July 23, 2025 • 53 mins
On this episode of Full Circle, Lexie Brown and Mariah Rose join in on the “Pay Us What You Owe Us” discourse. They discuss the Golden State Valkyries’ home court advantage and the silent assassin on the Storm, and Lexie gives a TED Talk about the corner three. They also compare notes on how to improve All-Star weekend and give their hot takes on the league power rankings coming into the second half of the season.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Full Circle is an Iheartwoman's sports production and partnership with
Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome back to an episode of Full Circle post All
(00:21):
Star Edition, Lexi, how.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Are you doing.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
I'm great, I'm refreshed.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
I did not make it to Indianapolis, but lucky for us,
Mariah did. So She's gonna give us the inside scoop,
the tea, everything that y'all may not have seen online,
which was basically nothing thanks to the stud buds. Right,
it looks like a time. I will say there were moments.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Angel wasn't lying when she said that we turned Indie
into Miami for sure.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
Which is funny, which I'm like, have y'all really actually
spent I mean, I guess on Robin's in Miami, but
I was like, I don't know. Miami's a different type
of beast, but I've heard from multiple people that.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Know it's it's so different.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
Showed up and showed out, so that's good to hear.
It's good to hear they did.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
It was a lot of fun and the game itself
was packed.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
It was absolutely popping.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
I kept hearing people say when I got back, there
was all these misconceptions I felt like when I got
back about what the game was actually like. The game
was packed, full loud. There were jerseys of every player,
any player, players that weren't even playing in the game.
People were interested in all kinds of things. People were having.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
A great time and absolutely loved it.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Obviously, there was like some fans that were disappointed about
Caitlin not playing. I was a little disappointed because I
was an Indian and I did want to see that,
but the energy actually there didn't give that. But then
when I got home, and I because I was working
so hard while I was there, But when I got home,
I actually got to check the Internet. I was like, wait,
everybody's talking.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Like, it's not a real place. No, it's not Internet's
not a real place. No, everybody, I don't know how
many more ways.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
Yeah, I think that what this season has shown us
is that the Internet is not a real place, which
we already knew that. Everybody knows that the Internet is
the Internet. Twitter is Twitter, Reddit is red, Instagram, like
these are all like little mini universes.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
But at the end of the day.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
Real life is what matters and what's important, and that's
where the money is, Like, that's where the people are,
that's where the interactions are.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
So I'm glad that.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
You're saying that, because you are a person that works
in the social media space, so you have no choice
but to be chronically online. So I'm sure that sometimes
you can get a little wrapped up in like, oh
my gosh, it is so negative, but it definitely has
adjusted my mindset getting off.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
To learn personally to see like.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
There's really not that much negativity if you're not.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
On the internet, so oh.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Oh, not at all.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
The real life is so much more positive. I just
got done making a ten minute video about all the
details as to YWBA players whoserve to make more money
because I was so tired of my comments that I
spend all morning researching that because when I say the
fans in the arena, I don't know how it sounded
on TV or what people really had to say about
it online. But the ceremony at the end, as soon
(03:24):
as the game ended, the ceremony at the end, the
pay them chance.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
I have a video of it.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
I need to post it.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
It was insane. And I didn't see it coming. O
don't know if everybody had a meeting without me planning
on doing that.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
But it's like, you make the best TikTok when you're
like when you're doing a job that you've done for
a long time, you're doing a good job. You've made
the company better while you've been working there.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
As for a race, like that's like simple, like.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
One hundred percent of life.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
I hope everybody feels that way about their jobs that
they're in, their careers that they're in. We're not asking
for anything outrageous, And I think that's where people get,
you know, they go on their little tangents.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
It's like, oh, well they people.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
I mean, first of all, they use the same every
single person used the same argument over over over over.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Oh they lose money, da da da da da.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
Okay, show me tell me okay, Like we're not asking
to get paid thirty forty million dollars a year.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
We're literally asking.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
For like three more percentage points of a revenue split
like minimum.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Lexie, I know you love numbers. Can I give you
a couple numbers I learned this morning.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Do it number one?
Speaker 1 (04:33):
If at max all one hundred and fifty six WNBA players.
We're making the league average one hundred and two thousand
dollars a year before taxes as their salary.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
The WNBA is.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Spending in total sixteen million dollars on player salary. They
just signed a two hundred million dollar media right steal, So.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
That's that's that.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Number two, that is an a livable wage in most
of the cities that the w operates in, especially the
league minimum okay, And number three the WNBA. While people
might not see WNBA players as as valuable as NBA players,
I can assure you a WNBA player is just as
valuable to the operation of the WNBA as an NBA
(05:18):
player is to the operation of the NBA.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
There is no league without the players, So I.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Don't the players asking for more money is like more
than valid. And the WNBA compared to what they're bringing in,
they just brought in seventy five million dollars from investors.
They've got the money to double, triple, quadruple that sixteen
that little Measley sixteen million.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
They're spending on their most important asset, which is the players.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
And when you like put it in a perspective like that,
the amount of visibility, the amount of endorsements, the amount
of off the court work that we have to put
in just to keep the league relevant, to keep you know,
these checks coming in in the off season, because it
is a very long off season. Like you see like
(06:02):
a lot of male athletes, you know, they're sponsored by
Gatorade or Nike or her state farm, and you might
see them like post one video a year that they
probably didn't even post. They just showed up, read their
little lines and paid someone to post it for them.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Like, at least in my experiences.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
Everything that I do, at least content endorsement, brand, it's
like very like you're very involved.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
And I think I don't know.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
If that's a woman versus man thing, if that's like
a personal thing that I do, because I do like
to be involved.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
I like my content.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
I like working with brands out of line with like
how I feel and things that I believe in.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
So I don't know if that's like just a Lexi thing.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
But y'all know that most WNBA players, most female athletes
in general, make more money off of their field, off
of the court, than they do on it. So yeah,
if we want to get paid a little bit more
for what has gotten us here, what the main thing is,
which is playing that sport. I don't understand why everybody
(07:03):
gets so up in arms about it, because like, this
is the craft, this is the main thing, but we
have to do so many other things in the meantime.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Because and it would make sense for the WNBA to
invest in their number one asset, which are the players
and their production, which is playing in the WNBA and
not having y'all have to do all of this extra
stuff to generate income for yourselves. They would benefit the
WNBA to say, hey, I'm going to pay you all
this extra bread so that your number one focus in
(07:33):
life is WNBA, not going to play overseas in the
off season, not going to play in another league.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
We want to pay you so well that when you wake.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Up in the morning, you think about the WNBA, and
when you go to sleep, you think about the WNBA.
And imagine with the level of competition we have now
and how incredible the players are now, how that would
skyrocket if.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
That were the main thing.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
And it is the main thing for all of y'all,
but out of necessity it has to be put on
the backgrounder.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Sometimes that makes no sense.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
Yeah, well, I mean, it's like it's just like a
it's a slippery slope when you get into these especially
right now in the CBA negotiations. So okay, so we
saw I read an article that there's potential that the
WNBA would want all players to prioritize the W, which
means no more off season playing. That means overseas, That
(08:21):
means athletes unlimited, That means unrivaled any other league that
you could possibly plan in the off season. They're, you know,
potentially gonna be like, okay, y'all want more money, then
no more of that. You're locked into the W twenty
four to seven, three sixty five. They go have to
pay a lot of money to a lot of us
for us to.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Just agree a lot of money for that too.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
The WNBA is only responsible technically for us while our
season is going on. So if you want players to
start being in market all year long, wanting us to
not pursue other opportunities in other places all year long,
every team is a facility. If you're going to do that,
(09:03):
every team needs the resources for it to make sense
for players to stay in their markets, which most NBA
guys don't stay in market all year long, but a
lot of them spend a good amount of time in
market and if they do ever want to spend like
a week or two weeks in the city that they
play in to you know, tap in with their coaching staff,
(09:23):
tapping with their weight training staff, they.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Have a place to go do it.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
We don't have that, well, we do, Seattle does, but
not every other team has that luxury. So for you
to remove these off court opportunities, to remove these other leagues,
to remove these destinations that have gyms, coaching staff, weight training,
all these things because you want.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Oh, you want us to prioritize. Like, no, they tried
the prioritization with the overseas. That did not work, That
did not go overwell. I think it backfired. Honestly.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
You have a lot of players that chose to stay
overseas and not come play WNBA because it's not enough money.
So that was interesting to hear that.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
It was. I knew they were.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
Lying like, oh, we love a rob but we love
au No, y'all, don't y'all want us to focus on this,
which we want to focus on the W two. But
that's not the reality right now, and it doesn't make sense.
For a lot of players to do that, So that
was very interesting.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
They're gonna have to give y'all focus on the w
money and focus on the w opportunities act. Also not
to mention the fact that the roster spots is also
another issue, Like there aren't that many WNBA players, and
the WNBA players that there are are carrying a heavy load.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
It's like it's not easy to be a WNBA player.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
So with increased teams and in games and opportunities and
roster spots not increasing, the check.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Has to increase.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
It just makes sense that that that's the trajectory at
any other company.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
So I don't know.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
I hope that things work out because but my thing
is that I at least my opinion, I don't know
if you can say this because you're a player, is
not only do you all deserve the money, They're gonna
have to.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Give it to you, like they have to.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
They're gonna have to give it. They are going to
have to give it to you. Like what is the
WNBA without WBA players?
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Get serious? Pay them the money, find.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
It and that's not one hundred and fifty additional players
just hanging out waiting. There is a good amount of
players that are not on rosters right now, but not
enough to be like, Okay, y'all don't want to play cool,
We're gonna bring this group in instead. But the momentum
that women's sports and women's basketball is feeling right now,
I just I just cannot see them being like, nope, whatever,
(11:33):
We're just gonna we're gonna block out. We're not gonna
give y'all what y'all want, what y'all deserve. But I mean,
the thing about negotiation is there's a happy medium.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
And it's so.
Speaker 4 (11:43):
Crazy comparing this negotiation period to the last CBA negotiation,
because the world was so different five years ago, Like
our main concern was how we were gonna have a
season in twenty twenty because of COVID.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Our priorities was what are.
Speaker 4 (11:57):
We gonna do about women who want to have kids
and what we're going to do about how they're going
to get paid if they're on maternity leave. Like the
way that so many things are different from the last
CBA to this CBA is so crazy, and even how
more included and involved I'm in these negotiations versus the
last negotiations, Like I've learned so much and I'm really
(12:20):
enjoying being in these conversations, even though at times they're
a little frustrating, But it also is very interesting seeing
how many different experiences and struggles that different players have
throughout their career and that they're bringing them to the
table and they're like, well, what are we going to
do about this? Like Diamond, for example, when she got
waved from Connecticut, they kind of were just like, Okay,
(12:41):
pack your shit and go. So one of her things
that she always brought up was relocation expenses, which we
currently have something in our CBA about it, but it's
like very minimal, very like it needs to be more helpful.
I feel like, especially if you if you're someone who
moves their entire life to a city because you think
(13:03):
you're about to spend six months there and then out
of the blue, they're like, oh, you gotta go home now,
but we are not going to help you with anything.
So it's like it could be things like relocation obviously, salaries,
huge travel lot, like where we stay, like any little
thing that you guys can even think of that applies
(13:23):
to like day to day living in our jobs, Like
it has to be written in the CBA.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
And if it's hard for people to understand in the
context of sports, but this is every employment. Like if
I'm working at nine to five at a normal company,
they are taking care of things like healthcare and relocation
and sometimes your living expenses. It depends on the company
you're working at. And being a WNBA player isn't a
nine to five job. It is a full time twenty
four to seven.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
You dedicate your life.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
This another number I want to throw out there is
I hear the lost thing a lot.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Like that's the biggest argument to it.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
And if it's hard for you guys to understand context
of sports or women playing sports, because that seems to
be the problem for a lot of people. This is
normal for tech companies as well, like Reddit operated at
a four hundred and eighty four million dollar loss.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
In twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Yeah, like four hundred and eighty four million dollars, and
an engineering director at Reddit makes upwards of five hundred
thousand dollars a year, And there's a lot of those.
