Well, that was fun.

With time to process everything that went down in this WNBA season, that was the first thought that came to mind. The season actually happened! There was a champion!

Not only that, but the players took advantage of the stage they earned in Bradenton and turned it into their own messaging platform for Black Lives Matter and Say Her Name, all while driving a voter registration campaign and increasing television viewership by 68%. For everyone watching at home, the season was fantastic. From network broadcasts to those on streaming platforms, the fans saw great basketball, and for all of the worries about opt-outs and lack of rest days, this may have been the best season ever.

Here’s why.

Offense was better than ever

Two years ago, WNBA offense peaked. The league average offensive rating (an estimate of the points scored per 100 possessions) was 105.6. While that number dipped ever so slightly to 104.4 in 2020 (the second highest in league history), every other significant offensive number was up.

The league’s 44.6% field goal percentage was the best in the its 24 year history. The 34.6% 3-point percentage was the highest since 2013, when the 3-point line was set at its current distance of 22 feet and 1 3⁄4 inches, and seventh-best ever. The 49.2% 2-point field goal percentage was the highest ever. The 80.7% free throw conversion rate was the highest ever. The 83 points per game was the highest ever.

And none of this was accomplished through isolation basketball either. The league tallied the fourth highest assist rate ever, with 62.7% of field goals coming off a pass.

Even without the numbers to back it up, it was clear from the proverbial “eye test” that offense was on the rise. Over the two months, there were some fantastic displays of individual offensive excellence. Courtney Vandersloot set the single-game assist record with 18 and ended the season as the first player to average double digit assists. In the playoffs, Sue Bird set a playoff record with 16 assists in Game 1 of the Finals.

Veterans turned back the clock

Speaking of Sue Bird, the four-time WNBA champion showed she still has a lot left in the tank, even now that’s 40. Bird, along with Diana Taurasi and Angel McCoughtry, are three veteran hoopers still deserving of the spotlight. Somehow, in season 17, 16, and 10 respectively, each found new heights.

Taurasi made a career-high 4.1 3-pointers per 36 minutes. Her 17% defensive rebounds percentage was the second best of her Hall of Fame career, as was her 62.5% true shooting percentage. 2020 also saw her record her fourth highest win shares per 40 minutes.

As expected, Taurasi’s star shined even brighter in the playoffs. The 25.5 points and 7.5 assists across Phoenix’s two playoff games were both the highest of her career.

While McCoughtry is still looking for her first Finals win, to say nothing of a championship ring, she was a crucial addition for the Las Vegas Aces, without whom a runner-up season would not have been possible. Las Vegas lost Kelsey Plum to injury and Liz Cambage to opt out before the season even started, but still managed to reach the Finals. Once there, and without Sixth Woman of the Year Dearica Hamby, the Seattle juggernaut was just too much. That didn’t stop McCoughtry from giving it everything she had.

Her 51.8% from the field was the best of her career by four percent. And if that’s impressive, then her 47.1% from 3-point range is simply absurd. That number is 10% higher than her next best season.

McCoughtry also shot a career-best 88.2% from the free throw line, despite being an 80.1% shooter lifetime. While her minutes were down from her peak, her 25.9 points per 36 minutes was the second highest of her career, and in those minutes, she had a more positive impact than ever before, recording a career-best in win shares (0.288 per 40 minutes). Her rebound rate (14.5%), true shooting rate (61.1%) and player efficiency rating (29.1) were all the highest of her career, while her turnover rate (12.8%) was the lowest.

It shouldn’t be possible to improve every aspect of your game at this point in your career. But inside the bubble, McCoughtry proved she’s still well in her prime.

And then there’s the champion, Bird, who played the fewest minutes per game in the regular season of this trio while also missing 11 games with an injury. Unbothered, Bird’s 49.4% field goal percentage, 2.1 3-pointers a game and 46.9% 3-point percentage were all the best of her career.

And even as she became a more efficient and versatile scorer, Bird continued to orchestrate the Seattle offense. Her eight assists per 36 minutes tied for second best in her career. And in addition to the single-game playoff record for assists, she averaged 9.2 per game in the postseason, the highest of her career. Breanna Stewart might have Finals MVP, and rightfully so, but Sue Bird proved she’s still the one piloting the Storm’s offensive juggernaut.

While publicly undecided about her 2021 season prospects, the public is begging for another chance to see Bird play in person. And after watching her dominate the 2020 season, it’s hard to see how one of the sport’s great competitors could walk away now.

The future looks very, very bright

Perhaps the best part of 2020 was the preview it provided of what’s to come. To say the league is in good hands would be an understatement.

First of all, Elena Delle Donne, Jonquel Jones, Liz Cambage, and Tina Charles, among others, are all set to return after sitting out the reason due to health concerns. That talent infusion alone is enough reason to be excitied for 2021.

Then there are the players whose careers are just beginning. The 2020 rookie class was supposed to be deep, and it proved to be historically so: for the first time ever, a second round pick won Rookie of the Year. Crystal Dangerfield became the second Lynx roookie to win the award after Napheesa Collier did so in 2019. For an organization that is supposed to be rebuilding, Minnesota is well ahead of schedule after making it to the semifinals of the playoffs despite missing Sylvia Fowles for much of the season.

First overall pick Sabrina Ionescu came into the league with unprecedented hype. She’ll basically get a do-over next year after only playing in three games this season before spraining her ankle. Still, in just her second game, Ionescu dropped 33 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. That was enough to leave Liberty fans dreaming of what’s to come with both a healthy Ionescu and Asia Durr sharing the backcourt.

