WNBA Podcast: This Week, We Watched All the Teams

Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. This week, Anne and I watched at least one quarter of all 13 of the WNBA teams. Anne, what was that process like? 

We’ve also got a special guest today. Charlotte Torgerson will be a sophomore basketball player and sports management major at Lees McRae in Banner Elk, North Carolina. Charlotte, I know you spent a lot of time working on some sort of WNBA topic. What was it you were looking at?

We are doing this in the order of worst record to best record. We’re recording Sat, August 9th, 2025. They’re playing 44 games in the W this year. The playoffs start Sunday, September 14th. So, we’re about 14 games and 5 weeks away from the playoffs. 

Connecticut Sun are last place in the league by 3 games. They’re 5-24. 

1. Thursday August 7th was the trade deadline. Sun acquired Aaliyah Edwards from the Mystics. Sun sent Jacy Sheldon to Washington. 
2. Watched the Sun beat New York 78-62 on Aug 1. Mabry scored 18. Observations: 

1. See New York playing with lots of pace while CT spends a fair amount of time pointing around and trying to get organized. 
2. 12th in threes made per game. 5th most turnovers. 
3. Able to beat New York with more offensive rebounds and fewer turnovers. 
4. Olivia Nelson-Ododa scored 16 points on 6-8 shooting and was a game high +30 in 26 mins. Played at UCONN. 
5. Marina Mabry. She’s wild with turnovers and shot selection but also very aggressive and not afraid to try and make winning plays. She went to Notre Dame, played with Arike, and won the national title. 
6. Jacey Sheldon, who played at Ohio State, in CT now. Previously played for Wings. Famous for getting into it with Clark and the Cunningham take down. 
7.  Coach Rachid Meziane, 45 year old from France. Belgian Sports Coach of the Year (2023)
8. Team being sold to a Boston based investor. Will it get moved from Mohegan Sun? 

Dallas Wings are 8-23 tied with Chicago for 11th. 

1. Watched them play at Liberty.

1. Grace Berger is in! My hope for Grace is that she has good size and is a pretty good passer. What a year Berger has had: signed with Sparks and released. Signed by Dallas Wings and released. Now she’s back with the Wings and playing a lot. Last night she played 30 minutes off the bench 3-10 from field, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnovers. She was +4 on the court in an 11 point loss. 
2. Haley Jones starts. Think she got released earlier in the year. 
3. Bueckers 7th in league in scoring. Two months in a row she’s been the WNBA player of the month. Bueckers is averaging 18.6 ppg, 5.4 assists, 33% from the field and 45.7 from the field. 86.1%. 
4. Coach Chris Koclanes age 35. He previously served as an assistant coach with the Connecticut Sun, Los Angeles Sparks, and USC Trojans. 

Chicago Sky are 8-22 tied for 11th with the Wings. They’re 1-9 in their last 10. 

1. Watched them lose to Phoenix 83-67. That was their 8th loss in a row. 

1. Angel Reese out with a back injury. Team calling it precautionary. 
2. I had only heard of one Chicago starter: Kamilla Cardoso. 

• Cardoso required a double team in this game. Get it to her hi lows. Use her as a passer high and trailing. 

3. Only had 3 available players last three games coming off the bench. 
4. Van Lith returned from an ankle injury. 
5. Chicago runs hi/low action big to big that I don’t think I see any other teams run. 
6. They do a lot of cutting after feeding a big free throw line or above that seems like one of the best things they do on offense. 
7. Only had 12 turnovers but still got beat 30-3 on fast break points vs. Sun. 
8. Watched them beat Washington on August 3rd. 
9. Broke their 8 game losing streak. 
10. Coach 37 year old Tyler Marsh. Coached with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Pacers and Aces assistant. 

Washington Mystics are 13-17 in 10th place. They’re 3-7 in their last 10. 

