Welcome back to Fast Friends with Kelley O'Hara and Lisa Leslie!

O'Hara and Leslie kick off today's episode discussing the NYC marathon, with O'Hara sharing that her secret way to cheer on runners is to lap them on her bike.

When it comes to running marathons, however, Leslie cited her three-mile max, saying "This body's not made for that type of distance, you know?"

Defense wins NWSL championships

Our hosts then preview the 2024 NWSL Playoffs, questioning whether or not Shield-winners Orlando can complete their "beat everybody season" before exploring 2024 expansion team Bay FC's dark horse status. They later wind down the NWSL chat by diving into the elite defensive qualities that former defender NWSL and USWNT O'Hara says could propel either the Pride or defending champs Gotham FC all the way to the title.

"I really do think, when it comes to playoffs, defense wins championships," O'Hara says on Fast Friends. "I think you can have a potent offense, but the reality is, if you don't let the other team score, you got a chance of winning."

Fast Friends tackles college basketball's season-openers

Afterwards, the duo pivot to the hardcourt where they dig into the beginning of the NCAA basketball season, starting with Leslie's alma mater: No. 3-ranked USC. Behind All-American sophomore phenom JuJu Watkins's 27 point performance, the Trojans narrowly beat No. 20 Ole Miss in their season opener in Paris — despite committing 26 turnovers.

The key to unlock USC's title-winning potential? Building trust and chemistry, Leslie says.

"JuJu's gonna have to trust her teammates more, her teammates are gonna have to trust her," explains the eight-time WNBA All Star. "You've gotta make other players around you better, and let them hit some shots, and it'll open it back up more for her."

Speaking of chemistry, that's something Leslie says defending NCAA champions No. 1 South Carolina have in spades thanks to head coach Dawn Staley.

"[Staley] makes people want to be better and brings the best out of others," Leslie says of former teammate. "The will that she brings is making each individual want to be at their best, and you feel like you let her down when you're not giving your all... That's the sign of a great leader."

About Fast Friends with Kelley O'Hara and Lisa Leslie

O'Hara and Leslie wrap things up with a visit to the WNBA, where former Connecticut Sun head coach Stephanie White is returning to her Indiana roots to lead the Fever. According to White, she joins the team as they enter their "championship or bust" era. The Fast Friends hosts also hit on how the coaching carousel and the WNBA's CBA negotiations could impact free agency moves this offseason.

Coming off the success of JWS's Olympic commentary show The Gold Standard, Fast Friends features two legendary athletes serving up insider insights and unique takes on the biggest stories in women's sports every week.

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Reigning WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson had herself a weekend, adding 2025 All-WNBA First Team honors to her stacked resume mere hours before winning her third league title on Friday.

Joining the Las Vegas Aces star was fellow unanimous First Team selectee Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx), as the pair logged their fourth and third straight years, respectively, on the list.

Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas, Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray, and Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell also earned spots on the elite roster.

Headlining the 2025 Second Team is Seattle Storm forward and eight-time All-WNBA selectee Nneka Ogwumike alongside Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston and a trio of standout guards: the Aces' Jackie Young, the New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu, and the Dallas Wings' Paige Bueckers.

The 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year isn't the only All-WNBA debutant, with Gray, Mitchell, and Boston joining Bueckers in earning their first-ever league-wide nods.

All WNBA athletes, regardless of their position, are eligible for All-WNBA selection, and voting media members determine the honorary squads.

Players earn five points for each First Team vote and three for every Second Team tally, with the league's top five players via points snagging the First roster and the next five featuring as the Second squad.

Along with the All-WNBA titles, this year's honorees are also cashing in, with each member of the 2025 First Team snagging a $10,300 bonus while the Second Team players take home checks for $5,150 each.

Seattle Reign captain Lauren Barnes is calling it a career, as one of the last remaining original members of the NWSL announced plans to retire from professional soccer at the end of the 2025 season.

