← No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
Buckets, Bigs, Reffing and Rosters: our WNBA Mailbag Episode!
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- [00:01]
Zena Kada
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- [01:14]
Sabrina Merchant
You were made to have strong opinions about sand. We were made to help you and your friends find a place on the.
- [01:21]
Ben Pickman
Beach with a pool and a marina.
- [01:23]
Sabrina Merchant
And a waterfall and a soaking tub.
- [01:25]
Zena Kada
Expedia Made to travel. Hello everyone, and welcome to no off season presented by MassMutual. I'm Zena Kada.
- [01:48]
Sabrina Merchant
I'm Sabrina Merchant.
- [01:49]
Ben Pickman
And I'm Ben Pickman.
- [01:51]
Zena Kada
And today on the show, you've got questions. We've got answers. It is our big WNBA Mailbag episode. Thank you and shout out to everyone who sent in questions. I mean, you guys found us on social. You went to our email. You follow directions, folks. Gosh, I love it. We have some incredibly smart, thoughtful, curious and studious listeners. We got a lot of questions and a lot of good ones and some of them are going to inspire some of the segments that we do in later episodes. But many of them we're going to get to today. So we only got a little bit of time, Ben and Sabrina, so we are going ahead and jump right in. First up, we're gonna head over to Vegas and we're gonna talk about team building. We got a question from Erin E. Who asked everyone keeps putting the aces at the top of the league along with the Liberty, Lynx, et cetera. Yes, they have Asia. I'm just giving extra emphasis to what you're saying, Aaron. I'm gonna read it as if you are saying it to us, but you let me know if I'm doing it right. Chelsea and Jackie should be better this year, but fundamentally, the teams that seem to have successful lately are those with depth. All caps see Liberty Links. Sure, we got Jewel, but lost key pieces like Sid Colson, Alicia Clark, and Tip Hayes. Fundamentally, I feel like the era of a core four is over and depth is the new winner. I can't see the Aces making it to the finals without a bench because we all saw it last year. So my question is, are the Aces really as good as everyone thinks? Because as I see the league evolving as they stick to a formula that no longer works. Ooh, Aaron E. You better start strong. I love this. Sabrina, we're gonna go to you as our kind of resident Aces follower. You were there with the, with the championship years and where the core four worked. Now things have changed, people have adjusted, and you can thank the Aces for causing a lot of those adjustments. What are your thoughts on this question?
- [03:51]
Sabrina Merchant
You know, I think the problem with the Aces last year wasn't that their depth was an issue so much as their core four wasn't as good as it used to be. I think you can overcome a lot of. I mean, I think there's different ways to construct a roster, right? If you want to over index on the top of your roster versus building it out, that's totally fine. It's just your top of your roster needs to be very, very good. And what we saw was that Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, and even Kelsey Plum were not at all WNBA level compared to their title winning seasons in 2022 and 2023. So I don't think it's really a problem of core four versus depth. I think it's. You just got to make sure that the Core 4 is very, very good. And that wasn't the case last year, unfortunately. I think the Aces are in like another issue this year where we're not sure if the Core 4 is back up to where it needs to be. And they lost a lot of their depth. You know, as the question mentioned that Alicia Clark, Tip Hayes, Sidney Coulson, even Kate Martin, who provided some regular season depth last year, all gone. So it's, you know, you're getting at it from both sides of the problem. And I personally think like during a longer regular season you'd rather have depth, but during the playoffs it's so spaced out that I don't think it's really that necessary. So as long as you can get to the playoffs in a healthy state, I'M perfectly happy with the team that has four great players. Just we're not certain that all four of the aces are still great players like they need to be.
- [05:07]
Ben Pickman
I think you make a lot of really good points, Sabrina. Honestly, hitting both the depth and the star power core. The thing that I'm most interested though with this question, and maybe you have a thought too on this is like in this new era of a new cba, like how does team building then change, right? Because I think what you're saying now about teams kind of being able to be successful and do both in the present, both like either have depth or have star power kind of works. But like we all follow the NBA too on this podcast and we know that after their most recent CBA there's all these apron taxes that have really changed how different franchises build their teams and whether you can just win by being star heavy or you need a deep roster like we were seeing with some of the teams that are still left in the NBA playoffs. So it's like this looming question that I've just been thinking about after Eriny asked this to us like in this new agreement, will one of these things be more important? And that's something I don't really know the answer to. I mean I think you what we see now is teams trying to have like young depth like in the present, right? Because those are cross control contracts. And so like rookies, second year, third year players who are still under contract are really, really valuable right now because when everything changes potentially next year, like they'll still be under contract but long term like in three or four years. If we're answering this question like I would be curious to play this clip back and see like how have things been different.
- [06:28]
Zena Kada
Yeah, I actually on your point Ben, and thankfully reading your article that is live right now on the Athletic about the CBA and the conversations that the players are having, it seems like the overarching theme is we want the players to have more control and that may be within moving within the wnba, being asked about their salary, et cetera. And so I feel like if the power is supposed to in this new CBA is supposed to be more a little imbalanced towards the players is what they want, then I would imagine that any team that can find a way to get good four good players to solidify and lock in will bring back the Core 4 era because the depth will consistently be changing as players want to choose where they want to go and where they want to be. It's a great point that it Might look like death right now is the thing, but Core 4 might come right back the second that the CBA happens. Okay, I want to keep this going because this concept of depth and rosters and lineups is always, always the number one thing when it comes to who could be championship contenders. And so along similar lines, Delhi T asked, given the success of the Liberty, the sky starting lineup and the starting lineup to come of the storm this season with their number two draft pick, do you think the league will shift to a double big focus?
- [07:52]
Ben Pickman
I think it's more about having bigs who can step out on the perimeter and shoot. Like I think that is the shift. And again, this is where, and you know, Sabrina and I both talked to coaches about this. Usually like over the last, I want to say 10 or 15 years, the WNBA is kind of changing playing styles, follow the NBA trends, But just like 5 to 7 ish years, say after the fact. And so, you know, we have definitely seen in the NBA a lot more stretch fours and stretch fives over the last five to 10 years. And the WNBA really is starting to have an emphasis on that right now. Think about all the teams that are playing four out, one in or playing five out entirely as kind of their baseline offense. The New York Liberty this year are really stressing that starting with, you know, really five players out on the perimeter, using the space, using their bigs to screen and pop and just kind of create avenues to, to get to the rim, you know, score around the basket and also step out and shoot it. So like when you think about construction, I think the sky are interesting and but one of the questions is can they play those two bigs together because of what those two brings might or might not be able to do on the perimeter. Right. There seems to be a focus right now on trying to make Angel Reese into a more comfortable three point shooter. We saw her aggressive in that season opener against Indiana for instance and I think it's something to worth, you know, keep an eye out on of how successful is she if she's able to step out and shoot. It definitely changes how Chicago is able to play on offense because right now Camila Cardozo is not really a threat from three point range. And if you have two bigs who can't really shoot, your offense is just bogged down. And that's a lot of what we saw last year in Chicago. So to me it's less about like the height of the players that you have as bigs and much more about what are their skill sets like and how do they kind of complement the rest of the team you have on the floor?
