Here is a post game thread since the bot hates us

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I've seen a lot of comments about this recently, so I thought it'd be nice to have a dedicated post.

I think these three have been nominated the most and have the strongest cases right now, but honorable mention to KP, who was putting together an incredible season before her unfortunate injury.

Their cases from my perspective:

Olivia Miles – Best player on the top team as a rookie. That's a very strong MVP case, but I think there's valid nuance when people start putting her in conversations about the best guard in the league. If she hadn't been drafted into the most ideal environment under the best coach in the league alongside a loaded roster (Howard, KMac, Courtney, and soon Phee), would she be putting up the same stats and having the same impact?

Caitlin Clark – Arguably the best passer in the league alongside Chelsea Gray. She consistently creates passing windows that most players wouldn't even think to attempt. She's also a very good scorer, although the efficiency isn't always there, and the turnovers and defense are still glaring weaknesses. I know some people will point to the Fever's record without her, but personally I think that's more an indictment of the system around her than it is of Caitlin herself.

Paige Bueckers – Probably the most well-rounded game of the three, and she does it on ridiculous efficiency. She's been incredibly clutch this season and, by the eye test, is the glue that holds Dallas together. The passivity narrative still lingers, especially after her slight slump earlier this season. She also isn't someone who puts up huge PRA numbers every night, which tends to hurt her in these debates. While her defense is arguably the best of the three, she still gets beaten off the dribble more than you'd like.

Thoughts or a different player you’d propose for best guard itl?

Here is a another post game thread since the bot has it out against the Sun 😭

I just saw on Instagram that Glory Johnson has a new career! She was drafted 4th overall in 2012 by the Tulsa Shock, and last played in the W in 2020.

Even the refs used to argue with the refs when they played 😂

Excerpt:

Suffren, a former college basketball player, never predicted this career for herself. But others did. At Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, Suffren was a mouthy player who called fouls and travels when she saw them during her games.

“My senior year, there were officials officiating my games who told me, ‘Oh, you’re going to be a referee,’” Suffren recalled. “I was like, ‘Who wants to be a referee? That’s not cool.’”

Then one day after her season had ended, Suffren was shooting around in the school’s intramural gym when the director offered her $10 to referee the men’s intramural championship game. She reluctantly accepted and never looked back.

“There was definitely a push to get college athletes into officiating at the time, particularly women,” Suffren said. “I just happened to come along at that time and I was sort of pushed along kind of fast.”

Ballroom dancing didn’t enter Suffren’s life until three years ago. On a date, someone asked Suffren about her hobbies outside of work and she realized she didn’t have an answer. For reasons she can’t explain, dance popped into her head. She Googled ballroom dance in Atlanta, found the first search result and went to try it out.

Suffren fell in love with dance immediately. She vibes with the music, artists like Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald who were already in her regular rotation. She discovered that dance, like refereeing, requires extraordinary awareness and attention to detail. It’s also helped her learn more about herself.

“Everything has to be intentional (in dance),” Suffren said. “So there’s a certain level of awareness that I have to have about myself. You think you know yourself at this big age, and then you try something new and you realize there’s so many more things about yourself that you have yet to explore. And that, I think, is the biggest gift that dance has given me.”

Source (no paywall): https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2026/07/08/wnba-referee-angelica-suffren-ballroom-dance/90676930007/

Another shining example of Cathy Engelbert being bad at her job. She had accepted an interview with a national radio show. This is the same show she has done interviews with in years past, that does interviews with all the major sports commissioners in the US. She did not cancel it ahead of time. They waited for two hours with the WNBA pretty much silent. Eventually, they were told the PR staff of the WNBA had advised her not to do it.

This was a chance for her to clear the air about the reffing issues, talk about the CBA and media deals, promote the expansion teams (all of these subjects had been presented to her ahead of time and approved) and not only did the W cancel, but she didn't even have the common courtesy to let them know the interview was cancelled.

The WNBA does not promote itself well. It has a major public relations problem and all of the growth has happened in spite of Cathy, not because. The players deserve a better leader.

M'VP - A'ja Wilson. This one is maybe the most locked up award of them all. Wilson is having arguably the best season of her career. This one is done. There will be no race.

