September 10, 2025 • 48 mins
In this episode, Lexie Brown and Mariah Rose discuss the finale of the regular season and the ongoing WNBA playoffs race. They focus on the importance of the critical match against the Valkyries and the tight race with the Sparks for the last playoff spot. They also discuss how irresponsible reporting can set players up. Later, Lexie shares her thoughts on how team management could benefit from adopting principles used in K-pop group formations. She also reflects on the Sparks and Storm trade that put her in Seattle and if the trade was worth it.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Full Circle is an Iheartwoman's sports production in 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 another episode of Full Circle. I'm here
with Lexi Brown. Lexi.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
How you doing?
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Hey, guys, I'm doing okay? Yea, guys.
Speaker 4 (00:22):
You know we are still not a thousand points, which
is so crazy.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
We're still four points away.
Speaker 4 (00:33):
Guys. We are now fighting for our playoff lives. If
you guys didn't know, there's only one playoff spot left.
Today is September eighth. By the time this episode comes out,
we will have either secured they seed or seventh seed
whatever or six I don't know, a playoff spot, or
(00:57):
we will be waiting to see if this far lose
one more game. So, as of right now, we are
still one hundred in control of our destiny. But if
we trick off the game tomorrow, we must stay in wait,
which is annoying. I've never do you play tomorrow the Valkyries,
(01:18):
which has hapened.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Okay, they've had our number all season. Yeah, you have
history with them, Yeah, like it's smoke with the Valkyries.
So I'm I.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Feel like you played the Valkyries every two weeks.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
We played them like a lot at the very beginning,
and we haven't played them in a while, so I think, yeah,
I don't think we've played them since before All Star
break because kayle Thorine played in all of the games
that we played against them.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
I'm pretty sure.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
So yeah, since All Star we have not seen the Valkyris,
and they've had like a lot of changes, and they've
been hooping and we have not been hooping. But despite
all that, we still can be in the playoffs, and
that's all that matters is getting to the end. So
let's do a little like mini playoff picture rundown real quick.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Who's playing? So that's fine? Oh the Sun and the
Dreamer A.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Fever clinched a spot with when over the mystics.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
This is insane.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
This is insane, like the expectations that we had at
the beginning of the year.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
It's just so crazy.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
One, I think this season has flown by, like the
first like few weeks of the season a little slow,
but like once you started going and going and going,
this season flew by, like I cannot believe we're at
our forty fourth game tomorrow the Fever, and that this
is no disrespect to the Fever at all, because we
were very high on them at.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
The beginning of the year, like finals favorite season. We
thought that they were yeah, which they were.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
They are injuries, but I mean, and that's that's the
crazy part about it, Like the fact that they've had
all of.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
That and they still made the playoffs.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
Mind y'all, if y'all didn't know, like the Fever were
not in the playoffs for like a really long time
before last season. So the fact that Kylen Clark came
in as a rookie and did what she did, you know,
on top of everything that Kelsey Mitchell has has been doing,
and then Alia bought like what they have been building
there in the last like year and a half two
years and for its all come fruition to fruition, fruition
(03:25):
this quickly, and them still making the playoffs despite losing
like half of their team to season ending injuries.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
It's crazy, Like it's insane.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
That we are we have not had knock on wood,
it's it's a blessing that we haven't had any like
injuries on our team. But like No one on our
team has been injured, No one has been out for
sea an amount of time. We probably one of the
few teams that's had like the same starting lineup the
entire year, damn near.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
And the fact that we're like just.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
Dragging crawling into the eighth place right now, like like
that's just it's just crazy thing about sports, Like you
could predict and think all you want about certain teams,
but you just never know how things are going to
shake out. So like the Fever clinching a playoff spot
last night, having three or four.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Players I have a real rotational.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Minutes on that team that we're not on the team
like two three weeks ago, Like it's insane.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
And that's like I have something to say.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
About that, as well as far as roster makeups right now,
because it's a little ridiculous about the transactions and things
that happen happening in this league that I've liked to
do it. So I was looking at all the playoff
team rosters and I wrote down everybody's name. I won't
go through every name, but there's like like close to
(04:46):
twenty ish players that are on teams now in the
playoffs that were not on the team before the season started,
so and only like two or three of them were
like on a team before and then got traded. The
rest of them were like not even on a roster period.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
So now in the WNBA, yes, and.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
Now they're finishing this season on a playoff team. So
for someone like me who was uprooted from a very
good situation in LA, in my opinion, personally, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
What they Like I told y'all, I still don't know
why I was traded. I don't know why I was
brought to Seattle.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
I don't know why LA traded me for a second
round pick, Like, I don't know why that happened.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
But the fact that.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
I have been dealing with the situation I've been dealing
with it's been fine. I'm blessed, I'm greatful of a job.
I'm about to hopefully be in the playoffs. Like it's
it's all great. Still, why do I what am I
going to training camp for? What am I What am
I busting my ass in training camp for? When I
could just chill at home until August and then go
(05:55):
play for a team that needs a player later in
the year. And there's like no expectation the team might
be like in desperation mode a little bit, like when
they need a body, they need a player. And because
these players are coming in on their hardship deal and
they're playing like it's like it has been mind boggling
to me because I'm like, these are hardship players who
(06:16):
are super talented and obviously belong in the league because
they're in the game making an impact and doing well.
But why why not I don't go to training camp
and I too until All Star break and then once
June July passes, I'll be like, Okay, I'm ready to complain.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
W NBA. Now, y'all got some.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Here's a question, would you be more?
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Because the difference is the lack of security. The difference
is you're waiting would you be missed situation where you're
waiting then being yeah, I guess you're kind of on
standby either way, but at least you like are secure
on a team.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
You know, it's like this year, and for anybody who
doesn't know, like this is my first season I've had
a guaranteed contract. So the fact that the season is
going the way it's going, like thankfully for me, Like,
despite what the decisions that are being made above me,
like I am secure, and that actually has been really
(07:15):
great and has allowed me to kind of like not
be so super stressed out about this season because I
have this season and next season like locked down, so
how this season is not going to affect my employment
next year, which is a blessing in itself. But it's like, yeah,
essentially you're playing, you're staying on standby like for a flight,
but you mess around and you get on that flight
(07:37):
and like, oh wait, you we actually have a first
class seat ready for you.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
If you want it as well.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
Right, But then it's also like, am I didn't even
get on the flight at all? So yeah, like you're
absolutely right when you say, like that job security. But
I didn't look into other seasons like prior to this
one about how often that happens, Like, for example, Indiana
has I'll say indian has four, you don't say has
like five players that are playing that we're not on
(08:04):
the seat on the opening day roster And I'm like,
that's crazy, that's crazy. And then I was looking at
Indiana and Golden States, like the roster on the stats
on ESPN, it's like thirty names Dallas got like thirty names,
Like it's insane. So I just I know everybody is
always so like locked in on like the salaries, the
(08:27):
salary caps, the salary things.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
The way we need an extended roster.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
I don't know if Kathy is gonna budge on that,
but I've never seen anything like this season, and I
could be wrong because maybe I wasn't paying attention enough
in previous seasons, but we need more roster spots because
people just coming in and out and hardship and extreme emergencies,
super duper hardship like Dallas has been unlocking hardships I
(08:54):
didn't even know existed. And then I'm like, where y'all
getting this money from? Like it's so crazy to me.
