Will the WNBA bring more balance to their schedule? + Paige Bueckers’ record-breaking night

Summary

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No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show

Episode: Will the WNBA bring more balance to their schedule? + Paige Bueckers’ record-breaking night
Hosts: Zena Keita & Sabreena Merchant
Date: August 22, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on the growing pains of the WNBA as it expands—specifically the challenges around scheduling with a larger league, the impact this has on players (notably injuries and travel), and the future of the regular-season calendar in CBA negotiations. The hosts also celebrate Paige Bueckers’ historic 44-point night and discuss other league storylines, from Sue Bird’s statue to behind-the-scenes drama in Connecticut, as well as returning stars and what’s at stake for playoff bubble teams.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Historic Moments: Sue Bird’s Statue and Paige Bueckers’ Big Night

Sue Bird’s Statue in Seattle

• First WNBA player statue ever, installed outside Climate Pledge Arena.
• Both hosts were struck by its quality and symbolic weight for women’s sports.
  • Zena Keita: "If these statue makers are capable of capturing wind in ponytails... I think we can figure out wrinkles in a man's face." (03:27)
  • Sabrina Merchant: “She is Seattle, right? She is the Seattle Storm. And for her to actually have a statue outside the arena... was such like a lovely ceremony.” (04:14)

Paige Bueckers’ Record-Breaking 44-Point Game

• The Sparks edged out the Wings 81-80—in a game remembered for Bueckers’ feat more than the result.
• Game Breakdown:
  • Paige had just 16 points at half, then exploded for 28 in the final 15 minutes.
  • Finished 17/21 from the field—over 80% shooting.
  • The game drew a celebrity crowd; Chad Holmgren was notably animated.
• Quote:
  • Sabrina Merchant: “Paige fans travel...it was a very pro-page crowd. The roar every time she scored a basket...she was just special.” (06:41)
  • Zena Keita: “I'm looking at Paige and I'm like, sis is tired and she's still dropping buckets.” (08:29)
  • Funny aside: Bueckers named Shemar Moore as her dream courtside guest, and he indeed showed up (08:59).

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2. Rivalry Week: Liberty vs Lynx & The Importance of Matchups

New York Liberty vs Minnesota Lynx

• Liberty snapped the Lynx’s hopes of a season sweep with a key win (85-75).
• Sabreena and Zena discuss what truly makes a rivalry.
  • Notable Quote:
    • Sabrina Merchant: “Rivalry is great. Of course we're rivals. Of course we don't like them.” (11:40)
• Noted drama with players switching teams and exchanging spicy quotes.
• Emphasis on televised games meeting the moment, even with stars Stewie and Napheesa Collier sidelined.

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3. Player Comebacks and the Worrying Injury Trend

Recent Returns

• Celebrated Angel Reese’s strong return: 19 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast vs Storm.
• Noted concern over numerous key injuries: Ileana Rupert (concussion), Sophie Cunningham (torn MCL), Li Yuru (ACL sprain).

Impact on Playoff Race

• Fever’s guard rotation decimated as Caitlin Clark, Sydney Colson, Arie McDonald, and now Cunningham are out.
  • Sabrina Merchant: “It dramatically changes what they're capable of... It's very different.” (15:38)
  • Zena Keita: “You just feel for the Fever... it's just terrible adversity.” (17:20)

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4. Behind the Scenes: Connecticut Sun Sale Saga

• The Sun are fielding a $325M offer from Steve Pagliuca (possible Boston move), but the WNBA prefers keeping the team within the current NBA owners’ circle.
• Tribe could sell to the league directly for $250M—a move with league-wide implications.
  • Sabrina Merchant: "It is really interesting just to see how the WNBA wants... the future of this on the look versus what the Connecticut sun want their future to look like." (18:24)
  • Zena Keita: "Apparently the league has $250 million just sitting there… All you people negotiating the CBA, just, you know, taking mental notes here." (20:15)

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5. WNBA Scheduling Dilemma: Expansion, Injuries, and the Path Forward

(Main Discussion: 22:46–51:00)

Current State & Mechanics of Scheduling

• 2025: First season with 44 games and a best-of-7 Finals.
• Scheduling is dictated primarily by arena availability; the league then maximizes rest, limits back-to-backs, and prioritizes not playing the same opponent more than three times in a row.
  • Sabrina Merchant: “There's all of these factors... maximize rest versus travel.” (24:20)

Arena Unavailability Issues

• Playoff teams often displaced due to concerts, renovations, or other events (ex: Phoenix, Las Vegas, Washington, Minnesota).
  • Zena Keita: “It devalues the product…You’re telling the team and the fans this isn’t important enough to prioritize.” (28:23)

Injury Trends & Correlation to Schedule

• Number of games has risen, but season length hasn’t.
  • Data shows all-WNBA players are missing more games on average:
    • 2021: 4.6 games missed
    • 2022: 3.2 games
    • 2023: 3.9 games
    • 2024: 5.9 games
    • 2025 (through 35 games): 8.3 games (!)
  • Sabrina Merchant: “If it feels like your favorite players...are missing more games, it kind of bears out, right?” (32:55)
  • Zena Keita: “Even if the injury data seems in line, it hits harder when the marquee players...are sitting out.” (33:02)

Scheduling Expansion: Feasibility and Pitfalls

• More teams mean even more games unless the format changes.
• Earlier start is essentially blocked by the end of college basketball; extending later into October/November runs into NBA, college football, arena, and ratings conflicts.
  • Sabrina Merchant: "It is easier with charter travel... but at what cost?" (36:13)
  • "I don't want to be in a situation where [owners must choose] a Mystics playoff game or a Wizards regular season game." (37:27)
• The league may have to experiment with splitting the calendar for major events like the FIBA World Cup (break for international play then playoff finish in November) in 2026.

CBA & Player Perspectives

• Players increasingly vocal about the “cadence” of games and toll on health.
  • Sabrina Merchant: “Sathu Sabli... did not feel that player health was being prioritized.” (41:41)
  • Zena Keita: “This isn’t AAU, these bodies can’t take three games in four days.” (45:01)
• Desire for more thoughtful scheduling to enable rest, recovery, and higher-quality games.

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6. Commissioner for a Day: Sabrina and Zena’s Solutions (44:12–50:00)

Sabrina’s (Practical) Proposals:

• Rematch of previous year’s WNBA Finals as the opening game each season.
• No more three-games-in-a-row vs same opponent.
• No more three-games-in-four-days stretches.

Zena’s (Creative) Suggestions:

• Scale back season series to 2–3 games per opponent; fan-voted “Rivalry Week” would add a select third/fourth game to the most compelling matchups.
• Experiment with WNBA playoff games stacked back-to-back with NBA opening night games for shared excitement and broadcast synergy.
• Launch a Global/International Week: WNBA teams play overseas, leveraging the league’s growing international talent.

Sabrina’s Bonus:

• Bring back conference-based playoff seeding for more stakes and clarity.

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7. Around the League: Set Your Screens Picks (53:05)

• Sabrina: Seattle vs Washington (Sun): Interested for player returns and draft pick intrigue (Seattle’s pick controlled by Washington due to trade).
• Zena: Connecticut Sun vs Chicago Sky (Sat): Drawn by Laila Lacan’s play and ex-LSU players Angel Reese and Anessa Morrow facing off.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• "If these statue makers are capable of capturing wind in ponytails, I think we can figure out wrinkles in a man's face."
  – Zena Keita on the artistry of Sue Bird and A’ja Wilson’s statues (03:27)

• "Paige fans travel...The roar every time she scored a basket...she was just special."
  – Sabrina Merchant on attending Bueckers’ 44-point game (06:41)

• "Rivalry is great. Of course we're rivals. Of course we don't like them."
  – Sabrina Merchant echoing players and coaches on Liberty-Lynx stakes (11:40)

• "It devalues the product…You’re telling the team and the fans this isn’t important enough to prioritize."
  – Zena Keita on teams being displaced from home arenas for playoffs (28:23)

• "If it feels like your favorite players...are missing more games, it kind of bears out, right?"
  – Sabrina Merchant on the rise in games missed by stars (32:55)

• "This isn’t AAU, these bodies can’t take three games in four days."
  – Zena Keita advocating for humane pace of play (45:01)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Historic Statues & Sue Bird: 02:28–04:57
• Paige Bueckers’ 44-Point Game: 04:57–09:31
• Liberty vs Lynx Rivalry: 09:31–13:53
• Injury Rundown, Fever Outlook: 13:53–18:24
• Connecticut Sun Sale Drama: 18:24–21:13
• WNBA Scheduling Deep Dive: 22:46–51:00
  • Schedule process: 24:20–25:46
  • Arena issues: 25:46–28:23
  • Injuries & data: 30:08–33:36
  • Calendar expansion: 34:38–40:39
  • Player CBA voices: 41:41–43:46
  • Commish for a day: 44:12–50:00
• Set Your Screens: 53:05–53:53

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Tone

Balanced mix of insider analysis, irreverent humor, and fan perspective—with both hosts blending data, lived experience, and love of the game. The discussion is candid about league challenges but also creative and forward-thinking about solutions, reflecting both the seriousness and excitement around the WNBA’s growth.

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Summary Takeaway

This episode captures the crossroads at which the WNBA finds itself: rapidly expanding, attracting investment and viewers, but challenged by a schedule that both underpins and threatens its growth. Through thoughtful reporting, personal insights, and playful creativity, Zena and Sabrina shine a light on the league’s pressing issues—and remind fans and decision-makers alike of what’s at stake for the sport’s future.

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Transcript

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[Zena Keda]

Hello everyone and welcome to no off season. I'm Zena Keda.

[Sabrina Merchant]

And I'm Sabrina Merchant.

[Zena Keda]

And today on the show, with new teams in the mix and injuries on the rise, does the WNBA have a scheduling problem? We've heard the rumors, we've heard all the little rumblings on the social media platforms. I know you guys have the same questions I do and I got Sabrina to help me answer them. But we have to talk about some other things first. Lots of history being made around the league. I cannot believe we forgot Serena to talk about Sue Bird's statue. That's crazy.

[Sabrina Merchant]

All of the historic things we talked about on the Tuesday show and we didn't mention the very first WNBA statue ever constructed for one of the all time greats. I would imagine it's not gonna be the last. I think Phoenix probably has one coming. You know, I've heard rumblings about a Lisa Leslie statue in la, so things should be arriving afterwards. But Sue Bird getting the first statue outside of Climate Pledge arena in Seattle. It's very cool. Did you watch the ceremony, Xena?

[Zena Keda]

I did and I also, I loved Sue's speech. It was very her personality. It was very sweet to like her love for Seattle. I love her sarcasm all the way throughout, which is also very Sue. And I just love the statue. I'm sorry, if you are an NBA statue maker, if you are in anyone statue maker outside of maybe like Christiana hall of Fame, NFL hall of Fame, the busts are looking decent. But everyone else, you need to call whoever made this statue and also the person who made Asia Wilson's statue down in South Carolina because if these statue makers are capable of capturing wind in ponytails, I think we can figure out wrinkles in a man's face. I think we can figure out a little bit of texture to a buzzfade. What did you like about the statue, Sabrina?

[Sabrina Merchant]

I loved everything about the statue. I loved Swin Cash talking about Megan and Sue's future kids and sue just like throwing that away. Like we're not talking about. That's not a thing I love. I just love the form of the statue. Like sue had a very iconic form as she went up her lips. Like the way she kept her hand high, just all in one motion. And it's very well captured in this, you know, image of sue and it's just perfect. Like, you know, she is Seattle, right? She is the Seattle Storm. And for her to actually have a statue outside the arena that she played most of her career in. Because even if it is no longer key arena, it's still like same sight, same idea. It was such like a lovely ceremony and thankfully a lot shorter. Subaru's jersey retirement ceremony which was extensive. Of this was. This was a good. A good hang.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, no, it was exactly a good hang. Congratulations to Bert on that. But we got to get into more history. Happens to be made by another UConn alum last night. At the time that we're recording this, the Sparks in the wings battled ended up with a Sparks win. 81 80. Now that was not the headline that the Sparks won that game. It was not the headline that the Sparks eliminated Dallas from playoff contention. No, the headline was that Paige Beckers dropped 44 points. I just want to break this down to you guys before I get into, you know, asking Sabrina about what history Paige made in this. If you watch this game, Paige had eight points in the first quarter. She had eight points in the second quarter. Real cute. Real within the offense. Real within the scheme of the game. The third quarter starts. That's only 16 in the first. Okay. Mind you, I think Rekiya only I know Ricky had like 11 in the first. You know, like I'm looking like, okay, this is going to be a high scoring game. These two are going back and forth. They're battling the third quarter starts. And I'm doing mental math. I had to watch this after a panel. I did. And I'm doing the mental math and I'm like 1644. She still got 28 to go. And there are 20 minutes left of game time. How is this going to happen? And she didn't even get started until the second half of the third quarter. In 15 minutes, Paige Becker scored 28 points. Wasn't enough. Ultimately, Kelsey Plum gets the best of the Dallas Wings by getting a bank shot. Floater in the paint wins the game. Sabrina, you were there. Bring us inside. What was up?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, I mean, I've had the opportunity to go to a lot of really, really fun basketball games in Los Angeles. I'm talking, you know, NBA, usc, ucla, like Sparks. Obviously. This was among the most fun nights I've ever had at a basketball game. Just the. The crowd was insane. Paige. Paige fans travel like this was a very pro page crowd. The roar every time she scored a basket. And it continued because she scored a lot of baskets. Right. It just kept coming and coming and coming. And you watch Paige play and it's just so efficient, so fricking efficient. I mean, I don't think 44 points even really captures just the beauty of her stat line. She was 17 of 21 from the field. Like to score more than two points per basket is obscene. And to do that on 44 points.

[Zena Keda]

Like 80% from the floor.

[Sabrina Merchant]

More than 80%. More than 16 out of 20 is 80%. So this is better than 80%. And she just gets you from everywhere, right. Like she capitalizes on every single defensive mistake. Right. So if you're, you know, shading too far in one direction, she'll cut to the basket, she'll pop out. She's absolutely money in the mid range. Right. Like it's just like an insane efficiency everywhere on the court. It was just something truly spectacular to watch in person. I mean, you know that it's a big game when like all of the celebrities come out in L. A And to me it was Chad Holmgren being there because you know, fellow Minnesota guy, obviously big Paige Beckers fan, he was standing after every single basket and just apologies to whoever was sitting behind him because that is a tall man standing for every single basket and probably ruining your view of the rest of the game. But she was just special, like the sparks. You know, Lynn Roberts talks about Ray Barrell being the team's analytically best defender ahead of the game. She plays a lot of minutes and like it's so funny to think that Ray Barrell got minutes in this game for her defense on an I1 page scored 44 points.

[Zena Keda]

Right? Right. And mind you, Paige was guarding Ray Burrell who is so active and she's all over the floor. And I'm looking at Paige and I'm like, sis is tired and she's still dropping buckets. It was such a fun game. And yes, the celebrities were just all over the front. I saw Jabari Smith Jr. Making another appearance on this front of the show. There we go. Jalen Green, of course, it was a lot of fun. Howard Angel McCaughrey was there.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Good NBA set. Shemar Moore, Big Paige, apparently big Shemar Moore.

[Zena Keda]

About this, I'm going to say this paige beckers about 4 weeks ago at all star said that if she would have anyone sit courtside at her games, it would be Shemar Moore. Now Paige Beckers in my opinion, in her heart of hearts is a middle aged black woman because Shemar Moore, what of all the people? Of all the people. But anyways, kindred spirit Shemar Moore shows up and she's like, this is why I needed him.

[Sabrina Merchant]

She was so excited.

[Zena Keda]

She was so happy to see him all around. Just so much fun of a story, the way the game was won. Shout out to the Sparks and the Wings. They were the sole game the other night and they gave us a full, full, full entertaining experience. So let's keep it moving. There's a lot to talk about. There's another big game this week. Tuesday night Liberty derailed the Lynx's regular season sweep. Now, it is important to note that they needed to do this after having lost the last two in this three game matchup that was happening and they defeated them 85, 75. Sabrina, it got a little spicy with some quotes coming out of that one. Okay, and I will say this before we even get into the quotes I said a few pods ago, I was like, you know, how would we describe New York? And I said, beating the trees after this game. It's not just beating the trees, it's beating the three point shooting. Threes. Everyone was shooting threes. It was ridiculous. And I also want to particularly call out this play because I don't know if Kennedy Burke made the read or if it was specific, but towards the end of the game, there was a double screen at the free throw line for Kennedy Burke to come across both of them. She came across the first one, didn't go across the second one and slipped in between. Got a bucket. That was a huge bucket. I know we keep talking about the Sabrina one. That was a huge bucket by Kennedy Burke as well. And I was just like, oh, the execution of the Liberty is just like immaculate. And it was really well done all throughout this game. Defense was on point. Minnesota was kind of like a little bit out of sorts throughout the game. What were the quotes on this rivalry though, that you heard post game?

[Sabrina Merchant]

So I mean, that's, that's the fun word, right? Rivalry. Because we've had this conversation on the show of what, what constitutes a rivalry, how many times you need to play each other in the postseason. You know, like, what is it just a WNBA created thing that happened during Rivals week. Presented by Ally. Right. There's three games. But I think that Sandy Rondello talking about this matchup just really affirmed everything that I thought about the Liberty and the links. Because she's like, you know, we heard Courtney Williams on the Stud Buds talking to Jaylen Sherrod saying, you know, she left that punk ass team and now she's with us.

[Zena Keda]

Yes, right.

[Sabrina Merchant]

She's like, you know, I know the players, like she's pointing to her players behind her. Keep downplaying this. Like, rivalry is great. Of course we're rivals of Course we don't like them. Of course we want to beat them. And you mentioned they had lost the first two in this three game set. They'd lost the previous matchup too. Right. So three and oh, in the season series against the Liberty. So it was very important for them to want to win this game. And you know, Natasha Cloud can say a bunch of things about how they live in Minnesota's head rent free and that's honestly a little rich when she wasn't on the finals team last year.

[Zena Keda]

But she's very much within the New York mindset, within she's already Liberty.

[Sabrina Merchant]

So it's all taken care of. Yeah, but you see Sabrina's reaction after that shot and like the yelling to the crowd and the bench and you know, sing night night on the, you know, broadcast afterwards. And it clearly meant something. It's not just, oh, we got one game in a four game season series against a team we might play in the playoffs. It's like, no, this is clearly a matchup that has meant a lot to the Minnesota Links. They really wanted to win these games, especially that first one in Barclays center, you know, where Kmac even said that she'd had some PTSD walking in there for the first time after game five. So, yeah, you know, Sandy saying that it was a rivalry just warmed my heart. Like, of course it is. Like this. Yeah, this matters. There's an extra juice to this. Like, you know, my dad called me after both of those games on, what was it, Sunday and Tuesday and was like, oh my God, like, who's this girl? Kayla McBride. You know, it's so much fun watching her play. And obviously he's obsessed with Sabrina, so he was just like really into that shot. But like, these are the kind of games that just get people going. Right? Like they were all on national TV and even without Stewie and Navisa. I know we were really upset that we didn't get to see that part of the matchup, but credit to both of these teams, like, the effort did not wane. You still saw just like maximum intensity from both sides. Leo Febrich coming into the game on Tuesday saying, oh, we're going to win this one. Like, we just, we have to win this one. That's the difference.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah.

[Sabrina Merchant]

And I just loved it. I loved that there was so much stakes in the regular season meeting. I love that they all met the moment and like played really good games. I mean, sure, teams would rather shot better and like, not maybe as many careless turnovers or like, you can credit play on Both sides for why those things happened. Right. So I honestly am a little scared of what is to happen if these two teams do meet in a seven game series and how much that could potentially ratchet up over the course of that many games. But hey, like, they look like the two best teams in the WNBA and it was really fun to see them play.

[Zena Keda]

Like it. Oh, I love that. Yeah, it, it's great. Whenever these big time matchups happen on national TV and they meet the moment, they meet the energy behind it. And you're right. Watching Sabrina fall to the ground, get back up, get hyped, like there are so many. Like, especially the one where she just laid there, I was like, yeah, this has taken a lot out of you, obviously, but you are so happy when players are able to make those type of big shots. And we saw that all throughout the finals. And I'm not gonna say that that's what I want, another one of those. But it was the best WNBA Finals, like ever, so wouldn't be against it. Let's just say that. Let's keep it moving. There was also a lot of exciting comebacks we've seen in recent weeks. We had Ryan Howard come back a few weeks ago and that was exciting to see her back on the court. Most recently this week, Angel Reese back on the floor against the Storm. And she looked good. 19.7 rebounds, 4 assists. Now while angel is back in action and we've seen others return to the floor, so many other players are still mia and now there's more players that are out even on the Valkyries. Ileana Rupert going out with a concussion. We just got the news Fever guard Sophie Cunningham with a torn MCL in her right knee. And wing center Lee Rue. I love Leigh. I did not love seeing her on the bench against that amazing Sparks game. She's got an ACL sprain. Sabrina, I know we're gonna talk about injuries later on in the show in regards to like the scheduling situation, but for now let's focus on the Fever. Because what Caitlin Clark, Sydney Coulson, Arie McDonald and now Sophie Cunningham, like Batcourt be damned, like, what do you do? What do you think that Cunningham's exit for this season is going to do for the Fever?

[Sabrina Merchant]

I mean, it dramatically changes what they're capable of, right? Like she was playing backup point guard with Arie and Sydney out and like backup point guard in the sense that like Caitlin Clark is your starting point guard and she's not even in the game. So it was like basically two of Kelsey Mitchell, Lexi hall and Sophie were on the court at all times just to make sure they had enough semi ball handling. You've got Odyssey Sims obviously coming in, sort of steady the ship. They bring in Shea Petty now another veteran point guard who just knows how to get people organized. I think Steph White must have used the word organized like 16 times in her availability the other day after they brought Shea Petty in. But yeah, it's, it's very different, right? Like, these are not the same types of players as Arie and Sidney Colson or west of all Caitlin Clark. Indiana is very much in like the playoff bubble. You know, they're not set to make the playoffs by any means. They could easily fall back behind an LA or A Washington or, you know, Seattle. So it's going to be touch and go. And Indiana has the toughest schedule going forward. They play Minnesota three more times, which talked about the links a little bit, that those are going to be three hard games. So, you know, you just, you just feel for the Fever, like, it's just terrible adversity. You think about all of the good vibes they had last year, right? Just this massive success and bringing in a new fan base to Indiana and like reclaiming this glory that the Fever had achieved a decade ago. And now it's like you were hoping that, that continuation of that momentum, and instead it's just this real buzzkill of a stop sign. So hopefully this is like a one year blip and everybody comes back healthy. You know, like Sophie said, she was happy, wasn't a torn acl. Like, I think we'll just hope for the best going forward. But like, you just look at this team, it doesn't really feel like a contender anymore, right? Like, I know they have Kelsey Mitchell, I know they have Aaliyah Boston and Tasha Howard, but there's just enough of a gap in that perimeter where I'm pretty sure they'll make the playoffs, but I don't know how much noise they can really make beyond that.

[Zena Keda]

And that's what really sucks about it, is because on top of the fact that they had all this momentum coming in from last year, all of the so many players on this team, I don't know if I'll say all of them, but so many players on this team got markedly better. Like, Kelsey Mitchell is having MVP numbers right now. Aaliyah Boston got better in the way that she's organizing as well as playmaking for herself. And every time you thought someone goes down, it's like, well, they're still right on the cusp. And now it kind of feels like it might be out of hand, but we shall see. Definitely sending healing vibes to Li Yuru and Sophie Cunningham, the entire Fever squad, and everyone throughout the W that is nursing injuries, trying to get back on the floor. Okay, last but not least, before we get into the scheduling situation, talk to me about the drama in Connecticut. Cause what? First and foremost, as a person that went to school in Connecticut, it's usually dry. Okay. It's usually just, you know, very, very professional, corporate. Everyone's nice. Everyone's, you know, this is getting messy, Sabrina. Okay, this is getting messy. What is going on in this Connecticut sun sale?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Right? So we talked about this a few weeks ago, how a bidder from Boston, Steve Pagliucco, former minority owner of the Boston Celtics, had made a $325 million offer to buy the sun, potentially relocate them to Boston, where he was planning to put in another $100 million to build a practice facility for the team. Seems like a great idea, right? You move the team to a bigger market. All due respect to Uncasville, Connecticut, but this is a market that I think can handle what the WNBA is becoming at this stage of its existence, right? An owner who clearly very much cares about professional basketball and putting his money where his mouth is by, you know, talking about the practice facility right away. Except the WNBA is sort of putting their thumb on the scale here, right? They are kind of trying to direct who the sun sell to, whether that's an existing NBA owner, really. No, just an existing NBA owner is what the WNBA wants to do is have the sun. You know, if they are going to sell, then it has to be to an owner that's already on, you know, the NBA Board of Governors. And that's sort of where we have reached this complication, because the sun want to sell either to Steve Pagliocca or Marc Lasri, another former NBA owner who wants to move the team to Hartford. And again, $325 million would be the price tag for that sale to Mark Lazari. And, you know, reporting from our colleague Mike Fork and about the Athletic. And you can, you know, read this on the site or watch his new YouTube channel, Business Decision. But he, you know, sort of laid out how the WNBA had tried to get the sun to sell to Cleveland or even to sell to the league so that they could eventually sell to Houston and move the team there. And all of these options would come at a slightly lower price tag than what the sun have already agreed to with, you know, Steve Pagliuca And Mark Lasri. So it is really interesting just to see how the WNBA wants, you know, the future of this on the look versus what the Connecticut sun want their future to look like. And they don't exactly seem to be on the same page.

[Zena Keda]

Wow, that's crazy. And it does feel like it's getting a little tense. The craziest part about all of this in reading Mike's piece is that the Mohican Tribe that are making this decision right around the Connecticut sun could sell the team to the league for $250 million, which is fascinating. You're just taking the money that you might have just gotten from a new team and applying it to another team, and then from there selling that team and getting that money back. Interesting, interesting, interesting. All I know is I've learned that apparently the league has $250 million just sitting there available to them. All right, all you people negotiating the CBA just, you know, taking mental notes here. All right, right after this, we're gonna get into the schedule.

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[Sabrina Merchant]

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[Zena Keda]

The 2025 WNBA season, yes, the one that we are watching that is playing out right now is the first season to feature 44 games and also a best of seven WNBA Finals. Now we've seen all of these injuries and a lot of grueling travel. And the schedule seems to be a real sticking point this year. Not only for all of us that have to watch four games at the same time, but particularly for the players, for the coaches, for the broadcasters, everyone that has to be at these places. And it just seems to be an issue. And it's in these ongoing CBA negotiations that this needs to be addressed. So as the W continues to expand and they add more teams, obviously they gotta get more games to fit all of these teams to be able to play against each other. But now the question is, do you put it within the frame of the current calendar or does the calendar expand? How do the players feel about this? There's a lot to talk about when it comes to scheduling in the W. So before we dive into these deeper questions, Sabrina, I gotta ask you first, who exactly is responsible for making the schedule? And I know that there's so much tech now. I know that, like there is an excel sheet somewhere that can calculate this all for you. You know, hell, they might be asking ChatGPT now, but there's all these different ways in which this can be made. But we're still seeing issues. So what factors into creating the schedule to make everyone happy?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yes, the WNBA actually put together an explainer about last month, you know, when these conversations were sort of reaching a boil. Right. Because you hear a lot of the players talking about the cadence of the games and how difficult it is. And you know, I've heard coaches talk about the cadence of the game as a reason for why we're seeing so much parity. Because it's just hard to get up every single night when you're playing games this frequently. And you know, to be at your best is difficult. So that's why you see teams that are lower in the standings sometimes be teams that you wouldn't expect them to. So, yeah, cadence is a word that keeps coming up. But essentially the way this schedule gets organized is the teams submit dates when their arenas are available, because that's number one. Right. You have to have a place to play the games. They submit those dates to the league, and then the league sort of runs it through a formula and gets an optimal 44 game season for everybody that doesn't have anybody playing three games in a row tries to limit the number of back to backs and maximizes, like rest versus travel. Right. Like you don't want teams flying to Atlanta one day and then back to Seattle the next day. Right. Like it's there's all of these factors that have to be considered. So they think about rest and recovery. Thinking about, you know, not playing the same team well four times in a row is actually the limit that the league decides. Apparently you can play the same team three times in a row.

[Zena Keda]

Right.

[Sabrina Merchant]

That's not a problem.

[Zena Keda]

Before it's too much.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Right. And then again, fitting within the arena limitations. Right. Because the last thing the WNBA wants to do is really force a team to play outside of its normal home.

[Zena Keda]

Exactly. Especially when it's supposed to be a home game. And I know this is actually a point of conversation out here in the Bay. Earlier this season it was reported that there's a possibility if the Valkyries make the playoffs that they might need to move out of Chase center, which is where Ball Halla has taken home and made its home and go back to Oakland arena, which is where the warriors used to play before they opened up Chase Center. That then was reported on top of and was said that two Valkyrie's employees said, nope, that is not the case. But we won't know until we see it in terms of what some of these arenas have to do. Because I think Golden State is a unique example. They have this team that's an expansion team. And if you look at all the expansion team history, playoffs are not usually in the cards. And then you have to think about, okay, playoffs would happen at this arena before the NBA season. But uniquely Chase center has a tennis competition coming to them during the time of playoffs. Laver cup would literally be starting, I believe on September 19th. So that's a unique situation, but that is one that they're gonna have to figure out when the time comes.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Well, you mentioned this tennis cup being a unique situation for Golden State, but being forced out for playoff games is not a unique situation in the wca.

[Zena Keda]

We've seen it with the Kings. What happened?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Phoenix regularly forced out of their arenas around the playoffs, whether it's Disney on Ice. You know, there was this great New York Phoenix single elimination game a few years back that was played at Grand Canyon University. Because the normal arena was unavailable. The Phoenix Suns had to reschedule a preseason game once during Phoenix Mercury playoff games. Right. They even did a double header so that the Suns would play first and then the Mercury so that, you know, everybody could technically be satisfied by that arrangement. You've seen the Las Vegas Aces get moved to Thomas and Mack Center. You know, outside of their original arena at Michelob Ultra Arena. The Washington Mystics basically played their entire title run in 2019 outside of Capital One arena, because that was undergoing construction. So they were at, like, George Mason and a bunch of other schools in the area. Even Minnesota, I think the Sparks, like, the year that they won A title in 2016, they didn't clinch it in Target Center. They clinched it at another arena in Minnesota. Or maybe that was 2017. But like Lynx, again, one of the more historically successful franchises in the WNBA going through this. So with arenas, like, constantly undergoing summer renovations, because, frankly, it's a lot harder to do with renovations during the NBA season because there are more games and sometimes they have NHL teams. So it's like, do you inconvenience two teams or just one? And then you have concerts and all these other things happening that impact the schedule. So, yeah, suffice to say, like, the WNBA has a lot of moving parts when it comes to how they can decide where to put their games.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah. And the larger thing on top of it already being one, you're inconveniencing players from playing in their home court. They're not in their same vicinities in terms of the court, but they're also not in the same locker room situations. And all the things that lead into how you feel before going to a game, that's one thing to inconvenience the players from that perspective. But what this also does, when you have situations in which it's like Disney on Ice, Phoenix Mercury game, playoff game, by the way, it devalues the product. Right. We're talking about telling the fans of this team, telling the team itself, that this product that is not women's basketball, that is not your game, that is not a marquee game in your schedule, is not important enough to prioritize. And I think that's another thing that this. This whole scheduling situation can sometimes send a message about how do we value your product within this arena and the scheduling. But that's another conversation for another day. We are talking about scheduling because not only does it lead to these type of things in which there's situations in which teams aren't prioritized. There are some players that might feel like their health isn't being prioritized because it has led, or I will not speculate and say it has led, but we've seen a rise in injuries. And some could make the correlation that these games, the, quote, cadence of the games and just how packed this schedule is now and could potentially get later with more teams could be contributing to the amount of injuries we're seeing. So what are the numbers telling us? Like, where are we actually with what injuries are looking like, and how many of these injuries are we seeing are due to increased schedule or just intense schedule?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Right. So let's sort of break down how the games have worked over the last five years, because I think that's the most realistic sample size to look at here. Because 2020 was a bubble season. It's very different. Um, 2021, there were 32 games. 2022, 36 games. 2023 and 24, there were 40 games. And in 2025, we're seeing a 44 game schedule. So an increase of four, you know, four times, three times during that stretch, and all within the relatively same calendar footprint. Like, it's basically a May to October schedule every year. 2022 is actually a little bit shorter. They ended in September because they needed to get all the players out for the FIBA World cup, which, I don't know if you might remember, like, the aces basically taken off right after the parade to get to Australia for the World cup, which had already begun, actually. And they were just, you know, flying in during group play.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, right. Asia came in casually, still won MVP.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Of the World cup, for what it's worth. Mvp.

[Zena Keda]

She got a crazy run that year. Crazy run. Yeah.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah. So the number of games has consistently increased during this time period without a corresponding increase in the number of days of the schedule. And, you know, even when the schedule stayed relatively stagnant between 23 and 24, with 40 games. 24, there was like a month long Olympic intrusion on the schedule. Right. So it seems like the schedule is actually the same length, but really there was much less time for teams to actually have to play games because you had to take out the month for when people were in Paris for the Olympics. And it's not like, you know, they weren't playing games at that point either. So that's the goal. Keeps happening.

[Zena Keda]

The WNBA has a lot of players right now that play for Team usa, but not just Team usa, players from all around the world that were also playing in the Olympics. So it wasn't a full break for these players or just 12 that were on the team, you know, a particular team. Yeah, right.

[Sabrina Merchant]

So we've been watching the season and, you know, it seems like we start every podcast talking about a latest injury update. And it does feel anecdotally like there have been a lot more injuries this season than there have in years past. When I asked the WNBA about it, they said that their injuries felt relatively in line with previous seasons, which I. I don't agree with, frankly, but, you know, that's what their data says. So I decided to just sort of look at high level entries. So what I did here was I'm like, I'm just going to find the all WNBA players from the year before and how many games they missed the next season. Right. That's sort of just like the base best outline I could make up of like the best players missing games. Right. So if you were on an All a WNBA team in 2020, how many games did you miss in 2021? And so on and so forth. So you look at it, and in 2021, the old WNBA players missed an average of 4.6 games that season. Each of the 10 players, right. Out of 32 games, doesn't seem like all that many. In 2022, the old W players missed an average of 3.2 games that season, then 3.9 the next year. In 2024, we get to 5.9 games missed by all W players. And this year, we're not even all the way through the season. Right. We're only 35 games in an average of 8.3 games missed by all W players.

[Zena Keda]

Whoa.

[Sabrina Merchant]

So if it feels like your favorite players and the ones who are the best players in the W are missing more games, it kind of bears out, right?

[Zena Keda]

Exactly. Even if the injury data seems in line, it hits harder when the marquee players aren't are the ones that are injured and are sitting out. Wow. What a jump.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, exactly. And like last year, basically the entire list is made up by Satu missing 25 games. But this year it's. It's like everyone, you know, like, Stewie's missed 10, Caitlin's missed 22. Kalia Copper missed 16, Jonquil Jones has missed 12 games. Right. Like, everybody seems to be going through a bit of the injury bug, so. So again, we're not trying to say that there is a causation between schedule and injury, but it definitely seems like there's some kind of correlation between more games and more people having to miss games.

[Zena Keda]

Now I really hate that you just said that, because the question is, it ain't gonna stop. In terms of the calendar, there are two new teams coming to the WNBA next year. They have to find a way to get into this schedule. They're inevitably going to be more games. Now the question is, especially with the CBA being negotiated, does the schedule expand? But we have to remember there is the NCAA season that has to happen. There is. There's not an Olympic year, of course, but there are other events in these arenas that we Just kind of touched on that these arenas have to be mindful of, of potentially trickling into or back backing into this very small window that the WNBA has to work with. Could it expand? How can it expand without conflicting with everything else? And I know, you know, also some, you know, the schedules of other international competitions, maybe not next year, but in the future years. How. How does this work? What are the chances that this expands?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah. So let's start with why the WNBA schedule should expand. Right. Just in terms of number of games. If you're adding two more teams, you have to add more games because everybody has to play each other. Right. And currently we're at a point where even though conferences don't matter for playoff seating, conferences are how things are scheduled. Every team plays the other conference teams four times, and then in the east, there's a couple extra games because they have fewer teams in their conference this year because it's slightly imbalanced. And so if you want to play every team in the WNBA at least three times, if they're in your opposite conference, you're just going to have to add more games. If you're adding Toronto and Portland, you're adding Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, like, eventually you're going to have to come down from everyone has to play each other three and four times because it's going to be too burdensome, but there just has to be more games because, you know, you want to play everybody else in the league. And we've talked a lot about the WNBA media rights deal that kicks in in 2026, an average of $200 million per year for the next 11 years. That deal has what's called a look in provision in the next few years where they'll reevaluate based on a number of factors, including playoff ratings and inventory. And what does inventory mean? That means more games. Right. So if the WNBA has more games to sell to its broadcasters, that allows for more money to come in. And wouldn't you want more media money to come into the wnba?

[Monday.com Advertiser]

Right.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Like, that seems like a generally good thing. And if you're trying to establish, you know, and expand the footprint of the WNBA just around the United States, around the world, having more games is generally a good way of bringing more people in. Right. So I can understand why the WNBA feels it is beneficial, as it is a growing property, to increase the number of games on its schedule.

[Zena Keda]

Right.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Like that logically tracks. However, it's hard to just stuff more and more games from May to October. Right. Like, there's only so many things you can do to stuff these games in. And it is easier with charter travel. Right. Like you can accommodate more back to backs now than you could in the past, but at what cost? Right? So that's when you start talking about, okay, can we extend earlier or later? Earlier. Basically out of the question. You know, the college basketball season ends the first week of April. For all the WNBA's growth, the college basketball game is a more popular property than the wnba. And ESPN owns the rights to broadcast the NCAA tournament and the WNBA season. They are not going to mess with their college basketball Final Four property. Right. So you have that. That leads a week later into the draft. Right. We always talk about what a quick turnaround this is. Training camp starts two weeks later. I don't feasibly see how you can move WNBA season earlier without just like taking college players from the Final Four onto their WWE team the next day. Like, what are you going to do? Right?

[Zena Keda]

That happened to Candace Parker. Like, she literally won her championship. Well, she didn't immediately go into season, but she won her championship at Tennessee the next night, got drafted. Like, at least now there's a week right between that.

[Sabrina Merchant]

At least there's a week now. Right.

[Zena Keda]

But so, yeah, it would be insane.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, moving the schedule up doesn't make a ton of sense to me. So then you think about extending like further into November, let's say. Right? And this is where the arena availability thing that we were talking about comes into play. Because now, you know, WNBA teams are up against concerts and you know, this tennis cup situation that's happening at the Chase Center. They're not really up against NBA teams yet because their preseason basically starts at the start of October. Their regular season starts at the end of October. And a lot of their preseason games are played at, you know, off sites, not necessarily in their NBA arenas. You start to get into late October, November. Now we're thinking about, oh, like we're bumping up against NBA regular season games. And I don't want to be in a situation where like Monumental Sports has to talk about whether we're going to have a Mystics playoff game or a Wizards regular season game. Like, talk about the impression you give of devaluing the league. Like, I don't want to get in that position. And I'm sure the owners of these teams don't want to be in that position where you're pitting one team against one another. Right. So that's difficult. Then you're also running up against the start of the college basketball season. Right. And again, two espn Properties, how do we manage those? You're also in NFL season, college football season for, I mean, personally I don't really understand the appeal of football, but it is king in the United States. And if you're trying to play games against Saturday college football or Sunday NFL, like that's not going to be great for the WNBA in terms of ratings. And maybe there's different audiences. I tend to believe there are different audiences, but it's just hard to, you know, again, put one up against the other. So there are difficulties with extending the calendar into November. And that isn't to say that the WNBA won't try it. I think next season we're actually going to see something of that sort because the FEMA World cup is in September of next season, in 2026. Okay, so the, the most common answer that I'm hearing is the WNBA is going to take sort of like a two week break after the regular season before the playoffs, let players go to the World cup, then come back for the postseason and finish it out, which would cause that to extend into November. We'll see. You know, there's obviously still a lot of discussion to have regarding this, but like if you have a 44 game season, which again is bare minimum because Toronto and Portland are being added in 2026, how are you supposed to finish that and the playoffs before September 4th? It just like what you're playing six games a week. Like, I don't know if that's going to work.

[Zena Keda]

There's no way you won't have a good product, that's for sure. People won't have the opportunity to recover and rest and be able to take the court as their full capacity. This is a mess. And the thing about it is is that you look at how the WNBA is prioritizing these NBA owners in the expansion teams. I'm sure there's been discussion internally with these NBA owners being well aware that this is a possibility of their two children, their basketball children in the NBA team they own and the WNBA team they own being in conflicting space. Now this ain't high school. And you know, how cute would it be if it was like, oh, Friday Night Lights, like girls varsity plays before, you know, the men's varsity. And it's like. Or I mean, and again, Phoenix did.

[Sabrina Merchant]

That for the game varsity, they flipped it.

[Zena Keda]

They had the men first, I believe.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Because preseason less important than a final game.

[Zena Keda]

Exactly. And it's not a good thing because let's just be real, most WNBA fans aren't necessarily NBA fans. And a lot of NBA fans aren't necessarily WNBA fans. If you're a basketball fan, you're both. But anyhow, I think this is, this is going to get real interesting because the people that are entering this conversation, oh now, hell, all the owners now that are in this conversation. When it comes to being an NBA owner and a WNBA owner, it used to be easy to say, ah, my team, that's worth like five mil. I'm gonna put them to the side real quick. These teams are worth a lot of money. Sure, it's still different in terms of the NBA is gargantuan in comparison to the W. But this isn't pocket change anymore. Right. This is, these are serious investments that these owners are making and they're gonna have to figure it out. Come to the table. That leads to my last question about, you know, what are the players saying from the CBA negotiations? Because the owners are part of that. The, on the other side of this, what are they saying?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Right. Well, the players have made it very clear all season that they feel the weight of the season. The cadence again, that name keeps coming up. Right. Like Sathu Sabli talked about this, how she didn't feel like player health was being prioritized because they had to play so many games. Like I think this was when Phoenix was going through an eight game and 16 day stretch. And think about the New York Liberty. They're on a 15 games in 31 days during August and you know, some. And like, I don't really think that includes a lot of back to backs either. So it's like you're basically just one off. One off. And how do you practice? Right. Because no teams practice the day after a game if it's an evening game and then your next day is a game. Right?

[Zena Keda]

Yep.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Like we kept hearing this stat during the Liberty Links broadcast of Emma Miesmann's played like seven or eight games with the New York Liberty. She's had two practices with the team just because this was the thing they haven't had the opportunity to practice.

[Zena Keda]

Remember early in the season of Caitlin Clark last year? She could barely get practicing because they just had all these games. All right, keep going.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah. And I think the game, you know, just the, the quality of the WNBA game is so much faster. It's so much more athletic. Like you have to cover so much more ground on the court at any given time. That style of play is just naturally harder on the body than it was five, 10 years ago. And it taxes athletes more than it did in previous seasons. And I Think you're seeing the result of that? Like, it's just harder to get through a WNBA game. Such a talented league, right? Like every team is. Is good. Every team has players that make you work and the players are feeling it. Right. Like Nakaguma Case talked about this and she's the president of the players union, so obviously her voice carries some weight about how hard it is just to get through this season. You know, some coaches have like mixed thoughts on it. Like, some of them, like the bundles of games, because that means that you'll have gaps later where you can actually practice, right? Like Minnesota had a nine games in 16 day schedule. And I think, you know, you're seeing sort of like the other side of that where they got Saturday to Sunday or Sunday to Saturday off the whole week and you get to integrate Dijonay Carrington into your team.

[Zena Keda]

Right?

[Sabrina Merchant]

So it's like, do you want the one day off, one day on, if that means that you never get time to practice later, as opposed to, you know, a bunch of games bundled together, It's a whole mess of things. But suffice to say, the players are making their feelings about this very clear. I mean, we heard this at All Star, right? Like how they said they didn't try hard because they had to play in two days.

[Zena Keda]

Right, Exactly. Right. This was Aaliyah Boston's argument to Candace Parker being like, listen, we ain't gonna go out there and play this hard. We have a game on Tuesday.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Franescu said the same thing at the podium that night too. Right? Like we probably would've tried harder if we weren't going back to the season in. In two days.

[Zena Keda]

Exactly, Exactly. Yeah. This is, this is so interesting. So I gotta ask you, Sabrina, we gotta put on our caps, essentially our Kathy Engelbert and team caps. And if we were commissioner, commissioners.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yay.

[Zena Keda]

Okay, Commissioner caps. If we were commissioners for the day, how would you change things? I'm gonna let you go first. I feel like you're gonna be practical. You're gonna have some sense to yours. Mine's gonna be a little wacky.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Okay. So there are big days on the calendar that you wanna prioritize, right. And the WNBA doesn't really have like a big night. So to me, opening night. I think you have to have a rematch of the WNBA finals. It just has to happen.

[Zena Keda]

I agree. I'm with that.

[Sabrina Merchant]

So that's number one.

[Zena Keda]

That's a great one. Way to start. Yeah.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Number two is I don't think you should be allowed to play a team three Games in a row. It just should not happen.

[Zena Keda]

I agree with that, too. See, here we go. I told y'. All, Sabrina's practical. These are all things that we implemented quite literally tomorrow. Yep. Keep going.

[Sabrina Merchant]

And then I don't think you should be able to play three games in four days. I think it's too many.

[Zena Keda]

That is a lot of games. This is. These bodies are not AAU bodies. These are not the same bodies that used to get up and go play five games starting at 8am Right.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Slightly different level of competition, literally.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, very different. Very different. I'm with all of these changes, and those are my.

[Sabrina Merchant]

My big changes here.

[Zena Keda]

Okay. Okay. Literally, that is something we can, like, send off to the league tonight. Those are real things. Mine are a little bit different.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Let's do it.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, let's do it. So, number one. So you were talking about the fact that there was gonna be all these expansion games, and because of that, there's no way that these teams can play each other four times and fit it. Right? So I'm thinking, what if the actual number is, like, two to three? And if a team actually, like, let's go with two. You play every other team two times. And if you guys really like the matchup, the fans get to vote in what actually is Rivalry week. Well, I can't even say that Rivalry Week presents just Rivals Week.

[Sabrina Merchant]

It's much easier to say Xena. Just Rivals Week.

[Zena Keda]

Rival. I know Rivals Week. Anywho. So, yeah, ours is gonna be called Rivals Week. Okay. And in Rivals Week, the fans are like, listen, we've seen these. Everyone's played each other at least once or twice. Whatever. We will decide who needs to play a third or even a fourth time. And this will happen during Rivals week. It can't be every team, right? It's going to be a select few. You guys are really special, and you've done really well in these matchups, and we want this to be Rivals week. Now, how would that play for the actual numbers that, you know, provide standings and seatings and all the above? I have no idea. That's why I'm commissioner. I have a team that will figure that out. But that will be the new Rivals Week. Okay? That's number one for me. Fans get to decide who you want to see. Number two, speaking of those Friday Night Lights games in which the varsity teams go and play, and it's cool because, like, the varsity girls are in the stands and they're cheering on the guys, and then the girls go and they play, and then the guys play and the girls are like, yeah, well. And boys like, yeah. I just loved my varsity men's team. I thought it was really fun that we were all like friends and homies and we supported each other's dreams. Now there is a way to do this with the NBA because we've seen it. I mean, look at the Sparks Wings game the other night. Those guys were having a ton of fun watching. I think that when these opening night games, if you were to extend the schedule where it creeps into October and maybe late October when the NBA is starting, I think that there should be from a broadcasting perspective, the opportunity to have a WNBA playoff game back to back stacked onto an opening night game. Lock into espn, lock into NBC, lock into Amazon, lock into whomever it is that's going to have these games. And it's like, don't move from your couch. There's going to be a playoff WNBA game and an opening night NBA game. Excitement for everyone. It would be fire. And then my last one, this one I think is, yeah, I think I'm go with it. I basically think that I want the players to get a chance to play for the global games and meaning I want games to be. I want the same opportunity to bring the games overseas like the NBA has. Because I think there's way more of a connection already because of these women playing in these leagues overseas already. I want to find a way for the WNBA and FIBA to do like a global week. And it's like certain teams go over for a period of time throughout a particular week and they get to play whether it's like preseason games or, you know, whoever didn't make the playoffs. Like this could be like another little extra thing to do. But it's a way to bridge that FIBA audience with the WNBA audience and to bring that international group together. And maybe it's the WNBA players playing against, you know, groups out there. That would be hard because a lot of them are part of the groups out there.

[Sabrina Merchant]

They're also on those teams.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, also on those teams. But something in which we've seen this more on the college level, right. Obviously we've seen these, these big games, the Paris games more recently with the NCAA women's teams going over there. And I just think that there's so many European players particularly, but international players in general that are coming into the wnba and people are like, who is that? Who is that? Who is that? And so this could be an opportunity to be kind of, almost, almost be like an educational week of like, that's why I'm thinking preseason or like a postseason snack after like the playoffs or something. But yeah, that would be. Those would be my. If I was commissioner for a day. I'm a dreamer, Sabrina.

[Sabrina Merchant]

No, I mean it's all like much bigger than mine. The one I left like on the cutting room floor was I just think we should get conferences back, you know, conference playoff seating.

[Zena Keda]

Like, woo, I love this.

[Sabrina Merchant]

We are much lower stakes.

[Zena Keda]

We are complete opposites with this. Literally, Sabrina and I are gonna walk into the conference room with the league and they're gonna be like, so Sabrina, we heard your ideas. We've already mapped out what those would look like. Zena, we heard your ideas. You could probably start your own league with that. You wanna figure out how to get funding. You got that? All right, that's enough on the schedules. We're going to keep you guys updated on everything around this. Of course it's going to be a point. I don't know if I would say contention, but like it's definitely going to be a point of discussion within the cba. And yeah, let us know what you guys would do if you were commissioner for a day or what you guys think about the correlation potentially between injuries and the schedule.

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[Zena Keda]

Time for Set your screens presented by BetMGM. Get in on the excitement at BETMGM with an any sport, no sweat token. If you don't win your wager, you'll get your stake back in bonus bets. Sabrina, what you watching this weekend, girl?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, so I put this on the power rankings this week. The game that I have in mind is Seattle versus Washington on Sunday. We've got Brittany Sykes returning to Washington, Alicia Clark's first game against Seattle since the trade. You know, I wouldn't say either of them were like unhappy to leave their existing team. So, you know, could be interesting. And then we have just the lovely pick manipulation drama of, you know, Washington winning more games to make Seattle's pick go a little bit higher. And Washington obviously owns Seattle's pick as a result of the Britney Sykes trade. So, you know, some fun little details in that.

[Zena Keda]

I love a good little underlying storyline. I'm actually interested in a game that people are gonna be like, this has nothing to do with the rest of the season because both of these teams are technically eliminated and that is gonna be on Saturday. The Connecticut sun take on the Chicago sky and I have just been loving the way that Laila Lacan is playing. I love that now both of these teams have nothing to lose and that is when the fireworks come out. That's when the sparks go. Um, I'm happy to see Andreas back on the floor. I want to see Andrease versus Anissa Morrow, the rebounding Queens, also former LSU sisters. I'm excited for that broadcast. So. All right, we'll keep you guys posted on everything in the W. As always on our next episode. That will drop next week, but we appreciate you guys listening. That's all we've got for you today. If you haven't already, please follow our show. And friends, if you are watching on YouTube, please subscribe. I don't even. Is it red? I think it's a red button. You can't miss it. Subscribe. Tell your friends, tell your mama, tell your coworkers, tell everyone that we have a really cool podcast and that my voice is really soothing and you love it. Love to listen to it. Sabrina's is more soothing, actually, but both of our voices and Ben, who's coming back next week. So you definitely want to subscribe so you don't miss out on that. And while you're at it, give us a rating. Drop a comment. We love feeling like you're part of the fam. And of course, head on over to our partner, the Yahoo Sports Hub, for more content. Sports.yahoo.com womens-sports on behalf of the Athletic Sabrina Merchant, I am Zena Keda thanking you for your ear and we will see you next time. No off season is hosted by Zena Keda with Chantelle Jennings, Sabrina Merchant and Ben Pickman. It's produced by Tanika Burrell. Our executive producers 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 basketball at the Athletic. Jessie Burton is our head of audio, and Tim McMaster is director of audio operations.

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[Capital One Legal Disclaimer]

Terms apply. Lounge access is subject to change. See capitalone.com for details.

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[Sabrina Merchant]

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