So if that tells you anything about the WNBA and
how the players are not asking for too much, like
y'all deserve it, and even those little.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
Things shit our entire country. Our entire country isn't debt, right, Trillian,
The entire world, like our own country, is losing money
every second.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
We're right. I think we exactly three money. I feel
like we were in New York.
Speaker 4 (14:50):
There was like some billboard and it was like the
nation's debt and it was like just moving.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Oh I've seen those and it goes up.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
Every just moving.
Speaker 4 (14:59):
I was like, this is crazy, actually, that this is
the world that we need.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Money is not real.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
Money is not real. The Internet's not real. Are we
even real? I don't fucking know. I don't fucking know.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Well, I tell you what is real, The Golden State Valkyries.
That's a transition there. Let's talk about who's surgeon right now.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
So we're coming off of the All Star Break. We're
back into w's season, and I want to start off
by talking about the Golden State Valkyries, who won four
of their five last games and have a real home
court advantage in the Bay. LEXI tell me what you're
seeing from Golden State and what you're looking forward to
seeing after the All Star break.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Well, we finally beat them, which was nice.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
Guys. I got to play. I played fifteen minutes I
scored seven points.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
It was very nice. It was my first three point
make in our home arena the entire year.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
How did that feel? Like? See?
Speaker 3 (16:06):
It felt good.
Speaker 4 (16:06):
I mean I like smiled and I was just like, finally,
finally THEYMN.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
It felt really good to beat them.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
Like I said in our last episode, like we needed
to win that game. And they play like it's night
and day for them home versus away, And I said
that on our last episode. I mean, it wasn't their
best offensive game. Shit, it wasn't our best offensive game,
but we scored more points than them. I think Tiff
Hayes is going to have a better second half of
(16:34):
her season. She was dealing with some injuries in the
first half, but like she's there.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
Caleb Thorns, their their leader.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
But I think Tiff Hayes also has been a little
bit overlooked because she's been in and out of the lineup,
in and out of.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
Games because of injury stuff.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
But I think if Tiff, they can get Tiff Hayes going, like, they're.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Still going to be a very dangerous team. They're fun
to play against.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
They sat in a zone against us again, but we
kind of figured it out.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
It was a way for us to end the first
half of the season.
Speaker 4 (17:02):
But I'm excited to see their development in the second half.
They have a lot of young players, a lot of
new players in the w so the grind. Once game
like thirty thirty five come around, that's when you kind
of start seeing like the wheels start falling off some teams,
you know, the fatigue kicks in. I mean, to me,
they looked tired when we played them, That's what I saw,
(17:24):
as did we.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
But I didn't look.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
Over feel tired because I have not been playing a lot.
So it was a great opportunity for me for our team.
And they were able to send Kayla thorn Off to
All Star Weekend, which is very exciting for them and
in their first season as a WNBA franchise to have
an All Star. So I'm excited for Golden State. Like
I always say, like I'm a fan of the Valkyries,
(17:49):
I'm a fan of Natalie, I'm a fan of their
style of play, and I'm a fan of their home
court advantage because it's dope what they're doing up there.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
I agree the and You Die did beat them, And
moving on, I'm going to talk about the Seattle Storm
shout out.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
To your all stars.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
I'm just like, this is so outside of basketball. But
Number one I do want to say about because I
was at the Skills Challenge and I was at the
three point contest in the game, Skuyler is like, oh,
when she's on the court, she looks number one so intense,
like that girl be locked in and she doesn't seem
like she ever is like oh, this is just for fun.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Never, like she is nothing.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
At all face card never declines like she's eating, she's serving,
she's giving model, but like she'd be taking things so serious.
I'm like, I wish I had that. I would probably
be much farther in life if I had her competitive edge.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
Like that girl nothing is ever for shits and gigs never,
but she is like she does have that you know,
laid back, goofy side, but you have to.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Like, yeah, I saw her making tiktoks to people, and.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
So she she has she has both sides. But you know,
that's how you're supposed to be when you're you're at work,
That's how you're supposed to be when you're inside those lines.
So I've really thought she was going I really did,
but she didn't.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
And neither did Erica. But it's okay.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
They showed up, they showed out, and.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
It was fun to watch them compete out there, even
though I don't like the rules of the Skills challenge,
how you don't have to like actually complete the skill
to move on to the next one, like you can miss.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
You can like yeah, fast, but not too.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
Fast, or you'll get disqualified like Wenby and Chris Paul
did when they tried to when they try to beat
the system. So it's like it's like a method to
the madness, like act like you're trying hard, but really
just trying to get through it fast.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
But yeah, we have a game tonight.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Actually, speaking of us, we played Dallas for the third
time this season. I think I think we're two and
zero against them. We're prepared, we're ready, we're excited. They
look very different than what they look like the last.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
Time we played them.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
Uh so we can't really even use those last two
games as like any type of I don't even think
we watched much film from our first two games against them.
They have new players, their rookies have been stepping up
and playing really well as of late. Unsure of Djona's back,
I don't think Maddie Secrets is back either. So, like
(20:13):
this is a completely different Dallas team. And our coaches
told us like they might not have been there, like,
don't look at their record like they've been in these games.
They've been in some very close games, but they're very young,
so they've just had young people slippage. But they're a
very talented team and they play hard, and they have
a lot of players that can just like go get
(20:34):
a bucket. And in the past it's really just been
Arique and everybody else. But they have like three four
players on this team right now that can just like
go get a bucket at any time. So I'm excited
to play them. It's going to be a good matchup.
It's going to be a good test for us for sure.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Well, the good news is Nakan Skuyler fifty combined points
across their last two and Gabby Williams flying under the radar.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Can you give the audience a little bit.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Of a looking to her, Gabby who you wanted to
talk a little bit about.
Speaker 4 (21:01):
Yeah, I mean I said when I was campaigning for
All Star her stats might not like jump out at you.
I think she's averaging what like thirteen points per game.
I think she's shooting a career high in three point
percentage right now. But it's just her presence defensively for
me that is so important to our team. She's someone
that can definitely heat up offensively, hit some you know,
(21:22):
very crucial shots. She can you know, play on a
low shot clock.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
But it's what she does for.
Speaker 4 (21:27):
Us on the defensive end that I think sets her
apart from other players at her position.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
She can guard one through four.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
I mean, I would say Ezie is our anchor, but
if we have like a mini anchor, it's Gabby. She
gets the hardest assignment every game and she never backs
down from it. And if someone else starts going off,
she's the first person to be like, put me on
that person. Like she's that type of intense on defense,
and her athleticism is insane. Some of the rebounds she grabs,
(21:56):
some of the steals she gets, some of the passes
she catches are.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Just like, what the hell Gabby.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
So she's a sign assassin though like you might not
you know, even notice that she's on the court, and
then she'll do something amazing and you'll be like, oh,
there's Gabby and then you'll look up and she'll have
like ten points, seven rebounds, five assists.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
And you're like, what did she do all of that?
So she's what do we call our French army knife.
You know, it's a Swiss army knife, but she French.
Speaker 4 (22:21):
I like that, so she's our French army knife. So
I mean, I'm so happy that she got that All
Star nod. She deserved it, and I hope that it's
given her some more energy going into the second half
of the season, because the first half was was brutal
for everybody, so but especially for our team. You know,
we have a lot of players that log heavy minutes
(22:43):
on our team and they've been doing a great job.
So I'm excited for her second half. And she's not
flying under the radar no more.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
So that's over. She she can't hide anymore. She's an
All Star.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Lexi, I want you to explain to me because if
a little bt ass. Now I have to give y'all
too much. But me and Lexi have a note that
we share to talk about. You know what we're going
to talk about in the show x y Z and
Lexi wanted to talk about.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
The corner three.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Okay, did I did, so, LEXI give us this, give
us this myth of the courtner third guys.
Speaker 4 (23:16):
Okay, I don't think people understand how hard of a
shot the corner three is. I don't even have the
specific numbers in this note that I'm looking at right now,
but I remember when I wrote that because this was
a personal investigation, because my shooting percentage, even though very
(23:38):
limited attempts, it was atrocious, and I was just like,
I don't understand, like, even in these limited attempts, I
should be hitting more shots. And then I looked and
I was seeing how many corner threes.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
I was shooting.
Speaker 4 (23:51):
And then I went back because there's a stat thing
online on the WNBA website and the NBA website where
you can see people's like shooting percentages by like zone,
so you can see.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
The colors of their dot where they stand.
Speaker 4 (24:07):
So I went and looked on my little shooting zone
for the last few seasons, and almost all of my
shots were from the wing to the top of the key,
so very few corner threes. Then when I checked other
players who I consider top shooters in our league, almost
(24:30):
the same exact thing, wing to top of the key,
very few corner threes, and then when I went and checked,
oh who shooting corner threes, it's like post players. So
the corner three, not only is it a very difficult shot,
it's closer than the rest of the threes. So for me,
(24:50):
I train on an NBA three point line, so I'm
already shooting way farther out and it doesn't really affect
me as much on the wings. When I get to
that corner, you know, it's a little bit harder. And
then also because I hit a corner three last game,
that's like a three you hit when you like kind
of feeling yourself, like you've hit a few shots, like
you feel good.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
But as far as like.
Speaker 4 (25:11):
Just running from corner to corner to corner to corner,
not really touching the ball, not really having any movement
at least for a shooter like me, that's like the
worst shot, Like that's like the last shot I want
to take as my first shot of the game. If
I have never if I haven't been involved in the offense,
I haven't a shot a free throw, I haven't really
moved around a lot. So most shooters in the w
(25:33):
BAY and the NBA that are like high volume three
point shooters take one or less three.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
Corner three's a game. I looked that up. So that's
a thing.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
I actually think that's interesting because watching the three point
contest this weekend, I noticed that like Sonia I believe,
and even Sabrina, even though she didn't miss many, but
the ones that she did miss were at the corner,
like at the very end, like her very last car
were shots that she was missing, like she was so hot,
and then she got there and it was like it
(26:04):
looks a little bit more difficult. Yeah, so you can
see even in an environment like that, it'll be like
in the middle it's like hitting hitting hitting storryball hit,
hitting hit and hitting storyball hit, and then they get
to get.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
To the corner.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
And you're like, yeah, it's a thing, but you I mean,
you practice corner threes and you shoot corner threes, but
there's just not very many offenses and actions that get
to those corner three shots. So even when in my workouts,
I hit corner threes just to get like reps in
I'll do like you might get like if someone like
cheats a downscreen, you can like fade to the corner,
(26:36):
but like that's still like off the move corner three shot,
but most offenses don't have many shots geared to getting
just a corner three hit, which is funny because most
teams like end a game or game winning plays are
drawn up for someone to like shoot a corner three.
So it's a shot that you have to practice. But
(26:56):
it's definitely for me like a rhythm shot. Like when
I made the corner three last game, I had already
made one and then I had shot two others, so
I was that felt good and looked good. So like
at that point, I was like, let me just shoot.
I'm open, let me just shoot it.
Speaker 3 (27:12):
And it went in.
Speaker 4 (27:13):
So definitely a mindset reps. But that corner three, like
we shooters, even Steph Curry, y'all can go look at
Steph Curry, best shooter ever to play basketball. He don't
shoot a lot of corner threes. If you watch his highlights,
you are not going to see that man shooting many
corner threes. He's going to maybe start in the corner,
but he come into that wing.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
That's a great point.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
He's like from the corner to the next corner, to
the back, to the front to the logo.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
Right, He's all over the place.
