But the battles weren’t just on the court, they were in the tunnel too. From Olivia Nelson-Ododa strutting in Diesel dresses and thigh-high boots to Natasha Cloud putting her tats on full display in her muscle tee’s, hoopers across the W were fully displaying their own individual senses of style. And our girls know a thing or two about how to accessorize. Tiffany Hayes and her iconic bags, Diamond Deshields and her beaded braids, Rae Burrell and her signature sunglasses – our First Team honorees know a thing or two about how to put together a calm luh fit.

When it comes to style, LeagueFits has officially announced the honorary All-LeagueFits Second Team award winners. There’s Dijonai Carrington, who effortlessly a sporty-chic style from cargos and skirts to sneakers and heels. Shatori Kimbrough-Walker’s got exquisite taste in piecing together streetwear look, while Courtney Williams and Arike Ogunbowale are bold and eccentric in their tunnel fits, and on the hardwood. Then there’s Kahleah Copper – the queen of the two-piece set, who knows that accessories are what makes an outfit an outfit.

Let’s get into it. Here are the 2023 All-LeagueFits First and Second Team award winners.

2023 ALL-LEAGUEFITS: FIRST TEAM

2023 ALL-LEAGUEFITS: SECOND TEAM

The post 2023 WNBA All-LeagueFits First and Second Teams appeared first on SLAM.

Challenges were few and far between before a trip to Connecticut early in the campaign. It was exactly what the ball club needed in order to realize what it was going to take in order to return to where it was last year.

The entire team, ignited by Hammon’s statement following that game made it a mission to take that next step defensively. From June 11 on, nobody has been better.

That theme of a relentless resistance has been paramount to this postseason run so far. While scoring over 90 in three of their last five games, the Aces have not allowed an opponent to net more than 85 points since August 28 at the New York.

With a berth to the Finals on the line, the Aces dug in. The ball pressure was tremendous. With help rotating over led by A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas held one of the W’s most elite scorers, Arike Ogunbowale to just 25 percent shooting in the final 10 minutes.

Up by one with under 1:30 remaining, the defending champions pieced together multiple special defensive possessions. All five players were communicating, and working in unison. It was Hammon’s dream. The Wings did not make a single field goal in the final 4:58 seconds of the contest. The Vegas coach could not help her excitement. Her smile postgame was of a proud coach that saw her team accept the challenge and dominate.

Hammon kept it real after grinding out the close out game on the road. “It just shows you that we can win with our defense. It’s not always going to be a pretty one. These are the ones you actually have to find ways to win.”

She continued, “When the ball’s popping and we’re scoring 90 and 100 points, those are easy ones for us. When we have to win like this and really prove to ourselves that we can win like this, that it’s not about the offense all the time, it’s about rebounding and defense, which we did very well down the stretch.”

If Vegas can continue this kind of defensive efficiency, it will become the second team since 2015 to own a playoff defensive rating under 90. The versatility on this end of the floor starts and ends with back to back WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Wilson. The former South Carolina star was the only player in the W to average two or more blocks per 40 minutes.

You can see it live in action, her emotions on the floor explain to the world truly how much defense means to her. She is on you defensively like your mother with a camera on a family vacation.

It does not stop at No. 22.

Remember the 2020 Seattle Storm championship team? Current member of the Aces, Alysha Clark was a key piece to that side’s success, especially defensively. Bringing in the 2020 All-Defensive First Team forward was an early sign Hammon wanted to focus on defense. It has more than paid dividends. Clark has done everything Vegas has asked of her coming off the bench.

Guess who was the main defender on Satou Sabally in the final 10 seconds of Game 3? It was the Middle Tennessee product.

Don’t sleep on Kiah Stokes either. The 2023 WNBA Sixth Player of the Year tied her career high in steals, and recorded more than 0.9 blocks per game for the first time in three years. Stokes and Clark were the only two Aces’ players with a defensive rating under 96 in more than 20 games played in 2023.

It is all accompanied by Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young. The three perimeter players cause constant havoc. Both Young and Plum increased their steals total from 2022 while the “Point GAWDDD” matched last season’s total.

It is the true definition of a complete team. Hammon’s team managed to do that for the most part against Dallas, but the challenge becomes even tougher with the Liberty on tap.

This year’s WNBA Finals and going to be a match up for the ages. We’re hyped, you ready?

Action photo via Getty Images. Portraits by Atiba Jefferson.

The post The Aces’ Defensive Identity Has Elevated This Team to Another Level appeared first on SLAM.

On a sunny Los Angeles evening, thousands have gathered inside Crypto.com Arena for the L.A. Sparks’ home opener—a game sure to be a special one for a plethora of reasons. The Sparks are ready to debut their retooled roster led by new head coach Curt Miller, but what the 10,396 fans in attendance may not be prepared for is a different introduction. Ladies and gentlemen…Zia Cooke! The Sparks’ first-round pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft, would put a stamp on her professional arrival in front of a national TV audience.

Let’s rewind just a bit. An accomplished athlete at Rogers High School in Toledo, OH, Cooke was always known for her enthusiastic play. The former youth league football player was as tough as they came and already had a state championship and a couple of gold medals with Team USA under her belt. The South Carolina commit was already a star, but she was about to become an even bigger one.

At the 2018 Best of Michigan Holiday Classic, Cooke led her team to the tourney title and was named MVP. However, her finesse and flare on the floor is what really got the people talking. Shake loose the defender, step back, point, attack the rim in showtime fashion. A video of the play was uploaded, and she became an overnight sensation.

Chance the Rapper, Dwyane Wade, CJ McCollum and more boosted the video across social media, along with multiple media outlets. The legend of Zia Cooke was born and everyone wanted front row tickets to the show. The buzz from the video eventually forced Cooke to create a Twitter account.

That attention followed her from high school to college, where she’d play on one of the most elite teams in the country (South Carolina) under one of the top coaches in the game (Dawn Staley). While in Columbia, Cooke would become an All-American, All-SEC selection and national champion. Winning is just what she does.

Remember the aforementioned pro debut? It only took 15 minutes. While donning a fresh pair of adidas sneakers (Cooke is one of the brand’s newest signees), she exploded off the bench for 14 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. She was showing that she was ready to make an impact right away.

“I was just very excited to be out there,” Cooke says. “I’m super excited every time I step on the floor, but for that game, I had a huge spark in me and a boatload of energy to get out there for my pro debut.”

The life of a WNBA rookie can be fast-paced. In the past two months, Cooke has gone through the NCAA tournament, WNBA Draft, training camp and the season tip-off. So exactly how does a young player find balance with everything going on?

“Self-care for Zia looks like me just being laid-back,” she explains. “I’m getting my hair done, going shopping, getting a massage and watching TV. I love being with family and friends and just somebody cooking at the house and talking.” After a brief pause, she arrives at the conclusion: “I think I’m starting to get boring the older I get.”

Zia admits she may not be the best cook, but she definitely has a few favorite go-to meals. “I really love nachos. I like easy simple things that someone can make that taste good. My favorite dish would be Cajun chicken alfredo. It has to be Cajun,” she says. “I have my mom make that all the time. Or soul food—you can never go wrong with that.”

Dawn Staley definitely knows what makes Cooke stand out. As she tells WSLAM, “[Zia] plays with such passion. She plays the game like every play is her last. She plays it like it’s a part of who she is, and you can see she loves the game. When someone plays it that way, the other characteristics come with it.”

Zia’s passion has fueled her. From early in her basketball career, she knew where she wanted to be.

“I just knew I was destined for something revolving around basketball. As I got older, I understood the Olympics and USA, and then the ultimate goal was to play in the WNBA,” she says. “That’s what I was working for, knowing that I could be on the biggest stage with this sport. Once I understood what the WNBA was, I pushed myself to the limit to get there.

“Also, coming from Toledo, it’s hard to make it. You could get very close and then it doesn’t happen,” she continues. “So when I got to college, that’s all I talked about. I got to get there! I’m not going to be one of those players that did good in high school and has all the highlights and then I’m not heard about. I wanted to stay relevant. I figured the only way that could happen is if I worked my butt off and got to the WNBA and made history and built my legacy from there.”

Staley echoes those sentiments. “Zia has been talking about the WNBA for as long as I’ve known her,” she says. “My very first conversation with her, she told me, I gotta make it. I gotta get to the League. After every year, at the end of the season during meetings, she’d bring it up. I’d say, You want to talk about this now? It’s just your freshman year,” Staley recalls. “To see it all come full circle, it’s amazing.”

Even though her college career is behind her, there were tons of great moments. There was her steal against Mississippi State during her freshman year. Coach Staley singled out her performance against Georgia as a senior. Zia, however, was torn.

“You gave a good one. Coach, too. But I’d have to say in the Bahamas—when we beat UConn and won that tournament [Battle 4 Atlantis]. We were able to go celebrate after the win, too. So that was a good one.”

Cooke has already had her “Welcome to the W” moment. Going up for a layup against the Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson, she saw firsthand why Wilson is the League’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, in the form of a thunderous block.  

“I wanted to see what that was like. I also want to make something clear about this—everyone said I was looking like, Oh my God, she just blocked my shot,” Cooke says. “But really I was wondering, Why didn’t they call the foul? Because that was a foul! But I guess you can say it was my welcome to the League moment. That’s the big sis and she did put it in the stands. But I’mma get my lick back!”

Cooke is settled in and enjoying the ride while making sure to not take the experience for granted. She is excited to be playing against some of her favorite players, some she’s been watching for a long time. “I had the chance to play against Arike [Ogunbowale], Jewell Loyd, and eventually I’ll have a chance to play against Kelsey Mitchell. I cherish everything, and I just started for the first time last night,” Cooke says with a big smile.

What would be her message to her younger self?

“I’m proud of you. Getting through all the things that you got through, and trying different sports as a kid. I’m happy that you got to the point where you are,” she says. “I’ll probably start crying, because I know what that little girl wanted, and she got it and is still working to get more.”

Representation matters to Cooke. “I aim to give back more to the community for girls who look like me.”

As she navigates her professional journey, Zia Cooke is surrounded by a group of veterans who are there to help. She’s trusting the process and putting in the work to grow. Her “I got to get there” dream has officially come true, and the show is only just beginning. 

Photos via Getty Images.

The post Rookie Zia Cooke is Putting on a Show on the Los Angeles Sparks—But She’s Just Getting Started appeared first on SLAM.

The first-round series between the Sun and Wings was full of double-digit wins, with no win being more impressive than Connecticut’s 15 point Game 3 win. The Sun put on a defensive clinic after they held the Wings a season-low final score of 58 points, including holding Dallas to 22 points on 6-27 shooting from the field during the secone half. Connecticut also forced Dallas to commit 11 turnovers during the final 20 minutes of Wednesday’s contest.

“I think the biggest thing they learned is they’re very good,” Johnson said per ESPN. “I told them when Arike went out to just believe in themselves. Play together, play with energy and effort, and that’s what we did.”

Dallas’ troubles began after Isabelle Harrison suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter that was severe enough to make Dallas hold her out for the remainder of the game. Not even Arike Ogunbowale’s short-lived return from abdominal surgery could spark Dallas’ stagnant offense. The former national champ went scoreless in six minutes, going 0-3 from the field and 0-2 from beyond the arc.

The loss led to interesting postgame introspection from Dallas, specifically from Marina Mabrey and Veronica Burton about the culture and the kind of team that the Wings are looking to build.

“I feel like we’re growing here in Dallas,” Mabrey (team-high 20 points) said. “We had so many fans and they’re always so supportive. They know we gave it our all, we put our hearts in it so they’re always super proud of us and I can’t thank them enough from our whole team.”

Sentiments that Burton echoed, going on to say that the fans “supporting us means the world” and the Wings appreicate the consistency of the fans in the building too.

We’re building something special, and we couldn’t do it without you, fam pic.twitter.com/GN1htO2F4u

— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) August 25, 2022

The Wings have now made their first back-to-back playoff appearence since 2017-2018 where they lost in the first round to the Mystics and Mercury, respectively. After consecutive stinging losses to end their season, Dallas will look to make the next step towards winning a playoff series, than on to becoming a Finals threat. The Wings haven’t won a WNBA title since moving from Detroit to Tulsa and now Dallas as of 2016.

The original Detroit Shock franchise won three titles during the 2000s, taking home the Finals Trophy in 2003, 2006, and 2008.

“When you see yourself do something, you believe it more,” Mabrey said. “Not that we didn’t believe before but watching this horn go off and winning in COnnecticut, (it’s) just a confidence booster. Now we know we can do it and (now) it’s back to work.”

“We played a veteran team that’s lost plenty of times, they won so they know exactly what it feels like, they know exactly what to do with their backs gainst the wall and we lacked that a litle bit so that’s okay. It comes with experience so take the good with the bad.”

“When you see yourself do something, you believe it more.”

– @mmabrey1 pic.twitter.com/2wbDKxGAUa

— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) August 25, 2022

The post Dallas Wings ‘Believe it More’ Despite Season-Ending Game 3 Loss appeared first on SLAM.

HOW DOES IT FEEL, SUN FANS??? #CTSun pic.twitter.com/3twme5dlRy

— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) August 25, 2022

DeWanna Bonner led all scorers with 21 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Alyssa Thomas followed up with 13 points, eight rebounds, and two assists. Jonquel Jones dropped 11 points, 10 rebounds, and two assists, and Natisha Hiedeman rounded out Connecticut’s double-digit scorers with 11 points, two boards, and two dimes.

Bonner also became the 10th player in WNBA history to knock down 300 career field goals and passed Angel McCoughtry in the process of doing so.

“Our team is incredibly confident in what they do and who they are,” Sun Coach Curt Miller said, per ESPN. “We’re back to the semis for four straight years. This group wants to take another step, and there’s not one person that’s going to pick us to beat Chicago. So we’re going to go with the underdog mentality and give it our best shot.”

.@DEEBONNER24 with a BIG 21-5-5 Game 3 to lead the @ConnecticutSun to the Semifinals of the #WNBAPlayoffs presented by @google pic.twitter.com/eJAZpTCFrM

— WNBA (@WNBA) August 25, 2022

Marina Mabrey posted a team-high 20 points, Veronica Burton contributed 10 points, six rebounds, and four dimes, and Teaira McCowan followed up with eight points, 12 boards, and two blocks.

The Sun won Game 3 after holding the Wings to perhaps the worse scoring effort of the season. Connecticut held Dallas to 22 points in the second half, and their final tally of 58 was a season-low. Dallas shot just 6-27 from the field in the second half and turned the ball over 11 times.

Part of Dallas’ offensive struggles could be attributed to Isabelle Harrison suffering an ankle injury in the first-quarter that she wouldn’t come back from. Not even Arike Ogunbowale’s short-lived return from abdominal surgery could spark Dallas’ stagnant offense. The former national champ went scoreless in six minutes, going 0-3 from the field and 0-2 from beyond the arc.

Bonner credited Connecticut’s defensive clinic to second-year guard DiJonai Carrington. The 35-year-old forward believed Carrington’s “defensive pressure was unbelievable,”, especially in the last 20 minutes of the game.

Carrington was so successful as a defensive pest that she got into a squabble with Mabrey midway through the fourth. The two guards were jaw-jacking as Mabrey set up to inbound the ball from the sideline.

“Forget all that; the credit to this game goes to DiJonai Carrington,” Bonner said. “I think she was the difference maker for us this whole game. Her defensive pressure was unbelievable; she kinda jump-started us the whole game. So take the ball out of my hands and give it to her cause tonight was all about her and her pressure. She definitely jump-started us that second-half, and (I’m) definitely so proud of her.”

The semifinal matchups will start on Sunday, with Las Vegas and Seattle kicking off the action at 4 p.m EST on ESPN. The Sun and Sky will play at 8 p.m. EST on ESPN 2. The Sky swept their regular-season series with the Sun, 4-0, winning by an average of 4.5 points per game.

The post Connecticut Advances to Second-Rounds After 73-58 Rout Over Dallas appeared first on SLAM.

Talked to Vickie Johnson, and she said Arike is a game time decision.

— Maggie Hendricks (@maggiehendricks) August 24, 2022

Arike Ogunbowale has been upgraded to probable ahead of the series-clinching Game 3 between the Sun and Wings.

Prior to Wednesday, August 24th vs. Connecticut: pic.twitter.com/S0F9Btx22Q

— X – Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) August 23, 2022

Dallas initially ruled out the All-Star guard after she underwent the iliac crest core muscle avulsion repair surgery on Aug. 9. Ogunbowale suffered the injury on Aug. 6 against the Indiana Fever while playing defense in the fourth quarter. When Ogunbowale went under the knife, she was told her timetable for recovery was at least three weeks.

“They said, hey, if you get it now, there’s a possibility that you can play in three weeks,” Coach Vickie Johnson said on Aug. 10. “And she was like, “Alright, well, let’s do it.” Within an hour, made a decision, had the surgery.”

On Tuesday, Ogunbowale was a full participant in a practice session that allowed the media to watch. The former champ ran through plays and took free throws with her teammates. She also participated in practice drills before Game 2 against the Sun.

The Wings have been able to successfully work a “next man up” mentality when Ogunbowale missed games. They beat the Aces and Sky in back-to-back regular-season games and won Game 2 without the 2021 All-Star Game MVP to tie up their first-round series against the Sun.

Wednesday’s Game 3 will be hosting the first home playoff game at College Park Center in Wings history.

The post Dallas Upgrades Arike Ogunbowale to a Game-Time Decision for Game 3 appeared first on SLAM.

Allisha Gray led the Wings with 17 points and five rebounds, followed by a 13-point, five rebounds, and three assists outing from Tyasha Harris. Marina Mabrey contributed 11 points, and four rebounds, and Satou Sabally rounded out Dallas’ double-digit scorers with 10 points, two rebounds, and two dimes in 15 minutes of action.