And then yeah, so we're talking about salary and we
can't get off that. We can't even move forward and
our CBA talk because of the salary thing. But it's
like the roster spot to me is like the next
glaring issue because you know.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
We got the travel.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
I don't like that's going to have to be renegotiated
as well though with the charter flights. But I feel
like for me personally, like this roster situation is bad
and it looks bad and it looks crazy, and I
just can't believe that that many players are on end
of the season teams and they were at not even
on other teams, they were at home like that.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
That's also a proof of how much talent is out
there that isn't in the WNBA, because for them to
not be on teams at all and then to just
fit seamlessly into a system they weren't in, not have
been at training camp, like you said, not be obviously
everyone's working and saying ready all the time, but not
be working the way y'all are working with that team
twenty four to seven in training camp and then to
(09:59):
just PLoP into that system and b and who make
an impact and go to the playoffs and hoop. It's
like that says something about the fact that, Okay, there's
obviously so much talent that isn't in the league yet
that we're not tapping into. And the only way to
solve that, I guess expansion teams also will help, but
is roster spots.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
Yeah, I mean roster So I mean I hope that
I think Golden State like has shown what expansion does,
what expansion needs to look like, especially They're the first
expansion team to make the playoffs in their first season,
which I think is crazy because when I'm thinking about
some of the other expansion teams, like everybody in this
(10:37):
league is capable of playing if they get opportunities in minutes.
For the most part, they are not everybody, but most
players are absolutely capable of making a big impact and
leading a team to the playoffs. So the fact that
this is the first expansion team that has made it
to the playoffs in their first year is a little
crazy to me, But I think it's really it's like
just a great standard to set moving forward with these
(11:00):
new teams of like what that needs to look like,
how you build a culture, how you build a fan
base with Like I wouldn't call any I wouldn't call
these players unknown, but they are not you know, your
typical w superstars that you see on all the commercials
and being talked about all the time. But the way
that they've been able to go in Golden State and
like become like those girls like top to bottom, like
(11:23):
that team they like walk with like seeing them from
the beginning now, like the way like their confidence, their swagger,
like they're everything is so like it's elite right now,
and I like love watching them. I sound like a
fan of the Valkyries, But the roster construction is just
like the GM nerded me. Like the roster construction, the
(11:46):
fan base, like the way they market the team, Like
even their intro video they highlight the whole team in it,
not like just not just a few of the players,
like they highlight the entire team, like from the beginning,
from day one, they made it known like this.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Is about all of them, this is about all of us.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
And I think that's why they've They have found so
much success that people weren't expecting. And I hope that
the next expansion teams kind of follow suit, at least
at the beginning of there for other early years, you
have to do that.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
It's something new.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
So even though as amazing as I think, we gotta
beat their ass tomorrow, we have to and no shade
we go tomorrow, love y'all, But y'all, y'all already are
in the club where you're.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Trying to get in please or LA just gotta or LA.
Speaker 4 (12:35):
Just gotta lose. So currently the playoff picture is this today.
Right now, Minnesota is in first place. The Aces are
in second, the Dream are on third, Phoenix is in fourth,
New York is in fifth, Golden State of sixth, the
Fever are seventh, and US and the Sparks are battling
for this last spot and there still can be movement,
(12:59):
I think within but not you know, Many is secured
first place, but everyone else, like Vegas and Atlanta are tied,
so they could flip flop. Phoenix could sneak in there,
so it'll be interesting. And then we just played New York.
We unfortunately lost to them, but they're like looking a little.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
Shaky.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
And I can say this guys because I did not play.
I did not play in this game, so I'm like
a spect I haven't played in the last three games,
so I've been like spectating and like just scouting and
being like, I'm gonna talk about this in my.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
Podcast this week.
Speaker 4 (13:39):
But we had I mean we had them, We had
New York, and we just have we have so much
end of game slippage and that's like rebounding and like
finishing games. Holding leads has been like our Achilles Hill
all season long. But also Sabrino wasn't playing, so for us, relax,
(14:01):
But I will say when when one of the stars
is missing, it kind of benefits the team if they're
talented enough, which to the liberty are because you have
your whole scouting report based on how they play. When like,
for example, like when Sabrina is on the court, we
had a whole scouting report, and then she ends up
not playing, the scouting report changes, and now you know,
(14:25):
we're kind of a little out of sorts with it
because we've been the last two days, we've been talking
about how we're gonna guard Sabrina and then she's not playing,
and how we got to worry about guarding different actions
and different personnel. So I think that is you know,
it's not a benefit when your star isn't playing, but
like if you had to look at the bright side
of when there's injuries, you know, you give another play
(14:45):
on your team an opportunity to step up, and then
it makes you know, our scouting report kind of irrelevant
for the most part because that person isn't even playing.
But we've been in, like our coach have been saying
we win.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
We're in. We've been saying that for like the last week,
and we have not won.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
You've been saying you said that last week like all
of our games feel like the last one I was here.
All of our games feel like must win games every single.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
Day, every day, fighting for our lives.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
I believe in y'all though, too.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
I mean, I just it's a lot.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
It's just been a long season, I feel like, and
people have a whole season wrap up recap all that
when the season, the whole season ends, not just if
our season ends, you know. I feel like a reporter
even asked me before the game, which is so funny.
I'm like, what the hell y'all want to talk to
me about? When every time I get a meeting request.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
I'm like, okay.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
She asked me about the Chicago Sky team I was
on when we won, because we finished that season in
sixth place, but towards the end of the season, we
were kind of like still figuring it out a little bit.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
You know.
Speaker 4 (16:02):
We weren't like, dang, we got to win this game
or we're not gonna make the playoffs. Like we were
like comfortably in the playoffs, so you know, that morale
was a little different.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
But like the reporter was just like, does this team
remind you of that team?
Speaker 4 (16:14):
And I was like no, but like, what is the
what is the Like I didn't understand, like what the
relevance of like asking about that team was to this team.
But she was like, you know a team that's struggling
going to the playoffs, Like what Like then she asked me,
she said, what is something that you can do, you know,
as a team, to like ensure that y'all like win
(16:34):
more or something.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
I was like, you should probably ask our coaches.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
That you're not gonna get me. You're not gonna get me, girls,
she started last. I said, nice, try. I said, I
have thoughts, but not for you, babe. And she's like, Okay,
She's like I know, I know, I'm sorry. She's just
like she's like, I just saw what happened, you know
with the other team, and you know y'all like to
(17:01):
talk a little bit.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
I say, oh yeah, no, that's not me. That is
not me.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
Will not catch me slippy never ever, ever, ever. Let's
talk about your dream, Mariah. They're playing right now. How
many games? How many games have you been able to
get to? You've been traveling the world and everything.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
I haven't gone to any not in real life.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
You haven't gone to any Oh.
Speaker 4 (17:28):
So you just gonna pop out during the playoffs, like like.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
A fake fan. You're a fake fan, You're not real.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
To be fair, I didn't go to nobody's games really
last year except for I went to like one Falcons game.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
So okay, that's Atlanta.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
If y'all want to know what Atlanta fans are, like,
there you go right there.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
No Elia, right here.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
This is the perfect except me.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
If you're audio listen, I'm like in my office and
I have two jersey.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
He's framed.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
My whole brand is called hoops for hotties. I don't
even have basketball jersey, no, neither of the This.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
Is like literally, this is literally Atlanta fans Like we
got all the gear, we got the cool stuff. But
I'm only going to show up to the game if
it's the super Bowl or the playoffs. No in there
t being there turn Atlanta to be fair fickle, which
she watched.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
My mom says that to Atlanta fids are so fickle.
