WNBA fans witnessed a shooter’s duel this weekend, as LA’s Kelsey Plum and Phoenix’s Kahleah Copper became the first-ever opponents to put up 40+ points each in Saturday’s 111-102 Sparks win.
Copper registered 41 points and 10 rebounds while Plum finished with 43 points and seven assists, powering a tight contest that went to overtime.
“That was an offensive display,” said LA head coach Lynne Roberts. “When they both have it going like that, it’s impressive and fun to watch.”
Plum’s night tied the Sparks’ single-game scoring record, while Copper became the first player in Mercury history to notch a 40-point double-double.
Copper joined legend Diana Taurasi as Phoenix’s only two players to score 40+ points in a single game — while also becoming just the second WNBA player to drop 40 points in a loss.
“Kah needed one of these nights,” said Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts, as Phoenix fell to 4-11. “It’s been a tough start to the year and she puts a lot of pressure on herself, all veterans do. But she let it rip tonight.”
Where to Watch WNBA Commissioner's Cup Games Today
LA returns tonight, facing Golden State at 10 PM ET (Peacock), while Phoenix gears up to host Las Vegas on Wednesday at 10 PM ET (USA).
Phoenix is hunting the light at the end of the tunnel, as the No. 14 Mercury carries a six-game losing streak into tonight’s matchup with No. 13 Seattle.
After opening the season with a dominant 99-66 win over the defending champion Aces, Phoenix has since gone 1-for-7. Monday’s 111-77 drubbing at the hands of No. 1 Minnesota punctuated the skid.
“We are searching. We’re on a hunt,” said guard Kahleah Copper. “I don’t think [the loss] really reflects who we are and what we want to be able to represent for the organization.”
The Mercury returned four of its five starters after reaching the 2025 WNBA Finals. The veteran lineup’s recent defensive troubles subsequently come as a surprise.
“What it took for us to do that last year, it’s not easy,” Copper continued. “It doesn’t carry over just because you did it. For us, it’s about just everybody looking in the mirror.”
Phoenix will look to even the playing field in Seattle, as the struggling Storm rides its own three-game losing streak into tonight’s bottom-table clash.
How to Watch Mercury vs Storm WNBA Commissioner's Cup Game
The Mercury visits the Storm tonight at 10 PM ET, live on USA.
USA Basketball is off to the races, with the women's national team capping a 5-0 run through the 2026 FIBA World Cup Qualifying Tournament by handing Spain a 84-70 loss in Puerto Rico on Tuesday.
Guard Kahleah Copper led all scorers with 20 points, with fellow guard Kelsey Plum's 18 points on 3-of-4 shooting from behind the arc following just behind the Phoenix Mercury standout.
Fans also got a chance to see top WNBA prospect Awa Fam in action, as the 19-year-old Spanish phenom registered 10 points and five rebounds off the bench in the clash.
Tuesday's matchup marked the closest scoreline on US's five-game tournament docket, with the squad's second-tightest matchup ending with Team USA topping Italy by a dominant 34 points on Saturday.
Ultimately, the US finished as the World Cup Qualifying Tournament's only undefeated team behind a 42-point average margin of victory.
Along with the competition's top spot, USA Basketball guard Caitlin Clark took home tournament MVP honors in her senior team debut, averaging 11.6 points and a tournament-high 6.4 assists per game throughout the week.
USA Basketball will join 15 other qualified teams at 2026 FIBA World Cup
With the Puerto Rico tournament in the books alongside concurrent qualifying competitions in Turkey, France, and China, FIBA locked in its 16-team 2026 World Cup field on Tuesday.
Joining the previously qualified USA, Australia, Belgium, Nigeria, and host Germany at the championship event will be France, Spain, China, Korea, Italy, Mali, Czechia, Turkey, Japan, Hungary, and Puerto Rico.
The 2026 FIBA World Cup will tip off in Berlin on Friday, September 4th, with the title game set for Sunday, September 13th.
Unrivaled made a historic splash on Friday, setting a new pro women's basketball regular-season attendance record as 21,490 fans packed the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia for the 3×3 league's first-ever tour stop.
"It was unbelievable. You could feel the love tonight," said Unrivaled co-founder Napheesa Collier about the record-breaking crowd. "It's just a testament to what we're building here, how much people believe in it."
Friday's Unrivaled tally — which also shattered a venue record for the highest attendance of any event — blew through women's basketball's prior record, set in the 2024 WNBA season when a 20,711-strong crowd watched the Indiana Fever top the Washington Mystics inside DC's Capital One Arena.
The reward for Friday's crowd was a larger-than-life performance, as Lunar Owls guard Marina Mabrey dropped a league-record 47 points — complete with 10 three-pointers — in Friday's 85-75 win over Rose BC.
"I think the city is ready for women's professional sports," Philadelphia product and Rose BC guard Kahleah Copper said following the doubleheader, with the City of Brotherly Love gearing up to launch a WNBA expansion team in 2030. "I'm excited that one, it's here, and two, that I'm a part of it."
Last week's success in Philly has Unrivaled already eyeing more tour stops for the offseason league's 2027 season, with this year's action finishing up on the venture's 3x3 home court in Miami.
"We're going to continue to make the sports world proud by the product we put out," Unrivaled CEO Alex Bazzell told reporters.
Unrivaled 3×3 is taking over Philadelphia on Friday, when the Miami-based league brings pro women's basketball back to the City of Brotherly Love the first time since 1998.
As the league's its first-ever tour stop, Friday's one-off doubleheader — dubbed "Philly is Unrivaled" — is already shaping up to be a success, with Unrivaled selling out the 21,000-seat Xfinity Mobile Arena with tickets averaging $165 each on the secondary market — nearly double the price to see the NBA's Sixers at the same venue.
"I'm just excited for the love from the city. People can really see this as a basketball city. One of the best cities in the world," said Philadelphia product and Rose BC star Kahleah Copper, as her hometown gears up to launch its own WNBA expansion team in 2030.
Friday's Unrivaled event promises a star-studded bill, with Paige Bueckers's Breeze BC first taking on Philly's own Natasha Cloud and the Phantom before Copper and the Rose square off against Marina Mabrey's Lunar Owls.
How to watch the "Philly is Unrivaled" doubleheader
Unrivaled tips off from Philadelphia on Friday when Breeze BC takes on Phantom BC at 7:30 PM ET, before Rose BC faces the Lunar Owls at 8:45 PM ET.
Both "Philly is Unrivaled" clashes will air live on TNT.
As Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball gears up for Season 2, broadcast partner TNT unveiled additional 2026 coverage plans last week while the offseason league crowned its team captains across the expanded field.
Unrivaled co-founders Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart will captain the Lunar Owls and Mist BC, respectively, while Season 1 veterans Jackie Young (Laces BC), Kahleah Copper (Rose BC), and Dearica Hamby (Vinyl BC) will also resume their boss roles next month.
Earning first-time captain status for the 2026 campaign are three league newcomers, with Kelsey Plum helming Phantom BC while 2025 WNBA rookies Sonia Citron and Paige Bueckers lead incoming Unrivaled expansion teams Hive BC and Breeze BC, respectively.
Stocked with eight clubs and an extra night of weekly programming, TNT is doubling down on Unrivaled this winter, tapping three-time WNBA champion Candace Parker to lead the network's coverage in the hot seat.
Joining Parker will be fellow WNBA retiree and All-Star Renee Montgomery as well as host Lauren Jbara, with special appearances throughout the season by basketball legend Lisa Leslie.
Each week will now feature four nights of Unrivaled basketball, with TNT airing Friday and Monday games while truTV broadcasts the 3x3 league's action on Saturdays and Sundays.
How to watch Unrivaled Season 2
The second season of Unrivaled Basketball will tip off with all eight teams in action across a pair of doubleheaders — one in the afternoon and one in the evening — beginning at 1 PM ET on Monday, January 5th, with live coverage airing on truTV and TNT.
USA Basketball dropped its 18-player December roster on Monday, selecting both standout vets and fresh faces for the national team's final training camp of 2025.
Taking place at Duke University from December 12th until the 14th, five 2024 Paris Olympic gold medalists — Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Griner, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young — will anchor the Team USA lineup.
Notably, a full 10 players will join the senior team for the first time next month, as young WNBA superstars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, and Cameron Brink earn their first call-ups.
A pair of NCAA stars will also attend the December camp, with the national governing body tapping both UCLA senior center Lauren Betts and USC junior guard JuJu Watkins on the roster — though Watkins will not participate in on-court activities as she continues to rehab an ACL tear.
Along with the full camp roster, USA Basketball also dropped its December sideline leaders, with current WNBA head coaches Nate Tibbetts (Phoenix Mercury), Natalie Nakase (Golden State Valkyries), and Stephanie White (Indiana Fever) comprising the assistant coaching staff for the previously announced senior national team head coach Kara Lawson.
December's camp is the team's first step toward the World Cup qualifiers in March, when the US will compete despite having already qualified for the 2026 FIBA World Cup by winning the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup in July.
Overall, the clock starts now for USA women's basketball managing director Sue Bird, who is in charge of cultivating the best team for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The USA Basketball December Training Camp Roster
- Lauren Betts (UCLA)
- Aliyah Boston (Indiana Fever)
- Cameron Brink (LA Sparks)
- Paige Bueckers (Dallas Wings)
- Veronica Burton (Golden State Valkyries)
- Sonia Citron (Washington Mystics)
- Caitlin Clark (Indiana Fever)
- Kahleah Copper (Phoenix Mercury)
- Chelsea Gray (Las Vegas Aces)
- Brittney Griner (Atlanta Dream)
- Dearica Hamby (LA Sparks)
- Kiki Iriafen (Washington Mystics)
- Rickea Jackson (LA Sparks)
- Brionna Jones (Atlanta Dream)
- Kelsey Plum (LA Sparks)
- Angel Reese (Chicago Sky)
- JuJu Watkins (USC)
- Jackie Young (Las Vegas Aces)
The No. 7 Seattle Storm crashed the playoff-clinching party on Thursday, handing the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx a 93-79 upset loss to keep multiple WNBA teams from punching postseason tickets.
"We've been searching for this type of a game to have at this juncture of the season," noted Storm head coach Noelle Quinn after Seattle handed Minnesota their biggest blown lead in franchise history.
"Play some f—ing defense, man," Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve said afterwards, criticizing her team's performance. "Act like that end matters. We have not done that in a long time."
With six spots still open in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs, the Storm's Thursday comeback win spurred chaos, preventing the Lynx from officially booking the postseason's No. 1 seed for at least one more game while also blocking clinching scenarios for the No. 3 Atlanta Dream and No. 4 Phoenix Mercury.
Even so, the Mercury did take one step closer to a playoff berth with a tight 83-79 win over the No. 12 Chicago Sky on Thursday, with small forward Kahleah Copper's 28 points helping Phoenix hold ground in the WNBA standings.
"I feel like we're doing an incredible job, we all want to do the right things," Copper said. "We've just got to continue to clean up the little things."
How to watch the Seattle Storm this weekend
With just four regular-season games remaining, Seattle will play host over the long Labor Day weekend.
The No. 7 Storm will first face the No. 12 Sky at 9 PM ET on Saturday, airing on WNBA League Pass.
Then on Monday, Seattle will battle the No. 9 LA Sparks at 10 PM ET, with live coverage on NBA TV.
The No. 3 Las Vegas Aces are on an historic tear, extending the league's longest winning streak this season to 11 games by defeating the No. 12 Chicago Sky 79-74 on Monday night — becoming the second team to clinch a spot in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs in the process.
Despite a 30-point performance from Chicago guard Ariel Atkins, plus double-doubles from Sky center Kamilla Cardoso and forward Angel Reese, the Aces emerged victorious behind guard Jackie Young's team-leading 22 points.
MVP contender A'ja Wilson and veteran guard Chelsea Gray also added 18 and 14 points, respectively, to fuel the Las Vegas win.
"They've been resilient," Aces head coach Becky Hammon said following Monday's game. "It's been a really tough stretch…you're getting beat up and you've got to maintain, you have to play through it."
The Aces haven't dropped a game since August 2nd's 53-point blowout loss to the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, racking up seven wins over teams currently in postseason positions as they climb the WNBA standings.
As for the already-eliminated Sky, Chicago did have one big reason to celebrate on Monday night, as the team raised the jersey of retired WNBA legend Candace Parker into the rafters during a halftime ceremony complete with remarks from current Phoenix Mercury star and 2021 WNBA champion Kahleah Copper.
"Today we celebrate you," Copper said to her former teammate. "You gave this game everything. Your time, your body, your heart. You didn't just play the game — you set records, you broke barriers, and you left your mark in ways stats can't fully compare."
How to watch the Las Vegas Aces this week
The No. 3 Aces have their work cut out for them as they shoot for 12 straight wins during their visit to the No. 2 Atlanta Dream on Wednesday.
The clash tips off at 7:30 PM ET with live coverage airing on NBA TV.
While the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx watch from above, the race for the No. 2 postseason seed is taking center stage, with teams like the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury eyeing 2025 WNBA Playoffs spots as the league nears the regular-season home stretch.
Big Tuesday wins helped boost the No. 2 New York Liberty and No. 5 Las Vegas Aces up the WNBA standings, while the Mercury refused to lose pace with a 98-91 victory over the No. 7 Golden State Valkyries.
"We're just continuing to try to build," Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts told reporters afterwards. "We're on the right step, but there's still work to be done."
Multiple talent-stacked teams are continuing to sharpen their form with the 2025 Playoffs looming, with only a half-game currently separating the New York Liberty, Atlanta Dream, Phoenix Mercury, and Las Vegas Aces on the WNBA table.
The Mercury have benefitted a healthy Big Three — Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally, and Kahleah Copper — with Copper leading Phoenix's five double-digit scorers by registering 25 points in Tuesday’s win.
"Our support staff has been great and our culture and my teammates have been great in helping me navigate through [early-season injuries] and just being able to get back out there," Copper said this week.
How to watch the Phoenix Mercury this week
The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury will have their work cut out for them on Thursday, when they'll visit Las Vegas to tip off against the surging No. 5 Aces and their eight-game winning streak at 10 PM ET.
Live coverage of the clash will air on Prime.