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While it is too early to speculate on which players will be chosen with these lottery picks, this is the perfect time to explore the options each team has with its picks. November 25, 2025 What the WNBA Draft Lottery Means for Each Team Steve Pimental The first domino of the WNBA offseason fell on Sunday with the WNBA’s draft lottery. While this draft is expected to be strong, especially in the lottery, there is not a consensus top pick. That could change as prospects still have a lot of games in college and overseas between now and the draft. Between the strength of the draft at the top and the fact that two playoff teams have lottery picks, this could be the most interesting draft in recent memory. While it is too early to speculate on which players will be chosen with these lottery picks, this is the perfect time to explore the options each team has with its picks. No. 1 Dallas Wings Pairing a second number one overall pick with Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers is the ideal scenario for the Dallas Wings. Bueckers was as good as advertised as a rookie, which made the team’s 10-34 record even more disappointing. Dallas clearly thought it would show signs of improvement by surrounding Bueckers with proven WNBA starters in DiJonai Carrington, Arike Ogunbowale, Myisha Hines-Allen and NaLyssa Smith. Instead, Ogunbowale had the worst season of her career and Smith and Carrington were traded by the deadline. All of that resulted in the firing of first-year head coach Chris Koclanes. It seems clear that Dallas wants to show improvement in Bueckers’ second year, and at the very least they should contend for a playoff spot. Dallas has a lot of young players under contract, and even after they lose a couple in the expansion draft (barring a trade), they should have a ton of cap space to pursue free agents. My best guess is that Dallas will be aggressive in free agency and perhaps the trade market to surround Bueckers and their 2026 first-round pick with a playoff-caliber roster. But that doesn’t mean it’s the only option. I wonder if Dallas would be open to trading down. Seattle has two first-round picks and Washington has three. I feel like the Wings would have to at least think about a trade that keeps them in the top five and adds an extra pick or two, either in this draft or in the future. I can’t really see Dallas trading this pick outright, but stranger things have happened. If General Manager Curt Miller feels pressure to make the playoffs or even win a round next season, he might consider trading for a more proven commodity. That gets tricky, considering how few players are under contract right now, but if the Sky offers Angel Reese and a future draft pick, they’d have to at least consider it. No.2 Minnesota Lynx Like most of these teams, what Minnesota does with this pick depends at least in part on free agency. If Napheesa Collier leaves, they will most likely make this pick and try to stay competitive while their rookie develops, much like they did after they drafted Collier. That’s probably what will happen if Collier stays, but a trade would make some sense as well. The Lynx never got a whole lot out of 2023 second overall pick Diamond Miller, and while injuries had a ton to do with that, I think part of the issue was that the Lynx were too competitive to give Miller the playing time she needed to develop. Collier turns 30 next season, and it would be ideal to pair her with a young star who could take on a greater offensive role as the years go by, but the Lynx might not have the luxury of waiting for that player to develop. This could be a landing spot for Reese, considering head coach Cheryl Reeve’s emphasis on rebounding, but I’m not expecting that. No. 3 Seattle Storm The Storm had three All-Stars last season and traded for a fourth at the deadline and still were the last team to clinch a playoff spot. The entire roster is up in the air outside of All-Rookie selection Dominique Malonga. Seattle has a new head coach, and I could certainly see them getting the band back together, adding two first-round picks in this draft, and seeing if they can’t compete for a top-four seed. They could also take Malonga and their two draft picks and pursue a full rebuild. I wouldn’t necessarily expect that to be Plan A, but if they strike out on free agency, it would not be the worst contingency plan in the world. More likely, Seattle will make both picks and try to supplement them with young players who fit better than Ezi Magbegor, Gabby Williams and Skylar Diggins did. Seattle shot the fewest threes per game of any of the playoff teams, and I suspect they will look to improve upon that while also having big roles for their young players. No. 4 Washington Mystics The Mystics proved they were fully committed to their rebuild by trading Brittney Sykes even though she had them firmly in the playoff race. Washington almost certainly isn’t going to spend draft capital on a win-now trade, but could they make a consolidation trade? They already had two rookie All-Stars last season in Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen and they have the sixth overall pick, Georgia Amoore, returning from an ACL injury. Do they really need six rotation players with a year or less of WNBA experience? If there is someone they love at the top, or if they are worried about fit with their young players, a trade up could make sense. Washington could also trade one of their later picks for a future first-round pick. The Sky are always dying to trade future assets to get back into the first round. Failing a trade, Washington might consider using one of their three picks on a foreign player who wouldn’t join the team next season. If someone like Iyana Martin or Nell Angloma indicated they didn’t want to join the Mystics until 2027, that might be an ideal situation. No. 5 Chicago Sky The Sky have made two first-round picks in each of the last two seasons and have two proven players to show for it, one of whom may or may not force her way to another team this offseason. I hope they have learned their lesson about trading into the back end of the first round, but that may be wishful thinking. There is also a decent chance that if Angel Reese is traded, it involves adding picks or perhaps even moving up in the lottery. Chicago probably doesn’t need to do anything, since this is widely considered a five-player draft. Then again, they really, really don’t need a forward, especially if Reese returns, so they might trade up if they think Lauruen Betts or Awa Fam will fall to them. Fam, especially, is considered a developmental prospect, and the Sky might not be patient enough to wait for her to become a winning player. SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author Steve Pimental would rather write 20,000 words about Stef Dolson than write two sentences about himself. He lives near Chicago with his beagle/shepard mix, Hootie.