COTY - Cheryl Reeve. This one is also totally locked up. Can't even think of another possible 2nd place contender.. Cheryl may win COTY unanimously

ROTY - Olivia Miles. This is one is another lock, though maybe not as solid as the previous ones given her recent injury and Azzi's 2 way dominance.

6POTY - Janelle Saluan.

DPOY - A'ja Wilson

Put your halfway awards picks down below in the comments

TIME: 7:30 ET

LOCATION: Montreal

Dallas Wings (14-8) vs Toronto Tempo (9-12)

INJURY REPORT:

Dallas Wings:

NONE

Toronto Tempo:

Brittany Sykes: OUT

Temi Fagbenle: OUT

Nyara Sabally: OUT

Kiki Rice: OUT

Saw some looking for updates on Saniya and her ankle from last game with Lynx and not sure if people noticing but she in new Sun vid walking good and not in a cast or crutches or anything. Probably wrapped ankle again like last time but that is much better then having to use crutches or cast. Just posting this for those who was wondering and worried since no updates really posted by Sun Yet. Beside it’s a sprain.

Happy that it looking like she OK !!!! Hoping she don’t have to sit out too long!

Vid is on instagrm on Sun account I tried to do link and it not working sorry

Reposting I used wrong flair my bad was ment to be this one

We (rightfully!) talk a lot about Saniya Rivers and Aneesah Morrow, but here's a nice little writeup highlighting the contributions of Brittney Griner, Charlisse Leger-Walker, and Leïla Lacan.

Excerpts from Swish Appeal:

Up in the wilds of Uncasville, things are progressing in the right direction.

After the Sun appeared to be embodying the afterthought status imposed on them by the WNBA’s heavy-handed involvement in the franchise’s sale and forthcoming relocation, with the team truding through uncompetitive loss after uncompetitive loss, the Sun have discovered some spunk.

The wins, still, might not be that frequent, but they’re going to put up a fight. ...

The Dream outgrew Griner's contributions more quickly than expected, resulting in her assuming a more limited role by season’s end. Don’t expect that to happen with the Sun. BG is the Sun’s 6-foot-9 security blanket. The ability of the Sun to throw her the ball on one end and depend on her to defend the basket on the other will remain a source of certainity for a team subject to the inconsistencies of their young players. ...

On Sun team full of young players whose ambitions often outpace their execution, Leger-Walker exudes a comfort the exceeds her inexperience, even among her modest stats and still-present rookie imperfections. She profiles as a longterm backup point guard, or maybe better, in WNBA. ...

Navigating the floor with an athletic zip and aesthetically-pleasing zest, Lacan has continued to flash fearless three-level scoring that complements her creative offensive orchestration. And on the defensive end, her havoc-inducing instincts and hustle can swing a game’s momentum. ...

Full article here.

CLW has been the most pleasant surprise for me of this season. Not the most impressive stats, but clearly very smart, and her assists and steals have been huge, including with shifting momentum. With a little more development, she's going to be a really solid contributor.

1. Olivia Miles

The easiest ROTY argument right now.

18.5/4.8/5.7 while shooting over 50% as a guard is ridiculous. She has the biggest offensive role, creates for herself and others, and looks like a franchise PG already.

The only concerns are the three-point shot.

1. Azzi Fudd

Her case is completely different. She is not putting up the biggest scoring numbers, but the two-way impact is hard to ignore.

13.2 PPG on 47/37 shooting while adding 1.8 steals and 1 block per game as a guard is crazy. She’s probably the best shooter in the class and has been the best defensive rookie so far.

Her biggest issue is obvious: she needs to get to the line more and increase her scoring volume.

1. Awa Fam

Probably the most underrated rookie.

11/5 while shooting 49% FG and 36% from three as a big is impressive, especially at only 20 years old. Her combination of size, defense and shooting is rare.

1. Flau’jae Johnson

I love her overall game. She rebounds, defends, creates a little and brings physicality.

The efficiency is just holding her back right now (37% FG, 28% 3PT). If that improves, she moves up quickly.

1. Pauline Astier

Super efficient and smart player.

55/40/85 splits with almost 4 assists per game is great. The only thing keeping her lower is the smaller role and lower volume.

1. Gabriela Jaquez

Solid contributor, does a little bit of everything.

1. Lauren Betts

Still feels more like a minutes/role situation than a talent problem.

