In the last several years of his 25 seasons as the women's basketball coach at mid-major South Florida, Jose Fernandez spoke more with agents and lawyers than parents.

Discussions with prospective athletes centered not around education, but what they would earn in Year 1. He noticed more players hitting the transfer portal and less willing to wait their turn.

"If I'm doing this in college, you know what, might as well go coach the best players in the world," Fernandez, now the Dallas Wings coach, told The Dallas Morning News.

Five years after the dawn of name, image and likeness, the world Fernandez previously inhabited looks very different.

Fewer athletes stay with one program over the course of their collegiate careers, and the burden of fundraising to retain and acquire them has been placed on coaches. Bidding wars have allowed the highest spenders to obtain the best talent, and programs have started hiring general managers, mirroring their staffs to resemble a professional team's front office.

With money on the line, teens and families have found themselves in complex situations, particularly in states that have embraced NIL at the high school level -- something Texas has yet to allow.

"The genie's out of the bottle," Fernandez said.

But the WNBA, where Fernandez has found success as the new Wings coach, needed that domino to fall in the NCAA.

The visibility female athletes gained through NIL gave rise to stars such as Wings guard Paige Bueckers, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese -- figures who have helped grow women's basketball exponentially.

Their on-court skills, along with exposure from repping major brands on TV and social media while still in college, helped them amass large followings they carried into the pros.

During negotiations for the WNBA's new landmark collective bargaining agreement, which created the league's first million-dollar athletes, leaders in the players' union leveraged the star power of young talents such as Bueckers and the new fans they brought to the game.

In a world without NIL, which changed the trajectory of women's sports like Title IX did 55 years ago, maybe that leverage doesn't exist.

"It's transformational," Bueckers said after a recent practice. "... It's really cool to see because we feel like there's so many amazing women who have paved the way that didn't get the same NIL opportunities that we had. So to be a part of that, I'm extremely grateful for it."

BUECKERS AT FOREFRONT OF NIL BOOM

Not even 24 hours after the Wings beat the Las Vegas Aces in a preseason game, Bueckers made a surprise appearance.

As red carpet photos rolled in from the star-studded Met Gala in New York City, pictures of Bueckers clad in a custom-made Coach suit flooded social media.

Coach, which also designed the custom suit Bueckers wore when the Wings took her No. 1 overall in the 2025 draft, is one of several brands in the 24-year-old's ever-growing sponsorship portfolio that includes Gatorade, Nike, Verizon and DoorDash.

The 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year boasts more than 7 million followers across Instagram and TikTok and was the first women's basketball star of the social media highlight generation. From Minnesota high school sensation to UConn phenom and now WNBA standout, Bueckers has been a poster child for how athletes build their brands in the digital age.

You could also call her an NIL baby.

The groundbreaking change hit on the heels of Bueckers' historic freshman season at UConn, where she became the first freshman to be named national player of the year. The brands quickly came knocking, further boosting the profile of the young star and her sport.

"I feel like women's sports, especially in college -- it's huge," Bueckers said. "It's bigger than the men's sometimes in terms of who's in commercials and who's on national TV and who's getting talked about on social media."

TRICKLE-DOWN EFFECT

The WNBA's new CBA made Wings guard Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 overall pick in 2026, the highest-paid rookie in league history with a first-year salary of $500,000.

A 2021 high school graduate, Fudd has never known a world without NIL. Her sponsorship portfolio includes Celsius, Geico, Jordan Brand and Paula's Choice.

"How much it's evolved and how much people are really investing into women and women's college athletes has been incredible to see," Fudd told The Dallas Morning News after a recent practice.

When the rookie and UConn alum entered college, NIL was completely unregulated, and now the movement has trickled down to preps athletics.

"Honestly, I'm glad I left high school before that became a thing," Fudd said.

In Texas, high school athletes who are 17 or older can ink NIL deals, but they can't receive payments until they've graduated and enrolled in college. Top prospects have started hiring agents to help them navigate the new landscape.

In Florida, Wings coach Fernandez's home state, high school athletes can profit from NIL while still maintaining their eligibility.

"[I've seen] the endorsements, specifically [with] car dealerships, housing," Fernandez said of Florida. "It's become a different monster."

That "monster" has created uncertainty, among other issues, and has at times, subjected young athletes to burnout and exploitation.

There's no telling how NIL will evolve in the future -- for better or for worse -- but it's certainly been transformational for women's sports.

"It's unbelievable now with the CBA being done and the amount of games that are on TV and how the players are being compensated," Fernandez said. "And it's only going to continue to grow."

READ MORE

https://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/2026/jul/04/for-the-wnba-nil-has-skyrocketed-visibility/

The WNBA has reached a historic milestone as its 30th season is nearing the halfway mark. It all began in 1997 with eight teams; now there are 15 and counting. Half of those original eight teams remain: the New York Liberty, Phoenix Mercury, Los Angeles Sparks and Las Vegas Aces (then the Utah Starzz).