But to be fair, the dream are actually really good
right now. But nine times out of ten, our teams
are just as fickle as we are. They look good
and then they're not. And it's nobody want to go
through all that. I can do that from the comfort
of my home.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
But I haven't somebody y'all and they know it.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
I haven't sub warded the dream. And I believe.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Before the bush, thank you you did, you did, you
were I was a little weary on how it was
going to work out.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
But you definitely have been like very high on them
from the beginning.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
But I think even in.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
Your standards, they they overachieved a little bit. I feel like,
one do you expect to do?
Speaker 3 (19:09):
Guys?
Speaker 4 (19:10):
I want to give one shout out to Ryan Howard
real quick.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
Because.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
They well, they beat they beat La, which helped us,
so thanks for that. She also tied the WNBA record
for most three point makes in a game at nine
b I guess how many she took?
Speaker 3 (19:34):
Thirty, No, seventeen.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
The last time you asked me a.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Question like that, the answer was so outrageous, Like you
asked me what.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Was it it was? It wasn't the triple double.
Speaker 4 (19:48):
Question and yah, second to at and how many they had?
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Yeah, and it was like four.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
Yeah, she was the star. She it was nine for seventeen.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
Like the fact that she has gotten up seventeen threes
multiple she's gotten almost twenty. I think she even had
a game where she shot twenty the confidence that I
really enjoy watching Atlanta play because I like the pace
that they play, like their style of play, and I
like how many threes that they shoot. And when you
have a player like Ryan who has a green light
(20:22):
like that, like, you're always in a position to win games.
You're always in a position to come back from games,
like when you have a shooter like that. So shout
out to Ryan, because you know, nine threes in a
game is tough in a WNBA game that is super tough.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
But also having a coach that believes in you and
like allows you to let it fly, you know what
I mean, In a team that believes in you allows
you to let it fly.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
Just let it fly.
Speaker 4 (20:46):
Like Ryan, She's not like even in college, like I
didn't always I didn't ever like pay her as a
like three point shooter, but she got into the league
and started putting that shit up like every year. I'm
looking right now, she's attempted at least seven threes per
game her whole career. That's a lot of threes considering
like that's not the style of play the wnb A
(21:08):
typically has, so it is good to see that she
stuck with that because she she was finding personal success
shooting a lot of three pointers, but she didn't necessarily
have all the personnel or coaching that I think that
she needed for it to lead to success for the
team and making deep playoff runs and having really successful seasons.
(21:30):
And she misses. She missed some time with her kne injuries.
So the fact that she came back and she's been
playing the way she's playing, and Jordan adding having Jordan
Canada back has been amazing for them too. So them
finishing second again, we always sad, like they're they're like
still like they're still like very much.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
Flying under the radar.
Speaker 4 (21:46):
They're in second place right now, they're tied for second
place right now, and like he's still not really people
are still not really talking about.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
The dream and I'm like why they're so they're really good.
They're really good, speaking of people are really good.
Speaker 4 (22:02):
I think I think the m VP race is over.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Well, yeah, it's done.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Yes, I have a whole little I wrote that down
for today.
Speaker 4 (22:16):
Yes, Yeah, let's let's hear what you have to say,
because we missed you last week when I was going
in my little heads ahead about with with a t
F in Asia, and they just played each other last
week and Asia, I mean, you had you had a
good game too, but Asia hooped.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
I don't know she took that ship personally.
Speaker 4 (22:37):
I guess like she had to because he was like runaway, runaway.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
MVP pre all Star, like we all were saying it like.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
It's fees year, It's fees Yer And Asia said, who Hosier?
Speaker 1 (22:53):
And you remember when Asia said it after that one
horrible blowout where they were they was dancing down the
tunnel in the video before the game and then they
got blown out, and she said, if.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
You're not embarrassed, del come back.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
They have been winning since. They have been winning.
Speaker 4 (23:11):
Since quite literally franchise franchise record winning streak.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
Right now. I think that's up.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Yeah, the fourteen games, fourth longest regular season treak in
WNBA history, tied with Atlanta.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
For second and the standings.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Asia continued her stamp I'm the MVP with thirty one
and eleven against the Chicago Sky. It was her third
consecutive game with at least thirty points.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
Yeah, guys, she got it. She is now first in scoring.
She is now first in scoring, second in rebounding, first
in blocks.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
To to be.
Speaker 5 (23:55):
Able to be able to have so let's a disappointing
season to start and not sink into that and to
really straight up take ownership and be like, look, I'm
the leader of this team.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
If you are not embarrassed, like get away from me,
and then to take over as she had, everybody has
to rise as the occasion when you're a star player
is speaking like that, apps like that and leading by example,
And that's exactly what she's doing. So not only is
she proving to be the best player in the w
right now or like so talented, but she is truly
(24:30):
proving to be the most valuable player that you could
have as an asset on your team period. To literally
rally the troops like that because they were down in
the dumps, like it was bad.
Speaker 4 (24:41):
Like that, that loss, you're right, You're absolutely right that
loss could have crash that could have led to like
crash out like it does take a very special person.
It takes a very special leader. It takes a very
special coach staff team to not allow a game like
(25:04):
that like lead into a downward spiral because like you said,
they were having like what many were saying, a very
disappointing year which they still like in our standards of
what the Races look like. Yes, absolutely in the grand scheme,
they were having like a decent year. But that fifty
point loss that they had at home, right, it was
(25:26):
at the crib, That's like that was a defining moment.
Like I feel like every team has like a defining moment,
like special teams. And I feel like if anybody ever
releases like a documentary or a storytell all whatever about
certain teams that they've been on, there's always like a
moment in the season where like something switches.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
And it's good or it's bad.
Speaker 4 (25:50):
And I think for the Aces, like that was a
moment where shit could have gotten real bad, real dark.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
For that team.
Speaker 4 (25:56):
And we're just talking from outsiders. This is outside looking.
I don't got no information about what went on and
after that game since then, like other than just watching
them play basketball. But the ownership that Asia took and
how she has definitely like put this whole team on
her back essentially has been insane to watch and also
(26:18):
takes a special team To not take that personally.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Like to not be like, oh, she's looking at us
and making us sound like it's us, to be like.
Speaker 3 (26:27):
You know what, yeah, I am embarrassed.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
Like that's all because by herself, even though it might
look like she's not out there playing by herself, and
for her teammates to get behind her and be like yeah,
like this is embarrassing, right and not be like no.
Speaker 4 (26:46):
Yeah exactly. So I mean I feel like delivery. I
mean we're seeing it right now with another team. You know,
you have a player that is like, we need to
be better, we need to do better.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
I need to do better.
Speaker 4 (26:57):
But it's like context is impoorant one, and then yes,
you got to practice what you preach. I don't think
I think that reporter kind of set her up a
little bit, which I don't like one. But it's like,
why would anybody be happy with a team you're not
(27:17):
making the second year you haven't made the playoffs, You underachieved,
you went through some adversity, and just like the aces
went up, they went down, and again that's just sports.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
Like there's a lot of.
