← No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
Caitlin Clark's overall impact on the WNBA + Rookie Ladder
00:49:08
Loading summary
Transcript101 lines
- [00:01]
Flauje Johnson
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 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 Flauje, this 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 flaujay 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.
- [01:01]
Ericsson Representative
When it comes to your business, every second counts. From mega factories to mom and pop shops, Ericsson helps tens of thousands of companies around the world build powerful connections every day. Power your business with our connectivity and communication solutions. The invisible advantage driving your growth. Visit us@ericsson.com Power that's ER I C S S O N.com Power Summer's here.
- [01:32]
Uber Eats Representative
And you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get a chicken parmesan delivered. A cabana, that's a no. But a banana, that's a yes. A nice tan? Sorry, nope. But a box fan? Happily, yes. A day of sunshine? No. A box of fine wines? Yes. Ubereats can definitely get you that. Get almost almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. Product may vary by Regency app for details.
- [02:17]
Zena Kada
Hello everyone and welcome to no off season presented by MassMutual. I'm Zena Kada.
- [02:21]
Sabrina Merchant
I'm Sabrina Merchant.
- [02:23]
Ben Pickman
And I'm Ben Pickman.
- [02:25]
Zena Kada
And today on the show, a first for Caitlin Clark. And no, she's not making history out on the court. She's making history for herself as the.
- [02:33]
Flauje Johnson
Indiana star guard is out for at.
- [02:35]
Zena Kada
Least two weeks with a quad strain. We got to talk about what the fever are going to look like or.
- [02:40]
Flauje Johnson
Have looked like in her absence.
- [02:42]
Zena Kada
And we're going to get into that and the impact it's going to have.
- [02:45]
Flauje Johnson
On that team moving forward.
- [02:47]
Zena Kada
Plus our rookie ladder, of course, after last year climb into new heights. The rookies have come in and they're making a name for themselves. We're going to look at some standout rookies making some noise around the W, as well as wrap things up with.
- [03:01]
Flauje Johnson
Where you should set your screens this weekend.
- [03:04]
Zena Kada
But first, a reminder. Hit that follow button wherever you're listening. Podcast, YouTube, subscribe, do your job. Let other people know that we're doing a great job. Follow us. Thank you. All right, let's get into it. Caitlin Clark's injury, first off, first and foremost, most important thing. Not the tickets, not the viewership, not anything else that everyone's talking about. First and foremost, Caitlin Clark. We wish you a speedy recovery. This is new for Caitlin. This is a person that literally did not miss a college game. I cannot imagine how she must be feeling right now experiencing this injury and, of course, having to sit idly by as her team tries to go on without her out on the floor. But we hope to see her back on the court soon. And this is the first time in.
- [03:50]
Flauje Johnson
Her WNBA career that she has missed a regular season game or will be missing regular season games due to injury.
- [03:56]
Zena Kada
But, Ben, you saw the Fever in training camp. You were at their home opener. You recently wrote, and you asked the question, what will the fever look like without Caitlin Clark? Well, I know many of us saw that Indiana Mystics game.
- [04:15]
Flauje Johnson
Deep breath.
- [04:16]
Zena Kada
They look slow, Ben. They just look slow. So tell us, what are some of the impacts that we might see, we can expect in the next couple of weeks surrounding Caitlyn's injury?
- [04:28]
Ben Pickman
Yeah, I mean, as you said, Xena, Caitlyn is going to miss at least the next two weeks with a quad strain. It's a different injury, we should say, than the quad injury that kept her out of Indiana's first preseason game against the Washington Mystics. That's per Stephanie White, the Indiana Fever head coach. And so the effects, you know, we have started to see them after Wednesday night's game against the Mystics, which again, the Mystics defeated the Fever and the Fever dropped to 2 and 3 with that loss. You mentioned the big one. I think pace is the first thing that, like, I think both Sabrina and I kind of had our eye on because Stephanie White made the decision to move Sidney Colson into the starting lineup, basically because she, in Steph White's words, is a really good communicator. She's a really good defender. And they trusted Sidney Coulson to kind of orchestrate and get them into offense. But in effect, what they did was also cut back on the pace that the Indiana Fever were going to play. Like for me, when I spotlighted what I thought the Fever might look like without Clark, I focus mostly on Kelsey Mitchell because we saw it in some of the stretches in which Caitlin Clark wasn't on the floor earlier in the season. And we should say she missed only or sat out for only 20 minutes prior to Wednesday night's loss to the Mystics. Kelsey Mitchell was one of the ball handlers. And like when Kelsey's on the floor, they still play with a lot of pace. I mean she like no guard gets to the rim basically in the WNBA as much as she did. She had the most shots within 5ft of any guard heading into Wednesday nights action. Like she's someone who can really get downhill. And so you thought they were still going to be able to play with pace. But I think one of the early impressions that we both had was like they played with less pace. And you look at it, the Indiana Fever, Normally they average 12.3 fast break points per game. They had zero against the Washington Mystics. Another stat to, you know, reflects the difference in how they look. And this gets into the Aaliyah Boston factor and I assume we're going to touch that too. 47 point paint points heading into the Wednesday night game with the Mystics 32 against Washington for Indiana. So Aaliyah Boston a key. Pace is a key. Kelsey Mitchell's a key. There's a lot of ways we can go from the Caitlin Clark effect with her absence.
- [06:35]
Zena Kada
Yeah. And I want to talk a little bit about the effect that's going to have on the league in general. But Sabrina, I'm going to continue the Indiana conversation first because yes, Kelsey Mitchell was definitely a factor. You saw that Sydney Coulson's definitely more of a distribution type of point guard. You know, they were running a lot of half court sets. They were doing a lot of on ball screens. It was a lot more of prodding, type of trotting type of actions in the half court. And the main thing I was looking at was Aaliyah Boston. As Ben mentioned, only five touches and yes, four or five from the floor, which is great. But when you're looking at what Aaliyah has been providing this year, it's been much more volume and a lot more output. I love your breakdown with the guard and big play. This is something that I think is an even bigger factor than Kelsey Mitchell. What were your thoughts on their half court sets?
