basketball thoughts 2/?
Last night at 7:30pm Eastern the 2025 WNBA season tipped off.
As this is not a basketblog (despite appearances)1 I didn't write a season preview. Still, as I watched as much of all three WNBA games as I could tonight (while also peeking in on BOS/NYK, which was basically over by halftime), I figured I'd write about it.
As I wrote before, my basketball thoughts2 posts aren't about rigorous analysis and legit sportswriting as much as they're about me putting some thoughts (and links) in a post and then posting. TL;DR I want to get into a "done is better than perfect" mindset re: my writing.
Without further ado:
🏀 I watched most of MIN/DAL because I'm a Lynx3 fan. Game 1 of Napheesa Collier's revenge szn was monstrous. She was unstoppable and looked very much an MVP. Diamond Miller (remember her?) and Jessica Shepard were also beyond good for Minny; I almost didn't notice that Alanna Smith and Kayla McBride were out. I wish I didn't notice that Bridget Carleton forgot how to score, though.
🏀 Paige Bueckers' (regular season) pro debut was uneven, but as a guy who has been waiting for it since she declared for UConn, I'm glad I got to watch it. I'm not sure how she and Arike Ogunbawale are going to co-exist because they both like the ball in their hands but whatever. Not my circus. DiJonai Carrington looked good in her Dallas (regular season) debut but I didn't expect anything less as her game is kind of plug and play. I was disappointed that I didn't see nearly enough JJ Quinerly, though —— she was electric and very fun in the preseason.
🏀 I only caught the end of ATL/WAS but the Mystics already look like this year's "bad-ish team that's very fun to watch." Britt Sykes was everywhere all the time and was instrumental in Washington's upset win even though she shot 6/20. New PG Sug Sutton and #3 overall pick Sonia Citron both looked good as well. I'm interested in watching more Citron as the season goes on, and I'm curious how the entire Mystics offense works when Aaliyah Edwards comes back. As for Atlanta, Allisha Gray looked like an all-star; the Griner/Jones double-big lineup looks good (not great); and Rhyne Howard was mid. They need Jordin Canada back to free Rhyne up.
🏀 Watched most of LAS/GSV and it was the best game of the night (BOS/NYK included). Kelsey Plum (37 points on 11/19 shooting, incl. 4/6 from distance) played like a superstar. Every second she had the ball was must-see TV. Her shot looked great and her defensive prowess (5 steals!) was on full display. Dearica Hamby and Azurá Stevens were their dependable, solid selves, too, and it's clear how much more room they're going to get to work with because of Plum. I think this team is going to be a problem, defensively, when Cameron Brink returns. As for the Valkyries, they looked spunky. Jule Vanloo was very good and seems like the emotional leader of the team. Tiff Hayes is more of a #1a option than a #1 option, but she was solid, too. Temi Fágbénlé looked very comfortable; I can see her having a big season. Ezi Magbegor lite, say.
🏀 BOS/NYK was over at half and Boston's could-be-a-dynasty might be over. LOL x a million. Happy for Knicks nation. Y'all deserve it.
Noticed:
Lots of Golden State Warriors (Kuminga, Hield, Podz, Looney, Kerr) attended the LAS/GSV game. Nice to see.
E-40 gave about 40% for his halftime show. I had taken a 10mg edible and so I respected it.
Things I said and/or posted to TSGV (my Discord):
📚 "Oh man, Tyler Kolek time. Can’t wait to watch him read4 the defense."
🧞 "Brandin Podziemski looks like Mac Miller wished to be Jack Harlow and the change stopped halfway through."
🩸 "Knicks/Pacers is going to be a bloodbath."
Things that were not said by me that I posted to TSGV:
❤️ In the 3Q of BOS/NY, my partner just turned to me and said, softly, in the most wonderful way: “It’s your favourite show: Boston losing.”
🧠 After I showed my partner that every ESPN writer except Ohm Youngmisuk picked Boston over New York, my partner said, “Spite is one of the most powerful motivators. They said Haliburton was overrated and they said the Knicks had no chance..."
BALL
IS
LIFE
Footnotes:
1 I know I've been going nuts with basketball stuff lately. It's just that time of year and ball is life. You know how it is.
2 I'm toying with the idea of calling these posts "ballwatching" because I'm a dummy who likes naming things.
3 I felt the need to just, like, pick a team when I started getting serious about the W. My best WNBA buddy, Elk (not his real name, just like GF20 isn't my ex's real name) is a Chicago-based Sky fan and so when I went to the CHI/MIN exhibition game in Toronto a few years ago, I decided that the Lynx were my team. I have grown very attached to the Lynx since that decision, and it took me weeks to even think about getting over how they were jobbed in the WNBA Finals.
4 If you didn't know, "Tyler Kolek can't read" is a stupid internet thing and Kolek himself references it and thinks it's funny.