Speaker 4 (27:43):
So yeah, that that's funny that you noticed that in
the three point contest, because like that's a real thing.
So if you can hit corner threes, though they say
corner threes get you paid, they absolutely do, but not
if you're like a high volume shooter, you don't frequent
the corners very much. But yeah, so thanks Mariah for
letting me have my corner three ted talk.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
No, I'm glad.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
I mean some of the most iconic basketball shots I
could think of now that you mention it, game winning
wise or corner like the Kawhi shot against the seven.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Seventy six ers. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Like they're very iconic shots, so I guess you need
to be able to hit them at the right time.
Speaker 4 (28:21):
But they're all like but they were all like moving,
like they weren't just like sitting in the right falling here. Yeah,
Kawhi was falling, Ray Allen was back pedaling, like right.
So yeah, when you when you have those corner threes
as an elite shoot, they're like hail Mary's. Yeah, they're
hail Mary's. You're usually moving. So shout out to the
corner three. We love you but also hate you. That
(28:43):
gives me a new appreciation for people who shoot corner threes.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Yes, as as a like as someone who loves to
watch basketball with a lot of threes. I'm like, you
could dounk eighty seven times and I'm like, cool, girl,
Like I love that.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
Okay, I'm going to go back.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
We're gonna before we get into, you know, the second
half of the season. Since we're talking about threes, I
do want to talk a little bit more about All
Star real quick. Did you like the four point shot
or was it too many threes being shot? Because I
will tell you exactly how many threes were taken in
the All Star Game.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Okay, I'm gonna be real, and I just want the
audience a full circle to know I'm taking a big
grisk because AT and T signed your girls checks. However, Coba,
I will say, not the fault of the four point
shot itself, but I do think okay, generally, let me
let me just keep it a beating above.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
Would you like see the actual game itself? I was like,
what what happened on?
Speaker 4 (29:48):
It's okay, we're gonna get it. We're gonna get into that.
We're gonna get into that in a second. We're gonna
get into that.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Yeah, okay, but the threes I was not. I was like,
I think it was more of an effort thing than
it was just the four point shot existing thing.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
I was like, ladies, that's be nice. I started watching
Ellie the Elephant.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
I actually stopped watching the game, and I'm not even
gonna lie to y'all.
Speaker 3 (30:13):
I turned that shit off.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
Did you see Page Backer's interview, Yeah, you know what
say if he was watching and I'm gino.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
We were all geno at home. I'm sure in the
arena it was a blast.
Speaker 4 (30:25):
Everyone was having a great time, good vibes on a couch.
Speaker 3 (30:30):
Actually, I was watching on my phone.
Speaker 4 (30:32):
I was like, I turned it on like midway through
the first quarter and I saw the score, and I
was like, I knew this was gonna happen with that
damn four point shot. But that wasn't even the problem,
like you said it was. It was the just overall
lack of efforts for the most part. But like, it's
still an All Star game, So I'm speaking from someone
(30:54):
who understands what All Star Weekend is. All the obligations,
all of the events. There's so much going on. By
the time the game comes, these players are ready to
get the fuck like, like this is our last thing.
We're here for the fans. We want to have a
good time. But I think they were too like, let's
(31:15):
have a good time. They shot one hundred and twenty
one hundred and twenty threes were shot Jesus Christ out
of two hundred and eleven total shots.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
So for me as a fan spectator.
Speaker 4 (31:32):
I want the four point shot gone.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
I want it gone.
Speaker 4 (31:38):
Nika did give me a cute little fun fact though,
she said that the last time they had the four
point shot, it was farther back, So if y'all keep that,
put it back, put it back to where it was at, because.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
I was like, that's why I told me.
Speaker 4 (31:53):
I was like, everyone looked way too comfortable shooting that
four point shot, so obviously it wasn't that far.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
People were shoot off the bounce.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
I think there should just be two. There should be
one right in front of the logo on one side
and one right in front of the and it should
be like a logo shot, and it should be really
hard to do.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
It shouldnt be like that easy.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
Okay, now that we're here, I have some.
Speaker 4 (32:20):
Critiques and improvements that could potentially make both the WNBA
and the NBA All.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
Star Game better.
Speaker 4 (32:28):
One.
Speaker 3 (32:29):
No more of that.
Speaker 4 (32:30):
The hockey substitutions. Take that out sub like normal. I
think they did the hockey substitutions because there is like
a lack of stoppage and play because there's like no
fouling or anything like that. So maybe like build in
like just pre have like the substitution stoppage of play,
so be like, oh this this like a media like
(32:52):
when the media's come, like, do something just for the subs.
Because that hockey substitution was crazy.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
I didn't like that.
Speaker 4 (32:59):
I don't like that they didn't have free throws, Like
that didn't really have to be a rule because, like
I said, they don't really foul anyway. But if you
do get foul, like you should go like shoot a
free throw because that's basketball.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
I agree with you.
Speaker 4 (33:11):
With a four point shot, either take it out, push
it back, or just have one on each side, but
on the same spot on each side. My biggest thing
that I feel like would make the All Star Game
like just next level. And I'm this sounds expensive. I
don't know how much led lights on a court costs,
Oh god, but my idea is to have a court
(33:36):
that lights up and you have different spots on the
court light up and then that's like it has like
a point value on it, but you can only get
that point value when.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
It lights up. So for it, and they could do
that from the top, But then how would the players
see it?
Speaker 2 (33:54):
Oh like no, like a spotlight, yeah, kind of like
they do with it.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
I mean, this is electronic, kind of like they do
with like the skims ad you know, yeah, like they
put it on the side.
Speaker 4 (34:05):
I'm like they're just need like this game is going
to continue to be less and less unserious because the
NBA did do this, and it was the they put
the led lights on the court.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
It wasn't last year.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
It was the year before that, and it was in
a football stadium, I think, And I don't know if
it was for the actual game. I'm pretty sure it
was for the Skill Challenge with three one contacts.
Speaker 4 (34:28):
I was there and it was let me see, let
me see, okay, All Star twenty twenty four, So I'm like, oh,
I just opened up an article.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
Let me see. It was for the celebrity game and
for the.
Speaker 4 (34:41):
Saturday night Yes, yes, okay, that's too much. We don't
want the entire floor to be led. We want, like
because I'm looking at the I'm looking at.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
The video Adam Silver here, you too, laud because he'll
make it led.
Speaker 4 (34:58):
Yeah, guys, like this is that's too much. That's too much,
So we don't need all of that.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
It was ridiculess. Here's my opinion on All Star Game.
On the All Star Game, on both sides, I think
that what they're missing is what makes sports so great,
and that's the number one, the simplicity of the game
just being what it is. Like they take it way
too far, like no free throws, silly, Like that makes
it not a basketball game already. That's silly to me.
(35:27):
It needs to be a basketball game. Quit changing the rules,
quit changing the timing basketball game. They need to change
the stakes. I'm sorry, The stakes need to change. The
players need to want to win. If the players don't
want to win, if there's no incentive for them to win,
of course they're not going to care. But I can
guarantee you they'll they'll figure out a way to win
that game.
Speaker 4 (35:44):
Cause I'm just like, yeah, money for us, that could
I mean, but we're not really even seeing that in
Commissioner's Cup, Like for us like I feel like some
teams want to win Commissioner's Cup, but it's like, even
with the money on the line, the league as a
whole has not made the Commissioner's Cup like this insane
(36:06):
high stakes part of our season, like they have done
with the playing tournament, and those guys already are making
millions of dollars, and they've made that little five hundred
thousand Like, mind you each five hundred thousand dollars each
we split, I don't even know how much we split,
but they get five hundred grand each, right, and to
(36:28):
some of those guys. And the thing is, I think
the best thing that they did was they did focus
on like the two way guys or the rookie contract guys,
or that money like still means a lot to them,
Like I still think it means, Like five hundred thousand
means a lot to anybody, but someone who's making thirty
five million dollars a year and you're like, right, you.
Speaker 3 (36:48):
Get the five.
Speaker 4 (36:49):
They've still made it a way to where like even
that first year when Braun and them won, like the
fact that Braun like acted like that was the NBA
Finals was like the best shit ever.
Speaker 3 (36:59):
Like he doesn't need that five hundred thousand dollars.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
Right, and he's and he attributed it to his teammates
that aren't making what he makes and that that money
could literally change their lives.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
So I think that financial the.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
Biggest things, at least from my minety interviewing athletes, working
with athletes, the biggest thing to get them to care
is number one money and number two you're going to
hate this one, just like every athlete I feel like
hates it.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Is playoff implications.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
Yes, I'm sorry, those are the two biggest ways to
get athletes to care.
Speaker 4 (37:29):
I just feel like, and I feel like the most
fair implication you could get for playoffs is whoever wins
that team, whoever's representing the East or the West, whatever
team wins East or West gets home court advantage in
the finals.
Speaker 3 (37:46):
I don't know, I feel like that's.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
That's what That's what the MLB did, That's what MLB day.
Speaker 4 (37:51):
Yeah, Like, I feel like that's the best way to
fairly have playoff implications. But for us, But like, I'm like,
even the way some players in our league like don't
really bad an eye for the commissioner's cut money.
Speaker 3 (38:05):
I wanted that money so bad.
Speaker 4 (38:07):
I was so sick when we lost that Goldie State
game because if we won that game, we would have
been in like we would have been in the championship
for the Commissioner's Cup. And I was sick about it.
But everyone kind of was just like whatever, next game,
and I was like, no, like that money, it was
just like right there and even if you know, you
still get you still get a check.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
So I don't know what it is what we need
to do.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
I'm so competitive. I hate losing anything anything like.
Speaker 3 (38:36):
You know what it is.
Speaker 4 (38:37):
It's so funny because the money you get for being
an All Star is nothing in the w so they
need to fix that. You get more money for winning
the Skills Contest. In the three point Contest, it's like
thirty times more.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
From what I see.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
I didn't know that that.
Speaker 4 (38:57):
Okay, it's not from the league, it's from AFLAC. They
were like, what they just matched what the NBA does
and that the players is the Players Association did that.
That wasn't a WNBA thing, That was a Players Association
thing that got the sponsorship for the skills and the
three point high. I saw this when I was we
did that or they did that, which was amazing. You
(39:18):
saw how competitive it was last year with the USA
team and the All Stars.
Speaker 3 (39:24):
Yes, so I don't know for.
Speaker 4 (39:27):
Women though, it's like it's more of an ego thing
too than people give us credit for. So it was
funny seeing how competitive those, Like every four years you
were in the WNBA, you're going to get a super
competitive All Star game because every four years is the Olympics,
so you can at least count on that from our league.
(39:48):
But these are some of my other revamp ideas, not
for the game.
Speaker 3 (39:53):
Just for the weekend in general. I think they need
to just.
Speaker 4 (39:55):
Include more challenges that will also include more players, so
that would be good for us for as far as visibility,
and then it would be more enjoyable for the fans.
I thought maybe a horse game could be fun. I
love the knockout could be fun. Uh, one on one
(40:16):
obviously everybody wants that now after seeing how dope it
wasn't unrivaled.
Speaker 3 (40:21):
And then there's a.
Speaker 4 (40:21):
Shooting game that everybody stands around the three point line
and every shot you.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
Make points go into a bank.
Speaker 4 (40:30):
So say every shot is worth ten points, so I
shoot ten points if I make it. Then if you
shoot and you make it, that's ten more points. So
every time someone makes it, points get added to the bank.
And then if you miss, you get all the points.