- [07:24]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, I think, you know, Ben alluded to it first. It's. It's harder to get the bigs the ball in the half court than it is in transition and nobody throws a hit ahead pass like Caitlin Clark. Like the outlets were not there. And Aaliyah Boston, Natasha Howard, they run the floor really well. So that's one aspect of their touches that's getting limited because you're just not getting them the ball early. Right? Yeah. And then you think about in the half court, well, Aaliyah Boston, like you think about her at South Carolina as a rookie, she was more of a post up player. Like 40% of her possessions as a rookie came in post ups. And then you switched to last season and well, you're not going to give her 40% of post ups when you have Caitlin Clark on the team. That just doesn't make any sense. So it all came out of the two player action, right. Like high screens. Aaliyah Boston operating out of the short roll. What she does with that, she can do so many things. She can put the ball on the floor, she can spray it back out, like re screen, whatever. But when you don't have a point guard who is going to be calling for, you know, pick and rolls because like Sidney Coulson, I'm not even sure I'd really call her a point guard offensively. Like, I understand floor general, you know, like she organizes like people. But like, I don't think she's really running offense, so to speak, like how you would expect a point guard too. So she's not going to be doing that. Kelsey Mitchell and Ali Boston don't really run pick and roll. Like a huge chunk of their offense is just focused on that and they forgot kind of it seemed like to me that to like get Aaliyah Boston involved in other ways and it's not like other people can't run screen roles. They just weren't. So it was strange to see how limited Aaliyah Boston's activity was in the half court. Like they were literally, I could count on my hand the number of times like she was even involved in handoffs and stuff during the first half. So it was just you have this incredibly versatile big who admittedly is at her best when she's playing with Caitlin Clark, but that doesn't mean she can only play with Caitlin Clark. Right. There's a lot of other things that she's capable of doing and it was just strange to see them like consistently go away from that. There was just so much isolation in the half court relative to, you know, what we're used to seeing with all the movement that Caitlin and everybody else creates. And it just. It's like a knockdown effect, right? Like, when you have Caitlin, that allows Lexi hall to move off the ball, that allows Kelsey Mitchell to move off the ball. And when you put the ball in their hands, it just changes their role in the offense, and it sort of makes everything else a little bit more stagnant, too. So, admittedly, like, it's not rocket science to see you take out, like, an excellent offensive player like Caitlin Clark and everything changes, but it was just so dramatic, like, how much everything was.
- [09:38]
Ben Pickman
Was changing to that point. Sabrina, like, Washington was not really afraid of Sydney Coulson breaking them down off the dribble. Right. Like, already so far around the league, the short role between Caitlin Clark and Aaliyah Boston, that connection that they have is one of the best connections and most repeatable connections in the entire league. Like, Clark has 19 assists to Aaliyah Boston this season. And so you plug Sidney Coulson in that spot. Like, Washington was not afraid of Colson sneaking around that screen, finding Boston on a short roll. She wasn't like. And they're not, you know, they're going under those screens where they were on Wednesday night, kind of daring Sidney Coulson to shoot. And that is why so often you get this, like, much more stagnant offensive set. To me, the thing I was most curious about was why Stephanie White against Washington didn't elect to play the lineup of Boston, Cunningham, Bonner, Mitchell and Hull more. Because that was a lineup that I think provides them with a little bit more dynamism. It puts the ball in Kelsey Mitchell's hands and. And your secondary kind of point guard, so to speak, or floor general, can become Dewana Bonner. And we saw that a little bit on Wednesday night. That was actually their best or most efficient offensive lineup of the game. I pulled up the synergy data. You know, they only had six offensive possessions together, which is a really, really small sample, but they averaged or they had more than two points per possession. And you could see in some of those possessions it was Kelsey Mitchell orchestrating offense. And some of it was Dewana Bonner. And I would just rather have. If you're going to have a, like a table setter, a floor general kind of setting you up, I guess I would rather have Dewana Bonner be that person.
- [11:11]
Flauje Johnson
Yeah.
- [11:12]
Ben Pickman
Than Sydney Coulson. And you still, you know, have some shooting of Cunningham and Hull. We also haven't seen the Indiana Fever, like, they don't shoot corner threes at all. That was one big thing that Stephanie White said Might have to change going forward. That's a big question that I have. Like, Mitchell can get downhill and kick. We're still kind of waiting to see some of that action. So, yeah, you know, to me, I want to see more Boston, Cunningham, Bonner, Mitchell and Hull as the five. And I think less Colson just kind of plugging in for Clark going forward.
- [11:39]
Zena Kada
Well, what I really liked was, you know, Sophie Cunningham and Kelsey Mitchell both alluded to, like, being punched early and needing to go back and practice and show up with more energy and practice to figure out how to play without the gravity of Caitlin Clark. Because that's exactly what you're talking about. Sabrina, you look at Sydney Colson, I believe she went two for seven from the floor. That is someone that you're not expecting to be your main score, to be your main producer for buckets. And if you don't have that threat even. Right. Cause even if Caitlin Clark goes 2 for 17, you're still scared of that third. Right. Of that 3 for 18. Like, you're still scared of that. And so not having that fear of that threat of Clark on the floor absolutely impacts everything out on the floor. But I'm sure they're going to be watching film and they're going to be able to see the same things that Ben just pointed out in terms of, like, what was most productive in terms of offense. So let's shift the conversation quickly to what's going on on outside of the.
- [12:35]
Sabrina Merchant
Indiana Fever, because defense real quick, actually.
- [12:37]
Zena Kada
Oh, sure. We could definitely talk defense. My bad. Yeah, let's go.
- [12:40]
Sabrina Merchant
Well, because you'd think Caitlin Clark, for all of her gifts, we wouldn't call her necessarily a stopper by any means. So what I was looking for is at the very least, if Indiana is going to struggle offensively, which, you know, established that is going to happen, then if you put Sydney Coulson in for Caitlin Clark, then their defense should be better. But that wasn't even the case. Like, that's what really is disappointing to me about this current Fever performance is they added so much defensive talent during the off season. Right. Like Sophie Cunningham, physical defender Dewana Bonner, all defense type player. Natasha Howard, former defensive player of the year. Right. And I'm looking at a team that's just like still making mistakes, you know, like not knowing who's covering who. Like, what coverage are we playing here? Like, what does this personnel demand? Like, why are we fouling so fricking much? You know, like, where is the transition defense? Does anybody get matched up? And if you're getting Sidney Coulson in the lineup and it's not improving your defense, then I just don't see the point of really playing her, like, put pseudo ball handlers in there, you know.