SUN TAKE GAME 1

— WSLAM (@wslam) August 19, 2022

Created to create separation in the third quarter after going on a 13-0 run that helped build a 20-point cushion in the third seed’s favor. The Suns kept the Wings scoreless for over five minutes, leading to the Sun closing out the third quarter with a 17-5 run that gave them an 18-point lead going into the fourth quarter.

After the tough Game 1 loss, Coach Vickie Johnson told assembled reporters that she didn’t “recognize” who the Dallas Wings were on the hardwood and noted that some players were noticeably “complaining” and “not taking accountability.”

“The first thing I told my team is ‘I didn’t recognize my team tonight.'” Johnson said. “If we can think we can do it individually and beat Connecticut, it’s not gonna happen.”

Vickie Johnson: "The first thing I told my team is 'I didn't recognize my team tonight.'"

Said players were "complaining," "not taking accountability."

"If we can think we can do it individually and beat Connecticut, it's not gonna happen."

— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) August 19, 2022

Arike Ogunbowale, Dallas’ leading scorer, is still not healthy enough to play due to an abdominal injury she aggravated during the final days of the regular-season.

It’s really that simple for DB pic.twitter.com/do0bk85mpV

— WSLAM (@wslam) August 19, 2022

The Wings will look to tie the series up with a Game 2 win over the Sun on Sunday.

The post Vickie Johnson Didn’t ‘Recognize’ Dallas Wings Team That Lost Game 1 appeared first on SLAM.

Cheryl Reeves is the head coach of the World Cup team and will be joined by Mike Thibault, Kara Lawson, and Joni Taylor as her assistant coaches.

The training camp will take place September 6-12 in Las Vegas. An intrasquad Red-White game will headline the camp on Sept. 10 before the final roster comes out for the FIBA World Cup that runs Sept. 22-Oct. 1 in Sydney, Australia.

The following is a complete list of expected training camp participants: Ariel Atkins, Shakira Austin, Boston, Kahleah Copper, Elena Delle Donne, Diamond DeShields, Stefanie Dolson, Allisha Gray, Chelsea Gray, Dearica Hamby, Myisha Hines-Allen, Natasha Howard, Rhyne Howard, Sabrina Ionescu, Brionna Jones, Betnijah Laney, Jewell Loyd, Kayla McBride, Angel McCoughtry, Arike Ogunbowale, Kelsey Plum, Aerial Powers, NaLyssa Smith, Breanna Stewart, Alyssa Thomas, Courtney Williams, A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young.

Invitees will report “pending the conclusion of their WNBA seasons and the progression of the national team selection process,” USA Basketball said in a release.

“I am looking forward to welcoming this amazing group of athletes to a productive training camp as we prepare for the 2022 FIBA World Cup,” national team coach Cheryl Reeve said in a release. “These athletes will report to camp having just completed their WNBA seasons, and it says a lot about their competitive drive and commitment to USA Basketball that they will come to Las Vegas prepared to participate at the highest level.”

Atkins, Chelsea Gray, Loyd, Stewart, and Wilson won gold with Team USA in Tokyo. Alisha Gray, Dolson, Plum, and Young — members of the gold-medal-winning 3×3 team — will be headed to Vegas. Wilson, Stewart, Delle Donne, Loyd, Plum, and Young were members of Team USA’s World Cup team that won gold in Spain in 2018.

Delle Donne and McCoughtry didn’t play in Tokyo due to injuries but were contributors to the 2016 Olympic team in Rio de Janeiro. McCoughtry had appeared in three WNBA games in two years due to knee injuries and is currently a free agent after the Lynx bought her contract out before the season started.

This will be the first Team USA roster that won’t feature Sue Bird, and Sylvia Fowles is retiring. Tina Charles, Diana Taurasi (season-ending quad injury), Skylar Diggins-Smith (personal reasons), Napheesa Collier (played one week of basketball after giving birth in May), and Brittney Griner, who is controversially imprisoned in Russia due to drug possession and smuggling charges.

The post Aliyah Boston Headlines Invitees Tor Team USA Training Camp appeared first on SLAM.

Arike Ogunbowale underwent a successful Iliac Crest Core Muscle Avulsion Repair today in Philadelphia, PA.

Ogunbowale will miss the rest of the regular season and the team’s upcoming first-round playoff matchup. We will provide further updates at the appropriate time.

— Dallas WWWWWings (@DallasWings) August 9, 2022

The abdominal surgery Ogunbowale received will knock her out for the final stretch of the regular-season and the Wigns’ upcoming first-round matchup. Ogunbowale appeared to aggravate her abdominal injury on Saturday when the Wings took on the Indiana Fever.

Ogunbowale ends the season averaging 19.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game on 40.0 percent shooting from the field and 35.2 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Ogunbowale was able to lead the Wings to a 17-16 record, good for third in the Western Conference playoff standings. She was selected to her second consecutive All-Star game.

“I can be the future [of the League], but I am also taking advantage of my time right now and not wasting any time,” the WSLAM1 cover athlete told SLAM. “I want to be one of the top players now and in the future.”

The post Arike Ogunbowale Undergoes Season-Ending Abdominal Surgery appeared first on SLAM.

On Thursday, Phoenix Mercury teammate Skylar Diggins-Smith gave an emotional response when she was asked about the WNBA proceeding to play following the news.

“Nobody wanted to even play today,” Diggins-Smith told reporters. “How are you supposed to approach the game with a clear mind when the whole group is crying before the game?

From Griner’s agent and both WNBA teammates and competitors, as well as players across the NBA, many have continued to shared their thoughts and sentiments via social media.

Skylar Diggins-Smith:

Lindsay Kagawa Colas:

Phoenix Mercury:

Connecticut Sun:

Stefanie Dolson:

Breanna Stewart:

Elena Delle Donne:

Jaren Jackson Jr:

Diamond DeShields:

Amanda Zahui B:

Arike Ogunbowale:

Kia Nurse:

Tyasha Harris:

Dawn Staley:

AD:

Layshia Clarendon:

WNBPA:

The post WNBA and NBA Reacts to Brittney Griner’s Sentencing appeared first on SLAM.

Even without their star player Arike Ogunbowale, who ranks third in the League in scoring at 19.9 points, who is out with an ankle injury, the Wings still managed to get the job done.

Mabrey movin' mad pic.twitter.com/EEvaNdMKXl

— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) August 3, 2022

Marina Mabrey and Teaira McCowan stepped up for the Wings. Mabrey scored a season-high of 26 points, and McCowan followed up with 20 points and 12 rebounds, her third straight double-double outing.

Double at your own risk pic.twitter.com/bS7tCYTqDK

— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) August 3, 2022

For the Sky, Kahleah Copper led Chicago with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Azurá Stevens, Allie Quigley, and Emma Meesseman each scored 14 points.

With less than two weeks left in the regular season, the Sky holds a one-game lead over the Las Vegas Aces in the League’s . The Wings truly needed this win in order to fight for a playoff spot Dallas was able to move 1 1/2 games ahead of the Phoenix Mercury who lands at seventh place.

Now the Wings need to lock in and focus on winning the next couple of games to secure one of the final three playoff spots.

The post Dallas Wings End Chicago Sky’s Franchise-Record Home Win Streak appeared first on SLAM.

Griner has been detained in Russia since February 17. Multiple athletes and stars have posted the hashtag WeAreBG to raise awareness towards the efforts to bring Griner home.

“We talk about ‘We Are BG’ and what that means to us. Just trying to embody her spirit carry her legacy on, and just stay alert for her as far as what we can do in our efforts to help bring her home and really get that message out there,” Griner’s Mercury teammate, Skylar Diggins-Smith said.

For all WNBA players speaking out and shining a light on bringing BG home has been their top priority both on and off the court.

“I think the W does a great job; we have Brittney Griner masks,” Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale said. “We have 42 on our shirts, and I’m sure the rest of the league and people are wearing things with BG.”

Every single player for the second half of Sunday’s game wore Griner’s name and No. 42 on the back of their jerseys.

“Wearing the jerseys was a statement to show that we are BG. Yes, we have the shirts and the pins but BG is one of us. She’s our sister and, at the end of the day,” 2020 MVP A’ja Wilson. “We are going to do whatever we can to amplify the platform that we have to make sure that everyone is doing what they need to do to make sure that she gets home safely.”

The post WNBA Stars Honor Brittney Grinner During All-Star Weekend appeared first on SLAM.

The players selected include Ariel Atkins, Kahleah Copper, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Dearica Hamby, Natasha Howard, Rhyne Howard, Jewell Loyd, Brionna Jones, Emma Meesseman, Arike Ogunbowale, Alyssa Thomas, and Courtney Vandersloot.

2022 WNBA ALL-STAR RESERVES:

Ariel Atkins, Kahleah Copper, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Dearica Hamby, Natasha Howard, Rhyne Howard, Jewell Loyd, Brionna Jones, Emma Meesseman, Arike Ogunbowale, Alyssa Thomas, Courtney Vandersloot. #WNBA |

— Khristina Williams (@Khristina) June 28, 2022

Howard, the rookie out of Atlanta, will make her All-star game debut while the Chicago Sky send a mob over with their championship core all making an appearance. The Sky will be represented this year by Kahleah Copper, Courtney Vandersloot, Emma Meeseman, and Candace Parker, who was voted in as a starter. 

The All-Star starters were announced on June 22, including Candace Parker, Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum, Nneka Ogumike, Jonquel Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu. The captains for the All-Star Game are A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart. WNBA legend Sue Bird joins Team Wilson as a co-captain, while Sylvia Fowles will join Team Steward.

Wilson and Stewart pick their teams on Saturday afternoon, with the starters chosen first and then the 12 reserve players. Since Wilson led in fan voting, she will have the first pick on Saturday. 

The post Kahleah Copper, Skylar Diggins-Smith Headline 2022 WNBA All-Star Game Reserves appeared first on SLAM.

Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings to the win with a team-high 27 points, followed by Marina Mabrey (21 points) and Allisha Gray, who had 20. 

Gray also got her first double-double after securing 12 rebounds on Sunday. Coach Vickie Johnson said she told Gray that her defensive effort must be consistent regardless of her matchups playstyle or if she respects who she’s guarding.

“You don’t fall back. You don’t bring your defensive effort down because of their style or the respect part of it. I was very happy for her, but she made it known that she needed one more rebound. ‘Coach, you got to put me back in; I need one more rebound,’ so I said alright, I got you,” Johnson said.

The Dallas Wings were on fire beyond the arc, too, knocking down at least 10 threes for their third straight game while tallying at least 20 assists for the sixth time this season. 

Johnson was asked during postgame about the improvement of the Wings from last season to this season and acknowledged the offensive and defensive changes. 

“We’re becoming a good team. We’re becoming what we can. We have stats – team, individual, game – we’re not there, but we’re becoming that. And once we become that, then that’s when we’re going to be very scary to deal with.”

The Wings, 8-8, remain the third seed in the Western Conference and have now won back-to-back games at home.

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After a halfcourt shot flew off the backboard and landed in Ogunbowale’s direction, the fourth-year player out of Notre Dame kicked the ball and was ejected as a result.

Ogunbowale addressed the incident on Twitter after the game Sunday, claiming she was simply trying to control the ball with her feet, as she would a soccer ball.

“If you know me, you know I was a soccer player first. Literally every practice and game, I stop the basketball with my feet, pass it to my teammates with my feet, etc. Ball comes at me fast. I always stop the ball with my feet; it’s just my first instinct,” Ogunbowale said on Twitter.

She later went on to say that in “NO WAY,” she was trying to kick the ball. “The half was over. I tried to control the ball with my feet like I always do if the ball comes @ me fast. To be ejected for something like this is wild. From here on out, I’ll try to remember WNBA refs aren’t fans of soccer players,” Ogunbowale wrote, attaching a video of herself controlling the ball with her feet during her college career at Notre Dame.

Ogunbowale has made a habit of using her feet on the court, as she received a technical foul for kicking the scorer’s table after being whistled for a free throw violation during a 93-91 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.

“That incident happened in L.A. as well,” Wings Coach Vickie Johnson said after the game. “We’re not on the soccer field, we’re on the basketball court, and you have to respect the game, period. We play basketball with our hands.”

Johnson said that she would meet with Wings president and CEO Greg Bibb to discuss a potential disciplinary action for Ogunbowale.

“We have talked about it, but that’s something Greg and I have to discuss a little bit more,” Johnson said. “When it affects the team, it affects all of us.”

Ogunbowale, a career 19.6 point per game scorer, is averaging 17.5 points per game this season. Despite a 6-7 record, the Wings are in third place in the Western Conference.

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Ogunbowale’s resume speak for itself, and throughout her career, she’s continued to be the very definition of clutch. As a junior at Notre Dame, she dropped back-to-back buzzer-beater game-winners in the Final Four—the first to beat UConn and enter the title game and the second to beat Mississippi State to win the 2018 NCAA women’s basketball national title.

The very next season, Ogunbowale and the Fighting Irish were on the verge of repeating, but the 5-8 guard missed 1 of 2 free throws in the closing seconds of the national title game. Notre Dame ended up losing to Baylor by just one point, despite a 31 point-performance from Ogunbowale.

“No college player has had to go through that,” she told JWS’ Kelley O’Hara. “You’re at the top high the year before then literally the bottom, in the championship, lost. That just shows you can never get too high to low; things happen every day, at the end of the day, it’s basketball. Obviously, it hurt a lot, but I knew the future I was going to have. It was definitely tough. I still think about it a little bit; I could really maybe have two championships, but everything happens for a reason. But that was definitely a tough one to go through.”

That spring, the WSLAM 1 cover co-star reached the pinnacle of women’s basketball and was drafted fifth overall in the 2019 draft by the Dallas Wings. She averaged 19.1 points in her first season and was named to the All-Rookie team.

Ogunbowale had some advice for this year’s incoming WNBA Draft class: it’s all about the work you put in.

“It’s really work ethic, you gotta be able to get in the gym, and a lot of it is mental. Especially rookie year, everybody can play, especially in the WNBA. It’s only 144 spots [on] 12 teams, so everybody was a star at their college like everybody is good, everybody was maybe an All-American,  at least all-conference in their college period. So that’s really not even the issue; it’s learning the game like a lot of that stuff is mental—the best players know the ins and outs of the game. Everybody in the WNBA runs the same plays essentially, you just gotta learn stuff, you gotta learn players; I had to watch a lot of film and just try to see different things that I didn’t know cause the women in the WNBA are a lot smarter than college, so there’s a lot of stuff I didn’t know I had to learn, definitely the mental part. Watching more film, basketball IQ, and taking care of your body. I barely stretched in college; I remember our first (WNBA) practices and stuff. I’m like, ‘What’s taking them so long to warm up? I’m already ready to go.’ And then after last year, ‘I’m like shi*t my body, I need to get massages, I need to do all of this.’”

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Ogunbowale, who has racked up two All-WNBA selections, collected a scoring title in 2020, and an All-Star game MVP distinction, signed a multi-year extension with Dallas until 2025. Entering Year 4, Ogunbowale says she’s been focused on on preparing her body for the WNBA grind.

“I’ve been getting some HIIT mobility stuff, a lot more stretching and lifting too. Last year, overseas season, I didn’t really lock into working for the WNBA season until February, but I started right away in November. It wasn’t anything crazy. I just wanted to make sure my body was okay, so by the time I got here, I didn’t have to stress about getting back in shape and doing this. I just tried to focus a lot more on that in October, November, so now I just feel really good.”

The Dallas Wings kick off the 2022 campaign with a home-opener against the Atlanta Dream.

The post Arike Ogunbowale Looks Back on Her College Career and Gives Advice to the Incoming WNBA Rookies appeared first on SLAM.

What started out as an aspiration in business, investing, and a LeBron James tweet soon became reality for Renee Montgomery. In January of last year, the WNBA champion peeped a tweet from James expressing interest in buying the Atlanta Dream. She immediately reached out to his camp about bringing the tweet to life.

“I’ve always been interested in business and investing, but I never actually thought about having an ownership stake,” Montgomery shares with WSLAM. ”It wasn’t until the summer of 2020 when some discussions started to circulate that the Atlanta Dream would be selling in the near future. That’s when my family and I got the crazy idea of What if? It didn’t really seem realistic at the time. Fast forward to November when an ownership opportunity presented itself and I became an FCF Beasts co-owner with Marshawn Lynch and pro-wrestler Mero, before the Atlanta Dream ownership stake.”

Breaking down barriers is something that players across the W are already accustomed to doing, and Renee epitomized this when she became the first former player to own a team as well as hold a leadership role.

Little did Montgomery know that she would soon set the standard for minorities everywhere, symbolizing that basketball success doesn’t just stop on the hardwood, but it seeps into the business sector as well. 

“I feel humbled because when we started this journey, I didn’t even realize that I was, that wasn’t my intention,” Montgomery reflects. “I just wanted to be in the rooms where decisions were being made, to have representation at the highest level I can, because it matters to have that representation speaking up in that room. I hope to see more players go on the ownership or executive path. The players have earned the experience through sweat equity. It’s just about getting the opportunity.”

The two-time champ appeared in 37 playoff games, retiring from the W after having played in 364 games with 173 starts. She showed pure dedication and work ethic on the court, but she knows and urges the youth to understand the importance of skills such as communication and leadership off the court as well.

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“Don’t take skills like speaking, writing and insight for granted,” she says. “Communication skills are an important part of leadership. Good communication that gets through to people is essential in whichever workplace you choose. You just need the confidence to believe you can do it. The skill set that you have does not change when you switch positions, the only thing that changes is the responsibilities. Then you realize you were always capable. Don’t be afraid to make your own path.”

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In April, Aari McDonald and the Arizona Wildcats were competing in the program’s first National Championship game. Just a few weeks later, she would be the Atlanta Dream’s first round draft pick.

While still learning the ropes of the professional game, McDonald is finishing up her graduate degree.