What we saw from the Dallas Wings inside the bubble is likewise enticing. Arike Ogunbowale led the entire league in scoring, rookie Satou Sabally proved that every aspect of her play can translate to the pros, and Allisha Gray, the only player with a positive net rating for the season, continued to make strides since her Rookie of the Year award in 2017. To top it off, Marina Mabrey made the fifth most 3-pointers per game in her second year.

Many were surprised to hear that Brian Agler and Dallas were mutually parting ways after the season. “Philosophical differences” doesn’t seem like a good reason to walk away from a roster with this much talent. Regardless, whoever steps in will be given the keys to a team that’s ready to make the leap.

And then there’s Chennedy Carter, the walking highlight real who scored in bunches and with ease. Against Seattle, the league’s best defense, Carter put up 35 points and seven assists. Rookies aren’t supposed to do that, and Atlanta wasn’t supposed to be a borderline playoff team. They now have a franchise centerpiece around which to build.

So yeah, 2020 was fun. But I’m already ready for 2021.

The scouting report on Catarina Macario is this: she can do everything.

Just last week, in one 24 hr period, Macario both became a U.S. citizen and was called into her first senior national team camp.

On the field, she’s an even more prolific multitasker. In 24 of her 68 appearances for Stanford, Macario has recorded at least a goal and an assist. Twice, she has scored a hat trick. Macario is an Academic All American and two-time National Champion. She has won the Hermann Trophy the last two years in a row, a claim only four other women can make.

In 2019, Macario scored more points in an NCAA season than all but two players in history — Mia Hamm and Christine Sinclair.

Her first two seasons on the Farm she played the nine to perfection. Last year, an abundance of attacking options made it opportune to slide Macario into the midfield. She responded with 32 goals and 23 assists.

Last season was also her healthiest year. She was fit heading into preseason and it showed from the first game through the national championship, her second in three years.

At Stanford, she was recognized with the Al Masters Award in 2020, the highest honor recognizing athletics, leadership and academics.

A player with Macario’s brilliance makes everyone around her better by definition. The attention she commands of a defense automatically frees up teammates. Her effect transcends that mark by leaps and bounds. She is adored in the locker room, including by former Stanford teammate and potential future national team teammate Tierna Davidson.

Her story has been told beautifully before. Like many other girls, especially in Latin America, she looked up to a brother who played soccer. In São Luís, in the Brazilian state of Maranhão, Macario honed her skills playing with boys. When she was seven, the family moved to Brasilia so her mother could practice surgery. At age 12, Macario’s star grew too big, and she, her father, and her brother left her mother behind to move to San Diego and play with the Surf.

While the transition to the national stage will be closely monitored, as everyone looks for flaws in “the next great player,” Macario has so far met and exceeded each new challenge.

First with the San Diego Surf, then with Stanford, she has contributed immediately and meaningfully, including goals in her first seven collegiate games. And in limited time playing with the U-23’s against NWSL competition, she has continued to dominate.

USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski appears confident that Macario will be eligible to play for his side by the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Given that Olympic rosters are only 18 deep, Macario would likely be displacing a more-established World Cup winner were she to make the team.

But if she can continue to produce highlights like these against the top level of competition, the bigger controversy might be leaving her at home.

Seattle needed a buzzer-beating putback from Alysha Clark to win Game 1 of their semifinals series against the Minnesota Lynx. From their, the Storm rolled, sweeping the only active franchise with four WNBA championships and giving themselves a chance to now become the second.

Las Vegas took considerably longer to wrest control of the series with the Connecticut Sun, with the outcome largely uncertain until A’ja Wilson scored 11 points on 9-of-10 from the line in the fourth quarter of a decisive Game 5. Connecticut, the No. 7 seed in the playoffs, was on the precipice of an enormous upset, leading 45-39 at half time. But the Sun scored just 18 points after the intermission and none within the last 2:39.

Now, the top two vote-getters in the MVP race, Wilson and Breanna Stewart, and the two best teams in the WNBA will be facing off with a championship on the line.

The matchup also pits the best offensive team in the regular season, Las Vegas, against the best defensive team, Seattle.

In the playoffs, though, Seattle has been the top scoring team, averaging 89.7 points per game. Sue Bird, Jewell Loyd, and Stewart have all increased their per game scoring averages.

Bird in particular has come back from injury rejuvenated, scoring 11.3 points per game, and she now has the chance for a legacy burnishing fourth WNBA title. The point guard is also averaging a team-high 7.3 assists in the playoffs.

Seattle was such a strong preseason favorite because the team was essentially running back their 2018 squad, which swept the finals as Breanna Stewart was named MVP. Even with Sami Whitcomb leaving the bubble, they have eight players back from that trophy-winning team.

After being held out of the final few games of the regular season, and with a week off while the single elimination portion of the tournament played out, Breanna Stewart is looking outright dominant. Through the three playoff games, she has put together a line of 23 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game.

The sweep of the Lynx was picture perfect for the Storm. The team hauled in more defensive rebounds per game than any other team in the playoff (29 per game), dished out more assists than any other team in the playoffs, and turned the ball over less than any other team in the playoffs (12 per game).

On the season, Seattle shot 47.0% from the field, and they have sustained that mark in the postseason. For Las Vegas, that number is worrying, because in the six games their opponent shot at least 45.9% from the field, the Aces lost four.