The Aces have won three of the last four WNBA championships. They are led by generational talent A’ja Wilson and head coach Becky Hammon. Hammon’s career as both a player and coach spans nearly the entirety of the WNBA’s existence.

It began in 1999 when she signed with the New York Liberty as an undrafted free agent. In her rookie season, she was the backup guard for Teresa Weatherspoon. She was witness to one of the most exciting moments in WNBA history: “The Shot”

While speaking with reporters, Hammon also recounted the run she and the rest of the San Antonio Silver Stars made in 2008, which ended in the WNBA Finals.

In Game 2 of the conference finals, San Antonio’s Sophia Young-Malcolm hit a game-winner to even up the series against the Los Angeles Sparks, 1-1. At the time, playoff series were best-of-three until the finals, which meant Hammon and the Silver Stars not only avoided elimination, but were just one win away from the Finals.

In the decisive Game 3, Hammon put the team on her back and set a franchise record for most points scored in a playoff game with 35. That record stood until 2023, when it was broken by Wilson.

“That whole series … was one to remember,” Hammon said.

Growing through visibility

In the league’s early years, the WNBA consistently drew big crowds. Per Across The Timeline, the league’s per-game attendance in the inaugural season was 9,661 and finished above 9,000 each of the first six seasons.

Then attendance began to wane, leading to a period of instability, but a 48% spike from 2023 to 2024 brought the league average to 9,807, the first time above 9,000 in over 20 years.

It is unfortunate that the lull meant many people did not see a litany of greats like Maya Moore, Tamika Catchings, Cappie Pondexter, and so many others in their prime while the league was underserved and underseen.

Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud told The IX that she attributes the league’s growth to the players past and present.

“The women that make up this league,” the veteran said. “The OGs that came before us, that we’re standing on the shoulders of; the kids that will come after me and stand on my shoulders to continue to progress this sport.

“But I think after a huge and monumental CBA, what I want people to know is that this would have never worked if it wasn’t for the players. Yes, we need investment. Yes, we need … sponsorships, endorsements, but the product on the floor is made by us.” ........

READ MORE: https://www.theixsports.com/the-ix-basketball-newsroom/wnba/the-wnba-at-30-then-now-and-in-between/

This Thursday night in Hartford was one of those patented, “We have Paige and they don’t” nights, to recycle a phrase sometimes used when she played at UConn.

“I would totally agree with that statement,” Wings coach Jose Fernandez said. “She does things every single day, that you’re not surprised anymore. … She’s just different. She’s such a competitor, a winner, she just refuses to lose. Certain players don’t want the ball at the end, don’t want to take the big shot, She never shies away from the big moment.”

The Wings beat the Connecticut Sun, 86-83, at PeoplesBank Arena, with Bueckers and Azzi Fudd giving the majority of the 14,578, the UConn women’s basketball fans, the current team, the political, civic and academic leaders, Hall of Famer Ray Allen, what they came and suffered a sweltering night to see.

It was an electric night in Hartford, the Dallas Wings living off the power surges provided by Bueckers, who was 4 for 4 with 11 points in the fourth quarter. She took this game over, plain and simple, finishing with 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, but just as typically gave all the credit to screen-setting teammates and the coaching staff’s X’s and O’s.

“As far as how it felt,” Bueckers said, “just to be able to play in this game, play in fourth quarters, be out there with my teammates in that environment and see a lot of support, regardless who they were cheering for, they were here for women’s basketball.”

Though most UConn games are blowouts, Husky fans have their memories of Bueckers in this milieu: The Big Moment. This regular-season WNBA game was reminiscent of Bueckers’ tours-de-force against South Carolina in COVID-cleared Gampel Pavilion in 2021, against NC State in the NCAA Regional final at Bridgeport in 2022, or multiple games deep in March Madness, when she emerged with her championship in 2025.

For others, it could be considered more than just nostalgia. It was an example of all the WNBA COULD be, if it had the leadership to bring its bickering, polarizing, pushing, shoving, flopping and flagrant-fouling factions together and make entertaining basketball the agenda. The game was as physical and intense as anyone could expect, but had none of the other stuff. And it showed what can happen when WNBA stars comport themselves like professionals, carry themselves with a little grace and humility.

“You’ve got two of the most humble superstars sitting up here right now,” said the Wings’ Alanna Smith, who had Bueckers to her right, Fudd to her left. “The way they handle themselves and treat other people, it speaks to who they are as people. They don’t see themselves as better-than, higher-than, which is amazing because they have so much magnitude, especially in a place like this.”

Bueckers, the No.1 pick in the WNBA Draft in 2025 and the top fan vote-getter for the All-Star Game, and Fudd, No. 1 this past April and a potential All-Star, have led this Wings’ resurgence. At 12-8, they have already won more games than all last year, with more than half the schedule remaining.

“But we’re not settling for that,” Fudd said.

and score, but she made her impact with five assists and solid defense, finally hitting two big shots down the stretch as the Wings were closing in and the fans, of course, went wild.

“Just thank you,” Fudd said, “for the five years we both had here, (the fans) showed up every single night and it’s just an incredible experience that will never change and it’s part of the reason this is the basketball capital of the world.”

