Welcome! 🎉 In an effort to stop spamming my friends with constant women’s basketball updates, I’ve created this newsletter. I know—so generous of me. No need to thank me! I’m here to keep you informed on most things WBB.

Table of Contents

• WNBA News

• Team by Team Updates

  • Atlanta Dream

  • Chicago Sky

  • Connecticut Sun

  • Dallas Wings

  • Golden State Valkyries

  • Indiana Fever

  • Las Vegas Aces

  • Los Angeles Sparks

  • Minnesota Lynx

  • New York Liberty

  • Phoenix Mercury

  • Seattle Storm

  • Washington Mystics

• Unrivaled

  • 1-on- 1 Recap

  • Game Recaps:

• Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball

  • Week One- Three Highlights

• Hoops & Hype: Media Picks

  • Film Session: WBB Highlights & Insights 📽️

  • Podcast

  • Booked & Busy: WBB Reads 👓

  • Drip Report 💧

WNBA News

This has been the best free agency yet! This time last year, it was an absolute snoozefest. A lot of moves have been made over the past few weeks, and I’m sure even more are on the way. Next week, I’ll be diving into how the girlies are showing out overseas and what that means for the upcoming W season. Stay tuned!

Team by Team Updates

Atlanta Dream

The Dream are looking pretty set now that they’ve added more talent around Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard. Allisha has been going off in Unrivaled—if she brings that same energy to the W, they might actually make it past the first round this time. Still gotta see how BG and Bri Jones fit together to really know what this team can do.

Chicago Sky

Since we last checked in, the Sky received 2 2025 second round draft picks form the ACes in a sign-and-trade- (and Sky fans’ archnemesis) Dana Evans. It was only a matter of time until the Sky parted ways with Dana as its been a constant challenge with roster changes, coaching changes, and an incompetent front office which truly hindered Dana’s growth as a player. With the animosity from Chicago Sky fans, I am happy that she gets a new start.

It will be interesting to see if the Sky can get a full healthy season from Bec Allen.

Chicago is making big moves! They just traded the 2025 No. 3 pick, a 2027 second-round pick, and a 2027 second-round pick swap to bring in veteran guard and 2019 WNBA champ Ariel Atkins. Clearly, they’re all in on winning right now. It’s a hefty price, but they’re getting a certified bucket and lockdown defender—Atkins is a five-time WNBA All-Defensive Team selection for a reason.

This move along with LA trading the #2 pick is kind of suggesting that GM’s are not high on this draft? or maybe they know something we don’t?

Connecticut Sun

Things are getting messy in Uncasville as the Sun shut down Marina Mabrey’s trade request. For some background—this is the third time Marina has asked for a trade, which might look bad on her, but it hasn’t really been her fault.

She spent two years in Dallas before wanting out, and honestly, that organization (and its owner) is a disaster, so fair enough. Then James Wade traded for her in Chicago, gave her that $200K salary, and sacrificed the Sky’s future to get her—only to dip for an assistant coaching gig with the bum-ass Toronto Raptors. In the process, he lost Candace Parker, didn’t even try to re-sign Courtney Williams or Alanna Smith (who both ended up in the Finals with the Lynx), and eventually, assumed franchise player Kahleah Copper wanted out too. That left Marina—who just wanted to be a role player on a contender—as the best player on a struggling Sky team. So, naturally, she asked for a trade.

And this is where things get tricky.

The Sun have been so close for years—Finals or Semis in five straight seasons—but always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Marina requesting a trade there raised eyebrows because, while the Sun started strong last season, everyone knew that with DeWanna Bonner, Alyssa Thomas, and Bri Jones all hitting free agency, 2024 was championship or bust. And well… they busted..

Even though everyone assumed the Sun were heading into a rebuild after losing basically their entire roster (except ONO), they’re moving like they’ve got something up their sleeve. They refused to trade Tash Cloud, signed Tina Charles, and brought in the entire Belgian National Team’s coaching staff. If I were a betting person, I’d say there’s a good chance that the Belgian superstar (and 2019 WNBA Finals MVP) Emma Meesseman is at least considering joining the Sun. That said, she’s claimed she hasn’t made any final decisions yet.

Either way, nobody seems willing to take on Marina’s ungodly contract for the next two years, so she’s probably staying put.

Her agent commented “In this current age of women's empowerment and support of the players, the CT Sun threatening to force Marina Mabrey to play for them after her trade request is mind-boggling” This had me crying—like, be serious.

Dallas Wings

No major updates for the Wings, but they did sign Mikiah Herbert Harrigan (formerly with Phoenix) to a training camp contract.

Meanwhile, new teammates Arike Ogunbowale and DiJonai Carrington teamed up for the Hennessy 2×2 competition at NBA All-Star weekend against Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray—and took home the win.

One thing Dallas should be excited about? Maddie Siegrist is absolutely dominating in AU Pro Basketball. She’s on a tear, and if she carries that momentum into the season, this new-look Wings squad is going to be fun to watch.

Golden State Valkyries

Golden State shifted its focus from free agency to NBA All-Star Weekend as it took over the Bay Area last weekend. They welcomed Kayla Thornton, who played in the Celebrity All-Star Game, while Tip Hayes and Kate Martin made the rounds. Monique Billings also joined in on the fun. I don’t think this team will be a contender but they have the personalities to make themselves a team that fans love. They even got our girl KT her Papa John’s IYKYK. Miss you KT!!!

Indiana Fever

The Fever are continuing to build around Caitlin Clark, recently signing veteran Brianna Turner. She’s not a big scorer, but she brings solid defense to the squad. What makes this especially interesting is that Bri has been very vocal about racism and sexism—particularly from certain (cough cough Fever) fans—and she’s already catching heat for simply stating she’s against bigotry in all forms. The reaction from Fever Twitter was exactly what you’d expect.

It’s definitely going to be interesting to see how this dynamic plays out next season, especially with MAGA Barbie Sophie Cunningham now in the mix. Overall, for everyone’s sanity, I’m really hoping it’s just good hoops and fewer crazy stans so we can actually focus on the basketball.

Las Vegas Aces

Vegas is continuing to rebuild its roster—especially the bench. They traded for Dana Evans, which is a solid move to back up Chelsea Gray at PG. I’m not sure this move really moves the needle for them, but with the right pieces around her, maybe Dana finally takes that leap.

They also signed Crystal Bradford (another AU standout!!) and Elena Tsineke (Greek international player) to a training camp contract. Aces training camp is about to be a dogfight, lol.

Los Angeles Sparks

The Sparks have been making some roster tweaks, including parting ways with longtime LA staple Lexie Brown, trading her to the Storm for three second-round picks (or, as Lexie put it, “a bag of chips”). It looks like LA is trying to turn the page on some of the franchise’s more dysfunctional years, with Rae Burrell now the last remaining player from the Derek Fisher era.

They also signed former Storm vet Mercedes Russell to a one-year, $160K deal—so that’s something.

Minnesota Lynx

Not much happening in Minnesota, but their players are having a great offseason. Phee took home the win in the 1v1 competition, Alanna Smith is dominating for the Shandong Six Stars in China, and Courtney Williams is still out here being as hilarious as ever. Not too bad for the runner-ups!

New York Liberty

GUYS!!! IT’S HAPPENING! The Liberty finally made some free-agency moves!

They’ve signed forward Isabelle Harrison, who previously played in Chicago and Dallas. She’s been working her way back from injury and didn’t get much playing time with the Sky, but honestly, I’m not holding any bad performances against players who had to suffer through the incompetence of those franchises. Much like Dana Evans, this is a fresh start—an opportunity to see how Isabelle grows as a player in New York. Having a backup forward for Stewie and Leonie is going to be huge, especially since she’s been showing off her three-point shooting in AU Basketball.

Another key reason to stack up on bigs? Germany is hosting the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, which means next summer, both Leonie and Nyara will have to leave the WNBA for qualifying games. The Libs are planning ahead, and I love to see it.

Also funny—teams had to renounce the rights to Spanish-post Raquel Carrera (who’s rehabbing an ACL tear from March) and 2024 third-round pick Kaitlyn Davis. But heading into 2025, the Liberty are still holding onto the rights for Marine Johannès, Rebekah Gardner, Han Xu, and Marine Fauthoux.

I forgot why teams had to do this, but in true Kolb fashion, he just went ahead and re-signed everyone he renounced lol

Phoenix Mercury

The Phoenix Mercury have been pretty quiet since making their big moves early in free agency. But an interesting pickup—they signed 2024 EuroLeague champ Kitija Laksa on a protected contract. They probably had to lock in that protection to get her to come over (kind of like how Kennedy Burke made NY give her a protected deal last year). Honestly, I respect it. Leaving a stable role closer to home for an unprotected WNBA spot is a big risk.

As you can see below, training camp in Phoenix is about to be a dogfight too.

Seattle Storm

With their core locked in (Skylar, Gabby, Nneka, Ezi), the Storm are clearly looking to add some shooters to replace Sami Whitcomb and bring more outside firepower. To make that happen, they signed Alysha Clark, brought back Katie Lou Samuelson, and traded for Lexie Brown.

Signing Zia to a training camp contract makes sense, especially with Nika Mühl still recovering from her ACL tear. It’ll be interesting to see how they adjust for Jordan Horston being out with an ACL tear as well.

Washington Mystics

Well, it finally happened, y’all—they got a GM and a coach LMAO.

Have they done anything else? Eh, not really—unless you count inviting Taylor Soule to a training camp contract at this absolute dumpster fire of a situation. Good luck to her.

I wrote the first part on Friday and here I am on Sunday… eating my words. The Mystics just traded away their last remaining tie to the 2019 championship squad, sending Ariel Atkins to Chicago for the No. 3 pick, a 2027 second-round pick, and a 2027 pick swap. Now, Washington is loaded with draft capital—holding the No. 3, 4, and 6 picks. Talk about jumpstarting a rebuild

To me, this all but confirms that Brittney Sykes (Slim), Shakira Austin, and maybe even Stef Dolson are on the trade block. And with Aaliyah Edwards dominating in Unrivaled, the Mystics have everything they need to start building around her in the 2025 draft.

Unrivaled

Quick Refresher:

What is it? Unrivaled is a 3-on-3 full-court league where WNBA stars can play as an alternative to playing overseas. The league will be based in Miami for the 2025 season.

Who is playing? Unrirvaled revealed their 36-players, 6 team rosters. https://www.unrivaled.basketball/clubs 

Ways to Watch: TNT Sports has acquired the broadcast rights, and will show Monday and Friday games on TNT and Saturday games on truTV. All games will be available for streaming on Max. 

Vote for MVP!

1-on- 1 Recap

Winner: Napheesa Collier ($200,000) Runner-Up: Aaliyah Edwards ($50,000)

Quarter Final: Arike ($20,000) , Azurá($20,000)

The 1-on-1 competition was an absolutely genius idea by Unrivaled. It was exciting to see how different players approached the game. A huge win for the league!

Highlight: Aaliyah Edwards, an 8-seed, playing her way through the competition to reach the semifinals was easily the best part. She took down Stewie, Allisha Gray, and Arike—players I definitely thought would take her out. What a statement! Not only did she put the league on notice as the next rising star, but she also secured $50K—more than half of her WNBA salary.

Phee, of course, was unstoppable in the 1-on-1. That turnaround fade is just as deadly as KD’s! I think we’re only going to see her keep leveling up as she enters her prime, and I fully expect her to dominate in the WNBA this season. MVPhee season, perhaps?

Lowlight: Next year, they should do Bigs vs. Bigs and Guards vs. Guards. It got to a point where the Bigs could just overpower the Guards or shoot over them, making it way too easy. Splitting it up would keep things more balanced.

Another lowlight? Winning on fouls and not having a foul limit. By Round 2, they adjusted the rule (thanks to Skylar Diggins-Smith lol), but they gotta dead winning on a foul—it’s just not fun.

And finally… whew. DiJonai and Satou almost set women’s basketball back 10 years with how bad they played. If you know you're not built for 1-on-1, please don’t sign up.

Game Recaps:

Unrivaled is now in its fifth week of play, and teams are starting to lock in for the playoff push. So far, the Lunar Owls are the only team to clinch a playoff spot after taking down a depleted Laces squad. However, they also suffered their first loss to The Rose, proving that anything can happen down the stretch! Here is how the standings currently look:

Lunar Owls (9-1) CLENCHED: Even after suffering their first loss on Friday, the Lunar Owls shook off the rust to beat the Laces. SDS left us with some parting words

Laces (5-4): After a strong start, the Laces have been absolutely wrecked by the injury bug. They’re missing Jackie Young, Kate Martin, Alyssa Thomas, and Tiff Hayes, leaving KMac and Stef Dolson as the only healthy players. Even with a depleted roster, they managed to pull off a win against the Mist thanks to hardship players 2024 WNBA champ Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and Kiki Jefferson. But with Betnijah unavailable on Saturday (she was at the Sixers vs. Nets game LFGN lol), the Laces fell to the Lunar Owls.

I hope we are aware that Stewie and Phee call their friends and teammates to fill in when they need extra players Lmfaooo

Rose (5-4): Friday night, the Rose put on a show, battling hard to beat the Lunar Owls—and I’m not just talking about the game, I mean battling the refs too! 😅 

Angel Reese is looking different—and I think that’s all thanks to spending extra time with Lisa Leslie. After just a few weeks in the lab with her, Angel has stepped up her game big time. It’s not a stretch to say this was hands down Angel’s best performance of her pro career… so far. Also, as you saw above, their smoke didn’t go unnoticed by the Lunar Owls

Vinyl (4-6): Honestly, I often forget about the Vinyl—no shade. But they’ve been pretty solid with Rhyne Howard going on heaters and Rae Burrell showing flashes of greatness (and flashes of not-so-great). I really would like Aliyah Boston to show some toughness idk lol.. She was getting punk’d by BG in the game against the Phantom and I just feel like she could assert her dominance more.

Anyway, They managed to beat the Mist on Friday but then took an L to the Phantom on Saturday. Looks like they’re still trying to find some consistency, but when they’re on, they’re a threat.

Phantom (3-6): The more time passes, the more the Phantom seem to be finding their groove. BG is starting to assert her presence in the paint and take over, Tash is shooting the ball well, and Katie Lou is contributing solid minutes. Satou is looking better but still eh. In Friday’s game against the Laces, Sabrina struggled a bit and couldn’t get her shot to fall. But by Saturday, she looked more comfortable, playing a key role in a strong team win against the Vinyl.

While they’re probably not going to take home the championship this year, they finally look like a team.

Mist (2-6): Girl, the Mist are just happy to be here lol. Stewie’s carrying the whole team, and I’m pretty sure her and Jewell Loyd agreed to play bad just so they could chill by the pool and hit up Topgolf.

In Friday’s game against the Vinyl, Stewie and Sloot showed off, but it still wasn’t enough to get the win. It’s like no one on the team can step up and hit that big shot to close it out. Stewie’s gonna miss the bunny, Jewell’s gonna airball, DiJonai is gonna miss, Rickea’s shot’s gonna come up too short—you get the vibe.

Although they’ve gotten a little better over time, they still don’t really have the “umph” to be competitive. Which is fine! Enjoy the amenities, the nice weather, and the money.

Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball

Due to me going to Unrivaled this weekend, I haven’t gotten a chance to watch AU yet, but I am excited to tune in this week!

Here is the full roster for AU

How to watch? FULL SCHEDULE

• 14 games will be broadcast live for FREE on the WNBA APP

• Fanduel Sports Network (formerly Bally Sports) will carry 14 games

• 10 games will be on ESPN+

Week One- Three Highlights

Hoops & Hype: Media Picks

Check out some of the cool podcasts, videos, reads, and fashion I saw this week.

Film Session: WBB Highlights & Insights 📽️

Podcast

Full Circle with Lexie Brown and Mariah Rose: Manifest That Sh*t

Booked & Busy: WBB Reads 👓

Drip Report 💧