If Unrivaled taught us anything earlier this year, it's that a fully healthy Aaliyah Edwards can flat out hoop! November 21, 2025 Looking Ahead: Top 10 Breakout WNBA Players Next Season EJ Arocho Dominique Malonga This list wouldn't be legitimate without her. The French phenom dazzled and showed a ton of promise in her rookie campaign, going toe to toe with the biggest and baddest and holding her own. The good thing for fans and scary part for the league is that she barely scratched the surface of her potential this year. Malonga is a future MVP and DPOY in my eyes and one who could see a huge leap from Year 1 to Year 2. Lexie Hull After putting together the best year of her career, big things are on the horizon. She recorded career high averages in points, rebounds, assists and steals in Year 4. Her defense was clutch in securing wins against the top teams and keeping competitive against Vegas in the semis. Aneesah Morrow In her rookie season, Morrow became a regular starter (23 of 41 games) averaging 7.7 PPG and 6.9 RPG in under 19 minutes. Given her rebounding instincts and physicality, she could grow into a much bigger role next year with Connecticut. Tenacity is the name of her game! Te-Hina Paopao After a seamless transition to the W from South Carolina, there's no doubt in my mind Pao comes out guns blazing next year. She's well known for her 3-point shooting and court vision but is super underrated defensively. She did great things on D that didn't always show up on the box score, including a notable effort guarding Paige Bueckers in an August meeting. Lexi Held She was an early candidate for Rookie of the Year before suffering a partially collapsed lung after a hard collision with Stewie on June 19th, sidelining her for over a month. Her return saw limited minutes and productivity, but we all saw what she was capable of at 100%. On a team stacked with talent, Lexi recorded six games in double-figures [all pre-injury], including 24 points vs Golden State. Janelle Salaun Quickly emerging as one of the league's best 3-point shooters (18th in 3's made, 29th in 3PT%). With added experience and improved consistency, she could become a real 3-and-D wing. Kennedy Burke KB turned up the heat in her sixth year as a pro averaging career best figures in points, rebounds and assists. She was a legit 6POY candidate playing for a loaded Liberty team, proving that she belonged! Kamilla Cardoso KC showed great upside as a second-year center. Her scoring, rebounding and passing are all improving,showing that she's so much more than just a rim protector! The Sky seem ready to lean on her more, and she's already flashed the ability to dominate inside. Natasha Mack Her numbers continue to increase as the seasons pass. 2025 saw career-best averages in points, steals and blocks. In fact, she is one of the best shot-blockers per-minute in the league but rarely gets the spotlight or recognition for her efforts. With consistent minutes, she could become an elite defensive anchor and future All-Defensive selection. Aaliyah Edwards If Unrivaled taught us anything earlier this year, it's that a fully healthy Aaliyah Edwards can flat out hoop! Injury and team trades interrupted her WNBA season but we still saw glimpses of greatness. She's physically elite with a high motor and is quietly improving as a finisher and defender. A full season with Connecticut could see huge success. SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author EJ Arocho is Mr. Women’s Basketball and lives in New Jersey. Lives by the shore but looking to make waves everywhere!

The introduction of Unrivaled, as well as other revenue streams, has helped to give WNBA players more time to rest, recover, and work on their game than in years past... November 20, 2025 Four Players Who Could Expand Their Game Next Season Steve Pimental One of the best developments in the WNBA in recent seasons is that many of the best players stay home in the offseason. It used to be that nearly the entire league played overseas after the WNBA season ended. That still happens quite a bit, but not like it used to. The introduction of Unrivaled, as well as other revenue streams, has helped to give WNBA players more time to rest, recover, and work on their game than in years past. One of the things I love to see each season is which players have added aspects to their game in the offseason. Perhaps they have improved their shot or their handle. Maybe they’ve developed counters for how teams defend them. They have may have worked on skills to help them fit in better with new teams or situations. Players are working on all of those things right now, and while we won’t know what those things are until we see them next season, we can speculate. Here are four players that I would like to see expand their games next season. Angel Reese - Midrange game Perhaps the only bright spot for the Chicago Sky last season was Angel Reese’s willingness to try to expand her game. She was much maligned as a rookie for her ineffectiveness outside of the paint, and she took steps towards changing that. Due in part to Chicago’s lack of anyone who could create off the dribble, Reese was aggressive in driving to the basket. It didn’t go particularly well, with Reese finishing second in the league in turnovers, but it should help her in the long run. Already this offseason we have seen clips of Reese working on her outside shooting, and that should help, as well, but what I really want to see in her third year is Angel Reese working more in the midrange. In a functional WNBA half-court offense, which Chicago did not have last season, Reese’s drives to the basket would begin almost exclusively at the elbows, and rarely from outside the three-point line. Unless her handle and her passing improve drastically this offseason, I think Reese will be far more effective taking a couple of quick dribbles and going into her defender rather than trying to drive past people from 25 feet away. Even before the Chicago Sky drafted her, I thought Reese’s absolute ceiling if everything went right was to be the next A’ja Wilson. When Wilson came into the league, she was mostly effective around the basket. In her second season, Wilson shot 62.2 percent on 135 attempts inside five feet and 38.1 percent on 194 attempts outside of five feet. This past season, Wilson shot 44.9 percent from 5-9 feet, 42.4 percent from 10-14 feet and 46.3 percent from 15-19 feet. I still hope that Reese can similarly improve her effectiveness from the midrange. The biggest difference right now is that in her first two seasons, nearly all of Reese’s attempts came right at the basket. As a rookie, Reese took 76.6 percent of her shots inside five feet. Last season, those shots accounted for 77.2 percent of her shot diet. It is difficult for me to see how her offensive game can improve significantly without her taking at least a few more shots away from the basket. Jessica Shepard - Shooting I don’t even mean three-point shooting, though I do think Shepard is capable of expanding her game beyond the arc. That might take a couple of seasons. In 2026, I want to see Shepard improve her shooting from 15 feet. Jessica Shepard shot a career-high 103 free throws last season and made a career-low 54.4 percent. It was the first time in her five-year WNBA career she had shot below 73.4 percent. At the same time, 74 percent of Shepard’s shots last season came within five feet of the basket. That worked fine during the regular season when Shepard was surrounded by floor spacers and willing passers for 20 minutes a game, but her lack of floor spacing was a glaring weakness with Napheesa Collier out in Game 4. I believe Shepard can take on a bigger offensive role, either for the Lynx or another team, but she has to be more effective outside of five feet. For me, it starts at the free-throw line. If Shepard shoots close to 50 percent at the line again, teams are going to start fouling her whenever she catches the ball close to the basket. She has to shoot over 70 percent again to at least keep opposing defenses honest. Then she can, hopefully, expand her game to include floaters and midrange jumpers. Shepard is a very good screener, rebounder and cutter, which is how she’s managed to be effective offensively despite rarely shooting from outside the charge circle. Those things can only take you so far, however. I think her form looks good and she has decent touch. Hopefully she can put it all together next season. Kiki Iriafen - Three Point Shooting It is nearly impossible to quibble with anything about Kiki Iriafen’s rookie season. She was an All-Star along with fellow rookie Sonia Citron and they had the rebuilding Washington Mystics in the thick of the playoff race before management pulled the ripcord and traded Brittney Sykes. That being said, I was interested to find that Iriafen was 12th in the WNBA in field goal attempts per game from 15-19 feet. Unlike most of the names ahead of her on that list, Iriafen mostly did not shoot three-pointers. She was just 2-for-11 on the entire season. If last season taught us anything, it is that it is more important to take threes than to make them. You have to make at least a few, but when I see someone like Kayla Thornton make an All-Star team by doubling her three-point attempts despite shooting just 28.2 percent on threes, I see no reason why Iriafen can’t do the same. She is already willing to shoot jumpers; we just need her to move back a step or two. Amy Okonkwo - Passing Okonkwo joined a Dallas team desperate for scoring, and she provided it in impressive fashion. Even so, I was a little disappointed to see her 6.5 percent assist rate ranked 153rd in ithe WNBA last season. I think Okonkwo is going to start drawing more help defenders now that opposing teams are familiar with her offensive game, and that should open up more opportunities to feed her teammates. She has flashed good vision at times to find open teammates, especially in transition. If she can do that a bit more consistently, she will solidify her position in Dallas’s rotation. SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author Steve Pimental would rather write 20,000 words about Stef Dolson than write two sentences about himself. He lives near Chicago with his beagle/shepard mix, Hootie.

