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WNBA - BBGM
This is a discussion on WNBA - BBGM within the Basketball Dynasties forums.
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03-01-2023, 11:37 PM | #9 |
Rookie
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Re: WNBA - BBGM
The Charlotte Sting and the Dynasty that Never Was
2025 resurrected two former franchises from the ashes and saw the WNBA's first expansion since 2008. The league's first dynasty, the Houston Comets had returned and alongside them the former North Carolina outfit, the Charlotte Sting. Styled after their Hornet brethren, the Sting got good in a hurry. It wasn't all roses at the start. The Sting rattled off back to back 6-28 seasons to open their renewed franchise history. But in 2027, their third year in their return to the WNBA, they boasted a respectable 17-17. It was in the draft prior to the 2028 season that the Sting would make a draft selection that would help catapult them into a future with hope, heartbreak and success. With the fourth overall selection in the 2028 WNBA Draft, the Charlotte Sting selected Megan Hutchison a 6'3" Forward from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. Hutchison slotted into the starting lineup immediately and alongside fellow Sting All-Stars Teana Galeaʻi and Shereka Pulsipher and the Sting posted a 36-14 record in the WNBA's first 50 game season. The trio took the Sting from expansion team in 2025 to a WNBA Finals appearance in 2028. Unfortunately, the Sting got defeated by Arike Ogunbowale and the Dallas Wings, in just five games. But the Sting would return again in 2029. This time head to head with Tiffany Boone and the Chicago Sky. But the Sky would emerge victorious in a seven game series with Boone (coming off her third MVP) winning the Finals MVP. But Hutchison and crew were getting better year over year. Hutchison would post her best year running in 2030 with 20 points and 7 rebounds a game and the Sting would find themselves in the WNBA Finals for the third straight season and the third time in their first six seasons. However, tragedy would strike a third time. The Sting made their third straight WNBA Finals and they would suffer their third straight WNBA Finals loss. The second one to the Chicago Sky, this time in five games. The 2030 roster no longer had Galeaʻi or Pulsipher, but a roster led entirely by Hutchison. The Sting would lose their third straight WNBA Finals but Hutchison had shown capable of carrying the team all her own. 2031 was a down year for the team, narrowly missing the playoffs, but in 2032 the Sting were right back at it. The Sting made their way back to the WNBA Finals in 2032 only to get downed by the Seattle Storm in four straight games. Hutchison and the Sting had earned the reputation of a franchise that couldn't get it done. Fairly or unfairly, Hutchison's numbers in the playoffs were every bit as good as they were in her successful regular season performances, the Sting couldn't seal the deal. Until 2033. The 2033 Charlotte Sting trotted out one of their thinnest rosters, on paper, of their entire run. But a clogged Eastern Conference allowed the Sting to bumble their way into the 3rd seed in the East. And in the postseason, Hutchison would take things to another level. A PER just shy of 30, a TS% of 56% and an On-Off of +20.6, Hutchison fueled the team's success. Playing in a slightly more passive role than she had the last several seasons, Hutchison was the confluence of the team's offensive and defensive strategies on the floor while newcomers Tausha Clancy and Chelsea Thompson helped reaped the fruits Hutchison had sown. The Sting defeated the Seattle Storm 4-2 in the 2033 WNBA Finals, finally becoming WNBA Champion in their fifth WNBA appearance in 6 seasons. For her efforts Hutchison captured the Finals MVP. At long last there was validation for a star and her franchise after years of coming just shy. Charlotte returned the majority of their roster for yet another run and yet again the Sting made the WNBA Finals. Two three-peats in seven years as Eastern Conference champions. But unfortunately, Charlotte again failed to close the deal, falling to the Minnesota Lynx 4-1. There's little question how great those Charlotte Sting teams were or how impactful Megan Hutchison is. But with six finals appearances but only one title, it's impossible to imagine how different their and her story would be in they could've crossed the finish line a few more times. The Charlotte Sting would make the WNBA Finals 6 times in 7 years and only hoist the championship trophy a single time. The greatest dynasty that never was. |
03-03-2023, 09:33 PM | #10 |