So having a game maybe like that. So I don't know,
more maybe more skills challenges, more fun challenges to get
(40:55):
more players involved.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
You know what.
Speaker 2 (40:58):
I don't know. Okay, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
Oh, y'all have to play this in basketball, But in volleyball, y'all,
y'ap do y'all play Queen of the court.
Speaker 3 (41:04):
Yes, yeah, it's like one on one.
Speaker 1 (41:06):
Yeah, okay, that would eat to me, like if they
if y'all playing, I don't know if it's one on
one or if it were three on three or whatever
it was, but like I would like for it to
be one on one and like the person who wins
gets to stay and at the end they get some
crazy prize and y'all bring in a brand to pay
for the prize, and it'd be something crazy like imagine
one girl like staying there tearing everybody up.
Speaker 3 (41:26):
That would be yeah.
Speaker 4 (41:28):
So like it would be different from the unrivaled one
on one. It wouldn't be like bracket style. It would
just be like, yeah, queen a Queen of the court,
so I just continue as one on one against a
bunch of different people. That would yeah, something we got
to do something.
Speaker 2 (41:45):
I do like USA versus World. That the men's that's
going to be this year.
Speaker 1 (41:50):
That is gonna be good, even though our team USA
All Star representatives will be a little on the elder side.
I don't think Adam thought of that, do you know,
Steph Lebron. But however, I think.
Speaker 2 (42:04):
It's gonna be going.
Speaker 4 (42:05):
Yeah, so shout out to wn BA All Star Weekend.
I might have to go next year as a player
as a spectator. You know where it's going to be,
yet I'm not sure where it is next year. I
know NBA is going to be in La Oh, so
I'll be. I'll be there for sure. Well, actually I
might not be because I'll you so maybe not. But yeah,
(42:27):
shout out to All Star Weekend. It was a time.
I enjoyed watching it. It was fun from the internet,
and it was definitely the most meme worthy, hilarious All
Star Weekend I've ever seen in my life.
Speaker 3 (42:40):
So shout out to the girl pops, shout out.
Speaker 4 (42:43):
Shout out to the stub buds because y'all definitely made
that weekend what it was, So I hope I see
y'all getting all the things already.
Speaker 3 (42:52):
That streaming universe is some it's someone else.
Speaker 4 (42:56):
So shout out for y'all for taking risks, betting on
yourselves and going to do that stream and shit because
it's paying off, and it paid off big time during
All Star weekends.
Speaker 1 (43:06):
So shout out to the step Buds free promo for
the league another reason pay them.
Speaker 3 (43:13):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (43:22):
With the All Star breaks behind us, who do you
think is going to be making that second half leap?
Speaker 4 (43:27):
LEXI I'm trying to be unbiased here, but right now
I'm going to be very biased towards my own team.
Speaker 3 (43:38):
I think we are going to make a leap.
Speaker 4 (43:42):
We've been very like average in our standards for the
first half of the season, but we've set goals for
ourselves for Q one, Q two, Q three, so we
we saw improvement from Q one to Q two, So
we want to improve obviously in this next group of
eleven twelve games of our season. Adding Tiffany Mitchell has
(44:03):
been great for us. Now we have a full roster. Essentially,
I'm excited to see potentially the opportunities that Dom gets
for us, you know, for her. This season has definitely
probably been frustrating up and down for her with her
opportunities and lack of opportunities, but again that's like the
course of a season and a career. But she's been
(44:24):
working really hard and staying really positive. So I'm excited
for her second half. And then, like I said, using
the All Star weekend, that energy that that weekend to
propel our all stars, you know, for the second half
of the season, and hopefully they don't crash out because
the wear and tear of a season is a lot.
But we have a very solid team that's ready to
(44:47):
support them and be ready to play all these games
and win these games. So I'm really excited for our team.
Another team that I'm excited about is the Liberty, who
may a very very impactful move. I think it was
today or yesterday with the signing of Emma Mesaman. There
(45:09):
were rumblings and grumblings of her return to the w
this summer, but we were not sure where she would land,
and she has landed in New York with the Liberty,
the defending champs. Which how did this happen, I don't know,
but it's always good to have a finals MVP playing
in this league. So welcome back to Emma. Why did
(45:32):
you go to New York? They don't need they don't.
Speaker 3 (45:34):
Need any more freaking out.
Speaker 4 (45:35):
But if y'all are not familiar with Emma Mesaman, she's
from Belgium. She's been in the league for quite some time,
has not played officially since twenty twenty two. Helped the
Mystics win a w BA Championship in twenty nineteen, where
she was named finals MVP. So she has decided to
make her very cute and dramatic return with the defending champs.
Speaker 3 (46:00):
And also I.
Speaker 2 (46:01):
Love that for her. If I'm returning, I'm returning with.
Speaker 4 (46:04):
The returning with the best and more fun stuff for
the liberty. Jo Quel Jones is returning, So a league
MVP at that so and a finals MVP. So if
we now have what three finals.
Speaker 3 (46:18):
MVPs, two MVPs on one team who allowed us to
happen bledgedly she was, does.
Speaker 2 (46:27):
That qualify as a super team?
Speaker 4 (46:28):
This would be the literal definition of a super team
in my opinion?
Speaker 3 (46:33):
Okay, Allegedly she.
Speaker 4 (46:34):
Was also looking at Phoenix in the links. So Emma
really said, I'm not coming back here until y'all put
me on a good team, so make it happen, and
they put her on the best team in the league,
which I know the I know the records says otherwise,
I do think the Liberty are the best team in
the league right now.
Speaker 3 (46:53):
Over the Minnesota Links. Is that is that? I don't
think that's a hot take. Is it a hot take or.
Speaker 1 (47:00):
I don't think I don't think that's a that's a
hot take. As Yanna said, you can't say that anybody's
the best. They're not the champs, so that's not hot
it's not a hot take.
Speaker 4 (47:08):
They just want the championne Okay, Okay, great, Okay, I
was in China, you know, upset nobody. But I will
say I looked at the Power rankings today and they
put the Fever above us, And I'm gonna only say
that it's Recncy bias because they smack. They came to
Seattle and smacked us, So I'm gonna only I'm going
(47:31):
to say that's why they snuck them above us in
the Power rankings. But right now, I think it's Minnesota,
New York, Phoenix, Indiana, US which I'm like, how to
Indiana because they want to I guess because they.
Speaker 3 (47:44):
Want yeah very much.
Speaker 4 (47:46):
Recncy Bias won the Commissioner's Cup.
Speaker 2 (47:48):
They won the Commissioner's Cup without Ka Lan.
Speaker 1 (47:51):
They beat y'all, So they're taking those two things and
it's the Fever.
Speaker 4 (47:56):
I was reading it and I was like, okay, okay, okay,
what shit above us and Atlanta and the Mystics and
the like.
Speaker 3 (48:06):
They put them above a lot of good teams.
Speaker 4 (48:09):
So I mean shout out to the Fever because because
they're still five hundred, it's just like like we said before,
like we're just not used to seeing well, no, we're
not used to seeing ACES team like this.
Speaker 3 (48:22):
This is this is not new territory for them though.
This is where they quite literally were they started like this.
Speaker 4 (48:28):
Right, so real OG ACES fans know what it's like
to not win a lot. But like Aga said, she's like,
we spoiled our fans, like this is not you guys
are not going to get this super dominant team every
single year, like our league is too talented for that.
Speaker 3 (48:47):
But the new.
Speaker 4 (48:49):
ACES fans are probably like, what is this, what is
going on?
Speaker 3 (48:53):
What is happening?
Speaker 4 (48:54):
But the OG fans who've been with them through the
trenches when they first got to Vegas and when they
would racking up these number one picks, like they know
what this feels like.
Speaker 1 (49:04):
So it takes the Liberty forever to win a championship.
Speaker 2 (49:08):
That's sports, it's ebbs and flows.
Speaker 1 (49:10):
Things happen, and every single league there's dynasties and they
do incredible and then they have down years like it
just happens. But I will say that there are certain
franchises in sports where they do set the standard so
high and players like Asia, where they do set the
standard so high that the standard then becomes championship and
(49:33):
that's just the standard standard, and so their fans aren't spoiled.
That's what they've seen and that's what they've grown accustomed to,
and that's the standard now.
Speaker 4 (49:41):
And you know what's crazy, I would say Vegas right now,
like that's the only team in the entire league where
it's like.
Speaker 3 (49:49):
Championship or bust.
Speaker 4 (49:52):
I feel like, obviously with the Liberty, you want to
repeat you're at the top of the league, but repeating
is very hard to do. So if they don't repeat,
people won't be like, oh they are horrible, like they
aren't who they say they are, because repeating as a
champion is very hard.
Speaker 3 (50:10):
Now.
Speaker 4 (50:10):
When you do that repeat, which Vegas is the only
team that's done it in like twenty years or something like,
then you become a standard. And then when you start
racking up championships like the Links did in twenty eleven
to twenty seventeen, then you become a dynasty. And then
that's when you get that expectation of we need a championship.
(50:32):
Because I remember my first year in Minnesota was twenty eighteen,
so they were very much still in that championship or
nothing type energy. But then that was also the year
that my more pea style, so that mentality has kind
of shifted, and now they're starting to get back to that.
Seattle was that for a little bit when they won
(50:54):
their few championships Vegas, like I said, La also when
they were in that those battles with the Links, when
the Links were winning, it was like it was like
the Links, then the Sparks, then the Links, then the Fever,
then the Links, then the Sparks again. So it was
like there was a time where championships were the standard
(51:15):
for multiple teams, and we're not there yet, and I
want us to get back there. I want us to
have multiple teams in our league that are prime to
win a championship, that are expected to win a championship,
because that leads to more investment from your ownership, investment
from your city, investment from your fans. Like it's all guys,
we are in a sports ecosystem. We all need each
(51:36):
other to survive and thrive, so everything is important. And
I'm really excited for this second half of the season
because I think the Las Vegas aces are going to
turn a corner. I think that the top five teams
are going to have some separation, and I do think
that at least one of these bottom teams are going
(51:59):
to have like a street of wins that might get
them close to the playoffs or even in the playoffs.
What team it is, I don't know. I'm going to
have to I'm going to report back next week after
we get some of these games, Like we're about to
see Chicago for the first time this week, We're going
back to Connecticut again this week, and we played DC
(52:20):
again in DC. So those are two out of those
three teams are considered bottom of the league teams, but
very talented, very primed for some wins, and.
Speaker 3 (52:34):
It's hard to play against teams. I don't really have
anything to lose.
Speaker 4 (52:37):
You know, you have to come correct against those teams,
especially when they're at home, because that's where they that's
where they'll get you at home when you come in.
If you come in sleeping on them or not taking
them as serious, they're going to punch you in the mouth.
Speaker 1 (52:52):
So that well, hopefully y'all take care of business as
you should. Rooting for you, guys, this is a great
We said we're going to keep it short, but we
got into the Valkyries in.
Speaker 2 (53:02):
The storm and everything, and then we.
Speaker 1 (53:05):
Talked about CBA combos and everything going on. So just
make sure you tune into next week's episode of Full Circle.
Follow us on social media, and thank you so much
for listening.
Speaker 3 (53:17):
Bye, y'all, thanks for listening to Full Circle.
Speaker 1 (53:23):
We'll be back next week with more basketball for the Girls.
Speaker 2 (53:26):
By the girls. We want to hear from you.
Speaker 1 (53:28):
Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, and tell us
what you want us to talk about. Full Circle is
hosted by Lexi Brown and Mariah Rose. Our executive producer
is Jesse Katz, Our supervising producer is Grace Fuse. Our
producer is Zoe Danklab listen to Full.
