WNBA - BBGM

**sirvalkyerie** · 02-26-2023, 06:57 PM

Re: WNBA - BBGM

Timeline of Major League Events:
2025 - Houston Comets and Charlotte Sting return to the WNBA
2028 - Hershey Kiss & SoCal Breeze enter the WNBA
2028 - WNBA adds divisions to each conference and institutes a playoff format split by conference
2028 - WNBA expands to a 50 game season with a 3,5,7 playoff structure. 8 teams make the playoffs, no more first round byes.
2034 - WNBA adds four teams: Philadelphia Belles, El Paso Paisanas, Denver Snowcaps and Memphis Blues
2039 - Kansas City 99s and Vancouver Maples join the WNBA
2045 - WNBA makes the last of its planned expansions by adding the Pittsburgh Forge and Austin Cats
2045 - Two twelve team conferences with three four team divisions each, split East-West. Playoffs expanded to 8 teams in each conference, 5,7,7,7 format.
2045 - Season expands to 74 games; each team plays their division opponents 6 times each, their non-division conference opponents four times each and non-conference opponents twice each.

Eastern Conference:
Northeast:
Connecticut Sky
Hershey Kiss
New York Liberty
Philadelphia Belles

Midwest:
Chicago Sky
Indiana Fever
Kansas City 99s
Pittsburgh Forge

Southeast:
Atlanta Dream
Charlotte Sting
Memphis Blues
Washington Mystics

Western Conference:
Northwest:
Denver Snowcaps
Minnesota Lynx
Seattle Storm
Vancouver Maples

Southwest:
Las Vegas Aces
Los Angeles Sparks
Phoenix Mercury
SoCal Breeze

Texas:
Austin Cats
Dallas Wings
El Paso Paisanas
Houston Comets

**sirvalkyerie** · 02-26-2023, 07:08 PM

Re: WNBA - BBGM

The WNBA at 50:
The WNBA held its inaugural season in 1997 which concluded with the Houston Comets defeating the New York Liberty to become the first ever WNBA Champions. Now in 2047 we've had 50 years of professional women's basketball, and we're going to take a look back at those 50 seasons.

**sirvalkyerie** · 02-26-2023, 09:09 PM

Re: WNBA - BBGM

Seattle takes the league by Storm:
The Seattle Storm were the team to beat as the Teens turned into the Twenties. Fresh off a 2018 sweep of the Washington Mystics, the Storm again won the title by downing their opponent, the Las Vegas Aces, in three games in 2019. The Storm of 2019 featured five All-Stars that season and three future Hall of Famers: Jordin Canada, Natasha Howard and Finals MVP Jewell Lloyd. The Storm's back-to-back title victory capped a season leading 26-8 regular season record and first round playoff bye. Seattle had a tougher time with the 4th Seed Phoenix Mercury in the Semi-Finals as it took all five games for them to get that series over with.

Jewell Lloyd's 22 points per game was good for second best in the league in 2019, behind MVP DeWanna Bonner, and her performance continued into the postseason where she averaged twenty points per game on the Storm's title run. But Lloyd would leave for Dallas in the Winter and the Storm had to face the COVID season without their Finals MVP. Still, the Storm returned future Hall of Famers Jordin Canada and Natasha Howard.

In 2020, the Storm were again a force to be reckoned with going again leading the league in wins with a 25-9 record. But the Storm couldn't capitalize on their first round playoff bye, instead falling in five games to the eventual champion Washington Mystics. The Storm would reload though for 2021 with a bevvy of roster moves. The Storm picked up future Hall of Famers Kelsey Plum and Courtney Vandersloot in free agency while with the 12th pick in the draft they landed another future Hall of Famer, Kara Warren.

But despite the talent reload, 2021 was a bump season. The Storm struggled to a 16-18 record which did put them into the playoffs at the sixth and final seed, coming in a game ahead of the Las Vegas Aces. A valiant effort wasn't enough, however, to advance as the Storm fell to the Mercury 96-86 in the opening game.

In 2022, the Storm cut ties with Forward Brionna Jones which paved the way for their 2021 first round pick, Kara Warren, to enter the starting lineup. With Plum, Canada, Vandersloot and Howard all returning, Warren's move to the starting lineup meant that the Seattle Storm would boast a starting five entirely of future Hall of Famers. The team delivered on its expectations. Natasha Howard averaged 22 points and 9 rebounds which led he league in scoring. Jordin Canada facilitated the offense averaging 14 points and 8 assists, while the newly starting Kara Warren brought 9 points and 9 rebounds a game herself. Such starting lineup star power left the Storm with a thin bench and some injuries caused their season to chug along at times. The Wings paced the league at 26-8 while the Chicago Sky nipped at their heels for the second seed at 25-9. Seattle's more modest 19-15 record got them into the dance as the fourth seed, a three win improvement over 2021.