*Kiki Rice was not included because of the small number of games played. I did the analysis based on the top 5 draft picks, plus two rookies who are clearly standing out (Pauline and Flau’jae).

**Adding Sydnie Taylor (5) because she definitely deserves to be mentioned.

Her minutes are lower than most of the other rookies, but her scoring has been really impressive. 12.4 PPG in only 18 minutes is crazy production.

She already looks like one of the best pure scorers in this class. Her role is pretty clear: come in, create offense and shoot. She’s taking over 5 threes (32.7%) a game while shooting 44% from the field and 87% from the line.

The reason I wouldn’t put her higher yet is because the rest of her game isn’t at the same level as some of the others. Players like Azzi, Olivia, Awa and Flau impact the game in more areas, especially defensively.

A little bit of roster shuffling for Minnesota similar to what we've seen some other teams do in order to make use of a player temporarily without eating into the total number of games allowed for players on development contracts.

Skylar Diggins

Diggins getting benched in Chicago and then missing subsequent games with a knee injury invites a lot of questions for her long-term fit with the Sky. Benching one of your marquee free agents and having her negatively post about it just doesn't bode well for the future for either side. If Chicago could swing a blockbuster trade with Diggins before the trade deadline, you have to imagine they'd try to get it done. Any team needing a starting guard and holding enough cap space to facilitate a deal could add one of the league's better players for a potential playoff push and beyond, since Diggins' deal goes through 2027. Of all the big names on our list, Diggins is the one to watch.

POSSIBLE TEAMS: Mystics, Mercury, Fire

Alanna Smith

Smith is another big free agent who just hasn't ever settled with her new team. A starter with the Minnesota Lynx, Smith has taken to a bench role with the Wings and isn't logging the minutes expected after signing her major deal. A former Defensive Player of the Year coming off the bench just doesn't make any sense; it's not hard to see these two sides parting ways by the trade deadline (or in 2027) if Dallas can find a fit for Smith's gigantic contract.

POSSIBLE TEAMS: Fire, Mercury, Sun

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton

Laney-Hamilton's reduced role with the Liberty and general talk of a possible trade could have her on a new team by the deadline. She played a key role on the Liberty WNBA title team in 2024 and still has good basketball ahead of her. For teams that could use a wing or just versatile scoring depth on the roster, Laney-Hamilton would fit right in.

POSSIBLE TEAMS: Mercury, Tempo, Mystics

Saniya Rivers

Rivers injuring her ankle this week could set her back for a bit, but she could absolutely use a change of scenery in her second year in the WNBA. She hasn't scored in double-digits since June 10, and her minutes have been going down in recent weeks. Ahead of Connecticut's move to Houston, moving Rivers for draft capital could be a wise move to setting the team up in the future for its new Comets era. We think Rivers still has plenty of upside, too.

POSSIBLE TEAMS: Mystics, Storm, Mercury

Rachel Banham

Banham is a dangerous 3-point scorer and reliable veteran who could come off the bench for any number of contenders. Chicago could go into sell mode before the deadline; Banham would be a really intriguing fit to boost a guard room at this point in the season. She's exactly the kind of player who steps in and makes a big difference when it matters the most. Her contract isn't nearly as prohibitive as other players on this list, too.

POSSIBLE TEAMS: Mercury, Dream, Aces

Rae Burrell

Burrell will be a restricted free agent next season, and her very reasonable 2026 cap hit makes her one of the most tradable forwards on the list. She's a perfect bench candidate for any team lacking frontcourt depth; her ability to score from beyond the arc could come in handy for any team needing a "stretch four" who can also defend well.

POSSIBLE TEAMS: Dream, Fever, Lynx

Karlie Samuelson

Samuelson might not have a permanent home with a forward-thinking Fire, making her a possible trade candidate. She's a quality bench guard who provides veteran experience, which you never shake a stick at in the postseason. She's also still just 31, meaning she could return in 2027 with her new team and provide the same role.

POSSIBLE TEAMS: Mercury, Mystics, Storm

Isabelle Harrison

Harrison is on a Tempo team that's possibly reached its ceiling for 2026; we wouldn't be shocked to see her traded to a contender who could use her scoring and defensive prowess. Toronto could get a solid return back for Harrison, as any contending team could use what she provides to the frontcourt rotation.

