It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Yes, the world appears to be falling apart at the seams but we have the WNBA playoffs and I guess that’s the bread and circuses we all need in our lives, right?
All kidding aside, I’ve thought a lot about the state of the world, what we do here at No Cap Space and the idea of sports as distraction while everything around us feels like it’s burning down in some form or fashion. On some level, there is merit to the idea that games placate us and create environments that inoculate us to the very real problems that exist in the world. But, on another, it allows us to remember the things that give life meaning. Whether or not we feel this way all the time or not, sports allows us to the ability to feel during a time when nihilism feels like the emotion du jour.
Nothing matters and everything does at the same time. I spent last Wednesday covering the Evergreen High School shooting in Colorado for CBS News here in Denver. I’ve covered all of the 2020 summer civil unrest in Oregon, wildfires in four different states in the last five years and the truly awful terrorist attack that took place in Boulder a couple months ago. All of that paled in comparison to a singular moment that I saw that is seared into my brain forever: a mother hugging her high school aged daughter after not seeing her all day. As her mother wept on her shoulder, the daughter looked completely disassociated and in a state of shock at what her life now was. All day, you sit and wait for your live shot and wonder ‘Is this really the country we want to live in? Where parents and students know that this type of event can be an eventuality regardless of where they live?’
It was a hard day, to say the least. Working in general assignment news desensitizes you to a lot, to the point that the gallows humor you employ to make it through your day can become foreign even to yourself. But the joy of what sports gives us is a reminder that there is still a space to feel. It’s okay to protect oneself from the horror that we see unfold every day while allowing yourself, every now and then, to indulge in the kinds of things that give life meaning. Namely, the feelings of joy, shock, sadness and awe without the sheer weight of the world attached to them. So yes, while sports is a little meaningless in the grander scheme of things, it also means everything for us in this current moment. It’s a place where we can feel authentically without many strings attached. The games end and we go on with our lives. But we had the moment to feel. And right now, that moment, that freedom to feel, means everything.
Now, to the column…
1. Day One Playoff Takeaways
Instead of a big paragraph about the first day of the WNBA playoffs, let’s run you through each matchup and a couple big conclusions we can draw through one game…
New York vs. Phoenix -
The entire complexion of this series, as well as New York’s hopes to repeat as WNBA champions, hinges on what exactly the status of Breanna Stewart’s injury is. The New York superstar went down with a non-contact left knee injury with about three minutes left in overtime and we’re waiting on a prognosis. Clearly, her absence would change the calculus of the postseason. On Phoenix’s end, you simply can’t have Satou Sabally shoot 2/17 and 1/10 from 3. But in addition to her, Alyssa Thomas can’t smoke game winning layups. As dominant as she is, this is always the knock on her as a true MVP candidate. You can get away with not having a perimeter shot but if you’re going to operate mostly within 10 feet then you have to be more efficient than 7/18.
Minnesota vs. Golden State -
Simply put, the Lynx look ready. This was a team effort across the board as five Minnesota players finished in double digits, led by Napheesa Collier’s 20. Natalie Nakase had a lot to say about the officiating in this one and I get it to a point. A game needs to be called consistently and if you’re letting physicality slide in the first quarter then you can’t start tightening up in the ensuing quarters. At the same time, the Lynx shot three less free throws than the Valkyries so it wasn’t a case of lopsided opportunity for Minnesota. What this game really came down to was the Lynx swinging the ball well (25 team assists), shooting efficiently (51.5% FG) and looking like the title team we’ve expected them to be from day one.
Indiana vs. Atlanta -
This was another one where the foul discussion overtook what actually happened in this game. And the thing that people didn’t notice as much was that Bri Jones was given the assignment to defend Aliyah Boston and it paid dividends for the Dream. Boston went just 3/9 from the field and Indiana shot 2/15 from 3 as a team. That isn’t going to win you any games no matter how messy the fouls are on either end. I can understand coaches being frustrated about bad calls and how it disrupts the rhythm and momentum of a matchup. But the fact of the matter is you’re going to lose when you shoot 13.3% from beyond the arc no matter what happens. I expect Gainbridge to be rocking and would be a little stunned if this didn’t go back to ATL for a Game 3.
Las Vegas vs. Seattle -
The title series sure feels like Vegas vs. Minnesota at this point. The Aces are as dominant as they’ve been at any point since this run really got started in 2022. Now they got some help courtesy of the Storm chucking up some absolute garbage, especially in the first quarter, but the way this Vegas team has rallied around each other is remarkable. NaLyssa Smith has been exactly what A’ja Wilson has needed and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus returned after giving birth to a whole child and going 3/3 from the field. One thing we don’t talk about in this league enough is how utterly remarkable that is. If you get combined 10/20 shooting performances from Jewell Loyd and Dana Evans off the bench, the Aces are going to be really hard to beat this postseason. It may be presumptuous but it sure feels like we’re going to get the Minnesota - Las Vegas title fight we’ve been asking for since the Aces winning streak started in earnest.
2. Jeff Pagliocca Is Realizing The Motion Is Not Sold Separately…
Tyler hit the nail on the head when we spoke last weekend about Angel Reese and the evolving situation with the Chicago Sky…
The currency is different in the WNBA. Because, frankly, motion in the WNBA is the biggest currency of all right now. And Angel Reese has the motion to go up against everybody right now and to that point.
Take a bow, my friend.
The chants in Wintrust Arena weren’t deafening by any means but they were loud enough to send the message to the Chicago Sky organization and anybody watching: this is Angel Reese’s team and that’s who the fanbase is here for. Maybe that’s why Courtney Vandersloot looked so surprised on the bench and why Jeff Pagliocca is suddenly so willing to work with Angel publicly.
Whether or not the message came down from owners Michael Alter or Nadia Rawlinson is irrelevant. Even if they wanted to back Pagliocca and his way of doing things, the fans have spoken. In fact, they’ve yelled and chanted it over and over. Pags can say that he speaks to Angel every day and that this chapter of what’s been a messy year in the Windy City has closed. But even he knows that his authority is as brittle as a crystal wine glass.
It is worth noting that in one of his last interviews of the regular season, Pagliocca still asserted that Courtney Vandersloot will return, that he has the ear and respect from ownership and that Tyler Marsh is the guy for the job. I have no doubt that Marsh is probably safe, given the mess this year was. But Vandersloot and Pagliocca’s continued insistence that this can work with Reese while they’re there feels like the power struggle isn’t done yet. It takes an awful lot of confidence to feel like you’ve got the leverage in a situation where tens of thousands of fans are chanting for you to be fired but since you’ve already burned the bridge by arbitrarily suspending Reese for one half, leading to her not playing for the rest of the year, but that’s sort of in line with how the Sky’s General Manager has conducted himself this year.
This offseason, provided there is no work stoppage (which isn’t a guarantee, mind you), will be a huge one for Chicago. If they aren’t able to get serious free agents to play alongside Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, I don’t know how you can salvage this moving forward. Pagliocca seems committed to doing so, as long as he’s the man with the final say. But he may come to learn that his word may not travel as far as he thinks when it’s being drowned out by the voices of a bunch of pissed off Chicagoans who are tired of their WNBA franchise being run like Bluth’s Original Frozen Banana Stand.
3. Thanks for Reading No Cap Space, Cathy Engelbert…
It’s a glib headline, yes. I don’t actually think that Cathy Engelbert is a regular NCS reader (although we do have some important people that are, and we very much appreciate your patronage!). In an interview with Khristina Williams on her podcast, In Case You Missed It, the WNBA commissioner had this to say about the Connecticut Sun and their potential sale and/or relocation.
A lot’s been written about what’s going on. I wouldn’t believe everything you read in this case. We want the best success for the Mohegan, for the Connecticut Sun and for the team. They’re still looking at their strategic options and what they want to do and we’ve been in touch with them periodically.
The fake news angle really is timeless, isn’t it?
What’s remarkable is that Engelbert immediately gives up the game just a couple sentences later.
You need a process because it would be chaos if you let anybody move to anywhere they wanted to go.
In the most Regina George voice possible, so you’re saying you are influencing the Mohegan’s selling process…
Mind you, this isn’t the Mohegan Tribe asking the WNBA to let them sell the team to an ownership group that will relocate them to Sheboygan. This was a once-minority owner of the Boston Celtics, aiming to buy the franchise for a market rate valuation and bring them to one of the biggest media markets in the nation. Then there’s the other group, also led by a former NBA owner, who wanted to keep the team in Connecticut. Mind you, the 2024-2025 Nielsen TV Market rankings list Hartford as a larger market than Las Vegas, Austin and Kansas City.
As the United States government, led by Senator Richard Blumenthal, takes an interest in the WNBA/NBA’s potential monopolistic ownership of its women’s basketball franchises, Engelbert probably has to tread lightly. It’s important to remember that she’s an accounting executive from Deloitte who still has to answer to her majority owners (the NBA) at the end of the day. While she can try her best to divert and obfuscate the conversation, the facts remain. The WNBA is handing franchises to NBA owners while doing nothing to fight the perception that it is nothing but a money pit for its partner league to take advantage of however they see fit. In Engelbert’s eyes, and by her own admission on the podcast, she loves that controversy is driving discussion. She said as much last year on CNBC while WNBA players were being buried under torrents of racist invective from every side of the spectrum.
She preaches order and stability within her business while welcoming chaos as a means to hike the price of the product. But what good does that do anyone when the NBA is still, on some level, setting the market for everything from franchise valuations to TV rights deals? I’m not sure if the end result of full divestment is even possible at this point but the fact that the government, from the U.S. senate to the state of Connecticut (who put in a bid to buy a minority stake in the franchise to keep them in CT), is involved is extremely noteworthy and important to follow as we continue inching towards a conclusion on a variety of labor disputes from the CBA to the Sun.
And Cathy, if you are reading, feel free to email me. My inbox is always open for a discussion.
4. The Case for WNBA Voter Transparency…
I’ve always been a little uncertain about media voting for postseason awards mostly because I don’t love the idea of us having the power to decide whether or not players hit certain performance incentives. I’d like to think that, on the whole, the press corps knows ball. But everyone has such different views on what is important and why when it comes to voting that it just doesn’t feel fair to the players that contracts are tied to what we believe. Especially since the vast majority of us didn’t play (though I’ll be clear, playing the game at a high level doesn’t exclude you from having terrible basketball opinions either).
When money is tied to these awards, I do think there’s a need for transparency. If you vote for someone that has the chance to be a supermax player or even potentially be able to get a little more in free agency by winning Sixth Player or Most Improved, you should have to be able to make your case as to why. Whether people respect your argument or not is a completely different discussion (one we’ll touch on in just a minute) but the idea that WNBA voters are allowed to sit behind a shroud of secrecy while they put their votes in feels wrong. We already have enough stans masquerading as reporters in the space and way too many commentators with clear agendas or biases with votes. If they’re able to have the luxury of deciding who deserves an award or an All-WNBA nod, they should be asked to defend it on its merits. Otherwise, we start running into the problems that awards shows like the Oscars do.
Which brings me to my next point…
5. …And the Problem of Parasocial Fandoms
The reason it feels sometimes that we can’t allow voter transparency is because fans simply can’t handle it. If there’s a legitimate criticism to levy against WNBA fans, be they new ones or those in the space for awhile, it’s that there’s too much parasocial behavior and the need to treat athletes like artists. There is just too much overlap in how A’ja or Angel or Caitlin Clark fans speak about their favorite players and how they might speak about Beyonce, Nicki Minaj or any other musical artist. I’ve always argued that the difference we need to be aware of is that art is a subjective medium. If I think a song sucks, it doesn’t mean the song sucks. But if a player shoots 1/20 and their team loses, that performance sucked. It has nothing to do with any other outside forces that influence opinion. The ball just didn’t go in the hoop.
But awards season blurs those traditionally hard lines to the point where it becomes difficult to admonish fans who normally behave this way. The gap between A’ja Wilson and Napheesa Collier for MVP, for instance, is subjective. It’s rooted in what you value as a voter and how you define greatness. What we have to be careful of, especially those of us who want voter transparency in the future, is not creating the conditions where it becomes not worth it to ask for that concession. I may not agree with ESPN’s Kendra Andrews’ rationale for why she voted for Napheesa Collier but I can make a case in my own head, based on my own subjectivity, as to why she should. The same goes for SB Nation’s Noa Dalzell, who explained over the weekend why she voted for A’ja Wilson. Two high level reporters with different opinions and methods in how they got to where they did. It doesn’t mean Kendra has an axe to grind against South Carolina or that she hates A’ja. Nor does it mean Noa is in the cult of Carolina or trying to appease the legions of fans on Twitter who have come to enjoy their bully pulpit. It just means they value two different sets of metrics when it comes to their decision making. That’s all it needs to be.
