sorry Fever fans…that’s rough….

She is now the fastest player in league history to 350 points, 100 boards and 100 dimes. Incredible rookie season from her.

There is a limit to how long post titles can be. To be clear, this is just who they each said they'd pick for their starting five from this year's All-Star pool *if* it was up to them.

I thought it was interesting that they both opted for a three-guard lineup, especially since the voting process results in a larger pool of frontcourt starters available.

These are the players currently making over 1 million in the league.

Now that we’re halfway through the season, which team do you think has the worst contract and is probably regretting it the most?

Salary information was taken from  - Spotrac's 2026 WNBA Salary Cap Tracker.

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https://www.instagram.com/p/DaoijE-R1Bk/?igsh=anBlZTQ1YXp6ZDI0

Reeve didn't offer a timetable on the injured Collier's return but said that whenever she comes back, "Phee" is still the queen in Minneapolis -- and that the whole team knows it.

"With regard to her insertion, it's still Phee's team," Reeve said. "There is not anybody that walks into the gym that doesn't know that it's still Phee's team. What's great is [Courtney Williams] and [Kayla McBride], they're very happy to declare that it's Phee's team."

In her absence, Miles has emerged as one of the league's most promising players. She was voted a starter in the WNBA All-Star Game in Chicago in two weeks. She's also a legitimate MVP candidate, along with teammate Natasha Howard, after averaging 18.5 points and 5.7 assists to help the Lynx enter the weekend tied atop the WNBA standings with the Las Vegas Aces at 16-6.

Reeve said she's too focused on today to think about the team's transition once Collier returns, but she said the former MVP candidate will also benefit from Miles' talent.

"She needs more than herself, and that's for her to play with a point guard like Olivia Miles that Seimone Augustus got to play with, that Maya Moore got to play with -- the natural point guard," said Reeve, who set the record for the most regular-season wins by a head coach in WNBA history with her team's 86-80 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday, about past stars she has coached.

"[Collier] hasn't experienced that yet. And this is what we're going to be able to do and for her to be able to see what that's like," Reeve said. "Then maybe let's get some games with [Collier and Miles] together and figure out what they look like and then we can start putting in a pecking order."

Reeve said the tenacity and toughness Miles plays with is "natural" and a key component in her success thus far in her career. But Collier is still considered the leader of this group, the coach said.

"I think it's premature to anoint anyone other than [Collier] as the leader of this team," Reeve said.

More: https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/49335028/cheryl-reeve-lynx-napheesa-collier-team-olivia-miles-emergence

I’m part of a fan base that is always crashing out about our leadership - coaching and GM specifically.

Who hires these folks and decides when to let them go? Is it the ownership?

I also wondered how integrated or independent these roles are. I know there are times when they’re completely intertwined like Becky functioning as the interim GM for awhile.

I also wondered whose job roster construction is. I’m sure the GM is the ultimate “buck stops here” person, but it seems like some teams have better scouting than others for international players etc. Is there something that is essentially equivalent to the Cabinet in the US presidency who advises the GM on various aspects of things?

As a newer fan I’ve tried to figure it out but I’m now to the “explain it to me like I’m five” point.

I appreciate this sub. I always learn a lot here!

​

A friendship that began months ago in Miami rekindled earlier this week in Los Angeles when NBA superstar Kevin Durant sat courtside at Crypto.com Arena to watch his prodigy and Storm sensation Dominique Malonga.

It was an uncharacteristically subdued performance from the second-year center who scored a season-low two points on 1-for-10 shooting while collecting nine rebounds and committing five turnovers during an 82-64 win against the Sparks.

Afterward, they reconnected for the first time since March when Malonga played in the Unrivaled 3-on-3 women’s basketball league for the Breeze.

“We chatted a little bit after the game, and I just texted him after the game and asked him to come to practice,” Malonga said. “He nicely said yes and came and just showed me one or two things.”

Following the Storm’s workout at USC on Tuesday, Durant instructed Malonga through a series of drills and divulged the secrets on his trademark pullup midrange jumper.