Rookie
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Re: WNBA - BBGM
Dallas Dominates the Decades
The Dallas Wings are the face of the WNBA. From 2022 to 2040 the Dallas Wings make the WNBA Finals ten times. Over half of all the WNBA Finals in that time period featured the Dallas Wings. And the Wings would win seven of them. From 2019 to 2045, the Wings boasted a 61% win percentage. In fact, the Wings failed to make the playoffs only seven times in the nearly thirty year stretch. The organization is truly a class above the rest. Maybe the best example of this is how deep but not top heavy the Wings rosters tended to be. Unlike teams like the Mystics or the Liberty, the Dallas Wings rarely trotted out lineups littered with Hall of Fame players. Arike Ogunbowale marshaled the team early on with many reliable but few elite companions. Later rosters would feature a fading Jewell Lloyd or a useful but nowhere-near-her-peak Francisca Caniza who would win her only two titles as the tail end of her Hall of Fame career. The Wings developed rosters that went 10 deep in the rotation well into the playoffs and Finals. Names like Kristen Garrett, Victoria Armstrong, Paris Wilson and Kaela Niehaus. Over this period of time, no other franchise has as many wins, as many playoff appearances, as good a winning percentage, as many Finals appearances or as many championships. Eight times the Wings had the best record in the league and nine times the Wings had the best record in the East. No other franchise matches any of these achievements from 2019-2045. A final testament to their depth, not only did the Wings have three MVP winners during this period but they led the WNBA in Sixth Woman of the Year Winners with four and are tied with the Washington Mystics with 56 All-Stars. Even now on the eve of the 2046 season, the Wings haven't had a season under .500 since 2033. They're the class of the league and as the WNBA creeps into the second half of its first century, time will tell if the Dallas Wings will remain the franchise of record. |
03-04-2023, 12:12 AM | #11 |
Rookie
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Re: WNBA - BBGM
Meet the Stars: Kara Warren, Blake Shelton, Epiphanny Walton
Kara Warren We've already heard a little about Kara Warren for her role in the Seattle Storm's early dominance. But Warren's best years probably weren't even with the franchise she helped lead to a title. Kara Warren has the rare honor of having her number retired by two different organizations. Warren did win her first, and only, championship, along with a Finals MVP, in 2023 with the Seattle Storm. It was also her first All-Star appearance. She would continue to play well, peaking in Seattle in 2028 with 22.1 points per game and 13.5 rebounds. Good enough for an All-WNBA First Team selection and the league lead in rebounds. After the 2028 season, Warren became a free agent. She would sign a max contract with the recent expansion team, the Hershey Kiss. The Kiss entered the league in 2028 and started their existence with a sparkling 3-47. But they splashed the cash on a max deal for the star free agent and Warren signed on for the next five years. Her impact would be immediate. In 2029, the Kiss improved by 18 games, going 21-29. It was another playoff miss but the turnaround was dramatic, and Warren turned in a supreme year. Warren scored 22 points a game, grabbed 11 rebounds a game to go along with 6 assists. She had 10.4 win shares while starting all 50 games and recorded roughly 2 steals and a block in each game she played as well. Warren's superb performance won her both the WNBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards. Warren would lead the WNBA in scoring in 2030 in yet another elite season. She'd lead the Hershey Kiss all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals in only their third year of existence. While their playoff run would end there, Warren had proven her ability to lead two different franchises in two dramatically different circumstances to deep runs. Warren would again lead the Kiss to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2035 with a 37-13 record. Warren made the All-WNBA team ten times, the All-Defensive team seven times, the All-Star game thirteen consecutive times and won All-Star MVP twice. Her #43 jersey hangs in the rafters both in Seattle where she won a championship and Finals MVP but also in Hershey where she won a league MVP and DPoY. Blake Shelton 5'7" point guard from Cal-State Fullerton, Blake Shelton went 9th overall in 2032 to the Connecticut Sun. Shelton had an impact immediately, walking into the Sun lineup as an everyday starter from her very fist