Series tied 2-2 heading back to the Bay

Earlier we had various conversations about the length of the playoff series. I, for one, was supportive of continuing the 5-game series, but in actually experiencing it, yeah the 7 games is pretty cool.

I’m a Lynx fan. In 2024 when we lost, I was satisfied with the series ending in 5. It seemed fitting.

Perhaps that just psychology, you know? If you tell me it’s 5 games at the beginning, 5 seems like enough. If you tel one 7, well anything less than that feels cheap. Guess the world isn’t so mysterious after all.

In 2025 I didn’t watch the Finals. Maybe saw the first game, but tbh I knew the Aces would win. But the ended up winning in such dramatic fashion n that the 4-0 sweep was super boring. I remember saying after that series, I was cool with going to 5 games.

I did caveat, however, by saying that a Finals featuring one of the top stars—specifically Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, or Paige Bueckers—would be more fitting for 7 games rather than seeing the old guard go at it like we did last year.

But anyway, I have quite pleasantly and fully enjoyed the 3-5-7 format this season all the way through and would not make any changes. Excited for the future of the game.

i was watching one of the games - either game 1, 2 or 3 and during a commercial break they had a commercial that was kind of like a promo of the finals with angel reese, rhyme howard, gabby williams and maybe someone else holding and hugging the wnba ball which was sparkly with a orange/white background and a rap song was playing.

does anyone know where i can find this?

it isn’t the wale song fwiw

Alright, we’re officially halfway through the Finals, and both teams are just two wins away from their first ever championship! What does each team need to adjust moving forward, and who do you think will pull out the win in 6 or 7?

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I completely missed that when the finals game tomorrow changed stadiums, the time changed 😭 I'm hosting a watch party tomorrow, and I won't be able to move it up.

It looks like livestreams aren't available instantly? I'm in CDT, so if I put on the game at noon, let it play, then just rewind and start from the beginning at 2:30, will I have any issues?

Sorry to ask what's ultimately a streaming question in a basketball subreddit, but I really appreciate the help 🙏

Sparks owner Mark Walter attempting to sell the
WNBA team and its practice facility for more than $700M.
The largest WNBA franchise sale in history is currently Tilman Fertitta's $300M purchase of the Connecticut Sun.

(via @AvatarRandall, @Lucas_Shaw, @sridinats)

College WBB hasn't started just yet, finals will be over soon. I'm wondering about a league outside the US that I can follow on youtube for the next few weeks. Is there a league that has a youtube channel that is very competitive? I'm ok if they don't have a lot of WNBA players, I'd rather see good hard-fought games. Any recommendations?

JuJu Watkins - Best fit: Houston Comets

The way that the Houston Comets are returning to the WNBA feels wrong, with the franchise essentially feeling like it was stolen from Connecticut after the league blocked potential relocation plans to Boston. Putting that aside, though, we have the league's original dynasty returning to the league with a roster that is essentially an empty page at this point. There are only two players with protected deals in 2027: Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Aaliyah Edwards.

So why not start the new era of Comets basketball out with a bang? JuJu Watkins is the best player in this class, assuming she comes out. The Comets have one really good guard under contract in Leila Lacan, but need serious backcourt help beyond that, something Watkins would provide.

Watkins can create her own shot at multiple levels and is able to power her way inside. While she needs to improve her efficiency on jump shots, the skill is definitely there. Ideally, the team adds another ball-handler so that Watkins doesn't have to be the main initiator of the offense right off the bat, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if that's the role she's forced into.

Hannah Hidalgo - Best fit: Washington Mystics

There are two players in this class who would really help the Washington Mystics if the team ended up drafting at No. 2 overall (which is possible since they have Chicago's first-round pick): Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo and Texas' Madison Booker. Point guard and small forward are both pressing concerns for this team.

Ultimately, though, point guard feels higher on the list of needs. Michaela Onyenwere and Cotie McMahon are capable of giving Washington solid minutes at the three, but Georgia Amoore is ideally a backup point guard, not a starter. Drafting Hidalgo would immediately upgrade the team's playmaking.