Of course, none of those losses came against Seattle. The two teams met twice, and the No. 1 seed Aces swept both.

On August 26, Wilson scored 23 and Danielle Robinson added 23 off the bench to overcome a 29-point effort from Stewart. Loyd shot 1-of-11 from the field and Seattle lost by eight.

On September 13, with the top seed on the line, both Wilson and Dearica Hamby scored 23. While Loyd’s 30 points were a massive improvement over her first outing, they were not enough, and Seattle lost by two.

How much do those games matter now? Well, Bird sat for both, Stewart missed the second, and Hamby is now out with a knee injury. Seattle is playing its best basketball and Las Vegas slogged through five games to bypass the No. 7 seed (albeit a very hot No. 7 seed). Though the Aces advanced, Connecticut actually outscored their opponent in the series.

To win, Las Vegas needs multiple MVP-caliber performances from Wilson. The top offensive team in the regular season has been held to just 72.6 points per game in the playoffs, the second lowest output of any playoff team — behind only Los Angeles’ 59 from their one-and-done performance.

While the Sun’s defense contributed to that 16 point differential between regular- and postseason scoring, Seattle’s defense has been even better.

Las Vegas scored 51.8% of its regular season points inside the paint, more than any other team. Seattle allowed just 15 made field goals in the paint per game, fewest in the league. In the matchup of the two best teams in the league, this is another strength-on-strength matchup to watch.

Last round, Las Vegas was even worse from behind the arc than in the regular season, when they averaged just 4.2 3-pointers per game. They also made 2.8 fewer free throws per game. Simply put, if Seattle can keep Las Vegas off the line and out of the paint, the Aces will not be able to win.

The difference maker is Angel McCoughtry. Still the all-time leader for points in a finals game, her 38 in 2011 was spectacular— though it came in a losing effort. In fact, McCoughtry has never won a WNBA finals game in nine tries, getting swept as a member of the Atlanta Dream in 2010, 2011, and 2013. Her experience will be crucial however, as she’s just one of two Aces players with Finals experience, the other being Sugar Rodgers, who was a rookie on the Lynx team that beat the Dream in 2013.

While Las Vegas is an excellent team, there’s simply too many factors that are trending towards the Storm.

Prediction: Storm in 4

Seattle is supposed to win it all this season.

From the first week of the season through the tip-off of its finale, the Seattle Storm were on top of the WNBA standings. But with a top-two seed clinched and a double-bye to the semifinals guaranteed, the Storm rested Breanna Stewart, saw Sue Bird miss her 11th game, and allowed the Las Vegas Aces to wrestle away the top seed in the playoffs.

Something tells us the Storm aren’t too concerned. Throughout the season, they have led the league in both offensive and defensive rating, giving them the best net rating at 15.0. And in their two previous games against the Minnesota Lynx, Seattle won 90-66 in the second game of the year and 103-88 on Sept. 6.

If there is one key for Seattle, it is finding rhythm from deep. In wins, Seattle shot 42.4% from beyond the arc. In losses, that rate dropped to 28%. That falloff of 14.2% is the highest difference in 3-point percentage between wins and losses among playoff teams and second in the entire league to New York, which lost all but two games.

Seattle is an excellent 3-point shooting team. In the regular season, the team shot 39.8%, second only to Los Angeles. While the Sparks proved in their 2-of-18 showing against Connecticut that anyone can get cold, in a five-game series it is unlikely that Seattle will struggle for a prolonged stretch of play.

Five players for the Storm take at least three 3-pointers per game. All five shoot better than the league-wide average 35.5%, and both Bird and Alysha Clark average well above league average. Bird is shooting 46.9% for the season, the best mark in her Hall of Fame career, but Clark tops even that with a 52.2% number that is the best in the league for any player taking at least 2 3-pointers per contest.

Jewell Loyd, Sami Whitcomb, and Stewart can also knock down 3’s with the best of them. There’s a reason the Storm are still the favorites to take home the title.

If Sue Bird is healthy enough to play, which is the expectation, she will be a major boost. Despite being limited to 11 games, Seattle went 10-1 in those contests. And while Seattle may not need Breanna Stewart to play at an MVP-level in the series to win, expect her to play with a chip on her shoulder after losing to A’ja Wilson it what was a tight, season-long race.

If Stewart raises her level of play, Minnesota could be in for a rough series. Of the five teams with the most points per game scored by rookies, four did not make the playoffs. Only Minnesota, led by Rookie of the Year Crystal Dangerfield’s 16.1 points per game, made it to the dance.

While Dangerfield struggled through the first half of her debut WNBA playoff game, Minnesota will continue to rely on their vaunted rookie. Despite leading the team in scoring in the regular season, Dangerfield struggled to open games throughout the campaign. In the first quarter, Dangerfield scored just 2.7 points on average, but that number steadily increased throughout each game, and in the fourth quarter she was up to 6.3, second in the entire league.

Nerves for her first playoff game may have been a part of the slow start, but Dangerfield has waited to get going all season long. The Lynx won’t panic if Dangerfield fails to get things going early against the Storm. Luckily, they have talent across the board.

Napheesa Collier has had an excellent season with 16.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per outing. After winning Rookie of the Year last season, Collier finished 5th in MVP voting this season. As she told Just Women’s Sports, winning MVP is her next big goal, but “First and foremost, I want our team to win.”

