The Fever will have the most chances to land the top pick and are guaranteed at least the third pick.
The 23rd annual WNBA draft lottery will be broadcast on Dec. 10 at 4:30 p.m. ET. The Indiana Fever, Los Angeles Sparks, Phoenix Mercury and Seattle Storm will vie for the No. 1 overall WNBA draft pick.
The Fever secured the top spot in the 2023 draft and selected Aliyah Boston No. 1 overall. Boston was unanimously named the 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year and received all 60 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.
The 2024 draft is currently scheduled to take place on April 15, 2024. Lottery odds are based on the cumulative records of the two most recent regular seasons (2022 and 2023). The Fever will have the most chances to land the top pick and are guaranteed at least the third pick. Phoenix has the next highest likelihood of winning the No. 1 spot, followed by the Sparks and Storm.
The order of selection for the remainder of the first round, second round and third round is determined by inverse order of the teams’ respective 2023 regular season records, taking into account trades and negotiations that might have affected draft order.
The remaining first-round draft order (based on 2023 record):
She is averaging 14.5 point per game, 2.8 rebounds per game and 2.8 assists per game.
Los Angeles Sparks guard Lexie Brown is a WNBA champion, an Athletes Unlimited basketball player and was drafted ninth in the 2018 WNBA draft, but she is just getting started.
Brown dropped 26 points to help the Sparks defeat the Phoenix Mercury, 99-93, in overtime on Friday. The 26 points were a career high for Brown and included a much-needed 3-pointer with 1:03 left in overtime.
She is averaging 14.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game and a little less than 30 minutes per game.
Brown, however, is more than an athlete and worked with the ACC Network as a college women’s basketball analyst during the 2022-23 season. She is also a member of Athletes Unlimited’s player executive committee. If she wasn’t playing basketball, she would want to be a general manager of a sports team, which makes sense since she has an undergraduate degree in sociology and a master’s in business administration.
She’s a student of the game of basketball and learned directly from her father, Dee Brown, who played 14 seasons in the NBA and coached two franchises in the WNBA. She is entering her sixth season in the league and seems to be hitting her stride both on and off the court.
Her 26-point game caused quite a stir on social media with people acknowledging her impeccable play.
Lexie Brown is gaining more ground. The increased range and hesitation dribble drive attack moves were fun to watch. She has really elevated her game. It's exciting to finally see the perimeter skill potential she showed at Duke translating in the pros. #WNBA#LASparkshttps://t.co/sxdz9m2san
— Chasity (Chas) Melvin (@chasitymelvin) June 3, 2023
Hey man @Lexiebrown has been in her BAG this season so far!
The Sparks are in action again on June 3 when they take on the Seattle Storm at 7 p.m. PT at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The game is available nationally on CBS Sports Network.
I asked AI information bot ChatGPT to list what it believes are Notre Dame’s top 10 men’s basketball players. It only makes sense for me to give the women equal treatment. Plus the women have both a better recent past and future than the men. You know people want to know who’s made the program so special.
Please note that ChatGPT’s knowledge cuts off at September 2021, so you won’t find [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] on this list. Heck, she probably wouldn’t have made it anyway since she just completed her sophomore season. She still has a legacy to complete.
Here is ChatGPT’s disclaimer regarding the list:
“As a language model, I do not have personal opinions or beliefs, and my responses are generated based on data and information available to me. However, I can provide you with a list of some of the most notable Notre Dame women’s basketball players, based on their achievements, accolades, and impact on the program.”
It also says this:
“Please note that this list is not exhaustive and is subject to personal opinions and interpretations. There have been many talented and accomplished players in Notre Dame women’s basketball history, and different people may have different criteria for their top 10 selections.”
With that out of the way, let’s see who the information bot has deemed worthy of making this list and what it had to say about each player:
The Athletes Unlimited hoops season runs through March 25 in Dallas.
Athletes Unlimited basketball, a professional women’s basketball league, ended its third week of play on March 11. It had a few surprise guests in the building, including University of Oregon’s Sedona Prince and Los Angeles Sparks and WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike. Prince made headlines in 2021 when she highlighted the inequities between the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments.
Prince gave a behind-the-scenes glimpse at Athletes Unlimited hoops and ran down a bit of the scoring system and how captains are picked each week. While the rules for the game are the same as the WNBA, the individual points players can earn, the ranking system and the weekly drafts are different than other basketball leagues.
The night was dedicated to the Special Olympics. Debbie Antonelli, a women’s college basketball analyst and founder of 24 Hours of Nothing But Net, was in attendance to help with the 24-hour shoot-a-thon.
