REPORTS: WNBA PLAYERS NOT IMPRESSED WITH INITIAL CBA PROPOSAL
In what is expected to become a contentious negotiation for a new collective bargaining agreement, WNBA players do not appear impressed with the initial labor proposal offered by the league, multiple outlets reported.
The league’s first proposal to players was sent last week, with the Phoenix Mercury’s Satou Sabally telling the media Thursday that it was a “slap in the face.”
The league’s proposal to players comes as the WNBA announced expansion to Detroit, Cleveland and Philadelphia by 2030. The Golden State Valkyries made their debut this season and the Toronto Tempo will join the league next season, along with a team in Portland, Ore.
The arrivals of players like Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever and Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky last season, and Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings this season, have spurred unprecedented interest in the league. It has also helped shine a light on existing stars like A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces, Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx and Breanna Stewart of the reigning champion New York Liberty, among others.
“We have a new CBA coming up, so I know we’re doing a great job emphasizing that, putting the pressure on them about that too,” Reese told reporters Wednesday. “But super excited to continue to grow, and more players need to be in this league because this league is great.”
ESPN reported last year that the WNBA’s new 11-year, $2.2 billion media rights deal could end up being worth as much as $3 billion with additional partners. And Front Office Sports reported that the league received $250 million in expansion fees for the future franchises in Detroit, Philadelphia and Cleveland.
In anticipation of a far more lucrative contract possibilities, many players structured their contracts to end after this season. Reports indicate that as many as 80 percent of WNBA players will be free agents at the end of the 2025 season.
LYNX’S CHERYL REEVE, LIBERTY’S SANDY BRONDELLO TO COACH ALL-STAR GAME
Cheryl Reeve of the Minnesota Lynx and Sandy Brondello of the New York Liberty were tapped on Thursday as the head coaches for the upcoming WNBA All-Star Game.
As of the end of play Thursday, Minnesota (15-2) and New York (12-5) owned the two best records in the league, garnering their respective coaches the All-Star honor.
The interesting wrinkle is which teams the coaches were assigned.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Lynx forward Napheesa Collier were named the player captains for finishing first and second, respectively, in the All-Star fan voting.
Because the coach with the best record was paired with the player with the most fan votes, Reeve will coach Team Clark and go up against Collier, the centerpiece of her dominant Minnesota team.
Reeve and Brondello are plenty familiar with one another, as well. The Lynx defeated the Liberty for the 2024 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup, but New York returned the favor by beating Minnesota in the WNBA Finals.
In the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game, Reeve coached a Team USA roster gearing up for the Paris Olympics. Clark, left off that Team USA roster amid her first professional season, guided Team WNBA to a 117-109 win over Team USA.
AZIAHA JAMES, PAIGE BUECKERS CARRY WINGS PAST MERCURY
Rookies Aziaha James and Paige Bueckers did the heavy lifting while combining for 51 points as the short-handed Dallas Wings defeated the Phoenix Mercury 98-89 on Thursday in Arlington, Texas.
James, the 12th overall pick in the WNBA draft in April, amassed a career-high 28 points and Bueckers, the top overall pick, added 23 as Dallas captured its second straight game and fifth in its past seven outings despite playing without injured star guard Arike Ogunbowale (thumb) and suiting up just eight players.
The Wings (6-13) roared out of the gate with a near-perfect first quarter and built an 18-point lead at halftime. Phoenix trimmed the margin to 11 heading into the fourth period but Dallas kept its collective foot on the accelerator, building its advantage to 17 points on a free throw by Bueckers with 5:49 to play. From there, the Wings strolled to the finish line.
JJ Quinerly, another rookie, added 17 points and seven assists for Dallas and Li Yueru had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Kahleah Copper poured in a season-high 33 points for Phoenix (12-6), which dropped its second straight game. Satou Sabally added 20 points, Monique Akoa Makani had 14 and Alyssa Thomas had 10 assists to go with nine points and seven rebounds for the Mercury.
Dallas led by 16 points after a pair of free throws by Luisa Geiselsoder with 53.9 seconds left in the first quarter before settling for a 32-20 advantage after 10 minutes of play. The Wings shot 76.9 percent (10-of 13) from the floor, made three of their five 3-pointers and canned all nine of their free throws in the period.
Phoenix cut its deficit to 39-32 when Akoa Makani converted a three-point play and a jumper on successive possessions, the latter with 7:24 to play in the second quarter. The Wings swung back and rebuilt their advantage, with Bueckers canning a 3-pointer and James following with a layup, the latter with 39.1 seconds to play in the period, to give Dallas a 61-43 lead at the break.
