Ball Up Top: A Women’s Basketball Podcast

After a brief offseason, Ball Up Top is back to reign in the new year in women’s college basketball. Andrew and Chauny take the lead in what will be called ‘Scorpio Hour’ from now on. They dole out some of their hottest takes — LSU being a title contender?! Stanford may be interesting! — from conference to conference, determine which coaches seats are the hottest — Joni Taylor, potentially? — and take some time to shout out the mid-major death machine that is South Dakota State.

If you love the show, we’d love and appreciate a five star rating on Apple podcasts as well as a kind review if you’ve got the time! We’re also on the road to 6,000 subscribers on YouTube and 4,000 followers on TikTok so if you enjoy our content here, tell a friend to tell a friend to follow us on their preferred platform!

Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!

Our intro music is made by Denver’s own DLZMKSBTS, the King of Mile Hi-Fi. Check out all his music on Spotify here and on Instagram here.

The WNBA season is over so we decided to do something special for this week’s Ball Up Top. Tyler, Andrew and Greer are at the sticks and decided to draft their best moments of the 2025 season.

Below are each staff member’s selection but we’d love to hear from you! Let us know in the comments or share our lists with your friends to figure out who can make the best moment list of the year.

Greer:

Paige Bueckers breaks the single game rookie scoring record with 42 points.

Skylar Diggins doing the electric slide in Minnesota.

Napheesa Collier’s unsung 50-40-90 season.

Pink wigs in the Target Center.

The back and forth battle brewing between A’ja Wilson and Dominique Malonga

Andrew:

A’ja Wilson’s WNBA Finals game three winner vs. Phoenix.

Napheesa Collier destroys Cathy Engelbert in exit interview.

Caitlin Clark’s high point: 32 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists vs. New York.

The mess of June’s Wings vs. Aces game.

The Rachid Meziane agenda ends on a positive note.

Tyler:

Studbudz take over All-Star weekend.

Players make a statement with ‘pay us what you owe us’ shirts.

Paige Bueckers and Haley Jones’ legendary meme.

Jacy Sheldon vs. Sophie Cunningham: The showdown.

Indiana’s playoff run.

Missed By Us (But We Wish We Had Back)

Ballhalla

Angel Reese vs. The Chicago Sky

Alyssa Thomas sets triple-double record

Kelsey Mitchell second half explosion vs. Connecticut

Kiki Iriafen vs. Sophie Cunningham preseason

Kiki Iriafen and Stef Dolson make a meme

If you love the show, we’d love and appreciate a five star rating on Apple podcasts as well as a kind review if you’ve got the time! We’re also on the road to 6,000 subscribers on YouTube and 3,000 followers on TikTok so if you enjoy our content here, tell a friend to tell a friend to follow us on their preferred platform!

Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!

Our intro music is made by Denver’s own DLZMKSBTS, the King of Mile Hi-Fi. Check out all his music on Spotify here and on Instagram here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

www.nocapspacewbb.com/subscribe

This week we have a special edition of Ball Up Top for you all. A day late but certainly not a dollar short. As discussion around a possible work stoppage in the WNBA intensifies, we sought out some guidance on how the dynamics at play and the mechanics of a collective bargaining agreement negotiation.

Tamika Tremaglio is now the Managing Director for the private equity firm Secretariat but was once the Executive Director of the National Basketball Players Association. In 2021, she was selected by NBA players to replace Michele Roberts and helped lead the union to a CBA with the league in 2023. Back in 2020, she also served as an advisor to the WNBPA in their 2020 negotiation.

Over the course of this podcast, she discusses the component of trust in negotiations, why the players feel like their leverage is the greatest and, perhaps most interestingly, whether the league should just scrap their existing CBA and start over completely.

If you love the show, we’d love and appreciate a five star rating on Apple podcasts as well as a kind review if you’ve got the time! We’re also on the road to 5,000 subscribers on YouTube and 2,500 followers on TikTok so if you enjoy our content here, tell a friend to tell a friend to follow us on their preferred platform!

Scroll ahead to hear…

0:00 - Show introduction.

1:15 - Tamika Tremaglio’s background.

3:04 - The art of a labor negotiation.

4:40 - How both sides view their leverage.

6:35 - What happens when trust is broken during a labor negotiation.

10:15 - The uniqueness of the WNBPA’s bargaining position.

13:38 - The idea of risk-reward as it pertains to the WNBA’s business.

17:02 - Where pure business and professional respect intersect in negotiations.

21:30 - The strategy of exercising leverage and why the WNBPA is doing it now.

24:13 - How WNBA revenue share works.

26:35 - How the NBA’s ownership of the W makes labor negotiations unique.

29:14 - Balancing the business with the humanity of a negotiation.

32:13 - How Unrivaled fits into the calculus of the labor fight.

34:54 - Could you rip up the CBA and effectively start over?

39:36 - Is the WNBA’s labor fight a microcosm of a broader labor movement in the United States?

Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!

Our intro music is made by Denver’s own DLZMKSBTS, the King of Mile Hi-Fi. Check out all his music on Spotify here and on Instagram here.

No Cap Space WBB is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

www.nocapspacewbb.com/subscribe

This was, in essence, the messiest day of the WNBA season this year. Napheesa Collier went scorched earth on league commissioner Cathy Engelbert, prompting widespread support from other players in the W. Sports Business Journal then reported that Engelbert may be on the way out as commissioner at the end of the season. Chris Koclanes was let go as the head coach of the Dallas Wings and, if that wasn’t enough, we had a win-or-go-home matchup in the WNBA semifinals.

The Ringer WNBA Show’s Seerat Sohi joins Tyler, Chauny and Greer as they react to the Aces heading back to another WNBA Finals as well as all the other madness of the day.

If you love the show, we’d love and appreciate a five star rating on Apple podcasts as well as a kind review if you’ve got the time! We’re also on the road to 5,000 subscribers on YouTube and 2,500 followers on TikTok so if you enjoy our content here, tell a friend to tell a friend to follow us on their preferred platform!

Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!

Our intro music is made by Denver’s own DLZMKSBTS, the King of Mile Hi-Fi. Check out all his music on Spotify here and on Instagram here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

www.nocapspacewbb.com/subscribe

Man, has this WNBA postseason delivered. Every game night it feels like we get some new piece of drama, some legacy performances and matchups that go down to the wire. Much like the bars Stefon would recommend on Saturday Night Live, these playoffs have everything. Maybe even Dan Cortese. Who’s to say?

