WNBA 2024 May 2024

[jdote33]

Did we know Ivana Dojkic is with the Liberty currently? I still can't believe Seattle cut her midseason last year, that was so nonsensical.

I really like her. Feel like she was underrated last year.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

My guess for top 5 is:

#5 Aliyah Boston
#4 Jewell Loyd
#3 Alyssa Thomas
#2 Breanna Stewart
#1 A'ja Wilson

I like Jewell Loyd's game but think top 5 is a stretch. Same with Boston (at this juncture). I'd replace those two with Collier/Sabally.

Stewie hasn’t looked top 5 since August of 2023. I think she’s in the middle of a rapid decline and won’t even be a top 20 player this season.

 

[JoePgh]

Did we know Ivana Dojkic is with the Liberty currently? I still can't believe Seattle cut her midseason last year, that was so nonsensical.

Yes, she is, and she played some major minutes in tonight's exhibition game against the Sun. She scored at least 8 points and was the first guard off the bench (behind starters Ionescu and Vandersloot). I predict that she will make the Liberty's final roster.

I thought that her departure from Seattle last year was a mutually agreed thing rather than a simple case of the Storm cutting her.

 

[JoePgh]

To follow up further on Ivana Dojkic's departure from Seattle last August, I found a press release at storm.wnba.com in which Dojkic was quoted as saying that she had some commitments in Europe which were forcing her to leave right then, but that she hoped to return to the WNBA in the future. I noticed that she said "the WNBA", not the Storm. I can imagine that she may have burned her bridges with the Storm by leaving abruptly in midseason.

 

[triaddukefan]

Stewie hasn’t looked top 5 since August of 2023. I think she’s in the middle of a rapid decline and won’t even be a top 20 player this season.

Come on loop... don't be like that.

 

[cancontent]

Stewie hasn’t looked top 5 since August of 2023. I think she’s in the middle of a rapid decline and won’t even be a top 20 player this season.

That prediction seems a tad drastic. Sure her performance late in the season wasn't great, but a rapid decline? Have a hard time seeing that.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

That prediction seems a tad drastic. Sure her performance late in the season wasn't great, but a rapid decline? Have a hard time seeing that.

We’ll see but I think she’s just gonna continue to plummet performance wise as the season goes gone. Athleticism not there and she can only score if she gets hot from 3. Very one dimensional player from here on out. The Liberty will really have to depend on JJ and Sab and Laney if they want to finish top 4 this season imo.

 

[Geew1992]

We’ll see but I think she’s just gonna continue to plummet performance wise as the season goes gone. Athleticism not there and she can only score if she gets hot from 3. Very one dimensional player from here on out. The Liberty will really have to depend on JJ and Sab and Laney if they want to finish top 4 this season imo.

You must’ve missed the way JJ played last year. Her performance was 10x less than Stewie

 

[cancontent]

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/basketball/wnba-toronto-awarded-expansion-team-1.7198595

This is awesome news. Mr Tannenbaum was behind the turnaround with the Raptors but was pushed aside by others. Glad he found another way to make this happen.

 

[cancontent]

We’ll see but I think she’s just gonna continue to plummet performance wise as the season goes gone. Athleticism not there and she can only score if she gets hot from 3. Very one dimensional player from here on out. The Liberty will really have to depend on JJ and Sab and Laney if they want to finish top 4 this season imo.

She was voted the MVP of the league. How can she be one dimensional with the stat line she had last season? She was more dependable than Ionescu and Jones. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but this seems way too pessimistic.

 

[azfan]

Reports: Toronto expansion team to join WNBA

Toronto has been awarded a WNBA franchise that will start play in 2026, according to multiple reports, when it will become the league's first team outside of the United States.

www.espn.com

Toronto in line for WNBA team.

The Toronto team will reportedly play at the 8,000-seat Coca-Cola Coliseum, which hosts the AHL's Marlies and PWHL's Toronto franchise.