- [09:34]
Sabrina Merchant
And just to add onto that, like, I don't think it's shifting to a double big focus. I think a double big has been the default setting for the WNBA for a very long time. I mean, you think about the way rosters are balanced, Even in an 11 to 12 player roster, you have five, sometimes six bigs on these teams, like you look at the Indiana Fever, they have Leah Boston, Natasha Howard, Brianna Turner, Mikaela Timpson, like Dewana Bonner can play big a little. So there's definitely an emphasis on the front court relative to the backcourt, I think in all aspects of team building in the wnba. And like Ben mentioned, the versatility is kind of a newer, you know, emphasis on how teams are being put together. Because, you know, when you have players like Branda Stewart and John Gwell Jones together, obviously that gives you a lot more flexibility than any other two bigs in the wnba. But I think the WNBA is definitely more front court focused than, you know, men's leagues in the, you know, the NBA particularly. But I do think that just the way we're seeing these bigs used is sort of the shift. I don't think we're going to, like Ben said, I don't think we're going to see less bigs on the court at any one time. It's just what are they capable of doing?
- [10:36]
Zena Kada
Yeah, I think the last time we've seen an example of this and we saw just how not successful it was was Dallas with Tierra McCowan and Kehlani Brown finding minutes together. And sure, you had sides, you had rebounding, you definitely protected the paint, but there was stagnancy on offense because you had to pack the paint with the two of them playing with their back to the basket.
- [10:57]
Ben Pickman
Well, that's where it's really interesting to watch the Atlanta Dream this year because I think that was one of the big questions that people had heading into the season of how do you have two traditional low post centers and Bree Jones and Brittney Griner play against, you know, play with each other on the same court at the same time. And what we've seen is kind of a mix of a few different things. We've seen a lot of lineup staggering where Bree Jones and Brittany Griner are playing with one of, you know, Ryan Howard or Alicia Gray. So kind of one big and one all star guard wing on the floor at one time. We've also seen them play together and when they have We've seen a lot of kind of cycling through where like one player will start at the high post or at the elbow and the other will kind of cut down or and be on the low block or vice versa. One will be kind of on a screener on the perimeter and another big will be down again by the rim. And so there's this emphasis on kind of still maintaining some space while also feeding both of them together. So that I think seems to be what Atlanta is doing, you know, right now, at least early on in the season. Knowing that Bri Jones and Brittney Griner still are not historically like they have not historically stepped out and shot a lot of threes, though I think that is again something we're trying to see. Like they are stepping out a little bit more. You know, Brittney Griner opened both preseason games with three pointers. I don't think we've ever seen that before during her Phoenix Mercury tenure.
- [12:13]
Zena Kada
Get it B.G. i like it. I think maybe Daily T instead of a shift to a double big focus, it's really a shift on the power forward and it's been the shift of the power forward, the ability to be of size but also handle the ball shoot well, playmake. And you're definitely seeing that in Chicago as Tyler Marsh is working on Angel Reese becoming more of a power forward than the traditional center. Okay, let's keep going. We brought up the CBA and we got some questions about that as folks were thinking about the Future and on YouTube ulipplays asked us, will the next expansion draft take place before or after free agency? And how will it potentially work considering 80% of the league will be unrestricted free agents? I'm sitting this one out because Tulip plays. You and I are on the same page. I'm curious too, Ben. Sabrina, what are your thoughts?
- [13:05]
Sabrina Merchant
I think we can expect a similar setup to what happened this year where expansion takes place before free agency and before the WNBA draft. It's going to be a little bit of a different format because you have to protect players from being selected by both Toronto and Portland. So I think what I've gathered from talking to a few front office people is you'll be able to protect a list of six and then once a player gets selected, you can add another protection to that. But it's still probably going to be six players to start for each team and yes, a lot of unrestricted free agents. So I imagine there's going to have to be some consideration given to the fact where Golden State can only take one unrestricted free agent in the expansion draft. I think that's basically impossible in this current setup to only be able to take one unrestricted free agent. So I do imagine there's going to be some leniency with that. But the real key to me is, are we going to get the new CBA in place before this expansion draft happens? That, to me, is the real scheduling conflict because the last CBA wasn't agreed on until January of 2020, when theoretically, free agency should have started that month. There's no way you can wait that long this time because you have to get the expansion draft done before free agency starts.
- [14:08]
Zena Kada
And it's supposed to be around October, Is that correct?
- [14:10]
Sabrina Merchant
That's the internal deadline I believe that they have set yet.
- [14:12]
Zena Kada
Got it. Okay, that is very helpful. And yeah, that was my question of, like, everybody's gonna be a free agent. And even how do you protect people that are like, I'm on my way out. You know what I mean? Like, I wanna be out and I'm choosing to be out. Yeah. This is very, very interesting. Okay, let's keep going. Ben on the Athletics site, Andrea S. Asked, given that it takes more than one year for a core to gel and the W had so much movement last offseason, am I crazy to think that there might be less movement this offseason? Even though the W is getting a new CBA and every vet is a free agent after the first weekend of play, the only star I see moving is Skylar Diggins. Seattle is doing her no favors. Oop, not the shade.
- [14:55]
Sabrina Merchant
Go ahead.
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Ben Pickman
I think this is a really, really interesting question, and it is actually one that I have been posing to some people around the league at the start of this season. It's one I'm kind of workshopping to. To see what people think. I mean, I asked someone over the weekend a version of this question and I got back a response. Just said mid. And in kind of explaining it, like, I don't know how helpful that is for this conversation, but, like, I do think there is some credence that, you know, the biggest names in the league might not shift teams or, like, won't shift teams. Like, I wouldn't expect Brianna Stewart to suddenly get up and pack her bags from the New York Liberty or Asia Wilson to get up and suddenly leave the Las Vegas Aces. And there are a number of players who, you know, have just been traded or signed with franchises who I would kind of expect that, like, they're kind of hoping to. To lay down their roots to lay down foundations for years to come. I mean, I think about what Brittney Griner is doing in Atlanta. I think about Kelsey Plum potentially with the Los Angeles Sparks. I think about, you know, maybe Satu Sabali and Alyssa Thomas in Phoenix. Like, I don't think just because almost all of the 15 or 20 best players in the WNBA are free agents that all 15 are going to get up and leave teams. Like, I don't think we're just going to see a massive reshuffling there. There might be some stars that leave and maybe we want to talk about who some of those players might be. But like, you know, I think it's going to feel a lot like this year the stars are going to make their decisions first and then a lot of the role players are going to make their decisions after. And that's where I think we're going to see a lot more movement. Maybe not necessarily just in the top 15, 20 all star level players.