Seattle would make quick work of Indiana in the first round but then falter to the one-seed Wings in the semi-finals. Seattle had improved over their 2021 season but they still couldn't make the most of a star studded lineup. In the off-season the Storm shipped three players (Nia Coffey, Tanisha Wright and Margold Donnelly) to the Las Vegas Aces for the #2 overall pick in the draft. The Storm would select 6'3" Forward, Megan Ford from Missouri. Seattle's decision to draft size would hopefully help them improve over their guard heavy lineup of 2022. And it certainly did.

Ford was an All-Star as a rookie averaging 12 points and 6 rebounds a game on an impressive 57% shooting from the floor. Kara Warren was also an All-Star for the first time, taking her first major strides averaging 14 points and 11 rebounds. Natasha Howard also made the All-Star game and the starting lineup was filled out by Kelsey Plum and Jordin Canada. The Storm would go 26-8, good for best in the WNBA. And this time they wouldn't disappoint. After getting the first round bye, the Storm swept the Mystics in the semi-finals and defeated the Dallas Wings in a series that went the distance. Kara Warren won Finals MVP and made her first of ten All-WNBA teams and her first of seven All-WNBA Defense teams. Warren had an elite postseason averaging 18 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks on 55% shooting.

It was the third title in six years for a Storm team that could seemingly do no wrong, flipping their roster over twice in that period. The Storm were a dominant franchise for the league and were the home of some of the league's most star studded lineups. In 2024 the team took a step back with many key contributors beginning to show signs of age and in 2025 the roster started to thin. The Storm would fade rapidly. After their 2023 championship, they wouldn't even make the playoffs again until 2029.

While the end came swiftly, the Storm cemented themselves, for a time, as the league's marquee franchise after the contraction of the late-Aughts.

**RolePlayer** · 02-26-2023, 09:50 PM

Re: WNBA - BBGM

WNBA dynasties are always interesting to me, excited to follow

**sirvalkyerie** · 02-26-2023, 10:55 PM

Re: WNBA - BBGM

Elena Delle Donne and the magical Mystics:
The Washington Mystics fought alongside the Seattle Storm in the late Teens and early Twenties for WNBA Supremacy. The two teams on opposite coasts tangled for league glory with the Storm sweeping the Mystics in the 2018 WNBA Finals and the Mystics ousting the Storm in the Semi-Finals in 2020. The Mystics boasted rosters with plenty of star power and their run during the early 20s came with Elene Delle Donne at the helm.

The Mystics' only retired jersey, Elene Delle Donne racked up the accolades with several All-Star and All-WNBA bids to go with her two Mystics titles and a Finals MVP in their 2020 COVID title victory over the Las Vegas Aces. In 2020, The Bubble Season, the Mystics went 21-13 with future Hall of Famers Natasha Cloud and Emma Meesseman flanking Delle Donne.

Coming in as the fourth seed, the Mystics decimated the New York Liberty 93-63 in the opening round before pulling off a major upset in the semi-finals, downing the #1 overall seed Seattle Storm 3-2 in the five game series. The Mystics founds things easier in the WNBA Finals where they beat the Las Vegas Aces 3-1 inside the Disneyland Bubble. Elena Delle Donne led the Mystics with 21.5 points per game in the postseason, paired with 11.5 rebounds and 58% shooting from the floor. Delle Donne was simply unplayable and put up one of the league's best postseason performances en route to a title and a Finals MVP award.

But not to be deterred by criticisms of a 'Mickey Mouse' ring, the Mystics roared back again in 2021 under normal conditions to pocket a coveted back-to-back title run. The Mystics had a strong 2021, going 22-12 in the regular season and landing the second seed and a first round bye. They swept the Mercury in the opening round, 3-0 and then met the Chicago Sky in the WNBA Finals where they went the full five games to claim the WNBA Championship on their home floor.

Delle Donne again had an elite season and post-season, picking up her second consecutive Semi-Finals MVP award but it was fellow future Hall of Famer Natasha Cloud who put her stamp on the title run with a Finals MVP award of her own. Cloud had always been a solid contributor for the side, picking up several consecutive All-Star selections but her run in the 2021 WNBA Finals was probably key to her eventual Hall enshrinement. Cloud put up 13 points and 10 assists a game while playing the point. Cloud's orchestration of the offense was key as the upstart Sky gave the Mystics everything the defending champs could handle.

