Looking at the best bets for Friday’s three-game WNBA slate.
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 first Friday slate of the 2022 season.
Season picks (record): 6-9
Friday is a great day for WNBA basketball. The NBA season is over and Game 2 of the Stanley Cup is scheduled for the weekend. With that, the W’s three-game slate will be center stage. Connecticut and Seattle will lead things off before Dallas and Phoenix will duel in the Big D. Chicago and Atlanta close out the night.
Here’s a look at the matchups, odds, and storylines.
There has been much speculation over the past couple of years, in particular, over how much longer one of the WNBA’s GOAT’s Sue Bird would continue on with her playing career. But never any official announcement from the 41-year-old veteran. But on Thursday, that changed.
And though the message shouldn’t have come as a surprise, coming to grips with the fact that the game’s greatest players is just months away from hanging them up for good, is a bittersweet feeling.
There are so many memorable moments — far too many to include to shrink down into one post — but we’ll rewind time and take a look at some of the numerous highlights of Bird’s career.
Bird announced the 2022 WNBA season will be her last.
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What’s up y’all. It’s Prince here for Layup Lines, and before we get into tonight’s Game 6, let’s talk about Sue Bird, who announced today she’s retiring at the end of this WNBA season. It’ll mark the end of a truly legendary career, so I pulled up a few stats to highlight how great she’s been, and man, these are truly mind-blowing.
Bird, who was drafted by the Seattle Storm with the first overall pick of the 2002 draft, leads the WNBA in all-time career games, minutes and assists. She’s also second in career 3-pointers, third in assists per game and top 10 in total points and win shares. That’s not to mention what the four-time champion has done in postseason and Olympic play.
The stats are incredible. And though she’ll inevitably be knocked down a few of those lists by the awesome players still active and the ones yet to come, she has 22 games left this season to continue adding to those numbers – starting Friday against the Connecticut Sun. And it’ll be fun to see which of her records stands the test of time.
However, the number I’m looking at the most isn’t the shiny all-time assists mark, currently at 3,114. That’ll fall eventually if someone like Courtney Vandersloot is able to match Bird’s longevity. And that’s why the games played number is the one I’m most impressed by. Not only was she great on the court, but she was always available – for 559 games and counting.
In her 17 seasons before sitting out in 2019, her missed 2013 season was the only other time she sat for more than seven games. Just last season, at 40, she played in 30 of 32 games. It’s LeBron-like durability. That’s why when she’s gone, it’ll be so weird. Because we’re just so used to seeing her out there, doing what she does best.
The only thing left to do now is appreciate the last few games of an awesome career.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
Anyone watching the NBA Finals can tell Celtics big man Robert Williams is far from 100% out there. He tore his meniscus in March, and after having a procedure to repair the knee, he’s been battling through it to help his team win a title.
According to league insider Chris Haynes, Williams was told by the team that there was no risk of him making the injury worse. But as our guy Bryan Kalbrosky wrote, ex-Celtic Isaiah Thomas isn’t buying it after his own experience playing through injury.
“The guard was traded that offseason. After the trade, medical examinations revealed news about Thomas’ health so concerning that the move was nearly voided. He suffered a torn labrum and other injuries to his right hip that were exacerbated by playing through the pain.
He has admitted that he should have sat out the playoffs and that he made his injury worse by playing through it. Thomas, who later required hip surgery, couldn’t help but notice the parallels between his story with Boston and what may be happening to Celtics big man Robert Williams right now.”
It’s easy to understand why IT might be skeptical.
Warriors (+130) vs. Celtics (+3.5, -160), O/U 210.5, 9 PM ET
I was on Warriors in 6 from the jump. And after the early portion of this series nearly caused me to flip on that pick, I’m feeling really good about it and think the Dubs close this thing out in Boston. I’m looking for Game 6 Klay to have an emergence in a game that goes over this total, because Boston won’t go out without swinging.
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Sue Bird officially made it official: The GOAT is calling it a career. Thursday, the 41-year-old Seattle Storm star point guard announced on Twitter that the 2022 WNBA season will be her last.
The news of her impending retirement shouldn’t come as much of a shock to fans, but it doesn’t mean it stings and saddens them any less. She is, after all, one of the greatest players to ever hit the court.
Since becoming the Storm’s No. 1 overall WNBA Draft pick in 2002, Bird has had a stunning, record-breaking career filled with too many accolades and trophies to list entirely. She’s a four-time WNBA champ (2004, 2010, 2018, 2020), and she’s the league’s all-time assists leader — a mark she broke back in 2017. She’s also a 12-time WNBA All-Star, and she’ll likely get to No. 13 this season.