James led all scorers with 20 points before halftime while Bueckers added 14 for the Wings. Copper paced the Mercury with 16 points in the first half, with Akoa Makani contributing 10.
Sabally, who had just six points in the first half on 1-of-7 shooting in her return to the venue where she began her pro career, helped the Mercury get back into the game by racking up a dozen points in the third quarter.
NAPHEESA COLLIER NETS 28 TO LEAD LYNX PAST MYSTICS
Napheesa Collier scored 28 points on 11-for-21 shooting, and the Minnesota Lynx pulled away for a 92-75 win over the Washington Mystics on Thursday night in Minneapolis.
Courtney Williams finished with 10 points, six rebounds, eight assists and five steals for Minnesota (15-2), which bounced back from a loss against the Indiana Fever in the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup championship game on Tuesday. Kayla McBride and Alanna Smith also scored 10 points each.
Lucy Olsen scored 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting to lead Washington (8-10). Aaliyah Edwards added 15 points and six rebounds, and Shakira Austin scored 10 points. Olsen and Edwards both come off the bench for the Mystics as the Washington starters only totaled 32 points.
Minnesota shot 46.3 percent (37-of-80) from the field and 34.6 percent (9-of-26) from beyond the arc. Washington shot 45 percent (27-of-60) overall and 15 percent (3-of-20) from 3-point range.
The Mystics jumped to a double-digit lead in the first quarter. Stefanie Dolson knocked down a 3-pointer to put Washington on top 24-14 in the final minute.
Jessica Shepard answered with a basket for the Lynx to cut the deficit to 24-16 with 19.1 seconds to go in the first quarter.
Minnesota continued to surge forward from there. The Lynx outscored the Mystics 27-14 in the second quarter to grab a 43-38 lead at halftime.
McBride made a 3-pointer to start a 9-2 run for the Lynx to finish the first half. Collier followed with a three-point play on a jump shot and a free throw, and Smith punctuated the run with a 3-pointer with 0.1 seconds remaining.
Minnesota outscored Washington by the same 27-14 margin in the third quarter to increase its lead to 70-52. The Lynx scored the first eight points of the second half thanks to a 3-pointer by Smith, a pull-up jump shot by Williams and a 3-pointer by Collier.
The Mystics attempted to chip away at the deficit in the fourth quarter. Austin made a pair of free throws to bring Washington within 74-61with 6:48 to go, but Collier responded with another three-point play to boost the Lynx’s lead back to 16 points with 6:07 remaining.
SKYLAR DIGGINS HITS WINNING LAYUP AS STORM SILENCE DREAM
Skylar Diggins converted a driving layup with 3.4 seconds left to help the Seattle Storm post an 80-79 victory over the Atlanta Dream on Thursday in College Park, Ga.
Nneka Ogwumike led the Storm (11-7) with 24 points and seven rebounds, while Erica Wheeler had 21 points and Gabby Williams and Diggins added 11 points apiece for Seattle, which has won five of seven.
Jordin Canada had 25 points and four steals to pace the Dream (11-7), who have dropped three of four. Brionna Jones added 18 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Allisha Gray’s 12 points and 11 boards.
Atlanta star Rhyne Howard sat out with an upper-body injury.
Trailing by a point with less than five minutes remaining, Atlanta scored six points in a row – including Jones’ back-to-back baskets – to take a 75-70 lead with 2:32 left.
Ogwumike’s three-point play was then answered with Naz Hillmon’s layup, before Ogwumike’s mid-range jumper pulled the Storm within two points with 1:06 remaining.
Canada made a pair of free throws before Wheeler’s triple cut the Storm’s deficit to 79-78 with 32.5 seconds left.
After Maya Caldwell missed a triple for Atlanta, Diggins scored the game-winner for Seattle and Canada missed a 3-pointer prior to the buzzer.
After the Storm took a two-point lead into the third quarter, neither team built a lead larger than two until Ogwumike’s triple gave the Storm a 51-46 edge with 4:38 left. Diggins then hit a pair of free throws, before the Dream answered with an 8-0 spurt.
Canada’s jumper gave Atlanta a one-point lead with 1:01 left in the third, but Alysha Clark and Wheeler each connected on jumpers to give Seattle a 59-56 edge entering the fourth.
After Wheeler’s 3-pointer put the Storm ahead 64-60, Griner and Caldwell’s layups stamped a 9-2 run to give the Dream a 69-66 lead with 5:34 remaining.