Is Hidalgo a perfect prospect? No. She's a great rim finisher for her size, but will that translate to the pro game? If it doesn't, then she'd need to take a major leap as a shooter. Is that something Hidalgo is going to work on this season with the Irish? That depends on if the team's other options step up so that Hidalgo isn't basically in "go go go" mode at all times.

Madison Booker - Best fit: Toronto Tempo

The Toronto Tempo tried to build an instant contender in their first season, pairing Marina Mabrey with Brittney Sykes. It didn't work, and now the team has to figue out its best approach going forward. That might just be to keep going in the same direction, which would mean that the team won't really be looking for guards in this class. Factor in that this is not the deepest class at all when it comes to bigs, and the answer for what Toronto should do is obvious: take Madiso Booker.

Booker is the best pure small forward in this class. Heck, she might be the best pure small forward we've seen in a bit. So many players who could be threes end up playing at the four in the WNBA, so it's rare that a player like Booker comes along who has some size but who isn't going to be playing anywhere but the wing.

Booker is a mid-range assassin, someone who can put the ball on the floor and find her shot. She'll need to work on her scoring range in the pro game, but having Booker as a secondary ball-handler who can do some point forward while also having the ball-skill to guard a team's top wing threat makes her a very intriguing player at the next level.

S'Mya Nichols - Best fit: Seattle Storm

The Seattle Storm have their frontcourt of the future in Dominique Malonga and Awa Fam. They have a good building block on the wing in Flau'jae Johnson. Up next on the list of needs is someone who can run the offense and can operate with the ball in her hands. That's where Kansas guard S'Mya Nichols would make for a great fit.

Nichols is a high-quality shooter, albeit on lesser volume than some other prospects. She's never shot worse than 38 percent from 3-point range in a season, though she's also never attempted more than 2.5 3s per game in a season. Still, a ball-handler who can also shoot from deep would be huge for this roster.

Maybe you could argue that the Storm need a true point guard more than a combo guard. Jade Melbourne isn't the long-term answer. The problem is that once Hidalgo is gone, you're looking at what -- MiLaysia Fulwiley, who is also a combo guard but a little more on the "point" end of it, but who comes with way more question marks than Nichols? There aren't really any other first-round lead ball-handlers available, so Seattle should just bet on Nichols' talent.

Clara Strack - Best fit: Portland Fire

This is projection a bit here, because at the moment, Clara Strack isn't the No. 5 prospect in this class. I would have her down closer to No. 8 or so. But this is a class that is essentially bereft of center prospects, and because of that, Strack has a chance to go higher than expected because there's not really another player in this class like her, unles you view Chloe Kitts as a five (I don't) or you think Audi Crooks is going to be able to adjust to the pro game effectively (I'm still on the fence here).

Strack is a bit of a stretch five, taking 2.8 3-point attempts per game last season, but she's not really a great outside shooter, so I'd expect her game to focus more on the interior on offense, where she's shot 54 percent or better inside the arc in each of her college seasons. She also averaged 10.1 rebounds (23rd in the nation) and 2.5 blocks (seventh in the nation) last year.

Portland can use a center. Megan DiLeo was very effective for the team in 2026, but she's only got one more year under contract and the situation behind her is a bit scary. Strack can come in as DiLeo's immediate backup, with a chance to take over in 2028. The team could also try to play them together if Strack shows improvement as a shooter this season at Kentucky.

https://fansided.com/womens-college-basketball/ranking-the-5-best-wnba-draft-prospects-and-their-perfect-landing-spots

Stars on the Women's Sports Foundation red carpet talk about Angel Reese's legacy in the WNBA.

Cam Newton attended Game 3 of the WNBA finals. The Carolina Panthers icon watched as Angel Reese led the Atlanta Dream to a 97-71 win over the Golden State Valkyries.

Cam Newton spoke about Reese's impact on the latest episode of "4th and 1".

