Tag: WNBA

On Tuesday, the Timberwolves and Lynx …

On Tuesday, the Timberwolves and Lynx organization, led by owner Glen Taylor, has pledged to donate up to $1 million in a relief fund for the part-time gameday staff at Target Center. Throughout the past week the organization has been working with the appropriate parties to bring the plan to fruition. The fund will provide financial assistance to hundreds of part-time employees who are adversely impacted by the loss of games at Target Center.

“Our staff who work so hard to make the …

“Our staff who work so hard to make the Target Center experience memorable for fans are the backbone of what we do,” said Timberwolves Owner Glen Taylor. “From the people who show fans to their seats, to the greeters at the entrance, I want to do my part to alleviate the financial concern that comes from missing games due to this national pandemic. We will get through this difficult time together and look forward to the day when our players, fans and staff are reunited again at Target Center.”

On Tuesday, the Timberwolves and Lynx …

On Tuesday, the Timberwolves and Lynx organization, led by owner Glen Taylor, has pledged to donate up to $1 million in a relief fund for the part-time gameday staff at Target Center. Throughout the past week the organization has been working with the appropriate parties to bring the plan to fruition. The fund will provide financial assistance to hundreds of part-time employees who are adversely impacted by the loss of games at Target Center.

Twenty-four and two have become …

Twenty-four and two have become significant numbers for the entire athletic community, including WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who was previously the CEO of Deloitte. During an appearance at the 2020 MAKERS Conference last week, she had the numbers “24” and “2” painted on her nails with the iconic Lakers’ colors — yellow and purple. It was her 22-year-old daughter’s idea to pay a personal tribute to the Bryants.

“Kobe was a huge advocate for the WNBA, …

“Kobe was a huge advocate for the WNBA, and for women and girls in sports. Girls drop out of sports at an alarming rate by the age of 13,” said Engelbert, noting that Gianna and her teammates were all 13. “Kobe also championed those who hoped to be a part of the league in the future by working with college teams like the University of Connecticut and University of Oregon. His impact was much broader than I certainly thought,” she added.

Skylar Diggins-Smith Traded to Phoenix in WNBA Blockbuster

“Players with Skylar’s skill set and ceiling don’t become available in free agency often” Mercury General Manager Jim Pittman said.

All-time Notre Dame great Skylar Diggins-Smith may not have won a national championship in her time with the Fighting Irish, but she’s easily one of the best to ever wear the blue, gold, green, white and whatever other colors that have been donned under Muffet McGraw.

Since graduating in 2013 Diggins has been starring in the WNBA where she is a two-time all WNBA first-team selection and a four-time All-Star.  She’s averaged 15.9 points and 4.9 assists for her career with Tulsa and Dallas (the team moved after the 2015 season).

Wednesday saw Diggins-Smith being traded from Dallas to the Phoenix Mercury where she will be part of their big three featuring herself, Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner.

The cost for Diggins-Smith you ask?

Substansial.

Two of the first round draft picks Dallas gets back are the fifth and seventh overall in this upcoming WNBA Draft while the other is for the 2021 draft.

“Players with Skylar’s skill set and ceiling don’t become available in free agency often” Mercury General Manager Jim Pittman said.

Diggins-Smith did not play in 2019 after giving birth to her first child that April.

The Mercury begin their season on May 17 against the Seattle Storm.

NBA and WNBA stars participate in ‘world’s best career day’

Talk about a cool career day.

Career day. Ah, yes, career day. That takes you back.

You know, to those days in high school where you’d sit and your classmate’s dad would come through from whatever job he worked. He’d share a few cool stories with the class and pass around some item that you’d never touched before. Easy money. Easy day at school. Now you can go home and chill.

But could you imagine a career day where James Harden showed up? Or Candace Parker? I don’t know about you, but my classroom would go nuts.

