2025 WNBA Regular Season
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In a game between non-contending Dallas and another barely hanging on by its fingertips, Washington, it was fun watching very possibly the three best rookies competing today.
On this occasion at least, Paige had to settle for third best, as Kiki (23 and 10) and Sonia (18, 5 and 6) carried much of the load for the Mystics.
Paige had 17 points, but just one field goal in the second half.
We can hope that trio has the chance to play much more meaningful games in years ahead. They're all top-shelf players.
On this occasion at least, Paige had to settle for third best, as Kiki (23 and 10) and Sonia (18, 5 and 6) carried much of the load for the Mystics.
Paige had 17 points, but just one field goal in the second half.
We can hope that trio has the chance to play much more meaningful games in years ahead. They're all top-shelf players.
Evidently this year in Dallas has generated more losses than Paige experienced. 10 years in middle school, high school and at Connecticut....
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Looks like the Dream may own the million dollar coach.
Extremely important game in the valley of the Sun with playoff seedng implications. Atlanta is on a 14-day road trip and challenged to win on the road ... a hard thing.
In their last two meetings the Dream thrashed the million dollar coach's squad first in Phoenix on July 23rd and then in Atlanta on August 1st. So it was very important for the Mercury to show they could hang with Atlanta.
Early in the broadcast Ann Drysdale and her partner felt like Atlanta coach was the leader for COY.
In a game of runs during gut check time Atlanta wins their third straight over the Merc and the presumptive COY from Phoenix isn't looking like a sure thing.
Takeaways
Phoenix did get the better Westbelt sister
Hillman is a revelation and a force
AT should be the presumptive MVP
Merc just aren't ready for prime time
And the wisdom of Cheryl Reeve.... Winning on the road is hard so you need to protect your home court. Nate was unable to do a hard thing and lead his team to road win in Atlanta and was unable to protect the home court twice against Atlanta.
Atlanta has thrashed the million dollar coach and his squad twice in the valley of the Sun.
Really a great game. Atlanta seized the opportunity with the Liberty loss and struggles without Stewie. The Merc were unable to do so.
Wonder what Howard said? This was a great opportunity after two technicals late in the game for the Merc to seize control, but .... The Merc announcers are talking about self-inflicted wounds. I am suspecting in film the million dollar coach will focus on self-inflicted wounds.
The Merc began a three-game road trip in Las Vegas and the pressure only increases for Nate.
Extremely important game in the valley of the Sun with playoff seedng implications. Atlanta is on a 14-day road trip and challenged to win on the road ... a hard thing.
In their last two meetings the Dream thrashed the million dollar coach's squad first in Phoenix on July 23rd and then in Atlanta on August 1st. So it was very important for the Mercury to show they could hang with Atlanta.
Early in the broadcast Ann Drysdale and her partner felt like Atlanta coach was the leader for COY.
In a game of runs during gut check time Atlanta wins their third straight over the Merc and the presumptive COY from Phoenix isn't looking like a sure thing.
Takeaways
Phoenix did get the better Westbelt sister
Hillman is a revelation and a force
AT should be the presumptive MVP
Merc just aren't ready for prime time
And the wisdom of Cheryl Reeve.... Winning on the road is hard so you need to protect your home court. Nate was unable to do a hard thing and lead his team to road win in Atlanta and was unable to protect the home court twice against Atlanta.
Atlanta has thrashed the million dollar coach and his squad twice in the valley of the Sun.
Really a great game. Atlanta seized the opportunity with the Liberty loss and struggles without Stewie. The Merc were unable to do so.
Wonder what Howard said? This was a great opportunity after two technicals late in the game for the Merc to seize control, but .... The Merc announcers are talking about self-inflicted wounds. I am suspecting in film the million dollar coach will focus on self-inflicted wounds.
The Merc began a three-game road trip in Las Vegas and the pressure only increases for Nate.
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Bigboote
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One of the risks of being drafted first.
bballnut90
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I think she should be the runaway pick for COY. Minnesota without Collier has no business winning games like this one today
nwhoopfan
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Hmm...I thought that was Collier. Phoenix has faded. Vegas has nearly caught them. Wilson is putting up gaudy numbers as always, and doing it this year without nearly as much help as she's gotten from teammates in previous seasons. If it's just about numbers, I don't know why AT would be way ahead of Wilson, but team record should have a lot to say about it, which puts Collier way ahead of the rest of the field.
AT's combo of assists and rebounds is unique, but her scoring as always is quite a bit lower than any other MVP candidate.
nwhoopfan
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LA just can't beat Golden St. Got them in the season opener, but since then I think the Valks have won 3 straight? Anyway Sparks did something that is rarely done and won on the second night of back to back games. They've pulled off a couple close wins against the Storm recently. Seattle is on quite a slide.
TheFarmFan
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I think Minny is the epitome of "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts" and Seattle is the leading candidate for "the whole is less than the sum of its parts." And in both instances I think the reason is coaching. Reeve continues to slot in seemingly "second tier" players and make them look like stars. Seattle has way too much talent to be this lackluster, but I just don't see that changing until they have a better coach. Nneka raves about Noelle, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and over several seasons, I've just never acquired the taste.
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It's going on 1 a.m. here, TheFarmFan, so I had to think about this one for a minute, but after shaking the cobwebs, I'm with you about the Storm.🥹
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MVP seems to be a three woman race with Collier waaay out in front but I don't think it is impossible for Wilson or AT to catch up if they have a magical end to the regular season, especially while Phee is out.
MVP rankings IMO (threw in a 4-5 for kicks):
1. Collier
2. Wilson
3. AT
4. K. Mitchell
5. Stewie
MVP rankings IMO (threw in a 4-5 for kicks):
1. Collier
2. Wilson
3. AT
4. K. Mitchell
5. Stewie
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Like Courtney Williams said during the game, everyone has to step it up while Collier is out. The Lynx's roster without Collier isn't exactly chopped liver. And for how dominant NY is supposed to be, they've had their fair share of games where they've lost when they shouldn't.
Bigboote
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Two years ago, Alyssa led the league in assists and rebounds, first time that was done, for one of the top three teams in the league and still didn’t win MVP. I thought she’d be a shoo-in, she averaged over 15 points a game, but didn’t happen.
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I agree 100%! It's kind of crazy how flawed NY has looked without Stewie or Jonquel. Meesseman seems to have brought some stability but they aren't winning it all without Stewie or Jonquel on the court.
It's another feather in Reeve's cap that she hasn't had the same problems as NY with her best player out.
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Agreed. With yesterday's loss, NY is tied with Atlanta for 2nd in the WNBA. Who had that on their bingo card for this season? As much as I'm a fan of several players on the Dream's roster, I know I didn't! 😂
Dillon77
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Tale of two halves for Citron and Bueckers. You noted Paige B. had a great first half. Soni had one point in the first stanza but went for 17 in the second half. BTW, And both played 32 minutes for their respective teams. Knock on wood, both teams appear to have selected keepers in the backcourt.
Iriafen did her damage in some 23 minutes, while Emily Engstler spelled both forward spots, with Austin out of the lineup. (I'm still not convinced the Mystics traded the right forward).
Back to rookies: Quinerly played well off the bench for the Wings, as well.
Bigboote
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No argument from me, but I'd like to point out:
Their starting lineup last night has three first-round draft picks, but two of those (Courtney Williams and Alanna Smith) played for four different teams in the previous four seasons, so while they were first-rounders, they were castoffs when the Lynx got them. Shepard and Carleton were second-rounders, and Shep has spent two seasons out of the W. KMac is the only first-round pick who's been in a reasonably steady situation.
Off the bench, Hiedemann and Carrington were second rounders, and while Kliundikova was first-round, she'd only spent parts of two seasons in the W, and that was many years ago.
I wonder how many teams have lower-round draft picks as half their contributors?
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I appreciate you expanding on the point, however it doesn't negate the fact that this is a very capable team with or without Collier at this point. The post I replied to gave the impression that this roster isn't capable of such, which seemed to dismiss what this roster can do. Considering this is pretty much the same roster from last year, it's hard for me to see the Lynx being unable to compete in tough games without Collier for a few of them.
Dillon77
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Up to this point in the season, I'm inclined to go along with your analysis that Kathryn has performed better than Maddy. There are a number of reasons stemming from the fact that although both Westbelds are rookies, Kathryn has plenty of international professional experience since she left Notre Dame in spring of 2018. Maddy is a true rookie, having gone from campus to Chitown immediately.
Also, Kat got a chance to play -- primarily because of injuries -- early and often for the Merc and the "million dollar coach." While her stats didn't scream, what did was Phoenix's overall record. She, Lexi Held, Kitija Laska and Aloa Makani were all making contributions while Sabally and Thomas could step up as focal points and/or when needed.
(BTW, I find it interesting that Phoenix has stumbled when it changed it's look and playing time focus with 'Copper and now Bonner in the lineup.) As noted in other posts, sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts and vice versa. Phoenix seems to be proving both sides of the story).
Back to the Westbelds (note the "d"): Maddy was buried behind the rebounding phenom known as Angel Reese and saw rare stints. With Reese out, Westbeld is getting increased PT and even though they got blown out by Indy, the younger Westbeld played nearly 22 minutes and scored 10 points on 4-8 shooting (2-4 from three). She's starting to get a feel for how to work in whatever constitutes Chicago's half-court offense and adapting her outside-in approach to it. She'll get better the more time she plays. Stay tuned.
TheFarmFan
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I got you, Valkyries style (most of whom have started multiple games this season):
Tip Hayes (2nd round, 14th pick) * edited - originally thought she was a first rounder!
Mo Billings (2nd round, 15th pick)
Kate Martin (2nd round, 18th pick)
Kaitlyn Chen (3rd round, 33rd pick)
Stephanie Talbot (3rd round, 33rd pick) ** subsequently waived
Temi Fagbenle (3rd round, 35th pick)
Kayla Thornton (undrafted)
Ceci Zandalasini (undrafted)
Janelle Salaun (undrafted)
So yeah, Leite, Burton, Amihere, and Rupert are our only first rounders.
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bballnut90
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Hayes was actually a 2nd rounder.
Was Salaun ever a draft eligible player? I saw she signed a training camp contract this year but it was prior to the draft. I don't recall ever hearing her name as a potential draftee.
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Amihere was a first rounder as well.
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Your list really puts everything the Valkyries have accomplished into perspective. Not only do they have so few first-rounders, but they also don't have any of the "big names" of the last decade or so—it's not like they only have three first-rounders, but those three are A'ja, Sabrina, and Aliyah Boston, for instance. This is a team of upstarts and journeywomen supported by a passionate fanbase. I love to see it!
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I don't understand the underlying narrative in the above conversation that first rounders are not team players. Can someone explain to me what I am missing?