The Mystics were an uninspiring one and done the following year in 2022. In 2023 the Mystics slipped into the playoffs at 18-16 as the last seed, and managed to scramble their way into the semi-finals. But it was there that they met arch-rival Seattle Storm who dispatched them in a series sweep. After the 2023 season the Mystics would see retirements and general decline, Delle Donne would return in a reduced role in 2024 before being selected by the Charlotte Sting in the 2025 Expansion Draft, the season that would be Delle Donne's last. The Mystics would go on a six year drought, not making the playoffs after 2023 until 2030. But in their five year run they made the WNBA Finals three times, the WNBA Semi-Finals four times and won the championship twice. Suffering three post-season defeats to the Seattle Storm, including a WNBA Finals loss in 2018.

Their title team in 2021 had a starting lineup containing four future Hall of Famers: Elena Delle Donne, Emma Meesseman, Natasha Cloud and Katasha Simpson

**sirvalkyerie** · 02-27-2023, 10:31 PM

Re: WNBA - BBGM

6'10" Superstar turns Liberty from David into Goliath
The New York Liberty were always situated to be the league's rival to glamour franchise, Los Angeles Sparks. The two franchises situated in the country's two biggest cities, on opposite coats and in basketball meccas. It was the rivalry that never happened.

In 1997, the Houston Comets defeated the Liberty in the inaugural WNBA Finals. The Comets would again defeat the Liberty in the Finals in 1999 and 2000. In 2002 the fateful Finals matchup between the Sparks and Liberty finally occurred with the Sparks winning it in a sweep. In their first four WNBA Finals appearances over the course of the league's initial six seasons, the Liberty went 0-4, winning just one out of the eight Finals games they played in.

And that was as good as it got for the never-was WNBA marquee team. The Liberty had few truly destitute years but they were rarely a major contender. A few names played for them here or there. A couple Semi-Finals letdowns. But never again would the Liberty reach the WNBA Finals and rarely would the Liberty boast rosters with true stars in their primes. That is until the arrival of Chiney Holder.

Chiney Holder, a 6'10", Center from Purdue arrived to the league without much fanfare. Holder was the 11th pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft, a draft class which included 5 Hall of Famers, 14 WNBA Champions and 14 League All-Stars. Holder was selected by the Las Vegas Aces, who were runners-up in the 2020 WNBA Finals to the Washington Mystics. They'd hoped to pair the raw Holder with bigs A'ja Wilson and Liz Cambage and reload the team for another title challenge. But it never quite panned out.

Holder struggled to get on the floor and the Aces floundered to a 15-19 record and missed the playoffs. Holder played in 22 regular season games, never starting, and averaged 4.7 minutes a game in her rookie season. She struggled with her playmaking abilities, hadn't yet developed much of an offensive game outside of her height advantage and she couldn't play reliable defense away from the hoop. Year one, Holder was a project and the Aces were a mess.

But Holder's game developed over the next two seasons. A marked improvement between her first and second seasons saw her play nearly twenty minutes a game coming off the bench and starting a handful of games for a better Aces squad. She was runner-up in Sixth Woman of the Year voting. And in 2023, Holder's third year in the league, she took her first major step to the star she would become. Holder averaged 14.7 points per game with 11 rebounds and led the league in blocks with two per game. She made the All-Star team for the first time in her career and in her first season as an everyday starter she made the WNBA All-Defense First Team.

In the Winter of 2023, Holder would become a free agent. She declined the Aces' offer to remain in Las Vegas and found herself a max contract in New York City. It was in New York that Holder would become a bonafide star and the Liberty would enter an era of dominance. The Liberty would make four consecutive WNBA Finals appearances in Holder's first four years at the helm, going 3-1 in those series. Holder's impact was immediate as the Liberty won the 2024 WNBA Finals, Holder's first season with the team, by defeating the Dallas Wings 3-to-2.

Holder would be a WNBA All-Star every season of her decade-long Liberty tenure, while racking up 9 All-WNBA bids and five more All-Defense selections. Holder's best year was 2025 when she was MVP runner-up, scoring 19 a game with 14 rebounds on a PER just shy of 30 and a VORP just over 7. The Liberty made five WNBA Finals with Holder and made the playoffs every year Holder was with the team except for Holder's final season with the Liberty.