I definitely knew I wanted to get into coaching because I truly enjoy the strategy of the game. However, I didn’t expect it to come so quickly after playing so I had some imposter syndrome when I was hired. November 19, 2025 In The Know W/ MK Bula MK Bula You recently made the move from player to assistant coach in women’s flag football. What did you learn as a player that helped you take on this leadership role? Did you see that path for yourself always? I learned a ton about not only the sport and international competition but what it takes mentally to be on a national team. I think that is something that really helped me in my first year of coaching. I was able to relate with the women in a way that most coaches can’t because I was just in their shoes a year prior. I definitely knew I wanted to get into coaching because I truly enjoy the strategy of the game. However, I didn’t expect it to come so quickly after playing so I had some imposter syndrome when I was hired. You are involved in a new and exciting sport that is growing every day. Why do you think women are kicking ass in this sport? This is the first time women have a high-level, non-contact opportunity to play football. I think there are so many women who loved to play or watch football growing up, but there were so few opportunities to play. Now that we have this path, so many women are coming out of the woodwork to try and make this sport succeed so the younger generation of girls can have what we didn’t at their age. How did sports help you as a young girl? What would you say to a parent of a young girl about the power sports can give girls? Sports taught me that barriers don’t have to be the end of the road, but a detour guiding you to a better path. In 5th and 6th grade I was the only girl in an all-boys tackle football league and I never thought I was any different, I just wanted to play a sport I loved. Looking back, if I had never taken the chance to “break a barrier” and be the only girl, I most likely would not be where I am today as a former player and current coach of the USWFFNT. We’d love to know if you have a mantra that has helped you succeed as an athlete and now coach. How do you combat the negative voices? We suspect you have a great one! I often think: “How lucky am I to be a part of something that I never dreamed of because it didn’t exist?” It is wild to think that no one could have predicted flag football would rise to this level, and to know that I am a part of leading the charge truly feels like fantasy. SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author 2x Gold Medalist in the IFAF World Championships and Silver Medalist in the 2022 World Games. MK has transitioned from player to assistant coach and is getting the US Team ready for the 2028 Olympics.

...just because players and teams want to stay where they are, that doesn’t mean that they should. Every year, some players could benefit from playing in a new city, with a new coach, or surrounded by different teammates. Here are five players I would like to see change teams this offseason. November 18, 2025 5 WNBA Players Who Could Use a Change of Scenery Steve Pimental As we have mentioned in nearly all of these offseason articles, at some point, the WNBA will have a new collective bargaining agreement and nearly every veteran will become a free agent. Just because most of the league can change teams before next season, doesn’t mean that they will. I have been surprised to see how many players and teams appear to be planning/hoping to reunite, and based on the early odds I have seen for next season, sportsbooks are expecting most of the big names to stay where they are. Of course, just because players and teams want to stay where they are, that doesn’t mean that they should. Every year, some players could benefit from playing in a new city, with a new coach, or surrounded by different teammates. Here are five players I would like to see change teams this offseason. Arike Ogunbowale, G, Dallas Wings Arike was the inspiration behind this list. It sounds like bringing her back is a priority for the Wings , but it feels like it would be better for everyone if she moves on. In the seven seasons since Dallas drafted Arike Ogunbowale, they have just one winning season. They have three playoff appearances and just one series win, in 2023. I blamed a lot of Dallas’s woes on their inability to find a quality point guard to play next to Ogunbowale, but we can’t say that anymore. Even with Paige Bueckers playing at an All-WNBA level, Dallas managed just 10 wins, tied with Chicago for last in the league. I really thought Arike would benefit from spending more time off the ball, but she had arguably the worst season of her entire career. Her 36.4 field goal percentage and 30.4 three-point percentage were both the worst of her career. She shot a career-best 93.1 percent from the free-throw line but generated just 4.3 free throw attempts per 36 minutes, the second-lowest of her career. You would think she would be more efficient in light of the lowest usage of her career, but instead, the opposite was true. Add it all up, and Ogunbowale averaged 16.8 points per 36 minutes, down from her previous career-low of 20.5 in 2023. The Wings have a lot of young players under contract, plus a lottery pick next year and a ton of cap space. I think they will probably take a young guard in the draft but even if they don’t, I think they can use that cap space to find a secondary creator and off-ball scorer who fits better with Paige Bueckers. I am extremely interested to see what kind of deal Arike Ogunbowale commands in free agency, especially if it is not with the Wings. She will have a market. The Chicago Sky are desperate for an on-ball creator, especially if they stick to their plan of bringing back Ariel Atkins, Courtney Vandersloot and Rachel Banham. Everyone on Chicago’s roster was asked to do too much offensively, which is how they wound up with the second-worst offensive rating in the league. Adding Ogunbowale as the offensive fulcrum would make everyone’s lives easier on offense and allow them to expend more energy trying to improve the league’s worst defense. I think Ogunbowale could also make sense as a Tiffany Hayes replacement in Golden State. The Valkyries are loaded with players who space the floor on offense and fight like hell on defense. They would be the perfect team to hide Ogunbowale on defense and give her spacing she’s never enjoyed on offense. Hayes is 36 years old and played just 26 games last season. Even if the Valkyries bring her back, it would be a good idea to get somebody who can share the offensive load. Similarly, Arike Ogunbowale could make a ton of sense with the expansion Toronto Tempo and head coach Sandy Brondello. Brondello has had good offenses wherever she has gone, and while Ogunbowale might not be a Hall-of-Fame player like Diana Taurasi and Breanna Stewart, I would love to see what kind of offense Brondello could build with Ogunbowale as a key cog. Ogubowale would immediately give the Tempo star power and, most likely, at least an average offense. An expansion team could do a lot worse. Angel Reese, F, Chicago Sky Through two seasons, we really have no idea if Angel Reese can contribute to winning basketball, and it is unlikely we will ever get an answer to that question while she plays in Chicago. The Sky are almost certainly heading for the lottery again next season, at which time they will part ways with Reese, General Manager Jeff Pagliocca, or both. I don’t think its in anyone’s best interests to wait until next season when a breakup seems inevitable. The other expansion team, the Portland Fire, could be a perfect fit for Reese. Head coach Alex Sarama is known for player development, and Reese famously criticized Sky head coach Tyler Marsh for not coaching his players hard enough. Portland is presumably going to assemble a team with young talent and Reese would fit that timeline while also giving this new market one of the league’s biggest stars. I have been encouraged by Reese’s willingness to expand her game outside of just rebounds and post play, but I would trust that development a lot more in Portland than in Chicago. Reese