The 13 WNBA teams that did not compete in Commissioner’s Cup championship game enjoyed an extra, extended in-season break, lasting at least three full days.
Some teams probably appreciated the absence of games. The Los Angeles Sparks, not only reeling from the absence of Kelsey Plum but also their inability to stop anyone, have been gifted a much-needed eight-day hiatus. After playing on Saturday, June 27, they will not return to the court until Monday, July 6.
The Atlanta Dream and Washington Mystics,
set to match up on Thursday evening in DC, also likely enjoyed the extra time off (7 p.m. ET, WNBA League Pass). The Dream are reeling after a three-game and three-loss West Coast road trip, while the Mystics needed the additional days to recover from winning the longest game in WNBA history on Sunday.
Other teams, in contrast, are eager to get back on the court, glad not to have wait another day to play again. Two of those teams also meet on Thursday night, with the Seattle Storm taking on the Phoenix Mercury in the desert (10 p.m. ET, WNBA League Pass).
The last time these teams played, I pitched the matchup as the “Disappointment Bowl.”
Sure, the Storm were intentionally pivoting to a rebuild designed to empower their young stars, but an eventual 11-game losing streak, with the loss to the Mercury marking their 10th in a row, wasn’t part of the plan. There’s losing, and then there’s losing.
The Mercury are following up a season defined by overachievement that ended in the WNBA Finals with one thus far filled with underachievement. The strategy of surrounding stars Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper with undervalued-but-high-quality role players has not produced a team that has punched above their weight, but one that has failed to cohere.
That “Disappointment Bowl,” won comfortably by the Mercury, might prove to be the turning point for both teams.
Since then, Seattle and Phoenix have been trending up.
Including the Seattle win, the Mercury are 3-1 over their last four games, persevering through and after a drama-filled two-game set against the Indiana Fever before blowing out the Toronto Tempo.
While the overblown incident between Alyssa Thomas and Caitlin Clark implicates more serious matters—namely, that the protection of Black players off the court should be a higher priority than the supposed need to “protect” certain players on the court—Phoenix appears to have turned their irritation with Thomas’ one-game suspension into motivation.
Plus, Kahleah Copper looks like Kahleah Copper.
An inefficient scorer for much of the season, Kah has posted back-to-back games of 28 and 27 points, respectively, while shooting better than 60 percent from the field in both. Maintaining that level of efficient production is unsustainable, but if Copper more frequently plays like an All-Star, rather than a former one, the Mercury can mantain winning momentum.
Valeriane Ayayi also can be part of this process.
After rarely registering double-digit minutes, Ayayi, a EuroLeague stalwart who is back in the WNBA for the first time since 2015, has played at least 20 minutes in the Mercury’s last four games, scoring 18, 19 and 20 points, respectively, in the Mercury’s three wins.
That missing cohesion among the team’s many new faces might finally be coming together. Just three games out of the No. 8 spot in the standings, a push for the playoffs is starting to look like a strong possibility for this squad.
However, could a young juggernaut that is simmering in Seattle derail Phoenix’s rise?
After losing 11-straight games, the Storm busted out of their slump by beating the two best teams in the Eastern Conference: the New York Liberty and the Dream.
Most encouragingly, these wins were not the product of a hot night from one or two of Seattle’s vets, but instead driven by their young core.
In the win over the Liberty, Flau’jae Johnson shed her inefficiency and enjoyed the highest-scoring output of her rookie season, dropping 28 points that were accompanied by nine boards and three steals. Dominque Malonga posted a 20-point and 10 rebound double-double and Awa Fam scored 15 points and grabbed six boards.
The Dream victory was an even more outstanding effort from the trio, with a 24-point and 11-rebound double-double from Flau’jae, a 16-point and 11-rebound double-double, plus three blocks and two steals, from Dom and a new career-high 21 points, achieved with a 5-for-6 showing from 3, from Awa.
Was this the early dawning of the bright future envisioned for Seattle? Not permanently.
Another darker stretch, or two, are likely on the horizon for Johnson, Malonga and Fam. But at least for two games, the Storm made it clear why they are the future of the W.
Against a Mercury team trying to salvage their present, they’ll have another chance to prove it. The potential season debut of the more experienced Ezi Magbegor, listed a probably after missing the entire season with a foot injury, could give Seattle an additional boost.
What do you think? Has Seattle taken a meaningful step forward in their rebuild? Are they now the young, hungry team that no contender wants to play? Or, do you see some more periods of struggle ahead?
On the Mercury front, do you think they’ve turned a corner? Will the incident in Indiana, and the perceived unfair punishment levied against Thomas, be the rallying point that saves the Mercury’s playoff hopes? Or, are you still skeptical that Phoenix has the pieces required to win enough games and enter the playoff picture?