Everyone’s a star in college, but there are always equals or better competition at the professional level.

“I’m just learning and will never get too high or low,” McDonald shares with WSLAM on what the adjustment has been like. “There will be growing pains as it’s different from college. Take everything in from the vets and be a sponge.” 

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McDonald, like other rookies, has had to adapt quickly. In less than five months as a pro, she’s had three head coaches. First Nicki Collen accepted the head coaching position at Baylor. Mike Petersen was named interim head coach, but resigned. Darius Taylor took over and is currently the interim head coach.

She referenced a quote drilled into her from her uncle, an Army veteran: “Put your all into everything.”

“I’ve been constantly moving throughout my whole career, and you have to adapt to any situation that you’ve been put in,” McDonald says.  

For the player who finds motivation in everything, this chapter in the story of Aari McDonald is just getting started.

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When we think about the greatest players in the history of the WNBA, it can get overwhelming pretty quickly. A crowded field gets tagged with the GOAT label, something that’s only going to increase as players like A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart keep building their résumés.

A greater complication still is the nature of that greatness varies widely. Among those who I see as undervalued within the all-time list are Tamika Catchings, who has a very strong case for best ever, Sylvia Fowles, a center in a positionless world, and Katie Smith, a precursor for so much of the modern game.

A stat I love to use to cut through the arguments and organize my own personal list—with the understanding, even the pleasure in seeing, that others vary—is win shares, a stat you can find at the great Basketball-Reference.com. 

And at the very top of that list isn’t Diana Taurasi or Sue Bird or Lisa Leslie, all greats to be sure. It is Catchings. And the battle isn’t close.

Catchings was worth 93.66 win shares in her storied career with the Indiana Fever, which is not just the highest mark in League history, it laps the field. Lauren Jackson is second at 73.03. No one else is above 70. To put that in perspective: it means Catchings isn’t just better by this metric than anyone to ever play in the WNBA, she is nearly 29 percent better than her closest competitor.

I am, full disclosure, obsessed with this number. No other sports league has such a disparity. So it pleased me to no end to get to ask Catchings herself what she thought it meant.

“I think from my standpoint, you would just look at the type of player that I was, not necessarily a single-focus player,” Catchings says. “And a lot of that came from [Catchings’ collegiate coach] Pat [Summitt], really learning how to become a better defensive player and a well-rounded player.”

Catchings is right, specifically in that defense is her separator. She was, let’s not forget, a fantastic offensive player, and her offensive win shares reflect that—57.14 place her second all-time, behind Diana Taurasi.

But on the defensive end, she was good for another 36.52 win shares. Only Lisa Leslie cleared 30 among all other players, and Catchings did it at 6-1.

“There’s a lot of words that you could use to describe Catch,” recalls current Indiana Fever head coach Marianne Stanley, who coached against Catchings for years and now works with her in Indiana. “I would say, relentlessly competitive. And, indomitable—no matter what, she’d show up and compete, and believed that she could win.”

She did plenty of that—no team that Catchings was part of missed the playoffs from 2005-16, including trips to the WNBA Finals in 2009, 2012 and 2015, with Indiana winning it all in 2012. Catchings consistently elevated her teams above the general expectations for the group, with players who often didn’t defend nearly as well before or after their time in Indiana finding another level next to Catchings. 

And lest you think that doesn’t show up in the box score, well: she finished her career with 1,074 steals. No one else has 1,000. Or 900. Or 800. Second is Ticha Penicheiro with 764. The active leader is Sue Bird, who entered the second half of the 2021 season at 681. If Bird maintains her current steals-per-year pace, she’d pass Catchings sometime in the 2032 season, when Bird would be 51.

For a player who debuted in 2002, Catchings was every bit the vital, compelling figure in the League by the time she retired on her own terms in 2016, an Olympic Gold medalist and once more, a part of a playoff team. 

Now she’s a general manager, looking for players “that are willing to play and give everything that they have on both ends of the court.”

Sounds familiar for anyone who saw Tamika Catchings play.

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She’s got her memories, too, and the League’s preeminent defender remembers one scorer who gave her more trouble than anyone else.

“When people ask me who is the toughest player you ever played against, for me, it’s Katie [Smith],” Catchings says. “I never played a good game against her. She was tough. And, you know, one of those players that—not necessarily the quickest, fastest, whatever, but she just knew how to use her body.”

Smith also understood the value of the perimeter shot, and her 906 made threes was a record for the WNBA until first Taurasi, then Bird passed her. But many of their attempts from beyond the arc have come during a period when the WNBA is taking many more threes as a whole, while Smith, who debuted in 1999 after starring in the ABL, was ahead of her time.

Smith was 5-11, but a strong 5-11, and a defensive problem when she’d post up just as much as when she’d flash outside. There’s a reason her 59.77 win shares rank her eighth on the all-time list, ahead of luminaries like Bird, Candace Parker and Sheryl Swoopes.

“You know how now they’ll call [someone] a bucket?” Stanley says. “Katie was a bucket. A certified bucket.”

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But if her offensive game presaged what was to come—the current WNBA of four-out and five-out—Sylvia Fowles is reminding everyone that true greatness transcends the trends of the League.

Fowles ranks fourth on the all-time list in win shares with 67.38, just behind Diana Taurasi and ahead of all other WNBA players. But while Taurasi is 39, Syl is still just 35, and well on her way to not only another season as good as she was throughout her 20s, but better. This comes despite an offensive repertoire that doesn’t take her far beyond the restricted area—her lone three-point attempt, which she made, came back in 2010—but a combination of brilliance in the paint and defensive prowess that has her among the favorites to win Defensive Player of the Year in 2021 has her Minnesota Lynx in championship contention once again.

Stanley remembered trying to gameplan for Fowles back in college, when Stanley was on C. Vivian Stringer’s staff at Rutgers, and the Scarlet Knights faced Fowles and LSU, a program that reached the Final Four in all four of Fowles’ collegiate seasons. It was an impossible task to stop Fowles back then.

“But from that moment forward, she has, every year, just gotten better,” Stanley says. “And when she started in Chicago, I think she was still in the early stages of becoming what she was to become once she got to Minnesota. And there hasn’t been a more dominant center in the game.”

Despite their very different skill sets, Catchings sees much of what made her great in Fowles as well, a teammate of hers overseas, and her rival in that 2015 finals that went Minnesota’s way.

“I think it’s really been a testament for her to be able to continue to grow, not necessarily at just the center, but to be able to grow as one of the leaders in our game,” Catchings says.

She urges her own young center, Teaira McCowan, to watch everything Fowles does, and take it in.

This, too, will blur the lines of greatness. Fowles is still playing. Catchings is a GM. Smith is an assistant coach with the Lynx. WNBA royalty is part of shaping the generations of greatness that follow. 

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One hand full of thick honey blonde curls pulled up on the right, check. The left side, check. DiDi Richards takes her edge brush going back to the side she started with, laying her baby hairs as if it’s part of a religious practice to the game of basketball—I mean, it sort of is or else she’s sitting on the bench thinking, Oh God, I did my puffs in the wrong order today. 

Just like Richards’ perfectly crafted, meticulous signature style, her game isn’t that much different. As one of the nation’s top on-ball defenders suiting up for the Baylor Bears, DiDi dominated during her collegiate career and helped lead her squad to the Elite Eight last season. While things didn’t pan out the way they would have wanted to against UConn, it became clear, just from watching her compete and give it her all, that she truly is one of one. 

Her mother, Ungeanetta, knows that better than anyone: “I think that her style is explosive because she’s so fun to watch,” she shares with WSLAM. “It’s like when she’s on the court, something is gonna happen. And not only that she’s a girly girl—she’s pretty out there but she’s not playing like a girly girl. She plays rough and I love that about her. I remember this one time when she was playing, she had her glasses and she was sitting up there and everybody wanted to guard her on the other team. They had no idea. She doesn’t look the part, but when she gets on that court…Beware, she’s explosive.”

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While the Liberty’s second-round pick has her mother to thank for her dope style on and off the court—which includes pre-game tunnel looks like black ripped mom jeans and a baby blue Louis Vuitton saddle bag paired with Hyper Royal Jordan 1s—her pops, Damian Sr, played a major role in pushing her to play sports. DiDi tried her luck at gymnastics and karate before ultimately deciding to play basketball in middle school.

“My first memory…” Richards pauses, thinking back. “When I first picked it up, my dad was pushing me to play sports because I was a late bloomer. I didn’t play sports until, like, the sixth grade. My first game was in the Cipher League, which is a YMCA kind of deal, and I could only play defense. I know that’s shocking—it’s not shocking,” Richards says, almost as if she has a lightbulb moment remembering who she is. “But I was so good at defense and I would get all these steals and just throw it up at the backboard whenever I would go on the other end.”

And yet, Damian Sr made sure that both of his children mastered the fundamentals of the game rather than rely solely on their athleticism.

“In high school I got away with just being more athletic, being able to outjump everybody, outrun everybody, but when I got to college, my coach tried to put me in the guard position and I couldn’t play it,” Damian Sr shares. “It kind of shortened my career because I couldn’t dribble, so I said, Alright, Didi and DJ are not going to have this problem. We’re going to dribble, dribble, dribble. That’s how DiDi became a 6-2 point guard, because I just made sure she was going to know how to dribble. I used all of the things that stopped me, because I wasn’t going to let it stop them.”

Battling through adversity and ignoring the naysayers is something that both of her parents have instilled in her, and her brother, from an early age. 

“People are always going to talk whether you’re doing good or bad,” Richards says. “I think that was my biggest hurdle to get through, but to just understand that it’s just life, and that’s something you’re gonna have to get through for the rest of your life. Thanks to my mom and my dad for that because they were constantly like, Forget it, and I just finally started understanding that.”

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On October 24, 2020, DiDi’s life would take a turn no one saw coming. The Cypress, TX, native collided with teammate Moon Ursin during a practice. Richards passed out from the horrific impact, and when she woke up, she learned that she was temporarily paralyzed. Not only would her physical strength be put to the ultimate test during this time, but her mental toughness, too.

“I was still very scared the whole time and I don’t know,” Didi reflects. “I was putting on this front that I’m gonna walk, I know I’m gonna walk, but in the back of your head, you really can’t feel your legs, you can’t get up on your own, you’re really on a walker.”

Following the incident, Richards began the exhaustive battle of physical therapy, which caused her to question if she would be able to perform simple tasks like pushing the pedals on a stationary bike. 

“Three weeks in was when I started to get the feeling [back in her legs] a little bit,” Richards recalls. “I was like, Oh, maybe this really can happen. It took me starting to walk again and finally getting rid of the walker…I think that’s when my mind was kind of like, We can do this again. So when I started playing basketball again I definitely shocked myself. I was like, Oh my God, I’m really in this game again.”

Thirty-eight days later, Richards was back on the court for her first win with the Bears since her injury. Her perseverance and resilience never wavered. It’s a part of who she is, who her family is. 

“Our family has been through so much to where my faith is just so strong,” Ungeanetta reflects. “I believed that she was gonna make it out of it and I wasn’t accepting that she was not going to be able to walk again. I was blocking any negativity out, you know, speaking positive things and always trying to stay strong around her, because you know your emotions can also transfer into somebody else. I didn’t want her to have that doubt in her mind, so I basically tried to keep everyone around her and us positive and not think of her not being able to walk again.”

And while New York might seem like worlds away from H-town and her family, including her younger brother Damian and her Schnoodle pup, who earned the name Tuxedo for his black fur and white chest (and who also gives Richards a run for her money in the style category), she feels like she’s exactly where she is supposed to be. 

“I think I got drafted to the perfect team, the perfect coaches, the perfect players,” Richards says. “It’s definitely an adjustment still in progress right now, but I’m loving it so far. I have such understanding teammates, and I say that all the time whenever I get on these interviews or whatever it is, I just think this is the perfect spot for me and God just put me in the perfect spot. I’m just really happy about it. I didn’t want anything else but this. 

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The New York Liberty sent a shock wave across the WNBA earlier this season when they waived point guard Layshia Clarendon after three games. An integral part to the Liberty’s 2020 season, Clarendon stepped into the starting position after the loss of Sabrina Ionescu and averaged career highs in field goal percentage (46.5) and points (11.5). Many fans thought that they would remain with the team. 

No need to worry about Clarendon landing on their feet though. They went from a team looking to win its first championship to the Lynx, a team that is not only tied for the most championships in the League (four) but also has won more Western Conference championships than any other franchise in the conference. They also currently hold the League record with 10 consecutive playoff appearances. Stroke of luck? Maybe. A case of good things happening to good people? Possibly. Or is it just simply another example of the resiliency, faith and motivation of Clarendon, and why it’s so difficult to ever count them out?

One of the most powerful and well-respected voices in the W, Clarendon isn’t your typical player. It’s not only because they are the first non-binary and transgender person in the League (using the she/her, he/him, and they/them pronouns interchangeably), but also because they understand the uniqueness they bring to the game and to the point guard position, stemming back to their days in the NCAA.

“Alexis Gray-Lawson was an amazing player at Cal. People were like Oh you’re the next Alexis Gray-Lawson, and I’m like No, I’m the first Layshia Clarendon,” the guard shares with WSLAM. “I think the way I play in W, I’m one of the most physical point guards. I think I have the savvy of some of the legendary point guards…but, like, the dribble hold, and some of the moves that I do, no one does that in the WNBA and especially not to the extent that I do. No one plays with the physicality at the point guard position that I do. And so that’s one of the things I love about the uniqueness of my game; I don’t try to emulate anyone.” 

Arriving in Minnesota after initially signing a hardship contract in late May, Clarendon’s presence was immediately felt. Trying to block out of their mind the difficulties that come along with picking up your family and relocating with a newborn, as she and her wife recently celebrated the birth of their child “Baby C,” the All-Star point guard focused on the new opportunity ahead of them and provided the fire the Lynx needed to charge toward the team’s first win of the season. And that spark wasn’t temporary. Clarendon’s impact continued, and Minnesota won seven straight games heading into the Olympic break. The combination of Clarendon’s high-level contributions plus the return of key players from injury helped make the Lynx the hottest team in the League in mid-July. 

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Impactfulness has become a pattern for Clarendon. The same effort taken with each dribble and each pass to ensure precision and efficiency during game play is the same effort put forth in every conversation and meeting in which they are standing on the right side of social justice and LGBTQ+ rights. It was Clarendon’s idea to dedicate the 2020 WNBA season to the Say Her Name campaign. It was Clarendon standing front and center when the WNBA and WNBPA launched the Social Justice Council to drive the players’ activism efforts. It was Clarendon standing together with other leading voices of the League—Nneka Ogwumike, Elizabeth Williams, Sue Bird, Natalie Achonwa, Chiney Ogwumike and Satou Sabally— as the executive council of the WNBPA, ensuring the expressions of the diverse group of people who make up the WNBA are represented fairly, adequately and equitably. It was also Clarendon who played a crucial part in helping to negotiate the WNBA’s acclaimed new CBA, a process they credit for aiding their understanding of true leadership, democracy and governance. 

“The things that came out of that deal were phenomenal, but the internal process that we all went through as leaders, it stretched us in ways that helped prepare us for Bradenton,” Clarendon says. 

“Leadership is a lot of listening. And that’s really hard and very humbling when you have so many different people with different wants. You just have to listen and keep the best interest of everyone. You have your opinions, and you have your feelings, but you have to check your ego.”

Clarendon flawlessly handles the pressure: the pressure that comes with playing for one of the most demanding coaches in the game, the pressure that’s attached with inspiring so many young trans and queer people to live their lives in openness, the pressure that comes along with being a new parent, and the pressure that builds from within from wanting to accomplish every goal set. 

“I hope anyone who’s ever played with me felt seen. I hope I change the way we view gender forever. That would be amazing if I helped slow up the binary in sports. That I fought for the liberation of all people, the same way I fought for social justice and the world, but also for this League. Especially in the CBA. I hope we look back and look at that as a stepping stone for the one that’s really going to blow it out of the water.” 

When it’s all said and done, Clarendon wants to leave the League in a better place than they found it, so the legacy of impactful and intentional progression can continue for another 25 years and beyond. Inspiring and influential, the WNBA is a better place because players like Clarendon have graced its courts. 

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It’s not every day that a 10-year veteran looks to hit rewind on their career. It also doesn’t usually happen to or for a player who hasn’t played in almost two years. But, for Tina Charles of the Washington Mystics, here we are.

 Let’s go back to April 2020. After six seasons with her hometown New York Liberty, it was time to turn the page to the next chapter of Charles’ career. A three-team deal would bring the (at the time) seven-time All-Star and 2012 MVP to the nation’s capital as the newest member of the defending WNBA Champions, the Washington Mystics.

 For some, the thought of Charles teaming up with the Mystics’ core of Elena Delle Donne, Emma Meesseman, Natasha Cloud and Ariel Atkins spelled the making of a potential repeat. For others, adding the aging star wasn’t a smart or necessary move.

 On July 17, 2020, with still so much uncertainty surrounding the landscape of sports in the middle of a raging pandemic, Charles announced that she’d been granted a medical exemption and would miss the 2020 WNBA season. Her Mystics debut would have to wait just a little while longer. 

As teams started preparing for the 25th anniversary season of the WNBA, it had been two years since Charles last suited up. As expected, there were a few questions around what was left in the tank. How would Charles perform? Would she be comfortable taking a back seat to Delle Donne and maybe even Meesseman? Would there be a restriction of her minutes?

 Those questions were answered right away. Looking like a younger and, believe it or not, more improved version of herself, Charles started the season scoring 20-plus points in seven out of her first 10 games. Four of those games were 30-plus efforts.

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 Before the Olympic break, Charles put up averages of a career-high 26.3 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 33.8 minutes across 17 games. Before this season, she hadn’t averaged double-digit rebounds since 2013. For an extra sprinkle of flare, she also tallied over 1 steal per game for just the second time in her career.