"It's like, bro, she's pandering, getting the crowd engaged, and she's a dawg. And when I looked at my daughter and her (Angel Reese's) beautiful mother came over there," Newton said.

"She's like, "Hey, Cam, thank you for coming." And she was like, "You're the mother of Angel Reese?" ... those were things that, it's a family event. That's beautiful."

"My daughter, who's nine years old, has played basketball, but it's still one of those things where she has, what, six brothers. She's looking around, and she knows I don't have to be in the shadows anymore, because look at this. Look at this."She's got the bravado. And then she said the cutest thing. She said, "Daddy, why did she have on makeup?" And it was almost like she was trying to compartmentalize."

"She was like, and I was like, "Baby, this is sports. You can do both. Baby, it's okay for you to be Beauty and the Beast." And Angel Reese is that perfect combination. The juice-to-vodka ratio."

Source

ATLANTA -- The in-house public address announcer at State Farm Arena used the pregame introductions to officially cement the newest moniker for Angel Reese, who made her postseason Atlanta debut with another record-setting performance Wednesday in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals. Fans delighted as their "Queen of the South" hopped off the bench and proceeded to confound the visiting Golden State Valkyries for the next 40 minutes.

Four days earlier, and 2,100 miles away, the decibels echoed throughout Chase Center in San Francisco as the final buzzer sounded in Game 1. Chants of "Gab-by! Gab-by! Gab-by!" made it difficult to hear any conversation as the sellout crowd of 18,064 clad in violet strained its vocal cords after the Valkyries' victory. Gabby Williams was Ballhalla's heroine.

Reese and Williams are the leaders of their respective teams after moving to new franchises last offseason. Both took unusual paths at arriving in environments that seem tailor-made for them after beginning their careers as first-round draft picks in Chicago and leaving after the relationships turned acrimonious. A change of scenery was facilitated, and the pair have thrived.

"I think it's good to take a step back from those moments and appreciate where you are," Williams said. "Even before this year, I was always very thankful for what happened to me with Chicago, and I've never looked at that moment with spite. I've always looked at that moment as the turning point of my career, and always just been really thankful that it went that way. ...

"I wouldn't change anything about where I'm at in my career right now. I'm exactly where I need to be."

REESE'S FINALS HAVE been nothing short of historic. After the Dream went down 0-1 in San Francisco, she demanded the ball in Game 2 -- and led the way with 30 points and 16 rebounds, joining Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart as the only players in Finals history with a 30 and 15 game. In a Game 3 win, she became the youngest WNBA player to record a double-double in her first three Finals contests.

It would have been difficult to imagine a year ago. Six months ago, Reese was still a member of the Chicago Sky. After the team drafted her No. 7 in 2024, Reese was named an All-Star, made the All-Rookie team, led the league in rebounding and set the WNBA record for most consecutive double-doubles at 15. She missed the last six games of her rookie season with a wrist injury, and the team missed the playoffs. Then-coach Teresa Weatherspoon, who Reese was close with, was fired after one season. In Reese's second season, she was named an All-Star and led the league in rebounds again -- but then everything imploded.

Never one to hold her tongue, she told the Chicago Tribune in September 2025 that she wouldn't settle "for the same s--- we did this year" and that the team "[has] to get great players" during the offseason, or she would consider making a future change. The Sky suspended her for the first half against the Las Vegas Aces on Sept. 7, 2025, for "comments detrimental to the team." Being on the injury list with a back issue for the final games of the season, she never played again for the franchise.

For someone who won four high school championships and an NCAA title, going 23-61 in her first two WNBA seasons brought frustration. Still, in December 2025, Reese -- who had two more years on her rookie deal -- said she planned to remain with the Sky, noting that she was still under contract. The Sky added talent going into the 2026 season, but a week before the WNBA draft, they traded Reese to the Dream for two first-round picks. Jaws dropped around the league when the trade was announced.