Speaker 2 (53:43):
Circle on America's number
Speaker 1 (53:44):
One podcast network, iHeart, open your free iHeart app and
search Full Circle with Lexi Brown and Mariah Rose and
start listening
Full Circle is an Iheartwoman's sports production and partnership with
Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome back to an episode of Full Circle post All
(00:21):
Star Edition, Lexi, how.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Are you doing.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
I'm great, I'm refreshed.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
I did not make it to Indianapolis, but lucky for us,
Mariah did. So She's gonna give us the inside scoop,
the tea, everything that y'all may not have seen online,
which was basically nothing thanks to the stud buds. Right,
it looks like a time. I will say there were moments.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Angel wasn't lying when she said that we turned Indie
into Miami for sure.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
Which is funny, which I'm like, have y'all really actually
spent I mean, I guess on Robin's in Miami, but
I was like, I don't know. Miami's a different type
of beast, but I've heard from multiple people that.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Know it's it's so different.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
Showed up and showed out, so that's good to hear.
It's good to hear they did.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
It was a lot of fun and the game itself
was packed.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
It was absolutely popping.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
I kept hearing people say when I got back, there
was all these misconceptions I felt like when I got
back about what the game was actually like. The game
was packed, full loud. There were jerseys of every player,
any player, players that weren't even playing in the game.
People were interested in all kinds of things. People were having.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
A great time and absolutely loved it.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Obviously, there was like some fans that were disappointed about
Caitlin not playing. I was a little disappointed because I
was an Indian and I did want to see that,
but the energy actually there didn't give that. But then
when I got home, and I because I was working
so hard while I was there, But when I got home,
I actually got to check the Internet. I was like, wait,
everybody's talking.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Like, it's not a real place. No, it's not Internet's
not a real place. No, everybody, I don't know how
many more ways.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
Yeah, I think that what this season has shown us
is that the Internet is not a real place, which
we already knew that. Everybody knows that the Internet is
the Internet. Twitter is Twitter, Reddit is red, Instagram, like
these are all like little mini universes.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
But at the end of the day.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
Real life is what matters and what's important, and that's
where the money is, Like, that's where the people are,
that's where the interactions are.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
So I'm glad that.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
You're saying that, because you are a person that works
in the social media space, so you have no choice
but to be chronically online. So I'm sure that sometimes
you can get a little wrapped up in like, oh
my gosh, it is so negative, but it definitely has
adjusted my mindset getting off.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
To learn personally to see like.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
There's really not that much negativity if you're not.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
On the internet, so oh.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Oh, not at all.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
The real life is so much more positive. I just
got done making a ten minute video about all the
details as to YWBA players whoserve to make more money
because I was so tired of my comments that I
spend all morning researching that because when I say the
fans in the arena, I don't know how it sounded
on TV or what people really had to say about
it online. But the ceremony at the end, as soon
(03:24):
as the game ended, the ceremony at the end, the
pay them chance.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
I have a video of it.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
I need to post it.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
It was insane. And I didn't see it coming. O
don't know if everybody had a meeting without me planning
on doing that.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
But it's like, you make the best TikTok when you're
like when you're doing a job that you've done for
a long time, you're doing a good job. You've made
the company better while you've been working there.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
As for a race, like that's like simple, like.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
One hundred percent of life.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
I hope everybody feels that way about their jobs that
they're in, their careers that they're in. We're not asking
for anything outrageous, And I think that's where people get,
you know, they go on their little tangents.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
It's like, oh, well they people.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
I mean, first of all, they use the same every
single person used the same argument over over over over.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Oh they lose money, da da da da da.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
Okay, show me tell me okay, Like we're not asking
to get paid thirty forty million dollars a year.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
We're literally asking.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
For like three more percentage points of a revenue split
like minimum.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Lexie, I know you love numbers. Can I give you
a couple numbers I learned this morning.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Do it number one?
Speaker 1 (04:33):
If at max all one hundred and fifty six WNBA players.
We're making the league average one hundred and two thousand
dollars a year before taxes as their salary.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
The WNBA is.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Spending in total sixteen million dollars on player salary. They
just signed a two hundred million dollar media right steal, So.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
That's that's that.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Number two, that is an a livable wage in most
of the cities that the w operates in, especially the
league minimum okay, And number three the WNBA. While people
might not see WNBA players as as valuable as NBA players,
I can assure you a WNBA player is just as
valuable to the operation of the WNBA as an NBA
(05:18):
player is to the operation of the NBA.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
There is no league without the players, So I.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Don't the players asking for more money is like more
than valid. And the WNBA compared to what they're bringing in,
they just brought in seventy five million dollars from investors.
They've got the money to double, triple, quadruple that sixteen
that little Measley sixteen million.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
They're spending on their most important asset, which is the players.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
And when you like put it in a perspective like that,
the amount of visibility, the amount of endorsements, the amount
of off the court work that we have to put
in just to keep the league relevant, to keep you know,
these checks coming in in the off season, because it
is a very long off season. Like you see like
(06:02):
a lot of male athletes, you know, they're sponsored by
Gatorade or Nike or her state farm, and you might
see them like post one video a year that they
probably didn't even post. They just showed up, read their
little lines and paid someone to post it for them.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Like, at least in my experiences.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
Everything that I do, at least content endorsement, brand, it's
like very like you're very involved.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
And I think I don't know.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
If that's a woman versus man thing, if that's like
a personal thing that I do, because I do like
to be involved.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
I like my content.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
I like working with brands out of line with like
how I feel and things that I believe in.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
So I don't know if that's like just a Lexi thing.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
But y'all know that most WNBA players, most female athletes
in general, make more money off of their field, off
of the court, than they do on it. So yeah,
if we want to get paid a little bit more
for what has gotten us here, what the main thing is,
which is playing that sport. I don't understand why everybody
(07:03):
gets so up in arms about it, because like, this
is the craft, this is the main thing, but we
have to do so many other things in the meantime.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Because and it would make sense for the WNBA to
invest in their number one asset, which are the players
and their production, which is playing in the WNBA and
not having y'all have to do all of this extra
stuff to generate income for yourselves. They would benefit the
WNBA to say, hey, I'm going to pay you all
this extra bread so that your number one focus in
(07:33):
life is WNBA, not going to play overseas in the
off season, not going to play in another league.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
We want to pay you so well that when you wake.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Up in the morning, you think about the WNBA, and
when you go to sleep, you think about the WNBA.
And imagine with the level of competition we have now
and how incredible the players are now, how that would
skyrocket if.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
That were the main thing.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
And it is the main thing for all of y'all,
but out of necessity it has to be put on
the backgrounder.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Sometimes that makes no sense.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
Yeah, well, I mean, it's like it's just like a
it's a slippery slope when you get into these especially
right now in the CBA negotiations. So okay, so we
saw I read an article that there's potential that the
WNBA would want all players to prioritize the W, which
means no more off season playing. That means overseas, That
(08:21):
means athletes unlimited, That means unrivaled any other league that
you could possibly plan in the off season. They're, you know,
potentially gonna be like, okay, y'all want more money, then
no more of that. You're locked into the W twenty
four to seven, three sixty five. They go have to
pay a lot of money to a lot of us
for us to.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Just agree a lot of money for that too.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
The WNBA is only responsible technically for us while our
season is going on. So if you want players to
start being in market all year long, wanting us to
not pursue other opportunities in other places all year long,
every team is a facility. If you're going to do that,
(09:03):
every team needs the resources for it to make sense
for players to stay in their markets, which most NBA
guys don't stay in market all year long, but a
lot of them spend a good amount of time in
market and if they do ever want to spend like
a week or two weeks in the city that they
play in to you know, tap in with their coaching staff,
(09:23):
tapping with their weight training staff, they.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Have a place to go do it.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
We don't have that, well, we do, Seattle does, but
not every other team has that luxury. So for you
to remove these off court opportunities, to remove these other leagues,
to remove these destinations that have gyms, coaching staff, weight training,
all these things because you want.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Oh, you want us to prioritize. Like, no, they tried
the prioritization with the overseas. That did not work, That
did not go overwell. I think it backfired. Honestly.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
You have a lot of players that chose to stay
overseas and not come play WNBA because it's not enough money.
So that was interesting to hear that.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
It was. I knew they were.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
Lying like, oh, we love a rob but we love
au No, y'all, don't y'all want us to focus on this,
which we want to focus on the W two. But
that's not the reality right now, and it doesn't make sense.
For a lot of players to do that, So that
was very interesting.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
They're gonna have to give y'all focus on the w
money and focus on the w opportunities act. Also not
to mention the fact that the roster spots is also
another issue, Like there aren't that many WNBA players, and
the WNBA players that there are are carrying a heavy load.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
It's like it's not easy to be a WNBA player.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
So with increased teams and in games and opportunities and
roster spots not increasing, the check.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Has to increase.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
It just makes sense that that that's the trajectory at
any other company.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
So I don't know.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
I hope that things work out because but my thing
is that I at least my opinion, I don't know
if you can say this because you're a player, is
not only do you all deserve the money, They're gonna
have to.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Give it to you, like they have to.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
They're gonna have to give it. They are going to
have to give it to you. Like what is the
WNBA without WBA players?
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Get serious? Pay them the money, find.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
It and that's not one hundred and fifty additional players
just hanging out waiting. There is a good amount of
players that are not on rosters right now, but not
enough to be like, Okay, y'all don't want to play cool,
We're gonna bring this group in instead. But the momentum
that women's sports and women's basketball is feeling right now,
I just I just cannot see them being like, nope, whatever,
(11:33):
We're just gonna we're gonna block out. We're not gonna
give y'all what y'all want, what y'all deserve. But I mean,
the thing about negotiation is there's a happy medium.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
And it's so.
Speaker 4 (11:43):
Crazy comparing this negotiation period to the last CBA negotiation,
because the world was so different five years ago, Like
our main concern was how we were gonna have a
season in twenty twenty because of COVID.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Our priorities was what are.
Speaker 4 (11:57):
We gonna do about women who want to have kids
and what we're going to do about how they're going
to get paid if they're on maternity leave. Like the
way that so many things are different from the last
CBA to this CBA is so crazy, and even how
more included and involved I'm in these negotiations versus the
last negotiations, Like I've learned so much and I'm really
(12:20):
enjoying being in these conversations, even though at times they're
a little frustrating, But it also is very interesting seeing
how many different experiences and struggles that different players have
throughout their career and that they're bringing them to the
table and they're like, well, what are we going to
do about this? Like Diamond, for example, when she got
waved from Connecticut, they kind of were just like, Okay,
(12:41):
pack your shit and go. So one of her things
that she always brought up was relocation expenses, which we
currently have something in our CBA about it, but it's
like very minimal, very like it needs to be more helpful.
I feel like, especially if you if you're someone who
moves their entire life to a city because you think
(13:03):
you're about to spend six months there and then out
of the blue, they're like, oh, you gotta go home now,
but we are not going to help you with anything.
So it's like it could be things like relocation obviously, salaries,
huge travel lot, like where we stay, like any little
thing that you guys can even think of that applies
(13:23):
to like day to day living in our jobs, Like
it has to be written in the CBA.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
And if it's hard for people to understand in the
context of sports, but this is every employment. Like if
I'm working at nine to five at a normal company,
they are taking care of things like healthcare and relocation
and sometimes your living expenses. It depends on the company
you're working at. And being a WNBA player isn't a
nine to five job. It is a full time twenty
four to seven.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
You dedicate your life.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
This another number I want to throw out there is
I hear the lost thing a lot.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Like that's the biggest argument to it.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
And if it's hard for you guys to understand context
of sports or women playing sports, because that seems to
be the problem for a lot of people. This is
normal for tech companies as well, like Reddit operated at
a four hundred and eighty four million dollar loss.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
In twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Yeah, like four hundred and eighty four million dollars, and
an engineering director at Reddit makes upwards of five hundred
thousand dollars a year, And there's a lot of those.