 The 2021 WNBA season has been filled with ups and downs for most teams. Playing basketball in the middle of a pandemic, teams have had additional challenges ranging from delayed arrivals to mid-season departures for international commitments and of course…injuries. 

The Mystics are no stranger to that. Being without both the two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne and 2019 Finals MVP Emma Meesseman was not a part of the plan. Delle Donne would end up not being available while she recovered from back surgery. Meesseman was unlikely to return until after her international commitments with Belgium. Alysha Clark was signed during free agency and was considered to be a huge defensive asset for the Mystics, but she ended up being ruled out for the season after suffering a foot injury in France. Even through all the obstacles, Charles found a way to carry an unexpected load and help position the Mystics for a potential playoff spot.

 Most veterans are used to being the leaders for their teams. They understand the assignment and carry out the game plan as designed by their respective coaching staffs. However, this was Charles’ first season playing in Coach Mike Thibault’s system.   

“I think she set a great example by showing up to camp in the best shape of any player that was here to start,” Thibault shares with WSLAM. “I think that shows to your team that you’re ready to go.” 

So what were the plans for Charles? What was that conversation like?

 “She didn’t come here planning on being the go-to player, she planned on being one of them. I think it’s frustrating for her at times to see Elena, Myisha [Hines-Allen] and Alysha Clark sitting in street clothes,” Thibault explains, on the initial plans for incorporating Charles into his system. “She’s fought through it and has taken on huge responsibilities. I feel bad for her some days because it isn’t what she signed up for. I hope for her sake we can get more of these players back because it’ll make her workload a little easier and it’ll make it feel like the team she wanted to play on when she came here,” he concludes.

Through it all, Charles has never backed down from the challenge. Along with handling business on the court, she’s been a vocal leader and her teammates have noticed. 

“The one thing I appreciate is her being a professional on and off the court and just how she takes care of her body. She’s the type of leader that leads by example,” says teammate Shatori Walker-Kimbrough. “Seeing her put in the time before and after practice so that she’s always prepared for games, it’s no surprise to see her success on the court. I’m just honored to be on the same court as her. She’s also open to having those discussions on how we can get better—especially in game,” Walker-Kimbrough notes.

 Does Coach Thibault want more out of Charles, and if so, what does that look like? 

“If she can take it to another level beyond where she’s at, I don’t know what that would be,” Thibault says jokingly. “The reality is that she’d be happy to have some of her stats come down in total numbers because that means other people are out playing with her picking up some of those numbers.”

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It could be safe to say that help with the load of putting up those numbers would be appreciated. In a game against the Connecticut Sun on June 29, the Mystics had only six available players in a game they’d lose 90-71. The Olympic break was just around the corner and it couldn’t have come at a better time.  

 Still, there were no complaints. 

“I’m glad that we have that type of leadership from the caliber of player as her, and especially with Delle Donne out,” Walker-Kimbrough adds. “She’s stepped into that role and we’re very receptive to her and she’s willing to take the lead.” 

 Out of 18 games before the break, Charles missed just one—a contest against the Atlanta Dream in order to attend the premiere of her film Game Changer at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. She served as the project’s director and producer and spent over a year completing the film.

Whether it’s through her artistic endeavors, her work through her Hopey’s Heart Foundation or her dominant play, the title of her movie is fitting for what Charles has meant to the Mystics. 

WSLAM 1 featuring Arike Ogunbowale, Diamond DeShields and Betnijah Laney is out now!

Photos via Getty Images.

The post Tina Charles is Back and Better Than Ever appeared first on SLAM.

In honor of the WNBA’s 25th anniversary, SLAM is proud to present WSLAM Issue 001, the first all-women’s issue of SLAM. This all-encompassing magazine features the game’s greatest players, from Sheryl Swoopes and Lisa Leslie, who introduced the W to the world in 1997, to today’s stars, including Betnijah Laney, Diamond DeShields and Arike Ogunbowale, who grace this issue’s cover.

The mag also features Tina Charles, Layshia Clarendon, DiDi Richards, Aari McDonald, Brittney Griner, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, Crystal Bradford and many more of your favorite players. And don’t miss other powerful stories, including the WNBA’s 25 most important moments, the WNBA players’ social justice initiatives and a look at the W’s most fashion-forward hoopers.

WSLAM 1, featuring Arike Ogunbowale, Diamond DeShields and Betnijah Laney, is available now in this exclusive gold metal edition. Only 94 copies are made.

Diamond, Arike and Betnijah each have stories to tell.

Read about how these WNBA All-Stars are making waves on and off the court.

BETNIJAH LANEY

Take one part ballerina, two parts jumpshot and throw in some nasty handles for fun. What do you get?

A new-world basketball player for the 21st century.

READ THE FULL STORY

DIAMOND DESHIELDS

She’s heard the criticism. She’s noted the judgements. It doesn’t matter.

No one can put out Diamond DeShields’ light.

READ THE FULL STORY

ARIKE OGUNBOWALE

Only three years in, Arike Ogunbowale’s unique game has made her one of the biggest stars in the WNBA.

But it’s her confidence on the court, and her work to highlight women’s sports off it, that truly makes her one of a kind.

READ THE FULL STORY

Go behind the scenes with Diamond, Betnijah and Arike for their WSLAM 1 cover shoot!

The post WSLAM 1, the First All-Women’s Issue of SLAM, is Available NOW! appeared first on SLAM.

As Betnijah Laney takes the court each night, her opponents and her peers ought to be ready to dance. It doesn’t matter if someone is larger or quicker, she’s always ready. Getting beat by anyone makes her skin crawl. 

WSLAM 1 featuring Arike Ogunbowale, Diamond DeShields and Betnijah Laney is OUT NOW!

Laney’s use of her pivot foot was enhanced by years of ballet, tap and jazz classes as a child and is the key to her offensive success on the court. When she began playing basketball at 10 years old, Laney was taller than the boys she played against. As the only girl, she battled against boys who still hadn’t been through their growth spurts and as a result, she learned post moves.

Her mother had Laney focus on that pivot foot, forward, backward, away and through.  

“She would always be able to score against them,” Yolanda Laney tells WSLAM, “not because she was going to be able to jump over somebody who was playing at 6-4 or 6-5 in the post, but she was able to maneuver her footwork.” 

Mechanically, that’s why Laney plays the way she does. But why and how did she acquire the emotion and the swagger that has her commanding each dance she does on the floor? 

According to Liberty teammate Sami Whitcomb, Laney acquired her swag and confidence by working so hard on molding and developing her craft.

“There’s no reason for her to not be confident because she knows how much time and effort and energy she puts into it,” Whitcomb shares. 

Current Baylor University women’s basketball head coach Nicki Collen, who coached Laney on the Atlanta Dream in 2020, noted that her swagger is more reserved and quieter compared to that of a player like Courtney Williams. Collen referred to Laney as someone more work-like, someone who brings her “pail and bucket” to work and can only sit back and enjoy what’s been done once her team gets the win. 

Both Collen and Whitcomb describe something they refer to as Laney’s “resting face,” one that breathes intensity. When Laney takes pictures, she usually doesn’t smile. This is how she likes to see herself: confident and tough. She enjoys the mystique of the alter ego that she’s created for herself. Her dry sense of humor and her selfless and caring nature doesn’t quite come across when you first meet her. 

“Judging by my pictures or just seeing me, you know, you don’t really get to know who I really am,” she shares. 

She might tease her teammates or people close to her with her serious expression. She’ll convince them that she’s upset and then at the flip of a switch, she’ll start laughing. That resting face belongs to a born leader.

Get your copy of the first all-women’s issue of SLAM!

According to Whitcomb, Laney is a gifted communicator, especially so when with her teammates. While quite reserved, when Laney speaks, her peers listen up. She doesn’t come across as abrasive or critical when she talks, but rather in a way that encourages her teammates to grow. 

“She’s not shouting, she’s not too soft, but she’s that perfect blend of demanding the room,” Whitcomb says. “Everybody listens.”

Yolanda Laney knew her daughter was a born leader from the very beginning. She recalls seeing Betnijah unafraid to demonstrate skills even if she got them wrong at basketball camps when she was younger. She was always leading by example.

At around age 13 or 14, Yolanda sat her daughter down and taught her all about how to be the best teammate she could be. Drawing from her own playing days, Yolanda explained to her daughter that a team doesn’t win when teammates don’t lift each other. 

“You will always get receptiveness from people, depending on the way you approach a situation,” Yolanda recalls telling her daughter. “Nobody ever wants to be embarrassed, especially when they make mistakes, so if you notice something about somebody, go over there and give them that encouragement.” 

In addition to her work ethic, her competitiveness and toughness is what has always made her stand out. Growing up playing one-on-one with her younger brother Shakaris and 5×5 or 3×3 with all of her cousins gave Laney her grit and her toughness. 

“I grew up around a bunch of boys so I had to be tough,” she reflects. “You know I couldn’t go in the house crying because somebody pushed me down or anything.”

Although she felt the pressure not to be vulnerable in front of all the boys she grew up with, her peers treated her as an equal. They weren’t any less physical and didn’t treat her more delicately because of her gender. 

Laney’s game has shined a light on a certain type of player in the women’s basketball pipeline. At 6-0, she’s a three-way scorer and a two-way player who can distribute the ball and post up. But more than just her athletic prowess, it’s also the way she exudes her own style and engages in an array of interests beyond basketball that are and will be integral in the growth and influence of the W. 

She is a loud and proud Beyoncé stan who only plays Queen B’s music in the car driving around with her mother. Laney’s love of Beyoncé stems from not only sharing a nickname (“B”), but also in how the singer approaches her art. She performs with a particular style and that’s how Laney wants her performance on the court to be reflected, too. 

The two also have another thing in common: both were named after the matriarchs in their families. The name Beyoncé is adapted from Knowles’ mother’s maiden name. And for Laney, the construction of her first name is a combination of three of her family’s matriarchs. Her grandmother Betty (Bet-), her aunt Nikita (-ni) and her great Aunt Jessie (-jah) all inspired her name.  

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Yolanda’s Aunt Jessie Green is responsible for Betnijah’s love of the arts. When she and her brother were children, they’d spend summers, Christmases and Thanksgivings with their Aunt Jessie. She took them to the Museum of Natural History, the Met, Coney Island and the theater. Laney grew up surrounded by African art that filled Green’s apartment.

The Liberty wing was disappointed that Broadway wasn’t opening until September due to the pandemic, so she’ll have to wait to see her favorite musical, “The Lion King.” At 6 years old, Laney took up an interest in modeling after being inspired by seeing Green’s headshot in Playbill. Although Green has passed, Laney is proud to cherish the Playbill issue to honor her memory. 

Choosing to return to New York after she signed with the Liberty was Laney’s way of showing her loyalty and respect for the support system she grew up with. Her aunts, uncles and cousins all come to support her in droves. Over 20 of them traveled to Las Vegas and all wore customized Betnijah themed T-shirts that other fans at the game wanted to purchase. 

“Every step we took at that All-Star Game, they said, Did you buy that t-shirt?” Yolanda says. “We said no, ‘We made that coming in.’”

Up 1 point against the Dallas Wings on July 5, Laney found herself being guarded on the block by a smaller but slightly quicker Arike Ogunbowale. Laney swayed side to side on the block to get a bit of space from the Wings’ guard, got behind her and pulled her toes into a relevé, springing into the air to secure the ball on a pass from Sabrina Ionescu. And when she landed on two feet, she made the extra pass to a wide open Reshanda Gray underneath the basket. 

While Ogunbowale wasn’t ready to take on Laney’s dance on the court, the Liberty star made sure that the younger guard was ready for something else weeks later. During the photo shoot for this cover, Laney took it upon herself to make sure that her co-cover stars, Ogunbowale and Diamond DeShields, knew how to look their best. 

Although she’s a different type of performer than what her Great Aunt Jessie was, Laney still knows what looks fierce. Should she put the white hoodie on? How should it sit on her jersey? Those were questions Laney asked herself while assisting the creative direction of the shoot. 

“I was just trying to do that for somebody else because I want to look my best and I know someone else would also want to look their best,” Laney said. 

With her hair styled all by herself, pulled back in a tight ponytail, overalls covering her seafoam jersey and her classic resting face, eyebrows raised, Laney understood the assignment. Paying homage to the ’90s, the decade the League began, was her jam. Just like paving the way forward for the WNBA is her dance. 

Go behind the scenes with Diamond, Betnijah and Arike for their WSLAM 1 cover shoot!

Portraits by Raven B. Varona. Follow Ravie B. on Instagram, @ravieb.

Action photos via Getty Images.

The post Betnijah Laney’s Toughness Has Cemented Her as the W’s Latest Three-Way Scorer appeared first on SLAM.

“It’s dope. It’s amazing in a league where there are so many great players—like, players you’ve seen growing up and watching while in college—to be considered one of the top players for the future, that’s important,” says the 24-year-old Dallas Wings guard.

“I can be the future [of the League] but I am also taking advantage of my time right now and not wasting any time,” she continues. “I want to be one of the top players now and in the future.”

And she’s willing to do whatever it takes to be the best—on and off the basketball court—in everything she does.

WSLAM 1 featuring Arike Ogunbowale, Diamond DeShields and Betnijah Laney is OUT NOW!

Take, for example, a recent toasty 95 degree Sunday afternoon in Dallas. Inside the Singing Hills Recreation Center is Ogunbowale, a mere two weeks after winning WNBA All-Star MVP honors and returning from vacation.

Hair pulled back in a long ponytail and wearing a white Nike headband, she stands with a basketball in the corner of the large, empty gym. She’s there on her off day for a photo shoot for Red Bull.

There’s Arike dribbling the ball with both hands. There’s Arike twirling the ball, first on one hand, then on one finger. There’s Arike shooting the ball and showing off her handles. There’s Arike posing. She’s laughing. She’s smiling, that wide, toothy grin we’ve all grown accustomed to, and chatting with the camera crew.

Dressed in a white T-shirt, blue shorts, black tights, white Nike socks and orange, black and white Nikes, she walks confidently down the gym floor near a basketball hoop. She chats with her trainer, Melvin Sanders of SandersFit Performance Center in downtown Dallas, before he begins passing her the ball. She effortlessly puts up a bucket. Then another. And another. She hits 10 straight before she misses. 

There’s no one there but me, a handful of Red Bull staff, Arike and her trainer. But she’s as focused as if she were in College Park Center where the Wings play their home games. She’s tending to business, but watching her up close and on the court alone, you can see how at one she is with the ball, how shooting baskets is second nature. She’s always working on her craft, always trying to get better, always trying to improve, even taking a photo shoot with seriousness. And it’s this work ethic, grit and determination that has propelled her in just three short years to become one of the unquestioned faces of the WNBA.

You just knew she would be.

You knew it when she led her Notre Dame team to the 2018 National Championship on a last second shot. 

You knew it when she passed fellow Irish alum Skylar Diggins-Smith to become the Notre Dame’s all-time leading scorer. 

You knew it when her name was called at No. 5 overall in the 2019 WNBA draft. 

You just knew the 5-8 walking bucket was going to take the League by storm. And in a way, so did she.

“I have a lot of confidence in myself. So I knew whatever I brought to Dallas, I would help the team for sure. No matter what it was, off the court, on the court,” she shares with WSLAM. “I knew I would help the team however I could and make a name for myself in Dallas.”

And throughout the League. 

And what a name.

She was a unanimous All-Rookie selection and WNBA Rookie of the Year runner-up after finishing third in the League in scoring (19.1 ppg) and leading her team in scoring. With a total of 630 points (third in League history in rookie points), she tied Maya Moore’s record of 30 or more points in four straight games. 

For her sophomore year, Ogunbowale—who admires the game of legends Seimone Augustus, Lisa Leslie, Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi—won the WNBA scoring title (22.8 ppg), recording four 30 point games in back-to-back years.

This year, a few games left in the regular season, she is averaging 18.8 ppg and is on pace to reach career bests in three-point and free-throw shooting. She was also named the All-Star MVP in her first All-Star Gajme after dropping 26 points.

“I want to be one of the top players now and in the future.”

– Arike Ogunbowale

But it’s not just on the court where Arike is making her name known. Recently, she joined some big names, including Kevin Durant, Elena Delle Donne and Kelley O’Hara, as investors in Just Women’s Sports, a growing media platform. 

“As you get more into the League, you want longevity and want to start investing in things,” she says. “What better way to start investing than in women’s sports? I’m involved in women’s sports. It’s what I do. If I have daughters, this is what I want them to do, and I just want to inspire young kids.”

“This is really putting my money where my mouth is, elevating women and all that they do, so why not invest in it and have a part in helping it grow? That was really important to me.” 

Ogunbowale, who’s signed with Nike and most recently partnered with Red Bull, also has her hand in uplifting young people. She recently worked with the Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation to give away clothing and other gear to young girls. 

“I have a lot of things in store. Whatever I am doing, I am definitely trying to make young girls and our community the focal point. That’s what I’m big on.”

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She’s also big on basketball, and getting into the playoffs remains her top priority; something she’s yet to experience after a 10-24 finish her rookie year; 8-14 in the shortened 2020 wubble season, and currently 10-13 this season, one game out of the playoffs.

“I’m good. I’m locked in and getting ready for the second part of the season,” she answers with trademark confidence when asked about her current state of mind. 

And she has to be. 

Although there are other talented veterans on the Wings, including Olympic Gold medalist Allisha Gray, defensive stalwart Kayla Thornton and Isabelle Harrison, it’s Ogunbowale who’s the face of the franchise and the leader of the team. She has been since she was drafted and named starting point guard in the absence of Diggins-Smith. How challenging has it been for her to step into the role of leader and help put the Wings in the best possible position to succeed? 

“I wouldn’t say challenging, it’s just a process, especially with me being young myself,” she explains. “I already had to be more of a leader even in year one when I was starting point guard. I’m not even done with year three and I’m already considered a leader, and that’s just who I am and what I add to this team.

“In order to be a top player, you have to lead as well, so I think I’m growing in that and learning and that’s still a process, too. I’m not the best leader yet,” she admits. “But I’m definitely working at it. And it helps to have teammates and coaches who trust you, trust what you say; believe in you as a leader. That definitely elevates my confidence as well.”

Wings teammates Harrsion and Bella Alarie, who have played alongside Ogunbowale for three and two years respectively, have seen the growth and evolution of their teammate and see no limits on her ascension to the top of the League.

“My favorite thing about Arike is how talented she is, but still has a listening ear,” says Harrison. “Even when she got here her first year, she was our leader. Arike was the person we were going to give the ball to at the end of the game so she stepped up a lot. This is her third year now, I think she is just getting more comfortable in her role as far as being vocal, leading off the court, encouraging  people and holding herself to a standard defensively. She wants to grow. I don’t know if people see that about Arike. She wants to grow and she wants to be better.  

“So any Arike slander, I don’t listen to it. I don’t care who it comes from,” Harrison says laughing, but also very seriously. “That girl wants to be better. And I love that about her. She is just so humble. She is just putting herself on the next level. She can only go up. She is pushing herself to be good.”

Alarie calls Ogunbowale, “a fantastic player, playmaker and extremely confident. And that’s something I look up to her for. She’s not afraid to take those last second shots that make or break the game. I really admire that.”

“The way she’s grown into herself, she’s done a great job of carrying us along with her,” she continues. “I really love playing with her. She brings a great attitude to the court. She plays hard and she is only going to get better.”

One area Ogunbowale is striving to improve upon is reading defensive schemes other teams are throwing at her as they try to make it more difficult for the bucket-getter to score.

“Everyone knows I can score, but every night it’s a different defense. The hardest thing is being able to adjust every game to different defenses because teams throw different things at me,” she says. “Being able to adjust and read the right plays—you know, if I’m getting trapped, I gotta swing it quick—just being able to get up on those things faster.”

There’s no doubt she’ll improve defensively and in any other way she desires. Ogunbowale has that kind of will, dedication and focus—much of which comes from her family, whom she calls the source of her inspiration and motivation and with whom she connects with every day. “My support system is really big and definitely keeps me going.”

What also keeps her going is her competitive nature and her desire to take her team further than they’ve ever gone. 

“I’m locked in. We’ve got some important games. We’ve gotta get these wins in order to make this playoff push. I’m really locked in right now.” 

Go behind the scenes with Diamond, Betnijah and Arike for their WSLAM 1 cover shoot!

Portraits by Raven B. Varona. Follow Ravie B. on Instagram, @ravieb.

Action photos via Getty Images.

The post Arike Ogunbowale Continues Making Her Presence Felt On and Off the Court appeared first on SLAM.

Diamond DeShields believes her name suits her well. At 26 years old, the Chicago Sky guard has had her share of highs, lows and criticisms—most of which she’s not quite ready to discuss. 

“Honestly, if I had to sit here and talk to you about it, we would be on the phone for a few hours. So it’s been, it’s been a lot. But, for me, to just be out on the floor right now playing basketball is the most gratifying thing I could have ever experienced,” DeShields tells WSLAM. 

What she is willing to share is her basketball bucket list for the next five years:

1) Be a WNBA MVP contender

2) Be an Olympian

3) Win a WNBA Championship 

And so beins a journey to unearth the rare talent of Diamond DeShields. 

WSLAM 1 featuring Arike Ogunbowale, Diamond DeShields and Betnijah Laney is OUT NOW!

There isn’t any particular story behind her name. Although, as the eldest daughter of Tisha and Delino DeShields Sr, it was a guarantee her first name would start with a “D.” 

“All of my siblings’ names start with the letter D, so that’s a real thing in my family.”

Delino Jr is the eldest, followed two years later by Diamond. D’Angelo, Denim and Delaney round out the other DeShields siblings. While her name may not have any special meaning for her and her family, it does evoke specific thoughts, emotions and even song lyrics. 

“I love to hear it!,” DeShields exclaims. “Just hearing the word ‘diamond,’ you hear it so often. It’s cool to have it be a reference for so many different things. I’ve embraced it, the different meanings of the word and what it can represent.”

“I think that it fits me perfectly because of all the things that a diamond has to go through. All the obstacles and the pressure and the process that it has to go through. I think that it’s very in line with my life story and all the things that have happened so far.” 

Athletes raised DeShields. Her mother was an All-American heptathlete at Tennessee and her father played 13 seasons in the MLB and is currently the Cincinnati Reds first-base coach. Sports are the family business. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine that coming from such a pedigree brings intense pressure. However, that’s not how DeShields describes it. 

Being in a home of professionals primed her for the next step, elite NCAA basketball. Playing at the University of North Carolina, DeShields won ACC Rookie of the Year and earned All-ACC First Team and ACC All-Freshman Team honors during the 2013-14 season. Wearing No. 23 in baby blue, she averaged nearly 18 ppg for the Tar Heels and helped UNC to the Elite Eight. 

Her stellar rookie season would be the last she played at UNC before transferring to her mother’s alma mater, Tennessee. DeShields was humble and gracious but also vague about her decision which left her vulnerable to criticism. She expressed she was unhappy at UNC but kept any other details to herself. 

The transfer to Tennessee cost DeShields a year of eligibility, but it was the right decision then, as she took advantage of the time to get surgery to alleviate severe pain from a stress fracture in her left shin. At Tennessee, DeShields went on to add SEC All-Tournament Team (2016), AP All-SEC Second Team (2015-16) and WBCA Honorable Mention All-American (2016-17) to her list of accomplishments before forgoing her final year of eligibility. But, once again, DeShields fielded criticism for her decision. 

DeShields told ESPNW she was “content with every decision that I have made. I know my heart, and I never done wrong by nobody.” 

She said goodbye to what she called a mediocre college career and went to Turkey to get her first taste of professional women’s basketball. By the middle of her next professional season, DeShields was in New York City for the 2018 WNBA Draft, where the Chicago Sky selected her third overall. 

DeShields shone brightly in her rookie season, averaging 14.4 ppg and 4.9 rpg and making the All-Rookie Team. She followed that year with a standout season, averaging a career-high 16.2 ppg and bringing down 5.5 rpg while starting all 34 games. She garnered her first All-Star bid and capped off the weekend by winning the All-Star Skills Competition. And best of all, she helped the Sky snag their first playoff berth since 2016. 

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As was the case for many people, 2020 deflated DeShields progress toward her three goals. To boot, her departure from the Bradenton wubble again sparked a conversation about her fitness, dedication and the like. So the “bullshit,” as Diamond calls it, had some impact on her, but she’s still not ready to reveal to what extent. Not entirely, not yet. 

“I have a story, and I’m waiting on a moment. I’m waiting on a moment to tell it when I feel comfortable. But for right now, it’s still being written out. So I’m very much still in the process.”

As of this writing, DeShields has started all 22 games for the Sky after playing in only 13 games last season coming off the bench. 

“I think her level of intensity has been at an all-time high…She’s probably not at 100 percent, but she’s close to it,” Sky head coach James Wade told the media on August 13. “She’ll find a rhythm, and you’ll continue to see growth in her as time goes on.” 

Halfway through the 2021 season, DeShields is inching closer to her 2019 stat line. But how close is her best compared to this season’s MVP pace?

If we look at the last three WNBA MVPs—A’ja Wilson, Elena Delle Donne and Breanna Stewart—DeShields is a few percentage points off their MVP season numbers. Wilson averaged 20.5 points last season, about 4 more than DeShields in 2019 (16.2). Additionally, the three most recent MVPs shot at least 46 percent from the floor; DeShields is currently averaging 40 percent. 

Achieving WNBA MVP has historically meant a trip to the Olympics. DeShields has won Gold medals with USA Basketball on multiple occasions, including the 2019 FIBA AmeriCup, 2015 World University Games and the 2012 FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup. All signs point to her being on track to make an Olympic roster sooner than later. 

While the omission of former WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike called into question the transparency of the USAB selections system, DeShields says she knows where she stands. 

“I heard a lot of good things about my chances as far as being on this past team. Obviously, it didn’t happen. But I get good feedback from all the coaches, so I plan on doing everything that I can to put myself in a position to have it be so obvious that you need to have me on that team, that you can’t deny having me.”

DeShields’ third and final goal is to win a WNBA championship. The Chicago Sky hasn’t reached the conference semifinals since 2016, and therefore never since the new playoff format was introduced in 2017. In two postseason appearances, DeShields and the Sky are 0-2. However, with every year, the team grows more experienced, and experience matters in the WNBA. 

Take this season. The Chicago Sky were 1-7 while former MVP and two-time WNBA champion Candace Parker was sidelined with an ankle sprain. Then, in their final 10 games before the Olympic break, the Sky went 7-3, including a franchise-best seven straight wins in June. 

Parker is a huge help, but DeShields quickly mentions other veterans like backcourt duo Allie Quigley and Courtney Vandersloot. 

“Candace is an extra emphasis on, like, the little things, and the mindset and competing. But we have veterans on our team, and I don’t think they get enough credit for what they do and the way that they lead us. Honestly, part of the reason why I am who I am in the League right now is because of Sloot and Allie.” 

She’s leaning into the journey. “I’m doing all the right things. So, it’s only a matter of time. What does Joel Embiid say? Trust the process. I live by that. Trust the work, and the results will come.”

WSLAM 1 is OUT NOW!

The Chicago Sky sit in sixth place as we went to press, good enough for a first-round bye but not good enough to skip single-elimination altogether. That doesn’t matter much for DeShields. After being on the brink two years in a row, she sees no reason Chicago can’t find their way to a playoff series.

“We just have to believe in each other, trust in each other, trust in James, trust the system, trust the schemes. I don’t see why we couldn’t. I don’t see why not.”

DeShields believes that all of her goals can be achieved in the next five years. After that, we shall see where the universe takes her. She’s shown an interest in fashion, is a spokesperson of affordable eye care in partnership with Oakley and feels strongly about athletes developing multiple streams of income. Her days of playing overseas are coming to an end. Instead, DeShields will focus her offseason on real estate. 

“I’m like a month or two out from obtaining my real estate license in the state of Illinois. Real estate is something that I enjoy, whether it is as an agent, broker, or as an investor. 

“I don’t want to be one of those players that’s like, Oh, shit, like, what do I do now? But, you know, because you see it, you see it so many times, you know? I want to be smart about my money, smart about what I’m doing with it, where I’m putting it, where I’m investing.”

These next five years, on and off the court, are all about adding value to her legacy. So we asked again. What does her name mean? How does DeShields embody the rare beauty of a diamond? 

“You know, I think that I would probably be the opposite of it,” she says. “All my life, I thought I was special. But, the reality is, when you go through life and you get humbled in some of the ways that I have, I just feel like everybody’s special. I hope that when it comes time for me to tell my story that I can encourage somebody. Everybody goes through pressure situations, but, I feel like there’s a diamond in all of us to be discovered, you know?”

Go behind the scenes with Diamond, Betnijah and Arike for their WSLAM 1 cover shoot!

Portraits by Raven B. Varona. Follow Ravie B. on Instagram, @ravieb.

Action photos via Getty Images.

The post Diamond DeShields has Powered Through Plenty of Lows on Her Way to the Top appeared first on SLAM.

Straying away from the typical East-West format due to the Olympic year, fans have been anxiously awaiting the list of their favorite players that will get their chance to face off against Team USA.

That being said, the All-Star roster is loaded on both sides, featuring veterans and a few newbies as well.

First-time All-Stars include: six-year veteran Betnijah Laney (New York Liberty); second-year forward Satou Sabally (Dallas Wings); seven-year veteran Dearica Hamby (Las Vegas Aces); third-year guard Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas Wings); sixth-year wing Kahlea Copper (Chicago Sky); six-year veteran Courtney Williams (Atlanta Dream); and five-year pro Brionna Jones (Connecticut Sun).

Notable players returning to the All-Star Game include two-time MVP Candace Parker (Chicago Sky), four-time All-Star Liz Cambage (Las Vegas Aces); and three-time All-Star Jonquel Jones (Connecticut Sun).

Team WNBA and Team USA will face off in Las Vegas on July 14 at 7pm (ET) on ESPN.

The post WNBA Releases 2021 All-Star Roster appeared first on SLAM.

The past two matchups have seen game-tying and game-winning shots by Seattle’s Jewell Loyd but, last night, the basketball gods evened the score as Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale hoisted a high-arching last second three-pointer for the win.

Take another look at this @Arike_O game-winner pic.twitter.com/QBWaHoxXNS

— WNBA (@WNBA) June 7, 2021

Ogunbowale, now in her third season with the Wings, scored 24 points and grabbing six boards in a stunning 68-67 win over the Storm. Dallas—who trailed the entire second half—went on a 8-0 run strung together by Ogunbowale (who scored the final eight points for the team).

The Wings successfully curtailed a third straight overtime contest between the two teams, which Seattle won last Friday’s contest and on May 22 by a combined six points.

In each of their five losses this season, Ogunbowale has willed the Wings with 20+ points.

Last night’s game-winning 3-pointer finally rang poetic justice for the Wings who have lost their past five by six or less points. Both Marina Mabrey and Ogunbowale have stepped up their game against the defending champs, each averaging 25.0 points per game in their three games against the Storm.

This combo crossover and deep three from Arike Ogunbowale is not fair pic.twitter.com/DbkKUngl48

— WNBA Got Game (@wnbagotgame) June 5, 2021

Mabrey added 15 points (on 7-12 shooting), seven rebounds, two steals and a block, while Isabelle Harrison chipped in 14 points, eight boards and a block off the bench. Dallas (3-5) is now in sole possession of ninth place, 0.5 games out of the final playoff spot.

Midway through a five-game road series, Dallas travels to Phoenix to face the Mercury on Tuesday and Friday, their respective final matchups of the season.

The post Arike Ogunbowale, Wings Hand Storm Second Loss of Season appeared first on SLAM.

Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi joined the League a few years after its inception and have played critical roles on and off the court in putting it in the position it’s in today. Nneka Ogwumike joined some years later and has been crucial to the voice of the WNBPA and ensuring that the women who play on the court are heard on everything from basketball-related issues to social justice reform and much more. Skylar Diggins-Smith brought a new era of the game with her as social media flourished, and now she’s one of the most followed women’s professional athletes in the world.

Order your copy of SLAM 232 featuring Skylar Diggins-Smith, Nneka Ogwumike, Sue Bird, and Diana Taurasi now.

Each of these four real-life superheroes formed a revolution in women’s sports and helped evolve the game that we love for generations to come.

SLAM: Did you ever imagine yourself saying that you would be playing in the 25th season of the WNBA when you first picked up a basketball?

DIANA: No. I think you know growing up and being a 12-year-old and the WNBA just starting and living in L.A., going to Great Western Forum and seeing Lisa [Leslie] play and all of the visiting teams, it was shocking because I was only going to watch the Lakers and now I’m watching the WNBA. So that to me was kind of the beginning of, Oh, I kinda like this. There might be a future in basketball. But 25 years in, that’s pretty impressive. 

SUE: For me, I remember when it was the 10th anniversary, when it was the 15th anniversary, so I’m just happy. It’s another anniversary because we’re doing well, we’re getting better and better and it’s going to continue to grow.

SLAM: What’s the first thing that comes to mind now that you’re about to begin this historic season?

SKY: I think we have great momentum from last year. It’s rejuvenating almost. I’m super excited, obviously to be a part of it, but to be a part of it with these women, with this group. I’m proud to say everything that we’ve been able to accomplish on and off the floor, all those efforts. I think it’s a culmination and using that momentum into the 25th season I think it’s going to be really exciting. 

NNEKA: I think the timing going into the 25th season is really interesting with what’s going on in the world and where people see us now. For us to be celebrating 25 years, that’s more than 25 years but also about where that 25 years has landed us. Thinking about that legacy and being able to be a part of it, and actually be a part of the history is really huge. I’m really glad to be able to celebrate it with legends that are still in the game and with more coming toward women in sports. 

SLAM: This group has been a major factor in making the League what it is today. What does that mean to you?

SUE: For me, personally, I do realize that 25 years from now when people look back on the League, they’re going to think of our names when they think of the early years. Because I came into the League, I think in its fifth year, I don’t feel like a pioneer. I don’t feel like the Sheryl Swoopes and the Lisa Leslies and Rebecca Lobos, but I know years from now we’ll be kinda in that group. So, it’s interesting because a part of me feels lucky to be a part of the start and to have helped it grow along the way, but also, we’re still playing so we’re kind of part of this younger generation, too. At the same time, for me, personally, everything that I do now is definitely about younger generations and leaving the business of the WNBA in a better place so it can continue to grow.

SKY: That full circle moment, too. I was that girl in ’97. I was 7 years old when the League started so that was my first time not only seeing women play on TV, but women that look like me playing and being on a stage like that. I was that little girl, so to see it come full circle and to see how younger girls respond to us and how they’re taking to our game and want to be like us. Having that in mind, that full circle moment.

SLAM: What are the biggest changes you’ve each seen on the court?

DIANA: Stylistically, the game has changed tremendously. The way it looks, the way it functions, the way we play is night and day from when we came into the League. It used to be a more veteran, more physical League, where now it’s more young and more athletic. These kids are doing shit that we didn’t do until two years ago. They’re so much more advanced skill-wise as far as what they can actually do on the court and it’s impressive to see them working at their craft at such an early age.

SUE: I agree. The two things I would add to D’s point, there’s been an evolution in the rules. I think now we’re almost ahead of the game in terms of the referees and the rules. At some point, when it peaks, it’ll be even better. Then the reality is, it’s 12 teams and 12 roster spots per team. This has been the biggest game of survival of the fittest you’re ever going to find anywhere in athletics. There’s no more competitive League because there’s not many spots. And, well, people like us won’t fucking retire, so you have new draft classes coming in every year and it gets more and more competitive. Which is great, because the product on the floor continues to get better, because it’s literally only the strong survive.

NNEKA: I was raised on teams where it was very fundamental, very conventional. When I came out of Stanford, we were running the triangle, so I was really good at my job. I think it’s interesting, Skylar and I were kind of in between generations a little bit. I always thought I was gonna be playing in the League, then overseas, then back to the League, and so on. Now I find myself in a position where maybe I don’t need to go overseas as much and I can work on my game a little bit more, so I can kinda lean in toward the newer generation. I’m really grateful to have the opportunity to be able to be with people like this group and get to work on my game and to add that dynamic aspect to the game as I’m also experiencing it on the court. D’s right, if you don’t work on something, you’re out. It’s moving fast and you have to keep up with it, you can’t wait for there to be expansion. You gotta stay sharp. I love it.

SKY: That was my thing coming to Phoenix. I knew I was coming with great players. I had to carry the load on my old team. Everybody knew I had to score points, get assists, be top 10 in these categories or it was going to be tough. Coming to Phoenix, I knew I was coming with the greatest player we had in our League, and I was coming with BG [Brittney Griner] who is one of the biggest stars in our League, because I am trying to fucking win. Let’s keep it 100. I’m playing this game because I want to win championships. MVP, that’s not something that’s in my mind, so it’s like, what do I gotta do for us to win? When I come on a team like this, I sacrifice a bit of myself for the greater good, and everybody eats. That wisdom, too, as a player you evolve, your mindset changes with maturity. Having the best teacher of experience, you can’t teach that.

SLAM: What excites you the most about this next generation of women’s basketball players?

SKY: They are athletic as hell. I mean the way they’re dunking the ball, the finishes, the veer steps, it’s so creative. I’m seeing stuff that I’ve never seen before consistently. The skill level, the handles, the one-on-one skills, it’s amazing.

NNEKA: For me it’s the gall and the fearlessness. When I first came into the League, they were like, Oh, she’s a rookie,  but now it’s not really so much that. You can say that yeah, they’re a rookie, but these kids are coming in…

SUE: Expecting, but in a good way. 

SKY: Thinking of someone like Chennedy Carter or Arike [Ogunbowale].

NNEKA: Yeah, they’re like, I don’t care. I love that. I think that’s really great.

SUE: What excites me about the college players, even some high school players, they have legit followings that we didn’t have. The thing that is really exciting about it is that they’re gonna continue to build that. When they do get to the WNBA, they’re gonna take that with them. So, the 22-year-old guy who’s now following XYZ player becomes the decision maker and they’re out in the world talking about women’s professional basketball. It’ll be a different storyline.

SKY: The exposure is crazy. It’s insane.

SUE: Yeah, like Paige Bueckers as a high school kid was on the front of SLAM. That didn’t happen. Chamique [Holdsclaw] was the only person ever at that point. That changes narratives, that changes things. I think that’s pretty dope. 

SLAM: For Sue and Diana, you both have accomplished so much in your careers. Is there anything that’s on your bucket list, career-wise, that you still want to accomplish? 

DIANA: I don’t necessarily think it’s a championship or a record. It’s an internal motor that won’t stop. It isn’t necessarily physically or mentally, but there’s this motor running in me that won’t stop. Where that goes, I don’t know, but it’s not stopping. 

SUE: For me, I make shit up. I’m like, I want to play in the new Key Arena. That’s my new bucket list. I’m making these things up, but I think that’s [D’s point] at the core of it. 

DIANA: Sometimes I wake up and I say, Alright, dude, just give it a rest, and I can’t. I’m obsessed with it. On the car ride over with Nneka, I said, Man, my life is literally my family and basketball. I don’t have time for anything fucking else, and I wish it was like this 10 years ago.

SLAM: The power of the WNBA cannot be mistaken anymore. From changing the course of an election to helping remove and replace a team owner who went against what the women of the League stand for. What were those conversations to strategize and mobilize?

NNEKA: They weren’t easy conversations to have. To be honest, it went before even what we were faced with when it came to us even formulating a social justice council. We were having hard conversations before about what the bubble was going to be like. I mean, we’ve seen panels of “important conversations,” where people aren’t having them, but I can honestly say that we were having them. Whether it was me and Sue talking or me asking D, Hey, what’s up? Even when we had the all-player meeting, D stayed at the end and said, Yo, what the hell are we doing?

For us to be able to have those tough conversations, me asking Sky, Do you have resources for your family? It was more than us demonstrating what we had faced with the course of the election and such, it was real life shit that we were having to deal with. We took it day by day. One thing that never wavered was us letting people speak their mind. I think that’s what people don’t get. People think that the hard conversation needs to have a syllabus. No. You just need to make space for people to be comfortable to express what they need to express and then you really figure it out from there.

SLAM: One of the most emotional and trying moments of last season was when the League refused to play in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake. What was that experience like for each of you?

SKY: It was insane. We had a conversation that day and we were kind of talking at shootaround and we were like, Do we play? We came together, it didn’t even feel right practicing. I talked to D, we talked to the team, and we ended up meeting together, asking, What do we really want to do? We want to make sure that we’re united in this. Basketball was secondary at the time. We felt like it needed to be a response to what had happened. There was no doubt in our mind, it was a unanimous decision. Everybody supported each other.

SUE: I think the beauty of the WNBA is that it’s not just about this year. What made us so ready and willing to step up were our past experiences. I can think back to 2016 when Minnesota wore their shirts first and then it went to New York and then Phoenix, then our whole League backed everybody. Looking back on that, we weren’t as organized as we were this year, but we kind of had to go through that in a way to understand, Wow, we’re organized and we’re all on the same page. The platform is bigger, the voice is louder.

Fast forward to last summer, that moment was heightened emotions, it was happening in real time. There’s a lot of people with a lot of opinions, rightfully so. The good news is that we’re all on the same page from a values standpoint. But there’s the conversation of how, how we are going to do it? I think what we learned from 2016 is, when we’re organized with it and we’re all on the same page, it’s much more powerful.

NNEKA: We weren’t going to have one game and not the other. There was a camaraderie through it all, even though people had different opinions about it. It was clear that we wanted to let people know things are more important right now and we needed to reset and understand we came to the bubble for a reason. Quite frankly, my opinion was we had a platform to not play because we were playing. I think that was something that people needed to understand as well.

DIANA: I made it really clear, we’re going to do all this shit and then play today? If there’s one day not to play, it’s today. To even have the conversation of maybe playing to me was absurd and I think that I made that really clear. Going back to what you guys said, fast forward a couple hours when we were in that only-players conference, you could tell there was fatigue and sadness, and it was across everyone’s face and across everyone’s demeanor. You felt let down by the world basically, by society, by the people that are supposed to protect you. There was a feeling of grief in a lot of ways. I think that moment was very clear to all of us. 

SKY: We were already in the climate of coming to the bubble and George Floyd happened and then we dedicated our season to #SayHerName and trying to bring forward the women’s stories who have been lost. Trying to bring their stories to the forefront, to light
and then it just seemed like it was back-to-back. I know as a Black woman, it is tiring, and I was like, Hell no. We are not playing. That feeling, I’ve never felt like that in my life.

SLAM: We are now celebrating the 25th anniversary of the WNBA, the longest-standing women’s professional league of all time. Where do you want to see the League when it celebrates its 50th anniversary? 

DIANA: Well, I would like to be on my couch in November, and instead of putting on the Lakers, I’d like to put on the Mercury. 

SKY: You get that? And 30 teams. 

NNEKA: For me, I always say this, I don’t really put a timeline on it. The only timeline I put on it is that I’m gonna be alive when this happens. I want to see the first million-dollar contract signed.

SKY: You gonna be commissioner next? 

SUE: Yeah, she might be commissioner. You’re gonna be putting the contract in front of the player.

SKY: Yeah, manifest that. 

SUE: I always joke about this, but you hear an older NBA player say, I didn’t make that money. They’re the disgruntled older player. I always say that I
hope that’s me one day. I hope I’m somewhere on my couch watching a game and I’m saying, I didn’t make a million dollars. 

DIANA: In November? 

SUE: Yeah, in November. 

DIANA: You might be Kenny Smith and I gotta be Charles Barkley! 

SUE: But yeah, jokingly, I want to see a million-dollar contract and say, Dang, I didn’t get to have that. But simultaneously, the four of us, we will have played a part in that contract. 

NNEKA: You can definitely say that we did that. 

—

Portraits by Atiba Jefferson.

SLAM 232 is available now in these exclusive gold and black metal editions. Only 60 copies are available in black, and 94 are available in gold.

Shop here.

The post Unity ‘Til Infinity: Skylar Diggins-Smith, Nneka Ogwumike, Sue Bird, and Diana Taurasi Cover SLAM 232 appeared first on SLAM.

And, even after his playing career, the film room remained his classroom. As portrayed in “Detail”, now streaming on ESPN+, Bryant continued to break down his own games, as well as others, and was constantly looking for even the slightest details and ways to improve. It was up to all of us to listen. 

 If I want to attack the basket, that toe needs to be pointing in the direction I want to go. I need to turn that toe in and then I need to attack in a straighter line.

Yet, Bryant was aware that when it came to the art of the war of basketball, if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. He studied his opponents just as much as he studied himself, tracking his on-ball defender, finding what their weak tendencies were so he could take advantage. 

When looking back at the film from his matchup against the Denver Nuggets during the 2009 West Conference Finals, Kobe knew that if he wanted to dominate the series, he had to make a statement during Game 1.  

The important part about the playoffs is when a series starts it’s about establishing how you plan to dominate the series.

He says the goal was simple: set the tone. That included making the Nuggets have to double team, and preparing himself to counter their coverage. 

In that game, his moves were carefully calculated, all selected to dominate: the post-ups, the spin moves, the fadeaway jumpers that resulted in and-one finishes. During Game 1, Kobe moved swiftly liked the wind while attacking the rim like fire. And yet at the same time, his focus was still like a mountain. When matched up against a young and long athletic defender like Carmelo Anthony, Kobe reveals in “Detail” that every move was purposeful. 

I need to establish this is what I’m going to do and now this gives me the ability and my teammates the ability to counter off of that.

Bryant wasn’t just a student studying his own game, he became the teacher. Just as basketball is a game of momentum, the tempo is ever-changing and evolving with a new generation of superstars-in-the-making. Kobe broke down the film of Sabrina Ionescu, Donavan Mitchell, Trae Young, Jewell Loyd, Jaylon Brown, Arike Ogunbowale, and Pascal Siakam. 

Tatum, specifically, grew up wanting to be Kobe. He broke down his jab step, watching film and trying to mimic the very-same moves that turned him into a legend. He honed in on every minute detail until it was seamless.

Kobe returned the admiration. During the 2018 Eastern Conference finals, he took a deeper look into Tatum’s film from that series against the Cavaliers. He pointed out Tatum’s left toe placement and how it was pointed towards half-court, while t should be placed towards the basket.

“If I want to attack the basket, that toe needs to be pointing in the direction I want to go. I need to turn that toe in and then I need to attack in a straighter line.”

Tatum—whose 20-point performance during the playoffs had only been achieved by very few under the age of 23, Kobe being of them— knew how special it was to get that kind of feedback from the legend.

“I’ve probably watched it 25 times,” Tatum said of Bryant’s episode on “Detail.”

And confidence, Kobe Bryant once said, comes from preparation. It’s knowing that when the game is on the line, your plan of attack is a move that you’ve done over, and over again until perfection. Not a foot out of line, not a hesitation step out of rhythm. Every detail, even those the enemy might overlook, counts. 

Stream Detail exclusively on ESPN+. 

The post Mastermind of the Game: Stream Kobe Bryant’s series, Detail, on ESPN+ appeared first on SLAM.

The season tips off on Saturday, July 25 at noon ET with the Storm against the Liberty. Below is our 2020 preview to get you ready for the action. Let’s go.

EAST

1. Chicago Sky

If there’s one team everyone in the League should fear this upcoming season, it’s the Sky. This Chicago group is one of the youngest in the League, so it’s no surprise that they are also one of the most athletic. Behind prolific scorers in two-time Three-Point Contest champion Allie Quigley and Diamond DeShields, the Sky were second in scoring last season, just behind the champion Washington Mystics. Not only that—they were also  second in assists, in large part due to Courtney Vandersloot, the record holder for most assists in a single season. In keeping core pieces like Stefanie Dolson, Cheyenne Parker and Gabby Williams, while also picking up Sydney Colson and Azura Stevens, Sky Town has a lot to look forward to in the 2020 campaign.

2. Connecticut Sun

Connecticut came just short of the championship in 2019 with one of the strongest rosters in the WNBA, but this year’s roster looks slightly different. Although they’ll be without leading scorer Jonquel Jones, who has chosen to sit out over health concerns due to COVID-19, they won big time in acquiring DeWanna Bonner during free agency. Along with veteran guards Alyssa Thomas and Jasmine Thomas, Bonner will help fill the major scoring void. The big question for the Sun revolves around team chemistry, having lost on-court leader Courtney Williams, as well as having picked up multiple free agents this offseason.

3. Washington Mystics

The reigning WNBA Champions will aim to defend their title in 2020, although they’ll be without some major pieces. They took a big hit during free agency in losing Point God Kristi Toliver, and will be without 2019 MVP Elena Delle Donne and free-agent signee Tina Charles due to health concerns over COVID-19. Washington added vet Essence Carson to help fill the void of Natasha Cloud, who has chosen to sit out the season in order to focus on the fight for social justice. Even without some serious offensive pieces, they still have last year’s Finals MVP Emma Meesseman, who will need to step up once again if the Mystics are to make another deep playoff run.

4. Indiana Fever

Indiana has struggled since their last playoff appearance in 2016, but this new squad could be considered the sleeper of the League. With lottery picks in the most recent drafts, the Fever are now young, quick and hungry to win. Indiana’s biggest strength is their talented bigs, including Natalie Achonwa, Teaira McCowan and the 2020 No. 2 overall pick Lauren Cox. They also have strong young guards in Kelsey Mitchell and Victoria Vivians, who returns this season after missing last year due to a knee injury. Behind the veteran leadership of Candice Dupree and Erica Wheeler, as well as former Mystics assistant and new head coach Marianne Stanley, Indiana’s ceiling is extremely high.

5. Atlanta Dream

Having lost Angel McCoughtry during free agency, Atlanta has a lot of question marks around this upcoming season. With significant movement in the offseason, the Dream’s roster has several new faces playing together for the first time. Courtney Williams and Shekinna Stricklen join the team after a WNBA Finals run with the Sun last season, and therefore will need to provide leadership in the locker room. Additionally, their frontcourt crew of Elizabeth Williams, Glory Johnson and Kalani Brown is extremely strong. The future definitely looks bright for the Dream, as they also picked up scoring sensation Chennedy Carter in this year’s Draft.

6. New York Liberty

The team with the most unknowns is the new Brooklyn crew. With one of the most inexperienced rosters, new head coach Walt Hopkins will need to rely on veterans Layshia Clarendon, Amanda Zahui B and Kia Nurse to help transition the rookies into the pros. That being said, the Liberty have some of the best prospects from this year’s draft, including NCAA phenom Sabrina Ionescu and former Husky Megan Walker. If Sabrina, Megan and the rest of the rookies are able to adapt quickly, the Liberty could have a surprisingly successful season. New York will be without Asia Durr, though, who decided to opt out of the 2020 season due to health concerns over COVID-19.

WEST

1. Seattle Storm

The 2018 championship team is finally back together after a year of many injuries, and we have a feeling they’re about to pick up right where they left off. Stewie is back, Sue is back, and the best part is that a lot of the younger players now have more experience to help take Seattle back to the top. We witnessed Jordin Canada and Jewell Loyd really come into their own in 2019, leading Seattle to the second round of the playoffs. With last year’s Defensive Player of the Year Natasha Howard, as well as new additions in Morgan Tuck and Epiphanny Prince, the Storm are destined for another title run.

2. Phoenix Mercury

Skylar Diggins-Smith, Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi are the new “Big Three” of the WNBA, and they’re likely to take the Mercury near the top at IMG this summer. Phoenix already had a stacked roster and the addition of one of the best scoring guards in the League only makes them that much better. With Bria Hartley and 2019 champion Shatori Walker-Kimbrough joining the mix, there’s no doubt that Phoenix has the deepest roster in the League. Diana “The GOAT” Taurasi is back this year after missing most of last season due to injury, which makes Phoenix one of the early favorites to win it all. 

3. Las Vegas Aces

The Las Vegas Aces are one of the top teams to watch in 2020. In another major free agency move, Vegas picked up Angel McCoughtry, who adds the experienced guard play they have been missing. Although they’ll be without Liz Cambage (due to health concerns over COVID-19) and Kelsey Plum (due to a torn achilles suffered in the offseason), the Aces roster is still strong. With some of their major players missing, 2018 Rookie of the Year A’ja Wilson is set to have another breakout season and potentially be an MVP candidate.

4. Los Angeles Sparks

You know the competition in the West is great when the Sparks are somehow in the middle of the pack, even though they have one of the greatest players ever hooping for them. The big question for L.A. this year is how Coach Derek Fisher implements his offensive system with top scorers Candace Parker, Nneka Ogwumike, Chelsea Gray and Riquna Williams. The Sparks also picked up Brittney Sykes and longtime rival Seimone Augustus. If Coach Fisher and his staff are able to put together a game plan that gets everyone on the roster involved, the Sparks could be the team to beat in the West.

5. Minnesota Lynx

Cheryl Reeve’s Lynx look a lot different than most years, as they continue their rebuilding period. Their leader, Maya Moore, has continued her inspiring path of pursuing social justice reform, which leaves Sylvia Fowles as the veteran in the locker room. The Lynx have lots of promising young talent on the roster, including 2019 Rookie of the Year Napheesa Collier. They also picked up some strong prospects in this year’s Draft with Mikiah Herbert Harrigan and Crystal Dangerfield. With sharpshooters Rachel Banham and Lexie Brown, the Lynx still have a chance at a solid season that could help develop a lot of their talent for the future.

6. Dallas Wings

Dallas has the most inexperienced roster in the West, but don’t let that fool you—they have some true bucket-getters on their squad who are poised to have big seasons. All eyes will be on 2019 Rookie of the Year runner-up Arike Ogunbowale, who averaged 19.1 points per game in her first season. Most exciting, though, is their pickup of Katie Lou Samuelson, who didn’t see much playing time with Chicago last year. As a UConn product, you know she’s bound to be a sponge and learn quickly how to be implemented into the offense, especially under head coach Brian Agler. With the addition of top prospects Satou Sabally and Bella Alarie, the Wings are low-key our favorite to shock the League this season, potentially even clinching a playoff spot.

—

Camille Buxeda is a Senior Content Producer at SLAM. Follow her on twitter @CamilleBuxeda.

Photos via Getty.

The post 2020 WNBA Season Preview appeared first on SLAM.

Taurasi had her own kicks back in 2006. The Nike Shox DT came and went quickly and it’s already, unfortunately, been forgotten. It was a funky-looking silhouette built on Nike’s patented Shox technology. The cushioning was mixed with Zoom Air and it trailed up to a big overlay that covered the midfoot and eventually wrapped around the collar. Taurasi only played in them for one season. She’s been playing in LeBron PEs ever since.

Taurasi, a three-time WNBA champ and four-time Olympic gold medalist, is the last woman sponsored by Nike to get a signature sneaker. The last woman to get a signature in the WNBA is Parker, who has two WNBA MVP trophies, two gold medals and a WNBA title. She’s consistently been laced in the latest adidas options ever since the early 2000s and adidas hooked her up with three of her own pairs, the last of which was in 2012 when the Ace3 came out.

It’s a stark, stark contrast from when women’s basketball exploded into the mainstream in the mid-’90s. Chamique Holdsclaw, Dawn Staley, Lisa Leslie, Cynthia Cooper, Rebecca Lobo and Nicki McCray were all given their own kicks by Nike, adidas, Reebok and Fila back in the day.

And then there was Sheryl Swoopes, a pioneer in basketball sneakers. Nike made seven different signature sneakers for Swoopes and she wore them as she was winning four consecutive WNBA titles with the Houston Comets and three Olympic gold medals. The impact of the first Air Swoopes still moves the Hall of Famer.

“I remember going to Portland, walking in the room and just seeing all of the stuff,” Swoopes told SLAM at the 2019 WNBA Draft about the first time she saw her signature sneaker. “It seemed so surreal to me at the moment. To walk in and, not only see any shoe, but to see my shoe, with my name on it, and to know that there were gonna be little girls out there, and hopefully little boys too, that have an opportunity to wear a women’s basketball shoe… I love Michael Jordan, but you don’t have to go and buy the Air Jordans anymore. You can go and buy the Air Swoopes. Even today, to say that, I’m like, ‘Wow that really did happen.’ I still get emotional to this day when I think about it.”

But there hasn’t been another player able to feel that type of emotion in nearly 10 years. Even as the talent level has soared across the W and players have taken strong stances against political and racial injustices, developing rock-solid personal brands, no company has stepped up with a sneaker.

The most that the brands do is give a select few players their own team-specific colorways. Parker is always playing in purple and gold kicks, Bird has been given the reigns to the Kyrie line and Taurasi has gotten Phoenix Mercury-themed LeBrons ever since Nike did away with her sneaker. Some of the league’s best young players get featured in marketing campaigns by Nike and adidas, where the spotlight shines on them briefly. But it’s not enough for Breanna Stewart and Nneka Ogwumike, two former MVPs, to get a couple of seconds of airtime in a branded Instagram video that also shows men with their own kicks.

If the high level of skill and the social awareness weren’t enough, the W is filled with huge sneakerheads, now more than ever. There will be old pairs of Kobes, the newest adidas and a wild custom pair on any given night during the summertime. Sneakers matter to them and to their fans.

“I remember in middle school I had Cynthia Cooper’s sneaker,” the W’s Sneaker Queen, Tamera Young, says. “Our team, actually, had it. It’s something for the kids as well that looks up to us. If you had WNBA players that have sneakers, it’s something that little girls could look up to.”

“It would just be an inspiration to young players to be able to wear shoes of their favorite women’s player,” the Chicago Sky’s Diamond DeShields says. “Visibility is key. I believe this would help promote that and ultimately contribute to the common goal of growing the league as a whole.”

The 24-year-old DeShields debuted the “Chicago” Air Fear of God 1 recently, a move co-signed by the sneaker’s designer, Jerry Lorenzo. He personally thanked DeShields in an Instagram post that went out to his one million-plus followers.

“It’s all a part of the evolution of the sport,” DeShields says about a woman having her own sneaker. “At what point is it gonna become normalized for women to share the same platform and opportunities as men? ‘Never’ won’t last in regard to this question so why not now?”

Like DeShields, a few women have been able to show off high-profile pairs. The Aces have a heavy-hitting duo in Wilson and Kayla McBride, both in terms of bucket-getting and sneaker-wearing. Wilson is the first WNBA player to get player exclusive Adapt BB colorways. She first rocked her personal colorway of the auto-lacing sneaker at NBA All-Star Weekend and then went on to debut the “Air MAG” Adapt BBs. And McBride was the first to launch the “NASA 50” colorway of the PG3. Tina Charles and Odyssey Sims got to break out the “SpongeBob” and “Patrick” Kyrie 5s. And the first player to wear the Nike Freak 1 on-court wasn’t Giannis Antetokounmpo or one of his brothers—it was Dallas Wings rookie Arike Ogunbowale.

“We’re at a time where we deserve our own signature shoe,” Wilson says. “It would help the WNBA’s evolution because that’s just a huge step of getting us out there as players. That is a big step. Of course, my favorite Dawn Staley and Sheryl Swoopes, they had their shoes but we need to bring that back. It brings a lot more coverage to our game and notice to our game. That’ll just help our game evolve.

Go down the line and look at the rest of the league and you’ll find ‘heads on every team, players that not only mess with sneakers but that can also truly hoop. Jewell Loyd, Elena Delle Donne, Chiney Ogwumike, Kia Nurse and Seimone Augustus are a few of the best players in the WNBA and a few of its biggest sneakerheads too.

Augustus, a future Hall of Famer that has four rings with the Minnesota Lynx, has been wearing customs for the last two seasons thanks to Salvatore Marcum. Marcum runs Mpls Customs and, in addition to working with Augustus, has also worked with Collin Sexton, Langston Galloway, Josh Okogie and a handful of NFL players.

“These women work harder than anyone I know,” Marcum says. “The passion is there, the love for the sport is there and the signature shoes would be a great step in the right direction for them as a whole to reach the publicity they deserve.

“Seimone’s a player I personally look up to,” Marcum continues. “We’ve done a lot of shoes together to bring awareness to things, such as the ‘Care Bear’ shoes for Pride Month and the native shoes for Native American Heritage Night.”

As Marcum notes, Augustus is one of the players that uses her platform to highlight what’s most important on a personal level. Los Angeles Sparks rookie Marina Mabrey recently did that too, when she used her platform to go after the incessant trolls that constantly leave sexist comments on social media. Mabrey rolled up to a game wearing a shirt with an image of a basketball court that read, “This is my Kitchen.”

“Sneakers are a symbol of a favorite player no different than a jersey,” Mabrey, a collegiate national champion at Notre Dame, says. “The more involved the fans are, the better the league will be. The evolution of basketball begins with participation of the fans. When young girls express their love of the game, we want them to want to be WNBA players.”

Mabrey agrees that a WNBA player with a signature sneaker would help to grow the women’s game and showcase all the skill that doesn’t get highlighted enough. DeShields seconds that.

“It would just help create more iconic players in the league,” DeShields says. “The biggest stars of the NBA have their own shoe, so I think creating that hierarchy within the W would only elevate the popularity of the game as a whole.”

It would also celebrate this group of the world’s best basketball players. It would be definitive recognition of the work they’ve put in and the respect they deserve. In basketball, the sneaker is a status symbol, a marker of the elite. It doesn’t get more elite in women’s basketball than the WNBA.

“It’s super important for us, as women, to have a signature shoe,” the Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner says. Griner’s list of accomplishments runs deep. She’s got a WNBA title, an Olympic gold medal and two DPOY trophies. Plus, when she was drafted in 2013 as the No. 1 overall pick, she was signed by Nike as part of a trio with Elena Delle Donne and Skylar Diggins. It was a big signing at the time but all Griner has to show for it is a couple of PEs through the years.

“With our league being around 20-plus years now and all the hype behind us, women’s sports across the board, from Serena [Williams] in tennis to Megan [Rapinoe] kicking ass at soccer, it’s really time,” she continues. “Everybody always asks, ‘Where’s the shoes?’ It’s not just girls asking. Guys are asking. It’s time to test the waters. Not a shoe where we already had it and we throw a name on it. Actually sit down with the player, let them design the whole shoe and get it out there. Across the board, all brands, everybody. Everybody needs to start doing it. It’s time.”

—

Max Resetar is an Associate Editor at SLAM. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Additional reporting by Camille Buxeda.

The post No More Waiting: Give the WNBA Its Own Signature Sneakers appeared first on SLAM.

Collier filled the stat sheet for the Minnesota Lynx in her first year in the W and was the only rookie to participate in the All-Star Game. Collier didn’t fill score at quite the same rate as Rookie of the Year runner up Arike Ogunbowale but she contributed efficiently and across the board for a playoff contender.

Collier averaged 13.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting .361 from beyond the arc and playing workhorse minutes. Her emergence as a first-year star allowed the Lynx to claw their way back to the postseason in 2019 despite the retirement of Lindsay Whalen and Maya Moore’s sabbatical.

Collier, who was drafted No. 6 overall last April, received 29 of the 43 votes for the award while Ogunbowale received the remaining 14.

The post Napheesa Collier To Be Named WNBA Rookie Of The Year appeared first on SLAM.

Anigwe entered the league fresh off a dominant run in the NCAA – including a 30/30 game during her senior season at California – but never got consistent minutes during her stint in Connecticut.

She’ll now join a Dallas squad that sits last in the Western Conference but has turned their attention to the future with high profile rookies Arike Ogunbowale and Megan Gustafson already aboard.

In Plaisance, the Eastern Conference-leading Sun will get an established veteran. The 27-year-old has averaged 6.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game for the rebuilding Wings and will help round out a Connecticut frontcourt that already includes the likes of Jonquel Jones and Alyssa Thomas.

The post Wings Acquire Kristine Anigwe In Trade With Sun appeared first on SLAM.

Entering its 23rd season, the WNBA has more talent than ever before, making final roster cuts even more excruciating for teams.

The WNBA season will tip off tonight with the Wings visiting the Dream at 7:30 p.m. EST. Check out the 12-player, opening-night rosters for every WNBA team below!

(NOTE: Some opening-night rosters do not include players on the temporary suspended list while injured, sitting out or fulfilling overseas commitments.)

ATLANTA DREAM

Alex Bentley (G)
Monique Billings (F)
Jessica Breland (F)
Maite Cazorla (G)
Nia Coffey (F)
Marie Gülich (C)
Tiffany Hayes (G)
Angel McCoughtry (GF)
Renee Montgomery (G)
Haley Peters (F)
Brittney Sykes (G)
Elizabeth Williams (C)

CHICAGO SKY

Kahleah Copper (GF)
Diamond DeShields (G)
Stefanie Dolson (C)
Jamierra Faulkner (G)
Chloe Jackson (G)
Jantel Lavender (FC)
Astou Ndour (C)
Cheyenne Parker (F)
Allie Quigley (G)
Katie Lou Samuelson (GF)
Courtney Vandersloot (G)
Gabby Williams (F)

CONNECTICUT SUN

Kristine Anigwe (FC)
Rachel Banham (G)
Bridget Carleton (GF)
Layshia Clarendon (G)
Bria Holmes (G)
Jonquel Jones (FC)
Brionna Jones (C)
Shekinna Stricklen (GF)
Alyssa Thomas (F)
Jasmine Thomas (G)
Morgan Tuck (F)
Courtney Williams (G)

DALLAS WINGS

Kaela Davis (GF)
Skylar Diggins-Smith (G)
Allisha Gray (G)
Isabelle Harrison (F)
Tayler Hill (G)
Glory Johnson (F)
Brooke McCarty-Williams (G)
Imani McGee-Stafford (C)
Arike Ogunbowale (G)
Theresa Plaisance (FC)
Azura Stevens (FC)
Kayla Thornton (F)

INDIANA FEVER

Natalie Achonwa (FC)
Candice Dupree (F)
Shenise Johnson (G)
Paris Kea (G)
Betnijah Laney (G)
Stephanie Mavunga (F)
Erica McCall (F)
Teaira McCowan (C)
Tiffany Mitchell (G)
Kelsey Mitchell (G)
Asia Taylor (F)
Erica Wheeler (G)

LAS VEGAS ACES

Liz Cambage (C)
Sydney Colson (G)
Dearica Hamby (F)
Kayla McBride (G)
JiSu Park (C)
Kelsey Plum (G)
Sugar Rodgers (G)
Carolyn Swords (C)
A’ja Wilson (FC)
Tamera Young (F)
Jackie Young (G)

LOS ANGELES SPARKS

Alana Beard (GF)
Kalani Brown (C)
Chelsea Gray (G)
Alexis Jones (G)
Marina Mabrey (G)
Nneka Ogwumike (F)
Chiney Ogwumike (FC)
Candace Parker (FC)
Tierra Ruffin-Pratt (GF)
Maria Vadeeva (FC)
Sydney Wiese (G)
Riquna Williams (G)

MINNESOTA LYNX

Seimone Augustus (G)
Lexie Brown (G)
Karima Christmas-Kelly (F)
Alaina Coates (C)
Napheesa Collier (F)
Damiris Dantas (F)
Sylvia Fowles (C)
Danielle Robinson (G)
Jessica Shepard (F)
Odyssey Sims (G)
Stephanie Talbot (F)
Shao Ting (F)

NEW YORK LIBERTY

Rebecca Allen (G)
Tiffany Bias (G)
Brittany Boyd (G)
Tina Charles (C)
Asia Durr (G)
Reshanda Gray (F)
Bria Hartley (G)
Kia Nurse (G)
Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe (FC)
Tanisha Wright (G)
Han Xu (C)
Amanda Zahui B (C)

PHOENIX MERCURY

DeWanna Bonner (F)
Essence Carson (G)
Arica Carter (G)
Sophie Cunningham (G)
Brittney Griner (C)
Briann January (G)
Camille Little (F)
Sancho Lyttle (F)
Alanna Smith (F)
Diana Taurasi (G)
Brianna Turner (F)
Yvonne Turner (G)

SEATTLE STORM

Sue Bird (G)
Jordin Canada (G)
Alysha Clark (F)
Natasha Howard (F)
Anriel Howard (F)
Crystal Langhorne (FC)
Jewell Loyd (G)
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (F)
Courtney Paris (C)
Mercedes Russell (C)
Sami Whitcomb (GF)
Shavonte Zellous (G)

WASHINGTON MYSTICS

Ariel Atkins (G)
Natasha Cloud (G)
Elena Delle Donne (F)
Tianna Hawkins (F)
Myisha Hines-Allen (F)
Kiara Leslie (G)
Emma Meesseman (F)
Kim Mestdagh (G)
Aerial Powers (F)
LaToya Sanders (FC)
Kristi Toliver (G)
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (G)

The post WNBA Opening-Night Rosters Set for 2019 Season ✅ appeared first on SLAM.

Held at the Nike New York Headquarters for the second straight year, the WNBA Draft celebrated the players who will help shape the WNBA landscape for years to come.

Early entry candidate Jackie Young of Notre Dame went No. 1 overall to the Las Vegas Aces, and the Irish would go on to make history when all five starters were selected among the top-20 picks.

Two-time ACC Player of the Year Asia Durr of Louisville was second off the board to the Liberty. Teaira McCowan went No. 3 to the Fever after leading Mississippi St to three-straight Final Fours.

Let us know which team had the best draft in the comments!

2019 WNBA Draft Full Results

1. Las Vegas Aces: Jackie Young (GF) — Notre Dame

2. New York Liberty: Asia Durr (G) — Louisville

3. Indiana Fever: Teaira McCowan (C) — Mississippi State

4. Chicago Sky: Katie Lou Samuelson (GF) — UConn

5. Dallas Wings: Arike Ogunbowale (G) — Notre Dame

6. Minnesota Lynx: Napheesa Collier (F) — UConn

7. L.A. Sparks: Kalani Brown (C) — Baylor

8. Phoenix Mercury: Alanna Smith (F) — Stanford

9. Connecticut Sun: Kristine Anigwe (FC) — California

10. Washington Mystics: Kiara Leslie (G) — NC State

11. Phoenix Mercury (from Atlanta): Brianna Turner (FC) — Notre Dame

12. Seattle Storm: Ezi Magbegor (F) — Australia

ROUND 2

13. Phoenix Mercury: Sophie Cunningham (G) — Missouri

14. New York Liberty: Han Xu (C) — China

15. Chicago Sky: Chloe Jackson (G) — Baylor

16. Minnesota Lynx: Jessica Shepard (C) — Notre Dame

17. Dallas Wings: Megan Gustafson (FC) — Iowa

18. Connecticut Sun (from Minnesota): Natisha Hiedeman (G) — Marquette

19. L.A. Sparks: Marina Mabrey (G) —Notre Dame

20. Minnesota Lynx: Cierra Dillard (G) — Buffalo

21. Connecticut Sun: Bridget Carleton (G) — Iowa State

22. Dallas Wings: Kennedy Burke (G) — UCLA

23. Atlanta Dream: Maite Cazorla (G) — Oregon

24. Seattle Storm: Anriel Howard (F) — Mississippi St

ROUND 3

25. Indiana Fever: Paris Kea (G) — UNC

26. New York Liberty: Megan Huff (F) — Utah

27. Chicago Sky: Maria Conde (F) — Spain

28. Indiana Fever: Caliya Robinson (F) — Georgia

29. Dallas Wings: Morgan Bertsch (F) — UC-Davis

30. Minnesota Lynx: Kenisha Bell (G) — Minnesota

31. L.A. Sparks: Angela Salvadores (G) — Spain

32. Phoenix Mercury: Arica Carter (G) — Louisville

33. Connecticut Sun: Regan Magarity (F) — Virginia Tech

34. Mystics: Sam Fuehring (F) — Louisville

35. Dream: Li Yueru (C) — China

36. Storm: Macy Miller (G) — South Dakota State

RELATED: Top WNBA Draft Prospect Sabrina Ionescu Announces Return to Oregon

The post 2019 WNBA Draft Picks: Complete Results 📈 appeared first on SLAM.

