{"id":656836,"date":"2026-05-08T03:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T03:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/656836\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T03:00:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T03:00:17","slug":"13-wnba-predictions-we-actually-believe-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/656836\/","title":{"rendered":"13 WNBA Predictions We Actually Believe for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"ui-rounded-5xl ui-w-fit ui-items-center motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-font-gt-america ui-py-2.5 ui-px-4 ui-text-body-md-medium ui-text-white ui-bg-white\/10 ui-border-white ui-backdrop-blur-[3px] hover:ui-bg-white hover:ui-text-black ui-hidden lg:ui-flex\" data-sentry-element=\"Comp\" data-sentry-component=\"Tag\" data-sentry-source-file=\"tag.tsx\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theringer.com\/topic\/wnba\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">WNBA<\/a><a class=\"ui-rounded-5xl ui-w-fit ui-items-center motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-font-gt-america ui-py-2 ui-px-3 ui-text-body-sm-medium ui-text-white ui-bg-white\/10 ui-border-white ui-backdrop-blur-[3px] hover:ui-bg-white hover:ui-text-black ui-flex lg:ui-hidden\" data-sentry-element=\"Comp\" data-sentry-component=\"Tag\" data-sentry-source-file=\"tag.tsx\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theringer.com\/topic\/wnba\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">WNBA<\/a>From A\u2019ja\u2019s reign to Caitlin and Paige reshaping the game, here are 13 things that will define the WNBA\u2019s 30th season<img alt=\"\" data-sentry-element=\"Image\" data-sentry-source-file=\"article-hero.tsx\" loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"ui-object-cover ui-rounded-4xl\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;object-position:51% 21%;color:transparent\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778209212_615_image.jpeg\"\/>Getty Images\/Ringer illustration<a data-sentry-element=\"Link\" data-sentry-source-file=\"article-info-block.tsx\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theringer.com\/creator\/seerat-sohi\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img alt=\"\" data-sentry-element=\"Image\" data-sentry-source-file=\"article-info-block.tsx\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"56\" height=\"56\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"ui-object-cover h-full w-full rounded-full border grayscale ui-border ui-border-black\" style=\"color:transparent;object-position:50% 50%\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778209212_804_image.jpeg\"\/><\/a>By <a class=\"text-body-md-medium lg:text-body-lg-medium hover:opacity-70\" data-sentry-element=\"Link\" data-sentry-source-file=\"article-info-block.tsx\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theringer.com\/creator\/seerat-sohi\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Seerat Sohi<\/a>May 7, 3:16 pm UTC \u2022 17 min<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Entering its 30th season, the WNBA is finally aging out of its long adolescence\u2014although, to be clear, it\u2019s been paying its own rent for a while now.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">If Caitlin Clark\u2019s rookie season in 2024 was a dry run for the W\u2019s adulthood, this is the real thing. The stars are brighter. The arenas are bigger. The league, with new teams in Toronto and Portland, is getting bigger. The CBA impasse that threatened to impede the league\u2019s momentum was resolved at the buzzer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theringer.com\/2026\/03\/19\/wnba\/wnba-cba-players-salary-agreement-details\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">with a new deal<\/a>. The infrastructure around the sport is catching up to the talent and attention. Player salaries have increased sevenfold and are now into the seven figures, and refereeing reform should be ahead.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">The offseason featured big, bold swings. Over $30 million in new contracts was doled out over a frenzied, contracted free agency period. The Sparks completed their rebuild, Angel Reese found a new home in Atlanta, and Satou Sabally joined New York, bolstering its Big Three.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">A\u2019ja Wilson, the best to ever do it, is negotiating new avenues to greatness. Clark and Paige Bueckers are waiting in the wings, threatening to make the perimeter the most important area of the W\u2019s game, which had previously been defined by post dominance. The latter has already mastered the game. The former, with every logo bomb and crosscourt pass, is changing its very parameters.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Now that the offseason dust has settled and the season is almost here, it\u2019s time to take stock. Here are 13 things we think will happen this season.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"ui-object-cover\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;object-position:50% 50%;color:transparent\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778209213_781_image.