Happy Thursday, Ball-Knowers!

Today had some international flavor in the world of women’s basketball. Team USA released their 2026 FIBA World Cup rosters and we have some immediate reactions there as well as some forecasting of which challengers exist in Berlin.

You may have also noticed some new thumbnails and a brand new graphic open on YouTube. They’re small adjustments but are just two of our handful of projects that we’ve been working on this first half of the WNBA season. As we keep professionalizing our operation and giving you, our humble Ball-Knowers, a real-deal network feel, expect some more stylistic flourishes and new segments in the coming weeks and months!

Tyler reacts to Team USA’s roster reveal for the FIBA World Cup…

And drops some lore in a new YouTube series…

Andrew, Greer and Tyler are on Ball Up Top this week with a monthly look at the ole’ WNBA investment portfolio.

And available on YouTube as well…

While the rest of the world is working to catch up to Team USA in women’s basketball, the Americans may be taking one of their best international rosters to Berlin since the 2008 Olympics. For the last two World Cup cycles, everything has run through the bigs. A’ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart have been the stalwarts and are now joined by Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese and Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston, in their first senior team call-up of this magnitude.

But now, the advancing Golden Generation of guards are joining the party as well. Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers will be joining Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray and Kahleah Copper. The balance and depth of this American team rivals that of the 2008 team that boasted everyone from Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi to Sylvia Fowles and Candace Parker. As interesting as the French may be on the heels of their 2024 Olympic silver medal run, this iteration of Team USA may just be a unique buzzsaw that rips through the field in September.

I was a little surprised to not see Olivia Miles on the roster, but it does make a degree of sense. Chelsea Gray is a Team USA engine in the backcourt and is still one of the most clutch players in the world. While Kahleah Copper hasn’t had the best season, she’s one of those athletes that is a different level of star when the international spotlight shines down. There really isn’t a 2024 Diana Taurasi that is a clear ‘You could’ve left them at home’ type situation. What’s more interesting to me is the omission of Sabrina Ionescu, who has been a mainstay for Team USA for the last few cycles but is still trying to find her own level of consistency this year. In any case, we are rooting for some intrigue but this roster may take out some of the imagination of this tournament.

In short, the world is catching up but Team USA women’s basketball is still Team USA women’s basketball. The Goliath until further notice.

Coming off of the All-Star break, the Washington Mystics felt like one team that could potentially be the victim of a late season slide. With Phoenix pushing for Kelsey Plum and Chicago seemingly figuring out who to give the ball to in the clutch, there was reason to believe that there might be some jockeying for that eighth and final playoff spot.

Now, the field looks more-or-less set barring a real collapse by one of the top eight teams in the WNBA.

In a late win over Dallas on Wednesday night, the Mystics once again proved that they may be a year ahead of schedule. Shakira Austin has been lights out since returning from the break and finished with another 20+ point double-double, while her frontcourt mate Kiki Iriafen is liable to do the same thing on any given night. There are still questions about what to do with Lauren Betts in the long term or how to upgrade the point guard position for a true WNBA title push.

But once again we are watching the Mystics grow up in front of our eyes and it may be worth asking if they are actually going to surge up the standings given their current run of form. One of the interesting things we discussed on Ball Up Top this week was the concept of matchup hunting and which playoff teams may try to scheme a way into a favorable opponent for the playoffs.

If I’m any of the other seven teams, the Mystics are the team I’d like to avoid right now.

Conversely, I believe in the Atlanta Dream as a finals contender. I’m just a little confused why everyone else isn’t as enthused. Yes, there’s the social media body language tea leaf reading one could do. Does the friendship between Allisha Gray and A’ja Wilson have any bearing on the Aces complete and utter half-decade of dominance over this franchise? The statistics and Gray’s on-court play in those matchups would suggest there is no correlation whatsoever.

But, to me, it’s less about the social media clips and more about the numbers underneath them. Since 2020, Vegas has been Atlanta 16 out of 18 possible tries. The last time the Dream defeated the Aces was in May of 2024. The franchise we currently associate greatness with in this league is A’ja Wilson’s team in Sin City. So if you’re looking to win over hearts and minds as a real deal contender, that’s the team you need to be standing toe-to-toe with. Factor in that 2-16 record in the last six years against Vegas and you can see why some Atlanta fans may be looking deeper into things that may not be there.

That’s kind of the hard part of all this. The narratives will always push in certain directions and sometimes they’re right, sometimes they’re wrong. But what isn’t wrong is that Atlanta has figured out a way to compete with just about any team (including league-leading Minnesota) in the WNBA. It’s just that the one team that you are likelier-than-not to have to go through is the team that has your number in seemingly every way.

So while I believe that the Dream can make a Finals case this year, I don’t begrudge those that see that matchup specifically and feel like it’s the blocked chakra getting in the way of the wide open road to enlightenment.

Las Vegas Aces (21-9) vs. Indiana Fever (19-11): 7:00 PM ET, Prime Video

I mean come on, this is a banger of a matchup. It very well could be a Finals preview and while I wrote in Five Out on Monday that I’m becoming a real deal believer in the Fever’s finals ceiling, these are the kind of games where I want to see you close out your opponent in a way that signals you can handle the bright lights. Indiana has the most potent offense in the WNBA right now and is on pace to be a best-ever unit. How will Becky Hammon try and scheme some roadblocks for Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston? There’s so much good here that if you aren’t tuned in, you’re missing out.

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