← No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
WNBA Kickoff - Charter Planes, Power Rankings, and Preseason Award Predictions
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- [00:01]
Xena Keda
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- [01:18]
Ben Pickman
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- [01:44]
Sabrina Merchant
There to watch them.
- [01:44]
Ben Pickman
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- [02:52]
Sabrina Merchant
Love.
- [02:52]
E
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- [04:57]
Sabrina Merchant
For the athletic I'm Zena Kada and this is the Athletic Women's Basketball Show. Welcome back to the Athletic Women's Basketball show where we are here to talk all things women's basketball. You know the case if you're a die hard fan that eats, sleeps and breathes the game or you're Just a casual fan just in time for the WNBA season. Looking to learn more? Make sure to subscribe to this pod wherever you get your pods to stay up to date with us. Also, subscribe to the Athletic. There is so much content on the Athletic. You do not want to miss out on our year round in depth coverage of the game you love. Joined today by athletic women's basketball writers Sabrina Merchant and Ben Pickman. Again, I'm Zena Keda. Let's go through what we're going to cover today or what we like to call our scout. First up, lots of headlines around the league. We're going to talk about some of the early things that we've just heard since our last show. Really quickly, quick little rundown. It's a good thing that WNBA and women's basketball overall has a lot of headlines, folks. This is what we like to see after that season kicks off on Tuesday night. We're going to talk about what to expect going into this new WNBA season. Who's the standard? I mean, if you don't know the answer by now, that's okay. We're here to help you learn. And then there's four games kicking off on Tuesday night. We'll talk a little bit about those and what to look out for them. And then, of course, it's always time for predictions, folks. Preseason award discussions are happening. Of course, the season kicks off tomorrow, so this will be technically our last chance to talk about these preseason awards before they go into into consideration. Ben and Sabrina pretty much agreed on every single award, but they disagreed on three. We're going to talk to them about those disagreements. All right, Ben, Sabrina, let's get into our headlines and what's going on around the league. First up, Ms. Asia Wilson. She put in some bags together. She was put into a contract with Gatorade and then she launched a website called of course I have a shoe.com to go along with her Nike signature sneaker that was announced this week. I need someone to explain this to me because Asia Wilson has been a Nike athlete for a while, but apparently in February of 2023, she was told she would be a signature athlete and get a signature shoe. But here we are in May 2024, finally learning about this shoe. Ben, please make sense of this.
- [07:50]
F
Yeah, I mean, it's a great setup, Xena, because Asia Wilson has sat on this news for a very, very long time. I mean, you can probably count, you know, dozens and dozens and dozens of times. People on Twitter, on TV shows have asked teammates, coaches, pundits, why doesn't Asia Wilson have a shu? And she has sat quiet for that period of time. I talked to her about the process and the leading up to the release, and she stressed to me and some other people as well, like, what is delayed is not denied. That was kind of the sentiment that she voiced. She said that she hated that people had to wait this long. And she said that's full transparency. Like, that's her being honest. But she's happy with where the process is. It's a long process to get a signature collection, to get a signature shoe. This collection is not going to drop publicly hit the open markets until spring of 2025. So that's almost two years from when she first learned, and actually she learned in a very cool way. Dawn Staley surprised her and broke the news to her to 2025 in the spring when, you know, people in the public will be able to purchase product with, you know, the A1 moniker on it. That's going to be the name of the shoe. And you can already see Nike doing some very cool things with the exclamation point, the check mark in Nike, and the apostrophe in her name that, yeah, it's a really cool piece of branding. But she's been working behind the scenes on this process, trying to iron out design elements. You know, wanted something lightweight. She said she wanted something classy, but yet sassy issue that, you know, you can wear on the court, but also that is fashionable. Those are all some of the inspirations for this product. And, you know, that is some of what Nike and Asia have started talking about and started to talk about on Saturday when she. When the news of this officially announced.
- [09:26]
Sabrina Merchant
Right. And Saturday was just a big day overall for Asia Wilson. Las Vegas Aces had their only preseason game out in Columbia, South Carolina, against the Puerto Rican national team, which is hilarious considering Kelsey Plumb is often called the Puerto Rican princess of the Las Vegas Aces. And they, I mean, demonstrably won that game, which was not televised, which is interesting, but it was a really, really great show for Asia Wilson being able to be back in her, you know, hometown. Sabrina, were you able to watch that game?
- [09:59]
G
No, like you said, it wasn't televised. There was no video available. I saw just brief snippets on the Internet, Internet of people who are in attendance, you know, posting a couple things. But with all due respect to the Puerto Rican national team, like, this is not a game that I was heavily interested in watching. Good for the Aces that they apparently were as dominant as could be expected in this situation. But I understand WNBA fans frustration that they weren't able to watch Las Vegas at all during this preseason. But if I were ranking games that I wanted to see in the WMA preseason, this would not be among the top of my list.
- [10:31]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, probably not gonna be the best thing to be able to demonstrate how good are the Aces. You could still probably think about last season's finals to just keep as a memory for that. Okay, keeping on with the headlines. Toronto in the six. Yes, Drake has been going through it okay in his beef with Kendrick Lamar, but Toronto's winning in one capacity and that is in the fact that they were awarded an expansion team. Super cool. This will be the 14th team to join the WNBA, of course, in 2025. Golden State Warriors. The organization was awarded a team which is now WNBA Golden State. Their name will be announced very soon as well. But yeah, WNBA in the six. Are you guys excited? I am, yeah.
- [11:17]
G
I think it's pretty interesting that this news broke pretty shortly after the WNBA announced another piece of news that I assume we'll get to later in this outline, that they're having charter flights for all teams. The biggest hurdle everyone mentioned in terms of getting a team in Canada was travel. Like, you think about going through customs every single time you need to fly into Canada and just the difficulty of flying commercial internationally, however many times a year for WNBA teams. So for the WNBA to solve one of its issues in terms of private travel, it opens the door, you know, to get a team in Canada. We saw, obviously last season, Minnesota and Chicago played that preseason game in Canada in Toronto, very widely attended. And then this year in Edmonton, the Sparks and Storm played another sellout in that arena. So clearly there is great interest in the game in Canada. The Canadian national team has taken real strides. Like we have multiple Canadian players in the wnba. So I think it was just, you know, Toronto, such a good market for sports. It makes perfect sense for the WNBA to be there. And it's cool that the wnba, you know, figuring out its own issues in house, allows them to pursue these cool opportunities outside of the usa.