1. Pick up Jacy Sheldon from Sun. The Mystics rank last in three-pointers made (5.3 per game) and attempted (16.6), and they’re 10th in three-point percentage. In Sheldon, they’re adding a player who’s knocking down 41.2 percent of her long-range jumpers.
2. Watched them lose to Atlanta 99-83 on August 3rd. They’ve lost three straight Golden State, Atlanta, and Chicago at the time of this watch. 

1. Charlotte and I are Sonia Citron fans. We saw her play for Notre Dame in the ACC tournament in Greensboro. 
2. Brittany Sykes was traded on this day from Wash to Seattle. 
3. They trapped a handoff! 
4. Missed inside. Shakira Austin not running and turning it over. Would say she struggled with Cardoso. 

3. Last in the league three pointers made. 5.5 compared to the Lynx 9.7
4. Coach Sydney Johnson, age 51. Played at Princeton and was an assistant for the Chicago Skye. Wiki. 

Los Angeles Sparks are tied for 8th with the Golden State Valkyries. They’re 8-2 in their last 10. Watch out for the Sparks!

1. Watched them beat the Fever 100-91. 

1. It was the Sparks 8th win in their last 10 games. 
2. Color commentary by Rashaun Haylock. On IG, he says he loves his wife, his daughter and chicken tacos. 
3. They play at Crypto. Partly owned by Magic Johnson. 
4. Rickea Jackson scored 25 on 10-18 from field and 3-5 from 3. She’s 6’2, played at Tennessee and in her 2nd year.
5. This was Cameron Brink’s third game back from a year long recovery from knee surgery.  
6. Coach Lynne Roberts age 49 coached previously at Utah. 

Golden State Valkyries are 14-15 and tied for 8th with the LA Sparks. 

1. Why the Valkyries? Originating from Norse mythology, Valkyries are a host of warrior women who are fearless and unwavering – flying through air and sea alike. This brand is Golden State’s modern interpretation of Valkyries: strong, bold, and fierce. (click here for article) 
2. Sold out all home games so far. 
3. Watched them beat the Atlanta Dream July 29th 77-75.

1. Temi Fagbenle starts. I liked her with the Fever. 
2. It’s a great win for Golden State but I didn’t see anything to get me excited. 
3. Watched them at Aces August 3: 

1. Call their home court Ballhalla. 8-4 going into the game at home. 
2. Lead the league in defensive FG % 38.8%. 
3. Coach Natalie Nakase. She was an assistant with the Clippers and the Aces. Played for UCLA. 45 years old. Won two titles with the Aces.

Seattle Storm are in 7th place with a record of 16-15. They’re 3-7 in their last 10. They’re a game back from the Aces and the Fever. They’re 4 back from second place Liberty. 

1. Watched them host Lynx August 5. 

1. Erika Wheeler backed up Clark and she’s starting for Seattle.
2. Saw a ball screen trap early on Courtney Williams. 
3. Rookie Dominique Malonga running the floor! Malonga is 19 years old and was playing in France. 6’6 with a wingspan of 7’1. Really nice one-legged fade a way. Just feeding her on a flex type play. 
4. Really impressed with Nneka Ogwumike and Malonga, who had 12 in this one. Why did they lose this one? Got beat from the FT line. 
5. Coach Noelle Quinn. 5th season as coach. 90-81 in the league. She’s 40, born in LA, played 11 years in the W. 

Las Vegas Aces are tied for 5th with the Fever at 17-14. The Aces are 7-3 in their last 10. 

1. Watched them host Valkyries: 

1. Had just beat the Valkyries and Jewell Loyd scored 27 on 7-11 from 3, a franchise record. Loyd doesn’t start. 
2. NaLyssa Smith, who was with the Fever last year, starting for Aces. 
3. A’ja Wilson leads the league in blocked shots. 

2. Becky Hammon always wears the jacket over a hoodie. 2022 and 2023 WNBA champion coach. 

Indiana Fever are 17-14 and tied for 5th with the Aces. They’re two back from Atlanta and Phoenix and three back from the Liberty. 

1. Clark has been out with her second groin injury and so Aari McDonald has been the starting PG and she’s been backed up by Sydney Colson. The Fever lost them both for the rest of the season on this game. 
2. Watched them lose their second straight, this one at Phoenix Mercury 95-60. 

1. A very rough night scoring for some of their best players: Boston 1-6 4 points, Mitchell 1-6 from 3 for 12 points, Lexie Hull 1-11 and 0-8 from 3 for 2 points. 
2. Sophie Cunningham the highlight with shooting and competitive fire. Cunningham up to 43% from three and Hull has dropped off to 35.5% and is in a slump now after leading the league for a lot of the season. 
3. Mitchell led the W in scoring in July but you can also see that most of her shots are much more difficult with Caitlin out. 
4. Colson tore her left ACL in the first quarter. McDonald broke a bone in her right foot in the fourth frame.
5. Watched them lose to the Sparks. 

1. They’d won five straight until this game. 
2. Kelsey Mitchell 5th in WNBA scoring. 
3. Cunningham starting. Aari McDonald has been a nice add. Fast, tough, and unselfish. If she’s spelling Clark when Clark returns, that’s pretty good. 
4. Natasha Howard comfortable dribbling and passing from the perimeter. 

Phoenix Mercury are 19-11 tied with Atlanta for third. That was a big win for them over the Fever to pull even with Atlanta and put two games between them and the Fever. 

1. Watched them handle the Fever at home 95-60. 

1. Overall impressed with post defense. Good size for post ups. Thomas is one of the league’s best. She reminds me of a Draymond Green who scores the ball better. 
2. Alyssa Thomas third triple double in a row. Think no one in WNBA history has even had back to back triple doubles. 
3. Good rivalry here. As a Fever fan, love to see these teams meet in the playoffs with a healthy Caitlin. 
4. Indiana fans and looks like the players have a healthy sports (not human) dislike for Bonner. She scored 23 off the bench with 7 rebounds. 
5. Watched them beat Chicago on August 3 83-67. 

1. Had lost 5 of 6 going into this game. 
2. Satou Sabally out of line up for personal reasons. 17 pts 6.7 rebs 
3. Alyssa Thomas leads the WNBA with 9 assists a game. Top 5 in W in 5 statistical categories. 
4. Thomas getting the rebound and pushing a best part of their offense. 
5. Won this game especially on fast break points. Just running on misses and Chicago not getting back. 
6. Saw some Zooms, which I see a lot of in the league: down screen for a player who then works in a handoff situation with the player with the ball.
7. #33 Sami Whitcomb handled the ball a lot. I liked her and she was new to me. 8th season and played at Washington. BUT, is their guard play good enough to contend? Maybe with AT with the ball a lot. 
8. WON because of outscoring Chicago 30-3. 
9. In a top bunch 5th in the league for made threes with 9.3 compared to #1 Minnesota. 

Atlanta Dream are 19-11 and tied with the Mercury for third. They’re 7-3 in their last 10. 

1. Third best record in the league: Bri Jones, Brittney Griner, and Jordin Canda. Missing Rhyne Howard out with a knee injury, perhaps back this season. 
2. Watched them lose to Golden State July 29th. 

1. Had just given the Lynx their first loss at home. 
2. Griner can get her shot off at any time. I saw a one-legged fade away at the shot clock buzzer. She’s 6’9 and 34 years old. 
3. Bri Jones 2nd in off rebounds in the league. 
4. Post up and kick out team on offense. I don’t think in the same neighborhood as New York and Minnesota. 
5. Crazy game to lose in which they only had 7 turnovers, hit the same number of threes, and won by 10 at the FT line. Only shot 37% from the field and gave up 22 points vs. turnovers. 
6. Coached by Karl Smesko born in 1970 and age 54. Played at Kent State. Coached at IPFW and for Florida Gulf Coast. 