If the Lynx can pull off the upset of the Storm, the return of Sylvia Fowles could prove to be the decisive factor. After missing all five weeks with a calf injury, the 2017 league MVP and WNBA career rebound leader is back in action. The team’s 9.9 offensive rebounds per game, which was second in the league, affords valuable extra possessions, and with Fowles back in the paint, expect that number to only go up.

With Coach of the Year Cheryl Reeve pulling the strings, don’t expect the Lynx’s relative youth to trip them up against the Storm. This team plays beyond their years. But in order to topple an extremely talent Seattle side, the Lynx will need to be nearly perfect.

Prediction: Seattle in 4

The Las Vegas Aces went 9-1 over their last ten regular season games, including a win over the Seattle Storm in the season finale, to clinch the first seed. For that effort, they earned the right to play the Connecticut Sun, who in the single-elimination rounds of the playoffs dispatched both Chicago and Los Angeles , the latter of which was a title favorite.

While facing a seven seed in the semifinals may have been a mental boost for Las Vegas, Connecticut turned the tables in Game 1, hammering the Aces 87-62 behind a career high 31 pts from Jasmine Thomas.

That result shouldn’t have been so surprising after watching the Sun handle the Sparks in a similar fashion, holding Los Angeles to a season low in points last game, with no quarter above 20 points. Throughout the regular season, defense has been the Sun’s strength. The team ended fourth in defensive rating, and through the first three games of the playoffs, they’ve lived up to the billing on that end of the court.

The question for Connecticut was always where the scoring would come from. Before the season, everyone wondered what DeWanna Bonner could provide the Sun, who lost in last year’s Finals. Bonner answered with her most efficient season in her decorated career, scoring more points per 36 minutes than at any other time in her 11 WNBA seasons.

The other big question was how Jonquel Jones would be replaced (Jones opted out of the season due to Covid concerns). In her first season as a full-time starter, Brionna Jones proved to be more than an adequate stop gap. Coming into the year, she’d only averaged 3.2 points per game in her career. She nearly quadrupled that as a starter, putting up 11.2 per game to go along with 5.6 rebounds.

The two players expected to lead the team this season have done exactly that. Alyssa Thomas averaged the most points in her seven-year career (15.5) and Jasmine Thomas had her fifth consecutive season averaging double digit points per game.

This is a team with a host of scoring threats that thrive off of ball movement. All five starters finished with at least 10 points against Los Angeles.

In the two regular season matchups, however, the Aces swept the Sun, winning by at least 15 points each time. And now, MVP A’ja Wilson and Las Vegas should be well-rested.

Like Connecticut, Las Vegas will look to dominate in the paint, only they do it better than anyone. The Aces have more rebounds than any other team, the second most field goals per game in the restricted area (12.0), the most field goals in the paint outside of the restricted area (9.4) and the second most mid-range makes (7.5). The Aces also had 37 more made free throws than any other team as they got to the line at a league-leading clip.

The converse of the inside prowess is that no one takes fewer 3-pointers from the left (0.5 FGA), right (0.2 FGA), or center (10.9). Still, Las Vegas has the fourth-highest 3-point percentage.

On average, Las Vegas has five players in double figures each game. While Wilson is the team leader, Angel McCoughtry has had a resurgent season. On a per-minute basis, McCoughtry is averaging more points than Wilson, and the second highest average in her career behind 2011. She also is assisting at her highest rate since 2013, with the most rebounds, best free throw percentage, best field goal percentage, and best 3-point field goal percentage of her career.

Both teams will want to command the paint. If Connecticut can space the floor, as they did in making nine 3-pointers against the Sparks, they can prove their Game 1 upset of the Aces was anything but a fluke.

Had this been another single-elimination game, the Sun would be on to the next round. But there’s a reason it’s a series, and given their depth, the Aces may still prove to be just too much for the overachieving Sun.

Clinching a playoff spot Sunday, Los Angeles extended its winning streak to nine games. And while the Sparks lost on Monday to Minnesota, the nine-game winning streak was enough to cement their status as championship contenders.

At times, the Sparks have looked dominant. During others, the team has looked mortal. That is, until the last five minutes.

Against an 11th-ranked Atlanta Dream, Los Angeles went down to the wire. If not for some clutch play from Candace Parker, Chelsea Gray, and Britney Sykes, Los Angeles easily could have had its streak snapped. But they didn’t, and it never really felt like the outcome was in doubt. Not only because those players are all elite veterans, or that on paper the Sparks were the better team, or even that their five-time NBA champion head coach Derek Fisher was himself known for his clutch factor. Simply, Los Angeles has dominated clutch time all season.

The WNBA defines clutch time as the last five minutes with the point differential within five. In those games, Los Angeles is 6-2, which is tied with Minnesota for best in the league.

Gray, the Point Gawd, is known for being at her best in clutch moments throughout her career. This season, her usage rate has jumped from 24.5% to 29.9% in clutch time. She is also perfect on three attempts from behind the arc and the team’s leading scorer in clutch time.

The last four games of the streak all required clutch heroics for the Sparks to pull out victories.

First, Parker had to score as time expired to answer a Courtney Williams jumper that put the Dream ahead by two with 3.7 seconds in the teams’ first meeting on August 21st. Then in overtime, Los Angeles outscored Atlanta 12-4 to sneak out with the win. Gray accounted for 10 of those points, including 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions. That close call, though, was just the beginning.

In the next game against Dallas, Sykes made a jumper with 4:30 on the clock to give the Sparks their first lead since late in the second quarter. A 25-15 fourth quarter allowed Los Angeles to escape with an 84-81 win.

The story was remarkably similar against Connecticut, who had a fourth quarter lead but were outscored 21-13 in the final period and lost by four. Gray gave her team its first second half lead with a 3-pointer at 5:01, then doubled down on the next trip down the court. The Sun only made one field goal in the last two minutes as the Sparks put on the clamps.

On Sunday, in a rematch with the Dream, Los Angeles pulled away at the end. Chennedy Carter, in her second game back from an ankle injury that caused her to miss five games, scored 26 on 11-of-19, with 10 points coming in the fourth quarter. Still, Los Angeles bottled up the Atlanta offense when it counted the most. With 5:31 to go, Monique Billings tied the game at 72. Besides a lone Carter layup, the Sparks held the Dream scoreless until 1:01, and opened up an 80-74 lead.

As a team, the Sparks lead the league in points, field goals made, and steals in clutch time. Opponents are turning the ball over more than against any other team, and Los Angeles is coughing the ball up at the second lowest rate in the league. Los Angeles is also second in blocks, field goal percentage, 3-pointers made, and 3-point percentage. The numbers all back up the eye test — in clutch time, no one is better than the Sparks.

At the individual level, Gray and Parker are fifth and sixth on scoring average in clutch time, at 3.4 and 3.0 points per clutch time, respectively. Parker is shooting 9-of-13 from the field in clutch time and Gray is at 10-of-18.

Fisher has also refined his clutch time lineup. In Los Angeles’ 29 clutch minutes this season, which is third highest in the league, Parker has played in all 29 and Gray has played in 28. More importantly, the shots are being fed to those two. Of the team’s 52 clutch-time shots, 31 have been taken by either Parker or Gray. And of the 26 made shots, 19 have come from one of the two.

When Nneka Ogwumike is healthy, she provides a third option that solidifies the clutch rotation. While her shot rate is down — she has shot just four times in the clutch, making two — Los Angeles will need her to be ready down the wire in the playoffs.

The first time, or even the first few times, a Sparks win in clutch time could have been a fluke. But now, after watching Los Angeles win four straight in the final minutes, it seems pretty clear: the Sparks are clutch, and they’re ready for the playoffs.

In a 22-game sprint of a season, the WNBA playoff race is heating up. And if the last few game days have shown us anything, almost all of the 12 teams in Bradenton, Florida, still have a shot at being a top eight seed.

Seattle, which was comfortably sitting atop the standings, dropped two games in a row, including one to current eight-seed Indiana. The current 12th-seed, New York, is still just three games out of playoff contention.

Once in the playoffs, teams five through eight have to survive a single-elimination first round. But even before then, expect a tight race for the right to even play in the postseason. Every game counts, but some count even more. As the regular season nears a conclusion, here are four games in the next week that should have a major impact on the playoff standings.

 

INDIANA FEVER VS. PHOENIX MERCURY (9/3)

Phoenix is currently 3-5 in the West and 6-2 against the East, which makes a lot of sense when the top four teams in the WNBA are all in the West. Besides the loss to Indiana in the second game of the season, and a loss to Dallas to start a three-game skid, the Mercury have for the most part won the games they were supposed to and lost the ones they weren’t. While Phoenix punched above its weight in wins against Las Vegas and Chicago, it also lost to that same Chicago team and will need to face that Las Vegas team again.

The Mercury cannot afford another loss to Indiana and need to show everyone, especially themselves, that they can win these kinds of games. It won’t be easy, as Phoenix is in the midst of transitioning to a guard-first lineup without Brittney Griner, who left the bubble for personal reasons. They’ll also be without Bria Hartley, who was having a career season before tearing her ACL.

Indiana, meanwhile, is a borderline playoff team at the moment despite a .313 winning percentage. A win over Seattle went a long way towards building confidence, and the Fever had a lot to say after that game. Nevermind that their only other win against a current playoff team came against Phoenix. Indiana is getting 18.5 points per game from Kelsey Mitchell, and while third pick Lauren Cox has yet to find her rhythm, Julie Allemand is legitimately in the Rookie of the Year conversation. Originally drafted in the third round in 2016, Allemand chose instead to continue playing with her French-league squad club team, but was signed in the offseason and has thrived in a starting role.

ATLANTA DREAM VS. LAS VEGAS ACES (9/5)

In the first meeting in the second game of the 2020 season, this game was decided by 30 points in favor of the second-ranked Aces. To be honest, unless a lot changes, this game won’t have as much impact on the playoff race (though the Aces would love to lock up one of the top two spots and earn a bye through to the semis) — it could, however, have a massive impact on the season awards race.

For the second time this season, A’ja Wilson and Chennedy Carter will take the court opposite of each other. Wilson has put together a convincing case for her first MVP award in her third season in the league. In the first game against Atlanta, Willson scored 21 points and collected 11 rebounds in just 26 minutes. Carter, meanwhile, was averaging 19.4 points per game before injuring her left ankle on August 10. At the time, she was considered a top candidate for Rookie of the Year, and in just her second game back from injury on Sunday, she showed everyone why, putting up 26 points on the Los Angeles Sparks. In order to make up for lost time after sitting out for two weeks, Carter will need to put up some monster performances to close the season, especially in games against potential MVP candidates. Her 11-point output in the first meeting was her lowest of the season.

CHICAGO SKY VS. LOS ANGELES SPARKS (9/6)

With five starters in double digit scoring and the offense humming, Chicago is poised for a deep playoff run, but will want to sneak into the top four to avoid an extra elimination game. Before the hiccup against New York, Chicago was riding high on a four game win streak, including a quality victory over Las Vegas. The difficulty now will be closing out the season strong, and after losing to Seattle Saturday, they don’t have any more games they can spare.

Los Angeles had won nine straight before losing to Minnesota on Monday, and franchise cornerstone Candace Parker is still leading the way. Chicago won the first matchup, and it was not particularly close, but the Sparks have looked like a different team with Sydney Wiese and Brittney Sykes starting. They’re bona-fide championship contenders, especially when healthy. Anytime two of the best offenses in the league meet, there are guaranteed fireworks. And when playoff seeding is on the line, you should definitely expect a show.

 

SEATTLE STORM VS. MINNESOTA LYNX (9/6)

Surprising many people, Minnesota appears to be a high-end playoff team as the end of the regular season nears. After two straight seasons at 18-16, the Lynx are well above .500 this time and a position group of concern heading into the season — guard — now seems to be a strength. Behind Rookie of the Year candidate Crystal Dangerfield, Minnesota has been rotating its guards and finding what works. Now, getting Odyssey Sims back to join Shenise Johnson, Lexie Brown, and Rachel Banham, head coach Cherly Reeve has a lot of decisions to make.

After a 13-3 start, the only surprise as far as Seattle is concerned is a recent two-game skid. Both losses came with Sue Bird out due to injury, which shows her continued importance to the success of this team. The Storm have already avenged their loss to Indiana, and will have an opportunity to face the Aces next time they tip off. But this game against the Lynx, who have the only defense that rivals Seattle’s own, will tell a lot about where these two teams are at. Seattle is still the team to beat, but if Sylvia Fowles can make a healthy return, Minnesota is not far behind.

If the Seattle Storm are the best team in the league, and they have certainly looked the part in jumping out to a 10-1 record, who comes next?

On Saturday, we saw Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and  Minnesota dominate with convincing victories, and at 8-2, 7-3, and 7-3 respectively, they each have a case to make as the next best team.

First, the Aces, who are on a torrid stretch for the best 10-game start in franchise history and are currently on a seven game winning streak. Las Vegas is first in the league in field goal percentage and rebounds. Meanwhile, opponents are shooting 28.7% from beyond the arc.

It’s not just defense, however, as A’ja Wilson is battling to stake her claim as the best offensive player in the game. She is averaging over 20 points per game with 8.5 rebounds, all while shooting 49% from field. The one-two punch with Angel McCoughtry has been exceptional so far. McCoughtry is sitting at 15.4 points per game and shooting 57.1% from the field.

Through the first five games, Jackie Young had just 27 points and one game in double figures. Since then, she’s figured something out, as Young has 15, 15, 17, 16, and 16 in her last five outings. All of that has come for Young while playing off the bench. If those three can continue to play at their current level, Las Vegas can challenge the Storm.

The Aces have already beaten both Los Angeles and Minnesota in the short season. The win against the Lynx came on Thursday by 10. In the game against the Sparks, Wilson and McCoughtry combined for 50 points. Young added 15 more, while the rest of the team combined for 21.

Sparks fans, however, will be quick to remember that Nneka Ogwumike didn’t play in that game, and this past Saturday was just another reminder of what she can do. She went for 17 points on 8-of-9 from the field, playing in her usual, absurdly efficient manner. On the season, the 2016 MVP is averaging 12.6 points per game.

The other (two-time) former MVP on the Sparks roster is off to another phenomenal start. Candace Parker is nearly averaging a double-double, and her 3.7 assists per game are the second most on the team. While Chelsea Gray is facilitating and scoring, she has not been as consistent a shooter as in past seasons, when she typically shot well above 40%. Some of that could just be lingering rust, and if Gray can find her stroke during the second half of the season, the Sparks could be primed for a deep playoff run.

A true title contender, Los Angeles boasts a strong starting five, depth, and an abundance of scorers. As a team, Los Angeles is second in 3-point percentage and Riquna Williams showed why on Saturday, draining 7-of-12 for 21 points. Despite playing off of the bench, she has been the team’s leading scorer, shooting 50.8% from beyond the arc, more than 10% above any season in her career. The Sparks can also turn to Seimone Augustus or Brittney Sykes off the bench for scoring, making this a well-rounded team.

Also active on defense, the Sparks are second in steals and have forced the most turnovers of any team. Because of their fast pace on offense, where they lead the league, Los Angeles is both scoring and letting up the most points of any team. The Aces are right behind the Sparks in pace, at second. And on the other end of the spectrum is Minnesota, the slowest-paced squad in the league. Rather than a defect, this speaks to the preferred style of the Lynx.

Like the Sparks, Minnesota also has a caveat for their loss to Las Vegas. Sylvia Fowles, who was putting up MVP-like numbers up to that point, missed nearly the entire game with injury. In their first game without Fowles, Minnesota had no trouble putting up points in a commanding win over the New York Liberty. The Lynx kept all five Liberty starters under double digit scoring while four of their own five starters reached that mark.

Fowles is now out indefinitely with a calf strain, after missing two games earlier in the season due to the same injury. The Lynx will need Napheesa Collier and rookie Crystal Dangerfield to step up in her absence, and so far, they have. Against the Liberty, Collier had her second straight 20+ point outing, scoring 26, one shy of her career best, while adding 13 rebounds and five assists. Dangerfield, meanwhile, scored 22 for the second-highest scoring output of her young professional career.

The Lynx, whose dynasty dominated the past decade, will need to rely on some new faces. Collier’s 14.9 points and nine rebounds per game are impressive, but she can’t be expected to drop 20 every night. And while the return of Odyssey Sims should give the team a boost, they’ll also need rookie Mikiah Herbert Harrigan to play beyond her years and for Lexie Brown to sustain what is now a career-best season.

Minnesota is leading in the categories they need to, including ranking first in offensive rebounds. Their opponents are shooting a second-worst 42.4% from the field. Still, with all the young talent, Minnesota needs to prove it can compete with and beat the best teams in the league. All three losses have come against Seattle, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas, but by an average of more than 17 points.

Behind Seattle, the Sparks, Aces, and Lynx are two through four in defensive rating. And at this point, that is exactly how I would rank these four teams.

The Seattle Storm were the unanimous preseason choice of ESPN WNBA analysts for which team would win the 2020 title. A vaunted cast could not agree on any other topic, but all viewed Seattle as the team to beat in Florida.

The logic is clear. The 2018 WNBA champions are returning 2018 regular season and finals MVP Breanna Stewart and 11-time All-Star Sue Bird to a team that made it to the conference semifinals last year without either player.

Chicago jumped out to a successful run in the wubble. The Sky impressed many people with their play early on and the game against the Storm was billed as a potential late-round playoff matchup. More than Chicago regressing, the 89-71 loss to Seattle showed how far in front of the rest of the league the team from Seattle truly is.

Here’s what Seattle has proven during their blistering 7-1 start:

Breanna Stewart is the best player in the league

Early foul trouble for Jordin Canada allowed Breanna Stewart to run the show. With Sue Bird sidelined with a knee injury, Stewart could play a little of everything. She dished out five assists, scored 10 points, and added a pair of rebounds — in the first quarter. By the final whistle, her point total was up to 25 and the Storm had an 18 point victory.

Stewart’s game has evolved, slightly, since she last took the court. She is taking and making more 3-point shots per game than at any point in her WNBA career and assisting at a higher rate too. More than anything, she’s quickly returned to her previously dominant form, putting the league on notice as it’s clear there are no lingering issues from her Achilles recovery.

While plenty of other players have impressed so far, Stewart is exceeding across the board. She is top five in the league in field goals, 3-pointers, free throws, rebounds, steals, blocks and points. In advanced stats, she ranks second in player efficiency, fifth in usage rate, and first in both defensive rating and win shares.

Chicago could have done a better job of closing down some of the lanes through which Stewart raced to the basket, but the four-time collegiate national champion — who already has a legitimate Hall of Fame case — has an off-the-charts basketball IQ and will take advantage of any team’s missteps.

Seattle can win in multiple ways

The road to the championship most definitely runs through the Storm. The Storm offense dominated the first quarter to the tune of a 33-18 scoreline. In the second, Seattle’s defense held Chicago to just 10 points, so it didn’t matter that the Storm had their second lowest scoring quarter of the bubble. Although Chicago came into the game, and remains, the top shooting and 3-point shooting team in the league, Seattle bested both and shot 51.4% from the floor, including an absurd 52.9% from beyond the arc.

Jordin Canada filled in successfully at the point last year and has been able to do the same in 2020. Jewell Loyd, coming off of two straight All-Star seasons, is matching or improving upon her stat line from last year. Seattle just has so many options.

The Storm have the best defensive rating in the league and the third-best offensive rating. No other team ranks in the top three in both; Las Vegas is the closest at second and fourth. The Aces also have a +6.0 point differential, the nearest to Seattle’s +8.2 of anyone. The two teams don’t meet until a Saturday, August 22 matchup on ABC that may be an eventual finals preview — and a head-to-head between the top two MVP contenders.

Depth is really important

Even with a short rotation, Seattle still gets significant contributions from its bench. Sami Whitcomb went 3-for-3 from deep, scored 17 points total, and matched Jordin Canada’s six assists against the Sky. Ezi Magbegor was an efficient 6-of-8 from the field for 13 points. Combined, their 30 points were more than Chicago’s five bench options, who tallied 21.

That included a career-high 11 points for the rookie from Oregon, Ruthy Hebard. With that effort, Chicago once again saw five players reach double digit scoring. The Sky’s entire starting lineup boasts a double digit scoring average, but in this treacherous stretch of play in which there’s often only one day off between games, rest and a deep bench are more important than ever.

Seattle only has four players averaging at least ten points per game, and only three are active. But the Storm still get massive contributions off the bench. The ability for someone like Whitcomb to come off the bench and average the second most points on the team will prove instrumental throughout the team’s run in IMG Academy.

Looking at what it takes to make it to the Hall of Fame, it is easy to see that championships matter — a lot. But a number of all-time greats have never held the WNBA Championship Trophy.

For all time, there is no question that Becky Hammon belongs near the top of the list of the “best to never win it.” Despite being a six-time All-Star, twice named to the All-WNBA first team and twice to the second team, Hammon never won it all in 16 seasons in the league.

In the first half of her playing career with the New York Liberty, Hammon reached the WNBA Finals three times. The first two, in 1999 and 2000, the Liberty ran into the end of the Houston Comets four-year dynasty. In 2002, the Liberty were swept in the Finals by Western Conference Champion LA Sparks. After losing in the Conference finals in 2004 and 2005 and missing the playoffs in 2006, Hammon was traded to the San Antonio Silver Stars.