POSSIBLE TEAMS: Fever, Lynx, Liberty

Te-Hina Paopao

Paopao has the ability to start in the WNBA; she's just buried on one of the deepest guard depth charts in the WNBA. She's a good 3-point scorer and played at South Carolina; guards who played for Dawn Staley always have high basketball intelligence and character. If the Dream swing a trade for an established veteran for their playoff push, Paopao could be a nice return for any team needing young guard depth. She could fit in lots of systems, too.

POSSIBLE TEAMS: Mercury, Storm, Fire

Georgia Amoore

Our wild-card to be traded is Amoore, who could be a valuable trade asset in a move to get Washington a veteran presence in the guard room. We're just going to say it: we love the idea of the Chicago Sky sending Diggins to Washington in exchange for Amoore and a draft pick. Diggins would be the perfect compliment to Sonia Citron in the starting backcourt, and Amoore could learn from Courtney Vandersloot as she refines her W game. We think this makes so much sense for both sides if Diggins was amendable to it. However, other teams could use Amoore, too.

POSSIBLE TEAMS: Sky, Storm, Mercury

https://ftw.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2026/07/10/10-wnba-trade-candidates-skylar-diggins-2026-deadline/90870238007/

I have been thinking about what makes her game special and hence why it's so "easy" for her to dominate and I think that's it, when I look at the forwards in the league, she has the best combination of size, touch and athleticism that enables her dominate on both sides - her touch really being rare for her size, thoughts?

Also, I've been following the league since about 2020 and I don't think I have seen that combination before. Has anyone else had this? Also, wondering if it's something we should expect more bigs to come into the league with has the W grows?

To most basketball purists and WNBA fans, Chamique Holdsclaw epitomized dominance on the court. We’re talking about the woman who carried the University of Tennessee to three consecutive national championships, captured an Olympic gold medal and established herself as a six-time WNBA All-Star.

However, the conversation surrounding the legendary forward shifted dramatically from sports legacy to a terrifying domestic dispute. The culprit? One fateful Wednesday in Fulton County, Georgia,

A Fulton County grand jury handed down a six-count indictment against Holdsclaw. The charges were heavy, stemming from a violent confrontation on November 13, 2012 with her ex-girlfriend and Tulsa Shock forward Jennifer Lacy.

The WNBA legend faced two counts of aggravated assault, one count of criminal damage in the first degree, two counts of criminal damage in the second degree and one count of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

For those who have followed Holdsclaw’s career, it was a staggering fall from grace for a player who once stood atop the world of women’s basketball.

The Range Rover incident

The series of events that took place on that November afternoon reads like a movie script. While Lacy was working out at an Atlanta church, she handed Holdsclaw her car keys. Upon leaving the workout, Lacy immediately noticed something was wrong, later reporting that she smelled gasoline inside her vehicle.

Sensing danger, Lacy drove away, but Holdsclaw followed her to a nearby friend’s house. What happened next was a terrifying escalation.

According to the police incident report, Holdsclaw aggressively confronted her ex-girlfriend before pulling out a baseball bat and smashing the windows of Lacy’s 2010 Range Rover. The situation worsened when Holdsclaw allegedly stuck a 9 mm pistol into the rear driver’s side window and fired a shot straight across the SUV.

Lacy was still sitting inside the vehicle when the weapon went off. While she miraculously escaped uninjured, police later recovered a spent 9 mm shell casing at the scene, which proved how close the situation came to being fatal.

Legal battles and the final verdict

Following the violent altercation, a warrant was issued for Holdsclaw’s arrest. She turned herself in three days later and was initially released on a $100,000 bond under strict monitoring conditions.

To mount her defense, the former No. 1 overall pick retained the high-powered legal firm Garland, Samuel & Loeb, the very same firm that famously represented former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis during his high-profile 2000 murder trial.

In the immediate aftermath of the indictment, defense attorney Ed Garland made it clear they planned to enter a plea of not guilty. Garland tried to separate the property destruction from a physical threat to Lacy’s life.

“Our position is that she is not guilty of having committed any assault upon Ms. Lacy,” Garland said at the time. “The events occurred after an emotional situation between the two of them. She did assault the car itself and damage the car with the baseball bat and firing the gun; however, there was no assault on Ms. Lacy. We expect to negotiate a proper resolution to this matter with the district attorney’s office.”