So if that tells you anything about the WNBA and
how the players are not asking for too much, like
y'all deserve it, and even those little.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
Things shit our entire country. Our entire country isn't debt, right, Trillian,
The entire world, like our own country, is losing money
every second.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
We're right. I think we exactly three money. I feel
like we were in New York.
Speaker 4 (14:50):
There was like some billboard and it was like the
nation's debt and it was like just moving.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Oh I've seen those and it goes up.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
Every just moving.
Speaker 4 (14:59):
I was like, this is crazy, actually, that this is
the world that we need.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Money is not real.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
Money is not real. The Internet's not real. Are we
even real? I don't fucking know. I don't fucking know.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Well, I tell you what is real, The Golden State Valkyries.
That's a transition there. Let's talk about who's surgeon right now.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
So we're coming off of the All Star Break. We're
back into w's season, and I want to start off
by talking about the Golden State Valkyries, who won four
of their five last games and have a real home
court advantage in the Bay. LEXI tell me what you're
seeing from Golden State and what you're looking forward to
seeing after the All Star break.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Well, we finally beat them, which was nice.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
Guys. I got to play. I played fifteen minutes I
scored seven points.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
It was very nice. It was my first three point
make in our home arena the entire year.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
How did that feel? Like? See?
Speaker 3 (16:06):
It felt good.
Speaker 4 (16:06):
I mean I like smiled and I was just like, finally,
finally THEYMN.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
It felt really good to beat them.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
Like I said in our last episode, like we needed
to win that game. And they play like it's night
and day for them home versus away, And I said
that on our last episode. I mean, it wasn't their
best offensive game. Shit, it wasn't our best offensive game,
but we scored more points than them. I think Tiff
Hayes is going to have a better second half of
(16:34):
her season. She was dealing with some injuries in the
first half, but like she's there.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
Caleb Thorns, their their leader.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
But I think Tiff Hayes also has been a little
bit overlooked because she's been in and out of the lineup,
in and out of.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
Games because of injury stuff.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
But I think if Tiff, they can get Tiff Hayes going, like, they're.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Still going to be a very dangerous team. They're fun
to play against.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
They sat in a zone against us again, but we
kind of figured it out.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
It was a way for us to end the first
half of the season.
Speaker 4 (17:02):
But I'm excited to see their development in the second half.
They have a lot of young players, a lot of
new players in the w so the grind. Once game
like thirty thirty five come around, that's when you kind
of start seeing like the wheels start falling off some teams,
you know, the fatigue kicks in. I mean, to me,
they looked tired when we played them, That's what I saw,
(17:24):
as did we.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
But I didn't look.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
Over feel tired because I have not been playing a lot.
So it was a great opportunity for me for our team.
And they were able to send Kayla thorn Off to
All Star Weekend, which is very exciting for them and
in their first season as a WNBA franchise to have
an All Star. So I'm excited for Golden State. Like
I always say, like I'm a fan of the Valkyries,
(17:49):
I'm a fan of Natalie, I'm a fan of their
style of play, and I'm a fan of their home
court advantage because it's dope what they're doing up there.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
I agree the and You Die did beat them, And
moving on, I'm going to talk about the Seattle Storm
shout out.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
To your all stars.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
I'm just like, this is so outside of basketball. But
Number one I do want to say about because I
was at the Skills Challenge and I was at the
three point contest in the game, Skuyler is like, oh,
when she's on the court, she looks number one so intense,
like that girl be locked in and she doesn't seem
like she ever is like oh, this is just for fun.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Never, like she is nothing.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
At all face card never declines like she's eating, she's serving,
she's giving model, but like she'd be taking things so serious.
I'm like, I wish I had that. I would probably
be much farther in life if I had her competitive edge.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
Like that girl nothing is ever for shits and gigs never,
but she is like she does have that you know,
laid back, goofy side, but you have to.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Like, yeah, I saw her making tiktoks to people, and.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
So she she has she has both sides. But you know,
that's how you're supposed to be when you're you're at work,
That's how you're supposed to be when you're inside those lines.
So I've really thought she was going I really did,
but she didn't.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
And neither did Erica. But it's okay.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
They showed up, they showed out, and.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
It was fun to watch them compete out there, even
though I don't like the rules of the Skills challenge,
how you don't have to like actually complete the skill
to move on to the next one, like you can miss.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
You can like yeah, fast, but not too.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
Fast, or you'll get disqualified like Wenby and Chris Paul
did when they tried to when they try to beat
the system. So it's like it's like a method to
the madness, like act like you're trying hard, but really
just trying to get through it fast.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
But yeah, we have a game tonight.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Actually, speaking of us, we played Dallas for the third
time this season. I think I think we're two and
zero against them. We're prepared, we're ready, we're excited. They
look very different than what they look like the last.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
Time we played them.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
Uh so we can't really even use those last two
games as like any type of I don't even think
we watched much film from our first two games against them.
They have new players, their rookies have been stepping up
and playing really well as of late. Unsure of Djona's back,
I don't think Maddie Secrets is back either. So, like
(20:13):
this is a completely different Dallas team. And our coaches
told us like they might not have been there, like,
don't look at their record like they've been in these games.
They've been in some very close games, but they're very young,
so they've just had young people slippage. But they're a
very talented team and they play hard, and they have
a lot of players that can just like go get
(20:34):
a bucket. And in the past it's really just been
Arique and everybody else. But they have like three four
players on this team right now that can just like
go get a bucket at any time. So I'm excited
to play them. It's going to be a good matchup.
It's going to be a good test for us for sure.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Well, the good news is Nakan Skuyler fifty combined points
across their last two and Gabby Williams flying under the radar.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Can you give the audience a little bit.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Of a looking to her, Gabby who you wanted to
talk a little bit about.
Speaker 4 (21:01):
Yeah, I mean I said when I was campaigning for
All Star her stats might not like jump out at you.
I think she's averaging what like thirteen points per game.
I think she's shooting a career high in three point
percentage right now. But it's just her presence defensively for
me that is so important to our team. She's someone
that can definitely heat up offensively, hit some you know,
(21:22):
very crucial shots. She can you know, play on a
low shot clock.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
But it's what she does for.
Speaker 4 (21:27):
Us on the defensive end that I think sets her
apart from other players at her position.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
She can guard one through four.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
I mean, I would say Ezie is our anchor, but
if we have like a mini anchor, it's Gabby. She
gets the hardest assignment every game and she never backs
down from it. And if someone else starts going off,
she's the first person to be like, put me on
that person. Like she's that type of intense on defense,
and her athleticism is insane. Some of the rebounds she grabs,
(21:56):
some of the steals she gets, some of the passes
she catches are.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Just like, what the hell Gabby.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
So she's a sign assassin though like you might not
you know, even notice that she's on the court, and
then she'll do something amazing and you'll be like, oh,
there's Gabby and then you'll look up and she'll have
like ten points, seven rebounds, five assists.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
And you're like, what did she do all of that?
So she's what do we call our French army knife.
You know, it's a Swiss army knife, but she French.
Speaker 4 (22:21):
I like that, so she's our French army knife. So
I mean, I'm so happy that she got that All
Star nod. She deserved it, and I hope that it's
given her some more energy going into the second half
of the season, because the first half was was brutal
for everybody, so but especially for our team. You know,
we have a lot of players that log heavy minutes
(22:43):
on our team and they've been doing a great job.
So I'm excited for her second half. And she's not
flying under the radar no more.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
So that's over. She she can't hide anymore. She's an
All Star.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Lexi, I want you to explain to me because if
a little bt ass. Now I have to give y'all
too much. But me and Lexi have a note that
we share to talk about. You know what we're going
to talk about in the show x y Z and
Lexi wanted to talk about.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
The corner three.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Okay, did I did, so, LEXI give us this, give
us this myth of the courtner third guys.
Speaker 4 (23:16):
Okay, I don't think people understand how hard of a
shot the corner three is. I don't even have the
specific numbers in this note that I'm looking at right now,
but I remember when I wrote that because this was
a personal investigation, because my shooting percentage, even though very
(23:38):
limited attempts, it was atrocious, and I was just like,
I don't understand, like, even in these limited attempts, I
should be hitting more shots. And then I looked and
I was seeing how many corner threes.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
I was shooting.
Speaker 4 (23:51):
And then I went back because there's a stat thing
online on the WNBA website and the NBA website where
you can see people's like shooting percentages by like zone,
so you can see.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
The colors of their dot where they stand.
Speaker 4 (24:07):
So I went and looked on my little shooting zone
for the last few seasons, and almost all of my
shots were from the wing to the top of the key,
so very few corner threes. Then when I checked other
players who I consider top shooters in our league, almost
(24:30):
the same exact thing, wing to top of the key,
very few corner threes, and then when I went and checked,
oh who shooting corner threes, it's like post players. So
the corner three, not only is it a very difficult shot,
it's closer than the rest of the threes. So for me,
(24:50):
I train on an NBA three point line, so I'm
already shooting way farther out and it doesn't really affect
me as much on the wings. When I get to
that corner, you know, it's a little bit harder. And
then also because I hit a corner three last game,
that's like a three you hit when you like kind
of feeling yourself, like you've hit a few shots, like
you feel good.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
But as far as like.
Speaker 4 (25:11):
Just running from corner to corner to corner to corner,
not really touching the ball, not really having any movement
at least for a shooter like me, that's like the
worst shot, Like that's like the last shot I want
to take as my first shot of the game. If
I have never if I haven't been involved in the offense,
I haven't a shot a free throw, I haven't really
moved around a lot. So most shooters in the w
(25:33):
BAY and the NBA that are like high volume three
point shooters take one or less three.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
Corner three's a game. I looked that up. So that's
a thing.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
I actually think that's interesting because watching the three point
contest this weekend, I noticed that like Sonia I believe,
and even Sabrina, even though she didn't miss many, but
the ones that she did miss were at the corner,
like at the very end, like her very last car
were shots that she was missing, like she was so hot,
and then she got there and it was like it
(26:04):
looks a little bit more difficult. Yeah, so you can
see even in an environment like that, it'll be like
in the middle it's like hitting hitting hitting storryball hit,
hitting hit and hitting storyball hit, and then they get
to get.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
To the corner.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
And you're like, yeah, it's a thing, but you I mean,
you practice corner threes and you shoot corner threes, but
there's just not very many offenses and actions that get
to those corner three shots. So even when in my workouts,
I hit corner threes just to get like reps in
I'll do like you might get like if someone like
cheats a downscreen, you can like fade to the corner,
(26:36):
but like that's still like off the move corner three shot,
but most offenses don't have many shots geared to getting
just a corner three hit, which is funny because most
teams like end a game or game winning plays are
drawn up for someone to like shoot a corner three.
So it's a shot that you have to practice. But
(26:56):
it's definitely for me like a rhythm shot. Like when
I made the corner three last game, I had already
made one and then I had shot two others, so
I was that felt good and looked good. So like
at that point, I was like, let me just shoot.
I'm open, let me just shoot it.
Speaker 3 (27:12):
And it went in.
Speaker 4 (27:13):
So definitely a mindset reps. But that corner three, like
we shooters, even Steph Curry, y'all can go look at
Steph Curry, best shooter ever to play basketball. He don't
shoot a lot of corner threes. If you watch his highlights,
you are not going to see that man shooting many
corner threes. He's going to maybe start in the corner,
but he come into that wing.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
That's a great point.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
He's like from the corner to the next corner, to
the back, to the front to the logo.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
Right, He's all over the place.