- [16:30]
Zena Kada
Yeah. There's also the fact that a lot of these franchises are revealing new facilities that also might entice folks to stay where they're at and see what happens. Okay, we're going to keep this conversation about movement in 2026 going, Sabrina. And around the big stars, particularly someone Houston wrote in to ask, are there any franchise players Nafisa Collier, Asia Wilson, Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Unescu, Arike Ngobwale that you expect to leave their current franchise? So I know Ben just alluded that he thinks most of them won't, but are there any of these players you're thinking? And also, you know, CM wrote a similar question. No. This may be a dream. You can dream, babe. You can dream. Cm. But do the Valkyries have a chance of signing Sabrina Ionescu next year? Sue Bird said on her podcast with Megan that she thinks lacob will spend big next year. Lacob being Joe lacob, the owner of the Golden State Valkyries and the Golden State Enterprises, which includes also the Golden State warriors and Santa Cruz Warriors. Okay. So Sabrina, thoughts?
- [17:37]
Ben Pickman
Yeah.
- [17:38]
Sabrina Merchant
So as Ben noted, just because we have a lot of stars who are going to be free agents, that's mostly so that they can sign new contracts. It's not necessarily that they're eyeing to leave in 2026, it's just if I sign a new deal in 2026, I can cash in on all the money that's going to come in from the new cva. And we've already talked about the media rights deal on this podcast, which is adding another it's going to be $200 in ESPN revenue compared to the 60 that they're getting now. So it's a lot more money coming through. That's why they're going to be free agents. You look at a person like Nafisa Collier, who grew up idolizing Maya Moore, hometown, got to play with Minnesota Lynx. Very hard for me to imagine her leaving Minnesota unless something catastrophic happens to the links this season, which so far doesn't seem to be the case. Very good basketball team. Right. Things are going well for them. You know, Asia Wilson, again, like she's the queen of Las Vegas. Hard for me to imagine her leaving. Arique is a name that as Dallas, it's very young team, new head coach, new front office. If you're moving your roster around, Paige Beckers, maybe that's a situation where Arique doesn't feel like she's the focal point anymore that I could potentially see happening. But in general, like Caitlin Clark obviously is still on a rookie contract. She can't go anywhere for another two years anyway before she becomes worshiped as a true So I think the movement that we saw this off season is an anomaly relative to what we're gonna see going forward. And I think most of these superstars are pretty happy with the infrastructure that's been put around them. You know, you look at Minnesota and their success in Vegas and New York and it's hard to leave a situation like that where so much has been invested to bring out the best in you. Regarding Sabrina, though, she does play with Briana Stewart who moved to New York to be closer to her home state. Right. Like that is her home state. And you think about Sabrina Natsu, who is from Northern California, and that is why this question has been brought up. So that is one that, I mean, I have no inside intelligence. I'm telling you that Sabrina seems very happy with the New York Liberty. She is the longest tenured member of the New York Liberty and everything has been built around her being there. Like Jonquil Jones, Finals MVP Brianna Stewart, three time mvp. Sabrina is the one who's announced last in the starting lineup in New York. Right. Like she is the face of the franchise, admittedly. Like I don't know what the new CBA is going to look like, what kind of money Joe lacope can throw at Sabrina Nescu. Whatever it is, Joe's eyes can do the same thing in New York. Like it's, it's not an issue in terms of one or the other.
- [19:45]
Zena Kada
Joe's can battle. Right?
- [19:47]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, it's a nice idea to Think about somebody coming home. But to me that's more of a later career thing as opposed to, you know, she was drafted in 2020. This is very much the early stage of her career. I think she wants to establish more of a footprint in New York before potentially thinking about being a hometown hero.
- [20:02]
Zena Kada
Yeah. Okay.
- [20:03]
Ben Pickman
If I can throw one name into this conversation. Again, speculative, no concrete reporting here, but it's one name to, to kind of watch. It's Jackie Young in the Las Vegas Aces for me is one potential really interesting name. She switched agents prior to this season. Her agency is now the same agency that reps Kelsey Plum, who as we know, just switched teams from the Las Vegas Aces to the Los Angeles Sparks. And so again, an agency switch doesn't necessarily, you know, mean and correlate one to one with a change in team in the present or future. But I think it is something that, you know, just kind of keep an eye out on. It's one name to watch. Like she could certainly be the kind of star player who moves to another team and has an even bigger role than than she does in the present. Again, she seems super happy with the Las Vegas Aces right now. They could certainly it's not out of the question for them to win the title this year and then we'll see what happens if they were to do that. But you know, that is certainly another name to watch. That again, kind of a little underrated or not talked about as much in star players who could potentially be on the move.
- [21:05]
Zena Kada
Yeah. Between what you're saying about Jackie and conversations about Sabrina, it just reiterates the point that Core 4, a team that's able to retain that talent at the Core 4 is going to be huge moving forward. Okay, let's talk about some of the questions that we got about cuts and what players do in the aftermath because it felt like this year was brutal when it came to the waves and the cuts. Claire wrote in to ask who were you most surprised to see waived from this year's draft class? Cheyenne Sellers, Serena Sundell, et cetera. Who are you most surprised made it and what do players do if they get cut and can't immediately join another team? Are they waiting for injury contracts going overseas, et cetera? How do they make it work financially working part time jobs and waiting for the call up? One person that comes to mind immediately as I read this question, Sabrina, I'll go to you, is Liatu King that was waived and then just signed a rest of season hardship contract. Like that isn't common, but that is Something that players could look for the opportunity to join a team in hardship contracts, et cetera. Lay it out. Let's start first with both of you guys. Sabrina, you'll go first. Who are you most surprised to see waived and who are you most surprised made it?
- [22:25]
Sabrina Merchant
I mean, I've probably hit my quota of mentioning Serena Sandel on this podcast, but her getting cut, I think Spencer Zaya Cook was kind of surprising to me in Seattle. That'd be the most surprising, Ben.
- [22:34]
Ben Pickman
To me it's Madison Scott of the Dallas Wings just because. And Kurt Miller was on this podcast kind of talking about how they received some trade interest in that pick and elected not to move the pick. I think it was 14th overall and they chose Madison Scott instead. And so that seemed to be a sign that we really like her, at least in the pre draft process. And then they end up making a decision to let her go.
- [22:56]
Zena Kada
Okay, who were you most surprised made it out of this draft class?
- [23:01]
Ben Pickman
You know, I think had you told me before the draft or at the night of the draft that they made a team, it would be Taylor Theory of the Atlanta Dream and the kind of wing from Ohio State. But what I will say is, you know, I went down to Atlanta in the preseason and then watched her in training camp for, for two days within a preseason game and in a long practice session. And I saw her getting run with, you know, first team players on the Atlanta Dream. And so when I left that trip, I mean I texted Sabrina, like, can you send me some of your scouting notes on Taylor Theory while I was in the gym watching her because like she was super, super impressive during Dream training camp and very much looked like a WNBA player or a rookie who is ready to make a WNBA impact. I mean her game is still developing and we'll see what kind of shooter she becomes. But like, she certainly looked like the kind of role player who could contribute to a winning team. And so she would have been my post draft, I guess, surprise. But once I saw her in person, I was like, oh, she's got a real shot at this.