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>A\u2019ja Wilson takes a shot over Dallas Wings forward Alysha Clark on May 3<\/p>\n<p>Adam Davis\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images1. A\u2019ja Wilson will have the first 20-10-4 season in WNBA history.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">This prediction may seem like a big swing since it&#8217;s never been done\u2014although Candace Parker came close in 2015\u2014but all it would really take is some simple load redistribution for Wilson, who averaged 23.6 points, 10 rebounds, and 3.1 assists last year.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">And Wilson has a knack for making the historic feel routine.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">It\u2019s not often that you see a GOAT case wrapped up by the time a player\u2019s 29 years old, but watching A\u2019ja now is like watching Michael Jordan during his second three-peat. Or Tiger after the 1997 Masters. Or the Great One during his heyday. The list is short. And Wilson, who has three titles and a record four MVPs and holds three of the top five PER seasons of all time, is on it.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Lately, Wilson has exuded the lightness that comes with having nothing left to accomplish. Now all she needs to play for is the process of renewal and betterment that accompanies her achievements.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Other than a few splashy magazine covers, we haven\u2019t heard from her much this offseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">She gets away from basketball. In those interviews she talks more about her teammates, about the feeling of being in training camp, than she does about her legacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Arguments about her greatness fall away, replaced by appreciation and anticipation for what&#8217;s to come.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">I\u2019m particularly excited for A\u2019ja\u2019s ninth season because her athleticism, skill refinement, and cognitive mastery should all be peaking at the same time.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Every year, Wilson improves something new. After she shot 42 percent on low-volume 3s last year, has she refined that part of her game enough to face up regularly this year? What downstream impact could that have on her foul-drawing ability, which is already tops in the league? After mastering her reads as a stationary playmaker in the post, will she now set her sights on dumping the ball off to teammates on drives? Will she do it all? Could this be the season she notches her first triple-double?<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">How much should she pass out of doubles at all? Sixty percent of her catch-and-shoot jumpers were contested last year, per Synergy. And she made a solid 45.2 percent of them, just three decimal points below her accuracy on open shots.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Think about the signature shot of her career, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Vjmux5H-fKc\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">her Finals game-winner against Phoenix<\/a>. She was completely draped by two defenders. It didn\u2019t matter.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">The shape of Wilson\u2019s season will depend on her teammates. Because of her combination of versatility and dominance, Wilson has a knack for morphing around her team&#8217;s needs\u2014not unlike LeBron, who, lest we forget, is also still doin\u2019 it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Last season, the Aces hovered around the .500 mark before trading for NaLyssa Smith, ripping off 16 straight wins to finish the regular season, and winning the title. As the aggressiveness and consistency of the guard play waxed and waned, Wilson was the one constant, doing what needed to be done.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">The truth is that it\u2019s too early to know the particular shape her greatness will take this year\u2014only that she will be great.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"ui-object-cover\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;object-position:50% 50%;color:transparent\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778209213_255_image.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Paige Bueckers during a preseason game against the Fever<\/p>\n<p>Getty Images2. Paige Bueckers will finish in the top three in MVP voting.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">There\u2019s no point in picking against A\u2019ja, but the MVP race still has plenty of intrigue. In the WNBA\u2019s official general manager survey, a third of the executives chose Bueckers as the player they\u2019d build around if they were starting a franchise today, ahead of Clark and Wilson.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">When you add up the 24-year-old\u2019s strengths\u2014the technical proficiency, the processing speed, the unselfishness, the IQ, the two-way ability\u2014it\u2019s easy to talk yourself into her MVP case.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">That&#8217;s Bueckers&#8217;s whole deal: She is exceedingly easy to talk yourself into.