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Atlanta Dream vs Mystics:
The Atlanta Dream parted ways with their former HC Tanish
a Wright, who is now an assistant coach for Chicago. Tanisha was a competitive coach, yet held her former frontcourt of Tina Charles & Cheyenne Parker-Tyus on short leashes.
ATL, now under new head coach Karl Smesko, dumped that frontcourt to acquire Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones. This is a powerful duo, each completely dominant in post position while having serviceable jumpshots. Smesko calls this his “Dream Duo”, and that this offense will be dependent on their “high value shots”, which will feature a lot of post touches.
This duo both were Centers, but now are starting alongside each other. With ATL also picking up Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and having Jordin Canada return in a couple weeks, they look to improve further upon their defense that ranked Top 5 in DRTG and 2nd in OPP PITP to close the year. Expect a slow, grinding team.
Meanwhile, The Mystics also made a coaching change to Sydney Johnson. Johnson, who came from 3v3 basketball, looks to play at an ultra-fast pace. This team was looking to start a rebuild this season with three Top 10 draft picks of Sonia Citron (G, Notre Dame), Kiki Iriafen (F, USC) and Georgia Amoore (G, UK). Kiki was the most aggressive in preseason, while Citron was pretty reserved in her shot selection.
Sadly, the WSH injury list is long. Georgia Amoora is already out for the year with an ACL tear, while other young stars in Shakira Austin (leg) and Aaliyah Edwards (back) will miss the opener. Those two each had strong offseasons in Unrivaled, yet Austin has yet to put together a healthy season.
With so much inexperience in the WSH team, they likely remain a struggling unit this season.
These two met in the preseason, with ATL winning 80-70, and the first quarter 30-10. They dealt most of this damage from behind the arc, making up nearly half of their points.
Lynx vs Wings:
The Wings last season tied the Indiana Fever in 2020 with the worst DRTG in WNBA history, so they of course had to make major offseason changes. Now under HC Chris Koclanes paired with GM Curt Miller, the Wings also ride on a plethora of new additions; Starting with No.1 draft pick Paige Bueckers, they also added a defensive duo of Dijonai Carrington & Ty Harris, along with Nalyssa Smith from IND.
The new star duo of Bueckers and Ogunbowale noted they are, “aggressive in looking for our shots, yet also aggressive in looking for others… push the tempo, open up the floor”.
Dallas is likely to remain the fastest team in the league, and their defensive success will have to stem from Pts off TOV to lead into fastbreak. Their paint defense, which surrendered the most opponent points last season, likely remains a problem.
The Lynx didn’t need to change much. This squad just came off a finals appearance vs NYL, being as close to a title as you can be without winning one, suffering an OT Game 5 loss. The team got even deeper, as they welcomed back F Jessica Shepard from her overseas obligations. They also picked up Marieme Badiane, the starting center for the France Olympic team that just went toe-to-toe with The Americans, for her first season in the WNBA.
Napheesa Collier put up an incredible 2024 season, with 20.4 PPG, 9.7 RPG and 3.3 STL+BLKs. This campaign would have likely won her the MVP award in any season but the last, where A’Ja Wilson put up possibly the greatest individual season ever.
Collier, McBride, Hiedeman and Courtney Williams all had active offseasons in Unrivaled. McBride went from Unrivaled to play for her Turkey club overseas, as she remains one of the most decorated international players. Due to this, she hasn’t a preseason game and may not suit up for opening day so her body can get reacclimated.
Reeve, May 13th: “I’ll just keep saying we’re in touch with Mac, everything’s fine, just personal.”
McBride suited up every game but the finale last season. Minnesota should still roll. Aces beat DAL in the first game of the preseason 112-78, with a 55-38 advantage after the starter-dominated 1H.
Sparks vs Valkyries:
The WNBA welcomes the Valkyries as their newest expansion team, under another first-time HC Natalie Nakase. Nakase has a stacked coaching resume, serving as an assistant coach for the Clippers before joining Becky Hammon in Las Vegas. Nakase is looking to win, and win quickly, so she spent her offseason with The Celtics HC Joe Mazulla, who is the youngest HC to win an NBA championship in the last 50 years.
Quotes from sbnation’s article:
“[Joe was] like, ‘this is me, this is who I am, and take it however you want,’” Nakase said. “And I think it’s kind of his mentality, right? Like, win-or-die.”
“His preparation was immaculate — how much time he put in, and just the way he has a very cohesive staff,” Nakase said. “It was really impressive. Everyone [on the coaching staff] was very efficient and thorough with what they brought to the table. And, at the end of the day, they always leave with a unified front.”
When building their team, the Valkyries were allowed to select one player from each team in the league, though each one of those teams could protect 5 of their roster. This left with a committee of “6th Women” with Monique Billings, Tiffany Hayes, Temi Fagbenle, Kayla Thornton and Veronica Burton as the starting 5.
The Sparks also have a new HC Lynne Roberts, who coached NCAA Division 1 for 18 years. Their biggest offseason acquisition was Kelsey Plum from Las Vegas, while also expecting Cameron Brink to return in June after she tore her ACL the season prior.
The Sparks had the worst record in the WNBA last year, but they had the Lady Vols Rickea Jackson and Rae Burrell, along with 3v3 Olympian Dearica Hamby all participate in the Unrivaled league.
These two met in the preseason, where Sparks secured a narrow 83-82 road victory. Oddly enough, the game’s top scorer this game Laeticia Amihere was waived by Golden State. This game showed just how many touches the two-women game of Plum and Hamby will be, who already built a connection together during their time in Vegas.