In the five years preceding Holder's arrival the Liberty went 70-100 with a single first round playoff exit. In Holder's first five years in New York the Liberty went 125-61 with four WNBA Finals appearances.

Chiney Holder turned the Liberty into a dynasty and her #30 will forever hang in the rafters alongside the three championship banners she delivered to the league's big city underdogs.

**sirvalkyerie** · 03-01-2023, 09:43 PM

Re: WNBA - BBGM

Arike Ogunbowale becomes Arike OGOATbowale
The 2020s was the decade of Arike Ogunbowale. Under Ogunbowale's leadership, the Dallas Wings went to six WNBA Finals in the 20s and won three of them. Ogunbowale herself won three straight MVP awards from 2021-2023 with a title win right in the middle of those. From 2020 to 2027, Ogunbowale not only didn't miss a game but she scored 20.0 points per game or better in each season.

Ogunbowale was a 12 time All-WNBA player with three titles and a Finals MVP as she led a powerhouse Dallas Wings franchise. Spending her entire career with the Wings, Dallas won 60% of their regular season games with Ogunbowale in the starting lineup. For an NBA comparison, it meant that on the average across her entire tenure with the team the Dallas Wings would've been able to expect a 50 win season because they had Arike Ogunbowale.

At Ogunbowale's peak she had a PER of 30, 24 points per game, 50% shooting from the floor and 41% from 3. For her career she slashed 46/39/90. Despite retiring in 2032 she's still the franchise leader in total points and career points per game and field goals while having played 4,000 less career minutes for the Wings than fellow Wings great Jasmine Teague.

Ogunbowale boasts the second greatest Win Shares per 40 Minutes of any player in league history at .316 (just behind DeWanna Bonner at .319). Her career PER of 26.4 is tied with Bonner for second all-time, behind Nicole Boyd's 26.6. She's also the WNBA's All-Time Leader in career points per game. A three level scorer that shot with efficiency, Ogunbowale was the greatest player of the 2020s and one of the greatest players the league has ever seen.

**sirvalkyerie** · 03-01-2023, 11:37 PM

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.

**sirvalkyerie** · 03-03-2023, 09:33 PM

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.

**sirvalkyerie** · 03-04-2023, 12:12 AM

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.

**sirvalkyerie** · 03-04-2023, 01:38 PM

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.

**sirvalkyerie** · 03-04-2023, 03:18 PM

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.

**sirvalkyerie** · 03-04-2023, 04:30 PM

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.

**sirvalkyerie** · 03-05-2023, 02:16 PM

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.

Year	Teams	Finals MVP
1997	Houston Comets (1) vs. (0) New York Liberty	Cynthia Cooper
1998	Houston Comets (2) vs. (1) Phoenix Mercury	Cynthia Cooper
1999	Houston Comets (2) vs. (1) New York Liberty	Cynthia Cooper
2000	Houston Comets (2) vs. (0) New York Liberty	Cynthia Cooper
2001	Los Angeles Sparks (2) vs. (0) Charlotte Sting	Lisa Leslie
2002	Los Angeles Sparks (2) vs. (0) New York Liberty	Lisa Leslie
2003	Detroit Shock (2) vs. (1) Los Angeles Sparks	Ruth Riley
2004	Seattle Storm (2) vs. (1) Connecticut Sun	Betty Lennox
2005	Sacramento Monarchs (3) vs. (1) Connecticut Sun	Yolanda Griffith
2006	Detroit Shock (3) vs. (2) Sacramento Monarchs	Deanna Nolan
2007	Phoenix Mercury (3) vs. (2) Detroit Shock	Cappie Pondexter
2008	Detroit Shock (3) vs. (0) San Antonio Silver Stars	Katie Smith
2009	Phoenix Mercury (3) vs. (2) Indiana Fever	Diana Taurasi
2010	Seattle Storm (3) vs. (0) Atlanta Dream	Lauren Jackson
2011	Minnesota Lynx (3) vs. (0) Atlanta Dream	Seimone Augustus
2012	Indiana Fever (3) vs. (1) Minnesota Lynx	Tamika Catchings
2013	Minnesota Lynx (3) vs. (0) Atlanta Dream	Maya Moore
2014	Phoenix Mercury (3) vs. (0) Chicago Sky	Diana Taurasi
2015	Minnesota Lynx (3) vs. (2) Indiana Fever	Sylvia Fowles
2016	Los Angeles Sparks (3) vs. (2) Minnesota Lynx	Candace Parker
2017	Minnesota Lynx (3) vs. (2) Los Angeles Sparks	Sylvia Fowles
2018	Seattle Storm (3) vs. (0) Washington Mystics	Breanna Stewart
2019	Seattle Storm (3) vs. (0) Las Vegas Aces	Jewell Lloyd
2020	Washington Mystics (3) vs. (1) Las Vegas Aces	Elena Delle Donne
2021	Washington Mystics (3) vs. (2) Chicago Sky	Natasha Cloud
2022	Dallas Wings (3) vs. (1) Los Angeles Sparks	Arike Ogunbowale
2023	Seattle Storm (3) vs. (2) Dallas Wings	Kara Warren
2024	New York Liberty (3) vs. (2) Dallas Wings	Kayla Johnson
2025	New York Liberty (3) vs. (2) Chicago Sky	Chiney Holder
2026	Dallas Wings (3) vs. (1) New York Liberty	Sheila Peek
2027	New York Liberty (3) vs. (0) Dallas Wings	Chiney Holder
2028	Dallas Wings (4) vs. (1) Charlotte Sting	Angela McKinney
2029	Chicago Sky (4) vs. (3) Charlotte Sting	Lauren Polite
2030	Chicago Sky (4) vs. (1) Charlotte Sting	Tiffany Boone
2031	Seattle Storm (4) vs. (3) New York Liberty	Epiphanny Walton
2032	Seattle Storm (4) vs. (0) Charlotte Sting	Epiphanny Walton
2033	Charlotte Sting (4) vs. (2) Seattle Storm	Megan Hutchison
2034	Minnesota Lynx (4) vs. (1) Charlotte Sting	Nicole Boyd
2035	Dallas Wings (4) vs. (2) Connecticut Sun	Jasmine Teague
2036	Washington Mystics (4) vs. (2) El Paso Paisanas	Laurie Riley
2037	Dallas Wings (4) vs. (3) New York Liberty	Kaela Niehaus
2038	Dallas Wings (4) vs. (0) Indiana Fever	Kristin Garrett
2039	Indiana Fever (4) vs. (2) Seattle Storm	Antonella Marchetti
2040	Dallas Wings (4) vs. (3) Connecticut Sun	Jasmine Teague
2041	El Paso Paisanas (4) vs. (3) Atlanta Dream	Megan Duck
2042	Atlanta Dream (4) vs. (0) Phoenix Mercury	Michelle Monroe
2043	Atlanta Dream (4) vs. (1) Los Angeles Sparks	Michelle Monroe
2044	Atlanta Dream (4) vs. (1) Vancouver Maples	Michelle Monroe
2045	Los Angeles Sparks (4) vs. (3) Indiana Fever	Liz McCormack

Year	Winner	Team
1997	Cynthia Cooper	Houston Comets
1998	Cynthia Cooper (2)	Houston Comets (2)
1999	Yolanda Griffith	Sacramento Monarchs
2000	Sheryl Swoopes	Houston Comets (3)
2001	Lisa Leslie	Los Angeles Sparks
2002	Sheryl Swoopes (2)	Houston Comets (4)
2003	Lauren Jackson	Seattle Storm
2004	Lisa Leslie (2)	Los Angeles Sparks (2)
2005	Sheryl Swoopes (3)	Houston Comets (5)
2006	Lisa Leslie (3)	Los Angeles Sparks (3)
2007	Lauren Jackson (2)	Seattle Storm (2)
2008	Candace Parker	Los Angeles Sparks (4)
2009	Diana Taurasi	Phoenix Mercury
2010	Lauren Jackson (3)	Seattle Storm (3)
2011	Tamika Catchings	Indiana Fever
2012	Tina Charles	Connecticut Sun
2013	Candace Parker (2)	Los Angeles Sparks (5)
2014	Maya Moore	Minnesota Lynx
2015	Elena Delle Donne	Chicago Sky
2016	Nneka Ogwumike	Los Angeles Sparks (6)
2017	Sylvia Fowles	Minnesota Lynx (2)
2018	Breanna Stewart	Seattle Storm (4)
2019	DeWanna Bonner	Phoenix Mercury (2)
2020	Kelsey Mitchell	Indiana Fever (2)
2021	Arike Ogunbowale	Dallas Wings
2022	Arike Ogunbowale (2)	Dallas Wings (2)
2023	Arike Ogunbowale (3)	Dallas Wings (3)
2024	Marissa Gladney	Las Vegas Aces
2025	Tiffany Boone	Chicago Sky (2)
2026	Tiffany Boone (2)	Chicago Sky (3)
2027	Napheesa Collier	Los Angeles Sparks (7)
2028	Tiffany Boone (3)	Chicago Sky (4)
2029	Kara Warren	Hershey Kiss
2030	Napheesa Collier (2)	Los Angeles Sparks (8)
2031	Nicole Boyd	Minnesota Lynx (3)
2032	Epiphanny Walton	Seattle Storm (5)
2033	Nicole Boyd (2)	Minnesota Lynx (4)
2034	Ruza Loncar	El Paso Paisanas
2035	Nicole Boyd (3)	Minnesota Lynx (4)
2036	Ruza Loncar (2)	El Paso Paisanas (2)
2037	Blake Shelton	Connecticut Sun (2)
2038	Blake Shelton (2)	Connecticut Sun (3)
2039	Blake Shelton (3)	Connecticut Sun (4)
2040	Blake Shelton (4)	Connecticut Sun (5)
2041	Laurie Riley	Washington Mystics
2042	Michelle Monroe	Atlanta Dream
2043	Ariel Gladney	Los Angeles Sparks (9)
2044	Michelle Monroe (2)	Atlanta Dream (2)
2045	Elena Siksnius	Chicago Sky (5)