Speaker 4 (27:30):
Things that happened that like are completely out of your control,
like injuries and people at the top, you know, not
being the great the greatest decision makers.
Speaker 3 (27:38):
But that was before this group even got there.
Speaker 4 (27:41):
Like I was on that team, like I know what
goes on in the top in that organization. We're talk
about the Chicago Sky if you guys don't know, but
like it's not yeah, if you guys didn't know, like
there is issues at the top, and you know, some
people are like, yeah, well.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
You are not the first person to say that.
Speaker 4 (28:00):
No, I was on a team we would I've never
been I've never seen a team win a championship and
the players be like, we're let's we don't really know
if we want to run this back or not. That
was what the experience for me was like in Chicago,
Like we won that championship and everybody left. I was like, dang,
(28:23):
we not going to try and one another. The coach
even left.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
You left in the middle of the season. We're here.
Speaker 4 (28:29):
I've never it was so weird, like that championship, that
team was so special, Like the ups and downs of
that season, you know, me getting waves, me being brought
back and like just welcomed back, like I wasn't even
gone for that long. Like it was a very special
group of women on that team. And the fact that
like we won that championship, we were able to like
(28:50):
celebrate for like five minutes and then everybody like went
their separate ways. It was like it was like the
last year of like summer camp before, like you're too
old to being so no more, like you're never going
to see these people again. We're like thanks for the mems.
That's what my season in Chicago was like. Like I remember,
we like won, We had like it was like an
early game, so like the game was over like at
(29:12):
like five or six in the afternoon.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
We like celebrated the championship.
Speaker 4 (29:16):
We had our like parade like a few days later,
and then I personally was in France playing basketball like
a week after that.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
So I was like sometimes I'm like, did that even happen?
For real?
Speaker 4 (29:28):
Was that even real life? Like I didn't even get
to like bask in the championship energy at all? Yeah,
But it was like, dang, Like even now, like that
was like the last year before the w kind of
like started going crazy because the way that like the
Aces were able to like carry on for like six
(29:48):
months after they won that championship, I was like, dang,
I wish we were able to like do that, Like
they were on like TV and at award shows and
like just doing all the stuff. And I was like dang,
like we can get none of that, But none of
the team prior to like twenty twenty three got any
of that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
So it's cool seeing like when you win.
Speaker 4 (30:07):
A championship how much you get to enjoy it and
just kind of like be a champ like until someone
makes you not one, basically because even like the next year,
because the team was basically disbanded, there was like no
title defense going on, like that wasn't the conversation that
was being had like oh the sky going to run
(30:28):
it back because like nobody it wasn't the same team.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
So that kind of made me sad.
Speaker 4 (30:34):
It makes me sad because the skuy haven't been like
we It's so crazy how you go o from winning
a championship to like what they're dealing with now and
that was only three years ago.
Speaker 1 (30:44):
But it's it's obviously it's a like if you're a
if you're gonna get upset at criticism over the team
when the team is as low in the standings as
they are, that's where gonna say, like that's just how it's.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
Gonna be, like they're there.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
If you are in a situation like that, there do
need to be changes, whether that's what they starts in
that person, these people, whatever, whoever it may be. Also,
I feel like reporting in that instance, like irresponsible reporting
on Angel Reese is so dangerous in my opinion, because
(31:24):
people already know how the world feels about her. She's
one of the most polarizing not women's basketball, not basketball
athletes on the planet, like and so to release something
like that, And because when I first heard about it,
about the quote, I didn't even bad Deny because I
was Kobe Bryant fan. I remember Steph Curry when the
(31:44):
Warriors were bad that one year, looking at the Breast
Conference and being like, we suck.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
And there needs to be changes.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
I like legium, like I'm used to that.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
Behavior Asia Wilson what she said a few weeks ago,
so it didn't make me bad any But when I
saw the reaction to what people like, oh, she called
her teammates out, blah blah blah, and then I went
and read.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
It, I was like, this ain't even that bad.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
This is not Michael Irvin bring in a list of
players and yeah, and then they like started dragging like
other teammates into it.
Speaker 4 (32:13):
Like overall, like poor irresponsible reporting. I think the timing
was weird, Like you couldn't waited like one more and
two more weeks to like put that out when the
season is over, Like now, you're just kind of like
throwing salt in a wound.
Speaker 3 (32:33):
Because also keep in mind.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
She's not just talking like what you were just talking
about with your media. They she was asked, what did
you think she was gonna say? They've won what ten games?
Speaker 4 (32:43):
They knew that, they knew exactly what she was gonna say,
and that's what they asked her. So yes, like that,
It's it's a hard lesson that you have to learn
as an athlete, as a role model, as somebody who
you know is considered a star in this in this space,
like she is young, if every everybody always forgets how
young she is. So yes, and she apologized, like I
(33:07):
think it's probably been a very hard week for her
as far as like dealing with a lot of noise,
a hard week for the whole team. You don't want
to hear, you know, it's hard for you to hear
that from your own teammates when you already like you
already know, like we know we're not good, we're not
out of the playoffs, like we've won ten games, like
we've been struggling all year, We've had a lot of adversity,
(33:29):
like we know. So yeah, I'm sure that that's not
something that you want to hear in that moment.
Speaker 3 (33:33):
But it's like she ain't.
Speaker 4 (33:35):
Saying get everybody, get everybody up out of here. I
mean she did say like I might have to get
up out of here, which okay, Like, okay, I want
to get out of my current situation. I'm sure people
want to get out of their current situation, like it's
the reality, you exactly, And she could this team could
very well, like go through the off season and come
back and everyone's a little bit better, a year older,
(33:55):
a year wiser, go get their confidence back, playing in
other leagues, playing overseas, getting healthy, and then you could
have the same roster and have a different result.
Speaker 3 (34:04):
But again, she can say what she wants guys.
Speaker 4 (34:09):
Like, at the end of the day, the problem with
this guy is up here, it's above us, and it's
been that way, like it's been like that. There's a
few organizations where the problem is up here, Okay, Like
that is something that I've learned this year by being
more spec doing more spectating than playing. I've been watching
(34:32):
like decisions transactions being made from people at the top,
and I'm.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
Just like, what what is this? What is going on here?
Speaker 4 (34:42):
Some of these players are being put in very very
poor situations that are it's hard to win. It's very
hard to win in this league. And I said that,
I said that on Gills once and then everyone was like.
Speaker 3 (34:54):
Isn't it hard to win in every league? Yes?
Speaker 4 (34:57):
It is, Yes, it is hard to win in every league,
especially a professional one. That you have to put the
Rubik's cube, the puzzle pieces whatever together, like you could
have all these beautiful, shiny, wonderful pieces, like this is
a beautiful piece. This is a beautiful piece, but if
it don't fit, it's gonna be ugly.
Speaker 3 (35:17):
But the pieces beautiful gowns, beautiful gowns, you.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Know, beautiful gowns.
Speaker 3 (35:21):
But if they don't fit together, it doesn't matter.
Speaker 4 (35:24):
And like that's the art of being a GM and
running a team. And that's why you know, the Minnesota
Links when they had their like dynasty run, like that
was so special to watch. When it was the Links
and the and the Sparks in the finals all the time,
that was so fun to watch. What the Vegas has
been able to do with their organization what the Golden
State Valkyries have done immediately, Like just the basketball junkie
(35:46):
in me, like, I just love seeing when things are
put together the right way, but it also it's not
fun to watch things when they're not put together the
right way.
Speaker 3 (35:54):
But you're like, dang, like I don't that's what you
shouldn't do.
Speaker 4 (35:57):
Like I'm taking notes on what they got going on
over here.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
So if I ever at the opportunity.
Speaker 4 (36:02):
To do something like this, I don't know what to do,
what to not do?
Speaker 3 (36:15):
Do you watch? This is random? Do you watch or
do you do you like Katsi the group the.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
Group from the Gap commercial?
Speaker 3 (36:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (36:24):
And do you like are you like in tune with
like any of like K pop things?
Speaker 3 (36:29):
I'm not.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
I know who they are, I get the lore, I
know like the backstory. I'm not like, oh, I can
like sing all the songs, but I understand what's going on, like.
Speaker 4 (36:40):
I know BGS, I promise God is relevant to basketball. Okay,
So Katsi is a K pop adjacent girl group, right
that was created? And how K pop groups work? Is
I want to I don't know? It might be is
a Korea. I think it's in Korea where K pop's
from Korean. It's like like boy band, girl group, boot
(37:06):
camp military, like they do not play. So Catsie is
the newest group that they created. It's like their first
like global group that comes from this media group called
Hype I want to say So on Netflix. They have
a documentary about it about how they put the group together,
and it was like basically like they brought them to
(37:27):
this academy in LA and they're like, okay, like we're
just gonna like teach y'all like how to be pop
stars and give y'all all the tea and all the information.
And then like a year into it, they're like, JK,
this is a reality show and you're gonna be broadcasting
to the world and get voted off and that's how
we're gonna form the group. So they had them like training,
They like brought a bunch of gros No it's Mariah.
(37:51):
It's nuts, Like it is crazy, like these are like
twenty two and younger, like they're like fifteen to twenty
two year olds, and they like put them in this
house in LA and they're like training and then they
give them these things called missions and they got to
like do choreography and sing and dance, and it's like
this huge production and it's like so they can make
cats Eye essentially, Like that's what the end result was,
(38:13):
was the group Catside, but it started it's.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
Called Dream Academy.
Speaker 4 (38:16):
Yes, anyway, this is relevant to basketball because if I'm
a GM, I'm running my team like a K pop group.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
So if y'all know.
Speaker 4 (38:24):
Anything about K pop, like y'all need to dig, I've
got I've like gotten dragged deep into this K pop world.
Speaker 1 (38:30):
I do know how they like when they're key, do
not start.
Speaker 4 (38:36):
We need in the United States need to pull a
page out of that book and apply it to sports,
because I feel like they might do something similar to that,
like right now with like the tennis, golf, I'm sure
like if kids want to be in entertainment, like you
got to start at a really young age gymnastics, but
like these bigger sports like basketball, football, because of the
(38:57):
money now that you can make so early in college,
like you don't even have to be a professional athlete
to make generational money anymore.
Speaker 3 (39:05):
Like that's amazing.
Speaker 4 (39:07):
But I've been seeing clips everywhere about how they're talking
about like hey, it was destroying basketball and yeah, yeah,
like they're talking about how it's all ruining. I don't
even know what girls AU basketball looks like right now.
The last time I tapped in with it, I was like,
what is going on here?
Speaker 3 (39:24):
So I want I.
Speaker 4 (39:26):
Want K pop principles some of them because some of
the stuff that they do is a little bit wild
and it's.
Speaker 3 (39:31):
Like very like but they don't care.
Speaker 4 (39:32):
They're like, if you want this or you don't, like
you're gonna work hard, You're not gonna work hard, Like
these girls got put through hell. But now Catsy is
like one of the biggest Like the fact that the
group came out at first of all, I had no
idea that this was going on. It was like a lie,
like people like people were like live voting on this whatever.
Speaker 3 (39:49):
So they like document the whole thing. So like seeing what.
Speaker 4 (39:53):
Cat's Eye is now first and then them dropping the
documentary about it, You're like, damn, like this is crazy.
But they know what they're doing because this group came
out of nowhere and now they're everywhere like what they did.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
Like when you're watching it, thing like you're like there's no.
Speaker 4 (40:10):
Way, like this is like the end result of like
all this nonsense that they put these girls through, but
like they knew exactly what they're doing, like that Cat's
Eye group is like they're like the perfect group. But
when you see how they all started, like they gave
them makeovers, they had them like, but you can see
like like they was like aligning them in certain ways,
like they kind of knew who they wanted in the group,
(40:30):
so they kind of like started finessing the system a
little bit to try and like get them closer and closer,
and then eventually they picked the six of them. But
I'm like, if I ever have a team or a
coach and a coach or anything, I'm running this shit
like a K pop group.
Speaker 3 (40:46):
They don't play.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
They work like gen Z were working like the people
back in the day.
Speaker 3 (40:51):
Yes, back in the day. You gonna get what you earn,
and earn what you get.
Speaker 4 (40:55):
Like they do not play. And like there was even
a girl on the group. I think her name is
Adele Adela or something like that. She was great singer,
beautiful girl, great dancer.
Speaker 3 (41:07):
But they're like.
Speaker 4 (41:08):
She's too she's too good at everything, she cannot be
in a group.
Speaker 3 (41:13):
So she got voted off.
Speaker 4 (41:15):
But now she they like gave her like a solo deal,
so like now she's doing like the solo thing. But
the guy who runs the k pop basically he was
just like everybody can't be the best at everything, Like
we can't have six girls who are exceptional singers and
exceptional dancers. It's not gonna work. You gonna have like
a lead singer, you're gonna have the lead dancer. You're
(41:35):
gonna have like there's like like Mariah, there's like so
much exactly. There's like so much lore behind k pop,
Like they have like names for like certain people, like
they have like you have the lead singer, you have
the lead dancer. Then you have like so they have
one one member who's like seventeen or eighteen, and like
they have like a name for that, the young one,
(41:55):
like just the little young, innocent one, like that's a role.
Then you have one that's like just the pretty one
who's like okay at everything, but she's gorgeous.
Speaker 3 (42:02):
Like they have that, like they like they do not play.
Speaker 4 (42:06):
But like they had this mega superstar and they're like,
uh uh, you're too good.
Speaker 3 (42:11):
You gotta go.
Speaker 4 (42:12):
Like they didn't break their bags trying to find five
members to fit her. They found six members that fit
each other, and I feel like that's how teams should
be ran and built just like that, Like, yes, everyone
is super talented in their own way, but do they work?
Speaker 3 (42:26):
Does it work? Does it fit?
Speaker 4 (42:28):
That's why the whole super team thing is does we've
seen it.
Speaker 1 (42:32):
Said building super teams, We're building K pop groups.
Speaker 3 (42:38):
Y'all playing chess checkers.
Speaker 4 (42:39):
I'm playing chess over here, okay, exactly rerunning it.
Speaker 3 (42:43):
My team is gonna be ran like a K pop group.