- [12:27]
Sabrina Merchant
Oh, yeah. And all these players in the wnba, especially the ones that are international, better get these passport situations going because I know that was one of the things in the preseason when the Sparks took on the Storm. You know, I definitely wanted to see Nika Mule play, and she wasn't able to as a. Because of a passport issue going into Canada. But yes, hopefully that is something that will also be taken care of. This team will be playing in the Coca Cola Coliseum 8,000 seat arena and was the team that is going to be owning. The WNBA team was led by Toronto billionaire Larry Tannenbaums Kilmer sports venture. So they'll begin play in 2026. The growth continues.
- [13:07]
F
We should just say with this, you know, first of all, it's first all reported the league has not confirmed anything. They first said that the board of governors needs to approve anything. The CBC was the first outlet on this story and the Toronto team becoming part of the league. I can't stress enough the topic of travel here. I think it's really important. It's something I know we're going to get into with our next headline. So maybe it transitions very nicely. But the fact that there appears like there's going to be charter travel full time by that point in time when this team comes into effect I think really makes, you know, the existence of this Toronto franchise so, so much either easier. We've seen the success, as Sabrina mentioned with the exhibition games, the preseason games in Canada, but the fact that now, you know on a regular basis teams are going to be going up there and don't have to sit through traditional customs and public airports makes things just 9 times, 10 times 100 times easier. Who knows? I haven't flown charter across the border, so I'm not one to say, but a ton easier. The other thing I would acknowledge on the exhibition expansion point rather is that Kathy Engelbert told the APSC the Associated Press sports editors last week that actually Team 15 will also be announced within this year. Team 16, she said, has 10 cities still vying for it, but 14 appears to be Toronto. Fifteen, she also said will be decided this year and then who knows with Team 16, which is another benchmark the league wants to get to in terms of expansion in the short term.
- [14:32]
Sabrina Merchant
Ben, I did not know you didn't have a private plane. This is actually shocking news update. You heard it here first. Ben Pickman does not fly charter across state lines, but WNBA teams will. And yes, 16 teams. I remember the Athletic reported that in April that the WNBA hopes to exclude expand to 16 full teams, baby. More games, more teams. That's exciting. This is great. And yes, any opportunity to go to Toronto I am taking advantage of. Love that city and just love that the sport of women's basketball and pro women's basketball is adored there. That game was so loud, that preseason game in Edmonton, you could hear it through the TSN broadcast. So very exciting for them. But yeah, let's talk about these charter flights. That's my next headline That I was talking about the WNBA announced charter flight program that they plan to do that. And you just could see all of the reactions from the players around the league of just how crucial this is, how huge this is talking about, not only as we're going to talk about this, but as the WNBA continues to grow their visibility. That means these players aren't just going to be random tall women in the airport anymore. Right? There aren't going to be people that are rubbing elbows with random people being like, huh, you must play volleyball, huh? No, they're going to be known celebrity athletes as well, especially those that may not have had such a popular or big flashy platform. They're going to be seen now. And that is going to be a factor for player privacy just as much as travel has been an issue for player recovery. So this is really, really big that the WNBA has committed to be able to figure this out. Adding charter. So I want to make sure. Sabrina, Ben, there was a plan for charter flights, but there were particular parameters around it. Correct. And now it's been expanded. What were those previous parameters?
- [16:23]
G
So last year the WNBA allowed charter flights for all back to back games and then each team was further allowed one charter flight for a cross country trip at one point during the season. They also had charters for the Commissioner's cup to get into and out of Las Vegas for the New York Liberty and then charter flights during the entirety of the post season. So there was, you know, some effort to get out of commercial flights, you know, even as early as 2023. And then Ben, you can expand further on this. Like exactly what Kathy Engelbert announced in that APSC call regarding 2024 charter flights.
- [17:01]
F
Yeah. So the news of this is that the league has put in a full charter program or is starting to put in a full charter program as soon as this year. The WNBA said it's going to fund the next two years of a full charter program and begin doing so as soon as practical is the language they use in their official release. And I believe it was as soon as planes as we can logistically get planes into place. That is a nice little P tongue twister there. Planes into place. That was the language she used at the APSC meeting immediately. That raised a lot of questions, I think from people around the league. First things first, you know, when that news first dropped last Tuesday, it was Sabrina and I checked in with a number of executives around the league. They had not been informed, not been made aware of changes to the travel plans prior to Engelbert's Announcement. So, you know, the fact that this change was made a week before the start of the regular season caught a lot of people, team executives, players, coaches, agents, all by surprise because people were not anticipating this kind of overhaul. The way, you know, the league is promising to change things up this year. Think about, you know, the logistics that go into place in terms of booking travel for 20 road games every season, the amount of flights, the amount of transfers, you know, thinking about baggage security, all these kind of considerations that, you know, some of them are now going out the window. And in the end, it's for a positive change, you know, potentially a charter flight. But a lot of that is done suddenly on a last minute notice. There's some reporting going around on Monday afternoon as we tape this, related to charter flights right away that, you know, two of the four teams playing on opening night actually flew charter to their games. I can confirm that reporting independently of what, you know, people have seen online. And that's raised some questions because for a long, long time, one of the things we've heard, and I wrote about this last summer, talking to Terry Jackson, the WNBPA executive director, one of the things that the PA has talked about is that they're not actually asking for all teams to be able to fly charter. For the charter rules to go into effect. That was always kind of their, their mantra that of course they wanted that, but they just wanted teams to have the choice that, like, if the New York Liberty wanted to fly charter, they could. If the Las Vegas Aces wanted to pay for their charter fights, they could the change. Now, there's an important distinction. The WNBA is actually funding this charter, not the teams. That's one of the distinctions. And two, right off the bat on game one night, one, we've seen that only two of the four teams on the road are using charter planes. And so, you know, that's one of the open questions I have is why is a team allowed to charter or being granted the opportunity to charter but another team is not? Maybe that has to do with geography. Maybe that has to do with the logistics of booking. There's still a lot that has to get sorted out here. And for a league that for a long time has talked about competitive balance being one of the reasons that this kind of flight situation did not change. They've also, of course, talked about the economics and acknowledged that that changed. But for a league, you know, that cares a lot about this kind of competitive inequity, the fact that some of these teams are chartering and some not, I think there Needs to be some more clarity there. And that's something that I know a lot of people are curious to see. So in the end, top line, this is a great change. Players are really happy, but there's still a lot that needs to be ironed out with this announcement coming so last minute on the eve of the season.
- [20:10]
Sabrina Merchant
Interesting. So the WNBA being the ones in charge of this makes sense from a perspective of trying to keep that, like you mentioned, the competitive advantage from a recruiting perspective. Right. When you think about trying to garner excitement to go play for a program, if they have a really nice charter or a really nice private jet, like a Mark Davis with the Las Vegas Aces or Josiah with the New York Liberty, yeah, big time superstars will want to go play for them to be able to take advantage of those benefits. So is that the understanding that if the WNBA is in control of it, they can make sure that there isn't that disadvantage for certain teams that can't afford it?
- [20:48]
F
I mean, that's one of the things we're going to have to see, right? The Indiana Fever, for instance, Kristi Seitz was open at the end of their practice that they are chartering to Connecticut. And let me say that is one of the routes that I think if you go around league, that's one of the hardest teams to get to because there are very few flights into, you know, Hartford. They. Some teams fly through Boston, they bus up from Boston or once they get to Boston or bus up from New York City. And as someone who did that drive, that can be a little bit of a pain getting out of New York City to get to Uncasville, Connecticut, where I'm currently taping this podcast from. But, you know, teams in the past have been punished. The New York Liberty were fined $500,000 for violating the CBA for using charter planes during the second half of the 2021 season. Just last season, the Aces, again to mention them, they tried to, you know, use a service called jsx, which was league approved and is kind of a semi charter, semi private option. It's a little bit of a more private experience in these smaller planes and the league. Around the time they created these routes, the Aces sent out a memo that said, like, you know, clarifying some of the rules. So, you know, they've tried in the past to create a level playing field. It is going to be worth watching. You know, how many teams and which teams in particular are using charters and are some using it for every game? Are some using it for a third of their games? Are Some using it for half. And you know, what is the feedback there from some of those teams who might be using it less and what explains why a team might use it for three quarters and another might use it for a half. That's something we don't know right now entering game one or game two.
- [22:17]
Sabrina Merchant
Interesting. I'm really fascinated by how all this will play out because as money continues to flow into the world of women's basketball, particularly in the wnba, sponsors support owners, billionaire owners that obviously want to showcase their ability to treat their athletes the best. I'm imagining they're going to be putting up serious dollars in order to create a red carpet experience for their athletes. And that includes the best private planes, that includes the best, best living quarters for these, for these athletes. I mean, I still remember the Las Vegas Aces being able to live in the Aria Sky Suites, you know, their first year. And you think about where the Indiana Fever not having any sort of comparison in the vicinity of their team, that automatically is a competitive advantage of just being able to have a better, better habitation for your players. So it's just gonna be very interesting how all of this plays out as more money flows in and also flows into certain markets versus others and how what the WNBA does to, to level that all out.
- [23:25]
G
Just an interesting thing about, you know, the money coming in, I, I do think it's kind of worth noting that the WNBA obviously hasn't confirmed the existence of this Toronto expansion team. But you know, Kathy Engelbert has said multiple times that it would cost $25 million to charter the league for a full season. So they've agreed to fund two years worth of charter. That's $50 million over the next two seasons. Worth remembering that the expansion fee for Golden State was $50 million. So if you wonder where the WNBA somehow came across $50 million, that could be a place.
- [23:54]
Sabrina Merchant
Look at that. You better put some things together, Sabrina. This is why we have you here. Now, speaking of money pouring in, let's get into our next topic on the scout season. Tomorrow, Tuesday, as the time that we're recording this, at the time you're listening to this, it's today season kicks off and this era of WNBA looks a lot different. And part of that reason is because of money pouring in. And why is money pouring in? Because of viewership. I mean, how many sold out preseason games, preseason games, preseason games were sold out this year? Ben, you wrote about this, about the WNBA entering a new era. Talk to us a little bit about what's going to be the Most to you notable change for the WNBA going into this season?
- [24:45]
F
I mean, I think frankly the travel component is the most notable. It is one obviously we just spent a bunch of time on. But there are a number of different changes that are going on around the league and some are very small and some are much bigger. I mean, on a physical level, you have two teams, the Seattle Storm and Phoenix Mercury, who have, have or are planning to open a brand new facility this year. The Storm opened theirs in late April. The Mercury are expected to open theirs around the All Star break. They're hosting the All Star game this year. And these are state of the art facilities that are, you know, both very attractive to players to play in and basically permanent homes for them to use whenever they want. A big change. You know, Seattle in the past was practicing at Seattle Pacific University. They had to rent out space and could only go in very particular times. Now they have a home that is just purely, purely there. So that's a really big change. We talked about travel, obviously that's another big change. Viewership, you know, we've seen so much television viewership growth already in the preseason. You mentioned it, Zena. Like, you know, the WNBA draft got a record rating. It was the most viewed WNBA event since 2000. We talked last week on our show about the stream between the Minnesota Links in the Chicago sky getting, you know, just over half a million views on a cell phone. Right. Like those seem to be a harbinger of things to come that we don't know obviously how the ratings are going to correlate in the regular season. But you know, if those games are any data point, things are going to skyrocket and build off the success of the NCAA tournament. Do I expect an 18, you know, 0.9 million person viewership average for every game? Of course not. Like that's what the final got in a one off national championship. But I do think it's definitely fair to say that viewership is going to go up. You know, those are just some of the big changes around the league that, you know, we've seen more investment from brands and that's a big thing here too, right, that different companies are coming in and sponsoring both putting out sponsorship ads on television backing products. You know, on Monday as we record this, the league announced a partnership with Skims and with Dick's Sporting Goods, you know, as it relates to merchandise. So there's plenty of changes, I think, I think back and I wrote about this on the site as you mentioned, Zena, to a quote from Lisa Brummell who is one of the co owners of the Storm, and as they were building their facility, she pitched potential prospective investors that like there was going to be a wave coming. But even her an owner in this league, Brum said, you know that the impact of the wave is more profound than I thought it was going to be. It got to be a bigger wave a lot faster than what I think we projected it to be. And I think that's true. That's a common sentiment from a lot of people around women's basketball and women's sports more broadly.
- [27:25]
Sabrina Merchant
Well, it's definitely something to look forward to. And I love that in your article you kind of put it from the perspective of Sue Bird wanting to grow old and kind of talk about the back of my day used to be and automatically you're already seeing the back in your day being a year ago there was not chartered planes right for the wnba. A year ago there was not these sold out arenas. A year ago there weren't these crazy viewership numbers. But a year ago there was something that was pretty stable and it probably is going to be pretty stable going into it this year. Sabrina, I'm talking about the Aces and you talked about in a recent article, you wrote that the Aces are still the standard. And I think that particularly after this last Finals Aces take down the New York Liberty and four games having their point guard out in Chelsea Gray and having their starting point guard out in Chelsea Gray and their starting center out in Kyastokes. And I'm still in awe of what happened. Watching Aces versus Everybody was beautiful to kind of relive that that period of time and it wasn't that long ago. It feels as if it wasn't that long ago. But season's here already and it is time to flip a new page. Yet it feels like the Aces are still here to stay.
- [28:51]
G
Yeah, it's funny, I usually count on Ben to do this to just point us out the very obvious things that I tend to ignore for the, you know, fun little details. But yeah, if the goal of the WNBA season is to win a championship, nobody is in better position than the Las Vegas Aces, who, let's remember, have won the last two WNBA titles. Only one of three teams in league history to ever go back to back in the first in more than 20 years. They bring back the entire starting lineup from that playoff run, you know, excluding Kayla George, who started game four of the final series just because of Kia Stokes's injury. But they brought in Megan Gustafson to replace her They've got a new crop of rookies. Alicia Clark's back, Sydney Coulson's back. Like, the whole band is here to do it again. And most of them are on the good side of 30s, so they're all getting better at this one in their careers, obviously. Led by Asia Wilson, who has had quite the week. I do love that Asia Wilson bought South Carolina gear for all of her teammates to have to wear during the tunnel entry at the game against Puerto Rico. I should clarify, not all of her teammates, just the ones whose alma maters lost to South Carolina during the last regular season. So that means Kate Martin, Megan Gustafson, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, and Kia Stokes. I felt particularly badly for Kate Martin because she physically lost to South Carolina. It's not like it was just her former school.
- [30:07]
Sabrina Merchant
Right.
- [30:07]
G
But good for her wearing the sweatsuit as she walked in. But yeah, the Aces, I mean, they're like, this is the team that everybody really should be focusing on. We're witnessing absolute greatness in the peak of its powers. I can't imagine a player I would personally want to watch more than Asia Wilson. I realize Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese do exist, but Asia Wilson does things that. That we've also really never seen on a basketball court. They just are a little bit closer to the basket than what Caitlin Clark does. And just the sustained success that they've achieved over the last few years and the fact that it could keep going again. The Houston Comets are the only team to win three titles in a row. That was the first four in WNB history. No one's done a three peat since. Even in the NBA, no one's three peated since 2002 with the Los Angeles Lakers. This is a very rare thing. So just in terms of the overall arc of sports history, I think it's just awesome. Awesome that we're witnessing this powerhouse, dynamite team in real time. And yeah, like, I. I'm excited to watch all the new people, too. I'm excited to watch my hometown Los Angeles Sparks, all of that. But, I mean, this is the team we should be tuning in for. Like, this is the best of the best and watching the very best athletes in the world compete, you know, for the highest prizes at the biggest stages with everybody trying to knock them down. I think that's the coolest story in the WNBA this year.
- [31:17]
Sabrina Merchant
You know what it makes me miss is I think it was Bleacher Report that would do like those Game of Thrones equivalent cartoons. Do you remember those?
- [31:24]
F
Game of Zones.
- [31:25]
Sabrina Merchant
Game of Zones. Thank you that's what it was. They need a game of zones for this season because the target on the ace's back is so large. And it very much feels like these clans of families are teaming up in the particular various zones of America to try and take down the queens on the hill. And it's just like, I would love a cool game of zones breakdown. If Bleacher Report is listening to this, I don't know if they will, but they should do it because it'd be really, really cool. I want to just read really quickly. Probably like my favorite description of this scene. Of course, you're not talking about Asia Wilson in this part, but this is Sabrina talking about the rest of the Aces team. Quote. There's Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum. The bowling ball and the blur on the perimeter, testing opposing defenses in diametric ways. Stokes, as in Kia Stokes, controls the glass. Alicia Clark defends everyone. Sidney Coulson is a pest at the point of attack. Whatever style of basketball you seek as a basketball fan, the Aces provide some of it. Every skill is represented and put on display at the highest possible level under direction of hall of Fame coach Becky Hammond, who has done nothing but win since stepping into this role. And then the next sentence is, las Vegas is basketball paradise. So if that is not the little paragraph that gets you excited, excited about this season and particularly watching the Aces and watching what teams do to try and go up against the bowling ball that is Jackie Young and just in general, the winning culture of the Aces, like, I don't know what, what else you need that, that got me excited reading that.
- [32:58]
F
I mean, first of all, let's give Sabrina a bunch of credit here. And I always tell her nobody writes about basketball, men's or women's, like Sabrina does. So credit to you, Sabrina, for that beautiful, beautiful description there. I would also say that later on in that story, you talk about Megan Gustafson, who, you know has become a much more important off season addition for the Las Vegas Aces in the aftermath of Candace Parker's retirement. And she was a player that I've spent a little bit of time thinking about this past weekend and I believe she had 17 points in that exhibition game against Puerto Rico. Because, you know, maybe this doesn't land and it's not as grounded as I would like it to be, but I do think, you know, in the NFL, for instance, there are people always talk about left handed quarterbacks, right? And how like so often a left handed quarterback is different than a right handed quarterback because the blocking schemes are a little bit different between your left tackle and your right tackle. There's something so kind of freeing about like Megan Gustafson now being this reserve big for the Las Vegas Aces, also a lefty who you can slide into lineups right behind Asia Wilson. And so maybe in theory, like things don't have to change as much in terms of how the Aces are operating on offense because you go lefty first lefty there. That's not to say both players can't go right, of course, but you have two really are really effective players. And we've seen it in Gustafson in the past. You know, she is a former national player of the year in college. And when she gets opportunities like she can be really efficient around the basket and really effective in the post like she was in college. So I kind of really like this fact that they have this like, you know, left handed big who is a similar size to Asia Wilson, who they can throw in off the bench now and mix it up. And she's not going to need to play like a huge role by any means, but she's just another reinforcement. If you're furthering your kind of clans and battle analogy that you set up this topic with Xena, that I think could make a big difference for the Aces as this season progresses for sure.
- [34:44]
Sabrina Merchant
And from a schemes perspective, it absolutely does matter. When you're setting up screens or you're setting up weak side offenses or whatever it is for the strength of Asia Wilson. Like if the play is to benefit Asia Wilson at the end of the day, that is important in the way that you set it up coming up the court. And so if you're just switching in a lefty for a lefty, that makes that a lot easier than to have to go the other way or to have to set up on the opposite side of the court. I remember having to in college having to switch because I was right handed, but I like going left and we would have to switch like you said, the blocking, basically me starting on the right side block and having to come to the left side in order to start the play. If you're doing it the same way every day, I mean in every single time, for the most part, it becomes a lot easier to not have to switch it up based on personnel. Well, I absolutely think that the Aces are gonna be a lot of fun to watch. But before we get off the topic of this, you know, the start of the season, some of the changes, some of the things that are staying the same. Sabrina, you also wrote about power rankings and you talked about some of the teams that are right up behind the Aces trying to make their claim for the throne. I'm going to keep up with this analogy all season long, but Liberty, of course, staying right behind. Last year, Connecticut sun were right there. You know, what are your thoughts this year as you go into the power rankings, particularly right before the season starts?