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">She\u2019s your favorite basketball player\u2019s favorite basketball player. A coach\u2019s dream. She sees everything they see and does everything they\u2019d do, like a supercomputer spitting out expected value basketball decisions. She\u2019s the <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/fURMwsfmdXU?t=167\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">stable middy to Caitlin\u2019s deep 3<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Her fluency with both hands and her ability to shoot from anywhere on the court, even as a rookie, gave her maximum maneuverability. It\u2019s an advantage she shares with Wilson: When you master the hard stuff, it\u2019s easier to access the easy stuff.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Bueckers\u2019s 19.2 points per game last season ranks sixth of all time among rookies, a decimal point ahead of her teammate Arike Ogunbowale, who is known for letting it fly, and tied with Clark, her less careful foil.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">A third of Bueckers\u2019s possessions last year came in the pick-and-roll, where she was one of the most productive creators in the league, even though she didn\u2019t really have a reliable finisher to pass to. Now she\u2019ll be playing alongside Jessica Shepard, who converted 68 percent of her rolls to the rim last season, and Alanna Smith, who can roll and pop.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Her new head coach, Jose Fernandez, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/wnba\/story\/_\/id\/46872165\/new-coach-jose-fernandez-eyes-change-paige-bueckers-led-wings\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">will also challenge<\/a> Bueckers to push down on the accelerator and score even more, while encouraging her to fine-tune her efficiency by taking more 3s.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">While Bueckers shot an average of 33 percent from beyond the arc last season, she shot 44 percent on unguarded catch-and-shoot 3s\u2014the kind of look that will be far more available to her on a supercharged Wings roster designed to make the postseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Bueckers is already the globe-trotting it girl of the WNBA. There are very few people who can stand in her way in an MVP race.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">That said \u2026 Caitlin Clark is probably one of them.<\/p>\n<p>3. Playing off ball will transform Caitlin Clark.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">There are more technically proficient guitarists than Jimi Hendrix. But none of them had his imagination, feel, or penchant for risk-taking, which made his instrument seem less like an inanimate object and more like a living, evolving thing.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Clark\u2019s the same way: a player whose logo range and playmaking feel have changed the very shape of the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">And no, despite the insistence of YouTube <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=DnZx6ooaV0M\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">slop<\/a>, Fever coach Stephanie White is not a sleeper agent for the WNBA\u2019s old guard, activated to cage Clark\u2019s most exciting qualities. White is, however, a ball knower who had a front-row seat to Clark\u2019s Iowa wizardry as a broadcaster and realizes that sometimes the best way to get her the ball at the end of the possession is to have her give it up in the beginning.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">There are times when Indiana taps into the seamless, unencumbered quality of Clark\u2019s Iowa days, but it takes a lot more work than it did then. Whereas Clark looked free at Iowa, in a Fever uniform, she often looks overburdened. There\u2019s a Hawkeyes-in-molasses quality to Fever games. This is often chalked up to the WNBA\u2019s physicality, but it\u2019s not just that.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Clark is indeed overtaxed with offensive responsibilities. Her creation burden has essentially gone up 20 percent as a pro, while her off-ball productivity has gone down 17.5 percent. That leads to a harder shot diet with less fluidity and more predictability. No wonder her efficiency has suffered and her injuries have worsened<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Clark has said so herself: &#8220;It is exhausting, bringing the ball up 94 feet versus pressure every single time. So we certainly need to find somebody that can handle the ball a little bit and give me a little bit of a break.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">According to Synergy, Clark has scored just six times off cuts in her WNBA career. Skill issue? Come on. Clark was an excellent cutter in Iowa, punishing top-locking defensive schemes and countering defenders who read the play instead of the player:<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">White wants to play no. 11 pick Raven Johnson at Clark&#8217;s position so the third-year guard can play off the ball. That change isn&#8217;t supposed to suppress Clark\u2014it&#8217;s supposed to unleash her. There&#8217;s a Steph Curry inside Clark somewhere. So why should she lean into Trae Young\u2013style heliocentric ball dominance, which becomes predictable by the postseason?