Our Playoffathon coverage continues over on YouTube where you can subscribe to our channel. We are live every night after each playoff game and will be doubling down as we head into the WNBA Finals at the end of this week. Who will meet the Phoenix Mercury there? That will be decided on Tuesday when the Indiana Fever and Las Vegas Aces play a win-or-go-home game in Michelob Ultra Arena. It doesn’t get any better than this and, to add on to the craziness that has been the WNBA postseason, the NCAA women’s basketball season starts in just over a month as well.

So if you’re considering signing up for our paid subscription tier, which gives you access to our Discord chat, exclusive content and Boots on the Ground features, you won’t be losing a thing when the W is done. We just move right into the next season because the basketball never stops.

Now, onto the column!

1. The Mercury Deserve Their Flowers As An Organization

To quote the venerable Dril, ‘under no circumstances do you gotta hand to them’. But in this case you do, in fact, have to hand it to Mat Ishbia.

What’s fascinating is that you can be from Phoenix and have two totally different opinions of the debutante owner depending on which basketball team you follow more closely. In a lot of ways, Ishbia feels somewhat reminiscent of James Dolan and his ownership of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers. As a fan, it’s felt that whichever of the two teams Dolan is more hands-off with is the team that ends up being more successful. While Ishbia has spent much of his tenure with the Suns appearing to meddle in the day-to-day affairs of the NBA franchise, he’s kept a relatively low profile in the W, writing the checks and allowing the Mercury to run smoothly.

That’s resulted in a state-of-the-art team facility that was able to play a role in attracting free agents like Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas. It’s also given General Manager Nick U’Ren, the Ball-Knower’s Executive of the Year, the latitude to build out the team as he sees fit. Trading for Thomas and Sabally was a masterstroke but, perhaps more importantly, it all came together in year one. It’s exceedingly rare in this league where free-agent or trade-driven superstar cores gel like this immediately. New York made it to the WNBA Finals in their first season with Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones but it took until 2024 for them to look the part of a champion. Seattle’s microwaved championship core never made it to the Finals before Noelle Quinn was let go as head coach. Shoot, even L.A., Dallas and Chicago, who tried to load up with veterans to hunt for a playoff spot, ended up not living up to their billing.

Yet somehow in Phoenix, where the offense runs through Alyssa Thomas in a way relatively unique in the W’s history, they are four wins away from a title. There may be a lot of flaws in Mat Ishbia as an owner. His organization has dealt with a few different lawsuits and now is on the receiving end of a slew of not-so-rosy stories about allegedly forcing employees to sign paperwork effectively waiving their right to sue for anything. The Suns look like a bit of a clown show and had to deal away Kevin Durant after a nothingburger of a tenure. And yet, things look about as good as they can on the women’s side of things. They flipped over their roster completely with a coach who has proven to be one of the better in-game tacticians in the league while also making the needed investments to compete.

If you choose to look at this with a glass half full mindset, it is a great precedent and signal to the next set of expansion teams coming into the league. Basically, if you invest appropriately, you too can be a Golden State, a Phoenix, Las Vegas or New York. The teams that are putting their money where their mouths are happen to be the ones succeeding. For a league and a sport that has been saying that investment will lead to success for over two decades, it’s nice to see that axiom be proven true time and time again.

2. Alyssa Thomas Is Having Her Legacy Postseason

I know that Alyssa Thomas and her play style aren’t for everyone. It’s important to note that that indeed is okay. To me, the more play styles you have in a sports league, the more interesting things can be from a schematic perspective. College football fans may hate to see a triple option or flexbone team but I sure love to see coaches try to figure it out. In the same vein, there just aren’t a lot of WNBA teams running inverted pick-and-roll with a physically gifted power forward who is a regular triple-double threat. It’s fair for some people to not enjoy the shoulder checks or the bull rushes down the floor. But I feel that it adds something to the game and forces great players and coaches to do something different. It can get to a point where it’s not so fun and that’s something that falls at the feet of officials (more on that in a moment).

I write that long preamble to say that we can’t discount Alyssa Thomas when all is said and done. Would it be fun if she had a more consistent jumper? Sure. But what the 33 year old Mercury superstar is doing this postseason is everything most of her detractors have been asking for for years. In this last semifinals series, Thomas averaged 20.5 points, 8.25 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game on 51% shooting from the field. For starters, those are MVP caliber counting stats. But beyond that, it shows a new willingness to shoulder the scoring load for her team. In past years, we’ve gotten 20+ point bursts out of AT but most playoff matchups had her finishing with anywhere between 13 and 18 points. This time around, Thomas is more than willing to go to the basket, try to get calls and feel comfortable taking it herself in crunch time. Usually when we’re assessing players at the MVP caliber level or higher, we like to see that extra gear in the playoffs. Something of a takeover gene, if you will.

This season, Thomas has given us that effort and what we’ve been treated to is a totally different player than who we typically see in the playoffs. Don’t believe me? I quite literally compared AT to Rudy Gobert earlier this year, remarking that they’re similar in that they can own a regular season but have clearly exploitable deficiencies come the playoffs. These last two weeks, the Mercury’s star forward has shut me up good.

If Phoenix manages to go the distance, it completely changes how we talk about Thomas and her impact in the WNBA. On some level, it’s reductive to distill legacy down into whether or not you win rings, but I do think part of winning championships as a superstar level player involves you having to find that gear of greatness. So far, AT has given us that gear and even a bit more. Regardless of how the Finals go, I do hope that Thomas finishes the season with a few more fans on her bandwagon. Count me among them. It’s been a phenomenal playoff run and deserves its flowers even while it’s happening.

3. A Gamecock Rivalry And Building The Hate Ethically

Here at No Cap Space, we often joke about this concept of ethical and unethical hate. As Chauny describes it, “Ethical hate is letting people know up front where you stand so if they choose to engage that’s on them. Basically a heads up that this argument isn’t being made in the the best faith so proceed with caution.”

In essence, knowing where the lines are between playful banter and personal attacks. If you’re someone who thinks they have a good concept of where that line is (which is the vast majority of fans, to be clear), then this postseason was tailor made for you. For the most part, a lot of the banter between teams has been relatively low impact in terms of depth. Napheesa Collier’s injury does cast a pall over some of this but generally, the beef all feels pretty self contained to basketball. Within that, I think we can all afford to let things be fun for a second. Take A’ja Wilson and Aliyah Boston, for instance. I love the fact that the four-time-and-reigning back-to-back MVP is airing out a former Gamecock heir apparent about a perceived special whistle. It’s great to see an up and coming superstar not scared at all of incurring the wrath of one of the faces of the game. These are good things that foster good discourse around the game. There is always a conversation to be had around some of the more specific ways sports and culture intersect and how they power public opinion. We should welcome those takes and critical views of the things we enjoy.