could also fit with the rebuilding Mystics or even the Sun. Brittney Griner, C, Atlanta Dream I’m really not sure why, but Griner never really fit with Atlanta. They had a 1.2 net rating with Griner on the court and a 15.7 net rating with Griner off the court. She propped up Atlanta’s defense as you would expect, but unfortunately, she dragged down their offense. I thought maybe the issue was that Griner couldn’t keep up with Atlanta’s offensive pace, but they actually played slightly faster when Griner was on the court. Griner was never going to shoot a bunch of threes like head coach Karl Smesko wants, but I thought they could have used her more as a screener to get her teammates open looks. Griner is 35 years old, so it is possible she is just a 20-minute-per-game player at this point in her career, but considering she averaged 28.7 minutes, 17.8 points and 6.6 rebounds on 57.9 percent shooting with Phoenix in 2024, I suspect she is going to want to go someplace she can start in 2026. She could be the Tina Charles replacement in Connecticut, or they could be part of the big rotation together. If I had to guess, I would bet on Griner reuniting with Sandy Brondello in Toronto. She could be a short-term solution if most of the free-agent centers stay with their current teams, which seems at least plausible, if not likely. If Griner isn’t just washed, I trust Brondello to get the best out of her. I could also see a team like Los Angeles or Dallas bringing Griner in to fix their defense, though that could be in more of a bench role like she had in Atlanta. For as bad as it looked at times in Atlanta, the Dream still finished second in the league in defensive rating and net rating. If they don’t want Brittney Griner back, some team will take a chance on her. Julie Vanloo, G, Los Angeles Sparks I has happy to see Vanloo catch on with the Sparks after she got a raw deal with Golden State, though she averaged just 10.3 minutes per game in Los Angeles. Vanloo has shot just 33.3 percent from the field and 30.9 percent on threes in her career, and she has to shoot better than that, especially from outside, if she’s going to stay in the league. That being said, just about everyone needs ball handlers, and she is currently shooting 43.8 percent on threes in the Euroleague. Los Angeles doesn’t really need another point guard who isn’t a great defender if they bring back Kelsey Plum and Julie Allemand, but I think she could fill a role on any number of teams, including possibly the expansion teams. Carla Leite, G, Golden State Valkyries I needed at least one young player on this list, and Leite made the most sense. Her playing time fell off down the stretch and she played just 16 minutes total in the playoffs. Leite struggled as most rookie guards do, with 3.2 turnovers compared to 4.2 assists per 36 minutes. She shot 28.7 percent from the field and just 17.3 percent on threes. She didn’t really fit Golden State’s three-point-heavy style, and while I do think she can shoot it better, I think the Valkyries are too good to give her the playing time she needs to develop. I could see either of the expansion teams taking a chance on Leite, or perhaps one of the rebuilding teams like Connecticut or Chicago. SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author Steve Pimental would rather write 20,000 words about Stef Dolson than write two sentences about himself. He lives near Chicago with his beagle/shepard mix, Hootie.

November 14, 2025 Unrivaled Top 10 Must See Matchups & Predictions EJ Arocho January 5th (Opening Day) Mist vs Hive What to watch for: Raining 3's on both sides; Kelsey Mitchell & Sonia Citron (Hive) and Allisha Gray & Arike Ogunbowale (Mist). Peak Performer: Sonia Citron Prediction: Hive wins January 5th (Opening Day) Phantom vs Breeze What to watch for: Lots of 3 balls & lots of blocked shots. Highly anticipated duel between Unrivaled newcomers Paige Bueckers and Kelsey Plum. No shortage of defense with some of the best rim protectors in women's basketball going at it; Cameron Brink, Dominique Malonga & Rickea Jackson (Breeze) vs Aliyah Boston & Satou Sabally (Phantom). These are the Top 2 teams in my preseason rankings. Peak Performer: Cameron Brink Prediction: Breeze wins January 10th Laces vs Mist What to watch for: When friends become foes! Brittney Sykes & Breanna Stewart will go to war! Lots of length in this matchup with Stewie (6'4"), Alanna Smith (6'4") & Li Yueru (6'7") for the Mist. Peak Performer: Allisha Gray Prediction: Mist wins January 11th Hive vs Vinyl What to watch for: StudBudz reunite! Natisha Hiedeman and Courtney Williams will look to electrify... and we might even get a glimpse into a future 1-on-1 matchup! Come for the "twins," stay for the battle inside between 6'9" Brittney Griner and 6'4" Ezi Magbegor. Peak Performer: Courtney Williams Prediction: Hive wins January 17th Mist vs Lunar Owls What to watch for: Two of the very best players in all of women's basketball [and league co-founders] Phee (Owls) and Stewie (Mist) clash. They both have a phenomenal supporting cast of shooters and defensive masterminds; Skylar Diggins & Marina Mabrey (Owls) and Arike Ogunbowale & Alanna Smith (Mist). Peak Performer: Napheesa Collier Prediction: Lunar Owls win January 18th Rose vs Laces What to watch for: Lots of dime-dishing with two of the Top 10 assist leaders in WNBA history, Chelsea Gray (Rose) and Alyssa Thomas (Laces). Both have plenty of options around the arc; Gray with Azura Stevens & Kahleah Copper and AT with Jordin Canada & Jackie Young. Peak Performer: Jackie Young Prediction: Laces win January 25th Rose vs Phantom What to watch for: Spice level on 100 in this one with two guards who never back down: Kahleah Copper and Kelsey Plum. While this matchup might go down to the wire and one of these two could very well decide the outcome, look for all-court dog Natasha Cloud to leave a lasting impression. Peak Performer: Natasha Cloud Prediction: Phantom wins February 17th Breeze vs Lunar Owls What to watch for: No shortage of big names in this one: Paige, Cameron, Marina, Phee, Skylar, etc. Two things I'm most eager for: Phee vs Cam around the rim and Money Martin's production from 3. Peak Performer: Cameron Brink Prediction: Breeze wins February 22nd Phantom vs Hive What to watch for: Dynamic Fever/Mystics duos in Aliyah Boston & KiKi Iriafen vs Kelsey Mitchell & Sonia Citron. These four will likely make up the majority of the scoring in this one. Peak Performer: Aliyah Boston Prediction: Phantom wins February 23rd Lunar Owls vs Vinyl What to watch for: Dearica Hamby and Rhyne Howard's versatility and 3x3 experience on the world stage makes them both super dangerous; inside-out scoring. Peak Performer: Dearica Hamby Prediction: Vinyl wins SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author

If a player is only taking a couple of threes per game, they’re not going to get guarded out there no matter how high their percentage is. On the team level, the four teams that attempted the fewest threes all missed the playoffs, but the Valkyries made the playoffs by shooting the most threes despite having the third-lowest three-point percentage. With so many players potentially changing teams this offseason, I’m going to watch to see where these notable three-point shooters wind up. November 13, 2025 Notable Three-Point Attempt Leaders to Watch This Offseason Steve Pimental Like many WNBA fans, I am impatiently awaiting the new collective bargaining agreement and the ensuing free agent frenzy that will follow. With nearly every veteran in the league hitting unrestricted free agency, most of the attention will be on the stars and where they will land. While those players are extremely important and their signings will impact the league, I think it is more fun to look at some role players who could be underrated this offseason. One of my favorite ways to do that is by looking at the three-point leaders in three-point attempts per 36 minutes. I discussed the value in looking at per-36-minute stats back in September , but that article did not look at three-point attempts. While three-point makes and percentage are, of course, very important, I believe attempts can get underrated. If