- [23:57]
Zena Kada
Okay, I'm going to drop in my two. I think Serena Sandel was up there for me. I actually am surprised that the Atlanta Dream did not keep Cheyenne Sellers. I thought her point gradability would have fit somewhere within that. And then I've seen how Tahina Pow Pow has very much taken over that role and fine with Jordan Canada out. So get that people that made it that surprised me that one I'm not. I think Lucy Olsen might have Been my most. But even though Washington needed some youth and they needed.
- [24:29]
Sabrina Merchant
Did they need more youth? Is that really what they needed?
- [24:33]
Zena Kada
I guess. I mean, they're rebuilding, so I'm like, I don't know, they needed bodies on their roster, like. But she, you know, that was probably like the most surprising one for me. But really, this class was really good. So I'm actually not too, too surprised. That was a tough one. So now let's get into the second part of that question, which is, what do players do when they get cut? Help us understand that picture. Ben, I'll go to you first.
- [24:55]
Ben Pickman
It really depends. I think the key thing that teams would tell players is stay ready. And there are a lot of situations in which, you know, we have a Euro basket year this June, right? So some of the players who might have been cut from New York Liberty camp, we're hoping to make an impression, not only to try and make opening a roster, but, you know, show that come June when there are some spots that will come open and New York will have to sign some, you know, some hardship contracts, that they are the players that get called upon. Right. And so I think there is a big emphasis on staying ready, staying in shape, staying prepared. You know, there is a league, I believe in Mexico, that runs congruently with the WNBA season. And so you sometimes see, hear, you know, a player or two who gets waved, choose to play there just to, again, like, be an actual competition during the season or during the WNBA season, I should say. But yeah, it is kind of a. It's a mix. It's not a one size, kind of fits all scenario. And it can be really tough about what you do. I mean, and where do you live and how, you know, on call are you. Do you, like, how do you spend your time? Like, those are all questions that I think are very individual for a lot of players.
- [26:01]
Sabrina Merchant
You see a lot of players go back to their colleges and just work out there during the off seasons. Some of them may even try to prioritize 3x3. Like, that's something that Sierra Burdick did when her WMA career sort of, you know, tapered off and all of a sudden she's on the USA 3x3 team, right? Winning a bronze medal in Paris. Some players, I mean, like, if you just got drafted and you didn't make a team, like, this is your time to rest, right? Like, it's been a very long college career. Like, going from one to the next is obviously very challenging. And so if you can just wait it out and Then we see a lot of players, you know, who go to Australia, who go to Europe or China or somewhere and eventually find their way back to the WNBA. Like Catherine Westfeld, you know, part of the 2018 Notre Dame championship team, has not been in the WNBA since, you know, this is her first WNBA contract in 2025, and she played in Australia for a while, played in Hungary, you know, and you just keep yourself in good shape, showing what your skills are, and eventually the scouts will find you, hopefully.
- [26:52]
Zena Kada
I like it. All right, well, on the topic of players that were cut, but not keeping it to just the draft, we're going to go into a very fun question related to this from David T. But also like kind of strict. Dang, David, you came with the rules on this one. Listen to this, guys. Pick your top five player team from the list of players waved from before the start of the season. Make it a plausible team. Okay? David is not playing with us. Not just a list of the players.
- [27:17]
Ben Pickman
Sabrina only. She only votes on plausible team.
- [27:19]
Zena Kada
Zena, so you didn't even need to stab it. So you're good. Don't worry. Yeah, all WNBA teams don't always do this. So I get it. Make it a plausible team. Not just the list of players most likely to be picked up individually by teams in need, I. E. Literally, I. E. If you pick five guards, you have to justify the ultra small lineup. Ben, you go first.
- [27:40]
Ben Pickman
Okay. This is a very difficult exercise, honestly. Um, and we are only dealing with not every single player out there, but I'm going to throw out my five and we'll see what thoughts people have on it. My two guard spots, I'm going with Yvonne Anderson, who had been waived from the Connecticut sun, and Grace Berger, who the Minnesota Links waived. Anderson is someone on the older side, but she has had a very successful career in Europe in recent years playing on some, you know, important and well performing teams in Turkey, among other countries. And so she's proven to play. Grace Berger, I think is a really good player still or a good player and certainly could contribute on some WNBA rosters. And I wouldn't be surprised to see her find another home this season kind of in the. The Wings, the three, four slots. Leticia me here, I thought looked pretty good in training camp for the Golden State Valkyries. She was one of. Seemed to be one of their last cuts. And so I think she's kind of the wing I'm putting on here. And Liana Odom, actually, again, another older player. I think she's, I want to say 29 years old. She played on the Liberty back in what year was it? 20.
- [28:43]
Sabrina Merchant
20.
- [28:44]
Ben Pickman
20. 2020. Like she has some WNBA experience. She's 27 years old. Excuse me again. She had actually started 16 of their that bubble season and and play pretty well for them and look pretty good in Liberty camp this year. I wouldn't be shocked if she ends up being one of their hardship signees in June in Euro Basket and then at center Mackenzie Holmes rehabbing from an ACL injury. I think she kind of got squeezed off the Storm roster because of positional repetition. Like look at all the bigs that the Storm have both behind Ezzy Magmagor and Neko Gu. They also have Dominique Malanga as we've talked about, and Li Yoru who had a very, very good training camp. So, so those are my five. Sabrina, pick them apart and let me know who you have on your team.
- [29:24]
Sabrina Merchant
I mean, as much as I would love to talk about the waived players, I feel like we should get onto some other questions, so I'm going to keep this real quick. I also went with Burger, Daisia Kelly, Jalen Brown from the Indiana Fever, Leticia Amiher as well, and then Maria Klindikova from the Sparks who came over from Russia and was on the team back in 2019 and amazingly came all the way for training camp and didn't make the team. So that was kind of surprising to me.