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"ui-object-cover\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;object-position:50% 50%;color:transparent\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778209214_801_image.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Raven Johnson fouls Promise Amukamara during a game on May 2<\/p>\n<p>Getty Images4. Raven Johnson will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/wnba\/leaders\/rookie-records.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">break<\/a> Tamika Catchings\u2019s rookie steals record.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">The Fever\u2019s first-round pick won\u2019t just take the pressure off the offense; she\u2019ll supercharge the defense, too. In fact, she might end up being one of the best rookie defenders ever. Can she break Catchings\u2019s steals record? In fairness, she will have an extra 12 games to do it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">She was already blowing up dribble handoffs, denying cutters, helping on the weak side, and locking opponents down one-on-one in the preseason. She\u2019s a freewheeling nightmare in help and a one-woman blockade in transition. As her time in South Carolina proved, Johnson can guard all kinds of players\u2014from 6-foot power guards like Cotie McMahon to speedy shot creators like Mikayla Blakes to do-it-all wonders like Sarah Strong. Take a look at these early highlights to get a taste of what she can do with the Fever:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Combine Johnson\u2019s versatility and IQ with White\u2019s defensive acumen and creativity, and you\u2019re cooking with gas.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>5. Jonquel Jones is going to have an early-30s renaissance.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Last season, Alyssa Thomas was the beneficiary of the Mercury&#8217;s modern offense, which finally maximized her skill set and gave her a career year at 34. Jonquel Jones, the 32-year-old former MVP, could have a similar renaissance under the guidance of new Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco, a former Golden State disciple who had a front-row seat to the positional revolution the Warriors shaped.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Despite her desirable size and touch, Jones is a good but not great post-up player and roller. Like Thomas, she\u2019s an MVP-caliber player who was cursed by positional convention to play a limited role that didn\u2019t maximize her best qualities.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">And look, it\u2019s not like Jones has been relegated to thumping the ball into the floor on the low block, possession after possession. By the numbers, her last two seasons in New York under Sandy Brondello were her best from a playmaking and shooting perspective. But they also left something to be desired. She was used like the W\u2019s greasiest cog, the connector between Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu as opposed to a hub unto herself. She ended last year as New York\u2019s most efficient yet underused starter. That\u2019s exactly the kind of offensive wrinkle DeMarco was brought in to smooth out.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Jones initiated the pick-and-roll, traditionally a role that\u2019s unusual for her position, a total of 15 times last season. But I\u2019ve already seen her do it multiple times in just two preseason games this year, with Ionescu and Stewart setting screens for her:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Although it\u2019s early on, the results have been predictably blistering. Jones, at 6-foot-6, can see over the competition, and her targets can, too\u2014the Liberty roster has five rotation players over 6-foot-4. DeMarco has a lot of height to play around with, and he hasn\u2019t shied away from experimenting. Han Xu, at 6-foot-11, has shared the floor with Jones and Stewie at different times this postseason. This year\u2019s Liberty offense, which has modern giants roaming the floor, could be downright extraterrestrial.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"ui-object-cover\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;object-position:50% 50%;color:transparent\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778209214_853_image.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Angel Reese shoots a free throw in a game against the Washington Mystics on May 3<\/p>\n<p>Getty Images6. Angel Reese is going to have an All-WNBA season.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">The EPIC (exceptional performance on initial contract) provision in the new CBA, which allows All-WNBA or MVP players on rookie contracts to sign max extensions in their fourth year, is going to give Dream GM Dan Padover the kinds of problems he used to pray for.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">My favorite piece of training camp highlight bait this year has been clips of Karl Smesko working with Angel Reese on her jumper:<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Reese\u2019s form still has kinks, including the timing of her release, but it\u2019s significantly cleaner than it was last year, when her feet clicked together, leading her power transference to go all over the place. According to a source close to Reese, part of the reason she was drawn to Atlanta was that she was intrigued by the progress Naz Hillmon made as a 3-point shooter under the tutelage of Smesko.