a player is only taking a couple of threes per game, they’re not going to get guarded out there no matter how high their percentage is. On the team level, the four teams that attempted the fewest threes all missed the playoffs, but the Valkyries made the playoffs by shooting the most threes despite having the third-lowest three-point percentage. With so many players potentially changing teams this offseason, I’m going to watch to see where these notable three-point shooters wind up. Chloe Bibby, F, IND, 9.8 3PA per 36 At some point I want to do a deep dive into how the Indiana Fever managed to have so much success with Caitlin Clark and half of her teammates injured. I’m confident one of the reasons they made it as far as they did is that they surrounded Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell with willing shooters. Only Rhyne Howard attempted more threes per 36 than Bibby, but Bibby shot 40.5 percent on those looks compared to 32.2 percent for Howard. Bibby was actually better for Golden State earlier in the season but she played well enough for both teams that she has earned a rotation spot somewhere. Kayla Thornton, F, GSV, 7.7 3PA per 36 I nominated Thornton for Most Improved Player a couple of months ago, but at that time I was focused mostly on her career-highs in points and rebounds. It didn’t even register that she was shooting 7.7 threes per 36, up from her previous career-high of 5.6. Thornton shot just 28.2 percent on threes, her lowest percentage since 2019. If she can keep the volume from last season while shooting closer to the 35.7 percent she shot in 2024, I see no reason why Thornton can’t be an All-Star again next season. Kiana Williams, G, PHX, 8.8 3PA per 36 Williams played more minutes this season (107) than in her first three seasons combined. Williams doesn’t fit with all teams, but on the Mercury where she can cede ballhandling duties to Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper, her willingness to take threes makes her a nice backup point guard. If she continues to let it fly, she could earn even more playing time next season. Kierstan Bell, F, LVA, 8.7 3PA per 36 Bell’s spot in the starting lineup while playing just 10.1 minutes per game in the playoffs became a bit farcical, but I am impressed by her willingness to shoot threes even when they’re not going in. The Aces need someone who can play hard on defense and doesn’t need the ball on offense, and Bell has stepped into that role. There are plenty of players who shoot a better percentage but are afraid to let it fly when they’re open. Bell is a career 26.5 percent three-point shooter, but she shot better than that this season. Hopefully she can continue to improve. Amy Okonkwo, F, 6.9 3PA per 36 Like Kayla Thornton, Okonkwo earned more recognition for her two-point scoring than her three-point shooting, but that may be a mistake. Okonkwo shot 49.2 percent overall but just 33.3 percent on twos. She averaged 20.2 points per 36 minutes in her eight games for Dallas, though those games came at the end of the season when Dallas was playing out the string. Dallas has a ton of young players under contract next season, which could lead Okonkwo to get an opportunity somewhere else. Just 16.7 percent of Okonkwo’s baskets were unassisted, so I would hope that she stays in Dallas where she can continue to get fed by Paige Bueckers, but if she continues to space the floor and attack the glass, she could be successful anywhere. SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author Steve Pimental would rather write 20,000 words about Stef Dolson than write two sentences about himself. He lives near Chicago with his beagle/shepard mix, Hootie.

Unlike most weeks when the focus is mostly on the top of the leaderboard, this tournament will feature intriguing storylines up and down as players look to earn the last few points that could secure their place in the last tournament of the year. All four days of the tournament will be televised on The Golf Channel and these are the nine players I’m most excited to watch this week. November 11, 2025 Nine Players to Watch at The ANNIKA Steve Pimental If I’m being honest, I still am not completely over the ending of the LPGA’s streak of different individual winners. We now have 28 different winners this season and two repeat winners with just two events remaining on the LPGA schedule. The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at the Pelican is one of my favorite tournaments on the entire LPGA calendar, and not just because it has the longest name ever. The ANNIKA is hosted by one of the best players ever, features a very strong field and is played on a golf course that rewards length and precision. It also has the added benefit of being the last tournament on the schedule before the CME Group Tour Championship. The top 60 and ties in the Race to CME Globe Points List at the end of the tournament qualify for the Tour Championship. Unlike most weeks when the focus is mostly on the top of the leaderboard, this tournament will feature intriguing storylines up and down as players look to earn the last few points that could secure their place in the last tournament of the year. All four days of the tournament will be televised on The Golf Channel and these are the nine players I’m most excited to watch this week. Nelly Korda It is still crazy that Nelly is not among the 28 different players who have won this season. She is second on tour this season with eight top-10 finishes without a win, behind Hye-Jin Choi. That being said, she should probably be the favorite this week. Nelly has won this tournament three of the five times they’ve held it, including last year for her seventh win of the season. Nelly’s stats are not too far off from her historic 2024 season, and a win here would feel like a bit of justice. If Nelly does not win The ANNIKA or the Tour Championship, it would be her first season without a win since 2020. Caitlin Clark, Lexie Hull, and Sophie Cunningham Caitlin Clark is playing in Wednesday’s Pro-Am for the second consecutive season, and this year her Indiana Fever teammates Sophie Cunningham and Lexie Hull will be her celebrity guest caddies. I don’t usually pay attention to LPGA tournaments until the strokes actually count, but this should be a fun group as Clark plays alongside the aforementioned Nelly Korda. Miyu Yamashita Yamashita is the highest-ranked player in CME Points in the field, and the only player with a shot to catch Jeeno Thitikul for Rolex Player of the Year. They are the only players with multiple wins on tour this season, though Yamashita has done it in five more events. Yamashita finished third in the rain-shortened TOTO Japan Classic last week, her seventh top-10 in her last 10 tournaments. She has nearly wrapped up the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year, thought that could change if Rio Takeda, Chisato Iwai, or Akie Iwai are able to pick up their second wins of the season. Lillia Vu Currently ranked 74 in the Race to CME Globe Points List, Lillia Vu needs to finish sixth or better to have any chance of advancing to next week’s CME Group Tour Championship. That is a tall order, but as the only player not named Nelly Korda to win this tournament in the last four years, I wouldn’t rule it out. Last year in her second start in this tournament, she finished T34. Vu has just one top-10 this season, but she has made three consecutive cuts. It is unlikely that anyone this far down the CME Points List is going to make a dramatic move into the top 60, but she is as good a bet as any. Julia Lopez Ramirez Anyone who has read my LPGA articles this season probably knew Lopez Ramirez would make an appearance sooner or later. That being said, there are good reasons she is here beyond her being one of my favorite young players. The success that Nelly Korda, Charley Hull, Linn Grant, Stephanie Kyriacou and Lexi Thompson have had at this tournament in recent seasons demonstrates the importance of driving the ball long and straight on this course. Julia Lopez Ramirez is currently tied for fourth in strokes gained driving and is first in driving distance. She is also 68th in the Race to CME Globe Points List. The