Year	Winner	Team
1997	Teresa Weatherspoon	New York Liberty
1998	Teresa Weatherspoon (2)	New York Liberty (2)
1999	Yolanda Griffith	Sacramento Monarchs
2000	Sheryl Swoopes	Houston Comets
2001	Debbie Black	Miami Sol
2002	Sheryl Swoopes (2)	Houston Comets (2)
2003	Sheryl Swoopes (3)	Houston Comets (3)
2004	Lisa Leslie	Los Angeles Sparks
2005	Tamika Catchings	Indiana Fever
2006	Tamika Catchings (2)	Indiana Fever (2)
2007	Lauren Jackson	Seattle Storm
2008	Lisa Leslie (2)	Los Angeles Sparks (2)
2009	Tamika Catchings (3)	Indiana Fever (3)
2010	Tamika Catchings (4)	Indiana Fever (4)
2011	Sylvia Fowles	Chicago Sky
2012	Tamika Catchings (5)	Indiana Fever (5)
2013	Sylvia Fowles (2)	Chicago Sky (2)
2014	Brittney Griner	Phoenix Mercury
2015	Brittney Griner (2)	Phoenix Mercury (2)
2016	Sylvia Fowles (3)	Minnesota Lynx
2017	Alana Beard	Los Angeles Sparks (3)
2018	Alana Beard (2)	Los Angeles Sparks (4)
2019	Natasha Howard	Seattle Storm (2)
2020	Jonquel Jones	Indiana Fever (5)
2021	Napheesa Collier	Minnesota Lynx (2)
2022	Jackie Forrest	Chicago Sky (3)
2023	Jordin Canada	Seattle Storm (3)
2024	Marissa Gladney	Las Vegas Aces
2025	Tiffany Boone	Chicago Sky (4)
2026	Chiney Holder	New York Liberty (3)
2027	Napheesa Collier (2)	Los Angeles Sparks (5)
2028	Tiffany Boone (2)	Chicago Sky (5)
2029	Kara Warren	Hershey Kiss
2030	Napheesa Collier (3)	Los Angeles Sparks (6)
2031	Epiphanny Walton	Seattle Storm (4)
2032	Epiphanny Walton (2)	Seattle Storm (5)
2033	Angela Alexander	Seattle Storm (6)
2034	Angela Alexander (2)	Seattle Storm (7)
2035	Angela Alexander (3)	Seattle Storm (8)
2036	Ruza Loncar	El Paso Paisanas
2037	Antonella Marchetti	Phoenix Mercury (3)
2038	Antonella Marchetti (2)	Phoenix Mercury (4)
2039	Michelle Gaines	Philadelphia Belles
2040	Megan Duck	El Paso Paisanas (2)
2041	Ariel Gladney	Los Angeles Sparks (7)
2042	Megan Duck (2)	El Paso Paisanas (3)
2043	Shoni Jackson	Atlanta Dream
2044	Ariel Gladney (2)	Los Angeles Sparks (8)
2045	Ariel Gladney (3)	Los Angeles Sparks (9)

WNBA - BBGM

Recommended Videos

WNBA - BBGM

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment