Category: WNBA

Are Skylar Diggins-Smith’s cryptic Instagram posts related to the Seattle Storm investigation?

What does this mean?

Seattle Storm guard Skylar Diggins-Smith has been posting cryptic Instagram messages to her stories lately. It begs the question: Are the posts related to an internal Seattle Storm investigation?

Here’s the answer: it’s unclear. But here’s what we do know.

Per Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Times, Seattle’s coaching staff is under investigation for alleged player harassment and bullying related to on-court performance and incidents during practice and games.

In the days following the news of the investigation, Diggins-Smith’s Instagram activity has become a bit cryptic. Here’s what we mean. This series of messages was shared to her stories on Sunday.

Then, Diggins-Smith apparently shared and deleted a post to her stories from WNBA legend and former Storm forward Tina Thompson. However, she did leave a simple two-word comment under Thompson’s post.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCilYhvRSYb/?igsh=OHI1bWI5dDhja2My

Again, it’s unclear if this is directly related to the investigation, but either way, the vibes in Seattle do not seem great. It is certainly worth keeping an eye on.

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Caitlin Clark yelling at refs from the stands during the offseason feels on-brand

One thing Caitlin Clark will do is call out the refs.

Caitlin Clark’s offseason activities are going quite well. She’s even found time to take in some Iowa basketball — just to call out the refs.

Caitlin has been having a ton of fun as her WNBA offseason continues. She’s been hitting up football games and also doing some serious golfing, but she can’t entirely avoid basketball. She recently attended an Iowa-Drake game, and I can’t say I’m surprised.

You knew Caitlin would find her way back to basketball at some point. But what’s perhaps even more unsurprising is that she was yelling at the refs after what she felt was a bad call. This feels 100 percent on-brand.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DChoiTIJcpy/?igsh=MWkwY2x6bzhoenB3eg==

https://www.instagram.com/p/DChpwKmy-dI/?igsh=MWVzNXF0bzR4Ym92Nw==

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WNBA fans made Paige Bueckers jokes after the Wings won the draft lottery

Paige Bueckers might land with the Dallas Wings, and the jokes are flying.

The Dallas Wings won the 2025 WNBA Draft Lottery, and the Paige Bueckers jokes are splendid.

Sunday’s selection process to determine the first four picks of next year’s draft was a doozy. Let’s start with the unexciting stuff. As expected, Washington’s failed tank job seemingly kept the team out of the Bueckers sweepstakes at pick No. 4 (sorry, Mystics fans), and Chicago managed to avoid the awkwardness of potentially swapping picks with Dallas by landing at No. 3. Then, it got a little spicy.

The Sparks, who many thought would walk away with the first pick, landed at No. 2. That cleared a path for the Dallas Wings to land at the top of the draft. In a wild twist of events, former Sparks coach Curt Miller, now the Wings’ general manager, will be part of the team potentially selecting Paige Bueckers next spring. WILD TIMES.

As you can see, Miller and Wings star Arike Ogunbowale were thrilled. But, of course, the jokes started flying after that.

Honestly, these are truly tremendous.

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Former Chicago Sky coach Teresea Weatherspoon headlines Unrivaled league’s coaching staff hires

I want you to put the word out there. Teresea Weatherspoon is back up.

Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier’s Unrivaled unveiled its coaching hires Friday, and former Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon headlines a stacked lineup.

Weatherspoon joins Unrivaled’s staff after being dismissed as head coach of the Chicago Sky after one season. Several other familiar basketball names are also traveling to Miami to coach, including Phil Handy (assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers) and Adam Harrington (assistant coach and director of player development for the Brooklyn Nets).

Something to watch is whether Weatherspoon will reconnect with her former player and current Unrivaled athlete, Angel Reese. Reese was heartbroken over Weatherspoon’s firing, and playing in Unrivaled might allow her to be with her former coach again. Players for all six teams and where they are landing will be unveiled during a club selection show on November 20.

https://www.instagram.com/unrivaledbasketball/p/DCZk2dPxQ0a/

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Caitlin Clark amazes world No. 1 Nelly Korda at LPGA pro-am

Caitlin Clark amazed world No. 1 Nelly Korda at the LPGA pro-am on Wednesday.

While enjoying the WNBA offseason following a Rookie of the Year campaign with the Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark brought out her golf game in front of a large gathering on Wednesday in a pro-am for the LPGA Tour in Belleair, Fla.

Clark split the 18 holes of The Annika by playing the front nine with world No. 1 golfer Nelly Korda and shot the back nine with one of the winningest female golfers of all-time in Annika Sorenstam.

During a brief interview with Golf Channel, Clark was asked if she learned any tips from golfing with Korda.

“I’ve watched and she’s amazing,” Clark said. “But golf is hard.”

One of Clark’s many endorsement deals is with Indiana-based Gainbridge, the presenting sponsor of the LPGA’s penultimate tournament on the schedule. Clark also participated in a recent women’s leadership summit hosted by Gainbridge.

Korda said she has messaged with Clark on Instagram, but nothing surpasses spending time with her on the links.

“To see the influence that she has on people, bringing people out here, and to see how amazing of an influence she is just for sports, was really cool to see firsthand today,” Korda said.

Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Clark is no stranger to golf as she has admitted to enjoying the sport in her downtime and even played in the John Deere Classic pro-am last summer on the PGA Tour.

Korda spoke about Clark’s game by praising her ability to remain relaxed, which she attributed to her constant bombardment by sports media over the past two years.

“It was great to see how relaxed she was,” Korda said. “Obviously with the media attention she has gotten probably in the past year-and-a-half, two years, you can see how she’s comfortable playing in front of a larger crowd. And she was just really enjoying it. You can tell.”

Although most of the golfing day was a success for Clark, there was one shot from the tee box that she shanked into the gallery nearby. Clark was able to laugh off the poorly hit ball by firing off a second shot onto the fairway.

As for Clark, it appears she is enjoying her own leisure life during the offseason prior to the start of her second WNBA season with the Indiana Fever in May of 2025.

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Caitlin Clark nearly hit fans with a terrible tee shot at The Annika LPGA Pro-Am

FORE!

Caitlin Clark is good at golf, but on the first day at the LPGA Pro-Am known as The Annika — the legendary Annika Sorenstam is host — she nearly nailed the patrons watching her tee off while hitting her shot into the water.

What’s wild about that is that Clark had one stated goal before the tournament, per Golfweek: to avoid hitting anyone in the gallery.

But she calmly took a ball out of her pocket after that shot and hit another one that looked much, much better.

Hey, it could have been worse — there could have been cats around, and those are her biggest fear.

Here’s a look at that shot:

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Caitlin Clark earns high praise from Hall of Fame basketball voice

Mike Breen has taken notice.

After a spectacular Rookie of the Year campaign with the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark continues to gain high praise from many throughout the basketball world as her influence on the growth and prosperity of the game increases.

During Sunday’s game between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers from Indianapolis’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse, MSG broadcaster Mike Breen spoke of Clark’s impact on the WNBA’s TV ratings by mentioning how the Fever’s local broadcasts this summer were higher than that of the Pacers.

“During the summer, when the Indiana Fever played here with Caitlin Clark, the building was packed. Every game,” Breen said on the broadcast. “The TV ratings of the Fever this summer, for the local telecast, were higher than a lot of the Pacers games because of Caitlin Clark.”

Breen continued raving about Clark and compared her impact on the WNBA to past NBA greats’ impact on the league.

“She’s doing, rating-wise for the WNBA, what Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Steph Curry have been doing for the NBA,” Breen said on the broadcast.

Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As the No. 1 selection in the 2024 WNBA draft, Clark’s ability to translate her game displayed during her four years with the Hawkeyes has been spectacular.

In Clark’s first full professional season, she finished averaging 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 35.4 minutes per game. She also shot 41.7% from the field, 34.4% from three-point range, and 90.6 from the free-throw line.

Clark set a new WNBA single-season record with 337 assists. Clark also established new rookie single-season records for points (769) and 3-pointers made (122).

Clark led the league in 3-pointers made and finished just six behind the single-season WNBA record that New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu set during the 2023 season.

Clark helped direct the Fever to a 20-20 record and their first postseason berth since the 2016 WNBA season.

With Stephanie White taking over as the Fever’s new head coach next season, Clark will look to translate her off-court impact into another sensational WNBA season.

Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions.

Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews

Caitlin Clark stunned the Women’s Leadership Summit crowd when she admitted that cats are her biggest fear

Counterpoint: Cats are great.

Caitlin Clark is in Florida this week to play in the LPGA Tour’s The ANNIKA Driven pro-am. For as awesome as she is as a basketball player, she loves golf as well. And as a major star in women’s sports, Clark was asked to participate in the Women’s Leadership Summit as a panel speaker.

They got into some deep subjects. And when the topic of biggest fear came up, the Indiana Fever star had a surprisingly simple response. But give her some credit, she had zero hesitation with the answer.

Clark doesn’t like cats. The stunned laughter and gasps to the answer were too good.

Clark said:

“I really don’t like cats. There was this black cat on my street growing up, and it was so mean. So, now I’m just — I’m scarred. So, I’m really scared of cats. So, I’m sorry if any of you have a cat. I like dogs a lot. But no cats.”

There is really just one acceptable explanation for people who do not like cats: Allergies. Otherwise cat-hating people tend to use an isolated bad experience to hate all cats or just decide they hate cats without even meeting one. Clark said that she wasn’t allergic but had a negative experience with a neighborhood cat as a child.

I don’t know. It sounds like Clark should give cats another chance, if you ask me.

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Cameron Brink fulfills her wish to be in SI Swimsuit in 2025 issue

Cameron Brink was excited to be in SI Swimsuit 2025.

Per SI Swimsuit, Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink has always wanted to be in the issue.

She told Paul George on his podcast earlier in the year that she’s “always loved SI Swimsuit. … I think it’s super empowering.”

Well, there she is in the 2025 edition of SI Swimsuit, with the photos dropping on Tuesday. Brink has been everywhere in her rookie season cut short by an injury — on magazine covers, showing off her engagement to Ben Felter and beyond.

MORE: Every athlete in the 2025 SI Swimsuit issue

And now she’s modeling in SI Swimsuit thanks to a shoot she did in Boca Raton, Florida. Here’s the shot:

SI swimsuit (soon)
byu/Affectionate_Fact334 inCameronBrinks

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Caitlin Clark set to join David Letterman’s Ball State lecture series

Caitlin Clark will join longtime “Late Show” host David Letterman for his Distinguished Professional Lecture and Workshop Series.

Caitlin Clark is currently enjoying a well-deserved offseason after a record-setting rookie season in the WNBA.

As one of the biggest stars in American sports today, Clark continues to be a social lightning rod even when she’s not breaking records on a basketball court.

USA TODAY Sports’ Lindsay Schnell reported on Monday that Clark will join longtime “Late Show” host David Letterman on Monday, Dec. 2 at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., for the latest installment of Letterman’s Distinguished Professional Lecture and Workshop Series.

The series was established by Ball State in 2008 and has featured high profile guests like Oprah Winfrey, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe and filmmaker Spike Jonze, among others.

As an Indianapolis native, Letterman is a huge Indianapolis sports fan.

Tickets to the event are free and will be available beginning on Saturday, Nov. 16 with a priority given first to Ball State students.

Students can pick up a maximum of two tickets, and each student must present a valid student ID at the time of entry. Ticket distribution to staff and faculty starts Sunday, and members of the public can get tickets in person starting Monday, Nov. 18, while supplies last. Each person is limited to two tickets.

The event will be held at Emens Auditorium on Ball State’s campus. Emens has a seating capacity of just over 3,300 seats.

Clark was named the 2024 Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year after setting a new WNBA single-season record with 337 assists. Clark also established new rookie single-season records for points (769) and 3-pointers made (122).

Clark led the league in 3-pointers made and finished just six behind the single-season WNBA record that New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu set during the 2023 season.

Selected with the No. 1 overall pick by the Indiana Fever after a storybook career with the Iowa Hawkeyes, Clark guided the Fever to a 20-20 record and the No. 6 seed.

It was the Fever’s first appearance in the WNBA Playoffs since the 2016 season.

Clark averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 41.7% from the field, 34.4% from 3-point range and 90.6% from the free throw line.

Clark and the Fever recently introduced their new head coach Stephanie White on Nov. 1.

During her decorated career at Iowa, Clark broke the Division I all-time scoring record and guided the Hawkeyes to back-to-back Final Fours and national championship games in her final two seasons.

Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions.

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