- [36:04]
G
Yeah, so just, you know, one thing on the power rankings, which I know I made clear in the actual article, but I feel like people always ask me, this is not where I think teams are going to end 2024. This is just where I think they're starting in 2024. So if your team is a little bit lower than expected, plenty of time to make that change. But yeah, I kind of see New York, Connecticut and Seattle as like one tier of teams that are all challenging Las Vegas. You know, we saw when New York was capable of taking, you know, Vegas to four games, taking two games off of them during the regular season, even winning that Commissioners Cup Final. Like they ended up going 4 and 5 against Vegas, I guess 4 and 6 if you count the preseason game. But like they played Vegas a lot. That's really the main point of this year. But they did do fairly well against the Aces and I think they're similarly positioned to do that this year. But I also think Connecticut matches up fairly well against them just with their front court back in full health. You know, Bree Jones, Alyssa Thomas and Dewana Bonner are really tough to contain all at once, especially now that Vegas is a little bit smaller than they were last year without Candace Parker and then Seattle. Like, I kind of think they're exactly in the same spot that New York was a year ago. You know, assembling the super team, but with, with no real idea of how it's going to work because we're in the very beginnings of it. So it's why I don't think Seattle's going to be as good as either of those teams to start the year. But I have a lot of faith that that four all star quartet of Skyler Dagon Smith, Jewel Lloyd, Neko Gulmake and Ezzy Magbagor is going to come together really well just because of the really nice meshing of their skill sets. So, you know, I do hope that we have more teams that can meaningfully challenge Las Vegas. I don't know that that's gonna be the case, but like, I don't, I don't expect this to just be another 40 game long coordination for the Aces Liberty finals. I think there's going to be like slightly more intrigue in the interim. But it's, I think it'll be really fun just to see how, you know, those potential contenders shape up. And who knows, like, maybe somebody will surprise us like Dallas did last year, because, you know, I obviously they got swept by the Aces during that WNBA semifinals, but they were right there in two of those games. And I think, you know, maybe Minnesota takes a step forward this year. Maybe that is Dallas again once Hatu comes back. But I do believe that there are more opportunities for teams to actually, you know, insert themselves into that contention. Discussion.
- [38:10]
Sabrina Merchant
That Seattle Storm pick is so interesting when you think about trying to be essentially be in the same category as what the New York Liberty were. I mean, finishing 11 and 29 last year to now having Skyler Diggins, Naka Guy McKay. I mean, it's going to be really fun to see them come together the way the New York Liberty came together as well. And they could be a surprise for me. I think, you know, the LA Sparks are looking, looking good. Derick Hamby over here. She is. She's putting on a show. She has been putting on a show in the preseason. I think that's one of the teams I'm going to also be looking out for. Once this year starts. But tonight, kicking off four games. First up, New York Liberty, Washington Mystics. After that, Indiana Fever versus the Connecticut Sun. After that, Phoenix takes on the Phoenix Mercury take on the Las Vegas Aces at the same time that the Minnesota Links take on the Seattle Storm. Now, out of those four games, whew. There's a lot there. There's a lot there. Of course, you want to see the Las Vegas Aces, who will be doing their ring ceremony tonight. That's right, Sabrina.
- [39:11]
G
Mm. They get to open the season at home, unlike last year when they were the defending champions and started with two games on the road, which apparently was a point of contention for a lot of the players over the course of the year.
- [39:20]
Sabrina Merchant
I mean, it worked out because Becky Hammond wasn't there for two games. And so when she came back, it was perfect time for the ring ceremony and to be at home taking on the Phoenix Mercury, who had some big time offseason signings. Kalia Copper and Natasha Cloud coming on to find their way onto a team with Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, Sophie Cunningham. And they've been looking fun. They've been looking fun in the preseason, like they've been having a good time together. Very interesting to see what that team's going to look like in terms of gelling together. Oh man, there's a lot here. But I particularly of course am excited to see the New York Liberty take on the Washington Mystics. The Mystics lost a lot this past season, of course losing Natasha Cloud, but also Elena Deldon not suiting up for the Mystics. Shakira Austin coming back into play. I love her. I think she's an amazing dynamic post player. I'm very excited to see her back in action, especially against the New York Liberty. Big time post in and out type of team with John Cole Jones and yeah, those are some of my thoughts. I'm just like, of course we want to see Caitlin Clark, you know, her first regular season game against the Connecticut Sun. See what Alyssa Thomas is talking about. She had an interesting like 2.7 assist preseason game that I'm not going to say that that is definitive of what she's capable of because we know what she's capable of. But seeing dejuanna Bonner in action always gets me excited. So I mean every single game here is very exciting. But Sabrina, Ben, thoughts on what's going to kick off tonight?
- [40:47]
F
Yeah, I mean I will be at the Indiana Fever Connecticut sun game. So that is the game I am most focused on just by proxy and location. Curious obviously to see how Caitlin Clark and Aaliyah Boston match up together. How Melissa Smith, she was my pick for Most Improved Player of the Year. I know we'll get into that how she meshes alongside Caitlin Clark as well. It's the first Sun Home sellout since 2003, which is a big, big deal in their regular season opener and frankly this is a really tough matchup for the Indiana Fever. You mentioned Nadzena. The sun were the third best team in the regular season last year. They had the second best defense overall and they were the best three point shooting defense in the league, holding opponents to only 32.1% shooting from deep. So if you're expecting Caitlin Clark to come in and make, you know, eight three pointers and cruise behind the arc like this is a really tough matchup right away. Bree Jones, the All Star center for the Connecticut sun, also making her return from an Achilles tear last year. If I'm going to highlight one other team to keep an eye out on. We already talked about Seattle. You mentioned New York a little bit. Sabrina, we talked on Vegas. I'll throw a little bit of shout out to the Phoenix Mercury, a team that I am most excited about. Just circling back to Sabrina's power rankings. You know, I could see maybe I'm Putting on my hypothetical goggles here, but I can solely imagine someone in the Mercury social media team screen grabbing Sabrina having the Mercury number nine overall entering the year in the power rankings to start this season. Maybe Sabrina will address that. But this is a team with a ton, a ton of talent on it. You mentioned Kali, a copper. You mentioned them getting Natasha Cloud, an all league defensive player. We'll see. Brittney Griner, Satis. She was seen wearing a boot actually after their preseason game against the LA Sparks, so that's obviously a big question. Diana Taurasi of course there too, but Sophie Cunningham, Beck Allen, it's a team that doesn't have a ton of depth overall, but a new coach who's, you know, I think highly regarded entering the WNBA comes with a lot of experience from the NBA and NBA G League ranks and a ton of talent at the top of the roster. They could be really interesting and if you're looking for a riser heading out of that power rankings, they could definitely be one. I see Sabrina nodding because she's going to throw out that caveat that this is just where they are right now, which is true. But that doesn't mean people won't keep that screenshot and throw it back in her face in two months when the Mercury have the third best or fourth best or fifth best record in the league.