There, Hammon reached the Finals for the last time in 2008, where her team was swept by the Detroit Shock.

Hammon now sits at fifth in career assists and twelfth in career points after finishing her playing career with 450 regular season games and 60 more postseason games. Still, none ended in a championship.

Among active players, the “best never” title was applied for a long time to Candace Parker. Before winning it all in 2016, Parker was six-time All-WNBA, two-time All-Defensive Second Team, and the MVP in both her rookie season and 2013.

Then, Elena Delle Donne held the designation until the 2019 season ended with a Washington Mystics championship.

Now, we need a new “best to never win it.” Here are the three frontrunners for the mad-dash 2020 season:

 

Angel McCoughtry

 

The former first overall pick won the 2009 Rookie of the Year with the Atlanta Dream, where she played her entire career before joining the Las Vegas Aces this offseason. That first season, Atlanta was swept in the Conference semifinals by Detroit. The next two seasons, the Dream were swept in the WNBA Finals, first by Seattle and then by Minnesota. Two years later, in 2013, Minnesota swept the Dream again.

The next year, Atlanta fell to Chicago in the Conference semifinals, and in 2016 lost to the same Sky team in the second round. McCoughtry then rested for the 2017 season and missed much of the 2018 campaign with an injury as the Dream lost to Washington in the Conference finals. McCoughtry was once again sidelined by injury in 2019.

A primary option on both ends of the court, McCoughtry has the highest active usage percentage and steal percentage of any player. She is a six-time All-Defensive and six-time All-WNBA player. Still, the championship trophy to top it off has proved elusive.

 

Skylar Diggins-Smith

 

Despite being one of the league’s marquee names, Diggins-Smith has played in just two career postseason games. The South Bend, Indiana native who stayed home for college to play at Notre Dame was taken third overall in the 2013 by the Tulsa Shock. Diggins-Smith played her entire career with the franchise, moving to Dallas in the 2016 season, but made her intention to play for a new team clear this past offseason.

It was back in her second season in the league that Diggins-Smith first began to shine. After averaging a little over eight points per game in her rookie season, Diggins-Smith won the 2014 WNBA Most Improved Player Award and was named to her first All-Star team. Since then, she has been an All-Star on three more occasions.

In 2015, the Shock made the playoffs for the first time in her career as the third seed in the Western Conference, but Diggins-Smith could only watch the postseason from the sideline due to a torn ACL. The team was swept in its first round by the Phoenix Mercury.

The result was the same for the next two postseason berths. Despite Diggins-Smith averagine 19 points, three rebounds and five assists in those games, the Wings were knocked out in the first round in 2017 and 2018. After missing last season on pregnancy leave, Diggins-Smith’s most recent game action before the bubble came during the national team’s tour through the college ranks.

Her first season with Phoenix Mercury may be her best opportunity so far to win a ring. She is flanked by Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner, two of her U.S. national team teammates. The chemistry is apparent, and she is already averaging 14.0 points and 4.2 assists per game while shooting over 55% from the field.

Griner, who was taken two spots ahead of Diggins-Smith in the 2013 draft, got her first taste of a championship in 2014. Delle Donne, the second selection, just got her ring last year. Will 2020 be time for the third overall pick to finally win it all?

 

Courtney Vandersloot

 

As a starter in her first year in the league — in 2011 — Vandersloot quickly excelled and was named to her first All-Star team. Chicago, which selected her third overall in the draft out of Gonzaga, had not made the playoffs in its franchise history and was still stuck in the mud.

It was not until 2013, when Delle Donne joined and had a Rookie of the Year season and Sylvia Fowles put together a Defensive Player of the Year campaign that Chicago finally made the playoffs. Indiana swept Chicago in the Conference semifinals, but with Vandersloot still leading the offense Chicago charged back in 2014 and reached its first Finals appearance. There, the Sky were swept by the Phoenix Mercury, the closest Vandersloot or Chicago has come to a WNBA championship.

The final two seasons with Pokey Chatman at the helm were both cut short in the playoffs, and the two-season tenure of Amber Stocks ended without a playoff berth. In that time, however, Vandersloot has become one of the game’s great facilitators.

Vandersloot is the all-time leader in assists per game at 6.21. She has led the league in assists three times in her career, including the past two seasons in which she set, and then reset, the single-season assist record. Already in 2020 she is pacing the WNBA with 43. Her success has continued in the postseason, where she holds the WNBA record for assists per game as well, at 7.0. In nine-plus seasons, she is already fifth on the career list, just ahead of Hammon.

Still, Vandersloot is known for more than just her assists, and her leadership on the court helped Chicago end its two-year playoff drought last season. The Sky returned to the playoffs with a 20-14 record and the fifth seed in James Wade’s first season. Following a decisive first round win over Phoenix, plenty of people in Chicago think the Sky had an opportunity to make a much deeper run, but the plans were dashed by an (infamous) half-court shot by Dearica Hamby.

Historically, Vandersloot’s July and August season numbers have dwarfed her early season outputs—she has averaged nearly three more assists per game in those months than in May and June. Lucky for Chicago, in an unusual season that tipped off in late July, Vandersloot looks to already be in peak form.

Honorable mentions not playing this season: Liz Cambage, Jonquel Jones, and Tina Charles.