One thing you can always count on in the WNBA: There’s never a shortage of storylines. The Washington Mystics are hitting their stride, the Connecticut Sun are still running hot despite losing one of their best players to injury, previously waived players like Emily Engstler and Destanni Henderson are getting another shot, and the Phoenix Mercury parted ways with their head coach. And that’s just the half of it. Another wild couple of weeks of basketball, another Alyssa Thomas triple-double.
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Let’s jump right in.
1. How will Brionna Jones’ injury impact the Connecticut Sun?
Jones went down with an Achilles tear late in the Sun’s game against the Seattle Storm last week. After undergoing surgery, she’ll be out for the remainder of the season. It’s a definite blow to Connecticut’s frontcourt. The Sun aren’t deep at the center position, and Jones has impressed this season in a starting role, averaging 15.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. She also led the Sun in player efficiency. The question is, can the Sun get additional production from other areas on the court and will role players like Olivia Nelson-Ododa be able to step up in Jones’ absence? That remains to be seen. But Connecticut was able to pull out wins without Jones against the Minnesota Lynx and Chicago Sky. DiJonai Carrington was big for the Sun in both games, averaging 17 points and six boards. Still, Connecticut could struggle against tougher opponents with better and stronger interior play.
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2. How is Destanni Henderson making the most of her chance with Sparks?
Henderson was waived by the Indiana Fever before the start of the season. The decision had much more to do with limited roster space than talent. Since signing a hardship contract with the Sparks, Henderson has proven she can play in this league and be impactful. Coming off the bench, she’s averaging 7.8 points per game on 50 percent shooting. But it’s her all-out hustle plays, heads-up passing and timely shots that have stood out the most. Henderson played extensive minutes in back-to-back games against the Dallas Wings, and she was key in both wins. She has moved up the depth chart ahead of Zia Cooke and Jasmine Thomas, who is still working her way back to form. As long as she continues to provide a spark (no pun intended) while she’s on the court, Henderson will be a heavy part of the rotation.
3. Why did the Mercury part ways with Vanessa Nygaard?
They have been working their way through the sludge since the start of the season but couldn’t pull themselves out of the quagmire. No matter how many times Nygaard sat in front of the mic in postgame conferences and downplayed the turnovers, lack of rebounding and poor defense, it came back to haunt her in the wins and losses column. Since she took over Phoenix before last season, the Mercury have gone 17-31. With a new owner who has already made moves on the NBA side with the Suns, it’s not surprising to see Mat Ishbia head in a different direction with the Mercury. It never felt as if Nygaard had the ear and respect of her players or that she could handle a team dynamic with such strong personalities and talent. The motivation and effort to play for her haven’t been there all season. After five double-digit losses in a row, it was time.
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4. Why have the Atlanta Dream been so inconsistent?
In the past two weeks, the Dream went from winning three games in a row against New York, Connecticut and Indiana to losing to Dallas and getting clobbered in a rematch against the Liberty. What changed? A combination of shooting, lack of defense and turnovers. When the Dream are shooting 40 percent or better from the field, getting to the foul line and crashing the boards hard, they’ve been able to pull out wins — even while averaging 16.9 turnovers and allowing 88.3 points per game. Granted, the Dream have had to deal with injuries this season. But they have enough talent to put together a stretch of games if they can cut down on turnovers as well as get steals and consistent defensive stops. Last season, Atlanta started as one of the best defensive teams in the league but struggled as the season went on and it has carried over to this year. The Dream have the worst assist/turnover ratio and steal rate, and they average second to last with 5.5 steals per game.
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5. Thoughts on the All-Star selections?
For the most part, the All-Star roster starters look solid. As a media voter, I had a similar lineup, although I had Allisha Gray over Arike Ogunbowale in my guard selection. Brittney Griner was on pace for a really great year until her hip injury, and she is deserving — even if some of the fan voting was a show of gratitude and love for her return to the court. I was also happy to see Nneka Ogwumike and Satou Sabally get the nod because they are both having incredible seasons. The question of whether Aliyah Boston deserves a starting role is surprising to me. She’s third overall in Player Efficiency Rating and boasts a league-best 65 percent field-goal percentage on nine-plus attempts per game. Her impact and consistency speak for themselves, especially as a rookie. As far as snubs go, Thomas not being picked as a starter and Courtney Vandersloot not selected at all by fans, media or players are the ones that stick out to me. Thomas just recorded another triple-double and has the record for most (four) in WNBA history during the regular season, and Vandersloot leads the league in assists yet again (8.6 per game).
“It’s a bit hard to process that Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas won’t be one of the six starting frontcourt players in this year’s All-Star Game.”
