u/0033A0

Hiedeman’s presence in Seattle has been one of the quieter great stories of the season for me.

Her approach to leadership is the part I respect most. She’s not just barking or leading by stat line, she’s tailoring it, person to person: “Everybody needs different things. It’s really just taking the time to understand each person and figuring out what’s going to help them.”

That’s a player leader who’s clearly absorbed and carried lessons from her years on contending teams into this role.

“… The Washington Mystics are the team that should monitor the situation most closely. With Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen, and Shakira Austin, the Mystics have a great young core. Despite a tough loss to the Golden State Valkyries, in which they scored only 49 points, on Monday, the Mystics are still eighth in the standings and very much in the playoff picture. 

A veteran point guard is just what this young team needs to take the next step. 

Between Georgia Amoore, Alicia Florenz, Rori Harmon, and Lucy Olsen, the Mystics have plenty of young guard talent next to Citron. But Harmon and Olsen barely play, Amoore is fresh off a devastating ACL injury that cost her a whole season last year, and Florez is a 22-year-old rookie who missed training camp. Much of the Mystics’ guard rotation is young, inexperienced, and not quite ready to run a consistently successful offense.

Inserting a more veteran and proven player into the starting point guard spot would give Amoore and Florez, the most promising prospects in that group, time to develop and learn from an experienced pro instead of asking them to produce immediately. It would also help create better looks for Citron, Iriafen, and Austin. Citron, in particular, has had to take on a big playmaking responsibility due to the Mystics’ thin point guard production. …”

“The Indiana Fever will not be countering Justine Pissott’s offer sheet from the Las Vegas Aces, league sources told IndyStar on Tuesday.

Pissott, who the Fever signed directly to a development contract after picking her in the second round of the 2026 draft, signed an standard contract offer sheet with the Aces on Monday, per the WNBA transactions page.

The Fever (12-8) had 24 hours, up to 5 p.m. ET Tuesday, to counter the Aces’ offer and give Pissott a spot on the standard 12-player roster. But Indiana, which beat the Aces 84-68 on Sunday, has already decided that it will not counter the offer, as that means it would have needed to waive a player from the standard roster.

Las Vegas (15-6) will need to waive one of their rostered players in order to put Pissott on its standard roster. …”

Geno Auriemma on the Sports Media With Richard Deitsch podcast, on the No. 1-pick spotlight and the fandom around Caitlin Clark.

On being the top pick: “I said this and I got a lotta criticism for it,” Auriemma said. “I said the Caitlin Clark fans in America are delusional who think she’s going to go in there and as a player totally turn the WNBA on its ear. Like you’re going to have a Larry Bird effect on the NBA on the court or a Magic Johnson effect on court. No you’re not, I thought. You’re not built for that right now. That doesn’t mean you won’t but you’re not built for it right now and the treatment you’re going to get because of the hype. Just like I told Sue [Bird] the same thing when she was coming out and Stewie and all the guys on my team that when they came out: When you’re the number one pick, you better be ready because the shit is going to hit the fan and you’re going to have to deal with it. That’s what Diana [Taurasi] was alluding to when Diana said, you know, reality’s coming.”

On the framing of hard fouls: “But because the bandwagon and the fandom became so obsessed with the whole thing, it turned into a cause. She became the reason why white players get beat up in the WNBA and she became the reason why Black players don’t get the endorsements and don’t get the adulation that white players get. So instead of it becoming Caitlin Clark gets fouled hard -- no shit, every first round draft pick gets fouled hard. Not every foul is a good foul. Not every foul’s a bad foul. But there are fouls that are flagrant. But that’s all they are. They are not a referendum on America, which is what the whole goddamn thing has become. A foul is a foul, right? Here’s my thing. It’s not happening to Paige. Or if it is happening, I don’t hear about it. So it’s that whole shitstorm of this is Jesus coming down to save the WNBA. Now I hope people listening can differentiate here. She never stood up and said I’m Jesus and I’m coming. This was not something created by her. It was created about her by all the people in America who are delusional that think one player who’s not Wemby is going to come in and transform the league.”

On the personal animosity: “Having said that, I do think there are some personal animosities in that league where people are going to take a shot at her unfairly. No question about that. Anybody can deny it all they want. Because if I’m wrong, then there will be a lot more people coming to her defense and they’re not. And neither am I because I don’t coach in the league and I don’t play in the league. But, yes, it shouldn’t be a national referendum, and yes, there are players in that league that would love to kick her ass every minute of every day.”

“Toronto Tempo announced today that NBA champion Kyle Lowry and entrepreneur and philanthropist Ayahna Cornish-Lowry have joined the team’s ownership group, further strengthening the organization’s commitment to growing women’s basketball and investing in the future of the sport in Canada. 

Beloved by basketball fans across the country, Lowry spent nine seasons with the Toronto Raptors, helping lead the franchise to its first NBA Championship in 2019 while becoming one of the most respected and beloved players in team history. Throughout his career, Lowry has been recognized not only for his leadership on the court, but also for his lasting impact on the Toronto community. This announcement comes on the heels of Lowry announcing his retirement with the Toronto Raptors.  

Cornish-Lowry is an accomplished athlete, entrepreneur, philanthropist and dedicated advocate for youth and families. She was a star player at St. Joseph’s University in Pennsylvania, named the squad’s Best Offensive Player for two consecutive seasons. Through her leadership and the couple’s work with the Lowry Love Foundation, she has helped create meaningful opportunities for underserved communities while championing education, wellness and the power of sport to create positive change.

Together, Lowry and Cornish-Lowry have been longtime supporters of the women’s game and have remained committed to growing basketball for future generations.

…”

“ESPN's original WNBA broadcast team will reunite for one night only.

"Good Morning America" co-host Robin Roberts and UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma will come together tonight to deliver a special broadcast of the New York Liberty taking on the Dallas Wings at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Roberts and Auriemma helped introduce the WNBA to a national audience on June 23, 1997, when they called ESPN's first-ever WNBA game between the Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks. Now, the pair will be joined by play-by-play commentator Beth Mowins and sideline reporter Holly Rowe in celebration of the WNBA's 30th season.

…

Leading 2026 WNBA All-Star fan vote-getter Paige Bueckers will lead the Wings against two-time WNBA MVP and three-time league champion Breanna Stewart and the 2026 WNBA Commissioner's Cup champion Liberty tonight at 8 p.m. ET. Coverage begins with "WNBA Countdown" at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Fans can catch all of the action on ESPN, in the ESPN App and in the WNBA streaming hub. …”