- [43:13]
G
I'm happy to be a source of motivation for the Phoenix Mercury. It makes me very happy for all of these Pacific time teams to do well considering they're the ones that I'm more easily able to watch on a regular basis. But yeah, I think Ben kind of hit on exactly my concerns with Mercury. They have six players that you're really familiar with and then five who a lot of casual W fans probably have never heard of. And if one of those six is hurt as we saw Brittney Griner unable to play in that final preseason game, Diana Tarazi, obviously, you know, on the other side of 40 is not available all the time. Sophie Cunningham had a few injuries last year too, as Beck Allen always seems to find herself on the injury report every now and again. Just the depth concerns me. They're a little small. They don't really have a true power forward unless you count their recent signing of Liz Dixon to a minimum contract. I mean, it's just a smaller team than I would anticipate and I worry that they're just going to get blitzed on the glass all the time. But hey, it's just just a preseason ranking.
- [44:11]
Sabrina Merchant
We'll see what happens all right, guys, this is the fair warning that this is a pre season ranking. Okay, folks? And I like the way you put it, Ben. If you're looking for a rising and every single one of these teams are capable of it, I mean, a lot of these teams made some significant off season acquisitions. How dare I forget Rebecca Allen going over to Phoenix. She was phenomenal, I think for the Connecticut sun in the, in the playoffs last year. Very big wing, great defensive player as well. But for the most part, there are a lot of teams that are capable of rising, but. Okay, okay. All right, well, get your schedules ready because it's going to be packed this season. Games are starting off on Tuesday night, but they're rolling immediately. Four games, two games, three games a day. W fans, you will be busy this summer, don't you worry. Now, before we sign off, I gotta talk about some preseason awards. Cause we did some ranking, you know, predictions. But in terms of preseason awards, these are always fun. They're always drama filled. Always, always drama filled. And, and for the most part, interestingly enough, Ben, Sabrina, you guys were without the drama for a few of them. When you think about championship winner odds, both of you picked the aces. When you think about the WNBA MVP odds, both of you picked Asia Wilson. When you think about the rookie of the year odds, both of you picked Caitlin Clark. I'd agree with all those. I'd agree with all those. Things went a little bit different. Things went a little awry when you talked about the coach of the year. And the interesting thing is I liked both of your picks. All right, Ben, you went with Noelle Quinn in Seattle, which I, from my perspective, any coach that finds a way to get superstars like that to mesh well and succeed could to me should have a coach of the year, not consideration. And Sabrina, you went with Teresa Rutherspoon in Chicago. And when you think about her coming into this space for her first time as a coach and also having serious young talent in Angel, Reese and Camila Cardoso, what she could bring out of them and having to deal with a roster that she didn't really construct herself if they're successful, also deserves coach of the new or not. But I want to hear it from y'all. Sabrina, why'd you choose Theresa Weatherspoon?
- [46:42]
G
I kind of wanted to find someone on the Steph White train of just like exceeding expectations, but just to, you know, take a peek behind the curtain. I didn't want to pick the same person as Ben for the fourth consecutive award, so decided not to go with Noel Quinn. No, I just. I think that Teresa Weatherspoon is going to build a real culture in Chicago. I think, like, you can just see her identity imprinting itself upon the sky. And like I said, I don't really expect them to end up out of the playoffs, but, like. Or in the playoffs. But if they somehow, you know, like, squeezed up to the eighth seed, that is so much better than anybody thought Chicago was going to be doing this year. So just, like, a modicum of exceeding expectations really sets you up for this coach of the award. I mean, truthfully, like, if the Aces just finish first in offense and first in defense, again, this reward really should go to Becky Hammond, as it should have last year when it did not. But that is not the way that voters tend to assign coach of the year. It's never really the best coach you'd consider in the league. It's why, like, Eric Spoelstra has never won coach of the year in the NBA. Like, Greg Popovich has only won it one time. So that's sort of how I landed on Spoon is just. I think she's just gonna create, like, a. A change that you can feel in terms of the sky's identity. And I do believe that people will recognize that.
- [47:58]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, I think they're gonna be a underdog story for sure that people are going to root for regardless of who their team is. Ben, why do you choose Noel Quinn?
- [48:09]
F
Yeah, I mean, we've hit on some of the reasons. This was a team that won 11 games last year, and if we're expecting them to be a top three seed potentially by season's end this year, doing so with a new cast of characters integrating, as you mentioned, Xena, new stars, Aneko Gumike and Skyler Diggins Smith, among others. Like, you know, big credit to Noel Quinn and her staff for bringing the most out of her players potentially in doing so. You know, Sabrina mentioned Steph White winning it last year for Connecticut. I mean, you got to think about, she won it in large part because of the success that they had being, you know, they were not the number one seed. They were the number three seed, but they overcame a big injury. They overperformed the expectation that a lot of voters had entering the year. And so I think Noel Quinn, you know, could potentially check a lot of those boxes off. You know, she has developed, she would say herself as a coach, you know, continues to be a better leader as she continues to transition from just playing a couple years back to coaching. But, you know, they're, you know, better or worse, tends to be a little bit of a, you know, a narrative behind some of this. You know, this award, as Sabrina said, does not necessarily evaluate who the best coach in the league is. But Noel Quinn, I think, you know, is a really, really good coach. There's a lot of good coaches out there. But what she's going to have to do with Seattle to bring the most out of them, I think is why I went with her for this pick.
- [49:31]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, makes sense. Makes sense. And I'm happy you made a nod to Becky Hammond, Sabrina, because that is who I was thinking. If she goes on a three peat, if she's not voted for coach of the year, we have to really evaluate.
- [49:43]
G
Well, the problem is the award is, you know, given before a three peat would be complete, so.