season. Averaging 13.5 points per game and 6 assists, Shelton made the All-Rookie team and helped the Sun to a 23-27 record that narrowly missed the playoffs. Shelton would continue to make strides year over year and made her first All-Star game in 2035. But Shelton would take a huge leap in 2036. Averaging 20.5 points per game and 8 assists, Shelton made her first All-WNBA First Team and would flash the first signs of what was to come. Shelton would win four consecutive MVPs from 2037 to 2040. She'd also lead the league in scoring each year from 2038-2040. Not only a scorer, Shelton also led the league twice in assists. A solid two-way player, Shelton was also an elite on-ball defender despite her diminutive size and led the WNBA in steals five times. Shelton's individual success, however, has not led to championship success. She's been to the WNBA Finals twice with Connecticut but come up short both times. She left the Sun and found herself in Hershey but the success hasn't come there either. Despite continued individual accolades with the Kiss, she's been unable to capture the ring that continues to elude the best player of the 2030s. Epiphanny Walton 6'3" Forward from Connecticut, Walton was a star for some great Storm teams. Walton won back to back championships in 2031 & 2032 with Seattle while grabbing both Finals MVPs. She was Defensive Player of the Year in both of those seasons as well and league MVP in 2032. For a few years in the early 2030s, Epiphanny Walton was the WNBA. Her peak came early and her flame burned bright and fast. Walton was an eight time All-WNBA selection and an eight time All-Star. She was a six time All-Defense selection and led the league in blocks in 2029. A high usage rate forward, Walton also led the league in assists on three occasions. Walton was an All-Star every year from 2029 to 2036. While her career stats started to fade a bit in 2034 she was still a key contributor during her last year in Seattle, helping the Storm to a WNBA Finals appearance in 2039. She wrapped up her career with two seasons in Indiana where the spent most of her time coming in off the bench. When Epiphanny Walton retired she was the Storm's career leader in most major statistics and promptly had her number 32 retired. |
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03-04-2023, 01:38 PM | #12 |
Rookie
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Re: WNBA - BBGM
A Defensive Storm
From 2019-2035 the Seattle Storm have had players win 7 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year awards. No team has boasted as prolific a defense as the Storm, one focused on fundamentals and grit. Like a Popovich coached Spurs team, these Seattle Storm teams have stonewalled opponents with aggressive and effective defense coupled with efficient offense on their way to four titles in six appearances. Natasha Howard swiped a DPoY in 2019 en route to the Storm's title run. Howard would make the All-Defensive team five times and the All-WNBA team four. The five-time All-Star also led the league in scoring in 2022 and helped the Storm to championships in 2019 and 2023. She was promptly inducted into the Hall of Fame after she called it quits in 2030. Jordin Canada played in Seattle from 2019 to 2031. She won three championships with the Storm and picked up her DPoY award in 2023. Canada was a seven time All-Defense selection and led the WNBA in steals, five times. Canada is tied for the career record for Steals per Game with Napheesa Collier at 1.9 per game. Only Canada and Collier have over 1,000 career steals. Epiphanny Walton kicked off what would be an outrageous span of five straight Seattle Storm DPoY winners. Walton won her two awards in back to back seasons, 2031 and 2032. Walton was an absolute star on both sides of the floor, but she made the All-Defense team for six straight seasons from 2029-2034. She also led the WNBA in blocks in 2029. Not only was she DPoY in 2031 and 2032, but the Storm were champions in both years, Walton was the Finals MVP in both years and she was the MVP of the league in 2032. Walton is arguably the best player in Seattle Storm history. The only other player with a slight argument to touch Walton's Storm-legacy is Angela Alexander. Alexander was a 6'5" Center from Oregon State who played most of her Storm career alongside Walton. She picked up right where Walton left off, winning the DPoY award three straight seasons from 2033-2035 completing a five year run of DPoY winners for the Storm. She was also along for the two title runs in 2031 and 2032. An 8-time All Defense selection she was also All-WNBA 7 times. She led the WNBA in blocks in 2032 and 2037 and was a three time Western Conference Finals MVP. While she never captured a Finals MVP or a League MVP like Walton did, Alexander finished her career as the Storm's all-time leader in points, minutes, games played, rebounds and blocks. Also finishing narrowly behind Jordin Canada in steals. |