At the same time, however, we should be allowed to indulge in the sheer competition of it all. There are legacies on the line here and it feels like both Wilson and Boston know that. There is the connective tissue of South Carolina and Dawn Staley. There’s Wilson’s own hero’s journey that is woefully underdiscussed even though it underscores how remarkable her ascent has actually been. And then there’s Boston who, since a cruel-at-best-coded-at-worst framing as soft and a crier, has stepped into her power and embraced the title of tough player to go against. Everything that we like in sports is here. The drama, the backstory, the human emotions that power superhuman athletic performances culminating in an ending that is truly unknown to us until the moment it happens. This is the exact type of thing the WNBA has been asking for and it’s been delivered organically. Is it the size of the other rivalries the league office seems to prize? Maybe not. But it’s certainly a healthy foundation with which to build upon.

Whether it’s been Indiana vs. Las Vegas, Minnesota vs. Phoenix or any of the first round games, we’ve been given competitive matchups, elite trash-talk pre, during and post game and the most smoke anyone has had is for the officiating. It’s exactly what people have been asking for and I hope we appreciate it for what it is. Rivalries and legacies are being built here and everyone involved with the games seems to know it. Maybe larger scale media doesn’t but that’s okay. The Ball-Knowers know. And that’s enough for me.

4. The Possible Revolution (And Unintended Consequences) in WNBA Coach Hiring

Happy Trails, Noelle Quinn and Sandy Brondello.

The Seattle Storm, after a first round exit against Las Vegas, parted ways with Quinn while the Liberty did the same with Brondello after New York’s game three loss to Phoenix. The two don’t have a ton in common, when you line up their backgrounds and circumstances. But they are alike in that they’re both WNBA lifers who have been let go amid what seems to be an ever-shortening leash for coaches in the league. Let me be clear, I think it was time for Noelle Quinn to go. Whatever critiques one may have for Storm general manager Talisa Rhea and how this roster was constructed, it had the top end talent to be a WNBA Finals contender. When you line up the starting fives on paper, the Storm should’ve matched up well against anyone. Quinn’s rigidity in not utilizing her bench while also dealing with consistent allegations of fostering a negative locker room culture, it just didn’t feel like Seattle had a lot of good to point to heading into a pivotal offseason. Now, you at least can do a proper search, hire the right coach and be able to promise a vision when free agency comes around.

As for Sandy Brondello, it is quite a statement to fire your coach one season removed from a WNBA championship and then say in a press conference that she was on the block that season too. However people try to massage General Manager Jonathan Kolb’s statements, it was a revealing look at what the calculus actually was in parting ways. I can’t imagine Breanna Stewart is too pleased.

I’m intrigued about the possible clash of visions when it comes to Sabrina Ionescu. One of Kolb’s exit interview quotes concerned the pairing of his former No. 1 pick and Natasha Cloud. While he was careful to not say Ionescu’s dip in numbers were an indictment on Cloud, he did cite problems with Sabrina’s off-ball involvement. If Brondello felt that Ionescu wasn’t a true point guard but Kolb felt the opposite, how much does that clash of visions lead to a somewhat surprising parting of the ways? In any case, a WNBA expansion franchise is going to get a proven coach that can probably establish a high floor early.

While understandable (on some level) decisions, there is an interesting trend popping up in the W these last few years. Beyond the clear and sharp drop of black women coaches in the league — a necessary thing to point when a supermajority of the league are black women — there has also been a shift towards more modern coaching systems. The Atlanta Dream and L.A. Sparks found analytically driven motion-offense coaches in Karl Smesko and Lynne Roberts. The possible New York Liberty targets all have some type of NBA bonafides to them. If the trend continues and the so-called ‘old guard’ of WNBA coaches is phased out entirely, what does that mean for the coaching pipeline?

There’s an argument to be had here that new systems will, over time, permeate through coaching trees and make the technical side of the game better at every level. New York could hire a coach from the NBA like Lakers assistant Lindsay Harding and her system will filter to her assistants and whatever jobs they may take and assistants they may have. It’s one of the few places where trickle-down does tend to work. That move into the future of the game won’t come without consequence, however. If you allow the perception that longtime WNBA coaches don’t have the juice to contend with a new schematic revolution in the league, it will become shared reality eventually. Not only does that hurt people like Brondello but it hurts the next generation of coaches like Briann January or LaToya Sanders. They would also have to fight that perception.

Change is good but, like many things, it has to be done with respect to what is being changed. The revolution is here in the WNBA but it doesn’t mean everything (and everyone) has to be wiped away in the process. It may not be a concerted push or mandate to do so but even unconscious biases can eventually mutate into calcified worldviews. Food for thought as we discuss merits and risks during this coaching carousel.

5. Can You Actually Fix the Officiating Problem?

Before I start, I want to lay out what I think balance is in officiating. Effectively, I think of a well-officiated game is one where I don’t see officials disrupt the flow on the floor. If they are c

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Wednesday, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard.

As the WNBA playoffs roll on, our crew has been hard at work giving you day-of previews and night-of recaps every single night of games. As it just so happens, game two of the Semifinals, featuring the Indiana Fever, Las Vegas, Phoenix Mercury and Minnesota Lynx, landed on our typical Ball Up Top recording night. Tyler and Chauny take the mic and break down everything that happened in game two as well as some of the major coaching changes, from Sandy Brondello in New York to Noelle Quinn in Seattle, and what comes next for both franchises.

If you love the show, we’d love and appreciate a five star rating on Apple podcasts as well as a kind review if you’ve got the time! We’re also on the road to 5,000 subscribers on YouTube and 2,500 followers on TikTok so if you enjoy our content here, tell a friend to tell a friend to follow us on their preferred platform!

Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!

Our intro music is made by Denver’s own DLZMKSBTS, the King of Mile Hi-Fi. Check out all his music on Spotify here and on Instagram here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

www.nocapspacewbb.com/subscribe

The WNBA’s marathon of playoff games continue and our postseason coverage at No Cap Space tries to keep up with the blistering pace of women’s basketball news. In the last week, we were treated to a slate of regular season awards (and the discourse that inevitably follows it) as well as some of the broader discussions around the W from the Connecticut Sun to the Chicago Sky.

Noelle Quinn and her staff were let go in Seattle, New York Liberty players seemed mum on their commitment to the franchise ahead of a box office free agency period as some of the best elimination playoff games in recent WNBA history were played. In short, there’s never been a better time to be a women’s basketball fan and a subscriber to No Cap Space. As our W coverage rolls here and on YouTube, we also are ramping up our NCAA coverage heading into October.