- [13:33]
Zena Kada
Yeah. But I've seen a few games already with Indiana where I'm not impressed with their defense yet. And I think it's. To your point, Sabrina, of like, there is still a level of connectivity that hasn't happened on the defensive end. There have been a lot of mistakes, and I think that that's why I didn't put a lot of chalk into their defense. And they're one of those teams where it's like they score enough that you don't think so much about their ability to stop, folks. But I think about the Indiana Chicago game, and I'm like, Chicago will stop themselves. I don't necessarily think that Indiana was the team that was like, really putting on the clamps on Chicago. Right. So that's, I think that's why there's not much to write home about there. But you're right. If you add someone like a Sidney Colson that was brought off the bench in Las Vegas for the purpose of slowing folks down, you've got a defensive player of the year, Natasha Howard. You think, you think Shakira Austin doesn't go for 13 off the bench? You think that Kiki doesn't go, you know, 16 as a start inside, but they were having their way. But where was it in transition and where does that go off of bad shots. Bad shots going long and Washington just running with it. I think they only ended up with 10 fast break points, but they were significant fast break points.
- [14:49]
Ben Pickman
We should say, I mean, one, let's give Washington some credit here. I mean, we're going to talk about them later in the show. They continue to compete and they are very fun and exciting to watch. So we should throw that in as we talk about how the Fever looked on Wednesday night. The other thing, though, if we're going to play a little bit more of the, like, glass half full perspective is, you know, we're having this discussion now at the end of May. The Fever coaching staff is obviously having this discussion. Similar discussions at the end of May. Better to have conversations about what lineups work and don't work and, you know, what rotations we like to lean on and how different combinations work. Better to have that in the, you know, the first part of the season than in the second half and then in the postseason. And that's really been Stephanie White's outlook on it. Or at least public outlook, immediate availability she's given since Caitlin Clark was announced with this injury earlier this week. You know, she's talked about it as an opportunity and an opportunity for growth and an opportunity to just figure out, like, learn more about the Fever. Because, you know, she is hoping that despite how everything looks right now, despite whatever impact there might be on standings or record or anything like that in the short term and whatever those effects might be, that, like, suddenly come September and, you know, if you're a Fever fan, October, which is, again, what they hope for, like, you suddenly know the combinations that work in different situations, you know? You know, if Clark goes out, we want to play this group or in this situation, this is a better matchup. So, you know, better to sort it all out now, I guess, than have some of these looming questions, you know, months down the line.
- [16:24]
Zena Kada
Absolutely. I mean, this is what Indiana has to do if they want to compete with the big dogs, figure out their depth. Because it can't just be stars. It can't just be Caitlin and Kelsey and Aaliyah. They gotta figure out, how do you utilize all the moves that you made in the off season? Something else that the entire league is trying to figure out, though, is what do we do when the person that is drawing a lot of attention and drawing a lot of dollars to our league is sitting on the sideline in street clothes? We have seen ticket prices drop. We've seen the impact that Caitlin Clark not playing has had on it. Personally, of my opinion, that's making me look at some of y' all sideways, because Caitlin Clark is not the only basketball player that is in these games. So if that's the only reason you were going, how much do you really love women's basketball? But that's just my opinion. Let's get back to it. Ben, I know you guys, both you and Sabrina, have some thoughts around this. I'll start with you. What have you been seeing in terms of the impact on the WNBA of Caitlin Clark's absence? And what does this say about, you know, how teams are going to react against this absence?
- [17:40]
Ben Pickman
Yeah, I mean, to me, this is more interesting as a, like, what is the impact on the Fever than what is the impact on the wnba? Right. Like, I'm just interested to see, like, you suddenly take someone like Caitlin Clark out of the equation of going to a game. You know, what is an Indian Fever games TV rating? What is their attendance like on the. At home and on the road? What are merchandise sales like if people, you know, aren't necessarily Going do those things shrink or social media impressions? Like those are all the changes. I'm most curious about league wide. I mean, there's plenty of games that don't involve Caitlin Clark every single night on the WNBA calendar. Like not last night, I don't. Right. Not last night for sure. But that's an Indiana Fever game. But like on a given night, there's plenty of games that go on that don't involve her. So I'm a little less interested on the like macro perspective of you have Caitlin Clark out for, you know, two weeks again or at least two weeks again. This is not the season also we should say again, this is like potential. It seems like on the surface a short term injury. Yeah, I'm a little less interested as like, you know, how are WNBA TV ratings drastically going to shift? They're going to be down because you have a best player who's a driver sitting. But that's unsurprising. Like we all watch a lot of NBA, have experience covering the NBA. I mean that league deals with all the time stars sitting out in high profile games, stars going out on one week, two week hiatuses. Like LeBron has taken literal vacations during the season before for all intents and purposes. Right.
- [19:09]
Zena Kada
Literally.
- [19:09]
Ben Pickman
You know, like when stars sit like this is what happens, like things start to go down. That's like not a surprising trend. We shouldn't be surprised to have it be applied in this context too.
- [19:20]
Sabrina Merchant
Just with regard to the fever, though. Like, this is a team that has 41 of its 44 games on national television and there's a reason why those games are on national television. So I don't know that the WNBA is in position to like flex them out of those windows if Caitlin is unavailable. Like we see this happen on the NBA side, you know, like three weeks in advance. If a team is really struggling, you know, they, they knock them off the national TV spot and put somebody else in there. And like I look at, let's say Caitlin's injury extends a little bit longer. And we're talking June 14th when they're supposed to play New York on CBS. That's the kind of game where you really want Caitlyn available because it is a national TV showcase. We saw how much fun the first GO round was between the Liberty and the Fever. And I don't really know what else is happening that Saturday that they could move there, but I imagine it's a lot more challenging than just putting somebody else in that slot on that Saturday afternoon. So yeah, the WNBA does have A lot of eggs in the Clark basket. Right. They are promoting her more than any other player in the wnba, that is. But I don't think it's like a death sentence, obviously, for the league that they don't have her for two, three weeks. And I think, you know, this is kind of a fun time for people who did tune into the Indiana Fever to be like, oh, this is what Kelsey Mitchell's capable of. This is what Aaliyah Boston's capable of. And then, like, as you're watching the Fever, you see other teams and like, to me, Caitlin was always the entry point for fans, right? And so she like, introduces you to all of these other things about the wnba and hopefully that is still happening, even if the ratings might take like a slight dip during this little hiatus.