This was the last of two games the Sun scheduled in Hartford this season, and they drew a total of 25,000-plus. Since most WNBA teams have at least one notable former Husky — Bueckers, Breanna Stewart and Gabby Williams are all starting the All-Star Game — it can be surmised that if the efforts to keep the team from moving from Mohegan Sun to Hartford had succeeded, and prevented the franchise from relocating to Houston after this season, summer nights like this one could have become commonplace here.

This, we will never know. Bueckers called before and after the game for a future Dallas Wings exhibition game to be played at Gampel.

“That would be really cool, so I’m kind of speaking that into existence,” she said.

READ MORE - https://www.courant.com/2026/07/03/dom-amore-paige-bueckers-virtuoso-performance-shows-all-wnba-should-be-and-mightve-been-in-ct/

With a couple weeks until All-Star break, we’ll soon find out who the WNBA believes are the league’s best shooters, as they’ll be pitted against each other in the 3-Point Contest.

While popularity plays a role in choosing the competitors, let’s look at who the league’s best shooters have been so far this season.

• Marina Mabrey(Toronto Tempo): 3.5 makes, 8.8 attempts, 40.3 percent per game
• Kelsey Plum (Los Angeles Sparks): 2.6 makes, 6.8 attempts, 38.3 percent per game
• Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana Fever): 2.5 makes, 6.2 attempts, 40.2 percent per game
• Nia Coffey (Minnesota Lynx): 1.7 makes, 4.0 attempts, 43.4 percent per game
• Marine Johannès (New York Liberty): 2.4 makes, 6.2 attempts, 39.0 percent per game

READ MORE - https://www.swishappeal.com/wnba/82125/all-star-weekend-3-point-contest-best-shooters-marina-mabrey-kelsey-plum-mitchell-nia-coffey-marine-johannes-caitlin-clark-sabrina-ionescu

ESPN Gamecast

The Aces and Liberty have been the toast of the league over the last five years. This will be their latest meeting with a trophy on the line, and perhaps a preview of another to come in the fall. Unfortunately, the Aces announced on Tuesday morning that their star forward A'ja Wilson will miss this game with a right leg injury.

But there's still plenty for both teams to play for. Once again, there will be a $500,000 prize pool split between the two teams. Each player from the winning team will receive $30,000, while each player on the losing team will receive $10,000. The Commissioner's Cup MVP will receive an additional $10,000, and the remaining $10,000 will be donated to a charity of the winning team's choosing.

"People want to see New York versus Vegas, so I think it's good for the fans," Aces coach Becky Hammon said Sunday. "Barclays has been a tough place for us to play the last few years. So it's going to be a great battle. I know Barclays is going to be rocking."

Wilson and Sabally out with injuries

In the fourth quarter of the Aces' win over the Chicago Sky on Sunday, A'ja Wilson deflected a pass from Sydney Taylor and jumped up to secure the ball. As she landed, her right ankle rolled, and she collapsed to the ground, bringing a hush over the United Center crowd.

Wilson immediately clutched her ankle and remained on the ground for a brief period before getting up and limping back to the locker room. Somehow, she was able to return to the game and helped the Aces close things out. She finished with 30 points, 15 rebounds, four steals and three blocks, and didn't seem concerned about her ankle afterward.

"It's good, I'm working on it. Obviously I have it taped up and everything," Wilson said. "It's just one of those things. I'm feeling pretty good right now."

However, the Aces listed Wilson as questionable on Monday's injury report due to a "right leg" injury and officially ruled her out on Tuesday.

Wilson is one of the toughest and most durable players in the league. Since her debut in 2018, she's played in 286 of a possible 301 regular-season games and 55 of a possible 55 playoff games. But it is understandable that the Aces are being cautious with their franchise player in a game that doesn't even count toward regular-season standings.

Hammon told reporters that she doesn't think the injury will impact Wilson long term, and that she likely will need a "few days" to recover.

On the other side, the Liberty will be without key free agent signing Satou Sabally, who is out with a concussion she suffered during New York's win over Las Vegas on June 23. Sabally also suffered a concussion against the Aces during Game 3 of the 2025 Finals when she was playing for the Mercury.

From building a new physique to managing life in the public eye, the Dallas Wings star guard has grown into a leadership role on the team.

When Paige Bueckers strolled into the Dallas Wings' training camp after an offseason full of excursions, it was clear she’d also made time for the weight room ahead of her sophomore year in the WNBA.

The guard, historically slight, gained 15 pounds of muscle on a regimen that included three-hour lifting sessions five to six days a week and a new diet.

She no longer looked like the fresh-faced rookie from the year prior, but someone built to take on the physicality of a league that she’s already become a face of.

“Unfortunately, a lot of times throughout college I was always rehabbing something in the summer,” Bueckers told The Dallas Morning News. “This was my first long offseason where I really got to hone in.”

Added time in the gym has seemingly paid off for Bueckers, the 2025 No. 1 overall pick and WNBA Rookie of the Year. She’s averaging 19.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.9 assists for the new-look Wings, who finished 10–34 overall in 2025 and are currently 11–8 near the midpoint of the 2026 season.