"From day one, Seattle has been home," the 13-year Reign alum said in Monday's club statement. "I've grown up here — as a player, a leader, and a person. I'm incredibly proud of what we've built and the culture we've created.... This chapter of my life has been a dream."

"Lu has been the heartbeat of this club since the very beginning," added Reign head coach Laura Harvey. "She has been the glue that has held us together through the ups and the downs. Everything about who we are, whether it's our standards, our values or our resilience, Lu has her fingerprints on it all."

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Barnes exits the pitch with more caps and minutes played than any other athlete in league history, with the standout defender also helping to anchor the Reign's backline to the tune of three NWSL Shields (2014, 2015, and 2022).

Those accolades, however, are the least of what makes Barnes exceptional, according to Seattle GM Lesle Gallimore.

"What makes Lu so rare isn't just her longevity or her records, it's her humanity," said Gallimore. "She's been a leader, a role model, and a constant source of strength for this club and the community. You simply don't see players spend their entire career in one city anymore, and that loyalty speaks volumes about who she is and what Seattle means to her."

The 36-year-old isn't the only league veteran hanging up her NWSL boots this year, with Kansas City Current forward Kristen Hamilton, Angel City defender Ali Riley, Orlando Pride midfielder Morgan Gautrat, and Barnes' Seattle teammate Veronica Latsko also set to retire.

World No. 3 Coco Gauff won her 11th career WTA title over the weekend, taking down fellow US star No. 5 Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 to become the 2025 Wuhan Open champion on Sunday.

With the victory, Gauff also is the first US player to lift the Wuhan Open trophy since Venus Williams in 2015.

Gauff now holds a perfect 9-0 record in hardcourt tournament finals, lifting her first WTA 1000 trophy of 2025 and claiming her second title of the year alongside her French Open victory in June — all without needing a single third set throughout her five-match run in Wuhan.

"Winning every match in straight sets, I don't know if I've done that before on a title run," the 21-year-old said afterwards. "I just felt like I was really proud of what I accomplished this week, regardless of the result today."

Despite the Sunday stumble, Pegula also saw significant success at the tournament, handing world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka — who won the last three editions of the competition — her first-ever loss in Wuhan on Saturday.

Even more, Pegula clinched the three-set semifinal by snapping Sabalenka's dominant streak of winning 19 straight tiebreaks.

Overall, the weekend furthered a dominant 2025 WTA campaign for US tennis stars, with a US-based athlete featuring in every Grand Slam final this year.

US women also top the current WTA rankings, with Gauff and Pegula joined by No. 4 Amanda Anisimova and No. 7 Madison Keys in the sport's Top 10.

Additionally, those four contenders have all booked spots in the 2025 WTA Finals, guaranteeing that half of the eight-player field will hail from the States when the tennis season's finale kicks off next month.

The South Carolina Gamecocks are officially without their star Chloe Kitts, with the university announcing Monday that the forward will miss the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season after sustaining an ACL tear to her right knee.

"We hate this for Chloe, who has worked incredibly hard to become the best version of herself on the court this season," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said in a team statement.

"While this isn't how I hoped my senior season would go, I'm trusting God's timing and purpose," Kitts wrote in a social media post on Monday. "I'll continue to lead, support, and push my team from the sidelines. We have big things ahead!"

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A starter for the the Gamecocks since the 2023/24 NCAA season, Kitts helped South Carolina bring home a national championship in 2024.

Last season, the then-junior earned an All-America honorable mention for a season in which she averaged 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game — both career highs.

Kitts was particularly potent in the 2025 postseason, snagging the MVP title at both the SEC tournament and in South Carolina's NCAA regional en route to a national runner-up finish for the Gamecocks.

Though South Carolina is now gearing up for the 2025/26 NCAA season without their leader in the paint, the Gamecocks are perhaps uniquely capable of overcoming a big-name loss like Kitts, with the team boasting a full 10-player rotation and one of the deepest collegiate benches in recent years.

"[Kitts's] teammates are capable of stepping up, and I know that her competitive fire and tenacity will be felt from the sidelines as she pours what she can into them to ensure our team's success," said Staley.