Outside of the W, Bird is also a five-time Olympic gold medalist, winning in 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and, most recently, in 2021 postponed Tokyo Games last summer, along with being a four-time FIBA world champion (2002, 2010, 2014, 2018).
Anyone who’s been able to witness Bird play, in person or on TV, knows how special of a player she is and how vast her contributions to the game have been. So after she announced this will be her last season, fans began celebrating her illustrious career while still mourning the end of an era.
Sue Bird is Storm basketball.
Every moment, every memory has one constant. No. 10.
Looking at the best bets for Friday’s four WNBA games.
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 first Friday slate of the 2022 season.
Season picks (record): 4-6
It’s Friday night and the W is sending us into the weekend with a quartet of games. From Connecticut playing on the second night of a back-to-back to Dallas and Seattle trying to live up to the hype of last season’s consecutive game-winners, each matchup should present a competitive and entertaining 40 minutes of basketball up and down the board.
Here’s a look at the matchups, odds, and storylines.
Breaking down Friday’s WNBA matchups and choosing which teams to bet on.
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 first Friday slate of the 2022 season.
Season picks (record): 3-4
It’s Friday night in the W and there’s a fun three-game slate on deck to take us into the weekend.
The Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun kick things off with a battle at Mohegan Sun Arena. Then, the extremely hot Atlanta Dream looks to log a home win against the equally-as-hot Washington Mystics. Finally, the Los Angeles Sparks and Seattle Storm close out the slate with some action in the Pacific Northwest.
Here’s a look at Friday’s matchups, odds, and storylines.
Welcome to Bet For The Win’s weekly WNBA column, where we cover everything women’s basketball from highlight plays and signature moments to bad beats and best bets. Be sure to check back here every week for your W fix.
The sample sizes are growing! Last week’s column covered just the opening weekend of the W, which basically served as reactions to one game (maybe two) from each team. A full week later we’ve got more data, more moments, more everything. From the Atlanta Dream’s surprising start to the league’s continued struggles with chartered flights, let’s break down what went on in the W— during the past week.
This was a classic moment between Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi.
The Sue Bird-Diana Taurasi pairing is always golden. Such was the case when the two were teammates at UConn and for Team USA, when they teamed up on an ESPN Megacast for the 2022 Women’s Final Four and the 44 times they battled one another in the WNBA.
Saturday’s 45th game was no different. Both players competed hard throughout the game and found themselves tied up with one another late in the fourth quarter.
Taurasi had possession of the ball but Bird tied her up and the two struggled for possession until the refs blew the whistle.
Was it a foul? Was it a jump ball?
The two legends debated and the ABC broadcast picked up the dialogue.
Phoenix would gain possession of the tip but Bird perfectly defended Taurasi into a missed corner three.
Win, Sue Bird.
But Taurasi and the Mercury got the last laugh as Diana hit a big three moments later and then closed the game with two free throws to put it out of reach for a 69-64 victory.
Nonetheless, we got another classic Bird-Taurasi moment that’ll live forever.
The 2022 WNBA season has tipped off, and there is plenty of Notre Dame representation. Not that this should come as any surprise given that they all played under Muffet McGraw. Hopefully one day, Niele Ivey will have just as many of her own former players competing at the pinnacle of professional women’s basketball. For now, McGraw’s legacy is far more apparent.
With nine former Irish players in the WNBA and a few of them even teammates, there’s a very good chance you’ll find one of them on a given night if you decide to flip on a random game this season. Maybe you happen to be a fan of a particular team that has Irish blood on it. In that case, congratulations for hitting the jackpot!
Don’t be so quick to write these athletes off just because it’s women’s basketball. It’s just as thrilling to watch them as it is male athletes, and you’re only hurting yourself if you refuse to watch solely based on gender. Now, with that out of the way, here are the former Irish players to look for:
Ranking the WNBA teams 1-12 ahead of Week 1 of the 2022 season.
Months have passed following the WNBA’s celebratory 25th season, one that saw the Chicago Sky win its first-ever championship 201 days ago. Headlines filled the eight-month intermission as notable players were traded, superstars switched teams, and coaches went to new organizations.
Alas, the dust has finally settled and the off-season is in the rearview. Now, each team has finalized its roster and is ready to roll into the 2022 season on an even playing field.
Where do things stand as the new season gets underway? We take a look at all 12 teams and rank them ahead of opening night with our first power rankings of 2022:
