What a week we have seen unfolding in the WNBA, and there are still a handful of games left throughout the weekend. From historic triple-doubles, neon green, erm, projectiles in Atlanta to Sparky the Mascot taking an AJ Styles-inspired backflip to the noggin at Staples Center,
In a win over the Connecticut Sun on Monday, Storm All-Star Skylar Diggins stamped her first regular-season triple-double of her career with 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists in 22 minutes. The six-time All-WNBA guard became the first player in league history to record a triple-double in under 25 minutes. With two blocks added to her performance, Diggins joined Sheryl Swoopes and Candace Parker as the only players to record a triple-double with multiple blocks and 1 turnover or fewer.
The very next day, Las Vegas Aces All-Star Jackie Young notched her first career triple-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. Superstar teammate A’ja Wilson helped seal the deal with a clutch, old-fashioned three-point play, giving Young her final assist. This was the first instance in WNBA history of two triple-doubles occurring within 24 hours. In her last seven games, Young is enjoying one of her most efficient stretches of the season, averaging 17.3 points on 57.3 percent on twos and 40 percent from three on 4.1 attempts.
Now that we have the history out of the way, this week in Swish Happens Here features three of my hot takes as the 2o25 season begins to reach its conclusion and the first Player of the Week.
With under 20 games before the playoffs begin, there is no clear favorite to win it all in October.
Minnesota Lynx – The Lynx have the best record in the league at 23-5 and have no plans on relinquishing it. From the start of the season, head coach Cheryl Reeve’s group has been one of the most consistent cores around, and it shows at home in Target Center. On Sunday, the Atlanta Dream beat the Lynx in Minneapolis, snapping a franchise-record 14-game home win streak. The Lynx became the fourth team in WNBA history to start a season with 14-plus consecutive home wins, joining elite company in the 2001 Los Angeles Sparks (16-0), 2010 Seattle Storm (17-0), and 2023 Las Vegas Aces (16-0). It was just the team’s fifth loss of the season.
To date, the Lynx are 1-0 against the New York Liberty after a 100-93 bounce-back victory on Wednesday. MVP frontrunner Napheesa Collier put on one of her signature performances, notching 30 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and three stocks. All-Star teammate Kayla McBride turned in a 24-point showing with five helpers. In total, Minnesota boasted nearly six players in double figures. It was an impressive showing against the defending champions, but it was a win over a hobbled Liberty squad that has yet to truly turn a corner. Minus guard Natasha Cloud, last year’s core of Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Leonie Fiebich, and Sabrina Ionescu have played just 107 minutes together (10 games). With that said, judging New York’s ability to defend its crown based on the first matchup, where Stewart, Kennedy Burke, and Nyara Sabally did not play, should not happen.
Napheesa Collier + Kayla McBride vs NY
54 PTS
19/30 FG
7/13 3P
9/13 FT
75.6% TS— Jonah Maves (@hunchojman.bsky.social) July 31, 2025 at 4:08 AM
New York Liberty – This has not been the championship-defending campaign that the New York Liberty imagined it would be from the start of it. All-Star wing Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was slated to miss the 2025 season after suffering an acute meniscus injury to her left knee while playing in Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 league co-founded by Stewart and Collier. 2024 Finals MVP Jonquel Jones missed 12 games due to a right ankle sprain. According to The IX’s Jackie Powell, Nyara Sabally is not expected back from a right knee issue until mid-August. Burke has a similar timeline In addition, there is no timetable for Stewart’s return to the lineup as she recovers from a bone bruise in her right knee. Sabally is expected to be back from a right knee issue in mid-August.
Even though the injuries are as untimely as they are, help is on the way in the form of international superstar and 2025 Eurobasket MVP Emma Meesseman has landed in New York and can join the team as soon as Friday, per Winsidr’s Rachel Galligan. The Liberty is one of those teams where you cannot afford to count them out until the very end. Their experience as a unit under the bright lights is unparalleled, which is why this final stretch of games is the perfect opportunity to get Meesseman adjusted to the Liberty way.
Phoenix Mercury – The Mercury have lost five of their last six games, which include losses to the Lynx, Liberty, Fever, and twice to the Dream There are a few reasons for the team’s recent slide, but the most crucial is the lack of chemistry among the trio of All-Stars: Alyssa Thomas, Kahleah Copper, and Satou Sabally. Having played together in just 10 games this season (132 minutes).
Thomas has been an immovable force for Phoenix on both sides of the ball, exemplifying her world-renowned ability to pilot an offense to near perfection, while being a stalwart on the other end. She leads the league in assists and points generated from them. At 33, the perennial MVP candidate is averaging career-highs in points (16.2), assists (9), and two-point percentage (53.3). Her usage (25.7) and assist percentage (53.4). Despite not having a flashy approach to basketball, Thomas has earned her spot as a top-five player in the league year after year with consistent effort and a motor that never dies, hence the nickname “The Engine”. To say that Thomas has been the power plant behind the Mercury’s success does not do her efforts proper justice.
Alyssa Thomas records her 6th career game with 20+ PTS, 10+ REB and 8+ AST vs. the Mystics, passing Candace Parker of my heart for the most in #WNBA history! #WelcometotheW
#valleytogether
— Along Came Poly-4-The-W (@alongcamepoly4thew.bsky.social) July 28, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Copper, who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery at the onset of the season, is understandably working herself back into game shape. In her last three games, the former Finals MVP played 25-plus minutes, which proves that she is on her way.