Our Luxury Tax interview series continues this week, with South Carolina superstar Joyce Edwards and UConn transfer Serah Williams join the show. Those that pay into the ‘Ball-Knower’ tier here on NCS will get early access to those interviews along with a companion feature on each player. Keep an eye out and stay tapped in with us on all ends of the WBB spectrum!

Now, to the column…

1. Let’s Talk About Awards Season…

A’ja Wilson made history with her fourth WNBA MVP honor, making her the first player in league history to earn such a distinction. On top of that, she joins Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Lebron James as the only American professional basketball players to win four MVP’s before the age of 30. And how’s this for a cherry on top? Wilson is the first player in the history of the W to average over 20 points and 10 rebounds in two straight seasons.

That’s the kind of dominance we make GOAT arguments for.

Personally, I find it hard to root against Wilson. She, in a lot of ways, has the pro athlete hero’s journey that we ask of our athletes. While the former South Carolina superstar was immediately impactful from the moment she set foot in the W, the path to being a face of the league wasn’t easy. The Aces had a few postseason false starts, with Wilson herself having a “she’s great but can she win the big one” moment in 2022 with a possible game winner being blocked at the rim by Brittney Griner in the playoffs. The Vegas forward’s response over the next three years was to be one of the most dominant players that the league has ever seen.

If you’re purely assessing value, I think it’s hard to vote against Wilson for MVP. She’s clearly the best player in the W right now and, when off the floor, the Aces simply aren’t a title contender. Here’s where the voting needs a degree of consistency…

Alanna Smith was named a co-Defensive Player of the Year, Natisha Hiedeman didn’t get Sixth Player of the Year and Cheryl Reeve got just two votes for Coach of the Year. There’s a legitimate question about what other Lynx players end up on the All-WNBA list. If a voter’s argument against Napheesa Collier was rooted in value and based on the comparative success of Minnesota without her in the lineup, shouldn’t the voting boost other players and coaches? Reeve, in particular, feels like a somewhat egregious omission even with Natalie Nakase rightfully deserving the honor. It just was surprising to see it not end up that close.

As we head into the next few years, it would be nice for us to get the voter transparency we require. At the very least, it would put an end to some of the general accusations of conspiracy or a shadowy cabal of voters aligned against specific players. At the absolute best, it lets players truly get to sit in their well-deserved award and not have to answer questions about anyone or anything else.

2. Seattle’s Coaching Search Is The Most Important in Franchise History

Noelle Quinn and her staff were let go by the Seattle Storm after a second straight underwhelming season and early playoff exit. Despite stacking the deck with Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins in 2023 free agency, the Storm haven’t been able to recapture the form of a consistent finals contender that they’ve enjoyed for the better part of the last two decades. Quinn, a former player who stepped almost immediately into a WNBA coaching role, was a good-but-not-great coach who seemed to be developing a reputation for fostering a poor team culture. Jewell Loyd left in 2024, alleging a toxic work environment, while exit interviews from this past week led fans to draw a variety of conclusions about what happened this year.

In some ways, it doesn’t portend anything positive for the WNBA. There are now no black women in head coaching positions and it doesn’t feel as though there is a super flush pipeline of talent on the way up. A lot of the ‘next generation’ in the college ranks, from Joni Taylor to Niele Ivey, have some degree of risk to them. The group below them, including Ashley Langford at Tulane and Dawn Thornton at Alabama A&M, probably need a couple more years before being attractive to a WNBA franchise. There’s former W players like Kristi Tolliver and Briann January, who should be among the first phone calls. Then there’s women in the NBA like Sonia Raman, Lindsey Harding Jenny Boucek and Mery Andrade who have the bonafides to return. The question is if they have the desire.

Whoever Seattle picks, it has to be a hit. As the complexion of the league changes, franchises come online and the balance of power starts to shift, the Storm cannot let themselves be left in the dust. That means Talisa Rhea, Seattle’s General Manager who has skated a bit on criticism of the last two years, needs to ace the hire and make some big signings in free agency. There’s a massive choice to make here and I’m curious how the coaching hire provides insight into her calculations. Do you throw it all out and build around Dominique Malonga, who has all the makings of the next league superstar? Or do they decide to continue to bridge generations, keeping Nneka and Diggins while trying to transition Malonga into the next woman up? History tells us that doesn’t usually work and the 19 year old French phenom is simply too good to mess around with. The Storm, for decades, have been the gold standard of the WNBA. But after a few years in the wilderness, and a gem of a prospect locked in on a long term, cost-controlled contract, it feels like there’s a fork in the road for Seattle. Hopefully, they choose right. This league is better when the Storm are contenders.

3. Indiana, Rising Tides and The W’s Cinderella Team

The Indiana Fever have, somehow, become the Cinderella team of this playoffs. Without a large chunk of their backcourt, including a top 3-5 player in the league in Caitlin Clark, the Fever managed to walk into Michelob Ultra Arena and steal Game One of the WNBA Semifinals away from arguably the hottest team in the league right now. Kelsey Mitchell put multiple Vegas players in the torture chamber as she led Indy with 34 points on 12/23 shooting, including a 4/6 outing from three point land. Natasha Howard and Aliyah Boston controlled the boards, combining for 22 of the Fever’s 35 while Odyssey Sims proved (once again) why she should be on a full-time WNBA roster.

It was a remarkable statement win for a franchise we half expected to just be happy to be there. Stephanie White has done a remarkable job coaching up this group, particularly getting point guard after point guard to step up when needed in the wake of Clark, Syd Colson, Aari McDonald, Chloe Bibby and Sophie Cunningham’s injuries.

In a lot of ways, this was the intended result of the Caitlin Clark effect. The former Iowa superstar brought a tidal wave of eyeballs and interest in the sport and the idea was that those eyes would eventually latch on to other teams or players, bringing the overall interest in the league up. While there’s been some less-than-enjoyable consequences of that, what we’re seeing happening in Indiana right now is what the Clark Effect looks like when it works. After years of uncertainty, the Fever brought in Kelly Kraskopf and Amber Cox to run the team. They went out and got White and brought in a bunch of players from Natasha Howard to Bri Turner, who are making a difference now. Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston’s are household names in the Indianapolis metro area and people are tuning in from all over the country to see a Fever team that doesn’t even feature Clark on the floor.

I know that it’s sometimes hard to look past the bad faith actors that entered the league with Clark. But the reality, when we get off Twitter and off the worst parts of the internet, is that most people found a love and enjoyment of this game through her and are now willing to stay without her. A little while back in a prior Five Out, I wrote about how that phenomenon was helping boost Indiana to the same type of geography and TV exposure was helping them enter the Dallas Cowboys/America’s Team territory. It feels now like we’re really getting there. The Fever are people’s gateway drug into the W. Given the fact that ratings exploded (1.8 million viewers on average this regular season, per ESPN) without Clark (and Angel Reese, to a different extent), I think it’s pretty easy to conclude that people didn’t turn their TV’s off en masse when the biggest young stars in the league sat on the bench. That’s good for the league, the playoffs, the Fever, and yes, all of us as well.