Today we are partnering with Special Olympics for the @24HoursNBN Shoot-A-Thon 🏀
The shoot-a-thon was successful: 2,400 free throws were made in 24 hours. Las Vegas Aces’ Theresa Plaisance chose the Special Olympics as her Athlete Cause this season. This program, powered by Give Lively, provides players of Athletes Unlimited a fundraising platform that allows them “to donate funds equal to 100% of their season win bonus to support the causes they love.”
This season, Theresa Plaisance chose Special Olympics as her Athlete Cause 🏀
Believe me @sedonaprince_ & I did practice! Lol! THE definition of giving back! Thank you Sedona for your generous gift to @SpecialOlympics to help these athletes train compete organize & learn to be a part of a team! Thank you for using your platform for good & to serve others https://t.co/Xn3GvIqkTR
The Athletes Unlimited hoops season runs through March 25. Dallas is the home for Season 2 of Athletes Unlimited Basketball and one ticket allows entry to two games.
The league was founded by Jon Patricof and Jonathan Soros on March 3, 2020, and has four women’s professional sports under its umbrella: softball, volleyball, basketball and lacrosse. In 2021, it added volleyball and in 2022, it added basketball. The power is in the hands of the players and there are no owners for the teams. Players make decisions both on and off their field of play, which gives the entire league a player-centric ethos. Each league has a player executive committee that meets weekly with Athletes Unlimited staff to work on all aspects of the league, from adding players to the roster to establishing the rules and scoring system.
Players in all sports, including basketball, compete under a point system where players and teams are rewarded for individual and team performance. Each week the four highest-ranked players are appointed as captains and redraft teams for the following week’s competition. This not only allows fans to see different matchups each week, but it also allows the players to get a feel for different schemes and teammates. The league has big-name sponsors including Nike, Gatorade, Topps, Caesars, Sportradar and GEICO.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpJhMPNvJXF/
Prominent international and WNBA players play in the league, which does not conflict with their seasons. WNBA stars such as Las Vegas Aces guard Sydney Colson, Los Angeles Sparks guard Lexie Brown and Washington Mystics guard Natasha Cloud bring the heat each week on the court. The WNBA only has 144 roster spots, so leagues such as Athletes Unlimited allow athletes to play domestically and not have to pursue opportunities overseas.
WNBA players playing abroad were put in the international spotlight when WNBA champion and Olympic medalist Brittney Griner was detained in Russia while she was playing overseas. But things are changing for the better and women’s college basketball fans are able to follow the careers of their favorite players past college with easier access thanks to leagues like Athletes Unlimited.
The games are fan and athlete-focused, including free autograph signings at the end of each game along with free swag and custom posters for each week. Dallas is the home for Season 2 of Athletes Unlimited Basketball and one ticket allows entry to two games.
Miller led Connecticut to the WNBA Finals for the second time this past season.
A potential power shift has taken place in the W.
The Los Angeles Sparks, owners of the WNBA’s second-worst record last season, are hiring away head coach Curt Miller from the Connecticut Sun, Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes and Cassandra Negley are reporting.
Miller is a two-time WNBA Coach of the Year and led the Sun to the postseason six of his seven years with the team, including two trips to the WNBA Finals. They were unable to get over the hump for their first title, however, including this past season when Connecticut lost in four games to the Las Vegas Aces.
Reporting with @CasNegley: The Los Angeles Sparks are finalizing a deal to hire away two-time WNBA Coach of the Year Curt Miller from the Connecticut Sun, league sources tell @YahooSports.
Miller joins a proud Sparks franchise that has missed the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time since its inaugural years in 1997 and 1998. The Sparks job opened up after Derek Fisher was fired in the middle of his fourth season and veteran coach Fred Williams finished the year as interim.
LA’s +4000 odds at Tipico to win next year’s title are the second-longest of any team, but the apparent hope is that Miller’s coaching and management expertise can speed up the timeline. The Sun have the second-shortest odds to win the 2023 title at +350, but they have to first find a coach to guide a veteran group.
Welcome to Bet For the Win’s W Bets, where we break down, explain and bet on the WNBA. Today, we’re running down the final Thursday slate of the regular season.
The three-month WNBA regular season is all but over, yet in its final days, there’s still so much to play for.
The outcomes of today’s two-game slate could end up clearing some of the clutter around the playoff seeding, but only if the two road teams win. Victories by the home teams will set the stage for a wild final few days of the season.
So, let’s dive into these two games. Should we bet money on chaos? Or bet money on clarity?
The WNBA’s playoff race is absolutely insane right now and you need to watch it
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What’s good, family. It’s Sykes here again with another edition of layup lines.
Before we get started, a quick word on our schedule. Starting next week we’ll be switching to a 3-day rotation on Monday, Wednesday and Friday instead of the regular 5 days. We’re trying something different while we’re in the swing of the NBA offseason. Let us know if you like the pacing!
Now, a quick word on the WNBA’s 6-team race for the last 3 seeds in the playoffs.
Take a look at the standings. The first five seeds are pretty much on lock. The Chicago Sky and the Las Vegas Aces have locked up the first 2 playoff seeds — it’s only a matter of what order they’ll come in.
Behind those two, you’ve got the Sun, Mystics and Storm comfortably ahead of the pack in the 3, 4 and 5 slots. Those teams are playoff locks. But underneath them? There’s absolute chaos ensuing.
There’s a 3.5 game gap between the Dallas Wings as the 6th seed and the Minnesota Lynx as the 11th seed. In between them, you’ve got the Mercury at 7 with a 13-18 record. The Liberty, Sparks and Dream are behind them all with a 12-18 record and the Lynx are sitting at 12-19.
Only 8 teams can make the postseason and there’s only between 4 to 6 games left in everybody’s season. Three of these teams will be heartbroken.
It might be the Phoenix, who was in the Finals last year and have the best point guard in the W in Skylar Diggins-Smith. It might be the Sparks with Nneka Ogwumike, who is an MVP candidate. It might be the Dream, who have one of the best rookies we’ve seen in years in Rhyne Howard. It could be the Liberty with Sabrina Ionescu and it could even be the Wings with the best young core in the W if they slip far enough.
This league, man. It’s as cutthroat as it gets. There’s so much talent to go around. Even teams with legends and All-Stars and future Hall of Famers on them aren’t safe.
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
(Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)
LeBron James is extension eligible starting on Thursday. The Lakers will almost certainly offer him one and he almost certainly isn’t signing it. It’s going to be a contract year for the King, which is always fun.
“He wants two things: To play with his son and to play for a championship. To make the latter happen, James is keeping his finger pressed on the scale to push the Lakers into making moves. He wants a Russell Westbrook trade. And if it means sacrificing the Lakers’ last two future draft picks to get it done? He wants to do it. He can force them into that corner by threatening to leave if they don’t. An extension destroys that leverage, which is why he won’t sign it.
But the Lakers still seem steadfast in their unwillingness to completely mortgage their future to grant LeBron’s wishes. So now, this is a pretty expensive game of chicken.”
They’re almost definitely not trading LeBron. But if they were going to? Those are the places they probably should call. Check it out.
This game is interesting for all the reasons mentioned above here. The playoff implications in this one are huge. These two teams just played each other and the Liberty cleaned the Sparks out, 102-73. I don’t expect the result to be as drastic, but I do expect a win from the Liberty — especially with them being at home. I’ll take them -6.5.
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Liz Cambage is officially no longer a member of the Sparks.
Nothing has really gone according to plan for the Los Angeles Sparks this season.
They started the year by firing Derek Fisher and moving on. Then, they signed Liz Cambage to a deal in free agency which was a huge move at the time. It seemed like things were on the up and up in LA.
Now, here they stand at 6th in the league’s standings just clinging on to a playoff spot and Liz Cambage has officially left the team.
New broke early on Tuesday that Cambage “quit” the team and wanted out of LA, according to Girls Talk Sports TV’s Khristina Williams.
According to multiple sources, Liz Cambage wants out of LA.
Cambage reportedly “quit” the team, sources tell @GrlsTlkSportsTV.
And, just like that, it was over. Cambage was gone and the Sparks are still pushing to hold on to their playoff position.
It’s just been a strange season all around that ended in one of the strangest ways we could see as fans. Many fans have never even heard of a contract divorce.
If you haven’t, don’t worry. I’ll explain all that and more right here.
Clutch Points posted a video of Irving courtside at the Sparks, who were demolished by the Seattle Storm by more than 30 points.
Earlier this week it was reported that the Lakers and Nets were looking for a third party to participate in a multi-team trade. The Nets have zero interest in retaining Russell Westbrook’s $41 million contract, which is where the trade talks break down. The two parties will look for a third team to absorb Westbrook’s huge contract for next season.
Brooklyn is standing pat on dealing Irving, as their number one priority right now is to retain legitimate All-Star talent and a plethora of valuable draft picks for former MVP Kevin Durant.