- [20:45]
Zena Kada
Yeah, no, I. I think that everything you're saying is absolutely accurate, I think, about the fact that the NBA playoffs, for example, this year had the highest viewership ratings in the first weekend.
- [20:55]
Flauje Johnson
And you wonder why?
- [20:56]
Zena Kada
Because Steph Curry played in them for the first in the last two years. Right. Didn't play in 2024, played in 2023 into the play in and didn't make it. And in the last two years, the numbers drastically dripped. Does that mean that the NBA is Steph Curry? No. But for some reason, the narrative is that, oh, the WNBA is Caitlin Clark. Because the numbers have dipped. Of course. Of course it's natural. People want to see their favorite players. People want to see certain players. It happens. But that doesn't mean that the product all of a sudden becomes defunct, that there's no such thing as basketball, women's basketball, anymore, just because Caitlin Clark is now on the floor. So I appreciate you guys both providing that perspective. I really want to know is, rather than just looking at the Indiana Fever, rather than looking at these ticket prices, I'm looking at the Indiana Fever within the standings. That is what is going to be impacted, especially when you consider some of the games that are about to happen are those must win games. Right. That will kind of help you clean things up at the end of the year. This isn't going against Minnesota and New York, et cetera. However, they are going to be going up against some of those teams. So what do these upcoming games that Caitlin is going to miss, how could they potentially impact Indiana standings?
- [22:07]
Sabrina Merchant
So two of their next three games are against Connecticut and Chicago, teams that, as of this recording, are winless, although I think one of them might have a win by the time this podcast comes out. So we'll you Know, hold off on that. But those are games that the Fever just have to win, right? And you look at them, they're currently sitting in ninth place in WNBA standings. A reminder, ninth place does not even make the playoffs. And this is a team that we were talking about competing for home court advantage right early in the year. But you look at a team like Atlanta or Seattle or Phoenix, and this is an opportunity for you to collect some wins and sort of build a little bit of a cushion so that playoff seating becomes a real factor down the stretch. Right? Like this is the kind of thing that could legitimately affect Indiana's ability to have a home court position in the first round versus not if the injury lingers and they don't do well in her absence. And that's, that's meaningful. Right? Like this, obviously they changed the WNBA playoff format so that the first round is home away home. So it's not like last season when Indiana played two games in Connecticut and never got to play a game at Cambridge Field House. So, so even if you make the playoffs, there will be a home game. But I do think that the standings are something to like, potentially keep an eye on here because we expected Indiana to just collect a lot of wins at this early stage of the season. And as Washington has shown, it's a lot harder to do when you're playing a team without Caitlin Clark.
- [23:22]
Zena Kada
Okay, well then, that being said, Ben, let's close this out. What's the ceiling for the Fever in the absence of Caitlin?
- [23:32]
Ben Pickman
I mean, I think they'll still be favored to win the next three games that they play against Connecticut, Chicago and Washington. I think, you know, then and right after that they play New York and Atlanta, two teams they have lost to. With Caitlin on the schedule so far this year, like, I think then it's a different story. If we're talking about this injury going on to its, you know, second and third week. That's also where I start to actually think about the schedule conversation a little more. I think all the points Sabrina makes are super fair. And we have seen with the Fever. Like they've talked about the importance of having home court in the preseason. They recognize that as, you know, meaningful come September. So yeah, these are games you don't want to drop. But big picture like overall ceiling, assuming this injury remains as a two to three week injury and doesn't linger, like the Fever certainly could still be a team to make the wnb. Like, I don't think they're big picture ceiling changes at all. Assuming she returns and re acclimates the way people expect.
- [24:29]
Flauje Johnson
Sabrina, are you with that?
- [24:30]
Zena Kada
What are your thoughts?
- [24:31]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, I think it's more what you were talking about earlier, Xena, that like I just don't think they've looked as good as we would hope they would have looked with Caitlyn. Right. Like defensively and you know, just a couple schematic things and this delays the process of them getting to that point because they don't have Caitlyn in the lineup. So I'm a little, I would say less optimistic on the fever as a whole. Not just because Caitlyn's out, but because of other things. But I still believe that like championship ceiling is possible. Just take a lot longer for them to reach that level of play.
- [25:00]
Zena Kada
Okay, well, we don't know when Caitlin Clark is expected to be back out on the court. We just know that two week timeline is what Indiana has provided. But we know just as being humans and former athletes, that two week timeline also requires a ramp up to get back on the court and so could be a while before we're seeing tip top Caitlyn shape, but we'll see. Don't want to speculate. Overall, I appreciate the breakdown and the insight and again, as we mentioned before, Caitlin wishing you a speedy recovery. Back to the court. Now it's time to talk rookies.
- [25:39]
Flauje Johnson
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 implemented embodies the passion and determination required to excel in both worlds. But Flaujer'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 flaujay 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.
- [26:41]
Ericsson Representative
When it comes to your business, every second counts. From mega factories to mom and pop shops, Erickson helps tens of thousands of companies around the world build powerful connections every day. Power your business with our connectivity and communication solutions. The invisible advantage driving your growth. Visit us@ericsson.com power. That's E-R-I C-S-S O-N.com power.
- [27:11]
Uber Eats Representative
Summer's here and you can now get almost anything you need delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? You can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get chicken parmesan delivered. Sunshine? No. Some wine? Yes. Get almost almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. See app for detail.
- [27:32]
Zena Kada
All right, so I already told y' all my half baked take a few weeks ago. Um, it's still looking pretty good in the oven. I'm not gonna lie. I think it let's. I think it's still. It's still holding strong. It's not cooked all the way through. But a few weeks ago I said that I think that the rookie of the year might be lurking somewhere in the nation's capital instead of in Dallas. Now right after that, Paige Beckers comes out and I think had a double. Double. I don't. 18 points or something like that. And I was like, okay, I get it. Paige didn't like what I was cooking up in the kitchen. But still, I like that there's competition. The rookies have been looking real good looking a lot. Just very fun all across the league. And so Sabrina, I'm gonna. I'm throw it to you first. Do you think Paige Beckers has been the best rookie so far this season?
- [28:20]
Sabrina Merchant
I'm still reeling from you calling us all a former athlete. Cena, I did not deserve to be in that designation. But setting that aside, Paige backers I would say has not been the best rookie thus far through the 20, 2025 season. Do you want me to say who I think has been or should we save that for later?
- [28:36]
Zena Kada
No, no, no. I want to know. I just want to. I want to get your thoughts first. And then, Ben, I wanted to ask you too.
- [28:41]
Ben Pickman
I agree with Sabrina on this tape.
- [28:43]
Zena Kada
Okay, break it down guys. Now you can break it down because I'm happy we're on the same page. Now. Do I think it is Paige's fault? No. I do think that she's got to be incorporated a little bit better in Dallas. And Dallas is still figuring some things out very similar to Indiana. Every team that has all these brand new faces around them has to figure out how to inc and fold them in. But Paige Beckers did get her first WNBA win. And I will say when she is poised and unrattled and not sped up is she's locked in. She looks like she's been in the league For a very long time. That said, what have you liked been in her play so far, especially in that first win? What have you liked and what are some of the things that you hope.
- [29:29]
Flauje Johnson
That she can continue to improve upon?
- [29:31]
Ben Pickman
Yeah, I mean, I think the take, at least for me, is less about a reflection of Paige, who I think has looked really, really good so far in a situation that, as you said, Xena is still very much a work in progress. Like we're taping this on Thursday ahead of Dallas playing Chicago, you know, on Thursday night. For all we know, she could explode for a huge game in that contest and it would not be surprising at all. I mean, she's averaging like nearly 15 points a game, six and a half assists, you know, shooting over 40%. Like you mentioned, the double double. I think it is still very much a work in progress with how she is fitting next to Arike Gumawale. And that was something that Sabrina talked about last week. Just the kind of lack of immediate synergy in terms of them kind of playing off of each other. I also think she's a little bit hampered because like, you know, Dallas is front court is not, is, you know, one of the worst front courts, frankly in the league in terms of experience, quality of player, like and they're very much still trying to figure out that rotation. And so like she doesn't have an immediate like pick and roll partner like Aaliyah Boston that, you know, Caitlin Clark does in Indiana to kind of help her, you know, in these short role scenarios in high ball screen situations. Like Paige is playing with Maisha Heinz Allen, who, you know, is a very solid WNBA player but like not someone who's going to make multiple all star teams throughout her career. Tierra McCowan, her role is still getting figured out. They're trying to figure out do we play Maddie Segris more at the 4? Like there's a still going on in Dallas. And so yeah, I think the context really matters here and she's played pretty well. But it's just some other rookies I think have had a bunch of standout performances and are very much elevating, you know, creating some surprises across the league. That's where I think like Paige has not run away with it so far.
- [31:17]
Zena Kada
I agree. Sabrina, you're looking at Paige, you're saying she's not the best rookie. And I think we can all agree it's the context in which she's playing that has not allowed her game to flourish in the way that we've seen some of these other Rookies get the opportunity to just shine. But who has shown for you who is standing out? I know who's standing out for me. But who stand out for you?
- [31:40]
Sabrina Merchant
I mean, to be fair, I'm gonna say that Paige is probably second on my list right now. It's not like she's fallen far behind the pack or anything. We're voting for Rookie of the Year and had to give like a top three, which, let's be clear here, when you do vote for Rookie of the Year in wnba, it is not a top three. It's just a one name. So Paige would not be on my ballot right now. But that's a little misleading right now. I think the best rookie in the league has been Sonia Citron in Washington. And part of it is she's just making more shots than Paige's. You know, we're so used to Paige being this hyper efficient player and the three ball is just not hitting right now for her. You know, she's like 42% from the field, 31% from three. I assume those numbers are going to normalize for Paige and everything will look a lot better when they do. But you look at citron, she's hitting 40% of her threes and 51% of her field goals. And she's helping a Washington team that's been competitive in all six of the games they've played thus far this season. They could be 0 6. They could be 6, 0. But they're 33 right now. A lot better, I think, than anybody thought they were going to be at this point of the season. She also has to defend a lot of really big matchups. They put her on Kelsey Mitchell for stretches against Indiana, and Kelsey Mitchell admittedly had a really bad shooting night. Like she said she couldn't throw a rock in the ocean. I think part of it is also like Sony Citron's a good defender and we've seen that across the board, you know, in some impressive matchups. She's been really good in transition, you know. Yeah, I think just her two way ability and the fact that she's making shots again six games in the season. It's early, but so far I would say that Sony Citron is 2025 Rookie of the Year.
- [33:09]
Zena Kada
Absolutely. I mean, not only is she doing everything you're talking about, the defense being able to score, the efficiency, because right now she's got a 50, 40, 90 season, y' all. Like she's literally playing at 50, 40, 90 from the floor, which is amazing. But she's also distributing she's also rebounding. She's in the plus column in terms of assisted turnover ratio. Like she's doing it all right now in Washington. And it just makes me wonder, oh, what would have looked like had Georgia not gotten hurt out in D.C. i mean, they look so much fun. For me, my favorite rookie right now is Keke Iriefen. I mean, talk about somebody that has come in and is fearless going at people. I think, you know, I was talking to someone on Blue Sky. Talking to someone on Blue Sky. Like we're, we're all homies on Blue sky. And I don't know about X, but Blue sky for sure. But I'm, you know, talking about how Keke, you know, they had mentioned that they weren't sure that Keke would have been as skilled coming into the league. And for me, it was less about skill. I knew she was capable of skill. I saw that footwork in Stanford, let alone at usc. But it's the way the physicality in which she is showing up on the floor that has been really impressive for me. On top of her skill, the double doubles, the fact that both Sonya and Kiki have been in double figures in every game they've played this season so far, it's been unbelievably impressive. Ben, I gotta ask you, who's your favorite rookie in the group?
- [34:32]
Ben Pickman
Yeah, I tend to agree with Sabrina here about Sonya Citron. And I would just say, like, you know, other than maybe Caitlin Clark, there isn't a name that I have heard more in conversations that I've had around the league with people than Sonia Citron. Now part of that is also because Washington, you know, acquired basically the rights to draft her via trade. Right. They acquired the number three pick in this year's draft by sending Ariel Atkins to the Chicago Sky. And Washington also acquired swap rights for Chicago's 2027 first round pick and Chicago second round pick this year. And so like because of Chicago getting off to a slow start and Citron looking the way that she did, like there's just a buzz in so many conversations people have about, about how good she has been. I mean, Sabrina throughout some of these numbers, like she's averaging, I want to say, six points in the paint per game. That's the same as Kelsey Plum and Alicia Gray, right? That's like around what Natasha Cloud and Skylar Diggins are providing for their respective teams. And none of this, frankly is that surprising. Like, I think we're all, you know, Sabrina and I talked to GMs and you can read our GM Scout from April. Like, it was hard to find negative, you know, criticism about her as a prospect. Like she was almost unanimously loved across the board and thought of as this impact player and we're just seeing it right away and considering how good she has been and also that Washington got the pick in a trade. Like, there's a lot of Sonya Citron love. I mean, Kiki's been really good too. Again, like almost nine points in the paint per game. That's more than Jonquil Jones, Angel Reese and Ezzy Magbagor. Like, she's posting up less, but she's still being really efficient and really effective. Like, she's been really good too. And Washington, again, if you had the. The Washington Mystics 3 and 3 in the Indiana Fever 2 and 3 on May 29, congratulations. And I think we need to take more betting advice and just general advice from. From you.
- [36:26]
Zena Kada
Yeah, no, it, it definitely is one of the biggest surprises. I think that Sonia Citron is someone that was under the radar because she played against or alongside two stars in Olivia and Hannah at Notre Dame. And it was natural for everyone to kind of see her as a role player even though she was doing so much more than being a role player in Notre Dame. So, you know, shout out to Sonia for showing up and doing the dirty work. But I gotta talk because there's more than just them. And like we said, you know, Sonia, Kiki Paige is not far off behind them. But there's some other names that have been making a case for themselves around the association. I get to see some of them, two of them in the Bay and Carla Late and Janelle Salon. And when I look at the two of them coming out of France, making everyone remind themselves of, oh, this is why France or part of why the France program has just been building in terms of their impact on the global scale. I mean, yes, we all knew that Maureen Johannes was phenomenal with her one legged trick shots, but there's more behind her with Dominique Malanga, Carla Late, Janelle Stallone. I wanted to ask you guys, I see them up close, Janelle Stallone becoming someone that could literally become another power forward big name power forward in this league. Carla Lay, a very firecracker, explosive type of guard giving early days. Kelsey Plum, I guess now the Kelsey Plum we're seeing in LA as well. What are your thoughts on the Valkyries, rookies and the way that they've come in and made a splash in the W. Ben?
- [38:02]
Ben Pickman
Yeah, I mean, you know, I've spent the last again like five days I Guess with the Valkyries here in New York, they're on an extended road trip and an extended road trip here in New York. And we're taping this, we should say again before they play their second of two games, games against the Liberty at Barclays Center. Like we talked about going into the year that the Valkyries wanted to find or should have wanted to found, like, who is going to be foundational pieces of the first great Valkyries team. And to me, it is already clear. Maybe it's a little early, but I think it's already clear that, like, they have two players in Janelle Salon and Carla Elite who, like, should be part of that team.
- [38:36]
Zena Kada
Absolutely.
- [38:36]
Ben Pickman
And I don't necessarily think they are surprised by the impact that both of those players are making. Making. If you listen to this podcast, you know that we have been talking about Janelle Salon for a very long time. I think she was part of our most intriguing player list. I have mentioned her in other shows. A little early to take a full victory lap, but, like, look, she looks like the kind of player that you can run an offense around. And we have seen that right away from how the Valkyries just, like, threw her into the fire here. Like, she's averaging almost 12 shots per game. She's taken, you know, the first shot of games. In two of her first three games, she has a very green light. Like, Natalie Nicase was saying that after their loss to New York on Tuesday night. At one point early in the game when Janelle kind of got off to a slow start. Like, Janelle looked at her, and now it's like, keep shooting. Like, I'm gonna keep you in the game. Like, I'm not taking you out. I mean, like, she's gonna shoot a lot of threes, but she's 6, 2, 6 3. Like, she is a rangy, versatile defender. Like, her ceiling is very, very high. And I think that is very clear right now. In Carla Late again, a rookie Sabrina wrote described her perfectly. I think in her power rankings, maybe Sabrina can share a little bit of what she wrote. But, like, against the Sparks, 19 points in 23 minutes. Going up against Kelsey Plum, who she told me was like, her favorite player growing up in France, the way she sneaks around screens, like, you know, she's super active defensively. They have a plus 18 net rating with Carla Elite on the floor to the Golden State Valkyries. That's pretty telling for a rookie and for a team that is struggling to score the basketball. Like, she's been a real energizer in It. So yeah, there is a lot to like in those two players out in the bay.
- [40:12]
Zena Kada
Absolutely. Sabrina, what are your thoughts on Carla?
- [40:14]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, so I was at the Sparks Valkyries game in la. So the second one, the one that Golden State won and when I was making my little rookie ladder here, I had to pump the brakes on Janelle and Carlin because that was by far their best game of the season. And I was like, oh yeah, they're. There's other things that have happened that I need to account for. Just during that game, Carla Lay like imploring the LA crowd to cheer for her was just one of my very favorite things. She is just so fricking ready to celebrate anything that happens on the court. Ben alluded to this. She very much reminds me of Georgia Amor in demeanor, just the way she has just this joy on her face all the time, the three point volume, literally the way her ponytail bobs up and down the court. It is very Georgia Amore to me. Just French Georgia and a little bit younger. But I think that's actually really. I like that Carla just.
- [41:02]
Zena Kada
And guess who George Amore reminds me of? Kelsey Plum.
- [41:06]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, yeah. Dogs one after the other. But yeah, I think just her ability to get into the paint is really impressive to me. Like that's such a good skill to have as a young point guard. And you know, with Salon, like we mentioned shots not going in for other players like Janelle Salon's two pointers have been like a real adventure, I gotta say. Like when she gets inside the arc, I don't really know what's gonna happen. There is a green light. Absolutely. But you know, something needs to be tempered here. This is not the time, you know, because we just want to see what she can do at this point. But you know, I look at the shooting numbers and like if I'm going to give Paige grief for shooting 30% on three pointers like Janelle Salon's 23.5% on two pointers deserves a mention, you know, but I love just the physical tools, you know, she obviously is extremely confident, gets those shots up. The three pointer looks good. And you know, you think about like Golden State theoretically striking out in free agency, you know, by not getting any of the big names like a Kelsey Plum, like a satusable. All these players that change teams, I think they have a pretty good foundational piece in Salon who is young enough, you know, to grow with the rest of this team. I'm just shocked that like she was ever in the WNBA draft and was not picked like as a Second or third round pick. Like, what. What are WNBA teams doing if not, like, recognizing the potential for this talent?