4. The 1-1-1 Format For Round One Was a Success. What Comes Next?

I can understand Karl Smesko and Becky Hammon. If I were a higher seeded team in the playoffs, I’d despise the 1-1-1 format of the first round as well. All of the advantage of two games at home effectively disappears and can be a lot trickier for teams that felt a high seed would buy them a better chance to advance to the semifinals. Now that the WNBA has charter flights, I think some of the concern around travel is unfounded. But it does make things harder if you don’t have the juice to really make a deep playoff run.

To that end, I absolutely love it.

To me, it separates the contenders from the pretenders. While still a three game series, every matchup has a little bit of win-or-go-home to it. Each elimination clash felt like something pulled straight out of March Madness. The SAP Center in San Jose felt, at times, louder than Ballhalla. Gabby Williams gave us a flashback to the 2024 Summer Olympic gold medal game (unfortunately for her, I might add) while Atlanta’s finish with Indiana was so chaotic I don’t think I can adequately describe it in print. Even in Phoenix, where the game didn’t come down to the last ten seconds, we saw individual greatness the likes of which we haven’t seen all season. Alyssa Thomas put up a historic 20-11-11 in an elimination game while Breanna Stewart put the entire Liberty franchise on her back in the fourth quarter and finished with 30 points and 9 rebounds. It was the perfect advertisement not just for the league but what the semifinals are likely to promise us.

5. Did New York’s Title Window Already Close?

I don’t necessarily blame Sabrina Ionescu for being a bit mum on whether or not she’ll stay with the Liberty. Assuming there isn’t a work stoppage while the collective bargaining agreement is being worked out, this upcoming free agency period will be the most pivotal in league history. If you’re a player that isn’t under contract and you’re committing to a franchise straight up, then you maybe need some words of wisdom from your agent. Ionescu is likely to have a multitude of suitors this offseason, particularly from the upstart Golden State Valkyries (Sabrina is from Walnut Creek, just outside of the East Bay). If she does decide to try something different, it calls into question the title window for the Liberty and what this big three may look like in the future?

Breanna Stewart was able to turn back the clock in the fourth quarter of their first round elimination game but got (statistically) next to no help to try and keep New York’s dream of a repeat alive. Jonquel Jones shot 1/10 from the field and 0/5 from three while looking completely out of sorts mentally. The Liberty’s supporting cast of Leonie Fiebich, Kennedy Burke and Emma Meesseman combined for 4/16 from the field while Natasha Cloud tried to contribute in different ways than just the scoring column. Meesseman, in particular, had a brutal series and calls into question the wisdom of assuming that her addition made the Liberty unbeatable (a take that I eat with shame).

The clear player missing this season isn’t Kayla Thornton — although she has been very missed — but Betnijah Laney-Hamilton. While she had taken a back seat as a scoring option with Ionescu taking more of the attempts in recent years, Laney-Hamilton’s defensive versatility and ability to be another player that could get her own shot in a pinch was vital to their title run in 2024. Without her, the holes were pretty clear and, without Thornton to help patch them, it made New York beatable in a way that even I wasn’t expecting.

So what comes next? Stewart is on the other side of 30 now and hasn’t looked like the same player that was on a GOAT trajectory a few years ago. Ionescu is an effective albeit flawed guard that you’d put in the same category as Kelsey Mitchell, Satou Saball and Kelsey Plum, to name a few. They can give you 37 as easily as they can give you 11 on 4/18 shooting. Jones has so many moments that remind you she was the 2021 MVP but something just didn’t click this year. Some of that can be explained away by the revolving door of rotations due to injury this year. The idea that teams can just flip the switch when everyone comes back isn’t really rooted in reality and a secret to that 2024 run was their health as a team. But with free agency providing a siren song of more money, options and flexibility, New York has a chance to either retool the franchise or go back in with this group of three and try again. The question is if they want the same.

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Last night was absolutely bananas. Two Game 3’s delivered and now we have the first WNBA semifinals matchup decided. Now, we get to find out who will meet the Minnesota Lynx on the other side of the bracket. If you want to catch up with any of what happened in the Indiana Fever vs. Atlanta Dream/Seattle Storm vs. Las Vegas Aces games, our podcast is a recap of last night’s YouTube live. We’ll be back on this evening and throughout the playoffs so be sure to like, share and subscribe.

Phoenix Mercury @ New York Liberty

Series tied 1-1

9:00 PM ET, ESPN

A Quick Overview:

This game has a little bit of everything. Two storied franchises, at least one current MVP candidate up against a pair of past MVP winners, streaky shooters who can make or break a game, and plenty more. So naturally, I expect to see one hell of an environment in PHX Arena tonight. The Liberty managed to steal game one on the road after a missed Alyssa Thomas game winner at the end of regulation. From there, the series went to Brooklyn where the Mercury demolished New York to force a winner-take-all game three back in Arizona. As it stands, the game flow of this series has favored Phoenix but their opponent is still the defending WNBA champion. If Seattle taught us anything last night, it’s to not assume anything until the final buzzer.

Make-or-Break Matchup:

Each team has a single player that will make or break this matchup. Coincidentally, they both happen to be former college teammates at Oregon. Satou Sabally overcame a 2/17 game one performance with a 15 point, 7 rebound, 4 assist, 4 steal follow-up in the elimination game. In what was almost the exact inverse, Sabrina Ionescu went from a 16-6-7 line in game one to a 9 point dud at home on 3/13 shooting and 1/8 from three. It sure feels like whichever player shows up for their team is going to the team that advances.

Past the two of them, New York has to get more out of their two former MVP’s. Jonquel Jones has averaged 12.5 rebounds per game this series but just 7 points. Whatever has been happening since the start of September, the Liberty center has averaged single digit scoring. That will need to change in order for New York to have any shot at advancing.

Players To Watch (Phoenix):

DeWanna Bonner came off the bench and put up a respectable 14 point, 8 rebound line on 6/9 shooting. But the person I’m really interested to see tonight is Sami Whitcomb. The veteran sharpshooter is 3/14 over the last two games and just 3/10 from the beyond the arc. Granted, this is part of the ride with Whitcomb. Some days you might get nothing from her and on another night she can give you 15. If she heats up at all tonight, it could be trouble for the Liberty.