That’s happening for some kids in Chicago this weekend ahead of the All-Star game. Except for instead of a classmate’s dad, they’re kicking it with legends from the NBA and WNBA.

Adidas is hosting what they’re calling “the world’s best career day” with 240 student athletes from eight high schools in Chicago.

They’re getting tips and advice from professionals across different industries — including the NBA and WNBA — about what they did to make it in their profession. Adidas is bringing their athletes and professionals to help these kids shape their futures.

Among those professionals is Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker. The future Hall of Famer said the weekend is an opportunity for her to help someone else build their legacy the way she’s built hers.

“I’ve had countless role models and idols in my life both on and off the court that have played a huge part in who I am, so I’ve always strived to pass it on to the future generations,” Los Angeles Sparks All-Star Candace Parker told For The Win.

Other athletes participating include Derrick Rose, Zach LaVine, James Harden and Chiney Ogwumike among others. Some entertainers under the Adidas umbrella will also participate.

The program is part of Adidas basketball’s “Legacy” program that they say was created to empower youth in underserved communities across the country. The program started in 2017 and is currently in Los Angeles and New York. Chicago’s launch is coinciding with All-Star weekend.

The goal of the program is to “change lives through the power of sport,” Brandon Walker, Adidas Basketball’s program manager, told For The Win. Part of that is getting them in front of professionals who have already done the things they’re trying to do.

And it’s not just basketball they’re focused on. The company is also bringing in business professionals, artists, photographers, fashion designers and professionals from other industries to showcase their skills and drive interest.

“In LA, we were having a session and one of the young lady’s from our program spoke to one of our sneaker designers and she asked ‘You helped design James Harden’s shoe?’,” Walker said.  “And just to see the look on her face to see that she could impact sport without actually needing to play the game was super powerful. And that’s what we try to hammer home.”

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Recapping the WNBA’s wild free agency period

The WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement has sparked major movement in its free agency period.

WNBA free agency has only been upon us for a day and a half and things are already getting insane.

In just a couple days, here’s where we are:

  • Angel McCoughtry left the Atlanta Dream and signed with the Las Vegas Aces
  • Kristi Toliver left the WORLD CHAMPION Mystics and signed with the Los Angeles Sparks
  • The Phoenix Mercury signed and traded DeWanna Bonner to the Connecticut Sun

Those are three big moves that all impact last year’s semi-finalists. The Mystics got worse after having a historic offensive year while the Sun, Aces and Sparks all got a lot better.

This is NBA-level chaos for the WNBA in February when the offseason is supposed to be dead. You absolutely love to see it.

It’s all thanks to the WNBA’s new CBA

The league’s new collective bargaining agreement was the secret sauce the league needed to get its offseason popping.

Teams really just ain’t broke anymore, to put it bluntly. They have more money to play with. The league’s max salaries have jumped up to $215,000 from $117,500 last year, and the league’s salary cap spiked by more than 30%.

The league will be a lot better for it

The league might literally have more super teams than it can handle right now. Three teams in the W have at least three 2019 All-Stars their team — that’s a FOURTH of the league.

That’s not even counting the Mystics, who have Finals MVP Emma Meesseman, or the Storm, who were without Brianna Stewart and Sue Bird for most of last season. Or what about the Sun with Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner? The list goes on.

To put things simply, the WNBA is going to be wild next year.

This is absolutely great for the WNBA as it continues to grow its brand. People love watching super teams despite how much they claim to hate them. All we have to do is look to the NBA’s ratings for proof.

The NBA is as competitive as its ever been right now during the Warriors’  lost year and the league’s ratings are down. When people were firing off their snake emojis at Kevin Durant? Ratings weren’t a problem.

That theory withstands the test of time. Whether it’s Magic’s Lakers, Jordan’s Bulls or LeBron’s Heat, people watched. As much as folks cry about parity, it hasn’t gotten people to watch.

Super teams sell. The WNBA has plenty of them. You can do the math from there.

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