u/ThreadSavage10

A friend remarked the other day, and I agree with him, that Caitlin Clark does NOT receive anywhere near the most hate out of any player in professional basketball. That distinction goes to LeBron. LBJ has played 20 more seasons than Caitlin, and he has voluntarily made four different departures from three different cities.

I’m not sure it’s even an argument- LeBron James has a far larger number of total detractors than Caitlin Clark.

If more people dislike LeBron James than dislike Caitlin Clark, then how can it be that Caitlin Clark FANS provoke more hostility within WNBA discourse than LeBron fans provoke within NBA discourse? It’s very easy to find LeBron haters anywhere you look, but is it not odd that being a LeBron FAN doesn’t automatically put you in the crosshairs of other FANS?

I want to take a moment to applaud our admin here, Imacowboy324, for managing literally the only WNBA subreddit on the interwebs where thoughtful discourse is permitted. If you roam around the other WNBA subs, you’ll discover an endless echo chamber where making the comment, ”Sophie shot the ball well tonight”, will get you 50 downvotes and a ban. You’ll be called a “bigot” or worse by saying, ”The Fever played outplayed them.”

Big thanks also to anyone here who leans hard in either direction as it pertains to social politics, and behaves themselves anyway. It wasn’t always like this. A year or two ago, everyone here used to be pretty quick to push back on any comment or post that was even mildly critical of a coach, player, or prominent figure associated with the WNBA’s more traditional social and cultural circles. That dynamic seems to have changed for the better. The discussion is much more open and enjoyable now, with people more willing to consider viewpoints from across the spectrum rather than expecting everyone to fall in line with one particular political or ideological perspective.

The Cowboy rode into town, pulled the weeds, thinned out the activist herd, and somehow got the whole ranch back to being a place where different breeds of opinion could graze without getting run off the range.

Tip of the ‘ol cap to Cowboy for his efforts.

Defense, Rebounding on both ends, protecting the ball, committing stupid fouls, player rotations, and protecting leads.

…and yet there are still people here saying that we somehow are well-coached. I don’t get it.

I have been fascinated with Scientology for a few years now- not from the perspective of possibly wanting to join, but rather like a gawker who can’t look away from a car wreck. I have a few hunches, and I don’t mean to offend anyone, I just want to see if I’m even close to viewing things accurately. I’m no expert— in fact I’m not even a very smart person. These are just opinions that I’ve gathered, and I’d be interested in hearing insiders’ responses.

I don’t think LRH was that bad of a guy, at least not in his early years. I think he was a guy who had limitless dreams and limitless ambition, but very limited talent. He tried his hand at all sorts of different things, and despite being fairly bright and charismatic, he didn’t excel at anything until he discovered his gift for writing stories. He dealt with some internal pain over his own failures (or perhaps better described as lack of significant victories), so he used his story telling ability to embellish his own life’s history. This ultimately lead him to the realization that the fame, fortune, and admiration he coveted could be attained by creating his own isolated world where his stories would be accepted as facts. It took many years, but after living as king amongst only his own followers, what began as a financial scheme turned into his own personal reality- he started to genuinely believe his own fictional rhetoric, which in turn became much more fantastical as he aged.

David Miscavige was a teenager when he met LRH. Like LRH, Miscavige was originally focused on actual self-help, but his motivation evolved into a much more financially-focused mission. Miscavige strategically usurped control of Scientology when LRH died, and he continued on with his quest for more money, but unlike LRH, Miscavige lacked the ability to generate more stories. Without the tools to add more chapters to the novel, Miscavige instead used control, litigation, and strong arming to protect his goldmine. That’s where we are today. No new OT levels can be added, and no inch of control can be relinquished.

For each of these 2026 headlines, tell me which party is to blame.

Was it:

A.) The new influx of rabid “MAGA type” Caitlin Clark fans

Or

B.) The Anti-22 “Haitlins”

1. Paige Bueckers’ Viral WNBA All-Star After-Party Club Video Sparks Backlash

2. DiJonai Carrington Publicly Accuses Ex-Girlfriend NaLyssa Smith of Cheating With Multiple WNBA Players

3. DiJonai Carrington Names Deja Kelly and Aaliyah Nye in NaLyssa Smith Cheating Allegations

4. NaLyssa Smith Responds on Twitch to DiJonai Carrington’s Explosive Cheating Accusations

5. NaLyssa Smith Confirms All-Star Weekend Confrontation With Ex DiJonai Carrington

6. DiJonai Carrington and Jackie Young Romance Goes Public After Months of Dating Rumors

7. NaLyssa Smith Says She’s in a New Relationship Amid DiJonai Carrington-Jackie Young Drama

8. Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese Spark Gambling Controversy Over $400 Wager on Their Own WNBA Game

9. WNBA Deletes Paige Bueckers-Angel Reese Betting Video After Fans Flag League Gambling Rules

10. Angel Reese Fuels Betting Controversy With “#Cuatrocientos” Post and Apple Pay Joke

11. Gabby Williams’ Pro-Trans-Athlete Comments Go Viral and Ignite WNBA Culture-War Debate

12. Gabby Williams Says Trans Athletes Should Be Welcomed Into the WNBA

13. Stefanie Dolson Makes Political Statement With “Trans Rights Are Human Rights” Shirt

14. Cheryl Reeve Publicly Backs Transgender Inclusion as WNBA Political Fight Escalates

15. DiJonai Carrington Posts “WHITE PRIVILEGE” and Tags the Indiana Fever

16. DiJonai Carrington’s “White Privilege” Post Ignites Race Debate Across WNBA Social Media

17. Angel Reese Fires Back on Social Media After Sandy Brondello Calls Her a “Protected Species”

18. Sandy Brondello Apologizes to Angel Reese After “Protected Species” Hot-Mic Controversy

19. Cheryl Reeve receives Criticism for wearing “Trans Kids” t-shirt during Game

20. WNBA’s Off-Court Culture Wars Explode as Player Statements on Transgender Athletes Dominate National Debate

Using tonight’s actual shot volume, but replacing the Fever’s unusually hot shooting with their season-average FG% (.485) and 3PT% (.387) gives a pretty dramatically different result.

Tonight Indiana went 37/69 FG and 16/25 from 3, plus 16 made free throws, for 106 points.

At season-average shooting:

• 3s: 25 × .387 = 9.7 makes → ~29 points
• Overall FGs: 69 × .485 = 33.5 makes
• That leaves ~23.8 made 2s → ~48 points
• Free throws: keep tonight’s 16 points unchanged
• Expected total: 29 + 48 + 16 ≈ 93 points

Expected score: Fever 93, Liberty 92

I hope they bask in the enjoyment of the win, but our over-reliance on world class shooters is an Achilles heel.

It has been widely reported that TBS was caught lying about Fever head coach Stephanie White. No, not the TV network where you accidentally watched three hours of The Andy Griffith Show. TBS stands for The Box Score, and The Box Score says Stephanie White coaches the WNBA’s #1 scoring offense…

Then you watch the games.

Suddenly, that “elite offense” looks suspiciously like Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell repeatedly rescuing broken possessions by being absurdly good at basketball. Caitlin launches from another ZIP code, Kelsey goes coast-to-coast and scores before the opposing defense has crossed the Tampax logo. Two (or or often three) points go on the board, and the box score credits the offense.

The numbers make it even stranger. Clark’s assists and assist/turnover ratio have surprisingly little relationship with winning. In fact, she averages slightly more turnovers per game in Fever LOSSES than she does in wins. The Haitlin’s love to point out Villain 22’s turnover frequency, and they’re not wrong, it’s just that the Fever actually need Caitlin to run the show herself, play aggressively, and risk turnovers simply to keep us out of Stephanie White’s mockery of a system. We don’t need Caitlin to perfectly execute Steph White McCarty’s offense. We need Caitlin to save us from it.

But offense isn’t White’s specialty anyway. She’s a self proclaimed defensive-minded coach. Unfortunately, the Fever have nearly the worst defense in the league, and it’s only gotten worse in Steph’s time here. So we have a defensive coach whose team can’t defend, and an “elite offense” frequently rescued by two elite shot-creators.

Which raises one uncomfortable question:

What exactly is Stephanie White good at coaching?

The Box Score can’t answer that.

It just counts the points.

The player who has already been a first round pick in the NBA draft will no doubt be the #1 overall pick of the WNBA Draft…and undoubtedly break Wilt’s 100-point game record as a rookie. 6’10” 250lbs, 34 years old. Time to FAIL for the MALE, Fever!!

A modern epidemic amongst youth coaches and middle school coaches alike: ”I have enough trouble just getting my line to block. I can’t spend all practice teaching them not to jump offsides so that we can go on two.”

You don’t need to coach hard count discipline in our to create a dynamic snap count. Simply include enough words in your standard cadence so that you can go early.

For example, if your standard QB cadence is, “Ready…Set, GO,” you can run the play on:

Silent (if you’re under center) - where the QB calls for the snap by applying pressure with his hands. First Sound - first sound out of the QB’s mouth (in this case, the ‘Re’ in ‘Ready’) calls for the center to snap the ball. Set/Quick- the word ‘Set’ is the snap One - full cadence

That’s FOUR possible variants within an extremely short cadence, and provided that the CENTER himself snaps it on the count that was called in the huddle, none of these four counts is a 5-yard penalty risk. The worst that can happen is you have a lineman fire out late.

It kills me to see these offenses where the coach makes them incapable of varying their count, and then incessantly yells at their O-line demanding more effort. When you never alter your count, that’s the same thing as the opposing defense knowing your count. You’re allowing the D-line to tee off on your offense. Altering the snap count is not just a tool for drawing penalties on the defense. It’s an offensive advantage that you forfeit when you go on one play after play.

Go on first sound in practice, film it, then watch your 5 linemen on film. At least one of them will get the first pancake of their young life just by getting to fire out early while the guy across from him is still waiting for the full count.

I had no idea how many people were totally unaware of this until I attended middle school games where my daughter was a cheerleader. Those poor kids….

Indiana Fever and WNBA player Sophie Cunningham made headlines over the last couple of weeks for publicly voicing her opinion that trans athletes don’t belong in female sports. Cunningham is a bench/reserve player, but after speaking out on this issue, her jersey skyrocketed to #2 in the WNBA in terms of sales volume amongst players.

Is this not a clear example of a “winning issue” for Republicans that would be best for liberals to avoid? Why continue to put focus on an 80/20 issue that has no impact on the well-being of the country?

In late 2023 to early 2024, once it became obvious that:

A) Despite active indictments, Trump was certainly going to be the Republican nominee and B) Joe Biden’s competency had come into question, with members of his own party pressing him to step down (which obviously culminated in him terminating his run for re-election)…

What if Joe Biden had pardoned Donald Trump? Hindsight is 20/20, but should Biden have attempted this Hail Mary?

Trump would’ve had the option to reject the pardon, but Biden would’ve been able to hang his hat on the offer. Every discussion could’ve turn to, You are under criminal indictment, and I offered you a full pardon in an attempt to lower political tensions and avoid a divisive prosecution.

The Fever are 17-10 as it stands.

I’ll say 25W 19L will be their final record.

There’s an oddity in Stephanie White’s WNBA coaching record worth noting…

In her 5 full seasons as an NBA head coach, her record before the All-Star/Olympic break: 65-30 (68.1% winning percentage). After the break: 52-46 (53.1% winning percentage) That’s a drop of 15 percentage points.

This team is on a roll right now, and you’d expect getting a healthy Aliyah Boston back would only help…but we also have the 2nd hardest strength of schedule over the final 17 games.

Both teams combined shot a total of 127 three point attempts in that game vs 10 total fouls committed.

Six players were a combined 0-16 on three’s.

The annual decline of the NBA All-Star game over the past decade should’ve served as a clear indicator not to let it go down this path, but in a move that shocked absolutely nobody, the W has refused to heed this warning. When Caitlin shows up, they’ll put 20K asses in seats, so I guess I can’t blame them for feeding the Golden Goose, but I don’t see how that game was enjoyable to any basketball fan.

Admittedly, I did turn it on and try to watch it….something I would’ve never done last year when Clark was injured, nor any other year prior to her entering the league. But yeah, after about 5 minutes, that’s all I could take.

As a liberal, what actions would you take to fix America’s immigration problem?

The WNBA players union REALLY doesn’t like Sophie.