 

[azfan]

Dream v Fever last night. Both teams appear ready to challenge the Mercury for the basement.

Should be an interesting race to the bottom as the Mercury's debacle against The Storm show that the million dollar coach has yet to determine a meaningful offense and the Mercury remain uninterested in defense.

Tonight's game at Footprint arena against the Spark will almost certainly show the progress that Tibbetts has made in bringing the team together around the aged GOAT and the memoir writing, expecting BG

 

[cancontent]

 

[Dillon77]

She was voted the MVP of the league. How can she be one dimensional with the stat line she had last season? She was more dependable than Ionescu and Jones. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but this seems way too pessimistic.

Wow!
Well, a year later than was initially hoped, but hope the kinks have been ironed out for this 2026 bid.
If it goes through -- knock on maple -- congrats to WNBA fans overall but especially in Canada, including our colleague @cancontent!

 

[hoopsnloops32]

You must’ve missed the way JJ played last year. Her performance was 10x less than Stewie

JJ was hurt but was their best player from August through the playoffs once she got healthy.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

She was voted the MVP of the league. How can she be one dimensional with the stat line she had last season? She was more dependable than Ionescu and Jones. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but this seems way too pessimistic.

She was great until August and the her performance fell off a cliff and has shown no signs of returning. I don’t think it will, this happens to some players. 4 points last night against the Sun isn’t promising either. She’ll struggle to average double figures this year it seems.
She wasn’t more dependable than Sabrina or JJ during the end of the season or the playoffs.
This is the reality of getting older, some may not like it but Stewie is washed. The Liberty are lucky they only have her signed for this season at her salary.

 

[Geew1992]

She was great until August and the her performance fell off a cliff and has shown no signs of returning. I don’t think it will, this happens to some players. 4 points last night against the Sun isn’t promising either. She’ll struggle to average double figures this year it seems.
She wasn’t more dependable than Sabrina or JJ during the end of the season or the playoffs.
This is the reality of getting older, some may not like it but Stewie is washed. The Liberty are lucky they only have her signed for this season at her salary.

Sigh.......

 

[willtalk]

She was great until August and the her performance fell off a cliff and has shown no signs of returning. I don’t think it will, this happens to some players. 4 points last night against the Sun isn’t promising either. She’ll struggle to average double figures this year it seems.
She wasn’t more dependable than Sabrina or JJ during the end of the season or the playoffs.
This is the reality of getting older, some may not like it but Stewie is washed. The Liberty are lucky they only have her signed for this season at her salary.

You might be right, but I would wait for awhile before coming to that conclusion. Players often suddenly have an off year. give it a season and then we will see if it's permanent or just an off season.

 

[jdote33]

She was great until August and the her performance fell off a cliff and has shown no signs of returning. I don’t think it will, this happens to some players. 4 points last night against the Sun isn’t promising either. She’ll struggle to average double figures this year it seems.
She wasn’t more dependable than Sabrina or JJ during the end of the season or the playoffs.
This is the reality of getting older, some may not like it but Stewie is washed. The Liberty are lucky they only have her signed for this season at her salary.

Legendary. I respect it. Disagree a ton but I guess we will see. She is turning 30 this summer which makes me feel old as I was wrapping up grad school around the time she was winning championships at UConn. I was a bit more concerned about JJ. But Sandy was saying she came back a different beast so we will see. Sloot is also getting older as well. In the nba there is like this changing of the guard going on so maybe we'll see it in the w as well. And Vegas does seem just a tad bit more youthful and ascending than NYL

 

[cancontent]

Wow!
Well, a year later than was initially hoped, but hope the kinks have been ironed out for this 2026 bid.
If it goes through -- knock on maple -- congrats to WNBA fans overall but especially in Canada, including our colleague @cancontent!

Thanks my friend. Considering who is behind this, there's a lot more faith that this will happen. Mr. Tannenbaum has been heavily invested in bringing pro basketball to Canada for decades.