- [29:47]
Zena Kada
Okay, there you go David T. You got two starting fives of plausible teams by Sybrina and Ben. All right, we gotta take a break real quick, but we'll be right back with more questions from you guys. 21 year old flaw J. Johnson has built an impressive career, making strides on the basketball court and the rap scene. A national champion and rising music star, she embodies the passion and determination required to excel in both worlds. But Flaujay's success hasn't come without challenges. The financial services industry has often overlooked the needs of women, leaving many feeling misunderstood or treated differently by financial professionals. For flaujay, this reality strengthened her resolve to take control of her financial future. Just as Flauje trains for success on the court, she understands the importance of preparation when it comes to her finances. Massmutual, a leader in helping people create a strong financial future, understands the unique financial challenges that women face. That's why they offer tools and personalized help so that women like Flauje can confidently plan and protect their financial futures, all with the goal of creating better financial outcomes for women everywhere. Visit massmutual.com stayready to learn more this message is brought to you by Apple Card. Apply for Apple Card today and start earning up to 3% daily cash back on everyday purchases. And that daily cash can even grow automatically when you open a High Yield Savings account through Apple Card. What are you waiting for? Visit Apple Co CardCalculator today to see how much daily cash you can earn. Subject to credit approval Savings available to Apple Card owners subject to eligibility Savings in Apple Card by Goldman Sachs Bank USA member FDIC terms and more at applecard.com Memorial Day doorbuster deals are here at Lowe's right now. Rewards members save $80 on the Master 4 burner gas grill, now just 149. Plus rewards members save $900 on the Lowe's exclusive Hisense French Door refrigerator, now only 9.99 Lowes we help you save valid through 526. Selection varies by location while supplies last. See Lowe's.com for more details. Programs subject to terms and conditions details@lowe's.com terms subject to change okay, let's dive in a little bit more, get into the weeds a little bit more. As if we haven't already been doing that, but we're going to talk a little bit more about the details, the things around the game that obviously impact the game, like refs and rules and stats and all that good stuff. So Kelly M. Wrote in to ask. I know they said that the refs will be focusing more on, quote, freedom of movement, end quote, this season. What. What does that mean exactly? And what calls will they be making more of or less of this season? And related to this, Miriam asked, what will it take to improve the ref situation in the wnba? The games have been called so differently. Is this type of variance considered typical? Sabrina, you start us off because you just watched something that kind of broke this down.
- [33:01]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah. So the WNBA puts out a list, a video every year, of points of emphasis for the referees, and among those points of emphasis that they want to see adjudicated correctly is frame of movement. Which means it isn't just while you're on the ball that a defender has to maintain legal guarding position. It's also while you're moving or cutting off the ball that you can't just bump somebody off their path or prevent somebody from cutting by tugging on their jersey or wrapping an arm around them or something. And I think that all is in service of making the game more aesthetically pleasing to watch. Personally, I don't need to see people unable to move because they're being hugged by a defender or Falling over because somebody just went into their line of movement while they are trying to cut across one side of the floor to the other. So that's sort of what it means with remove movement. It's just an offensive player gets to establish their position no matter whether they have the ball or not. Right. And to me, I just think it's important that the referees establish this both in the perimeter and the post because it seems to me that contact is a lot easier to get away with in the post than it is on the perimeter because, well, frankly, it's harder to see in the post because there's a lot more bodies in there. Just your vision is crowded on the way. But also guards are just better at falling over than Pixar.
- [34:12]
Zena Kada
Yeah, I agree. Agreed. I'm wondering, I thought you were going to say that this needs to be equally dispersed, not only on offense, but also on defense. But I like the distinguishing between guards and bigs. But I've also seen people like hold defenders jerseys as they're going up or, you know, make it hard for a defender to get around a screen. Is that freedom of movement considering the defender as well?
- [34:40]
Sabrina Merchant
Oh, yeah, definitely. One of the clips in this video is actually Jonquil Jones establishing her space, but Alana Smith was already like in legal guarding position. So Jonquil Jones moving her out of the way is an offensive foul because, you know, Elena had the freedom to be there because she had gotten there before Jonquill. Yeah.
- [34:57]
Zena Kada
Okay, got you, Got you. Okay, so Ben, having watched this game for many years and covering it and knowing that this is something that has become more of a focal point, how the games are being riffed, do you feel like the games are being called that much differently? And is this kind of variance from what you've seen over the years?
- [35:16]
Ben Pickman
I mean, one of the things in recent years that people around the league often use the word inconsistent is kind of the big phrase that comes up in conversations. That inconsistency based on crew, based on game, based on just like not knowing how a game is going to be officiated. That is kind of the thing that frustrates teams and coaches more than anything else. It's not kind of the idea that a foul is called or not called. It's just they don't know when a foul is going to be called or not called. I did some reporting on this two years ago in some. Some depth about kind of the officiating situation in the wnba. And, you know, there are a bunch of factors that kind of lead to some of the Inconsistencies that some people around the league from a kind of team side site. Among them is a lot of turnover. You know, more than 20 officials or NBA officials have WNBA experience. Very rarely do you have officials with NBA experience go on and work as WNBA officials. A couple years ago, there was an influx of a lot of new WNBA officials and basically like, you know, just like you, just like us as podcasters, as co workers, just like anyone in their office space. Like rapport makes a big difference. Right? And so having refs build rapport with coaches, with players like that can make a big difference in having more consistency, having conversations about why something was called or not. It can soften people's perceptions or just reactions, you know, in the aftermath of officials. Again, that's not a, a solution always. Like, you know, there are officials who have been tenured in the W for a long time that still face a lot of criticism. I mean, Roy Gold Banion, we mentioned him on our show recently involving Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark. He was the official who, you know, appeared to not initially call and you know, an Angel Reese pushing the back on Natasha Howard that then kind of led to the Caitlin Clark flagrant foul. He's been working in the WNBA for more than two decades. Right. So again, experience is not necessarily a fixer here. But you know, that is definitely one factor to be aware of. But it is something I should say that is talked about in league circles, in league meetings all the time. This is not just a clamoring from fans, but people with teams are always kind of talking about officiating and how it can be more consistent. Again, the league says it's really, really good and they get a ton of calls. Right. And that is true. But always a point of conversation, I think probably across all sports, you know.
- [37:40]
Zena Kada
Absolutely, absolutely. And to answer your question about what will it take to improve the ref situation in the wnba, Miriam asked this question. Of course, from what Ben is saying, they're consistently talking about it. But we actually had another writer at the Athletic do an in depth conversation with James Williams. Maybe if you watch the NBA, you know him as the Gucci man ref. He looks like Gucci mane. But he's created an app that is aimed at improving play calls and expanding the pool of up and coming officials because there isn't a referee school. It's very much a who's who, who knows who in terms of how they get into the system. And so it's part of why it's hard to replenish the pool of potential refs and also to teach them to call it consistently. So it's. It's still an ongoing thing, but the refs are working on it in terms of not only just in the WNBA but across various sports.
- [38:36]
Sabrina Merchant
One thing I will say about refereeing, that should be an easier fix for the W than, you know, making sure that each ref is consistent from game to game and within game. This is something actually Cheryl Reeve brought up after Game 5 of the WNBA Finals is there should be an independent review booth. We've seen so many WNB games so far where it has taken a very long time to conduct reviews because they are looking at these tiny cameras in the building as opposed to in the NBA where they just go remotely and there's 30 screens in one room where you can easily figure out what the call is going to be. So I think an independent review booth is probably the simplest fix that would make a material difference on actually the watchability of games.
- [39:12]
Zena Kada
Yeah, that's.
- [39:13]
Ben Pickman
And one more and you can see we could talk about officiating for a long time. Clearly people point to the last two minute report, right? And that is something that the NBA has the last two minute reports which are basically like a mechanism. So that I want to say it's in the last five minutes of games or, sorry, the last two minutes of games. Obviously, when a game is within three points at any moment within the final two minutes, the NBA then basically puts out this report which serves as, you know, accountability to fans and the media about certain calls. The WNBA does not have that last two minute report. So there is no transparency about what calls are and are not made in the final two minutes. Monty McCutcheon, who's kind of the head of NBA officiating previously told me that the league is open to adding these reports. But he said there hasn't been a need for a lot of individual releases about missed calls. And so there hasn't been as much of a clamoring. Still, you definitely see people around the league say there should be L2MS. In the WNBA.
- [40:08]
Zena Kada
Okay, that means you guys got your marching orders. Go clamor, clamor galore if you want to see a little bit better refereeing, especially in those clutch games. But we have a fun one related to all of this in terms of like the refereeing and calls and things of that sort. Neil C. Wrote in to ask what is better for the game. Allowing aggressive, handsy, physical play to encourage more aggressive defense or stronger enforcement. Slash more fouls called. That pushes perimeter play in three point shooting and offense in general, I tend.
- [40:41]
Sabrina Merchant
To prefer more enforcement of fouls. I just don't think you should be able to beat up people. And I also don't enjoy when the regular season significantly differs from playoff basketball. That just looks very different in terms of how things are adjudicated. So, yeah, personally, I like players being able to move around and actually have some space to breathe. And, you know, if it seems like that's too much offense, well, you know, people have learned how to play defense against that. You know, you just evolve with the game. So that's. That's what I prefer.
- [41:09]
Zena Kada
Ben, I'm thinking about the stoppages, though. More calls. I don't know, what does that do for the product?
- [41:14]
Sabrina Merchant
I mean, just because you can call more fouls doesn't mean you have to, like, people can just learn how to play defense, you know?
- [41:19]
Zena Kada
Yeah, there we go. That's the, that's the response I'm looking for. Sabrina, what are your thoughts?
- [41:24]
Ben Pickman
Ben, I mean, I do appreciate that in recent years we have seen an emphasis on more space and more shooting in the wnba. I think it has led to a better and more entertaining product. I think it's, you know, we're still kind of in a little bit of a transitional period and maybe even moving into a little bit of a sweet spot where like, not every team is just jacking up threes on every single possession. And that's obviously a common critique that people have of the NBA, that it's just basically a three point shootout and who can make more threes is determines who wins games. Like, the WNBA hasn't reached that just yet. And so, you know, I certainly do appreciate the little shooting uptick, the 3 point shooting uptick that we have had in recent years in terms of entertainment.
- [42:01]
Zena Kada
Well, the WNBA still values the mid range, which I appreciate. Thank you so much, ladies. All right, couple of quick ones for you. Han, Conservative 83 on YouTube, wrote, as they keep adding teams, will they be adding more games to the season or just have them play against each team less? Great question.
- [42:19]
Sabrina Merchant
So the current collective bargaining agreement caps the number of games at 44. I imagine this will be a topic of conversation with the new collective bargaining agreement, which will go in effect next season. But given the scheduling footprint that the league has to work with, where it has to start after March Madness, and it basically doesn't want to run too deep into the start of the NBA season, you're kind of stuck in that May to October window. And with the Olympics every four years and the FIBA World cup coming in other International competitions, I think. I think 50 is probably where I would max out. I haven't really heard people clamor for anything beyond that. Sorry to use that word clamor again, I apologize. But yeah, you gotta clamor.
- [42:53]
Zena Kada
You gotta clamor, folks. That's how you're gonna get what you want. Okay. Okay, that makes sense. Blonded wrote in to ask Ben. I'm gonna take. Let you take this one here. Can you explain technical fouls? This is real. Sometimes we just think we just know the word tech. We don't know exactly how it works, because as Blonded wrote, Shakira Austin got a technical foul while she was sitting on the bench. What? That's Blonded saying what? But I'm with you there, Blonded. What? How does that happen? Explain technical fouls for us, Ben.
- [43:25]
Ben Pickman
Yeah, so there are a lot of different ways a technical foul can be applied. You have kind of team technical fouls. And I'll try not to get fully in the weeds here for like, excessive timeouts or delay of games. Those are two examples of like a team technical foul. Or like, if a team were to ever show up on the court with six players, say on the court at one time, like, that's an unsportsmanlike technical foul would then be assessed. Then you have other technical files for things like conduct. And that's obviously the more common way that people think about a technical foul. You know, technical files can be assessed for unsportsmanlike conducts like disrespecting an official, making contact with an official, a coach entering the court without permission, throwing an elbow, or any attempt of, like, a physical act with no contact, taunting, another reason for a technical foul. So those are some of the different ways that, you know, dead ball technicals can be assessed. There are some other variations here and there, but yeah, I would say conduct what Shakira Austin's technical foul is. That is where it kind of. It falls under that umbrella of general player conduct. And that's how you get a technical foul even if someone is not in the game at the time of its assessment.
- [44:27]
Zena Kada
You gotta behave. You gotta behave. Okay. Meg F asked Sabrina, can we get an explanation about plus minus stats? Oh, I can't wait to hear this. How are these calculations made? And I'm going to add one more for you, Meg. Why is plus minus considered? Sabrina?
- [44:47]
Sabrina Merchant
All right, so plus minus is actually very straightforward. When a player is on the court, you take the number of points that the their team scores, subtract the number of points that the opposing team scores, and that is their plus minus. So if they're on the court in the first quarter for eight minutes and during that the time score was 16 to 10 in their favor, they would be a plus six. Then they come back into the game and let's say their team was outscored by five points, they've moved down to a plus one. And you can see most WNBA box scores actually have a plus minus column at the very edge of every box score. And you can see which players were on the court when their team was winning the game and which players were on the court when their team was being outscored. So there is no advanced mumbo jumbo that goes into it. It is very straightforward. If you're on the court, even if, let's say, you sub into the game and you get in before a second free throw and the opposing team makes a free throw that gives you a minus one, you had nothing to do with that, literally. But being on the court for that free throw takes, you know, one point away from your plus minus tally.
- [45:42]
Zena Kada
Now what's so tough about plus minus is that people often look to it to say if a player had a good game, right? If you have a positive plus minus in the positive, that means that your team scored more points than the opposite.
- [45:54]
Sabrina Merchant
Team did, which is the goal of basketball, let's be clear.
- [45:57]
Zena Kada
Right? Exactly, exactly. And then they'll look at someone's plus minus. Someone can be plus 23 and scored zero points. And it's like, well, how'd you do that? I have my thoughts on plus minus. I think that sometimes there are players that can be hidden within the right lineups and end up with a positive plus minus that they didn't necessarily garner, that they didn't necessarily directly impact in a good way. They were guarding someone that was probably inefficient or a non factor. And they were on the floor with people that could score and it worked out that way. Then there are also the case where there are people that don't put up any scores or buckets or anything or points, but they're rebounding, closing out possessions, they're guarding the toughest scorer on the opposite side of the ball. And they're making sure that even if they're not put in points, the other team isn't. And I think that's really important as well. So you do have to have a little bit of, you know, take plus minus with a grain of salt sometimes. Gotta look at who else is on the floor and how else they are impacting the game.