- [49:48]
Sabrina Merchant
Right, exactly. And that's why I'm like it will depend on obviously their, you know, their regular season record. And if, you know, she pulls Adon Staley on the college level and goes undefeated, which the way these teams are stacked up, I don't think that will happen. But if she was able to do something like that and just be dominant still in the third year, it would be unbelievable.
- [50:09]
F
I mean, if the Las Vegas Aces went undefeated, Becky Hammond is getting the award also. There would be a crazy season because, I mean, I don't know what the odds of that happening are, but I certainly wouldn't bet it though. It would be make for a great story to follow.
- [50:23]
Sabrina Merchant
Aces versus everybody would be blown out of the water.
- [50:25]
G
Maybe not 40 0, but I do know that Kelsey Plum is well aware of the individual record for like win percentage in WNBA which is 90% that the Houston comments established when they went 273 during the 90s. So 36 and 4, you know, that may be something that the Aces could aim for. I think it's not unreasonable considering they went 346 last year.
- [50:44]
Sabrina Merchant
Right. They were close. I remember that was like a train people wanted to get on was them getting the win percentage record. Okay, most improved player. I liked your pick, Ben. Ooh. Especially after the performances in the preseason. He chose Nalissa Smith from Indiana. And folks, if you were tuned into those games to watch Caitlin Clark or Aaliyah Boston, you were in for a surprise with the craftiness of Melissa Smith and she also everyone's been talking about the two man game with Nick, Caitlin Clark and Aaliyah Boston. Those picking roles were looking pretty with Melissa Smith as well. And Sabrina and the post player in me really liked your pick too, Tierra McCowan. When you think about what Tierra McCown particularly was doing in the playoffs last year in terms of rebounds especially, you know, when you think about Dallas, you think about their size. Kehlani Brown and Tierra McCowan felt insurmountable inside. Tierra McCowan just being a really depthed post player, really great hands, really being able to finish inside. There were some points in which she struggled and then she'd have quarters where she dropped 10 points. Right. So she has the ability, if her team feeds her the ball properly, to not only clean up the glass, but also make some really great moves inside. But Ben, I'm not gonna lie, I might have to go with Alyssa smith over Tierra McCowan. But, Sabrina, I want to hear your breakdown on why you chose Tierra McCown.
- [52:04]
G
Yeah, you know, Tierra McCowan's boxer stats are like crazy static. Over her first five years in the league. It's just like between 10 and 11 points, between like seven, nine rebounds. And I just think that Dallas is probably pretty good. They don't have SATU to go to for the first part of the season. You got to lean into that big front court identity more. And that means just dump the ball into tier McCown a lot. And I feel like if she just ups that scoring average, which she's definitely capable of, you know, she's increased her stamina. She played more minutes last year than she did at any point during her career. She averaged 30 minutes a game during the playoffs. So if he just stays on the court longer, just assumes a larger share of the offense, I think she's going to be a big reason why Dallas is able to sustain its success without satu. So I don't know, I kind of like that, that marker of a player who like jumps into all star contention for most improved. And that's where I feel McCowan is landing this season.
- [52:51]
Sabrina Merchant
Okay. Dallas has got to utilize her more, even more than they have because a lot of her points came from cleaning up the glass as opposed to her being a focal point in the offense. So, yes, Dallas, this is your one job. Dump it inside. Now, Ben, Melissa Smith, what were your thoughts on her preseason performance? And then also, what are you thinking about when you choose her for most Improved?
- [53:11]
F
Yeah, I mean, she had a 20 point preseason outing in their first exhibition game against the Dallas Wings. That made me feel even more confident about this pick. Xena, you mentioned the key word that she might surprise some people tuning into Fever games. That's not to say that she is going to surprise herself or her teammates who Consistently hype her up. However, Melissa Smith is someone who, you know, entered the WNBA with a ton of pedigree, right? She was a Big 12 player of the year. She was a Wade Trophy winner at Baylor, a first team All American in 2020. She then was the number two pick in the WNBA draft in 2022 and was kind of one of the first building block pieces for the Indiana Fever as they started to turn the page into this new era. She averaged almost a double double last year, 15 1/2 points, 9.2 rebounds. And Indiana won 11 of its 13 games with her in the lineup. She missed nine games due to injury, and they really struggled in her absence. You know, everyone's talking about Clark and Boston and I agree. I mean, Aaliyah Boston, an All Star starter last year, already one of the best players in the league. But Melissa Smith is the kind of player who stands to really benefit from a player like Caitlin Clark. And she's someone who, you know, a lot more voters, for instance, are going to be watching because they're tuning into more Fever games. Her production seems like it's bound to increase as a result of having Clark and Mitchell in the backcourt. You know, we've already seen that she can be really effective both in the past and also in the preseason right now. You know, Melissa Smith might not actually be the most improved player in the wnba, but that is one of the things that this award, you know, for some people doesn't necessarily measure. It's just like who maybe goes up a tier, you know, in people's minds. And for me, like, she is such an obvious candidate because so many more people are just going to be watching her play and they're just going to have that reaction of like, holy smokes, like she is a really, really, really good basketball player. Like she can be an all star level player potentially, especially as more people again tune into these games. That's why I like the Nalissa Smith pick. I know Sabrina likes the pick. I appreciate hearing you say Xena. It almost makes me too confident that's going to happen. But we shall see. I'm standing by it. I think it's right logic. We'll see if it's the right pick.