Speaker 4 (42:47):
But yes, you need to watch that if y'all are
interested in like K pop and just these girls like
work their asses off so like it is. It's really
sad when they start getting voted off because they're like kids,
but like, it's a very interesting thing to see and
if you can like watch it with kind of having
like sports and athletics and at the back of your mind,
it's like super interesting to watch and be like, what
if like sports were ran like this, Like what would
(43:09):
how would sports look like? Anyway, I think my final
thought of the show is it's so interesting that it's
us in the sparks fighting for a lot. The last
spot I was gonna say earlier want to be messy.
I'm like, guys, all year long, I have just been
questioning this move from both parties, and I feel like
(43:33):
I just kind of got stuck in some crossfire of
people wanting to make changes in the careers. So whatever
shit happens. But the fact that like I'm not, not
only am I not playing, we as a team underachieved,
Like that's not shade we have. We're potentially could finish
the season right at five hundred or like rate above
(43:56):
five hundred. The Sparks may miss the playoffs again, like
these are nobody is. Nobody has won really in this situation,
Like I just just this whole year, like I don't
know this. This is not gonna get me in trouble
at this point because like what more can I don't play,
Like there's not really anything that can happen at this point.
(44:18):
Like I thought that maybe gearing up to playoffs, they
would like maybe throw me in as occasionally sometimes, but
like I haven't played in three straight games, and I
mean I want to play tomorrow because I've typically played
well against the Valkyries and the time that I was given,
But you know, I don't I don't foresee any dramatic
changes happening in a game that is like going to
define if we make the postseason for sure or not.
(44:40):
So I don't know, but I've just been thinking about
this a lot in the last few weeks of just
seeing the position that we are in and the Sparks
are in.
Speaker 3 (44:48):
I'm just like, what was the point at this point?
Speaker 4 (44:52):
Like the Sparks could have just waved me and I
could have like figured it out, but instead I got
put into an odd situation where I'm not helping or
hurting the team right now in Seattle, and then the
Sparks are potentially gonna miss the playoffs again. So I'm like,
(45:12):
what Sparks got nothing in return? Basically, the Stormy didn't
get nothing from me because I don't I played. I've
only played in twenty four of the forty four games
this year.
Speaker 3 (45:21):
So wow, I'm like.
Speaker 4 (45:25):
Long term cool, Like my I feel like every few
years I have a season like this and it's like
just adding another year to my career because like my
body longevity. But you know, honestly, I'm shopping up this
season to like me getting like fully healthy and understanding
what my body canning can take throughout a season.
Speaker 3 (45:42):
Dealing with my crones. That's the That's the one.
Speaker 4 (45:45):
Positive thing I'll take out of this season is like,
I feel really good. I feel really healthy, I feel strong,
and I feel like I can like I'm mentally like
I'm mentally in a better place than I was last
season when I started. Even though last season I was playing,
I wasn't really playing well because mentally and physically, I
don't think I was ready to come back when I did.
(46:06):
This year though, I was very ready mentally and physically
to play. But I think there's a bigger purpose here.
When it happens, I'll be like, great, this is why.
But right now currently I'm just kind of like this
tray doesn't make any sense to anybody me the storm Row,
(46:27):
the Sparks, So I'm just like.
Speaker 3 (46:30):
Whatever, whatever.
Speaker 4 (46:32):
But the fact that we could be the team that
knocks them out of the playoffs run kind of makeshy No.
Speaker 1 (46:38):
You need that that needs need that need that that
has happen.
Speaker 4 (46:42):
Even though I love my girls that are on the
Sparks still like they know I love them, especially the Erica,
like that's my girl for life. But I'm like, y'all gotta,
y'all gotta sit this one out please.
Speaker 3 (46:54):
Any of them would feel the exact same way.
Speaker 4 (46:57):
Yeah, So I just thought that was just something that
was on my min like earlier today, and I.
Speaker 3 (47:02):
Was just like, I can't.
Speaker 4 (47:04):
Like after I saw the fever clinch the thing and
it was us two left, I was like, what are
the odds that, like this is how it all shook out?
Speaker 1 (47:12):
Like I thought the same exact thing, and I was like,
let me not say all that.
Speaker 3 (47:15):
But how weird. It's just life be life for y'all.
Speaker 4 (47:20):
Okay, I said thirty minutes today and here we are
again at an hour.
Speaker 3 (47:27):
Again.
Speaker 4 (47:28):
By the time this episode drops, we will be in
the playoffs or waiting to see what happens. Hopefully we
get this w tomorrow and next week I can fill
y'all in on playoff energy and thoughts and vibes. But
until then, thanks for kicking with us again this week
on an episode of Full Circle.
Speaker 3 (47:48):
We will see y'all next week.
Speaker 1 (47:49):
Bye, y'all, Thanks for listening to Full Circle. We'll be
back next week with more basketball for the girls.
Speaker 3 (47:56):
By the girls.
Speaker 2 (47:57):
We want to hear from you.
Speaker 1 (47:58):
Leave us a review on Apple Podcast 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 Fuz. Our
producer is Zoe Danklab. Listen to Full Circle on America's
number one podcast network, iHeart Open your Free iHeart app
and search Full Circle with Lexi Brown and Mariah Rose
(48:20):
and start listening
Full Circle is an Iheartwoman's sports production in 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 another episode of Full Circle. I'm here
with Lexi Brown. Lexi.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
How you doing?
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Hey, guys, I'm doing okay? Yea, guys.
Speaker 4 (00:22):
You know we are still not a thousand points, which
is so crazy.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
We're still four points away.
Speaker 4 (00:33):
Guys. We are now fighting for our playoff lives. If
you guys didn't know, there's only one playoff spot left.
Today is September eighth. By the time this episode comes out,
we will have either secured they seed or seventh seed
whatever or six I don't know, a playoff spot, or
(00:57):
we will be waiting to see if this far lose
one more game. So, as of right now, we are
still one hundred in control of our destiny. But if
we trick off the game tomorrow, we must stay in wait,
which is annoying. I've never do you play tomorrow the Valkyries,
(01:18):
which has hapened.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Okay, they've had our number all season. Yeah, you have
history with them, Yeah, like it's smoke with the Valkyries.