New York Liberty are 20-10 and in second place 6 games behind the Lynx. 

1. Breanna Stewart has bone bruise in knee. 
2. Watched the Liberty lose to the Sun 78-62 on Aug 1. Observations: 

1. Lost their 4th in a row in this game. 
2. Leads the league in pace. This is defined by # of possessions in a game. I see outlets to a variety of players who push. 
3. Sabrina uses double high ball screens set by Fiebich and Jones. Fiebich pops and feeds Jones for a lay up. 
4. Lots of shooting. Extreme willingness to make the extra pass. 
5. Watched them host the Wings: 

1. Meesemen’s first game. 
2. Jonquel Jones, what is she? Top 10? 

4. Last year’s title was NYC’s first hoops title since 1973. 
5. Added Emma Meesseman, called a Belgian superstar. She won 2019 title with Washington. 
6. Coach Sandy Brondello 2-Time WNBA Champion. 2024 Liberty and 2014 Mercury. 

Minnesota Lynx are 26-5 and 5 games ahead of the second place Liberty. They’re 16-1 at home. 

1. Napheesa Collier out with an ankle sprain. They crazily play New York 3 times in a row. So the battle for first place could get a lot closer. 
2. The Stud Buds are WNBA stars Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman, who play for the Minnesota Lynx. They’ve gained popularity for their “StudBudz” Twitch channel, where they stream themselves hanging out, reacting to games, interviewing other players, and generally showcasing their friendship and personalities.
3. Watched them play at Seattle August 5th. 

1. Collier supposed to be out at least two weeks. 
2. McBride was coming off of 8-8 from 3 the previous game and hit the first. 
3. League the league in assists, the team does. 
4. They were coming off a double overtime loss to the Sparks in Seattle. 
5. Trade received Brittney Sykes. Good defender. Averaging 15 ppg. Was an all star. 
6. Carrington is new to the team and entered in the first quarter. Traded from Wings. Played for Stanford and finished at Baylor. This was her first game. 
7. Courtney Williams closed. Carrington big spark. 
8. Coach Cheryl Reeve. Been there 16 years and won 4 titles. Age 58. Coached at Indiana State for five years. 

Overall Observations: 

1. Some really good passing teams: Liberty, Fever, and Lynx. PHX is a contender, but I don’t think they can score with those three I listed if their best players are healthy. 
2. There’s an absence of defensive variety: varied ball screen coverages, zones, any kind of full court pressure. 

• Try this for ball screen coverage: drop coverage and go under the ball screen. So much opportunity created for these teams as they go over the ball screen and try to hedge or help and recover to their man. 
• Sure some teams might punish a direct switch, but I wouldn’t mind seeing it a couple times. 
• It’s a ball screen o rama out there. Also, lots and lots of staggers. And with these staggers are zoom actions. Someone gets a screen away from the ball and then they work a handoff action with the player with the ball. 

3. Watching these gave me a lot of coaching ideas: 

1. Nice backdoor play from PHX. PHX does enough good stuff that I am writing a lot when I watch. 
2. A couple sets that will be on the install list. 
3. At least one passing drill just on cutters to the rim on drives. 

4. Watch out for the Sparks. Weird to me to have a team winning 8 of 10 and currently not even in the playoffs. 
5. Favorite game I watched that demanded to be watched more: I enjoyed the Lynx without Collier beating the Storm 91-87. Didn’t watch the two OT game that happened earlier in the week. 

Who could win the title? 

Other notes: 

• South Carolina’s Dawn Staley will receive $25.25 million over five years, including a $500,000 signing bonus—or roughly $4.8 million per year, according to a term sheet released by the school. Staley previously made $3.1 million annually, according to USA Today’s database, the same as Connecticut’s Auriemma and just less than LSU’s Mulkey, who earns $3.26 million. Click here. 

Thanks for checking out this episode of the Torg Stories Podcast!