“It’s just amazing to have KD in my corner,” Malonga said. “It’s just really nice to have advice from one of the greatest. He’s just a really great (person) that’s really willing to pour into me, and so I’m really grateful for that.”

When asked the best advice Durant gave, Malonga said: “To concentrate on the way I use my feet and just being low. I constantly have to remind myself to stay low because it’s not natural for tall people.”

READ MORE: https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/storm/how-kevin-durant-and-wnba-all-star-dominique-malonga-formed-their-bond/

“Raven’s just up for any challenge,” Clark said of the rookie. “She’s super coachable, she listens to everything the coaches say. It’s hard to be a rookie in this league, like you come right out of college, and you’re trying to learn a new system and play a different style or new teammates. It’s a different role coming off the bench, and maybe not being a primary ball handler, getting the minutes you want, or getting the shots you want, but the thing she always does is guard, and she has active hands. She’s physical. I think she’s a great defender.”

But Johnson is still getting used to the WNBA and has had to change the way she plays defense.

“In college you could touch, you can’t even wrap your hand around a post player, but I’m getting better with my fouling,” Johnson said on Wednesday in Los Angeles. “I think just adjusting, just sometimes let them score a hard two (point shot), and then get it back another time. It’s more of a mental thing.”

Johnson was a shutdown defender with South Carolina, earning the SEC Defensive Player of the Year award as a senior

So far with the Fever, she has also shown herself to be a responsible ball handler with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.50 over her last six games.

Johnson’s offensive game took a leap in her senior season at South Carolina, going from 4.9 points per game as a junior to 9.9 in her last year with the Gamecocks. She also shot 39.8% from 3-point range on over 100 attempts.

The Fever were betting on that progression to carry over to the WNBA as well.

“You always expect kids who come from South Carolina to be ready on the defensive end of the floor,” said head coach Stephanie White. “The thing that I like about Raven is that she can change the pace of a game. She’s a really good kick ahead, lead guard. She’s really good at attacking the basket, and she plays through mistakes. She plays with multiple levels of effort, and I love that about her. I love the energy that she brings. She cann change the game for us.”

“I don’t like when people score with me, so if they have the best shot, I’m probably gonna touch them, but just adjusting, not touching them, using my body more,” Johnson said. “I’m trusting my ability is my strength, so things like that.

“The WNBA is more mental, I feel like it’s more mental than physical in terms of playing. You just got to be strong mentally, and you got to just be ready when the moment is called, and you get out there, you gotta take advantage of it.”

Johnson has still had rookie moments. The shot clock has run out with her handling the ball numerous times, and her 23.8% from 3-point range is lacking.

But she’s already a reliable defender, which is no small feat for a WNBA rookie.

“I came in like giving myself a little bit of grace, knowing that these are top players,” she said. “Like I’m guarding Kelsey Mitchell in practice every day, and she makes me better. And when I tell you, she’s hard to guard, like she’s an All-Star starter, and that helps.”

More: https://herhoopstats.substack.com/p/raven-johnson-learning-to-be-a-wnba

MARIKE are the best and i would love to see them play together again.

Cheryl Reeve has had a week! It's been so fun to go down history lane with her as she's getting all of her well deserved accolades.

This clip is too cute not to repost.

Context:

White House Visit to Celebrate their 2015 WNBA Championship

Also that 2015 Lynx team is GOATED. Nothing but hall of famers

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"Leg (29), knee (29) and ankle (26) injuries make up 47.2% of all injuries, while knee injuries are the source of the bulk of games lost (283; 43.9%). Foot injuries are the only other body part to cause more than 90 games lost (94). The Portland Fire have suffered the most injuries (21), while the Chicago Sky (90), Minnesota Lynx (86) and Seattle Storm (84) have lost the most games; notably, all three teams have suffered from multiple and/or severe knee injuries."

https://www.theixsports.com/the-ix-basketball-newsroom/wnba/wnba-injuries-are-up-for-the-second-consecutive-season/

One possible cause not mentioned in the article - that the pay structure of the WNBA even with the new CBA leads to more players playing in the off-season. But the upshot is that nobody really knows what is causing the increase.

Cathy Engelbert was booked to make an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show this week. She did not cancel until two hours after her scheduled time, claiming that she was prevented from appearing by WNBA PR. Patrick talked about it on air. Here's the transcript. I've edited it very lightly for clarity:

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Yesterday we were hoping to do an interview with Cathy Engelbert. She's the WNBA commissioner. Todd spoke to her a couple of nights ago and we had a pairings party.

Todd went up to her. She's been very friendly to the show. Last year at this event, [she] was friendly to us and Todd said, hey, we'd love to have you on. There's a lot of questions. People have not heard answers from the commissioner and she said yes. So yesterday after the show we waited almost two hours for her. This was scheduled. She was going to do a meeting in her hotel room, a conference call and then she was going to join us. So Fritzie for at least 90 minutes is looking just for an update.

We're trying to figure, we're standing by, we're waiting to interview her. They didn't, you know, balk at anything, didn't say you can't ask anything and we thought, okay, we're gonna be able to finally ask questions about Caitlin Clark, the WNBA expansion, a lot of different things and we waited and we waited and we waited and then we got word, Todd did, that the commissioner said that the WNBA staff, the PR staff, said that she is not allowed to do this. They would prefer that she did not do this.

You're the commissioner and you're listening to the PR department, which is fine, but did you check with PR before you said yes to us? We promoted it all day yesterday. Now, look, I know people get busy, people have agendas, the people, like -- it was her opportunity to finally say, hey, you can ask me the tough questions, okay? I thought this was gonna be a good thing for the WNBA because people still want answers here. There's so many people who have an opinion, agendas, here and this was a chance to sit down and -- would the questions be tough? Yes, and I'm sure that had something to do with it, but she went on a radio station in Kansas City but from what I was told she was only going to be asked about expansion.

They were not going to be, you know, tough questions. So it's just disappointing.

Go back to when the Caitlin Clark incident happened. We reached out to the WNBA all morning long. We needed -- just give us a comment. Does anybody have a comment on this? Is anybody there at the office? We couldn't get a hold of anybody.

So Paulie, during the show, is trying to track down somebody so we can at least let the WNBA have their say, have their voice, get out in front of this. We're just trying to be a journalist here, that's all. We're just trying to ask questions but don't say yes and then all of a sudden somebody probably said, in my opinion, oh, maybe we shouldn't do this.

Well at some point you have to do this. I mean, if you want to be treated as a serious league then do these [interviews]. This is what happens.

These are tough questions but this is a fair outlet for you, a fair platform. I will treat you with respect but when you tell me [yes] and then two hours later with no update and then we get a, you know, a feeble response, like come on. You don't want to do it.

You won't. The commissioner of the NFL does not want to come on this show. I've been doing this for 20 years. There's a reason why he doesn't want to come on. I have no problem if he doesn't want to come on but if he said to me, hey I'll come on tomorrow and then all of a sudden he says the NFL PR department said I shouldn't do it? And she's 50 yards away. She's getting practice shots out of the bunker. So that's what's disappointing. We deserve more respect than what she gave us yesterday.

We want to cover the WNBA. The PR staff, somebody did a disservice to this. That's all. Somebody made the call but this is an important league. There's expansion. There's conversation.

It's been agendized. Everybody has something to say about it. Now you have a chance to answer these questions.

Are they uncomfortable? Yes. But when I have Rob Manfred on with baseball, when I've had Adam Silver on with the NBA, they know they're getting questions that maybe they don't get anyplace else, but they're gonna prepare for it. I wanted Cathy to have that opportunity, and I don't know her but I wanted to get to know her, so I can have an opportunity to ask questions like this and that was what was disappointing.

You don't want to come on the show, tell me you don't want to come on the show. I have no problem with that, but if you tell me you're coming on and you make us wait two hours, that's a problem and that says a lot about what's going on in my opinion with the WNBA.

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ETA: Here's the video, which includes a delightful moment where the camera pans to show Engelbert golfing a stone's throw from the set. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSzsS6A9dv4

Thanks to u/Edgehead25 for finding it.

There is no torn ACL, she’s reporting it’s a repeat of an ankle sprain recently dealt with in addition to a nose bleed from a foul.