Speaker 4 (27:43):
So yeah, that that's funny that you noticed that in
the three point contest, because like that's a real thing.
So if you can hit corner threes, though they say
corner threes get you paid, they absolutely do, but not
if you're like a high volume shooter, you don't frequent
the corners very much. But yeah, so thanks Mariah for
letting me have my corner three ted talk.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
No, I'm glad.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
I mean some of the most iconic basketball shots I
could think of now that you mention it, game winning
wise or corner like the Kawhi shot against the seven.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Seventy six ers. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Like they're very iconic shots, so I guess you need
to be able to hit them at the right time.
Speaker 4 (28:21):
But they're all like but they were all like moving,
like they weren't just like sitting in the right falling here. Yeah,
Kawhi was falling, Ray Allen was back pedaling, like right.
So yeah, when you when you have those corner threes
as an elite shoot, they're like hail Mary's. Yeah, they're
hail Mary's. You're usually moving. So shout out to the
corner three. We love you but also hate you. That
(28:43):
gives me a new appreciation for people who shoot corner threes.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Yes, as as a like as someone who loves to
watch basketball with a lot of threes. I'm like, you
could dounk eighty seven times and I'm like, cool, girl,
Like I love that.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
Okay, I'm going to go back.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
We're gonna before we get into, you know, the second
half of the season. Since we're talking about threes, I
do want to talk a little bit more about All
Star real quick. Did you like the four point shot
or was it too many threes being shot? Because I
will tell you exactly how many threes were taken in
the All Star Game.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Okay, I'm gonna be real, and I just want the
audience a full circle to know I'm taking a big
grisk because AT and T signed your girls checks. However, Coba,
I will say, not the fault of the four point
shot itself, but I do think okay, generally, let me
let me just keep it a beating above.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
Would you like see the actual game itself? I was like,
what what happened on?
Speaker 4 (29:48):
It's okay, we're gonna get it. We're gonna get into that.
We're gonna get into that in a second. We're gonna
get into that.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Yeah, okay, but the threes I was not. I was like,
I think it was more of an effort thing than
it was just the four point shot existing thing.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
I was like, ladies, that's be nice. I started watching
Ellie the Elephant.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
I actually stopped watching the game, and I'm not even
gonna lie to y'all.
Speaker 3 (30:13):
I turned that shit off.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
Did you see Page Backer's interview, Yeah, you know what
say if he was watching and I'm gino.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
We were all geno at home. I'm sure in the
arena it was a blast.
Speaker 4 (30:25):
Everyone was having a great time, good vibes on a couch.
Speaker 3 (30:30):
Actually, I was watching on my phone.
Speaker 4 (30:32):
I was like, I turned it on like midway through
the first quarter and I saw the score, and I
was like, I knew this was gonna happen with that
damn four point shot. But that wasn't even the problem,
like you said it was. It was the just overall
lack of efforts for the most part. But like, it's
still an All Star game, So I'm speaking from someone
(30:54):
who understands what All Star Weekend is. All the obligations,
all of the events. There's so much going on. By
the time the game comes, these players are ready to
get the fuck like, like this is our last thing.
We're here for the fans. We want to have a
good time. But I think they were too like, let's
(31:15):
have a good time. They shot one hundred and twenty
one hundred and twenty threes were shot Jesus Christ out
of two hundred and eleven total shots.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
So for me as a fan spectator.
Speaker 4 (31:32):
I want the four point shot gone.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
I want it gone.
Speaker 4 (31:38):
Nika did give me a cute little fun fact though,
she said that the last time they had the four
point shot, it was farther back, So if y'all keep that,
put it back, put it back to where it was at, because.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
I was like, that's why I told me.
Speaker 4 (31:53):
I was like, everyone looked way too comfortable shooting that
four point shot, so obviously it wasn't that far.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
People were shoot off the bounce.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
I think there should just be two. There should be
one right in front of the logo on one side
and one right in front of the and it should
be like a logo shot, and it should be really
hard to do.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
It shouldnt be like that easy.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
Okay, now that we're here, I have some.
Speaker 4 (32:20):
Critiques and improvements that could potentially make both the WNBA
and the NBA All.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
Star Game better.
Speaker 4 (32:28):
One.
Speaker 3 (32:29):
No more of that.
Speaker 4 (32:30):
The hockey substitutions. Take that out sub like normal. I
think they did the hockey substitutions because there is like
a lack of stoppage and play because there's like no
fouling or anything like that. So maybe like build in
like just pre have like the substitution stoppage of play,
so be like, oh this this like a media like
(32:52):
when the media's come, like, do something just for the subs.
Because that hockey substitution was crazy.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
I didn't like that.
Speaker 4 (32:59):
I don't like that they didn't have free throws, Like
that didn't really have to be a rule because, like
I said, they don't really foul anyway. But if you
do get foul, like you should go like shoot a
free throw because that's basketball.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
I agree with you.
Speaker 4 (33:11):
With a four point shot, either take it out, push
it back, or just have one on each side, but
on the same spot on each side. My biggest thing
that I feel like would make the All Star Game
like just next level. And I'm this sounds expensive. I
don't know how much led lights on a court costs,
Oh god, but my idea is to have a court
(33:36):
that lights up and you have different spots on the
court light up and then that's like it has like
a point value on it, but you can only get
that point value when.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
It lights up. So for it, and they could do
that from the top, But then how would the players
see it?
Speaker 2 (33:54):
Oh like no, like a spotlight, yeah, kind of like
they do with it.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
I mean, this is electronic, kind of like they do
with like the skims ad you know, yeah, like they
put it on the side.
Speaker 4 (34:05):
I'm like they're just need like this game is going
to continue to be less and less unserious because the
NBA did do this, and it was the they put
the led lights on the court.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
It wasn't last year.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
It was the year before that, and it was in
a football stadium, I think, And I don't know if
it was for the actual game. I'm pretty sure it
was for the Skill Challenge with three one contacts.
Speaker 4 (34:28):
I was there and it was let me see, let
me see, okay, All Star twenty twenty four, So I'm like, oh,
I just opened up an article.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
Let me see. It was for the celebrity game and
for the.
Speaker 4 (34:41):
Saturday night Yes, yes, okay, that's too much. We don't
want the entire floor to be led. We want, like
because I'm looking at the I'm looking at.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
The video Adam Silver here, you too, laud because he'll
make it led.
Speaker 4 (34:58):
Yeah, guys, like this is that's too much. That's too much,
So we don't need all of that.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
It was ridiculess. Here's my opinion on All Star Game.
On the All Star Game, on both sides, I think
that what they're missing is what makes sports so great,
and that's the number one, the simplicity of the game
just being what it is. Like they take it way
too far, like no free throws, silly, Like that makes
it not a basketball game already. That's silly to me.
(35:27):
It needs to be a basketball game. Quit changing the rules,
quit changing the timing basketball game. They need to change
the stakes. I'm sorry, The stakes need to change. The
players need to want to win. If the players don't
want to win, if there's no incentive for them to win,
of course they're not going to care. But I can
guarantee you they'll they'll figure out a way to win
that game.
Speaker 4 (35:44):
Cause I'm just like, yeah, money for us, that could
I mean, but we're not really even seeing that in
Commissioner's Cup, Like for us like I feel like some
teams want to win Commissioner's Cup, but it's like, even
with the money on the line, the league as a
whole has not made the Commissioner's Cup like this insane
(36:06):
high stakes part of our season, like they have done
with the playing tournament, and those guys already are making
millions of dollars, and they've made that little five hundred
thousand Like, mind you each five hundred thousand dollars each
we split, I don't even know how much we split,
but they get five hundred grand each, right, and to
(36:28):
some of those guys. And the thing is, I think
the best thing that they did was they did focus
on like the two way guys or the rookie contract guys,
or that money like still means a lot to them,
Like I still think it means, Like five hundred thousand
means a lot to anybody, but someone who's making thirty
five million dollars a year and you're like, right, you.
Speaker 3 (36:48):
Get the five.
Speaker 4 (36:49):
They've still made it a way to where like even
that first year when Braun and them won, like the
fact that Braun like acted like that was the NBA
Finals was like the best shit ever.
Speaker 3 (36:59):
Like he doesn't need that five hundred thousand dollars.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
Right, and he's and he attributed it to his teammates
that aren't making what he makes and that that money
could literally change their lives.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
So I think that financial the.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
Biggest things, at least from my minety interviewing athletes, working
with athletes, the biggest thing to get them to care
is number one money and number two you're going to
hate this one, just like every athlete I feel like
hates it.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Is playoff implications.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
Yes, I'm sorry, those are the two biggest ways to
get athletes to care.
Speaker 4 (37:29):
I just feel like, and I feel like the most
fair implication you could get for playoffs is whoever wins
that team, whoever's representing the East or the West, whatever
team wins East or West gets home court advantage in
the finals.
Speaker 3 (37:46):
I don't know, I feel like that's.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
That's what That's what the MLB did, That's what MLB day.
Speaker 4 (37:51):
Yeah, Like, I feel like that's the best way to
fairly have playoff implications. But for us, But like, I'm like,
even the way some players in our league like don't
really bad an eye for the commissioner's cut money.
Speaker 3 (38:05):
I wanted that money so bad.
Speaker 4 (38:07):
I was so sick when we lost that Goldie State
game because if we won that game, we would have
been in like we would have been in the championship
for the Commissioner's Cup. And I was sick about it.
But everyone kind of was just like whatever, next game,
and I was like, no, like that money, it was
just like right there and even if you know, you
still get you still get a check.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
So I don't know what it is what we need
to do.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
I'm so competitive. I hate losing anything anything like.
Speaker 3 (38:36):
You know what it is.
Speaker 4 (38:37):
It's so funny because the money you get for being
an All Star is nothing in the w so they
need to fix that. You get more money for winning
the Skills Contest. In the three point Contest, it's like
thirty times more.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
From what I see.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
I didn't know that that.
Speaker 4 (38:57):
Okay, it's not from the league, it's from AFLAC. They
were like, what they just matched what the NBA does
and that the players is the Players Association did that.
That wasn't a WNBA thing, That was a Players Association
thing that got the sponsorship for the skills and the
three point high. I saw this when I was we
did that or they did that, which was amazing. You
(39:18):
saw how competitive it was last year with the USA
team and the All Stars.
Speaker 3 (39:24):
Yes, so I don't know for.
Speaker 4 (39:27):
Women though, it's like it's more of an ego thing
too than people give us credit for. So it was
funny seeing how competitive those, Like every four years you
were in the WNBA, you're going to get a super
competitive All Star game because every four years is the Olympics,
so you can at least count on that from our league.
(39:48):
But these are some of my other revamp ideas, not
for the game.
Speaker 3 (39:53):
Just for the weekend in general. I think they need
to just.
Speaker 4 (39:55):
Include more challenges that will also include more players, so
that would be good for us for as far as visibility,
and then it would be more enjoyable for the fans.
I thought maybe a horse game could be fun. I
love the knockout could be fun. Uh, one on one
(40:16):
obviously everybody wants that now after seeing how dope it
wasn't unrivaled.
Speaker 3 (40:21):
And then there's a.
Speaker 4 (40:21):
Shooting game that everybody stands around the three point line
and every shot you.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
Make points go into a bank.
Speaker 4 (40:30):
So say every shot is worth ten points, so I
shoot ten points if I make it. Then if you
shoot and you make it, that's ten more points. So
every time someone makes it, points get added to the bank.
And then if you miss, you get all the points.
So having a game maybe like that. So I don't know,
more maybe more skills challenges, more fun challenges to get
(40:55):
more players involved.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
You know what.
Speaker 2 (40:58):
I don't know. Okay, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
Oh, y'all have to play this in basketball, But in volleyball, y'all,
y'ap do y'all play Queen of the court.