So I'm I.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Feel like you played the Valkyries every two weeks.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
We played them like a lot at the very beginning,
and we haven't played them in a while, so I think, yeah,
I don't think we've played them since before All Star
break because kayle Thorine played in all of the games
that we played against them.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
I'm pretty sure.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
So yeah, since All Star we have not seen the Valkyris,
and they've had like a lot of changes, and they've
been hooping and we have not been hooping. But despite
all that, we still can be in the playoffs, and
that's all that matters is getting to the end. So
let's do a little like mini playoff picture rundown real quick.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Who's playing? So that's fine? Oh the Sun and the
Dreamer A.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Fever clinched a spot with when over the mystics.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
This is insane.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
This is insane, like the expectations that we had at
the beginning of the year.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
It's just so crazy.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
One, I think this season has flown by, like the
first like few weeks of the season a little slow,
but like once you started going and going and going,
this season flew by, like I cannot believe we're at
our forty fourth game tomorrow the Fever, and that this
is no disrespect to the Fever at all, because we
were very high on them at.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
The beginning of the year, like finals favorite season. We
thought that they were yeah, which they were.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
They are injuries, but I mean, and that's that's the
crazy part about it, Like the fact that they've had
all of.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
That and they still made the playoffs.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
Mind y'all, if y'all didn't know, like the Fever were
not in the playoffs for like a really long time
before last season. So the fact that Kylen Clark came
in as a rookie and did what she did, you know,
on top of everything that Kelsey Mitchell has has been doing,
and then Alia bought like what they have been building
there in the last like year and a half two
years and for its all come fruition to fruition, fruition
(03:25):
this quickly, and them still making the playoffs despite losing
like half of their team to season ending injuries.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
It's crazy, Like it's insane.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
That we are we have not had knock on wood,
it's it's a blessing that we haven't had any like
injuries on our team. But like No one on our
team has been injured, No one has been out for
sea an amount of time. We probably one of the
few teams that's had like the same starting lineup the
entire year, damn near.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
And the fact that we're like just.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
Dragging crawling into the eighth place right now, like like
that's just it's just crazy thing about sports, Like you
could predict and think all you want about certain teams,
but you just never know how things are going to
shake out. So like the Fever clinching a playoff spot
last night, having three or four.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Players I have a real rotational.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Minutes on that team that we're not on the team
like two three weeks ago, Like it's insane.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
And that's like I have something to say.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
About that, as well as far as roster makeups right now,
because it's a little ridiculous about the transactions and things
that happen happening in this league that I've liked to
do it. So I was looking at all the playoff
team rosters and I wrote down everybody's name. I won't
go through every name, but there's like like close to
(04:46):
twenty ish players that are on teams now in the
playoffs that were not on the team before the season started,
so and only like two or three of them were
like on a team before and then got traded. The
rest of them were like not even on a roster period.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
So now in the WNBA, yes, and.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
Now they're finishing this season on a playoff team. So
for someone like me who was uprooted from a very
good situation in LA, in my opinion, personally, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
What they Like I told y'all, I still don't know
why I was traded. I don't know why I was
brought to Seattle.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
I don't know why LA traded me for a second
round pick, Like, I don't know why that happened.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
But the fact that.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
I have been dealing with the situation I've been dealing
with it's been fine. I'm blessed, I'm greatful of a job.
I'm about to hopefully be in the playoffs. Like it's
it's all great. Still, why do I what am I
going to training camp for? What am I What am
I busting my ass in training camp for? When I
could just chill at home until August and then go
(05:55):
play for a team that needs a player later in
the year. And there's like no expectation the team might
be like in desperation mode a little bit, like when
they need a body, they need a player. And because
these players are coming in on their hardship deal and
they're playing like it's like it has been mind boggling
to me because I'm like, these are hardship players who
(06:16):
are super talented and obviously belong in the league because
they're in the game making an impact and doing well.
But why why not I don't go to training camp
and I too until All Star break and then once
June July passes, I'll be like, Okay, I'm ready to complain.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
W NBA. Now, y'all got some.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Here's a question, would you be more?
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Because the difference is the lack of security. The difference
is you're waiting would you be missed situation where you're
waiting then being yeah, I guess you're kind of on
standby either way, but at least you like are secure
on a team.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
You know, it's like this year, and for anybody who
doesn't know, like this is my first season I've had
a guaranteed contract. So the fact that the season is
going the way it's going, like thankfully for me, Like,
despite what the decisions that are being made above me,
like I am secure, and that actually has been really
(07:15):
great and has allowed me to kind of like not
be so super stressed out about this season because I
have this season and next season like locked down, so
how this season is not going to affect my employment
next year, which is a blessing in itself. But it's like, yeah,
essentially you're playing, you're staying on standby like for a flight,
but you mess around and you get on that flight
(07:37):
and like, oh wait, you we actually have a first
class seat ready for you.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
If you want it as well.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
Right, But then it's also like, am I didn't even
get on the flight at all? So yeah, like you're
absolutely right when you say, like that job security. But
I didn't look into other seasons like prior to this
one about how often that happens, Like, for example, Indiana
has I'll say indian has four, you don't say has
like five players that are playing that we're not on
(08:04):
the seat on the opening day roster And I'm like,
that's crazy, that's crazy. And then I was looking at
Indiana and Golden States, like the roster on the stats
on ESPN, it's like thirty names Dallas got like thirty names,
Like it's insane. So I just I know everybody is
always so like locked in on like the salaries, the
(08:27):
salary caps, the salary things.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
The way we need an extended roster.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
I don't know if Kathy is gonna budge on that,
but I've never seen anything like this season, and I
could be wrong because maybe I wasn't paying attention enough
in previous seasons, but we need more roster spots because
people just coming in and out and hardship and extreme emergencies,
super duper hardship like Dallas has been unlocking hardships I
(08:54):
didn't even know existed. And then I'm like, where y'all
getting this money from? Like it's so crazy to me.
And then yeah, so we're talking about salary and we
can't get off that. We can't even move forward and
our CBA talk because of the salary thing. But it's
like the roster spot to me is like the next
glaring issue because you know.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
We got the travel.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
I don't like that's going to have to be renegotiated
as well though with the charter flights. But I feel
like for me personally, like this roster situation is bad
and it looks bad and it looks crazy, and I
just can't believe that that many players are on end
of the season teams and they were at not even
on other teams, they were at home like that.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
That's also a proof of how much talent is out
there that isn't in the WNBA, because for them to
not be on teams at all and then to just
fit seamlessly into a system they weren't in, not have
been at training camp, like you said, not be obviously
everyone's working and saying ready all the time, but not
be working the way y'all are working with that team
twenty four to seven in training camp and then to
(09:59):
just PLoP into that system and b and who make
an impact and go to the playoffs and hoop. It's
like that says something about the fact that, Okay, there's
obviously so much talent that isn't in the league yet
that we're not tapping into. And the only way to
solve that, I guess expansion teams also will help, but
is roster spots.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
Yeah, I mean roster So I mean I hope that
I think Golden State like has shown what expansion does,
what expansion needs to look like, especially They're the first
expansion team to make the playoffs in their first season,
which I think is crazy because when I'm thinking about
some of the other expansion teams, like everybody in this
(10:37):
league is capable of playing if they get opportunities in minutes.
For the most part, they are not everybody, but most
players are absolutely capable of making a big impact and
leading a team to the playoffs. So the fact that
this is the first expansion team that has made it
to the playoffs in their first year is a little
crazy to me, But I think it's really it's like
just a great standard to set moving forward with these
(11:00):
new teams of like what that needs to look like,
how you build a culture, how you build a fan
base with Like I wouldn't call any I wouldn't call
these players unknown, but they are not you know, your
typical w superstars that you see on all the commercials
and being talked about all the time. But the way
that they've been able to go in Golden State and
like become like those girls like top to bottom, like
(11:23):
that team they like walk with like seeing them from
the beginning now, like the way like their confidence, their swagger,
like they're everything is so like it's elite right now,
and I like love watching them. I sound like a
fan of the Valkyries, But the roster construction is just
like the GM nerded me. Like the roster construction, the
(11:46):
fan base, like the way they market the team, Like
even their intro video they highlight the whole team in it,
not like just not just a few of the players,
like they highlight the entire team, like from the beginning,
from day one, they made it known like this.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Is about all of them, this is about all of us.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
And I think that's why they've They have found so
much success that people weren't expecting. And I hope that
the next expansion teams kind of follow suit, at least
at the beginning of there for other early years, you
have to do that.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
It's something new.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
So even though as amazing as I think, we gotta
beat their ass tomorrow, we have to and no shade
we go tomorrow, love y'all, But y'all, y'all already are
in the club where you're.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Trying to get in please or LA just gotta or LA.