- [46:57]
Ben Pickman
So that's why, Zena, some people mapped out or took the feedback you just relayed and said, let's create a new statistic. And that is how you get to the advanced metric called real plus minus, which tries to account for a lot of the things you just mapped out.
- [47:10]
Zena Kada
There you go. So don't get too deep in the woods, in the trees, in the details. Megaf plus minus. Sabrina laid out how to calculate it. You. I would love for you to do the work and say, hmm, do they deserve that plus minus? Are they really making that sort of impact? All right, here's a fun one. Rosalie. I wonder if this is a Rosalie that I know. But anywho, Rosalie wrote in to ask what makes a player a quote unquote bucket? And who are the league's top buckets? Is there one stat or set of stats you can point to to differentiate and say the very streaky Ryan Howard or Arike from, say, Nafisa or Kelsey Plum. In my head, a bucket is someone where you're almost never mad that they took a shot because the assumption is it will go in very interesting way to look at the term bucket. I really love this, and I want both of you to comment on it. Sabrina, you first.
- [48:05]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah. So coming after a very statistically based question, a bucket has literally nothing to do with that. That's pretty much what I would say. It's. To me, a bucket is somebody who feels like they can always get a good shot up. Not necessarily that the fans are watching them thinking, oh, I like this shot every single time, but somebody who has the confidence to always create and take their own shot. That, to me, is the definition of a bucket. And generally speaking, they do have to have a significant enough success rate.
- [48:31]
Zena Kada
Yeah, right, Exactly. I agree with that. Ben, what about you?
- [48:34]
Ben Pickman
Totally agree. I think you know a bucket when you see one, right? Like, you know it when you see it. I think usually these players are guards. I think usually having a really good, you know, handle plays into being a bucket. Being able to kind of pull up and create off, you know, when there seemingly is no space and you're just finding a way to put the ball in the basket or get a good shot up. Like, I think those people are buckets. I think, honestly, like Arique Goombawale right now in the WNBA is who I think of most when I think of, like, you know, just like elite scores bucket getters. She might not always be the most efficient, but like, when you watch her in the WNBA All Star Game and she scores, what, 30 plus points in one half and, like, breaks all these records, and no one on the court can stop her, no matter how good they are. Like, to me, she kind of has the crown of, like, the WNBA's best bucket getter right now.
- [49:22]
Sabrina Merchant
To me, I would say I haven't heard any player call herself a bucket more than Courtney Williams. And she's another person who I think of as a bucket.
- [49:30]
Zena Kada
Yeah, that's real. Or. I mean, there is Paige buckets now.
- [49:33]
Sabrina Merchant
Right. But I don't think she calls herself that. But in terms of, like, having heard somebody say I'm a bucket over and over again, that to me, is Courtney Williams. And I think taking difficult chats is. Whereas Courtney Williams, her shot diet is, like, she takes some tough ones.
- [49:45]
Ben Pickman
There's a difference here. These aren't necessarily players you would most want to take a shot. Like, if you had the game on the line. That is the other variation here that should be called out again.
- [49:54]
Zena Kada
So, yeah, I think the whole purpose of, like, when I first heard walking bucket when I was young and playing basketball and wanted to be a walking bucket. No, no, folks, I was not a walking bucket. But when I think about that, it's all of everything you're saying. It's the diversity in which you can get points and also your ability to do it successfully, consistently. So it's a combination. So if we're talking about, you know, is there one stat or set of stats? It's two stats for me. It's your field goal attempts in, like, the amount of attempts it takes for you to make a bucket. So if you're one of 10. Mm, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm. We're not gonna call you a bucket. You might be a cup. You're not a bucket. Um, but if I'm looking at your stats and you're 7 of 10 from the floor for the night, that's efficiency. And of course, you're scoring points. And if that. And that is not just field goals. That's not just layups. That's not just midis. That's also three pointers. Like, you're a bucket. You can get to the rack in a variety of ways, and you can find a way to score no matter who's in front of you. That is a walking bucket in my mind. And I also think this applies. I'm not. I'm usually not mad when a walking bucket goes and says, I'm about to go get this boy. This, this dime or this. I mean, not this dime. This bucket or this. I don't know. I keep saying bucket. Let me stop saying bucket. This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Apply for Apple Card today and start earning up to 3% daily cash back on everyday purchases. And that daily cash can even grow automatically when you open a High Yield savings account through Apple Card. What are you waiting for? Visit Apple Co CardCalculator today to see how much daily cash you can earn. Subject to credit approval Savings available to Apple Card owners subject to eligibility Savings in Apple Card by Goldman Sachs Bank USA member FDIC terms and more at applecard.com tipping culture is out of control.
- [51:49]
Sabrina Merchant
Yesterday I tipped someone just for handing me a napkin. So when hotels.com gives me up to 20% off for being a member, I finally get tipped. And you know what? It feels good. Hotels.com members save up to 20% off at hundreds of thousands of hotels in the summer.
- [52:04]
Zena Kada
All of Oregon is our playground thanks to our incredible park system.
- [52:07]
Sabrina Merchant
That's why it's so cool that Oregon.
- [52:09]
Zena Kada
Lottery gameplay, like video lottery or cash pop, helps support tons of parks projects statewide like accessible trails at Silver Falls.
- [52:17]
Ben Pickman
State park or upgrades to your favorite dog park in Newburgh.
- [52:21]
Zena Kada
It's just one way a little off. Lottery play from many Oregonians can add up to a lot of good the Oregon Lottery. Together we do good things. Lottery games are based on chance and should be played for entertainment only. Must be 18 or older to play. All right, moving into our last section here, I'm gonna just get the word bucket out now so I don't say it again, but it's a couple team specific and personal questions. Appreciate these from our audience as well. Okay, first up, Kai asked, how far are the Sparks from contention once Brink Cameron Brink returns from injury, assuming she's healthy and up to speed coming out of the All Star break, that's around July, mid mid July. What is this team's ceiling?
- [53:08]
Sabrina Merchant
Y' all take that one. I think, you know, it kind of goes under the radar how good Cameron Brink was defensively before she tore her ACL last season. You know, through that first quarter of the season, she was quite literally one of the five most impactful defensive players in the wnba just in terms of her ability to protect the rim and anchor that Sparks defense. So if she can get back to that immediately after a Tourni acl, I have some reservations about not to say that I don't think she'll be able to do that next season, but this year I think will be a little bit more challenging. That obviously changes a lot of what the Sparks are able to do if they have a meaningful defensive center in the middle of their lineup, especially when you consider that they have scorers in Derrick Hamby and Kelsey Plumb and even Azrae Stevens shooting the ball really well this season. So I'm a little bearish I guess on what Cameron Brink is capable of doing this season just because of the severity of that injury and how difficult it is to just immediately jump back into high level WNBA play. So to me the Sparks ceiling is still first round playoff team. But having Brink going forward obviously raises their ceiling in the future a lot more than than you know, if they hadn't been able to draft her in 2024.
