The 'Ball-Knowers' WNBA Weekend Watch Guide: Weekend of June 6 - June 8
Tiers are emerging among teams in the WNBA. Who is the best? Who might just be very good? And who is playing for the lottery? The Watch Guide is here to help you figure that out.
Thankfully the schedule this weekend is a little less condensed on Saturday which means more opportunity to space out your WNBA watch windows. It’s important to note that we’re officially the portion of the year where all of these games matter towards Commissioner’s Cup standings and placement so there is a little bit of stakes involved here.
While we don’t have a ton of top billing games between the top franchises in the W, there’s a lot of great reasons to watch from individual player matchups to narratives and agendas that will likely end up being discussed on Ball Up Top next Tuesday.
So with that said, let’s hit the Watch Guide!
Friday, June 6
Atlanta Dream (5-2) vs. Connecticut Sun (1-6): 7:30 PM ET, ION
Why it’s worth a watch: Atlanta has proven to be a little bit of a matchup nightmare for everyone they play and I suspect this game with Connecticut might not be super close. The Dream won the first tilt between the two in convincing fashion, 79-55 back in May, and have been rolling to open the year. If I’m picking out an individual player to watch in this one it’s Allisha Gray from Atlanta. In the Karl Smesko offense, the 30 year old point guard is having a career year in the WNBA and may be well on her way to not just her first All-WNBA season but first *first team* nod. She’s been that good. Over seven games, Gray is leading the team in scoring with 21.4 points and contributing on other ways too with 5.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. Beyond her, I’m curious if Rhyne Howard can find her consistency in a plus matchup against the Sun. After a brief shooting slump, the former number one pick in 2021 exploded for 33 points in a statement win over Seattle.
For Connecticut, they’ve finally won a game but Rachid Meziane is still looking for his first victory in Uncasville. If I’m watching anyone closely it’s Aneesah Morrow who is further down the bench than I anticipated. While she’s been working her way back from an early injury, the former LSU star’s minutes have been sporadic. After 15 minutes and a career high 8 points against the Liberty, I’m curious if we start to see her get a little bit more action in this one.
Must-Watch Score: 6.5/10
Los Angeles Sparks (2-6) vs. Dallas Wings (1-7): 7:30 PM ET, ION
Why it’s worth a watch: This game gets a 7.5/10 on the must-watch scale because of the potential agendas surrounding the two head coaches involved in it. The Sparks vibes, as we wrote about in Five Out on Monday, feel very off. The roster moves and rotations have been weird, Rickea Jackson does not seem to be enjoying herself in this new system and L.A. should have enough talent to be a bit better than they are. I still think the Sparks had a good reason to make the move for Kelsey Plum but giving away Li Yueru felt like a bit of an unnecessary deal given that they have a frontcourt need and Seattle stuck her to the bench to such a degree that she’s asking to be traded.
Over in Dallas, the vibes feel similarly awful. Chicago was able to beat the Wings twice this past weekend, giving new Sky coach Tyler Marsh a good boost while making everyone question if Chris Koclanes has the capability to be a head coach in this league and with this roster. Chauny’s early season nickname for him — Chris T. Sides — was as prophetic as it is surgical. The Wings need to start having reasons to think there is a bright future. With Paige Bueckers out of the lineup again, something has to give.
Must-Watch Score: 7.5/10
Saturday, June 7
Las Vegas Aces (4-2) vs. Golden State Valkyries (2-5): 3:00 PM ET, ABC
Why it’s worth a watch: Natalie Nakase gets to see her old team on Saturday in a nationally televised broadcast window. The Valkyries have had a pretty difficult schedule to open the year, all things considered. They’ve seen the Liberty twice, the Lynx once and the Mercury in the last four matchups. On some level, the 2-5 record is a bit of a misnomer given the combined records of those three teams is 21-3 through the first month of the season. The Aces, while still a contender in many ways, don’t feel as invincible as New York and Minnesota. But there’s a shot Becky Hammon reminds her former assistant coach who the master still is.
From a matchup perspective, there’s no one on Golden State that can match up with A’ja Wilson but then again, there may only be two or three players in the league that can. Instead, my interest comes in the backcourt battle between these teams. Golden State has found a nice grouping even with Tip Hayes being out of the lineup at times with an injury. Veronica Burton has established herself as the same five-tool type of guard that she was at Northwestern while Kate Martin has provided some good bench minutes recently. I’m curious how Nakase employs Carla Leite and Julie Vanloo in this one given each have had their moments at different points early in the year. If nothing else, it’ll be a fun and high-energy game in what I’m sure will be a great environment at the Chase Center.
Must-Watch Score: 7.5/10
Indiana Fever (3-4) vs. Chicago Sky (2-4): 8:00 PM ET, CBS
Why it’s worth a watch: Well, here we are again. The Fever and the Sky at the United Center. In some ways, this feels kind of similar to the first Indiana - Chicago after the Chennedy Carter shove in 2024. Everyone who likes to make this about everything other than basketball was expecting a WWE cage match and instead we just got a game of hoop. That’s what I feel like we’re likely to get on Saturday. There’s a question about whether or not Caitlin Clark will return for this one and naturally that’s going to add or substract some intrigue to the matchup. But even with Clark out of the lineup, it appears the Fever have figured some things out with the help of a hardship signing in Aari McDonald. With the former Arizona Wildcat star running the point, Indiana played their best game since Clark went out in a win over Washington.
Chicago got on a bit of a better track this past week with two wins over Dallas while getting a few days to practice together and recuperate ahead of a home game against Indiana. On some level I do think that Tyler Marsh and some of these other franchises with a lot of new faces have just needed time to gel and practice. Keep in mind how short the run-up to the season is and how much rosters are in flux all throughout training camp and the preseason. While the Fever are substantially better than Dallas, I am curious if the Sky’s backcourt troubles are more or less fixed as Ariel Atkins starts to return to the form we know she has. Angel Reese’s shooting woes are still well documented but the real question is around Kamilla Cardoso. While they beat the Wings on the road last week, the 6’7 center played just 15 minutes after a career 23 point. 8 rebound game in Chicago just a couple days prior. That’s someone to watch closely.
Must-Watch Score: 8/10
Seattle Storm (4-4) vs. Phoenix Mercury (6-3): 10:00 PM ET, League Pass
Why it’s worth a watch: In terms of the basketball, this one is probably the game of the night and maybe the weekend. The Mercury have proven themselves to be for real and firmly in the second tier of teams in the WNBA so far this year. If the Liberty and Lynx are sitting at the top, the next grouping appears to be Phoenix, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Seattle. Lexi Held is making an extremely quiet Rookie of the Year campaign, even though I think we probably need to have a discussion about what constitutes ‘rookie’ in the league right now. After a season high 24 points that led Phoenix on a comeback 18-1 run over Golden State this week, it feels like Nate Tibbetts has distilled belief into a roster primarily composed of former W castoffs. Even absent Alyssa Thomas, Phoenix has found a way.
Seattle, on the other hand, has a roster of stars and a whole lot of mess going on. Li Yueru reportedly asked for a trade this week in search of more playing time. There was an investigation into an assistant coach allegedly cursing out a former player after the Storm vs. Aces game and the dialogue around what looked to be a red-hot team in the first two weeks of the season has totally changed. Seattle is now 4-4 and the vibes seem to be a bit shaky right now. As the meme said ‘suspect has a lot going on right now’. But even with that in mind, there is simply too much talent here to let things go completely sideways. These two teams have played twice already, each winning one matchup apiece. Let’s see who pulls ahead in the series.
Must-Watch Score: 8.5/10
Sunday, June 8
Connecticut Sun (1-6) vs. Washington Mystics (3-6): 3:00 PM ET, League Pass
Why it’s worth a watch: This game was closer than people anticipated early in the year and it wouldn’t surprise me if the Sun managed to steal a game from Washington. While it was only the second matchup of the season, Connecticut was leading up until the fourth quarter before the Mystics poured in 30 points in the last frame to win 90-85. That was also a game, mind you, where Marina Mabrey shot 5-21 from the field and 1-8 from three point range. While that’s liable to happen in any game, I don’t know if it can be that bad against the same team twice.
Since opening the season with some impressive wins, the Mystics have cooled off a bit but under somewhat understandable circumstances. Outside of that buzzer beater loss to Golden State, they nearly knocked off Phoenix and Las Vegas. The losses to New York are pretty much self explanatory and Indiana is starting to come back around after their slump. I like Washington to beat Connecticut here but this is still a situation of two new coaches and two teams that are rebuilding. While one appears to be a little bit further ahead than the other, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a guaranteed win for the Mystics. Continue to keep an eye on Kiki Iriafen as well, who has proven to be as ready for the WNBA as can be and is already starting to build a quality Rookie of the Year case.
Must-Watch Score: 7/10
Minnesota Lynx (8-0) vs. Dallas Wings (1-7): 4:00 PM ET, League Pass
Why it’s worth a watch: I’d love it if Paige Bueckers was back in the lineup by this team. To be quite blunt the Wings are just a much more watchable and interesting team with her in the lineup and the only reason this thing is even on the Watch Guide is on the hope that she’ll be back and playing. Otherwise, this game may truly get wicked. The Lynx are proving themselves to be as sturdy and elite as New York, setting up a genuinely fun storyline to follow throughout the season. What’s made the WNBA fun this year especially is the idea that we get the best of both worlds from a narrative and storytelling standpoint. We have a grouping of incredible individual players and two top end teams that are just straight up elite. It’s a rare confluence that some leagues see for periods of time and only the NFL has been able to sustain. In some ways, it feels like a parallel universe where Kevin Durant never went to the Warriors after 2016. In that world, we’d still have the Warriors - Cavs rivalry along with KD’s Thunder, an emerging Giannis, Jokic and a host of others. The W is giving us that now which makes the Lynx a regular watch with Napheesa Collier already staking a claim to be leading the MVP race a month into the season.
As for the game itself, I feel like it could teeter on blowout without Paige in the lineup. Dallas managed to keep it close with Minnesota the last time these teams met in late May but it’s important to note that Kayla McBride wasn’t yet back with the Lynx. With the dynamic guard in the lineup and shooting the way she has, I’m not sure Dallas has much of a chance here.
Must-Watch Score: 6.5/10
Monday, June 9
Golden State Valkyries (2-5) vs. Los Angeles Sparks (2-6): 10:00 PM ET, League Pass
Why it’s worth a watch: This is another ‘Lynne Roberts has to reset the vibes of the team’ game. If they lose to Dallas and then follow that up with a Monday loss to Golden State, things could take a substantial turn for the worse in L.A. The good news is that the Sparks have split two meetings with the Valks already so it’s not as if they don’t know what it takes to beat them. But generally I like this as a late standalone Monday game because they’re two teams that are generally punching in the same weight class.
By the time this game tips off, I think we’ll have some pretty clear dividing lines of tiers within this league but what will make this game interesting is it’ll help us decide what tier Golden State is in. I feel pretty confident that the Sparks are in a bucket with Connecticut, Chicago and Dallas. But two wins this weekend over the Wings and Golden State could elevate them in my eyes. Are the Valkyries in that grouping too? Or are they in their own tier with Washington of teams that are good and interesting but maybe not very good or even great just yet? That’s what makes this one a 7.5/10. Should be fun!
Must-Watch Score: 7.5/10