After Seattle grabbed a 15-13 lead after the first quarter, Brittney Griner and Canada’s baskets stamped an 11-2 Atlanta spurt to begin the second, giving the Dream a 24-17 edge.
Ezi Magbegor and Ogwumike answered with consecutive 3-pointers to begin a 22-13 run to end the first half, as the Storm took a 39-37 lead into halftime. Ogwumike and Williams each paced Seattle with nine first-half points apiece, while Canada led Atlanta with 13.
NATASHA CLOUD KEYS LIBERTY’S COMEBACK AGAINST SPARKS
Natasha Cloud scored a season-high 23 points as the New York Liberty overcame an 11-point deficit, took control late in the third quarter and rallied for an 89-79 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday.
The Liberty (12-5) won for just the third time in their past eight games following its season-opening nine-game winning streak. New York, which opened an eight-game homestand on Thursday, also avoided dropping three straight for the first time since July 7-21, 2022, thanks largely to outscoring the Sparks 32-18 in the third period.
Sabrina Ionescu missed 10 of her first 11 shots before adding 17 of her 20 points in the second half. Ionescu, who finished 7-for-18 from the floor, hit the go-ahead basket in the third-quarter surge.
Breanna Stewart contributed 17 points and 14 rebounds for New York, which shot 42.9 percent and scored 23 points off 18 Los Angeles turnovers. Kennedy Burke sank four of the Liberty’s 12 3-pointers while scoring 12 points.
The Liberty re-inserted Leonie Fiebich into the starting lineup after the forward played for Germany in the EuroBasket event, and she contributed five points.
Dearica Hamby led all scorers with 25 points, but the Sparks (5-13) continued to struggle protecting leads and fell for the sixth time in seven games. Kelsey Plum added 13 points on 2-of-10 shooting, but Los Angeles hit 48.2 percent overall.
Los Angeles scored the game’s first six points and held a 41-37 lead at halftime.
Hamby scored seven consecutive Los Angeles points, and the Sparks took a 53-42 lead with 6:07 left in the third on her layup. The Liberty went on a 27-6 run the rest of the quarter.
New York scored 13 straight points, with Ionescu’s basket giving the Liberty a 55-53 lead with 3:41 left in the period. After consecutive hoops by Los Angeles, Ionescu sank two treys in a span of 54 seconds for a 61-57 lead, and the Liberty were up 69-59 entering the fourth.
Hamby’s basket cut the Sparks’ deficit to 81-76 with 3:15 to go, but following a turnover by Cloud, Hamby missed a 3-point attempt and Fiebich sank a 3-pointer on the next possession bring the lead back to eight.
KELSEY MITCHELL, FEVER CRUISE PAST ANEMIC ACES
Kelsey Mitchell scored 25 points, Natasha Howard had a double-double and the Indiana Fever never trailed in an 81-54 rout of the Las Vegas Aces on Thursday night in Indianapolis.
Howard finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, Aliyah Boston had 20 points and seven rebounds and Mitchell added six assists for the Fever (9-8), who won their third straight game in the absence of All-Star guard Caitlin Clark, who has an injured left groin. That three-game run includes Tuesday’s victory in the Commissioner’s Cup final against the league-leading Minnesota Lynx.
A’ja Wilson scored 29 points, but no teammate had more than six for the Aces (8-9), who scored just seven fourth-quarter points. They shot 26.2 percent from the floor and 18.8 percent on 3-pointers.
Wilson scored eight points to help Las Vegas begin the third quarter with a 12-3 run to climb within 49-36. Lexie Hull responded with a 3-pointer and assisted on a triple by Mitchell as Indiana rebuilt the lead to 19 points.
Kiah Stokes made two free throws for the Aces, but 17 points was the closest they could get. The Fever held a 68-47 lead at the end of the third quarter and coasted.
Indiana scored the first six points of the game before Wilson made Las Vegas’ first basket and Jackie Young added a 3-pointer to trim the lead to 8-5. Mitchell scored seven points during a 9-2 run that expanded the Fever’s lead to 17-7.
Wilson went on a personal 6-0 run, including a basket that ended the Aces’ field-goal drought of more than three minutes, and the Aces got within 21-14 at the end of the first quarter.
Dana Evans started the second-quarter scoring with a 3-pointer that pulled Las Vegas within four, but Indiana answered with an 8-0 run for 29-17 lead. Wilson’s three-point play ended another Aces’ field-goal drought of more than three minutes, but Boston scored six points to help the Fever extend their lead to 41-22.
Wilson made a layup to give her 17 first-half points, but Mitchell answered with a 3-pointer and Howard added a layup, giving Indiana a 46-24 halftime lead.