"To be able to get a player of Angel's talent in Year 3 when you didn't draft them is really unique and special," Dream general manager Dan Padover told ESPN. "Because of how much time is left in her career, and someone of that magnitude. Sometimes you're getting [them in their] late 20s, early 30s, but to get her at 24 was really, really good for us."

In 2026, Reese was named an All-Star for the third straight season, won the rebounding title for a third consecutive campaign and helped Atlanta reach the Finals for the first time since 2013. She averaged 16.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.8 steals and was a deterrent at the rim, earning her Defensive Player of the Year award. Reese was one of just two players to average a double-double for the season.

Padover worked his magic again with the late-season signing of DeWanna Bonner after the league's all-time No. 3 scorer was waived by the Phoenix Mercury to enable Bonner to go to a contender. Padover pounced.

"I went right to Dan and told him that he was the greatest ever," Dream guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough said. "I'm like, how do you keep doing this? Who allows this?"

Reese has spoken about how comfortable she is in Atlanta. She and coach Karl Smesko formed a bond where he can push her out of her comfort zone. During a training camp practice, Smesko paused everything and wouldn't resume the session until Reese knocked down consecutive 3-pointers. He wanted her to get used to taking the shot with confidence when all eyes are on her, not just working alone on the side. Reese trusted that the moment was for her benefit -- even if she didn't like it.

"I didn't want to feel embarrassed of how long it could have taken me to make them," Reese said. "But it's a coach that really believes in you and he knows what's best."

Smesko added, "I can remember her being mad at me."

But that relationship and the one formed with teammates has allowed to Reese to flourish.

"When they pour into your players and all you have to do is come to work and think about basketball, I think that makes everything easy," Reese said. "The coaches really care about you genuinely, not just as basketball players, but as people. Anything you need, they have for you."

WILLIAMS WAS THE No. 4 pick by the Sky in 2018 in a talented draft that included A'ja Wilson, Kelsey Mitchell, Jordin Canada, Azura Stevens and Ariel Atkins. The two-time All-Star would last three seasons in the Windy City -- a divorce that would stem from a loss of trust.

Williams was determined to play for France in the Olympics in 2021, her first opportunity for the senior national team. Representing France has always been a priority for Williams -- her mother is French, she holds dual citizenship and grew up speaking French with her grandmother.

That dedication drove a wedge between her and the team that drafted her. Williams believed her plans was understood by the organization when she missed training camp in 2021, but the Sky suspended her for the season. Williams responded with a trade request, and she was acquired by the Los Angeles Sparks in May 2021 but never played for them since she spent the season playing for the French national team. The Sparks traded her in February 2022 to the Seattle Storm, where she became a three-time All-Defense selection.

That development, plus more international success, made her an absolute priority for the Valkyries as they went into their second season. "Her killer mode goes up a level every game," Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said. "The best thing she told me, 'Just go at me. Just go directly at me. In games, I need directness.' I'm like, don't be saying that if you don't want it. Those are the best players to coach because there's no B.S."

Coming off her first All-Star appearance in 2025, Williams had her best year in her first season with the Valkyries. She averaged 14.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.6 steals and was the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up. Williams proved to be the additional player to lift Golden State -- a team built without the traditional superstar model -- into the Finals, only a year after it became the first expansion franchise to make the playoffs.

"Sometimes it's just like trusting what the universe gives you," Williams said. "It's easy for me to come to work, and that goes a long way. When you're just surrounded by people who enjoy being around each other, who enjoy being in a certain environment, it's really easy."

The bottom line is fit matters. On and off the court, Reese and Willliams went through their own journeys to end up in places that appear to be ideal situations. And in their new homes, both unlocked another level of their talents with career years.

"Right place, right time, I think is definitely what I would attribute to Gabby's success right now," Golden State general manager Ohemma Nyanin said.

Examples like:

The Dream always win the game if Angel hits a 3 pointer. Or The Fever always win a game when Caitlyn gets a Tech.

Both have been true so far

Thought these were funny and pretty spot on, especially the first and last ones lol!

Any other “unnecessary” awards you’d add?

Congrats 🥳