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Hillmon, who hit one 3-pointer in 2024, made 1.2 per game last season and hit 3s at a 32 percent clip. Even if Reese\u2019s trajectory isn\u2019t as dramatic, this is the closest she has come to finding a shooting form that makes sense. The road map is there.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">While there\u2019s a dancing-about-architecture quality to reducing Reese\u2019s game to her scoring ability, it\u2019s impossible to ignore: Her weaknesses are visually dramatic and glaring. But if her finishing continues to trend upward\u2014she shot over 50 percent on layups in her final 20 games last season\u2014and she makes any gains on her range, the rest of her game will open up.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Reese is a bit of a basketball curio. She has a wicked motor, she has burgeoning playmaking ability, and she\u2019s a historically talented rebounder. The virtue of that skill is as debated as anything about her. Rebounding is simultaneously vital and perfunctory\u2014the thing that coaches lose sleep over and fans rarely give a second thought to, until it costs their team a game. It is valuable, but it isn\u2019t venerated.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Offensive rebounding, to take it a step further, fell out of favor in the early part of the past decade but has made a comeback with analytically inclined coaches like Joe Mazzulla and Smesko. The math is simple: More 3s mean more missed shots to take advantage of. Draymond Green made defense cool again years ago, and Angel Reese has the potential to do the same thing with rebounding.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>7. International scouting will keep the superteam era alive.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">The new CBA, which increased the supermax salary to 20 percent of the cap, will make it increasingly difficult for teams like the Fever and Aces to keep their stars together.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">But teams like the Liberty, Mercury, Valkyries, and Tempo won\u2019t have nearly as many difficulties from a cap management perspective\u2014and that\u2019s because so many international players are covered by the reserve clause.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Per <a href=\"https:\/\/herhoopstats.substack.com\/p\/2026-wnba-core-decisions-free-agency\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">HerHoopStats<\/a>, this is what it means to be a reserved player:<\/p>\n<p>If a player\u2019s contract has expired but they have three or fewer years of service in the WNBA, they become \u201creserved.\u201d That means that they can only negotiate with their previous team and are not allowed to discuss terms or sign with anyone else (unless released).<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">The reserve clause typically applies to international players who are signed as free agents to short-term deals and players drafted to the league who weren\u2019t offered a qualifying offer to extend their rookie-scale deals to a fourth year.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">New York not only kept its Big Three intact but also convinced Satou Sabally to take a pay cut to join them. That left the Liberty with over 62 percent of their cap allocated to four players, a math problem they\u2019ve attacked by signing multiple players from overseas. If Raquel Carrera and Pauline Astier, two 24-year-old guards from Europe, make New York\u2019s final roster, they\u2019ll likely sign team-friendly deals that expire.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">That puts international standouts heading into their second contract in a bind: They can either go back overseas or agree to a team-friendly extension with their current WNBA team\u2014which can now offer competitive rates for them to stay stateside.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">The Valkyries just re-signed Janelle Salaun and Iliana Rupert, two 24-year-old Most Improved Player candidates from France, to two-year deals this offseason, putting them in a healthy position to pair free agent acquisition Gabby Williams and budding star Veronica Burton with a bona fide star next offseason.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">The Tempo, who already have one of the cleanest cap sheets in the league despite doling out two max deals for Marina Mabrey and Brittney Sykes, still have $2 million left over to pay Kitija Laksa, Lexi Held, or Maria Conde\u2014all of whom they\u2019ll have exclusive negotiating rights with.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">With the introduction of the EPIC provision and salary increases at the top of the first round, signing international players is one of the few remaining avenues to find cheap talent in the league.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"ui-object-cover\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;object-position:50% 50%;color:transparent\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778209215_903_image.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Rae Burrell of the Los Angeles Sparks lays up a shot as Luisa Geiselsoder, Bridget Carleton, and Haley Jones look on during a game on May 3<\/p>\n<p>Getty Images8. The Portland Fire will have the W\u2019s worst defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Sure, Bridget Carleton led the Lynx in charges drawn last season, and a perimeter rotation featuring Carla Leite and Sarah Ashlee Barker can put the brakes on speedier guards. But the Portland Fire, a new expansion team, have so many other holes that can be exploited. Their defense is a buffet platter that should be inviting to just about any kind of player. Movement bigs can set their sights on Luisa Geiselsoder, one of the worst pick-and-roll defenders in the league. Back-to-the-basket bigs will post up Megan Gustafson. Got a Jackie Young or Kahleah Copper type? Great! The Fire have a Karlie Samuelson for them to drive around or through or shoot over. There really is something for everyone!<\/p>\n<p>9. Sonia Raman will win Coach of the Year.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Look, I know this race is jammed with good candidates, and the odds are stacked against a rookie head coach on a rebuilding team. But Raman\u2019s system empowers guard creation, and her coaching style emphasizes building players up. If she turns Lexie Brown, a career floor spacer, into an on-ball threat, and she manages to revive Zia Cooke\u2019s career \u2026 I am going to start a conversation about her COTY candidacy.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"ui-object-cover\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;object-position:50% 50%;color:transparent\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778209216_154_image.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Amelia Hassett plays defense during a game against the Nigeria national team<\/p>\n<p>Juan Ocampo\/NBAE via Getty Images10. Amelia Hassett will be a steal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Only two college players on NCAA tournament teams <a href=\"https:\/\/herhoopstats.com\/ask\/ncaa-player-total-games+e51b6b70\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">had<\/a> a block and a 3 in at least 25 games last season. One was Sarah Strong, the do-it-all National Player of the Year. The other was Amelia Hassett, Kentucky\u2019s jack-of-all-trades wing, who was drafted by the Sparks in the third round and subsequently waived two weeks ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">Role players who can pressure the rim, space the floor, and protect the paint are still a rarity in the WNBA. It\u2019s why Alanna Smith snagged a seven-figure deal from the Dallas Wings this offseason. In college, Hassett shot 80 <a href=\"https:\/\/barttorvik.com\/ncaaw\/playerstat.php?link=y&amp;sIndex=40&amp;yvalue=Sr&amp;year=2026&amp;start=20251101&amp;end=20260501\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">percent<\/a> on tips and layups and 36 percent from behind the arc, and she regularly guarded the likes of Madison Booker and Mikayla Blakes. If she can adjust to the physicality of the WNBA, she could turn into a more perimeter-oriented, Dearica Hamby\u2013esque skeleton key who unlocks versatile lineups for a title contender.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>11. The Tempo will make a splashy midseason trade.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">I can\u2019t say yet whether it\u2019ll make them better or worse.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">But for an expansion team, the Tempo have a lot of highly specialized players who fit together on paper. Pairing Brittney Sykes, a north-south driving terror who led WNBA guards in free throw attempts before getting traded to Seattle last year, with Marina Mabrey, one of the league\u2019s best spot-up shooters, makes intuitive sense\u2014even if it cost more than a million dollars to nab each one. Julie Allemand is one of the best pick-and-roll passers in the league, while Nyara Sabally is one of the best rollers. Temi Fagbenle is an excellent post-up player, and Aaliyah Nye is an ace 3-point shooter, especially from the corners.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">By the time the deadline rolls around, the Tempo will know whether they\u2019re another frontcourt piece away from making real noise or if the roster just doesn\u2019t have enough talent to compete. At that point, they\u2019ll be well positioned to pivot their focus to increasing their lottery odds in the 2027 JuJu Watkins sweepstakes: flush with the kinds of skilled role players that desperate title teams will give up premium returns for and incentivized to race to the bottom of the standings.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"ui-object-cover\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;object-position:50% 50%;color:transparent\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778209216_631_image.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Ariel Atkins dribbles the ball during a game against the Nigeria national team on April 25<\/p>\n<p>Juan Ocampo\/NBAE via Getty Images12. Ariel Atkins is about to have an \u201cIt\u2019s so over, we\u2019re so back\u201d season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">If you have smoke for the Los Angeles Sparks\u2019 reboot, I understand. On its face, the Sparks\u2019 rebuild flies in the face of everything I believe about team building. They have eschewed patience and player development, trading young players on team-friendly deals for aging stars for the sake of win-now mode.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">In 2025, the Sparks traded the no. 2 pick that became Dominique Malonga for Kelsey Plum, a player 11 years her senior. So if this era of Sparks basketball returns no titles, they will be judged harshly, and rightfully so.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">But if you accept that this is the path that the Sparks have chosen, you also have to acknowledge they\u2019re doing a pretty good job of executing their new vision. Because the more I think about the particulars of this offseason\u2019s Ariel Atkins trade, the more I like it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">The Sparks <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FlyByKnite\/status\/2046076991062098272\" rel=\"nofollow\">used advanced stats<\/a> to justify trading Rickea Jackson, the no. 4 pick in the 2024 draft, for the 29-year-old Atkins\u2014and I\u2019ll do the same. In 2025, the Sky dealt the no. 3 pick\u2014rookie All-Star Sonia Citron\u2014and a 2027 pick swap for Atkins. But Atkins was overburdened and injured in Chicago last season, and she became a punch line in what may go down as one of the worst trades in WNBA history. After one season with the Sky, Atkins is once again the veteran in a deal that traded away a young player. But the situation she\u2019s arriving in should be completely different this time.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">In Chicago, a thin point guard rotation was decimated even more by Courtney Vandersloot\u2019s season-ending injury, and Atkins was forced into a primary initiator role after years as a 3-and-D wing. She shot 21 percent on 3s off the dribble and ran more pick-and-rolls than she had since 2021. And in a quixotic attempt to overcome Chicago\u2019s lack of spacing, she shot a career-low <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/wnba\/players\/a\/atkinar01w.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">55 percent<\/a> from within 3 feet\u201415 percent worse than her prior season in Washington.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">But Atkins still shot the ball well on catch-and-shoot 3s (even though 57 percent of them were guarded). And that\u2019s what Lynne Roberts\u2019s analytically inclined offense\u2014with Plum and Nneka Ogwumike as the primary engines\u2014will require from her.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">The preseason chemistry and fit have been promising. Atkins can nail 3s, run a touch of pick-and-roll (an aspect of her game that improved in Chicago), dump the ball off to bigs on drives, and attack closeouts\u2014exactly what you want from your third option. For Atkins, who won a title with the Mystics when she was playing a similar role next to Elena Delle Donne and Kristi Toliver, this move is a return to first principles.<\/p>\n<p>13. The Aces will win again and cement their dynasty.<\/p>\n<p data-sentry-element=\"Text\" data-sentry-component=\"Component\" data-sentry-source-file=\"paragraph.tsx\" class=\"motion-safe:ui-transition-colors ui-text-black motion-safe:transition-colors\">\u2026 I\u2019m not overthinking this. I\u2019m going with the best player in WNBA history and the team that just won the title. The Fever, Liberty, and Wings will have their time. If Napheesa Collier recovers well from her ankle surgeries, the Lynx could make some noise, too. But A\u2019ja Wilson isn\u2019t interested in passing the MVP or title torch. The rest of the league will have to pry it away from her.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a data-sentry-element=\"Link\" data-sentry-source-file=\"creator.tsx\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theringer.com\/creator\/seerat-sohi\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img alt=\"\" data-sentry-element=\"Image\" data-sentry-source-file=\"creator.tsx\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"ui-object-cover ui-shadow-expressive-dark-medium ui-rounded-full ui-outline ui-outline-1 ui-outline-black ui-grayscale hover:ui-brightness-80 motion-safe:ui-transition-all\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;object-position:50% 50%;color:transparent\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778209217_335_image.jpeg\"\/><\/a><a data-sentry-element=\"Link\" data-sentry-source-file=\"creator.tsx\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theringer.com\/creator\/seerat-sohi\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>Seerat Sohi<\/p>\n<p><\/a>Seerat Sohi covers the NBA, WNBA, and women\u2019s college basketball for The Ringer. Her former stomping grounds include Yahoo Sports, SB Nation, and basements all over Edmonton.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WNBAWNBAFrom A\u2019ja\u2019s reign to Caitlin and Paige reshaping the game, here are 13 things that will define the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":656837,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-656836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=656836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/656837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=656836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=656836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=656836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}