CME Group Tour Championship bubble doesn’t have any household names on the outside looking in, but Julia Lopez Ramirez has the game to vault herself into contention this week and perhaps even be a factor next week. Lexi Thompson While there aren’t many big names in the 60s in the Race to CME Globe Points List, there are several notable players in the 50s. Lexi Thompson is currently 52nd, followed by Patty Tavatanakit at 55 and Leona Maguire at 56. All three will be under some pressure to at least make the cut and perhaps even get into the top 10 to secure a spot in the field next week. I have decided to highlight Lexi Thompson here for a few reasons. Firstly, I don’t think it has gotten enough attention how well she has played in her first season as a part-time player. She has played just 11 events this season and is still on track to qualify for the CME Group Tour Championship. The only player with fewer starts who even has a chance of making the field is Lottie Woad. Lexi has two top-10s and just three missed cuts in her 11 starts. She hasn’t played an official event since the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G in September, which was rained out after one round. She missed the cut the two other times this season, she went more than a month between events, which could be a problem this week. However, her history at this course is working in her favor. Lexi finished second to Nelly Korda here in 2022 and was one of three players to lose in a playoff to Nelly in 2021. Lexi finished T7 here in 2023 before missing the cut last year. It has been great to see how well Lexi has adjusted to her part-time schedule, and it would be great if she could pay that off with another top-10 and a spot in the Tour Championship. Charley Hull I rarely need a reason to watch Charley Hull, but I am even more intrigued than normal to see how she does this week. She has wrapped up a spot in the Tour Championship thanks in part to her improbable win at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G in September. She has played just once since then, a T14 at the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei in October. Like Lexi Thompson, Hull has excelled in a condensed schedule, though Hull’s schedule was shortened due to illness and injury. As I mentioned above, I believe this course suits Hull’s game, so maybe we will see her secure the first multi-win season of her career. SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author Steve Pimental would rather write 20,000 words about Stef Dolson than write two sentences about himself. He lives near Chicago with his beagle/shepard mix, Hootie.

Mr. Women's Basketball's Preseason Rankings, POY, & DPOY watchlists heading into a highly anticipated second season of Unrivaled. November 7, 2025 Unrivaled Season 2 Projections EJ Arocho Unrivaled Season 2 Preseason Rankings 1. Phantom 2. Breeze 3. Lunar Owls 4. Mist 5. Hive 6. Laces 7. Rose 8. Vinyl Preseason POY Watch List Paige Bueckers | Breeze Alyssa Thomas | Laces Breanna Stewart | Mist Kahleah Copper | Rose Kelsey Mitchell | Hive Napheesa Collier | Lunar Owls Skylar Diggins | Lunar Owls Kelsey Plum | Phantom Satou Sabally | Phantom Dearica Hamby | Vinyl Preseason DPOY Watch List Cameron Brink | Breeze Dominique Malonga | Breeze Alyssa Thomas | Laces Alanna Smith | Mist Veronica Burton | Mist Azura Stevens | Rose Ezi Magbegor | Hive Saniya Rivers | Hive Napheesa Collier | Lunar Owls Natasha Cloud | Phantom Aliyah Boston | Phantom Rhyne Howard | Vinyl SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author EJ Arocho is Mr. Women’s Basketball and lives in New Jersey. Lives by the shore but looking to make waves everywhere!

My number one sports take, which I have just been dying to write about since I was asked to join LFG, is that the WNBA and NWSL are playing in the wrong time of year. I am convinced both leagues should play in the winter, like nearly all the other professional leagues in those sports. We will almost certainly explore the NSWL side of that equation in a future article, but for today, I present my six reasons why I believe the WNBA should change to a winter schedule... November 6, 2025 Why The WNBA Should Change Its Schedule Steve Pimental What is your pet sports take? You know, the one that you think about more often than is healthy? The take that you interject into conversations even though it's only tangentially related? The one that is contrary to popular opinion, or maybe just doesn’t get talked about enough? It could be that Draymond Green is a Hall of Famer, or that Babe Ruth is overrated. Maybe you believe draft picks and young prospects are overvalued for fantasy or that the St. Louis Cardinals have the Best. Fans. In. Baseball. What is that? You hear that one all the time? Are you sure? I’m pretty confident I just came up with that off the top of my head. In any event, my number one sports take, which I have just been dying to write about since I was asked to join LFG, is that the WNBA and NWSL are playing in the wrong time of year. I am convinced both leagues should play in the winter, like nearly all the other professional leagues in those sports. We will almost certainly explore the NSWL side of that equation in a future article, but for today, I present my six reasons why I believe the WNBA should change to a winter schedule. Expand the season. The WNBA has consistently expanded the season in the last decade, going from 34 regular-season games per team in 2015 to a record 44 in 2025. The playoffs have expanded as well. All series before the WNBA Finals used to be best-of-three, while the Finals were best-of-five. This season, only Round 1 was best-of-three. The Semifinals were best-of-five and the WNBA Finals were, for the first time, best-of-seven. The WNBA has pushed its summer window about as far as it will go. The season already encroaches on many of the players’ seasons overseas, and it is not practical to cram many more games in. If the league wants to continue to expand its season and thus its revenue, it has to go to a Fall-to-Spring schedule. Hopefully, we’ll never see an 82-game schedule like the NBA, but you could have teams play two or three games a week and get to 65ish games pretty easily. 2. Keep players fresh. Cramming so many games into such a short schedule, especially when so much of the league has just finished a full season overseas or in college, has been cited as one of the reasons for the league's high injury count this season. This was arguably the best season the WNBA has ever had, but its hard to argue it wouldn’t have been better if Caitlin Clark hadn’t missed half the season, or if the Liberty’s stars hadn’t all missed time, or if Napheesa Collier, Satou Sabally, Breanna Stewart, Kelsey Mitchell and DiJonai Carrington hadn’t all gotten hurt in the playoffs. A winter schedule won’t eliminate injuries, but more time between games, combined with a real offseason in the summer, might allow more players to be upright at the end of the season. 3. Give the rookies a break. It is truly remarkable how good the last couple of rookie classes have been, considering how little time those players have between the NCAA Tournament, the WNBA Draft, and the start of the WNBA season. It's one reason a lot of rookies tend to fall off in the second half of the season: they wear down compared to other players who may have taken the winter off or are simply more used to the grind of playing year-round. I don’t think it's a coincidence that Caitlin Clark was terrible to begin her rookie season but was much, much improved after the WNBA took a month off for the Olympics. How much better would rookies perform if they actually had a break between seasons? You could have a summer league for the rookies and young players to get more experience and instruction, and then let them recharge ahead of their rookie years. I think this is important for two reasons. Firstly, as the league expands, more rookies are going to make rosters and be in their teams’ rotations from day one. This was less of an issue when only a few rookies were making a difference, and anyone not chosen in the first round probably wasn’t even making a roster. Secondly, one of the biggest advantages that the WNBA has over most sports leagues in the world is that many of its best players come into the league as stars. In the era of one-and-done, there are few true stars in men’s college basketball. That is not true on the women’s side. Nearly every WNBA star was a star in college. Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Candace Parker, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers were all huge stars long before they ever set foot on a WNBA court. The WNBA has never been great at turning its late bloomers and international players into stars, so it needs to do its best to put the stars it is handed in the best possible position to succeed. I believe a winter schedule would do that. 4. Avoid international competitions. Every year, several prominent players either opt to skip the WNBA season or have to miss a significant portion of it to play in international competitions such as Eurobasket, Americup, the Women’s Basketball World Cup, and even the Olympics. All of those competitions are held in the summer, and they all take very good players away from the league. That was more palatable when there were only 12 teams, but as the league expands, it can no longer be so cavalier about whether or not it gets the best players. 5. Avoid Overlap with overseas leagues. Now that the new CBA, in whatever form it takes, is going to see players’ salaries increase dramatically, there is no need for the WNBA to share its players with leagues in Europe, China, Australia, or anywhere else in the world. The WNBA wouldn’t have to worry about enforcing its prioritization rule, which is a point of contention for some players, because players wouldn’t need to play overseas as their main gig and in the WNBA as their side hustle. Players would still play in the offseason, both internationally and, perhaps, in Unrivaled if it moved to the summer. But the WNBA wouldn’t have to suspend players for missing training camp and even the start of the regular season because they were fulfilling their commitments overseas. This has been a big headache for the league for years, but now that there is so much more money flowing into the league, I don’t think the WNBA has to worry about competing with those leagues. I think they can just play their games in the same portion of the calendar as everyone else and still lure most of the best players in the world to their league. 6. The WNBA doesn’t need to avoid the NBA anymore. I may have buried the lede with this one. I get why the WNBA started out playing in the summer. The NBA wasn’t going to launch a new league that would directly compete with itself, and the summer was mostly blank on the basketball calendar. Nobody was watching Eurobasket or, frankly, any FIBA competition. Outside of the Olympics, there wasn’t much for basketball fans to watch in the summer. Even the NBA draft and free agency weren’t nearly as popular as they are now. There was little else going on in the summer, and the WNBA looked to fill that void. As we pointed out above, that is no longer the case. More importantly, the WNBA isn’t really even avoiding the NBA that much. The WNBA season begins in the heart of the NBA playoffs, which is hardly ideal. The NBA draft, free agency, and Summer League all fall right in the middle of the WNBA regular season. And while the second half of the WNBA season still falls in a fallow period on the basketball calendar, there is plenty of competition from other sports. The WNBA playoffs fall in the heart of the MLB playoff race and the start of the NFL season. There is still plenty of competition for attention, even if it doesn’t come from the NBA. Even more to the point, Women’s college basketball, the WSL, and myriad international leagues have proven that women’s sports can thrive during the men’s season. The WSL doesn’t play on the most popular days of the EPL season, and by doing so, is able to bring in tons of fans to the pitch and on TV. I don’t see any reason why the WNBA couldn’t do the same thing. Hopefully some day soon, more people will start to agree with me. SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author Steve Pimental would rather write 20,000 words about Stef Dolson than write two sentences about himself. He lives near Chicago with his beagle/shepard mix, Hootie.

That will almost certainly inform the product we see on WNBA courts next season. While I pass the time waiting for the WNBA and the WNBPA to reach a new collective bargaining agreement by watching NBA basketball, I can’t help but wonder if the trends we’re seeing in the men’s game will carry over to the WNBA. Here are four trends I expect to see in the WNBA next season. November 4, 2025 Four Strategy Adjustments That Could Be Coming to the WNBA Steve Pimental One of the things I love about the WNBA is the stylistic diversity across the league. If you like threes and layups and pick-and-roll, there is plenty. If you like post play and offensive rebounds, I’d argue you get more than in the NBA. While the NBA can often be a guard-centric league, the best WNBA players are almost always forwards. That alone changes what offenses teams can run and the defensive looks to try to slow them down. That being said, there is no doubt that WNBA coaches oftentimes take what works at the NBA level (or internationally) and apply it to their teams. In fact, I believe we are seeing a more concerted effort to do that this offseason. I don’t think it's a coincidence that two of the three new head coaching hires had recent NBA experience. The Liberty are reportedly also prioritizing a coach with NBA or G-League experience in their coaching search. Most of the teams that couldn’t hire one of the best coaches in WNBA history, Sandy Brondello, are turning to coaches with diverse experience, including NBA experience. That will almost certainly inform the product we see on WNBA courts next season. While I pass the time waiting for the WNBA and the WNBPA to reach a new collective bargaining agreement by watching NBA basketball, I can’t help but wonder if the trends we’re seeing in the men’s game will carry over to the WNBA. Here are five trends I expect to see in the WNBA next season. Full Court Pressure The Indiana Pacers used relentless pressure on defense to wear down opposing ballhandlers. Head coach Rick Carlisle used a deep guard rotation to allow his players to expend a lot of energy on defense while constantly rotating in fresh players to pick up where they left off. That, among other things, carried the Pacers to Game 7 of the NBA Finals. As many pundits expected, several teams have picked up the Pacers’ defensive strategy and run with it, chiefly the Portland Trail Blazers and their fifth-ranked defense. The WNBA season was already well underway by the time the Pacers reached the NBA Finals, but I fully expect at least one or two teams to take notice and press teams far more often. I believe the strategy could be especially effective in a league that is rapidly expanding. As we have discussed often the last few months, I don’t think there are enough ball handlers to go around. The Sky basically played the entire season without a starting-caliber point guard, and you could argue Golden State did, as well. Even if teams have a high-level point guard, they may not have a quality backup. Or they may not have lineups with multiple ball handlers. I think some of the undersized point guards who don’t create efficient offense but are able to take care of the basketball could see a resurgence in this league as opposing coaches look to test guards with full-court pressure. In a league that could see unprecedented player movement in the offseason, its difficult to know which teams could embrace this pressuring style of defense, but a few stand out. The Golden State Valkyries already had the third-ranked defense in the WNBA, but they ranked 10th in opponent turnover percentage. It may depend on how many of their players return, but last season they had a deep team without any real stars. When you’re already playing a lot of players for relatively few minutes, it is easier to ask those players to ramp up the defensive pressure. Similar to Golden State this season, either of the expansion teams