Sabally, on the other hand, has struggled mightily since play resumed post-All-Star break. In her last five games, the former league MIP is averaging 10.4 points while shooting 45.7 percent on twos and a staggering 14.3 percent on threes (3-for-21). Like Copper, Sabally is also returning from injury, which she sustained on July 3 in a loss to the Dallas Wings.
In a 23-point loss to the Dream, Sabally was benched before the second half. After the game, Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said Sabally did not bring the energy necessary to compete.
Every organization has a goal of winning a championship, but only one team is left standing when the music ends in October. You have championship contenders lect few attempt to remain competitive through strategic acquisitions, free agency, and the draft, supplementing their young stars.
Several teams took this route in the offseason, which includes the Chicago Sky, Washington Mystics, and Los Angeles Sparks. For a plethora of reasons, it should be clear which front offices made the right decision.
When Los Angeles sent their No. 2 overall pick to the Seattle Storm in a three-team trade with the Las Vegas Aces for two-time WNBA champion Kelsey Plum, this is what the move signaled. Coming off a franchise-worst 8-32 record last season, being the lowest win total since 2007, the belief was that the pick would be used to add to the team’s core. It was, but not in the way anyone could have expected.
The Sparks haven’t reached the playoffs since 2020, which is the longest active playoff drought in the WNBA. With less than 20 games, they are hitting their stride and face an opportunity to end the dry spell and to win a playoff series.
After winning six of their last seven games, the Sparks are two games behind eighth-seeded Las Vegas Aces and within The first half of the season was a slow one for Los Angeles, going 9-14 before the All-Star break. Rookie head coach Lynne Roberts’ system took time to take shape as the team dealt with injuries, a lack of cohesion, and chemistry building on the fly while enduring the most condensed schedule in WNBA history.
In the last seven games, which include two before the break, the Sparks have led the league in points (95.4), field-goal percentage (48.4), and paint points (49.1). They are also second in offensive rating (111.1), fourth in assists (22.6), third in net rating (5.7), and fifth in three-point percentage (35.5).
From the start of the season, Los Angeles has been anchored by the WNBA’s best scoring duo in Plum and All-Star Dearica Hamby, who lead all two-player lineups with 1,731 points scored. In July, Plum and Hamby were fifth and sixth in points per game, averaging 19.3 and 19.3, respectively. Center Azura Stevens has been one of the most consistent post players this season and should have been recognized as an All-Star. Nevertheless, Stevens is having a career year in nearly every statistical category. She averages 14.9 points while shooting 57.6 percent on twos and 40.5 percent on threes. Stevens also corrals 8.5 rebounds a game, dishes out two assists, and 2.7 stocks.
Sophomore wing Rickea Jackson is experiencing a surge like no other after an inefficient start to the campaign. In her first 10 games, she averaged 12.4 points on 40.4 percent from the field and 30.2 percent from three to go along with 2.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists. In July, Jackson averaged 15 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.3 stocks. Her shot has found its stride, and her intensity on defense has picked up exponentially.
Rickea Jackson for the win. Sparks did a great job clearing space and giving Rickea the paint to work with.
— Steve Jones Jr (@stevejones20.bsky.social) July 27, 2025 at 3:01 AM
At this point of the season, teams around the league are battening down their hatches on the final leg before the playoffs. This is the time when teams discover what they are made of. As of today, the Sparks have the belief that they can compete. The only issue with that is their defense, which has been among the league’s worst since the start of the season. The return of star center Cameron Brink should help ease matters a tad concerning rotations and defensive assignments, leaving players not having to play out of position as often.
A 44-game season this year has been great for a very short list of people and organizations, but not the individuals who, with their talents and expertise, generate revenue. Those lovely folks are the players, who are playing nearly every other day with limited time for practice and to rest and recharge their batteries.
When you think of this season, one of the most vivid memories will be how often you remember players waxing poetically to media members near and far who understand that their state of being is more important than a performance in a basketball game.
At the time of publication, the WNBA has reached 170 injuries on the season, according to The IX’s injury database. For reference, there were 175 in all of 2023 and 203 in 2024. More games do not guarantee a better product if its stars are not seeing the floor with consistency. From A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, to WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike, the voices from the faces of the game and others have been boisterous and united, but from what several have said when speaking to reporters, they are falling on deaf ears.
The facts are the facts. A’ja Wilson is currently experiencing a down year in her career. That is if you compare her 2025 campaign to last year’s, where she kind of broke several records, including the WNBA’s single-season scoring record amid one of the best seasons from a basketball player in the history of the sport. In 23 games, the three-time MVP is averaging more points, assists, and blocks than she did to win her first two awards. Her field-goal percentage is higher than it was in 2o2o and is decimal points behind her 2022 season. Stats do not tell the full story, but they do shed light on the fact that Wilson’s “down” year is among the best any other player could have.
Wilson’s consistency in being one of the best players in the world works against her in some cases when it should not. Like many players around the league, we live in a time where greatness is not only expected, it is demanded. What Wilson has accomplished in eight seasons puts her in conversations with the best to ever play the sport on either side of the hall in New York. The Aces may be facing the beginning of the end of their dynasty, but Wilson’s dominance knows no end. Whether Las Vegas ascends the rankings to strengthen the five-time All-WNBA center’s case or not, what the Palmetto State native does on a nightly basis should never be taken for granted because she is consistent at it.
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Born and raised in Chicago, Christan Braswell is a women’s sports journalist with a focus on the WNBA and women’s college basketball. He’s an avid fan of elevator screens and stuffed crust pizza. Outside of sports, he’s an avid cook and lover the great outdoors.
Dear readers, I have wonderful news for you. This is the last column I am writing before the NWSL season kicks off again. The next edition of this column will […]