Speaker 3 (41:04):
Yes, yeah, it's like one on one.
Speaker 1 (41:06):
Yeah, okay, that would eat to me, like if they
if y'all playing, I don't know if it's one on
one or if it were three on three or whatever
it was, but like I would like for it to
be one on one and like the person who wins
gets to stay and at the end they get some
crazy prize and y'all bring in a brand to pay
for the prize, and it'd be something crazy like imagine
one girl like staying there tearing everybody up.
Speaker 3 (41:26):
That would be yeah.
Speaker 4 (41:28):
So like it would be different from the unrivaled one
on one. It wouldn't be like bracket style. It would
just be like, yeah, queen a Queen of the court,
so I just continue as one on one against a
bunch of different people. That would yeah, something we got
to do something.
Speaker 2 (41:45):
I do like USA versus World. That the men's that's
going to be this year.
Speaker 1 (41:50):
That is gonna be good, even though our team USA
All Star representatives will be a little on the elder side.
I don't think Adam thought of that, do you know,
Steph Lebron. But however, I think.
Speaker 2 (42:04):
It's gonna be going.
Speaker 4 (42:05):
Yeah, so shout out to wn BA All Star Weekend.
I might have to go next year as a player
as a spectator. You know where it's going to be,
yet I'm not sure where it is next year. I
know NBA is going to be in La Oh, so
I'll be. I'll be there for sure. Well, actually I
might not be because I'll you so maybe not. But yeah,
(42:27):
shout out to All Star Weekend. It was a time.
I enjoyed watching it. It was fun from the internet,
and it was definitely the most meme worthy, hilarious All
Star Weekend I've ever seen in my life.
Speaker 3 (42:40):
So shout out to the girl pops, shout out.
Speaker 4 (42:43):
Shout out to the stub buds because y'all definitely made
that weekend what it was, So I hope I see
y'all getting all the things already.
Speaker 3 (42:52):
That streaming universe is some it's someone else.
Speaker 4 (42:56):
So shout out for y'all for taking risks, betting on
yourselves and going to do that stream and shit because
it's paying off, and it paid off big time during
All Star weekends.
Speaker 1 (43:06):
So shout out to the step Buds free promo for
the league another reason pay them.
Speaker 3 (43:13):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (43:22):
With the All Star breaks behind us, who do you
think is going to be making that second half leap?
Speaker 4 (43:27):
LEXI I'm trying to be unbiased here, but right now
I'm going to be very biased towards my own team.
Speaker 3 (43:38):
I think we are going to make a leap.
Speaker 4 (43:42):
We've been very like average in our standards for the
first half of the season, but we've set goals for
ourselves for Q one, Q two, Q three, so we
we saw improvement from Q one to Q two, So
we want to improve obviously in this next group of
eleven twelve games of our season. Adding Tiffany Mitchell has
(44:03):
been great for us. Now we have a full roster. Essentially,
I'm excited to see potentially the opportunities that Dom gets
for us, you know, for her. This season has definitely
probably been frustrating up and down for her with her
opportunities and lack of opportunities, but again that's like the
course of a season and a career. But she's been
(44:24):
working really hard and staying really positive. So I'm excited
for her second half. And then, like I said, using
the All Star weekend, that energy that that weekend to
propel our all stars, you know, for the second half
of the season, and hopefully they don't crash out because
the wear and tear of a season is a lot.
But we have a very solid team that's ready to
(44:47):
support them and be ready to play all these games
and win these games. So I'm really excited for our team.
Another team that I'm excited about is the Liberty, who
may a very very impactful move. I think it was
today or yesterday with the signing of Emma Mesaman. There
(45:09):
were rumblings and grumblings of her return to the w
this summer, but we were not sure where she would land,
and she has landed in New York with the Liberty,
the defending champs. Which how did this happen, I don't know,
but it's always good to have a finals MVP playing
in this league. So welcome back to Emma. Why did
(45:32):
you go to New York? They don't need they don't.
Speaker 3 (45:34):
Need any more freaking out.
Speaker 4 (45:35):
But if y'all are not familiar with Emma Mesaman, she's
from Belgium. She's been in the league for quite some time,
has not played officially since twenty twenty two. Helped the
Mystics win a w BA Championship in twenty nineteen, where
she was named finals MVP. So she has decided to
make her very cute and dramatic return with the defending champs.
Speaker 3 (46:00):
And also I.
Speaker 2 (46:01):
Love that for her. If I'm returning, I'm returning with.
Speaker 4 (46:04):
The returning with the best and more fun stuff for
the liberty. Jo Quel Jones is returning, So a league
MVP at that so and a finals MVP. So if
we now have what three finals.
Speaker 3 (46:18):
MVPs, two MVPs on one team who allowed us to
happen bledgedly she was, does.
Speaker 2 (46:27):
That qualify as a super team?
Speaker 4 (46:28):
This would be the literal definition of a super team
in my opinion?
Speaker 3 (46:33):
Okay, Allegedly she.
Speaker 4 (46:34):
Was also looking at Phoenix in the links. So Emma
really said, I'm not coming back here until y'all put
me on a good team, so make it happen, and
they put her on the best team in the league,
which I know the I know the records says otherwise,
I do think the Liberty are the best team in
the league right now.
Speaker 3 (46:53):
Over the Minnesota Links. Is that is that? I don't
think that's a hot take. Is it a hot take or.
Speaker 1 (47:00):
I don't think I don't think that's a that's a
hot take. As Yanna said, you can't say that anybody's
the best. They're not the champs, so that's not hot
it's not a hot take.
Speaker 4 (47:08):
They just want the championne Okay, Okay, great, Okay, I
was in China, you know, upset nobody. But I will
say I looked at the Power rankings today and they
put the Fever above us, And I'm gonna only say
that it's Recncy bias because they smack. They came to
Seattle and smacked us, So I'm gonna only I'm going
(47:31):
to say that's why they snuck them above us in
the Power rankings. But right now, I think it's Minnesota,
New York, Phoenix, Indiana, US which I'm like, how to
Indiana because they want to I guess because they.
Speaker 3 (47:44):
Want yeah very much.
Speaker 4 (47:46):
Recncy Bias won the Commissioner's Cup.
Speaker 2 (47:48):
They won the Commissioner's Cup without Ka Lan.
Speaker 1 (47:51):
They beat y'all, So they're taking those two things and
it's the Fever.
Speaker 4 (47:56):
I was reading it and I was like, okay, okay, okay,
what shit above us and Atlanta and the Mystics and
the like.
Speaker 3 (48:06):
They put them above a lot of good teams.
Speaker 4 (48:09):
So I mean shout out to the Fever because because
they're still five hundred, it's just like like we said before,
like we're just not used to seeing well, no, we're
not used to seeing ACES team like this.
Speaker 3 (48:22):
This is this is not new territory for them though.
This is where they quite literally were they started like this.
Speaker 4 (48:28):
Right, so real OG ACES fans know what it's like
to not win a lot. But like Aga said, she's like,
we spoiled our fans, like this is not you guys
are not going to get this super dominant team every
single year, like our league is too talented for that.
Speaker 3 (48:47):
But the new.
Speaker 4 (48:49):
ACES fans are probably like, what is this, what is
going on?
Speaker 3 (48:53):
What is happening?
Speaker 4 (48:54):
But the OG fans who've been with them through the
trenches when they first got to Vegas and when they
would racking up these number one picks, like they know
what this feels like.
Speaker 1 (49:04):
So it takes the Liberty forever to win a championship.
Speaker 2 (49:08):
That's sports, it's ebbs and flows.
Speaker 1 (49:10):
Things happen, and every single league there's dynasties and they
do incredible and then they have down years like it
just happens. But I will say that there are certain
franchises in sports where they do set the standard so
high and players like Asia, where they do set the
standard so high that the standard then becomes championship and
(49:33):
that's just the standard standard, and so their fans aren't spoiled.
That's what they've seen and that's what they've grown accustomed to,
and that's the standard now.
Speaker 4 (49:41):
And you know what's crazy, I would say Vegas right now,
like that's the only team in the entire league where
it's like.
Speaker 3 (49:49):
Championship or bust.
Speaker 4 (49:52):
I feel like, obviously with the Liberty, you want to
repeat you're at the top of the league, but repeating
is very hard to do. So if they don't repeat,
people won't be like, oh they are horrible, like they
aren't who they say they are, because repeating as a
champion is very hard.
Speaker 3 (50:10):
Now.
Speaker 4 (50:10):
When you do that repeat, which Vegas is the only
team that's done it in like twenty years or something like,
then you become a standard. And then when you start
racking up championships like the Links did in twenty eleven
to twenty seventeen, then you become a dynasty. And then
that's when you get that expectation of we need a championship.
(50:32):
Because I remember my first year in Minnesota was twenty eighteen,
so they were very much still in that championship or
nothing type energy. But then that was also the year
that my more pea style, so that mentality has kind
of shifted, and now they're starting to get back to that.
Seattle was that for a little bit when they won
(50:54):
their few championships Vegas, like I said, La also when
they were in that those battles with the Links, when
the Links were winning, it was like it was like
the Links, then the Sparks, then the Links, then the Fever,
then the Links, then the Sparks again. So it was
like there was a time where championships were the standard
(51:15):
for multiple teams, and we're not there yet, and I
want us to get back there. I want us to
have multiple teams in our league that are prime to
win a championship, that are expected to win a championship,
because that leads to more investment from your ownership, investment
from your city, investment from your fans. Like it's all guys,
we are in a sports ecosystem. We all need each
(51:36):
other to survive and thrive, so everything is important. And
I'm really excited for this second half of the season
because I think the Las Vegas aces are going to
turn a corner. I think that the top five teams
are going to have some separation, and I do think
that at least one of these bottom teams are going
(51:59):
to have like a street of wins that might get
them close to the playoffs or even in the playoffs.
What team it is, I don't know. I'm going to
have to I'm going to report back next week after
we get some of these games, Like we're about to
see Chicago for the first time this week, We're going
back to Connecticut again this week, and we played DC
(52:20):
again in DC. So those are two out of those
three teams are considered bottom of the league teams, but
very talented, very primed for some wins, and.
Speaker 3 (52:34):
It's hard to play against teams. I don't really have
anything to lose.
Speaker 4 (52:37):
You know, you have to come correct against those teams,
especially when they're at home, because that's where they that's
where they'll get you at home when you come in.
If you come in sleeping on them or not taking
them as serious, they're going to punch you in the mouth.
Speaker 1 (52:52):
So that well, hopefully y'all take care of business as
you should. Rooting for you, guys, this is a great
We said we're going to keep it short, but we
got into the Valkyries in.
Speaker 2 (53:02):
The storm and everything, and then we.
Speaker 1 (53:05):
Talked about CBA combos and everything going on. So just
make sure you tune into next week's episode of Full Circle.
Follow us on social media, and thank you so much
for listening.
Speaker 3 (53:17):
Bye, y'all, thanks for listening to Full Circle.
Speaker 1 (53:23):
We'll be back next week with more basketball for the Girls.
Speaker 2 (53:26):
By the girls. We want to hear from you.
Speaker 1 (53:28):
Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, and tell us
what you want us to talk about. Full Circle is
hosted by Lexi Brown and Mariah Rose. Our executive producer
is Jesse Katz, Our supervising producer is Grace Fuse. Our
producer is Zoe Danklab listen to Full.
Speaker 2 (53:43):
Circle on America's number
Speaker 1 (53:44):
One podcast network, iHeart, open your free iHeart app and
search Full Circle with Lexi Brown and Mariah Rose and
start listening
Hosts And Creators
Lexie Brown
Mariah Rose
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