- [55:18]
Sabrina Merchant
No, I appreciate the logic though too, is because a lot of people don't realize that sometimes in all leagues, right? In all leagues. You definitely see this in the on the NBA side, you definitely see this in the WNBA side. But certain players and their performances are quietly hidden in the midst of teams that don't have the Platforms, right? I mean, think about the college level. How many people in the country did not see juju Watkins play until the tournament, right? And did not really realize her greatness until the tournament? And this is another example of an Alyssa Smith. You know, more people finally watching Indiana Fever games, other than maybe, you know, Gamecock fans that were watching, watching Leah Boston last year, more people tuning in general will get to see her ability to play, her ability to create not only for her teammates but for herself, which we saw particularly this preseason, will be able to watch that more. I'll be very honest, I was someone that did not watch a ton of Indiana Fever games last year, all right? And I know they were exciting. A lot of them came down to the buzzer. You know, I was able to cast some clips and such, but I wasn't able to watch as many because they weren't as big of a draw. And logistically, these games are going to be way more of a draw. And you're going to be able to see an Alyssa Smith really showcase everything that she's capable of doing and then like you mentioned, improve upon those things because of the personnel that she has around her. So I like a logical approach. That's rational thinking right there, Ben. Okay, last but not least, my favorite award. Actually I really, really love this award. I value defense. Defense is what got me a scholarship in college. I was not a good offensive player, folks, but I like to play defense. And this award to me represents grit, it represents tenacity. It represents just like just a straight out dog. And for both reasons. Those reasons right there is why I like both of your picks. The Natasha Cloud pick by Ben, really good one. Especially when you think about Natasha Cloud didn't make all defensive team last year. I remember her tweeting out something like it's personal or it's like going to be like a revenge year or something about that. Around those lines I've got to find the exact tweet. But Natasha was upset about that. She felt away about that and I feel like that is going to be a level of motivation. And then Ezzy McBeggar out of Seattle like this pick a lot because of her ability. I mean she's who I would have loved to play defense like. She covers the ground so well, the floor so well. She's so athletic, she's so long. She is a nightmare on the pick and roll as a post player. If you're a guard coming off, you do not want to see her because she can guard you all the way to the Basket and she can make it really hard for you to go around her because her wingspan is so big. So I really like this pick for Sabrina. Ben, I'm gonna let you start with Natasha. Why'd you choose her for defensive player of the year?
- [58:07]
F
I mean, she is consistently regarded as one of the top defenders in the league. You mentioned the added motivation. Xena, you know, she's tenacious, she's physical, and now in Phoenix, you know, she really has the opportunity to be a tone setter on that end of the floor. She'll play a lot alongside Diana Taurasi, who you know, at this stage in her career may not be one of the best defenders in the league or you know, some people try and attack. So Cloud may have more to do on that end in terms of just picking up the best perimeter guard cards that she is going up against. You know, one of the challenges here is that a forward has won defensive player of the year every year since 2018. But Nasha Cloud, again, she was first team all defense in 2022. She still was a great defender last year and just, just didn't get the recognition from voters as you mentioned, was upset about it. So going to a new location maybe is re energized. Another name that I thought about in a similar vein was Brittany Sykes of the Washington Mystics. Another player who is viewed as one of the best defenders in the league and someone who can really disrupt things on the perimeter. The reason I didn't go with Sykes, however, is, you know, Washington appears to be in a rebuild. Their roster is really, really young and I'm just not sure how good of a defense they're going to have on the whole. You know, I think it will be the strength of that team compared to on the offensive side. But, you know, how successful are they going to be? That remains to be seen obviously. So that's part of why I went with Cloud. I'm a little more bullish on Phoenix overall than I am with Washington and so that's kind of the separator for me in looking at some of those two elite defenders, of course former teammates as well.
- [59:39]
G
It's interesting that neither of us picked the two time reigning defensive player of the year, Asia Wilson in this category. Maybe there'll be some voter fatigue in that area, but I think I'm just like in general a little less bullish on Phoenix defense than Ben is. I tend to think of a defense, the player of the year is someone who's propping up a really elite defense and spoiler alert I think even if the Mercury rise high in the standings, it's going to be on the strength of their offense, not because of their defense. And Natasha Cloud is going to have a lot of work to do to make Phoenix an average defense just based on their other personnel. And like, like Ben said, I mean he kind of just gave the main reason here. It's, it's a big award. You know, like we saw Natasha Cloud not make an all defense team last year. I think part of that is because the WNBA made award voting for all defensive teams position list last year. So you saw more bigs being selected for those spots than guards. And that's just how we tend to evaluate defense in terms of the closer you are to the basket, the more impact you have. And as he magor me very close to the basket. And I also think, like I mentioned this in the article, in 2022, had Tina Charles not come to the Storm halfway through the season and taken away as a starting spot like Magbagor would have been defensive player of the year that year in my opinion, just based on the pace that she had established over the first 20 plus games of the season. So I think shorty is the pedigree. Seattle's going to be a good story and I'm not really sure how the other players are going to factor into the Ward voting. So if you're going to try to assign some credit for why the Storm are doing well, I think Magma Gore being that defensive anchor is a good reason.
- [61:09]
Sabrina Merchant
Okay, if I can just throw in a random wild card, I might throw in a Cameron Brink. Not for player of the year. Okay, not for player of the year. But I definitely, I want to see Cameron Brink make a defensive team. She's been playing pretty well to, to start the preseason having some pretty demonstrable blocks. So shout out to Cameron Brink for her showing up on this. Okay? We have talked a long time, folks. This has been a lot of good information, lot of good intel. Before the season kicks off officially tonight, get your ESPN twos and threes as well as your league pass ready. WNBA season is up. So Ben, you'll be at Indiana, Connecticut sab. What you tune in for ring night.
- [61:54]
G
Phoenix. Vegas. I mean Phoenix lost their four games to Vegas by an average of 21 points last year. So I'm hoping for a slightly closer margin. You know, exciting start to the season.
- [62:02]
Sabrina Merchant
There you go. And then you can keep Ben up to date on just how bullish he should be about his Phoenix Mercury. Man, we have talked a lot today, but that's great because there's a lot to talk about in the world of women's basketball, especially with the WNBA kicking off tonight. We appreciate you tuning in today. And don't you worry, folks, we got another episode dropping this week, so make sure you're subscribing to our podcast so you don't miss out on any of the episodes and leave us comments. If there's any topics or conversations, interviews that you're looking for us to have, let us know. We want to include you all in this podcast, in the content that we curate and the conversation that we're having around this sport. For now. For Ben, for Sabrina, I'm Xena, thanking you for your ear and encouraging you to keep listening, keep learning, and keep loving the game. Because that's the only way we're going to keep growing. Drawing it all right folks, until next.
- [63:01]
G
Time, as we head into the playoffs.
- [63:10]
F
It'S safe to assume there will be.
- [63:11]
E
A few calls made by the refs that will be hard to accept.
- [63:14]
F
But you know what isn't hard to accept?
- [63:17]
E
Discover.
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F
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E
At 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide.
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F
You heard that right, 99%. So make a good call for your.
- [63:27]
E
Wallet and get discovered. Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report.
- [63:31]
F
Learn more at discover.com creditcard this podcast.
- [63:34]
G
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- [64:27]
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Sabrina Merchant
Here's a show that we recommend. Remember blowing into a video game cartridge.
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Ben Pickman
Or taping songs off the radio?
- [64:40]
E
How about Saturday morning cartoons?
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Ben Pickman
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G
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E
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Sabrina Merchant
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E
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Sabrina Merchant
Are we old?
- [64:58]
Ben Pickman
Podcast right here on acast.
- [65:10]
G
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