Much like last night felt a bit like an A’ja Wilson legacy game, Alyssa Thomas has a chance to have one here. Yes, it’s the first round of the playoffs but when we assess careers in the long term, elimination game performances matter. If she can deliver once again with Phoenix’s back against the wall, it’ll be another bright spot in what’s already been a hell of a career.

Players To Watch (New York):

What are New York’s big three prepared to do? You were embarrassed on your home floor in game two and now have to try and win on the road to keep the chance of repeating alive. You may not be able to count on Breanna Stewart to be 100% healthy but you need Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones. You can’t fall asleep in the second quarter and get completely routed the way that you did in game two.

New York won last year’s title fair and square. I don’t subscribe to the idea that losing this game further cheapens their ring last season. But I do think an exit here would leave me wanting especially when you consider the fanfare (driven by yours truly, no less!) around bringing Emma Meesseman after the All-Star game. This team was built to be able to meet these moments. It’s gotta happen here.

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In the words of the immortal Frankie Vallie, '“Oh, What a Night”. But instead of late December back in 1963, it was mid-September in the WNBA. The first night of Game Two matchups in the opening round of the Playoffs brought us even more intrigue than we originally thought. Both the Indiana Fever and Seattle Storm managed to keep their seasons alive as the third game, a pivotal elimination matchup, goes back to Atlanta and Las Vegas, respectively.

Over on our YouTube page, we’re live every night of the playoffs. You can find last night’s video here or, if you want to listen to the recap in podcast form, you can listen to it above or on any podcast platform.

Now, let’s get to previewing!

Phoenix Mercury @ New York Liberty

NYL Leads Series 1-0

8:00 PM ET, ESPN

A Quick Overview:

We got some good news on the injury front. While Breanna Stewart disclosed to media this morning that she has a sprained left MCL, she went through shootaround and feels capable of playing tonight. That’s huge news for New York, who rely on her to be a defensive anchor who can handle the likes of Satou Sabally on the wing while providing help on the interior. Before her injury took her off the floor, Stewie put up a solid 18-6-4 line on 7/14 shooting from the field.

Phoenix lost the opportunity to retain homecourt and now have to entire what will likely be a raucous Barclays Center environment hoping to keep their season alive. While general rules of sports momentum would tell you that being on the road in this scenario makes winning extremely difficult, the Mercury don’t have much statistical drop-off when away from PHX Arena. If they want to prove they have championship bonafides, then this is the time to prove it.

Make-or-Break Matchup:

While some Mercury players struggled from the field in Game One, no one had a tougher night than Satou Sabally who finished with 9 points on 2/17 shooting and 1/10 from beyond the arc. Quite simply, you can’t put up that kind of line and expect your team to win. Remarkably, in spite of a really off night, the Mercury were one Alyssa Thomas layup from winning in regulation.

Asking their MVP candidate to carry them in that way again will be hard unless she has some help from the supporting cast and Sabally is the singular player that can make-or-break the game. On the other hand, Phoenix caught a lucky break with a great defensive performance from their bench and an awful shooting night by the Liberty’s rotation players. I don’t think Emma Meesseman and Kennedy Burke will combine for 1/11 shooting again so something will have to give on either end of the floor.

Players To Watch (Phoenix):

Alyssa Thomas is the engine of this Phoenix team and this is going to come down to her. Yes, Sabally needs to shoot better and you need a bit more from rookie Monique Akoa Makani and bench sharpshooter Sami Whitcomb (both combine for 4/18 from the field and 3/8 from deep). But this Mercury squad goes as far as AT does considering she is the system. While her near-triple-double is impressive, I still need to see some more finishing around the rim even in substantial traffic. Some of it can be chalked up to officials not properly being able to assess her because of her physicality (she can play through *a lot* of contact) but some of it comes down to the 33 year old point forward. You don’t necessarily need the range and three levels of scoring to be an MVP candidate. But when you are asking everyone to respect your ability as a top player in the league, you gotta be more efficient inside 10 feet. 7/18 isn’t going to cut it if you want to advance against this team.

Players To Watch (New York):

While Stewie is likely to be attacked defensively due to her injury and potentially limited mobility, the person I am watching closely is Jonquel Jones. The 6’6 former league MVP went 3/7 from the field but grabbed 12 rebounds in the game one victory. She’s impressive and maddening at the same time because you know she has these 25 point, 12 board performances in her. It just comes down to game flow and how much she’s factoring into the offense that day. Natasha Cloud was in a flow state on Sunday (9/12 FG and 3/6 3PT) so she understandably got a ton of touches but I really believe that New York’s equalizer is Jones. A dominant home performance from her, especially considering Phoenix doesn’t have a lot of size to counter with, feel like it could propel the Liberty to a win and sweep of the Mercury in the opening round.

Minnesota Lynx @ Golden State Valkyries

MIN Leads Series 1-0

10:00 PM ET, ESPN

A Quick Overview:

Minnesota rode a second quarter surge to a game one win in Minneapolis and now heads to some unusual territory: the SAP Center in San Jose, a replacement venue to adjust for some scheduling conflicts at the Chase Center. Considering the smashing success of Ballhalla this year, it feels like the move will actually help the Lynx, who may benefit from a semi-neutral venue. But Golden State is expected to come out swinging, echoing the passion of head coach Natalie Nakase who called out the officiating after the first matchup.

While the final foul counts were pretty even, that second quarter saw the Lynx go to the line 11 times which disrupted the Valks defense, sent some players to the bench and allowed Minnesota to claw back into the game after being down seven at the end of the first. Will Nakase get the fair fight she asked for after the loss on Sunday? I guess we’ll find out.

Make-or-Break Matchup:

The Valkyries, even with the foul trouble in mind, had a tough shooting night. As a team they went 30/59 from the field and 9/31 from beyond the arc. They were outrebounded by Minnesota and their top players simply didn’t shoot the ball very well. It’s not necessarily surprising, given that’s what the Lynx have done to teams all season long but they’ll need a bit more from their key contributors while forcing their bench to defend Natisha Hiedeman a bit better. The Lynx’s rotational star went 7/15 from the field and finished with 18 points and a remarkable +32 in plus-minus.

If the Valks are able to contain the Minnesota bench a bit better while improving their percentages, they have a shot to make this series a bit more interesting. The big question, to me, will be if they’re able to stay mentally engaged if they do run into foul trouble again. That kind of thing can take teams out of their game, as Nakase alluded to after game one. If they’re able to stay composed even through potential disruptions to their rhythm, then we may get a team something a bit more consistent.

Players To Watch (Minnesota):

Napheesa Collier is Minnesota’s constant and guarantees you a high floor pretty much any game she’s playing in. Which is why I think Courtney Williams is the player I’m most interested in watching this game. She finished with a good-but-not-great line in game one, scoring 11 points while adding 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals to her box score. But she is a much different player on the road. According to WNBA Stats, her shooting averages drop by 7% from the field and 9% from deep when away from the Target Center. With that said, she’s active in other ways, seeing no drop off in assists and an increase in activity on the boards. If they’re able to get her going while still getting strong production from Hiedeman off the bench, the Lynx will be who they’ve always been: a team of excellent players that just overwhelm you with numbers and talent.

Players To Watch (Golden State):

Veronica Burton gets her chance to cement herself as a potential all-star caliber talent tonight. She had a poor shooting performance in game one, going 3/13 from the field and 3/9 from three and the hope is that she’ll be able to pick up those percentages a bit. Her ball security (7 turnovers in game one) also has to be substantially better. The SAP Center is going to be different than Chase so while it’ll be a home crowd it won’t be a home hoop. Personally, I’m interested in seeing how Golden State shoots in general knowing that playing in San Jose isn’t the same as being in their normal arena. Beyond their point guard, Temi Fagbenle and Janelle Salaun are being asked to do a lot in this matchup against an elite Minnesota frontcourt. While you can only hope to contain Collier, I thought they did a good job limiting Alanna Smith and Bridget Carlton. The challenge is being able to anchor the pain enough that the Lynx’s guards don’t have a field day driving to the hoop.

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Yes, the world appears to be falling apart at the seams but we have the WNBA playoffs and I guess that’s the bread and circuses we all need in our lives, right?

All kidding aside, I’ve thought a lot about the state of the world, what we do here at No Cap Space and the idea of sports as distraction while everything around us feels like it’s burning down in some form or fashion. On some level, there is merit to the idea that games placate us and create environments that inoculate us to the very real problems that exist in the world. But, on another, it allows us to remember the things that give life meaning. Whether or not we feel this way all the time or not, sports allows us to the ability to feel during a time when nihilism feels like the emotion du jour.

Nothing matters and everything does at the same time. I spent last Wednesday covering the Evergreen High School shooting in Colorado for CBS News here in Denver. I’ve covered all of the 2020 summer civil unrest in Oregon, wildfires in four different states in the last five years and the truly awful terrorist attack that took place in Boulder a couple months ago. All of that paled in comparison to a singular moment that I saw that is seared into my brain forever: a mother hugging her high school aged daughter after not seeing her all day. As her mother wept on her shoulder, the daughter looked completely disassociated and in a state of shock at what her life now was. All day, you sit and wait for your live shot and wonder ‘Is this really the country we want to live in? Where parents and students know that this type of event can be an eventuality regardless of where they live?’

It was a hard day, to say the least. Working in general assignment news desensitizes you to a lot, to the point that the gallows humor you employ to make it through your day can become foreign even to yourself. But the joy of what sports gives us is a reminder that there is still a space to feel. It’s okay to protect oneself from the horror that we see unfold every day while allowing yourself, every now and then, to indulge in the kinds of things that give life meaning. Namely, the feelings of joy, shock, sadness and awe without the sheer weight of the world attached to them. So yes, while sports is a little meaningless in the grander scheme of things, it also means everything for us in this current moment. It’s a place where we can feel authentically without many strings attached. The games end and we go on with our lives. But we had the moment to feel. And right now, that moment, that freedom to feel, means everything.

Now, to the column…

1. Day One Playoff Takeaways

Instead of a big paragraph about the first day of the WNBA playoffs, let’s run you through each matchup and a couple big conclusions we can draw through one game…

New York vs. Phoenix -

The entire complexion of this series, as well as New York’s hopes to repeat as WNBA champions, hinges on what exactly the status of Breanna Stewart’s injury is. The New York superstar went down with a non-contact left knee injury with about three minutes left in overtime and we’re waiting on a prognosis. Clearly, her absence would change the calculus of the postseason. On Phoenix’s end, you simply can’t have Satou Sabally shoot 2/17 and 1/10 from 3. But in addition to her, Alyssa Thomas can’t smoke game winning layups. As dominant as she is, this is always the knock on her as a true MVP candidate. You can get away with not having a perimeter shot but if you’re going to operate mostly within 10 feet then you have to be more efficient than 7/18.

Minnesota vs. Golden State -

Simply put, the Lynx look ready. This was a team effort across the board as five Minnesota players finished in double digits, led by Napheesa Collier’s 20. Natalie Nakase had a lot to say about the officiating in this one and I get it to a point. A game needs to be called consistently and if you’re letting physicality slide in the first quarter then you can’t start tightening up in the ensuing quarters. At the same time, the Lynx shot three less free throws than the Valkyries so it wasn’t a case of lopsided opportunity for Minnesota. What this game really came down to was the Lynx swinging the ball well (25 team assists), shooting efficiently (51.5% FG) and looking like the title team we’ve expected them to be from day one.

Indiana vs. Atlanta -

This was another one where the foul discussion overtook what actually happened in this game. And the thing that people didn’t notice as much was that Bri Jones was given the assignment to defend Aliyah Boston and it paid dividends for the Dream. Boston went just 3/9 from the field and Indiana shot 2/15 from 3 as a team. That isn’t going to win you any games no matter how messy the fouls are on either end. I can understand coaches being frustrated about bad calls and how it disrupts the rhythm and momentum of a matchup. But the fact of the matter is you’re going to lose when you shoot 13.3% from beyond the arc no matter what happens. I expect Gainbridge to be rocking and would be a little stunned if this didn’t go back to ATL for a Game 3.

Las Vegas vs. Seattle -

The title series sure feels like Vegas vs. Minnesota at this point. The Aces are as dominant as they’ve been at any point since this run really got started in 2022. Now they got some help courtesy of the Storm chucking up some absolute garbage, especially in the first quarter, but the way this Vegas team has rallied around each other is remarkable. NaLyssa Smith has been exactly what A’ja Wilson has needed and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus returned after giving birth to a whole child and going 3/3 from the field. One thing we don’t talk about in this league enough is how utterly remarkable that is. If you get combined 10/20 shooting performances from Jewell Loyd and Dana Evans off the bench, the Aces are going to be really hard to beat this postseason. It may be presumptuous but it sure feels like we’re going to get the Minnesota - Las Vegas title fight we’ve been asking for since the Aces winning streak started in earnest.

2. Jeff Pagliocca Is Realizing The Motion Is Not Sold Separately…

Tyler hit the nail on the head when we spoke last weekend about Angel Reese and the evolving situation with the Chicago Sky…

The currency is different in the WNBA. Because, frankly, motion in the WNBA is the biggest currency of all right now. And Angel Reese has the motion to go up against everybody right now and to that point.

Take a bow, my friend.