Who are the biggest omissions among the WNBA ASG starters?@benpickman examines the lineup:
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) June 25, 2023
6. Why has Alanna Smith thrived with the Chicago Sky?
Smith is most definitely in the conversation for Most Improved Player of the year. Since joining the Sky this season, she’s hit another gear while averaging the most minutes, shot attempts, points, rebounds and blocks of her career. In previous seasons, most notable with the Mercury, Smith was unable to get on the floor and make an impact. With the Sky, she has a clearly defined role as their third-leading scorer with 10.5 points per game. In Isabelle Harrison’s absence, Smith has embraced the opportunity to fill the void and increased playing time by being aggressive and efficient on both ends of the floor. She’s playing with a great deal of confidence, shooting 52 percent from the field while maintaining the best player efficiency rating on the team.
7. How have the Minnesota Lynx improved since the start of the season?
After starting 0-6, the Lynx have won four out of their last seven games. Though there’s still plenty of work to do with a 4-9 record, fans can at least be encouraged by the improved play. Not to oversimplify things, but there’s been no magic pill. Minnesota has just been playing better offensively, defensively and as a team overall. As expected, Napheesa Collier is the standard for the Lynx, and she’s playing at a high level while averaging 20.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. But after losing rookie Diamond Miller to injury five games into the season and then Aerial Powers to an ankle injury, the Lynx have had to rely on a deeper rotation of bench/role players. They’re playing hard, providing an edge that wasn’t there at the beginning of the season. I’m also interested to see what Kayana Traylor can bring to the mix now that she’s been signed to a hardship contract.
8. Why are the Washington Mystics on an upswing?
Before the season, I picked the Mystics as my dark horse team to win the title. After going 3-3, they’ve hit a stride, going 5-2 in their last seven games. Washington has been prone to giving up leads, faltering down the stretch and losing momentum, often going stagnant on offense. But lately, things are clicking. The ball movement is better, and the offense is more fluid and patient overall. Defensively, the Mystics have been stout all season. Now that the offense is catching up, they’re putting it all together for four quarters. The recent 89-88 overtime loss to New York showed what Washington is capable of achieving. The Mystics have enough talent to compete with the top-tier teams in the league, even with Shakira Austin’s recent hip injury. They have a renewed sense of offensive focus, and it’s showing on the scoreboard.
Reader Questions
9. Who are the media voters, and how many are WNBA-related versus sports journalists?
This is a great question for anyone outside of the All-Star and end-of-the-year awards voting process. Per the WNBA, there are 36 national (myself included) and 24 in-market media voters. The latter being two per market, but only one of those can be team-affiliated, such as a team’s color analyst or play-by-play. The voters are primarily women’s basketball focused, with a large portion also covering the women’s college game. Most of the 24 in-market voters are beat writers and local broadcasters. The total number of 60 media voters overall has increased from the high 30s over the course of the past several seasons.
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10. Why did Phoenix fire the coach and keep the general manager?
Coaches are often held accountable during the current season for previous missteps or the inability to produce while the team is playing. It’s also a way to shift the team mindset and redirect while there is still time to turn things around — or just muddle through and give the interim coach a crack at it. General managers are more likely to be examined and held accountable at the end of the season or in the offseason. Jim Pitman has served as the Mercury’s general manager since 2013 and has many more successful seasons than not on his resume, including a championship in 2014 and a WNBA Finals appearance in 2021. Though Diana Taurasi is getting older and Griner isn’t completely back to form, there’s still enough talent on the Mercury to work with. The disconnect seemed to be largely on the coaching side. Pitman will have a chance to turn things around by finding the right coach and making roster moves in the offseason. I don’t see Ishbia letting him go at this point.
11. Do you think the coaches will finally select Kelsey Mitchell to the All-Star team?
Yes. And deservedly so. Mitchell has been a big part of Indiana’s turnaround this season, and she’s a key cog in the Fever’s offensive wheel. As their leading scorer, Mitchell has been a steady and reliable veteran presence. She was also ranked fifth in guard play by other WNBA players in All-Star starter voting, which shows how much she is respected by her constituents. All-Star rosters are limited, of course, so there’s only a certain number of spots available. But I would be very surprised if Mitchell doesn’t make it as a reserve this season.
12. Will Skylar Diggins-Smith play this season?
Doubtful. Even with Nygaard no longer in the picture, I get the sense that Diggins-Smith is content to sit the year out. After everything last season, including the emotional stress the Mercury were under and the sour relationship with Nygaard, it seemed as if she needed a break from the game. She’s also on a protected pregnancy contract this season and probably will be enjoying time with her newborn and family. Diggins-Smith has every reason to kick back and chill as the season unfolds and head into the winter as a free agent who will have her fair share of suitors.
(Photo of Skylar Diggins-Smith: Steven Freeman / NBAE via Getty Images)
