineup alongside Las Vegas' core four of Wilson, Jewell Loyd, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young and is fifth on the Aces in total clutch minutes. That faith in Nye paid off against Phoenix, as she hit two fourth-quarter 3s to help Las Vegas come back on the road against the Mercury. The threat of her shooting helped clear the paint for Young and Wilson, and Nye even collected a critical rebound as the Aces clung to a 3-point lead with nine seconds remaining. Whether playing so small down the stretch is tenable for Las Vegas is unclear, but Nye is earning her spot by shooting the ball well (5 of 7 on 3-pointers) and playing team defense. The Aces have more trust in their first-year guard than any other rotation options. 5 THREES FOR AALIYAH NYE 🤯 Back-to-back triples from the rook! She's keeping Vegas in it during this final stretch! LVA-PHX | League Pass | WNBA Pride @coach — WNBA (@WNBA) June 29, 2025 It's a lighter slate this week, as every team except Minnesota and Indiana is off from Monday to Wednesday because of the Commissioner's Cup and then Independence Day on Friday. Among the three days with games, this one stands out. Phoenix had been riding a six-game winning streak before losing to Las Vegas at home. Meanwhile, Dallas has also been playing its best basketball of the season and welcomes back Luisa Geiselsöder and Teaira McCowan from EuroBasket. The Wings have had success against a weaker schedule, so this is an opportunity to test out their improvements against the team with the second-best record in the WNBA. Plus, Paige Bueckers had her best game of the year against the Mercury (35 points on 13 of 19 shooting) and will demand better defensive attention from Phoenix in the rematch.
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
WNBA Makes Historic A'ja Wilson Announcement Following Monster Performance vs. Storm
WNBA Makes Historic A'ja Wilson Announcement Following Monster Performance vs. Storm originally appeared on Athlon Sports. A'ja Wilson made her triumphant return to the basketball court on Friday night. After missing three games after landing in the concussion protocol, Wilson laced them up after being cleared to play against the Seattle Storm. Advertisement Wilson put forth a monster performance in her return, however, it was not enough for her Las Vegas Aces to beat the Storm. The Storm left Las Vegas with a 90-83 victory, and the Aces now hold a 5-7 record on the season (3-3 at home). Despite the Aces struggles, Wilson shined in her 34 minutes played on Friday night. Wilson finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds, posting her seventy-eighth 20-point, 10-rebound game of her career. This lands her in second place all-time in 20-point, 10-rebound games, surpassing recently inducted Hall of Famer, Sylvia Fowles. The WNBA took to their official X account immediately following the game to make the historic announcement. Wilson now trails only Tina Charles for the most 20-point, 10-rebound games in WNBA history (103). Charles, 36, is currently in her second stint with the Connecticut Sun. She played the first four years of her now 15-year-career with the Sun before heading off to the New York Liberty. Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) dribbles the ball against the Seattle Storm during the first half of a WNBA basketball game at Michelob Ultra Arena. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images Fowles, who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this year in early June, played 15 seasons before retiring in 2022. Advertisement Wilson, 28, is playing in just her eighth season in the WNBA, and is on pace to break Charles' record, assuming health and Charles doesn't post anymore 20-10 games in her illustrious career. Wilson's next chance to post a 20-10 game will come on Sunday against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever at 3:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN. Related: Caitlin Clark Has Forgettable Night as Indiana Fever Fall to Valkyries Related: A'ja Wilson Honored With Prestigious WNBA Award This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 21, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Seattle Storm legend Sue Bird inducted into Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
Seattle Storm legend Sue Bird has been inducted into the 2025 class of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. Bird is a four-time WNBA champion and the all-time WNBA assists leader, finishing her career with 3,234 total assists. On top of that, she is the most decorated International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup athlete in history, with four gold medals, and one bronze. She's also an Olympic career record holder for assists. Bird also broke records in college, playing for the UConn Huskies. She was the first pick of the first round in the 2002 WNBA Draft, and was with the Seattle Storm until her retirement in 2022. Other players inducted were Sylvia Fowles, Cappie Pondexter, and Alana Beard. Seven people total were inducted in the 2025 class.