Click here for our 2018-19 Men’s College Basketball Top 10.

10.  Tennessee Lady Vols

There’s a young core in Knoxville, and the group is looking to build off of last year’s second round NCAA exit. Rennia Davis should take the next step in her development and become the go-to scorer this team needs. Freshman Zarielle Green will give the Lady Vols a much needed boost.

9.  Stanford Cardinal

The PAC-12 won’t be easy to navigate, but Stanford has the depth necessary to survive a grueling slate. Alanna Smith and Kiana Williams make up a formidable inside-out duo that will cause defenses mismatches. An improvement from last year’s Sweet 16 appearance is within reach.

8.  Oregon State Beavers

After an Elite Eight trip last season, the Beavers return most of their team and are poised for another deep March run. Mikayla Pivec and Maryland transfer Destiny Slocum lead a talented backcourt that was part of the most efficient three-point shooting team in the nation last year.

7.  Maryland Terrapins

The likely Big Ten favorite, Maryland returns almost all its scoring from last season. Kaila Charles is probably the best of the group, but the most important player is Blair Watson, who broke out last season but suffered a torn ACL in January. If healthy, the Terrapins are Final Four threats.

6.  Mississippi State Bulldogs

The core that led the Bulldogs to back-to-back NCAA title games is gone, but the fall off in talent will not be far. Teaira McCowan leads the group of returning players and could end the season as the nation’s best. She had four games with 20 points and 20 rebounds last season.

5.  Louisville Cardinals

The Cardinals lose star Myisha Hines-Allen from last season’s Final Four squad but should pick up where they left off with Asia Durr leading the way. Every other key contributor is back from last year’s group, meaning Louisville fans can probably count on another deep March run.

4.  Connecticut Huskies

Despite losing three of their best players from last season, UConn shouldn’t miss a beat. Napheesa Collier, Crystal Dangerfield and Katie Lou Samuelson are all back, and the team adds star freshmen Christyn Williams and Olivia Nelson-Ododa. As usual, the Huskies will have significant say in who wins it all.

3.  Oregon Ducks

Now is the time for Oregon, which returns almost everyone from a group that reached its second-straight Elite 8 last season. Sabrina Ionescu is the Ducks’ best player and perhaps the nation’s top player, too. Interior standout Ruthy Hebard and Notre Dame transfer Erin Boley should give Ionescu the support she needs.

2.  Baylor Lady Bears

Despite an abrupt end to last season, it’s hard to bet against perennial contender Baylor. Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox are back and should control the frontcourt against nearly any opponent. It’s been seven seasons since Baylor’s last Final Four, and this group could end the drought.

1.  Notre Dame Fighting Irish

It will be hard to top the magic of last season’s national title, but Notre Dame has the pieces in place to at least match it. All of last year’s key contributors return, including Arike Ogunbowale, and the Fighting Irish should get back Brianna Turner and Mikayla Vaughn from ACL tears.

—

David Casillo is a contributor to SLAM. Follow him on Twitter @dcasillo. 

Photos via Getty.

The post 2018-19 Women’s College Basketball Top 10 📈 appeared first on SLAM.

During a guest appearance on The Ellen Show on Friday, Ogunbowale was not only congratulated by her idol, but she hooped with Kobe as well.

RELATED:
Notre Dame Wins National Championship On Arike Ogunbowale Buzzer Beater

The post Kobe Bryant Congratulates Arike Ogunbowale on The Ellen Show appeared first on SLAM.

Words don’t do it justice. Take a look:

NOTRE DAME WINS THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AT THE BUZZER! (via @ncaawbb) pic.twitter.com/lfo1hjhotb

— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) April 2, 2018

That wraps up a Final Four that also featured two overtime semifinal games — one of which ended with an Ogunbowale jumper with just over a second to go to lift the Irish over UConn.

Ogunbowale scored 18 in the game and was, rightfully, named the Final Four’s most outstanding player. She even drew some praise from her favorite player:

WOW! @Arike_O #lifecomplete #MambaMentality

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 2, 2018

This is Notre Dame’s second national championship and first since 2001. Victoria Vivians had 21 points to lead the Bulldogs, who lost in the title game for the second year in a row.

The post Notre Dame Wins National Championship On Arike Ogunbowale Buzzer Beater appeared first on SLAM.

With the game tied and time winding down, Arike Ogunbowale hit a jumper to win the game. UConn’s prayer at the buzzer didn’t fall and the Irish escaped to face Mississippi State on Sunday for the title.

NOTRE DAME KNOCKS OFF UCONN! (via @ncaawbb) pic.twitter.com/19gZD0kZAK

— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) March 31, 2018

The Huskies came in 36-0 and as the No. 1 overall seed. They beat the Irish in Hartford earlier this season.

From the beginning, it was clear that the Irish came to play. They took an early 24-11 lead, but more importantly, responded to UConn’s inevitable run.

The Huskies led by seven at halftime, but Notre Dame used the third quarter to stay close, trailing by three heading into the fourth.

It almost didn’t matter. UConn opened up an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter and looked ready to cruise, but Jackie Young scored a quick seven points to bring the Irish within one. Then it was Ogunbowale’s turn, scoring six quick points to put Notre Dame up by five with 21 seconds left.

Then UConn woke up. Napheesa Collier made a three, Kia Nurse came up with a huge steal and a layup, then the Huskies got a stop to force overtime.

This is now two years in a row that UConn has run the table in the regular season only to lose on a last-second shot in the Final Four.

The post Notre Dame Beats UConn In Overtime Thriller appeared first on SLAM.

1. Notre Dame Key players: Lindsay Allen, Brianna Turner, Arike Ogunbowale

The skinny: Last year, the Irish lost twice: to UConn by 10 and an NCAA Tournament upset at the hands of hot-shooting Stanford. But Coach Muffet McGraw returns three starters and adds two elite recruits, so the train will keep rolling. The fact that Lindsay Allen is a senior point guard who averaged 5.8 assists per game last season gives Notre Dame an edge that other title contenders can’t match.

2. Baylor Key players: Nina Davis, Alexis Jones

The skinny: The Bears have four starters back, but the missing piece is current WNBA player and former Baylor PG Niya Johnson. Alexis Jones will likely slide over from the 2, but even with Nina Davis’ scoring and rebounding, and plenty of elite talent, it’s unlikely the offense will run as smoothly as it did last year. Then again, if one (or more) of Baylor’s top-shelf recruits blossoms, Kim Mulkey may simply have too many weapons for even Notre Dame to handle

3. Ohio State Key players: Kelsey Mitchell, Shayla Cooper, Alexa Hart

The skinny: To paraphrase Geno Auriemma, Ohio State has Kelsey Mitchell and you don’t. The spectacular Mitchell averaged a B1G-best 26.1 ppg as a sophomore on 45.2 percent shooting (39.7 percent from beyond the arc), and though she is turnover-prone, she’s the most dynamic player in the country. Two other starters return, plus some big-time transfers, so look for Kevin McGuff’s team to make a serious run at the Final Four.

4. Maryland Key players: Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, Brionna Jones

The skinny: At the start of this season, Coach Brenda Frese’s suffering on the sidelines will be hard to miss. But by the time this crop of five-star recruits figures things out—February, say—smiles will outnumber frowns by a significant margin. And with seniors Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and Brionna Jones on hand from day one, even a flood of freshman mistakes can be dealt with.

5. Louisville Key players: Myisha Hines-Allen, Mariya Moore

The skinny: Five of The Ville’s eight losses last year came before December 11, and the other three were by a total of 11 points, so down the stretch, the Cardinals were as good as anyone. And with Hines-Allen and Moore to go along with plenty of returning firepower and some solid recruits, look for Louisville to resemble the team that went 23-3 to finish last season a lot more than the one that stumbled to a 3-5 start.

6. Connecticut Key players: Kia Nurse, Katie Lou Samuelson

The skinny: Hey, the Huskies’ cupboard isn’t exactly bare—and Auriemma is still the best coach in the game. But for the first time in four years, there’s uncertainty in Storrs. Unfamiliar faces will have to quickly establish themselves as high-caliber players and household names. UConn can count on Samuelson and Nurse, but after that, there are more questions than answers.

7. South Carolina Key players: A’ja Wilson, Alaina Coates

The skinny: Everyone knows three-pointers rule, and South Carolina lost almost all its firepower. Coach Dawn Staley, one of the steadiest PGs in women’s history, is going to have to mold Bianca Cuevas-Moore (who had more turnovers than assists as a junior) into a floor general. It could happen, but a step back is more likely.

8. Mississippi St. Key players: Victoria Vivians, Chinwe Okorie

The skinny: First, forget the 98-38 tourney hammering by UConn, replace it with the name Victoria Vivians and recall that Mississippi State’s top seven players are returning. Vivians is a 6-1 scorer with Olympic dreams, but the Bulldogs have to cut down on TOs if they want to leap into the top five.

9. Stanford Key players: Erica McCall, Karlie Samuelson

The skinny: Lili Thompson’s decision not to play her senior year was a blow, and perimeter defense and uncertainty at the point could be issues all season. But if forward Erica McCall continues improving and three-pointers continue to fall, Stanford will be the class of the Pac-12.

10. South Dakota St. Key players: Macy Miller, Ellie Thompson

The skinny: South Dakota State has been knocking on the door the past few years, and with five starters back and the superb coaching of Aaron Johnston, they are a team few Power Five conference schools would even consider playing.

Related:
SLAM’s 2016-17 NCAA Men’s Top 10
SLAM’s 2016-17 NCAA Men’s Players to Watch
Run It Back: Villanova’s Title Defense Starts Now

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Now in its 14th year, the Jordan Brand Classic will return to Brooklyn, N.Y., in April with games showcasing the top boys, girls and international basketball players. For the third consecutive year, Barclays Center will host the top boys in the nation on Friday, April 17, as part of a quadruple-header event. These future stars follow in the footsteps of some of the greatest in the game, including Jordan Brand athletes Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and Jabari Parker. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. EST.

 

The International Game, now in its eighth year, will tip off the event by featuring elite 16-and-under basketball players from around the world at 1:30 p.m. EST.

 

At 3:30 p.m. EST, Maya Moore — Team Jordan athlete, reigning MVP and champion at every level of the game — will host the inaugural competition featuring the best young female basketball players in the country.

 

Local talent will take the floor, at 5:30 p.m., in the annual New York City Regional Game in a City versus Suburbs showdown. The headlining contest featuring the top young male basketball players in the nation will take place at 8 p.m. EST, rounding out a blockbuster day of basketball games.

 

Rosters for the boys’ and girls’ Jordan Brand Classic teams can be found below. The top 26 prospects from across the country are organized into teams based on geography and matchups. The International team will be revealed in late March.

 

2015 JORDAN BRAND NATIONAL BOYS TEAM

 

WEST TEAM

Dwayne Bacon (Mouth of Wilson, VA/FSU), Malik Beasley (Alpharetta, GA/FSU), Antonio Blakeney (Orlando, FL/LSU), Deyonta Davis (Muskegon, MI/Michigan), Tyler Davis (Plano, TX/Texas A&M), Tyler Dorsey (Pasadena, CA/Oregon), Austin Grandstaff (Rockwall, TX/Ohio State), Dedric Lawson (Memphis, TN/Memphis), Malik Newman (Jackson, MS), Ivan Rabb (Oakland, CA), Ben Simmons (Montverde, FL/LSU), Allonzo Trier (Henderson, NV/Arizona), Stephen Zimmerman (Las Vegas, NV)

 

EAST TEAM

Isaiah Briscoe (Roselle, NJ/Kentucky), Jaylen Brown (Marietta, GA), Jalen Brunson (Lincolnshire, IL/Villanova), Thomas Bryant (Huntington, WV), Jalen Coleman (La Porte, IN/Illinois), Eric Davis (Saginaw, MI/Texas), Cheick Diallo (Centereach, NY), Henry Ellenson (Rice Lake, WI/Marquette), Luke Kennard (Franklin, OH/Duke), Skal Labissiere (Memphis, TN/Kentucky), Charles Matthews (Chicago, IL/Kentucky), Malachi Richardson (Trenton, NJ/Syracuse), Caleb Swanigan (Fort Wayne, IN)

 

2015 JORDAN BRAND NATIONAL GIRLS TEAM

 

WEST TEAM

De’Janae Boykin (Springdale, MD/UConn), Taja Cole (Chesterfield, VA/Louisville), Te’a Cooper (Powder Springs, GA/Tennessee), Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, MO/Missouri), Kiah Gillespie (Hartford, CT/Maryland), Jordan Hosey (Manvel, TX/Texas), Kyra Lambert (Schertz, TX/Duke), Beatrice Mompremier (Miami, FL/Baylor), Taylor Murray (Severn, MD/Kentucky), Arike Ogunbowale (Milwaukee, WI/Notre Dame), Katie Lou Samuelson (Santa Ana, CA/UConn), Destinee Walker (Orlando, FL/UNC)

 

EAST TEAM

Kristine Anigwe (Phoenix, AZ/California), Kalani Brown (Slidell, LA/Baylor), Napheesa Collier (St. Louis, MO/UConn), Asia Durr (Atlanta, GA/Louisville), Brianna Fraser (Brooklyn, NY/Maryland), Ashley Hearn (Sachse, TX/UCLA), Lashann Higgs (Round Rock, TX/Texas), Brianna Jones (N. Babylon, NY/Louisville), Marina Mabrey (Manasquan, NJ/Notre Dame), Teniya Page (Chicago Heights, IL/Penn State), Ali Patberg (Columbus, IN/Notre Dame), Stephanie Watts (Matthews, NC/UNC)

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In a fight-to-the-finish between undefeated teams, the 2014 USA Basketball Women’s U17 World Championship Team (7-0) came out victorious with a 77-75 win over Spain (6-1) in the gold medal game of the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship on Sunday night at City Arena in Pilsen, Czech Republic.

 

This is the third gold medal for the USA in as many championships since the inaugural event in 2010, and the USA now boasts of a 23-0 overall U17 record.

 

“It’s one of those games where as a coach you’re really happy to win, but you feel for the other team because ultimately that game could have gone either way, and I really want to credit Spain for a fabulous game,” said USA head coach  Sue Phillips (Archbishop Mitty H.S./San Jose Cagers AAU, Calif.). “I feel very blessed that we’re on the winning side of things and so proud of the coaching staff and the players. It was just a great victory.”

 

Three players in double-figure scoring helped the USA overcome a 40-point performance from Spain’s Angela Salvadores, who was named tournament MVP. Joining her on the five-member all-tournament team were the USA’s Joyner Holmes (Cedar Hill H.S./Cedar Hill, Texas) and  Katie Lou Samuelson (Mater Dei H.S./ Huntington Beach, Calif.), as well as Hungary’s Debora Dubei and Virag Kiss.

 

Earlier today Hungary (6-1) fought off host Czech Republic (4-3) 67-61 to earn the bronze medal.

 

“It’s amazing,” Samuelson said. “I’m just in shock that it all happened that way. I thought I played solid, but I didn’t expect anything like that. I wasn’t trying to go for anything like that, but it’s amazing just to be able to get that and to win the gold medal. It’s amazing.”

 

“It’s an honor to make the all-tournament team,” said Holmes. “I think everybody played hard and we all played together, so I just feel it’s an honor for me to make the team.”

 

Lauren Cox (Flower Mound H.S./Flower Mound, Texas) led the USA past Spain with 20 points, including 4-of-4 from the free-throw line, 12 rebounds and a USA Women’s U17 single-game record eight blocked shots; Asia Durr (St. Pius X Catholic H.S./Douglasville, Ga.) scored 17 points to go with four assists; and Arike Ogunbowale (Divine Savior Holy Angels H.S./ Milwaukee, Wis.) added 15 points and eight rebounds. 

 

“I just came into the game wanting to work hard and play hard inside,” Cox said. “I knew it was going to be tough. They have big girls inside, so I just had to work hard.”

 

With the game tied at 71-all and 1:36 remaining in the fourth quarter, Cox scored at 1:28 and then blocked Spain’s next shot attempt and recovered the rebound, and then Durr pulled up in the key to score from the field to make it 75-71. Spain made a 3-point attempt that was whistled off because of an offensive foul, and the USA got the ball back, but missed its next shot attempt.

 

Salvadores scored a driving layup at 10.8, but as Spain was forced to foul, Durr hit two free throws, and the USA led 77-73 with 7.1 seconds. The game reached its 77-75 final when
Salvadores scored her final two points at the buzzer.

 

“It wasn’t doubt,” Durr said of the game. “It was pressure, of course, because they were making every single shot. So, there was definitely pressure.”

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