The 24-year-old ranks top 10 in the league in points and assists, and recently achieved 1,000 career points. Bueckers became the fourth-fastest player in history to reach 1,000 points and the fastest to reach 1,000 points and 250 assists, but these feats can’t all be attributed to work in the gym.

Though physically more built, Bueckers has also strengthened her mind.

“I believe in the power of positive thinking. I’m probably delusionally positive,” Bueckers said. “Situations could be 99 percent negative and I’ll try to find that 1 percent.”

That mindset has made Bueckers a beloved teammate. It’s also helped her navigate the weight of responsibility and the pressure of being in the public eye. She’s one of the most prominent figures in women’s basketball, with a large sponsorship portfolio and an army of fans to show for it, but it took Bueckers time to grow into the leader she is today.

And she’s still learning how to fight against the perfectionism that comes with that role. Time in the gym made her even more elite on the court, but life in the spotlight has taught Bueckers being a leader doesn’t negate her own humanity.

“Role models don’t have to be perfect. You can make mistakes. You can come up short in life,” Bueckers said. “I believe in God’s grace. I believe in forgiving. I believe in responding to mistakes and letting them help you become a better human being.”

Humble teammate, leader

A big sister to three siblings, Bueckers has long been a connector. “I was always loud, goofy, building relationships, having a good time,” she said.

That warmth is part of what’s made Bueckers a household name in the sport, though she often deflects the spotlight away from herself and on to her teammates.

While she can take over a game, she has more of a pass-first mindset. When Bueckers has a great performance, she’ll credit a teammate for creating space. You won’t see her placing blame on anyone.

“I ride for my teammates. Good, bad, ugly, win, loss, whatever,” Bueckers said. “Everybody’s important. No person’s bigger than the other.”

During her time at UConn, where she became one of the top NIL earners in women’s college sports, she often included her teammates in NIL deals and used her influence to create pathways for minority content creators and advertisers.

Bueckers also left additional money on the table.

“At the beginning of that NIL thing, I remember saying to her … ‘Alright, listen, we're going to sit down and talk about how much money we’re going to give you,’” longtime UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma said during a recent media availability. “And she’s like, ‘I don’t want it.’”

When Auriemma pushed her on it, Bueckers’ answer remained the same.

“She said, ‘No, give it to some of these other guys because they need it,’” Auriemma said. “She was making so much money off the court with all the deals that she had.”

And she spread the wealth. Auriemma noted how whenever Bueckers signed a new deal, she’d give out goodies, like Crocs or Bose headphones, to UConn players and staff.

“Above and beyond the assists on the court, how she is as a human being off the court allows her to then inspire them to follow [her]. She didn’t want to do that as a young player, freshman year, sophomore year. Even junior year sometimes. She just expected it to happen,” Auriemma said. “But I think since then, she’s taken on that [mindset of] I’m responsible for not just myself, but for the rest of the team.”

Bueckers credits the 12-time champion coach, along with high school coaches and veteran players, for much of her growth in that area.

“Holding people accountable and calling people out is really just calling people up,” Bueckers said. “It’s really a respect thing. If you think your teammate is capable of better and you think we can be better as a team — that’s what leadership is.”

A heavy crown

In a tight 93-92 win over the Chicago Sky earlier this month, Bueckers struggled to find her shot early. But she fought through the slump, finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.

“I don’t have to say much to her,” Wings coach Jose Fernandez said postgame on Bueckers’ slow start. “She’s one of the best players on the planet, in the world. She knows the standard that she holds herself to.”

The pursuit of excellence has made Bueckers an aspirational figure, but it’s also placed her on a pedestal she didn’t exactly ask to be on.

Bueckers admits she didn’t initially realize being a basketball star would carry so much responsibility — or that it would mean surrendering privacy to the public.

“It’s kind of insane to think about how every single move is analyzed,” Bueckers said. “Everything is under a microscope.”

It’s made perfectionism tough to combat.

Bueckers often leans on her faith to cope with the pressure she feels to not make mistakes as a team leader and role model to kids. She’s learned to separate her identity from her performance and focus her energy on helping others.

“Where you fall short, that’s where God steps in,” Bueckers said. “Jesus Christ lived his life for others and that’s how I want to approach life. …. Giving without expecting anything in return.”

Bueckers has built her career exactly on this foundation, humbling herself in an era where athletes are more visible than ever before. And it only adds to her mystique.

The Wings have ascended alongside Bueckers so far this season, having already surpassed their win total from last year. But she'd probably be the last person to take credit for the new era.

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/wings/article/paige-bueckers-dallas-wings-leader-22326036.php

“I couldn’t have envisioned any of this if you would have asked me five years ago,’’ Betts told The Denver Gazette. “This is crazy.”

Five years ago, Betts was preparing to enter her senior year at Grandview High School in Aurora. After that, the 6-foot-7 center played one season at Stanford and three at UCLA and is now a rookie with the Washington Mystics.

The Mystics, who already had a pair of top post players as starters in fifth-year center Shakira Austin and second-year power forward Kiki Iriafen, are bringing Betts along slowly. Entering Wednesday’s home game against the Minnesota Lynx, with the Mystics (8-7) on a three-game winning streak, she was averaging 6.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16.6 minutes.

But don’t think the Mystics aren’t enamored with Betts’ potential.

“She’s been fantastic,’’ said head coach Sydney Johnson. “I think we’ve thrown a lot at her both within our schemes and system but also just the level of play, it’s times 10 (from college). … There’s just no easy outs in this league. For her to take to the coaching, the new environment, stay competitive, keep your confidence, that’s a big ask. She’s got a tremendously bright future here. We feel like she can be a standout, but it takes time.”

For now, Betts is remaining patient.

“It’s obviously an adjustment,’’’ she said after Tuesday’s practice at CareFirst Arena. “But I think it’s hard regardless of who you are as a rookie. These are the best of the best players and this is the best league in the world. … So I think it’s just staying patient.”

READ MORE - https://www.denvergazette.com/2026/06/24/after-amazing-title-run-at-ucla-lauren-betts-remains-patient-adjusting-to-life-in-wnba/

Kevin Singh, a 48‑year‑old Indianapolis man, was arrested on June 23, 2026 and charged with felony stalking and intimidation and a misdemeanor harassment for allegedly sending threatening and sexually explicit messages to Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham and threatening a team security official. Prosecutors are seeking a higher bond, a stay‑away order from Gainbridge Fieldhouse and a seven‑day hold without bond for a parole violation, while Singh also filed a defamation lawsuit against Pacers Sports & Entertainment.

Key points:

Kevin Singh was taken into custody on June 23, 2026 in Marion County, Indiana.

He faces two felony charges of stalking and intimidation and one misdemeanor charge of harassment for allegedly sending threatening and explicit social‑media messages to Sophie Cunningham.

Singh is accused of threatening John Ball, the vice president of security for the Indiana Pacers and Fever, after Ball sent him a cease‑and‑desist letter.

Prosecutors have filed for a greater‑than‑standard bond, a stay‑away order from Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and a seven‑day hold without bond for violating his parole on a separate invasion‑of‑privacy case.

Security footage from September 30, 2025 captured Singh delivering a package with a Guns N’ Roses T‑shirt, cologne and a handwritten letter addressed to Cunningham at the arena.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2026/06/24/sophie-cunningham-stalker-arrested-indiana-fever-wnba/90677857007/

The WNBA is celebrating its 30th season with the anniversary of its first game, between the Los Angeles Sparks and the New York Liberty on Sunday, a game the Sparks won 67-57.

The opening tip in that matchup was won by Lisa Leslie, who went on to have one of the most illustrious WNBA careers. As we commemorate the league reaching its 30th season, Leslie is one of the 30 players who defined this first era of the WNBA. Here are the rest:

Top 10

1. Tamika Catchings
2. Diana Taurasi
3. Cynthia Cooper
4. A'ja Wilson
5. Breanna Stewart
6. Maya Moore
7. Sylvia Fowles
8. Candace Parker
9. Lauren Jackson
10. Yolanda Griffith

Notable Rankings (11-30)

• Lisa Leslie
• Sheryl Swoopes
• Elena Delle Donne
• Nneka Ogwumike
• Tina Thompson
• Seimone Augustus
• Sue Bird
• Tina Charles
• Brittney Griner
• Lindsay Whalen
• Katie Smith
• Ticha Penicheiro
• Cappie Pondexter
• Becky Hammon
• Deanna Nolan
• Jonquel Jones
• Alana Beard
• Rebekkah Brunson
• Angel McCoughtry
• Chelsea Gray

Accolade Leaders Among the Top 10

• A'ja Wilson — Record 4 MVPs
• Diana Taurasi — 3 championships, all-time leading scorer
• Cynthia Cooper — 4 championships, 4 Finals MVPs
• Tamika Catchings — 5 DPOYs, MVP, champion
• Candace Parker — 3 championships with 3 franchises
• Lauren Jackson — 3 MVPs
• Sylvia Fowles — 4 DPOYs
• Breanna Stewart — 2 MVPs, 3 championships

Read More - https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7374451/2026/06/19/wnba-best-players-ranking-30/

The Indiana Fever have a defense problem... among others that put a 2026 Indiana title run in serious doubt.

Saturday's loss to the hosting Atlanta Dream marked the whopping sixth game in 2026 that Indiana has allowed 100 points from one of their opponents. The Fever are 1-5 in games where they let up more than 100 points. The team is bottom five in points allowed in the WNBA with 89.7 ppg allowed as of Saturday afternoon. That's, well, not good.

While the team entered Saturday's Dream loss with a sixth-overall defensive efficiency ranking, it's not translating so far against some of the best offenses in the WNBA. That poor defense is actively harming the Fever against the league's best. The team is 2-5 this season against teams with winning records, solidifying their status as one of the league's true middle-dwellers. They're just not contenders at this stage unless a lot of improvement is in store.

Can the Fever do anything to fix this?

Defending more aggressively in the paint and on the perimeter all sounds great in theory; helping hide guard Caitlin Clark's defensive flaws while teams try to score on her in isolation is easier said than done. The Fever's "Big 3" in Clark, guard Kelsey Mitchell and forward Aliyah Boston can all score 20-plus points in a single game, but it doesn't mean as much if the team keeps letting up points in bundles and playing sloppy basketball by turning the ball over at will and missing easy layups and free throws. Indiana's nasty habit of blowing leads keeps haunting them; how can Indiana contend when playing like this? Why is a team with so much talent so wildly underperforming right now?

Indiana is currently assembled as an offensive juggernaut that can only win consistently by pushing the offense as far as it will go. The team just hasn't been able to match its offense and defense performances to win games. If the Fever offense lags, other teams go on rampant runs as leads evaporate. The defense has its moments, but the tempo just crashes on that side of the ball when the offense experiences any pushback or calls go the other way. How can the Fever beat a team like the Minnesota Lynx, Las Vegas Aces, New York Liberty, Atlanta Dream, Dallas Wings or Golden State Valkyries in a playoff series playing defense like this? The Fever are clearly behind them. The team just doesn't seem to have the toughness and poise to weather consistent adversity, perhaps its fatal flaw.

The offense, while great, can run hot and cold. The Fever take on too many fouls and turn the ball over too much. Again, the team almost blows leads with regularity. At full strength, this Fever team is simply a gigantic disappointment for being a title contender to start the season, particularly with a coach like White who has historically thrived with her defensive game plans. You just can't rule out Indiana missing the playoffs right now at the rate they're playing; it's officially time to sound some urgent Fever alarms before it's just too late.

READ MORE - https://ftw.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2026/06/20/caitlin-clark-fever-not-wnba-title-contenders-right-now/90629858007/

While Portland Fire head coach Alex Sarama noted that lengthening the season is a strong sign the WNBA is healthy in terms of exposure and fans, he also raised concerns about players’ health.

“There’s two, kind of two sides to this. I think the first one is I always want what’s best for the players, and … the exposure for this incredible league, yes, we want that,” Sarama told reporters on Wednesday. “It’s a great thing for the league.

“But then the other side to me is I’m always so concerned about performance and health. And that’s … such a focus of ours and keeping the players healthy. We want to sustain and extend their careers. And I think it’s really hard to do that when it’s an even more condensed schedule.”

Washington Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson raised similar concerns on Friday ahead of the team’s game against the New York Liberty. Johnson acknowledged that more basketball is a good thing, but he also wondered how the calendar would work.

“I’m very, very sensitive to how we’ll fit those games in, in terms of the calendar, however that looks, because I want as much as anything for players to be safe and be able to give their best and not get worn down,” he told reporters. “So that’s something that I think is in the works, and I know that our league is very, very mindful of that. So that’s the one thing that’s really important to me.”

International players have more to consider

The new schedule will have an impact on international players who compete for their national teams during the WNBA offseason, Fire center Luisa Geiselsöder told reporters on Friday.

“It’s going to be tough. I’m going to be honest,” she said. “… I play the main [WNBA] season and the winter season. I play [for my] national team. So we will not have a break.”

Playing for her national team is important to Geiselsöder. “I love playing overseas, too,” she added. “I mean, America for me is overseas, but playing back in Europe, that is a big, big thing for me because I like European basketball a lot. So I’m definitely going to play as long as I can. As long as my body does it, I will be doing that.”

For some players, work is work

Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson succinctly addressed the proposed change when she told reporters this week, “I am cool with it, man.”

She shrugged and continued, “I got nothing to do. This is my job. Come on now, granted, that’s gonna be a lot, but we will get through it.”

Connecticut Sun forward Aaliyah Edwards referenced that viral moment from Wilson while speaking with The IX Basketball on Friday.

“It’s part of our job. I think A’ja said it best. So what we signed up for, we understand that the game is growing, visibility is growing, so embracing that and not seeing it as something that we’re running away from,” Edwards said. “We love more games, we love more opportunities to play basketball and more opportunities for the next generation, whether that’s visibility or an actual spot on the roster.”

Sun center Brittney Griner told The IX Basketball that managing the change will require balance.

“[With] more games, there’s more times we’re going to be on TV, more time in front of fans, there’s more time to put our product out there. So I think that’s good, especially with more teams coming in,” Griner said. “I think our season should be longer, but that’s just me personally, with all the games, so they’re not crammed and … injuries don’t start happening with people.

“But I think our league is growing, [and] we have to have more games. So, I mean, I think the talk of spanning our season out … should be talked about.”

Aces head coach Becky Hammon also cited the possibility of more games leading to expanded roster opportunities.

“It’s good. I mean, it is what it is. It’s the growth of the league, and so when you look at it at that lens, it’s good,” she told reporters on Wednesday. “We’ll have to see if they allow even some more roster spots and stuff like that, because that’s a lot of wear and tear on a group, especially when you start mixing in World Cup and all this other stuff. But more money, more games, that’s the way it works.”

READ MORE - https://www.theixsports.com/the-ix-basketball-newsroom/wnba/wnba-players-and-coaches-what-they-think-about-the-50-game-schedule/

Annie Costabile and Sabreena Merchant have pointed out some major drawbacks for the next generation that arrives on the big stage.

“Let’s say training camp starts on April 1st and the draft happens, what, like April 13th or something like it did last year?” Merchant said on the ‘No Offseason’ Podcast. “The earliest you could appear to training camp would be two weeks after it starts, which makes your transition that much harder to learn the systems and learn the concepts. It doesn’t seem like an ideal method of starting a WNBA season to me.”

The league has been dealing with this logistical sandwich for its extension. In their CBA negotiations, the league reportedly suggested an NBA-style combine for the league before the draft. But the scheduling concerns made it almost impossible to do so. However, it’s unconfirmed why it did not make it in the final CBA.

Even without a combine, it has always been a very quick transition for the WNBA pipeline.

“So you basically go home for one day and pack up your whole life and then move to a new city, the city that you get drafted to,” Caitlin Clark said in 2024. Kelsey Plum called it ‘sink or swim,’ while A’ja Wilson termed it as ‘insane.’

It is a major step up for college athletes, both mentally and physically. Now they are going up against legends who are stronger, smarter, and more experienced. Their stature drops from being a star at their program to being a rookie. Instead of leading the team, they have to switch to learning. This quick turnaround does not help their adaptation. The players’ plight often gets the spotlight. But this increase will stretch the front office staff as well.

“The draft is typically a week after that (Final Four),” Costabile said. “Under this standard, that would mean rookies are showing up late to training camp. But it would also mean that WNBA staffs, which are already shorter or limited in comparison to NBA staffs, would be pulling double duty.

“They would be preparing for training camp, getting training camp underway, and also scouting. One of the most opportune moments to scout is obviously the tournament, with the Final Four ultimately being the first weekend in April.”

READ MORE - https://www.essentiallysports.com/wnba-basketball-news-doesnt-seem-ideal-wnba-s-expansion-to-fifty-games-brings-harsh-reality-for-ncaa-stars-and-staff-per-analyst/

Through the first half of their inaugural season, the expansion franchise ranks fourth in the league in average attendance, drawing 14,057 fans per game and turning the "Fire Pit" into one of the WNBA's most energetic home environments.

Only the Golden State Valkyries (18,064), New York Liberty (16,224) and Indiana Fever (15,725) are averaging more fans than the Fire (14,057).

Portland has recorded the league’s highest single-game attendance this season with a crowd of 19,347. Its lowest-attended game was 11,945 fans, a figure that exceeds the season attendance average of 11 WNBA teams.

The Fire rank second in total attendance at 154,632, trailing only Golden State. Portland has played a league-high 11 home games.

Portland’s average attendance is nearly 70% higher than during the franchise’s original WNBA run from 2000-02, when the Fire averaged 8,319 fans over three seasons.

The strong turnout has helped create an energetic atmosphere at Moda Center, where the Fire have branded their redesigned home court as the "Fire Pit."

Portland coaches and players said the fans and atmosphere they create helps them on the court.

"It's special," Portland Fire coach Alex Sarama said after practice Friday. "It's a home-court advantage, playing at home, playing in the Fire Pit. You come back from these road trips and then you appreciate being home even more. We just can't thank the fans enough. It's outstanding, the support and the energy they're giving us."

Center Luisa Geiselsoder said opponents have noticed the energy generated by the Portland fans.

"It's amazing. Honestly, it's so much fun," Geiselsoder said. "I even talked to some of the Dallas players after the game and they were like, 'You guys have a great crowd out there.' ... It impresses other teams."

Reserve guard Teja Oblak said the atmosphere is unlike anything she experienced while playing overseas.

"In Europe, we don't have that many people coming for the game," Oblak said. "Maybe the max was 8,000 or 9,000. Here, especially when the game is tight and you feel the crowd going crazy, it feels so good. It gives you extra energy for sure."

READ MORE - https://www.kgw.com/article/sports/wnba/portland-fire/portland-fire-wnba-attendance-fire-pit/283-c0403d49-76d1-4057-80c3-0bbfccd8b42b

Johnson discussed the WNBA’s surge in popularity and how that has helped him maximize his investment. While being interviewed, Johnson said, “We were losing money. We thought that someday it would change. It’s okay, we’re comfortable with the loss. And we didn’t know it was gonna turn around like this. From now on, the team is worth $300 million and growing right. We’re still blown away about the growth of the WNBA and where it’s going.”

Johnson became a part-owner of the Sparks in 2014 to help prevent the storied franchise from relocating. The Sparks’ previous owner, Paula Madison, said she lost over $10 million since purchasing the franchise, which meant ownership was no longer an option for her.

The reported losses were damaging to the WNBA, as the Sparks are one of the league’s historic franchises. They made three straight WNBA Finals appearances from 2001-2003, winning back-to-back championships in 2001 and 2002. The franchise was led by MVPs Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker, and Nneka Ogwumike over the years, yet the franchise and the entire league continued operating at a deficit.

As Johnson points out, things are much different now, as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and other stars brought their fans from college over to the professional ranks. As a result, the WNBA was able to secure a historic $3.1 billion media rights deal over the next decade with broadcast partners Disney, NBC Universal, Paramount, Amazon Prime Video and Scripps.

Players are making more money, team valuations are rising, and investors like Johnson are now reaping the rewards. The next step for Johnson is helping the Sparks regain their status in the league.

Players are making more money, team valuations are rising, and investors like Johnson are now reaping the rewards. The next step for Johnson is helping the Sparks regain their status in the league.

READ MORE - https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/blown-away-lakers-legend-magic-222527246.html

Vertical video makes Olivia Miles look good. Horizontal video makes her look better. Her gift shines in context, on the unadorned and unsoundtracked platform that is the next day's full-game replay. What the Minnesota Lynx rookie does best as starting point guard of the WNBA's top team is to understand every option available to her before choosing, inevitably, the right one. She's done well to earn the title "highlight reel player," but watch her enough and realize she's special for being a "film room player," too.

Perhaps that's why this was not something everyone saw coming: the instant stardom, the MVP talks, the Lynx's surprisingly torrid start as they wait for franchise player Napheesa Collier to return from an ankle injury. When Minnesota drafted Miles with the second overall pick in April, it was fair to be curious about the match. The team lost most of its frontcourt in free agency and has lately been at a size disadvantage in the playoffs. Young players haven't always endeared themselves to head coach Cheryl Reeve, either. Since the bright spot of Collier, taken sixth in 2019, the draft has been unkind to the Lynx. Diamond Miller, their most recent lottery pick before Miles, was traded to Dallas at the 2025 deadline after playing sparingly.

But about a quarter of the way into the season, with the Lynx sitting at 11-3, Reeve has only been effusive in her praise. "The rookie," as Reeve will call her, has quickly earned the head coach's trust, enough so that Reeve sometimes even lapses out of that third-person common noun and into the first-person plural: "The team needs us," she recalled telling Miles during a game they spent jawing with the referees too much. "We're the brains behind it." Maybe all signs that this partnership would go well were there on draft night, before Miles had ever put on a Lynx jersey, when Reeve offered reporters a lofty comp: "This is the first real point guard we've had since Lindsay Whalen."

Reeve wouldn't be the last person to speak about Miles with gestures to the past: Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase invoked a different Hall of Fame point guard and called her "mini Magic Johnson," before their teams played in Minneapolis on June 4. There's an old-school game there, to be sure, one suggested by Miles's goggles and verve. But weeks of watching her and talking about her with people around the league have left me wondering what era of women's basketball this self-described throwback really belongs to.

Real. Pure. The true point guard is a little like the true Scotsman, defined retroactively, sometimes by vibe alone. By some accounts, she is on the verge of extinction; by others, well past the verge, her point guard "purity" lost in an age of basketball where mismatches are hunted and non-shooters get punished.

By Whalen's more optimistic account, reincarnation rings truer than extinction. The retired four-time WNBA champion played 15 seasons in the WNBA, nine of them for Reeve in Minnesota, and is in her second year as an assistant on Reeve's staff. When we spoke at Lynx morning shootaround before the last of three early-season games against the Chicago Sky, she said the "pure point guard" distinction might be the relic of a more forgiving era.

"I wasn't a great three-point shooter," Whalen said. "I was really good with finishing and creating, and here, you have to be able to do it all. You have to shoot, you have to be able to score at the rim, you have to be able to pass, you have to have a midrange game."

She thought several players were answering the call. Whalen mentioned Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers by name; Toronto Tempo rookie Kiki Rice and the Connecticut Sun's Leïla Lacan have also made the transition look easy. Their younger wave of point guards is replenishing a positional talent pool that long felt like the league's shallowest. When the WNBA convened a panel of media members and coaches to pick the league's 15 best-ever players, in honor of its 15th season in 2011, five of the 15 were "true" point guards: Teresa Weatherspoon, Dawn Staley, Ticha Penicheiro, Becky Hammon, and Sue Bird. But when the WNBA ran this exercise again for the league's 25th anniversary—naming its "W25" in 2021—the true point guard ranks shrank: Staley and Weatherspoon fell off the list; Bird, Hammon, and Penicheiro stayed on; and Whalen joined them. Dynamic two-way forwards had taken over the game in the intervening years. The WNBA announced it would move to positionless All-WNBA teams in 2022; the following year, the first team didn't feature a single guard. Think of the league's veteran star PGs, and the names that come to mind are probably the ones that came to Whalen's mind: Courtney Vandersloot and Chelsea Gray, who are 37 and 33, respectively.

"The thing that's exciting," Whalen said, about today's flush of point guard talent, "is that these players can see those passes, make those plays, and they can also score."

READ MORE - https://defector.com/olivia-miles-is-the-throwback-point-guard-of-the-future