- [42:18]
Zena Kada
I'm really happy you said the word confident because I really think that that is one the definition of what makes a good rookie. You gotta go out there, you gotta play confident. You gotta be strong with the ball. You gotta be willing to take the shots. You gotta be fearless when you go out on the floor. And that's one thing you can absolutely see in those Valkyries rookies. But there's one more rookie, Sabrina, that you are curious about or maybe not curious about, you're high on. I'm more curious about and I want to ask you about, and that is a rookie out in the Phoenix. Tell me a little bit about Mo Makani.
- [42:51]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah. So to be clear, we, like, came into this podcast and like, did our own little rookie ladders. I did not have Carla Lait or Janelle Salon as my four or five. I had two Phoenix rookies, not just Monique Akoa Makani at, you know, number four, but Catherine west belt too, at number five. Another Notre Dame player who has been out of the domestic play for a very long time. You know, she was on the 2018 championship team at Notre Dame, has played in Europe since, and is a rookie in Phoenix this season at the ripe old age of 29. You know, love to see it, but I think the Phoenix rookies in general, like, they just had this game earlier this week where four of them hit three three pointers. That's a WNBA record. That's never happened before because frankly, when are four rookies ever getting that much playing time for any team, especially one that's trying to win? So just to start with Westfield, you know, like, I've really enjoyed just a player who knows how to defend and hit threes. Like, get me as many of those as you possibly can. That's awesome.
- [43:45]
Zena Kada
Absolutely.
- [43:45]
Sabrina Merchant
But, you know, American fans kind of know her, right? Like, she did play at Notre Dame. Mo is like this revelation to me. You know, she's. She's never played in America. She's, you know, Cameroonian descent, played in France. Admittedly, I was very low on Phoenix during the off season because I just didn't know the players that they had signed. They were, you know, no American experience. And you see her come in and she is just this feisty point guard. She got right up into Kelsey Plum's face so many times while the Sparks were playing the Mercury. Just a really aggressive, physical defender, which you love at the point of attack. She's shooting the crap out of the ball. I don't think she's missed a free throw all season and she's shooting, you know, 52% on threes. Phoenix's net rating with her on the court is just like bonkers. You know, they're on off when Mo's on the court. They're plus 20.5 when she plays net rating wise like so that's second best on the team only behind Satu Savali. Like she's just absolutely crushing it. I mean she's incredibly athletic, shoots the ball well, is super composed, you know, 25 year old WNBA rookie and I think it's just really cool that, you know, the Mercury did something a little different this offseason. You know, brought in a bunch of players that the casual American fan was not familiar with. I attest to being one of those and they filled out their roster really nicely and I thoroughly enjoyed watching, you know, west belt, Laksa, Lex Helt and especially, you know, Monique Akoa Makani play this season.
- [45:04]
Zena Kada
Yeah, I was just gonna say when we came into this bed we were like name five other players in Phoenix other than Satu Sablee and Alyssa Thomas and Kyle Copper who obviously isn't playing but they've been showing out. I mean they have definitely been making some names for themselves in terms of Makani and of course Lexi Held. But what have you been your thoughts about some of the other rookies, including Phoenix's rookies around the league. Anyone else stand out to you?
- [45:30]
Ben Pickman
Yeah, I mean one, it's just a good reminder like the last couple players we've mentioned, like you can have an impact whether you went to an American college or not and whether you were drafted right away or not. And it is a reminder to people like when they look at training camp cuts and decisions that teams make, like sometimes it is important to not you don't have to do it all the time but like sometimes it's important to at least give the team a little bit of a benefit of a doubt here about the decisions they make. And it's been interesting like, like Phoenix, they didn't have any draft picks so there was no debate whether they should have kept a straight out of college rookie, for instance, or a player like Makani or Westfeld. Whereas like with Golden State there was definitely a conversation about that roster construction. And some of that is fair, some of it is not. But like it's just a good reminder going forward if we're going to put a button on the rookie conversation. I mean two other Players. I'll just quickly mention Tahina Powpow has been, I think, pretty impactful for the Atlanta Dream. She started their first four games before she went out with a facial injury. She stepped in and looked very comfortable, very shooting, playmaking, ball handling, just like being a presence on the floor and fitting in really nicely, especially for a second round pick. So, you know, we'll see it throughout the season go progresses. But I think she's due for a pretty good year in her debut season with Atlanta. And then Dominique Malanga we should just mention because we spent a lot of time talking about her in the preseason. I think there have been, you know, some moments that have been pretty high and we have seen the athleticism on full display. I think one of the big differences between her and some of the other rookies we have mentioned so far is just opportunity. Right.
- [47:07]
Zena Kada
Playing time.
- [47:07]
Ben Pickman
Right, Right, exactly. She hasn't played more than 12 minutes per game and in the game that she played the most minutes, it was against the Las Vegas Aces when they, you know, beat the aces by 20. And the score line doesn't even reflect just how much of a blowout that game was like. We have seen her be really athletic. We've seen her rebound, the basketball. She gets up and down clearly. She also leaves her feet a lot on the defensive end and I think she's still trying to figure out like WNBA defensive rotations, all the physical tools that people were so high on heading into the draft, they're very much present. I think it's just going to be a matter of how does she get opportunity and in what moments does Noel Quinn give her opportunity. On a team that Seattle's looked pretty good. They have a friend Court of Eze Magnor and Neko Gumake, who are both all star caliber players. Liya Rue is also a, you know, a WNBA quality center as well. So there's just a lot of options. And so we just haven't seen the same opportunity, the same amount of minutes as we have seen with some of the other players. But I think she's shown what people thought she was going to show, I guess earlier in this year too.
- [48:10]
Zena Kada
Yeah, it's funny that we're closing the same way we started. When it comes to the number one pick and the number two pick, it's context, right? You got to look at the context within which they're playing to be able to evaluate them.
- [48:21]
Flauje Johnson
But.