03-04-2023, 03:18 PM | #13 |
Rookie
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Re: WNBA - BBGM
The League Expands
The WNBA had slowly contracted over the years. From a high of 16 teams in 2002 to only 12 teams in 2010. But after 15 years of stability, the WNBA added teams to the fold for the first time since the Atlanta Dream joined in 2008. In 2025 the league's first dynasty, the Houston Comets, returned with fellow former founding franchise Charlotte Sting in tow. The Comets returned and got to work pretty quickly. From their time back in the league, 2025, through now, 2045, they have a winning percentage of 53%. They've made it to the Conference Finals seven times but they're yet to get into the big dance. Their best season was a 40-10 record and an Eastern Conference Finals in 2040. The Charlotte Sting rocketed out of the gates. Their successes in their early years have already been well documented. The Sting faded pretty hard after their last WNBA Finals appearance in 2035, only making the playoffs in the subsequent decade. The Sting's win percentage is a lowly 44% at this time. Though they were the first of the expansion teams to win a championship, an achievement that eludes all but one other subsequent expansion team at this time. After the success of the expansions in Houston and Charlotte the WNBA capitalized on the popularity of the league again and added two more franchises in 2028, the Hershey Kiss and the SoCal Breeze. The Hershey Kiss are owned by the Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company following a similar model to the Connecticut Sun and the Las Vegas Aces. The Kiss became an additional attraction, at the Giant Center, alongside Hersheypark and the Hershey Chocolate Factory. The Kiss have had a very unbalanced run of things so far, making the playoffs only five times in their nearly twenty years of existence and never making it in consecutive seasons. But in four of their five playoff appearances they've made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite their scattershot record they have a win percentage that's narrowly higher than the Charlotte Sting. In 1980 a professional league was launched called the Ladies Professional Basketball Association. One of the teams in that league was the Southern California Breeze. The league only lasted seven games, with a few teams in the league never managing to play a game. But for the few games it did last, basketball bombshell Molly Bolin played for the Southern California Breeze averaging 40 points per game and playing their home games at Chapman College. A franchise group bought the rights to the branding and brought back the Breeze for the WNBA to pair alongside the Hershey Kiss. Playing their games in their first season in the Santiago Canyon College Gym in Orange, California before later moving to an arena further south in El Centro. The Breeze have been a consistently mediocre franchise during their existence. With a 47% win percentage they've only made the playoff three times. Including and eight year drought from 2033-2040. Their best season was a 32-18 finish in 2032. |
03-04-2023, 04:30 PM | #14 |
Rookie
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Re: WNBA - BBGM
Meet the Stars: Nicole Boyd, Tiffany Boone, Ruza Loncar
Nicole Boyd Without much question, Nicole Boyd is the GOAT. The sixth overall pick in the 2020 draft by the Atlanta Dream, it was in no way clear what Boyd would eventually become. But her 22 year career ended with her name at the top of the record books for nearly every major statistical category. The 6'5" Power Forward out of La Salle was drafted by the Atlanta Dream in 2020. She never found her footing in Atlanta, coming off the bench selectively in her first season and then being a rotational piece in her final two years in Atlanta. When her rookie deal ran up, Atlanta elected not to re-sign the forward and Boyd took a three-year bargain contract with Indiana. In 2024, Boyd's first year with the Fever she was an every day starter. She doubled her scoring per game, her rebounds per game, her assists per game and she made her first All-Star appearance. She won the 2024 Most Improved Player award. She got that much better in 2025 and helped lead the Fever to a playoff appearance and she received another All-Star bid. But it was in 2026 that Boyd would vault into pure stardom. In 2026 Boyd became a twenty point per game