His split from the MLSE group and Ed Rogers on this is a key factor in why this happening. Rogers made it very clear he didn't care about basketball with all the shenanigans that went on in the background last summer. It was documented in a deep dive article after it was announced MLSE was no longer interested. Sadly, I think the Raptors will be on a downward spiral because of his meddling, but I hope I'm wrong.

Another fringe benefit of this deal is that there are rumours Canada Basketball will gain some benefits from have access to the facilities the team will have. This is huge in helping to continue supporting the development of players for national teams. Unlike USA Basketball, Canada Basketball doesn't have a true hub for development like the Colorado Springs facility. If things pan out, this would make life for Canada Basketball a lot easier over the long term.

 

[cancontent]

Legendary. I respect it. Disagree a ton but I guess we will see. She is turning 30 this summer which makes me feel old as I was wrapping up grad school around the time she was winning championships at UConn. I was a bit more concerned about JJ. But Sandy was saying she came back a different beast so we will see. Sloot is also getting older as well. In the nba there is like this changing of the guard going on so maybe we'll see it in the w as well. And Vegas does seem just a tad bit more youthful and ascending than NYL

Vegas may seem more youthful, but when you look at some of their key players, is that really the case?

Alysha Clark has been in the league since 2012. Gray entered the league in 2014/2015. Plum and Young came into the league ahead of Ionescu. Stokes is a year older than Stewart. There's a 2 year age difference between Wilson and Stewart.

It seems like a draw if you ask me.

 

[GCKSFN4L]

Dream v Fever last night. Both teams appear ready to challenge the Mercury for the basement.

Should be an interesting race to the bottom as the Mercury's debacle against The Storm show that the million dollar coach has yet to determine a meaningful offense and the Mercury remain uninterested in defense.

Tonight's game at Footprint arena against the Spark will almost certainly show the progress that Tibbetts has made in bringing the team together around the aged GOAT and the memoir writing, expecting BG

I'm pretty sure Atlanta will remain a top 6 team. The starting 5 was pretty good overall but the bench needs work. In about 15 minutes of play 4/5 starters reached double figures. Tina Charles and Aerial Powers additions could be enough to keep them in them top 4 conversation as they figure it out.

As for the Fever playing 4/5 starters for about 30 minutes in a preseason game to squeak by is concerning. I think they can be as competitive as last year but their defensive effort will determine if they become a playoff team or not.

 

[cancontent]

I'm pretty sure Atlanta will remain a top 6 team. The starting 5 was pretty good overall but the bench needs work. In about 15 minutes of play 4/5 starters reached double figures. Tina Charles and Aerial Powers additions could be enough to keep them in them top 4 conversation as they figure it out.

As for the Fever playing 4/5 starters for about 30 minutes in a preseason game to squeak by is concerning. I think they can be as competitive as last year but their defensive effort will determine if they become a playoff team or not.

Atlanta is also waiting on Jordin Canada to return from an injury. That will also help with guard play this season.

 

[azfan]

I'm pretty sure Atlanta will remain a top 6 team. The starting 5 was pretty good overall but the bench needs work. In about 15 minutes of play 4/5 starters reached double figures. Tina Charles and Aerial Powers additions could be enough to keep them in them top 4 conversation as they figure it out.

As for the Fever playing 4/5 starters for about 30 minutes in a preseason game to squeak by is concerning. I think they can be as competitive as last year but their defensive effort will determine if they become a playoff team or not.

Voepel has the Dream 7th and the Fever 8th behind the Mercury.

WNBA preseason Power Rankings: Aces back on top, Storm climbing

The two-time defending champion Aces are back on top, and the Storm and Mercury make huge jumps.

www.espn.com

I think the consensus is Washington will edge out Mercury for the last spot in the basement. From there the top four, I think, are a consensus in the early ranking and that leaves the middle mediocrity relatively interchangeable.

 

[JellyBean]

Stewie hasn’t looked top 5 since August of 2023. I think she’s in the middle of a rapid decline and won’t even be a top 20 player this season.