The chants in Wintrust Arena weren’t deafening by any means but they were loud enough to send the message to the Chicago Sky organization and anybody watching: this is Angel Reese’s team and that’s who the fanbase is here for. Maybe that’s why Courtney Vandersloot looked so surprised on the bench and why Jeff Pagliocca is suddenly so willing to work with Angel publicly.

Whether or not the message came down from owners Michael Alter or Nadia Rawlinson is irrelevant. Even if they wanted to back Pagliocca and his way of doing things, the fans have spoken. In fact, they’ve yelled and chanted it over and over. Pags can say that he speaks to Angel every day and that this chapter of what’s been a messy year in the Windy City has closed. But even he knows that his authority is as brittle as a crystal wine glass.

It is worth noting that in one of his last interviews of the regular season, Pagliocca still asserted that Courtney Vandersloot will return, that he has the ear and respect from ownership and that Tyler Marsh is the guy for the job. I have no doubt that Marsh is probably safe, given the mess this year was. But Vandersloot and Pagliocca’s continued insistence that this can work with Reese while they’re there feels like the power struggle isn’t done yet. It takes an awful lot of confidence to feel like you’ve got the leverage in a situation where tens of thousands of fans are chanting for you to be fired but since you’ve already burned the bridge by arbitrarily suspending Reese for one half, leading to her not playing for the rest of the year, but that’s sort of in line with how the Sky’s General Manager has conducted himself this year.

This offseason, provided there is no work stoppage (which isn’t a guarantee, mind you), will be a huge one for Chicago. If they aren’t able to get serious free agents to play alongside Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, I don’t know how you can salvage this moving forward. Pagliocca seems committed to doing so, as long as he’s the man with the final say. But he may come to learn that his word may not travel as far as he thinks when it’s being drowned out by the voices of a bunch of pissed off Chicagoans who are tired of their WNBA franchise being run like Bluth’s Original Frozen Banana Stand.

3. Thanks for Reading No Cap Space, Cathy Engelbert…

It’s a glib headline, yes. I don’t actually think that Cathy Engelbert is a regular NCS reader (although we do have some important people that are, and we very much appreciate your patronage!). In an interview with Khristina Williams on her podcast, In Case You Missed It, the WNBA commissioner had this to say about the Connecticut Sun and their potential sale and/or relocation.

A lot’s been written about what’s going on. I wouldn’t believe everything you read in this case. We want the best success for the Mohegan, for the Connecticut Sun and for the team. They’re still looking at their strategic options and what they want to do and we’ve been in touch with them periodically.

The fake news angle really is timeless, isn’t it?

What’s remarkable is that Engelbert immediately gives up the game just a couple sentences later.

You need a process because it would be chaos if you let anybody move to anywhere they wanted to go.

In the most Regina George voice possible, so you’re saying you are influencing the Mohegan’s selling process…

Mind you, this isn’t the Mohegan Tribe asking the WNBA to let them sell the team to an ownership group that will relocate them to Sheboygan. This was a once-minority owner of the Boston Celtics, aiming to buy the franchise for a market rate valuation and bring them to one of the biggest media markets in the nation. Then there’s the other group, also led by a former NBA owner, who wanted to keep the team in Connecticut. Mind you, the 2024-2025 Nielsen TV Market rankings list Hartford as a larger market than Las Vegas, Austin and Kansas City.

As the United States government, led by Senator Richard Blumenthal, takes an interest in the WNBA/NBA’s potential monopolistic ownership of its women’s basketball franchises, Engelbert probably has to tread lightly. It’s important to remember that she’s an accounting executive from Deloitte who still has to answer to her majority owners (the NBA) at the end of the day. While she can try her best to divert and obfuscate the conversation, the facts remain. The WNBA is handing franchises to NBA owners while doing nothing to fight the perception that it is nothing but a money pit for its partner league to take advantage of however they see fit. In Engelbert’s eyes, and by her own admission on the podcast, she loves that controversy is driving discussion. She said as much last year on CNBC while WNBA players were being buried under torrents of racist invective from every side of the spectrum.

She preaches order and stability within her business while welcoming chaos as a means to hike the price of the product. But what good does that do anyone when the NBA is still, on some level, setting the market for everything from franchise valuations to TV rights deals? I’m not sure if the end result of full divestment is even possible at this point but the fact that the government, from the U.S. senate to the state of Connecticut (who put in a bid to buy a minority stake in the franchise to keep them in CT), is involved is extremely noteworthy and important to follow as we continue inching towards a conclusion on a variety of labor disputes from the CBA to the Sun.

And Cathy, if you are reading, feel free to email me. My inbox is always open for a discussion.

4. The Case for WNBA Voter Transparency…

I’ve always been a little uncertain about media voting for postseason awards mostly because I don’t love the idea of us having the power to decide whether or not players hit certain performance incentives. I’d like to think that, on the whole, the press corps knows ball. But everyone has such different views on what is important and why when it comes to voting that it just doesn’t feel fair to the players that contracts are tied to what we believe. Especially since the vast majority of us didn’t play (though I’ll be clear, playing the game at a high level doesn’t exclude you from having terrible basketball opinions either).

When money is tied to these awards, I do think there’s a need for transparency. If you vote for someone that has the chance to be a supermax player or even potentially be able to get a little more in free agency by winning Sixth Player or Most Improved, you should have to be able to make your case as to why. Whether people respect your argument or not is a completely different discussion (one we’ll touch on in just a minute) but the idea that WNBA voters are allowed to sit behind a shroud of secrecy while they put their votes in feels wrong. We already have enough stans masquerading as reporters in the space and way too many commentators with clear agendas or biases with votes. If they’re able to have the luxury of deciding who deserves an award or an All-WNBA nod, they should be asked to defend it on its merits. Otherwise, we start running into the problems that awards shows like the Oscars do.

Which brings me to my next point…

5. …And the Problem of Parasocial Fandoms

The reason it feels sometimes that we can’t allow voter transparency is because fans simply can’t handle it. If there’s a legitimate criticism to levy against WNBA fans, be they new ones or those in the space for awhile, it’s that there’s too much parasocial behavior and the need to treat athletes like artists. There is just too much overlap in how A’ja or Angel or Caitlin Clark fans speak about their favorite players and how they might speak about Beyonce, Nicki Minaj or any other musical artist. I’ve always argued that the difference we need to be aware of is that art is a subjective medium. If I think a song sucks, it doesn’t mean the song sucks. But if a player shoots 1/20 and their team loses, that performance sucked. It has nothing to do with any other outside forces that influence opinion. The ball just didn’t go in the hoop.

But awards season blurs those traditionally hard lines to the point where it becomes difficult to admonish fans w