starter while averaging ten boards and a TS% of 57%. She won the Most Improved Player award for the second time in three seasons but the Fever missed the playoffs. She took a five year max contract with the Minnesota Lynx and Boyd became the face of the league. Beginning in 2026, her last year in Indiana, Boyd would make the All-WNBA team 15 straight years. She led the league in 2027, her first year with the Lynx, a feat she'd accomplish six times in her career. She would win 3 MVP awards while with the Lynx (2031, 2033, 2035) and would win the 2034 WNBA Finals and Finals MVP with the Lynx. Boyd was also a 17 time All-Star, a 9 time All-Defense selection and she led the WNBA in rebounds twice. At age 39 she joined the New York Liberty, with whom she'd play three more seasons as an every day starter averaging just shy of a double-double the entire time. When she finished her career, she'd played in 921 games and was the WNBA All-Time leader in almost every statistical category. When Boyd retired she led career points by 3,300+ over Napheesa Collier (15,496). She led career rebounds with ~1,600 more than Kara Warren (8,219). She led career assists with ~400 more assists than Jordin Canada (5,355). Boyd had over 3,000 more field goals made and ~1,800 for field goals attempted than Napheesa Collier. She's also the WNBA career leader in three points attempted/made and free throws attempted/made. She's the all-time leader in offensive *and* defensive win shares, the all-time leader in minutes played, the all-time leader in win shares and estimated wins added. She's also the career leader in PER with 27 and VORP with a nearly twenty point lead on Tiffany Boone. Boyd was an all-time great at every aspect of basketball and while she was a bit of a late bloomer, her greatness lasted all the way through her final season at age 42. The only thing missing from her infinite accolades were more successful WNBA Finals trips but she did manage to win one in her only trip there, making the finals as the 4th seed and defeating the Charlotte Sting in five games. Tiffany Boone A 6'1" Small Forward from Utah, Boone spent 16 years with the Chicago Sky after being taken #1 overall in the 2020 WNBA Draft. Boone was a star from the jump, getting a role as an everyday starter and making an All-Star appearance in her rookie season. Boone was the Rookie of the Year and an All-WNBA and All-Defense selection her very first year. Tiffany Boone wound up making 14 straight All-WNBA selections from 2021-2034 and 11 All-Defense selections in that same time period. A 14-time All-Star and 3-time WNBA MVP, Boone led the Chicago Sky to back to back WNBA Championships in 2029 and 2030, capturing the Finals MVP in the 2030 victory. Boone was an elite scorer but as the primary ball-handler for those Sky teams she led the league three times in assists. Boone's best season came in 2028 when, at age 28, she won her final of her three MVP awards. Boone averaged 16 points a game with 8 rebounds and 7 assists, a TS% of 60% and a PER of 30.1. For her career she was a 56% TS% and a career PER of 23.7. After spending all 16 years with Chicago and delivering them two championships, Boone retired in 2036 with a year still remaining on her contract. The Sky lifted her #8 into the rafters the following season. Ruza Loncar Ruza Loncar was one of the WNBA's biggest foreign stars. Loncar was a 6'3" Forward who came into the WNBA as a 23 year old professional from Bosnia and Herzegovina. She was selected 5th overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2030 WNBA Draft. Loncar would spend 13 years in the WNBA with three franchises, playing at an elite level with all of them. Her first three years in the WNBA were with Indiana where she was an immediate impact player, making the All-Star game in all of those seasons. She was the Rookie of the Year and made both the All-WNBA and All-Defense teams in two of those three Fever seasons. After a successful three seasons in America, Loncar elected to test free agency instead of re-signing with the Fever. Loncar was signed as the first marquee free agent of the El Paso Paisanas, who were entering their very first year in the WNBA. With Loncar to lead the line, the Paisanas debuted with a 29-21 season and Loncar won the WNBA MVP award. Loncar would continue to dominate the WNBA with the Paisanas leading the league twice in steals and winning the WNBA MVP again in 2036 with a PER of 31.1. Loncar got the Paisanas into the WNBA Finals in 2036, winning the Western Conference Finals MVP but El Paso came up shy, losing to the Washington Mystics in six games. Loncar would leave El Paso in 2039 for the Houston Comets where she would