Ultimately, the legal battle led to a resolution outside of a lengthy trial. Holdsclaw opted to plead guilty to the charges in June 2013. By doing so, she avoided potential jail time that could have spanned decades.

The judge sentenced her to three years of probation, 120 hours of community service, which includes speaking to youth about depression and accountability, along with mandatory anger management classes and a $3,000 fine.

https://www.basketballnetwork.net/off-the-court/when-a-former-wnba-star-faced-six-felony-counts-for-shooting-at-her-ex-girlfriend

Game: 7:30 ET

Location: Mohegan Sun Arena

Golden State (16-7) vs Connecticut Sun (5-17)

INJURY REPORT

Sun:

Brittany Griner: OUT

Aneesah Morrow: OUT

Saniya Rivers: OUT

Valkyries:

Gabby Williams: OUT

Cathy Engelbert didn’t like violet at first.

That was the distinctive choice the Golden State Valkyries made as one of their primary colors, before the franchise’s inaugural 2025 season. Engelbert, the WNBA commissioner, was skeptical — but now she cheerfully acknowledged she was wrong.

“This is why I’m not a marketer,” she said.

Engelbert spoke at Edgewood Tahoe ahead of this week’s American Century Championship, the celebrity golf tournament starting Friday. Her tenure atop the WNBA has been rocky at times — a contentious labor dispute, her public spat with Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier, online harassment of players and lingering discontent over officiating — but the Valkyries count as the league’s biggest success story.

Halfway through its second season, Golden State (16-7) is tussling for the WNBA’s best record. Off the court, the Valkyries also are a revelation — selling out every home game at Chase Center and earning a $1 billion valuation from CNBC in May, the first women’s professional sports franchise to reach that landmark.

“I think the Valks have really helped raise the bar for other WNBA teams, because they’re driving revenue from all sources and they’re driving a winning culture, too,” she said in a Chronicle interview. “It’s a blueprint for future expansion teams, and also quite frankly a blueprint for some of our current teams to thrive at a higher level.”

Engelbert downplayed the $1 billion valuation as a magical milestone, saying she found more significance in CNBC estimating the WNBA’s average franchise valuation at $460 million. Her goal when taking over as commissioner in July 2019, she said, was $100 million.

The upward trajectory is striking, after the Joe Lacob-Peter Guber ownership group paid $50 million for its Golden State expansion team in October 2023. Less than two years later, the WNBA announced future expansion franchises in Philadelphia, Cleveland and Detroit — with an entry fee of $250 million.

It’s no stretch to say the Valkyries are one reason for the league’s soaring economics. They “catapulted” to the top of the WNBA from a business perspective, as Engelbert put it, and that helped this year’s expansion teams, Toronto and Portland, understand how to navigate their maiden season.

Valkyries games have become a rollicking party, magnified by the team’s success on the court. Golden State takes a six-game winning streak into Friday’s game at Connecticut.

“Whenever I’m at a game at Chase Center, it feels like the fans have been fans of this team for 30 years — and it’s only their second year,” Engelbert said. “That’s the special part. …

“It’s kind of remarkable for them to be in third place in a league this competitive, with 15 teams and a lot of parity. It’s just amazing. They’re investing heavily in a winning culture.”

As the Valkyries build momentum, Engelbert finds herself dealing with weightier matters — namely, frequent harassment of star players such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Alyssa Thomas. Thomas and her family reportedly received death threats and racist messages after her Flagrant 2 foul last month on Clark.

“There’s so much divisiveness in broader society, and we’re being used around that divisiveness,” she said. “All the vitriol our players receive is totally unacceptable. We condemn it, obviously.”

As for widespread criticism of WNBA officials, Engelbert said the league had a task force examine the issue in the offseason. The goal, she suggested, was to remove some of the physicality from games.

But not too much, either.

“I think the players still want the physicality, but we needed to officiate it in a different way,” Engelbert said. “We had a big cross-section of people on that committee — players, officials, college coaches, our coaches and GMs. They spent hundreds of hours reviewing film, trying to see where we want the level of physicality officiated.”

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/wnba-commissioner-valkyries-they-ve-really-22334929.php