- [48:21]
Zena Kada
But the good news is is that I really don't think that there's been a drop off in terms of the entertainment value that the rookies have provided the WNBA this season and it's really cool that it's been spread out, right? Of course, Chicago Indiana got a lot of love last year and now we're seeing in Washington, we're seeing it in Dallas, seeing a little bit in Phoenix as well. So it's just, it's awesome that all these teams are taking advantage of all the talent that is pouring in to the W.
- [48:57]
G
When it's the NWSL season, I'm locked in. I'm streaming matches on Prime Video, breaking down plays in real time and queuing up hype tracks on Amazon Music. Amazon prime helps me stay ready, whether it's fast delivery for last minute watch party snacks or digging into behind the scenes content between games. For me, following the league isn't a hobby, it's a full time passion. Whatever you're into, it's on Prime. Visit Amazon.comprime to get more out of whatever you're into.
- [49:27]
Uber Eats Representative
Summer's here and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get a chicken parmesan delivered. A cabana? That's a no. But a bunch of that's a yes. A nice tan? Sorry, nope. But a box fan? Happily, yes. A day of sunshine? No. A box of fine wines? Yes. Ubereats can definitely get you that. Get almost almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. Product availability may vary by Regency app.
- [49:56]
H
For details High interest debt is one of the toughest opponents you'll face unless you power up with a Sofi Personal loan. A Sofi Personal loan could repackage your bad debt into one no fixed rate monthly payment. It's even got super speed since you could get the funds as soon as the same day you sign. Visit sofi.compower to learn more. That's S-O-F I.com p o w e r loans originated by SoFi Bank NA member FDIC terms and conditions apply. NMLS 696891.
- [50:33]
Zena Kada
All righty y' all before we go, it is officially Friday and that means we got a weekend of games coming up and we have to set our screens. So it's time to set your screen. Presented by BetMGM. Get in on the excitement with BETMGM with an Any sport no sweat token. If you don't win your wager, you'll get a stake back in bonus bets. So put that money down folks.
- [50:58]
Flauje Johnson
There's no sweat on it.
- [51:00]
Zena Kada
All right. I'm not sure what that really means for me because I'm in California and I don't bet. But y' all can. So Sabrina, where are you setting your screen this weekend?
- [51:09]
Sabrina Merchant
So the Commissioners cup starts this weekend, which is absolutely my favorite time of the year. Five games on Sunday as a reminder, the Eastern Conference, the one time of the year that the conferences matter. Each east team will play five Commissioners cup games. Each west team will play six Commissioners cup games. So the fun lasts just a little bit longer. But yeah, all those games.
- [51:28]
Zena Kada
Okay, love that. Ben, any Commissioner cup games on your mind?
- [51:32]
Ben Pickman
Yeah, I mean, as you know, I am not a big fan of the Commissioner's Cup. I'm not a big fan of the NBA's in season tournament either. But of the Commissioners cup slate that is kicking off on Sunday, Aces at Storm, which, you know, I think we actually said this game last week and it is true in both situations because the Aces for the second straight weekend are going to play at the Seattle Storm. The first time it was all about the Jewel Lloyd reunion coming back to Seattle for the first time. To me, the big question now is can the Aces rebound from their 20 point loss just a week ago against the exact same team and how do they look different or are we going to see the exact same result? That is a big question that is looming with this game and I think a lot of people have some questions about how the Las Vegas Aces look right now. So an interesting test as they look to rebound from a recent loss to the Seattle Storm.
- [52:23]
Flauje Johnson
Again, as Asia said, we just played.
- [52:26]
Zena Kada
Like s. They did not play very well. It was very direct. We'll see what happens when they clean things up. I will be setting my screen to the sky versus the Wings, Paige Becker's five Angel Reese five. They will have matched up already on.
- [52:44]
Flauje Johnson
Thursday night and this will be a.
- [52:46]
Zena Kada
Rematch over the course of the weekend. But very excited to see those two link up up on the basketball court. Okay, that is it for today. Coming up on Tuesday, we've got former WNBA champion and All Star Candace Parker and her baby hairs joining the show. Very excited to hear Candace's take on the W and hear about her new book, the Can Do Mindset, which is set to be released in June. And if you haven't yet, as I mentioned at the top of the show, hit that follow button wherever you're listening so you never miss a pod. Also, come check us out on YouTube. Let us know what you think about the podcast in the comments we read them. So make sure your grammar is correct and give us a rating because it helps new people find the show. As always, more to read and watch over our partner, the Yahoo Sports Hub. Not sports club, but it could be a sports club but we be having fun in there. Okay, so check it out at sports.yahoo.com women that/is actually a forward slash, folks. So sports yahoo.com forward/women-sports on behalf of the Athletic in this incredibly long outro, I'm Zena Keda. Thanks for listening.
- [54:00]
Flauje Johnson
We'll see you next time.
- [54:02]
Zena Kada
No Off Season is hosted by Zena Cato with Chantelle Jennings, Sabrina Merchant and Ben Pickman. It's produced by Tanika Burrow. Our executive producer are Andrea B. Scott and Cassius Fleming. Our theme music is by Marcus Bagala. Monica Compton is our video editor. Shannon Ryan is managing editor of women's.
- [54:19]
Flauje Johnson
Basketball at the Athletic.
- [54:20]
Zena Kada
Jesse Burton is our head of audio.
- [54:22]
Flauje Johnson
And Tim McMaster is director of Audio operations. Preparation is everything, on the court and off, and a strong financial future starts with a solid plan. MassMutual provides tools to help women plan for stronger financial futures, empowering them to navigate life's challenges with confidence and to achieve their dreams. Whether that's learning the basics, managing debts, understanding the value of insurance, or building wealth, they're in your corner. The right team can help you get ready and and stay ready. That's why MassMutual is committed to helping women 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.
- [55:22]
Ericsson Representative
When it comes to your business, every second counts. From mega factories to mom and pop shops, Erickson helps tens of thousands of companies around the world build powerful connections every day. Power your business with our connectivity and communication solutions. The invisible advantage driving your growth. Visit us at Ericsson.com Power that's E-R-I C-S-S O-N.com Power Summer's here and you.
- [55:52]
Uber Eats Representative
Can now get almost anything you need delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? You can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get chicken parmesan delivered.
- [56:00]
Zena Kada
Delivered.
- [56:00]
Uber Eats Representative
Sunshine? No. Some wine? Yes, get almost Almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. See app for detail.