could try to pressure full court. I expect the Portland Fire to skew younger under new head coach Alex Sarama, and a pressing defense could take advantage of that youth and potentially paper over some of the mistakes young players inevitably make. On the flip side, Toronto could look to assemble a deep team of role players like Golden State did. The Chicago Sky could be another candidate, especially if general manager Jeff Pagliocca really is going to run it back with the same roster next season. Chicago needs to do something to get its defense out of the basement, and with the personnel on that roster, their options are limited. If any teams do elect to pressure in the backcourt, we might get to see it in the preseason. I don’t usually put much stock in preseason WNBA games, but that could be one thing to watch for. 2. Faster Pace The Pacers combined their pressure defense with a breakneck pace on offense. The Portland Trail Blazers are predictably third in pace this season, while the new-look Miami Heat are first. They are getting the ball up the floor very quickly off of makes and misses, often using hit-ahead passes to the wings to allow their players to go one-on-one before the help can arrive. Miami is combining its fast pace with a read-and-react offense that de-emphasizes ball screens in favor of letting players attack one-on-one. It is very similar to the offense the Memphis Grizzlies ran last season until head coach Taylor Jenkins and now-Miami assistant coach Noah LaRoche were fired late in the season. The Phoenix Mercury already played with the third-highest pace in the WNBA but if they bring back Alyssa Thomas, Kahleah Copper, and Satou Sabally, I think they could go even faster. All three are very difficult to stop one-on-one, and Thomas’s lack of floor spacing is less of an issue if he’s barreling down the lane or throwing hit-ahead passes to get the offense started. Phoenix was seventh in offensive rating in the regular season despite that big three and DeWanna Bonner, Sami Whitcomb and Monique Akoa Makani spacing the floor. During the season and the playoffs, I actually thought there was too much one-on-one, but perhaps they just need to do it faster before the defense can load up. The other team I thought of for this style is Las Vegas. The Aces were better in the second half of the season when they moved Jewell Loyd to the bench, but they still finished fourth in offensive rating and seventh in pace. I didn’t think they ran a ton of ball screens anyway, but with four All-Stars and NaLyssa Smith, they have the personnel to excel going one-on-one, especially with a spaced floor. 3. Crash the Offensive Boards The Houston Rockets are first in offensive rating this season despite being 28th in turnover rate and dead last in three-point attempts per game, thanks to an insane 42.1 offensive rebounding rate. The Jazz are second in offensive rebounding rate, which has buoyed their offense to 21st in the league. The Chicago Sky led the WNBA with a 35.5 offensive rebounding rate. I think they should lean into that identity even more, especially if they add 2025 first-round draft pick Ajsa Sivka to the mix. The Sky were actually second to Indiana in second-chance points, which just shows that they need to do a better job converting their opportunities when they do secure an offensive rebound. The other team that could focus more on offensive rebounds if they bring back largely the same team is Seattle. Seattle frankly needed to focus on rebounding on both sides of the ball. I’ll never understand how a team with Nneka Ogwumike, Dominique Malonga, and Ezi Magbegor finished 12th in both defensive and offensive rebounding rate. Gabby Williams and Skylar Diggins should be good rebounders for their position as well. Like the Rockets, Seattle didn’t shoot many threes, finishing ninth overall in three-point attempts but last among the eight teams that made the playoffs. Seattle was starting at a math advantage shooting so few threes, and while they tried to make that up by having the fewest turnovers in the league, I think they need to secure more of their misses to give themselves extra possessions. 4. Shoot More Threes The success of the Rockets notwithstanding, we have generally seen more three-point attempts lead to better offense in both leagues. I don’t think it's a coincidence that the bottom four teams in three-point attempts per game all missed the WNBA playoffs last season. The Valkyries finished 11th out of 13 teams in three-point percentage but first in three-point attempts, and their offense was still good enough to get them into the playoffs as an expansion team. The Atlanta Dream were similarly second in three-point attempts and seventh in three-point percentage, though they finished second in offensive rating. I hate to keep harping on my hometown Chicago Sky, but the whole point of the roster was to surround Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese with shooting, even if most of those shooters couldn’t defend. For that team to finish 12th in three-point attempts and ninth in three-point percentage is pretty sad. They probably would have gotten more open looks if Courtney Vandersloot had stayed healthy, but given their offensive struggles, they probably needed to just keep firing threes even if they weren’t particularly open. SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author

Vegas Goes Back-to-Back! A'ja is in her prime and not slowing down. Head and shoulders the best player on the planet and maybe the only player who can single-handedly win games for her team....With all this success, I don't anticipate Vegas's core going anywhere any time soon... October 31, 2025 Way-Too-Early 2026 WNBA Predictions EJ Arocho Vegas Goes Back-to-Back A'ja is in her prime and not slowing down. Head and shoulders the best player on the planet and maybe the only player who can single-handedly win games for her team. Herculean efforts by Wilson led Vegas to a near-undefeated August and catapulted the Aces from 8th to 1st in the standings. Becky Hammon & co. have found the winning strategy three of the past four years with no sign of tapering off... With all this success, I don't anticipate Vegas's core going anywhere any time soon. Indiana in the Finals We could very well see Vegas vs Indiana in the 2026 WNBA Finals. After a RESILIENT season, they go into the offseason with their heads held high. Even with players like Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham out for most of the season, they found a way to nearly upset the eventual champions in the semis. With a fully healthy roster and some new additions, Fever fans could be in for a special ride. An Expansion Team Stuns with Early Success With new franchises like the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo joining in 2026, I’ll predict one of them will earn a surprise playoff berth in Year 1. It’ll be bold, but the league momentum is stronger than ever before. Just look at what Golden State was able to accomplish in their inaugural season! A Total Turnaround for Dallas The Wings have the top odds for the top pick in the 2026 Draft and all eyes are on Lauren Betts, Awa Fam and Azzi Fudd. Any one of these will be a huge piece to what Dallas is building, especially with Paige and Arike in the back court. With new leadership in Jose Fernandez, 2026 could be a very good year. A playoff berth for the first time since 2023 could be in the cards. Major Free Agency Shake-up Leads to Super Team Formation I predict at least one major star will leave their long-time team in free agency and team up with another top player, creating yet another "super team" scenario in the W. With many veterans becoming unrestricted free agents, the movement could be significant. I'm keeping a close watch on Seattle, New York and Los Angeles. Postseason Locks Las Vegas, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, Phoenix ... but then who? Three spots up for grab! Breakout Players Cameron Brink, Dominique Malonga and Cecilia Zandalasini have emerged as ones to watch. In fact, I'm fully convinced Cameron Brink will find herself in the DPOY conversation next year. SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author