- [54:16]
Zena Kada
I definitely agree with that. And Ben Justin wrote in and he wants to know something similar but for a different team. What's the ceiling on the Mystics this season?
- [54:25]
Ben Pickman
I think also a first round out playoff team though if I'm the Washington Mystics, I, you know, I'm hoping really more than anything else, develop my young players, develop my rookies, see how the season goes and you know, maybe trade Brittany Sykes for a first round pick. If you can do that kind of at the mid season point to a team that really needs a veteran point guard who can create and defend. So I think that's a good outcome for the Mystics in this year. One of a rebuild.
- [54:52]
Zena Kada
Okay, a little bit of first round action but clearly ceiling is higher as the years develop, as the years go on, as these players develop. Excuse me. Okay. Taurean wrote in to ask me a question and said for someone who played college hoops and made the transition to mixed media journalism, what advice would you give to my high school age daughter who might want to follow the same path? Her sport is volleyball. I think for anyone that wants to be in mixed media journalism, there are two things that are incredibly important that you need to be able to know that you not only can do but you like to do. And one is talk. Take that cell phone out, go to your local games, go to your local high school games, whatever it is, create some content if you can do that and you can have fun with it. Talking in front of a camera, talking about the sport, talking without stumbling, et cetera. Then boom, you're on a path. You found that this is a way that you can utilize your voice. The other thing, and this is what is very scary in this AI age. You need to be able to write, shout out to Ben and Sabrina because every time I read them I'm always like oh geniuses. Like they, the way that they put sentences together, the way they Put ideas together. That's really important. That's going to help you with your talking, your ability to convey a point. You gotta be able to write and be able to do it in a way that is concise and coherent. Because if people don't know what you're saying, they won't want to listen to you, no matter how angelic your voice is. So make sure you get some practice in front of a camera somehow. And then also start writing some stuff out and see how you feel about it. Do you like it? Does it excite you? Is it cool? I think that will give you enough of an insight of do I want to do this? Because it is a grind. It is not easy. So that would be my advice. Okay. Finally, last but not least, Miriam asked a question for you, Sabrina. Are you ready to support the prediction that the Fever will win it all this year?
- [56:52]
Sabrina Merchant
I don't know why this is directed at me, frankly. Why do they want me to know that as opposed to Ben? Ben is spent of time a lot in Indiana. Probably has a better feel for this team than I do just having been there. But I mean, I picked the Fever to make the WNBA finals this season. So that's about as close as you can get to winning the title without actually making them my pick. Do I think that they were the best in the wnba? No, I think the Liberty and the Lynx are still better, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the best team wins every year. You know, I'm thinking about like 2021 succeeded Chicago sky wins WNB championship. So yeah, possible that the Fever could win. That's not what my prediction is gonna be. But you know, I support anyone who has that thought process.
- [57:35]
Zena Kada
Listen, Miriam, the answer to your question is no. Yeah, so there's that, there's that, it's okay. But you do make a good point. Choosing the Fever to get to the finals is a big deal. So I'm hoping Miriam Beck kind of helps in a way. Anywho, guys, thank you all for all those thoughtful questions. Appreciate you. I hope we were able to answer them. Obviously. Continue to write these questions in, send them to our social media, send them to our email, no offseasontheathletic.com we still wanna keep hearing these throughout the year and try to hit on them as we have our conversations every week. Come back, listen on Friday for more of the regular programming you know and love. Got a little bit of WNBA talk ready for you. Maybe a little NCAA check in as well. Mm. Okay. And if you haven't hit that follow button wherever you're listening. So you never miss a podcast. And hey, come check us out on YouTube again. I have said my facial reactions are so much more fun in person.
- [58:29]
Sabrina Merchant
She does a lot of hand gestures too, you know.
- [58:31]
Zena Kada
It works. Yeah, it's not the same vibe y' all. You gotta come see it on YouTube. Also, drop us a comment wherever you're listening. As I mentioned, we wanna read em. We wanna talk to you guys and if you be so kind, give us a rating. We just answered y' all's questions. Of course give us a rating. We did our jobs okay. Helps people find the show and as always, there's more to read and watch. Over our partners Yahoo Sports Hub Sports Yahoo.com Women Sports Woo killed that. On behalf of the Athletic, I'm Zena Keda. Thanks for listening and we will see you next time. No Off Season is hosted by Zena Kada with Chantelle Jennings, Sabrina Merchant and Ben Pickman. It's produced by Tanika Perot. Our executive producers are Andrea B. Scott and Cassius Fleming. Our theme music is by Marcus Bagala. Brenna Haupt is our video editor, Shannon Ryan is managing editor of Women's basketball at the Athletic. Jesse Burton is our head of audio and Tim McMaster is our director of audio oper. 21 year old flaujay Johnson has built an impressive career, making strides on the basketball court and the rap scene. A national champion and rising music star, she embodies the passion and determination required to excel in both worlds. But Flaw J's success hasn't come without challenges. The financial services industry has often overlooked the needs of women, leaving many feeling misunderstood or treated differently by financial professionals. For Flaujay, this reality strengthened her resolve to take control of her financial future. Just as Flauje trains for success on the court, she understands the importance of preparation when it comes to her finances. MassMutual, a leader in helping people create a strong financial future, understands the unique financial challenges that women face. That's why they offer tools and personalized help so that women like Flauj can confidently plan and protect their financial futures. All with the goal of creating better financial financial outcomes for women everywhere. Visit massmutual.com stayready to learn more. Trip Planner by Expedia.
- [60:47]
Ben Pickman
You were made to have strong opinions.
- [60:49]
Sabrina Merchant
About San we were made to help you and your friends find a place on the beach with a pool and.
- [60:55]
Ben Pickman
A marina and a waterfall and a soaking tub.
- [60:58]
Zena Kada
Expedia Made to travel if your job.
- [61:00]
Sabrina Merchant
At a healthcare facility includes disinfecting against viruses.
- [61:04]
Zena Kada
You know prevention is the best medicine and maintaining healthy spaces starts with a healthy cleaning routine.
- [61:11]
Ben Pickman
Grainger's world class supply chain helps ensure.
- [61:14]
Sabrina Merchant
You have the quality products you need when you need them.
- [61:17]
Zena Kada
From disinfectants and cleaning supplies to personal protective equipment so you can help deliver.
- [61:22]
Ben Pickman
A clean bill of health. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop.
- [61:26]
Zena Kada
By Grainger for the ones who get it done.