finish her career. In five seasons with Houston, Loncar would make the All-Star team four more times and play at an All-WNBA level before a series of back injuries slowed her down in her final year. Loncar would call it a career at age 35, still playing at a high level but on reduced minutes. Loncar retired with the 9th best career PER in WNBA history. Loncar's two MVPs and finals appearance with the Paisanas were integral in creating a legacy of winning in El Paso. From their birth year until the time she left, El Paso had a 55% win percentage. An almost unheard of amount of success for an expansion team. The Paisanas would eventually win the WNBA Finals in 2041 without Loncar and a championship would forever elude the Bosnian's grasp. Still upon he retirement, the Paisanas made sure no one would ever again wear Loncar's #43 in El Paso. |
03-05-2023, 02:16 PM | #15 |
Rookie
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Re: WNBA - BBGM
Seattle Fades and the lack of Spark in Los Angeles
The Storm had an early dynasty in the Twenties. And then again in the early to mid Thirties. But despite making 6 WNBA Finals and winning 4 of them, the Storm barely have a 50% winning percentage from 2019-2045. In fact the once dominant Storm now find themselves amidst an eight year stretch without a playoff appearance. In the last three seasons the Storm have posted records of 14-36, 21-29 and 13-37. As the league has continued to expand, the Storm have struggled to keep up with the expectations of them as a marquee franchise. No other franchise has had such a precipitous decline or stark contrast between their successes and failures as the Storm. Meanwhile, Los Angeles has struggled to live up to its early reputation as the WNBA's glamour franchise. From 2019-2045, the Sparks have only made the playoffs 8 times. They have a win percentage just shy of 50% during that stretch and outside of Napheesa Collier they've had very few praises to be sung. The bright side for the Sparks is that things may be on the up. A 34-16 record in 2045 led to a WNBA Finals victory in seven games over the Indiana Fever. Shooting Guard Liz McCormack led the WNBA in scoring and won the Finals MVP for the Sparks. The league's historic Sparks may be on the upswing, and that would mean good things for the WNBA with better performances coming from the league's second biggest media market. |
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03-05-2023, 02:36 PM | #16 |
Rookie
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Re: WNBA - BBGM
Four of a Kind: The League Expands Again
After the expansion of the league in 2025 and again in 2028 was a smashing success. The Charlotte Sting found immediate success while the Comets, Breeze and Kiss made themselves competitive and profitable. The WNBA was finally not only stable, but growing. Profits were rising. And the league wanted to continue collecting franchise fees and expanding to new markets to maximize future media rights deals. In 2039 four new teams would enter the WNBA. The first team announced would be in Philadelphia, the city narrowly missed selection for expansion in 2028 after failing to guarantee a longterm stadium deal while Hershey was owned by the owners of the Giant Center. The Philadelphia Belles would be paired shortly after with an announcement from Denver. The Denver Snowcaps would be the WNBA's 18th franchise and the WNBA began prepping for another expansion. In the twelfth hour of planning, a major bid came in to bring WNBA to Memphis. The Memphis Blues were given a charter but their entry date was to be determined as the WNBA didn't support the idea of an odd number of franchises. The El Paso Paisanas became the twentieth franchise in the WNBA and the WNBA announced all four teams would start play at the same time in 2039. The first time the WNBA would add four teams simultaneously since 2000. Perhaps what became the most surprising result of the third expansion is that the 'afterthought' franchise, El Paso, became the most successful of the bunch. Philadelphia has been a consistent playoff maker but hasn't cracked the big game, Memphis has been a complete bottom feeder franchise with one of the worst records in the WNBA since their entrance and Denver hasn't faired much better. But small market El Paso has a 58% win percentage since they joined the WNBA and they made the WNBA Finals in only their third season. Since then they've made three more Western Conference Finals and actually won the WNBA Title in 2041. Despite being in a smaller market, El Paso has been every bit the part of a title contender since joining the league. |
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