Speaker 4 (12:35):
Just gotta lose. So currently the playoff picture is this today.
Right now, Minnesota is in first place. The Aces are
in second, the Dream are on third, Phoenix is in fourth,
New York is in fifth, Golden State of sixth, the
Fever are seventh, and US and the Sparks are battling
for this last spot and there still can be movement,
(12:59):
I think within but not you know, Many is secured
first place, but everyone else, like Vegas and Atlanta are tied,
so they could flip flop. Phoenix could sneak in there,
so it'll be interesting. And then we just played New York.
We unfortunately lost to them, but they're like looking a little.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
Shaky.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
And I can say this guys because I did not play.
I did not play in this game, so I'm like
a spect I haven't played in the last three games,
so I've been like spectating and like just scouting and
being like, I'm gonna talk about this in my.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
Podcast this week.
Speaker 4 (13:39):
But we had I mean we had them, We had
New York, and we just have we have so much
end of game slippage and that's like rebounding and like
finishing games. Holding leads has been like our Achilles Hill
all season long. But also Sabrino wasn't playing, so for us, relax,
(14:01):
But I will say when when one of the stars
is missing, it kind of benefits the team if they're
talented enough, which to the liberty are because you have
your whole scouting report based on how they play. When like,
for example, like when Sabrina is on the court, we
had a whole scouting report, and then she ends up
not playing, the scouting report changes, and now you know,
(14:25):
we're kind of a little out of sorts with it
because we've been the last two days, we've been talking
about how we're gonna guard Sabrina and then she's not playing,
and how we got to worry about guarding different actions
and different personnel. So I think that is you know,
it's not a benefit when your star isn't playing, but
like if you had to look at the bright side
of when there's injuries, you know, you give another play
(14:45):
on your team an opportunity to step up, and then
it makes you know, our scouting report kind of irrelevant
for the most part because that person isn't even playing.
But we've been in, like our coach have been saying
we win.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
We're in. We've been saying that for like the last week,
and we have not won.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
You've been saying you said that last week like all
of our games feel like the last one I was here.
All of our games feel like must win games every single.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
Day, every day, fighting for our lives.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
I believe in y'all though, too.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
I mean, I just it's a lot.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
It's just been a long season, I feel like, and
people have a whole season wrap up recap all that
when the season, the whole season ends, not just if
our season ends, you know. I feel like a reporter
even asked me before the game, which is so funny.
I'm like, what the hell y'all want to talk to
me about? When every time I get a meeting request.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
I'm like, okay.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
She asked me about the Chicago Sky team I was
on when we won, because we finished that season in
sixth place, but towards the end of the season, we
were kind of like still figuring it out a little bit.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
You know.
Speaker 4 (16:02):
We weren't like, dang, we got to win this game
or we're not gonna make the playoffs. Like we were
like comfortably in the playoffs, so you know, that morale
was a little different.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
But like the reporter was just like, does this team
remind you of that team?
Speaker 4 (16:14):
And I was like no, but like, what is the
what is the Like I didn't understand, like what the
relevance of like asking about that team was to this team.
But she was like, you know a team that's struggling
going to the playoffs, Like what Like then she asked me,
she said, what is something that you can do, you know,
as a team, to like ensure that y'all like win
(16:34):
more or something.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
I was like, you should probably ask our coaches.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
That you're not gonna get me. You're not gonna get me, girls,
she started last. I said, nice, try. I said, I
have thoughts, but not for you, babe. And she's like, Okay,
She's like I know, I know, I'm sorry. She's just
like she's like, I just saw what happened, you know
with the other team, and you know y'all like to
(17:01):
talk a little bit.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
I say, oh yeah, no, that's not me. That is
not me.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
Will not catch me slippy never ever, ever, ever. Let's
talk about your dream, Mariah. They're playing right now. How
many games? How many games have you been able to
get to? You've been traveling the world and everything.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
I haven't gone to any not in real life.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
You haven't gone to any Oh.
Speaker 4 (17:28):
So you just gonna pop out during the playoffs, like like.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
A fake fan. You're a fake fan, You're not real.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
To be fair, I didn't go to nobody's games really
last year except for I went to like one Falcons game.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
So okay, that's Atlanta.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
If y'all want to know what Atlanta fans are, like,
there you go right there.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
No Elia, right here.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
This is the perfect except me.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
If you're audio listen, I'm like in my office and
I have two jersey.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
He's framed.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
My whole brand is called hoops for hotties. I don't
even have basketball jersey, no, neither of the This.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
Is like literally, this is literally Atlanta fans Like we
got all the gear, we got the cool stuff. But
I'm only going to show up to the game if
it's the super Bowl or the playoffs. No in there
t being there turn Atlanta to be fair fickle, which
she watched.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
My mom says that to Atlanta fids are so fickle.
But to be fair, the dream are actually really good
right now. But nine times out of ten, our teams
are just as fickle as we are. They look good
and then they're not. And it's nobody want to go
through all that. I can do that from the comfort
of my home.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
But I haven't somebody y'all and they know it.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
I haven't sub warded the dream. And I believe.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Before the bush, thank you you did, you did, you
were I was a little weary on how it was
going to work out.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
But you definitely have been like very high on them
from the beginning.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
But I think even in.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
Your standards, they they overachieved a little bit. I feel like,
one do you expect to do?
Speaker 3 (19:09):
Guys?
Speaker 4 (19:10):
I want to give one shout out to Ryan Howard
real quick.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
Because.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
They well, they beat they beat La, which helped us,
so thanks for that. She also tied the WNBA record
for most three point makes in a game at nine
b I guess how many she took?
Speaker 3 (19:34):
Thirty, No, seventeen.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
The last time you asked me a.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Question like that, the answer was so outrageous, Like you
asked me what.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Was it it was? It wasn't the triple double.
Speaker 4 (19:48):
Question and yah, second to at and how many they had?
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Yeah, and it was like four.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
Yeah, she was the star. She it was nine for seventeen.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
Like the fact that she has gotten up seventeen threes
multiple she's gotten almost twenty. I think she even had
a game where she shot twenty the confidence that I
really enjoy watching Atlanta play because I like the pace
that they play, like their style of play, and I
like how many threes that they shoot. And when you
have a player like Ryan who has a green light
(20:22):
like that, like, you're always in a position to win games.
You're always in a position to come back from games,
like when you have a shooter like that. So shout
out to Ryan, because you know, nine threes in a
game is tough in a WNBA game that is super tough.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
But also having a coach that believes in you and
like allows you to let it fly, you know what
I mean, In a team that believes in you allows
you to let it fly.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
Just let it fly.
Speaker 4 (20:46):
Like Ryan, She's not like even in college, like I
didn't always I didn't ever like pay her as a
like three point shooter, but she got into the league
and started putting that shit up like every year. I'm
looking right now, she's attempted at least seven threes per
game her whole career. That's a lot of threes considering
like that's not the style of play the wnb A
(21:08):
typically has, so it is good to see that she
stuck with that because she she was finding personal success
shooting a lot of three pointers, but she didn't necessarily
have all the personnel or coaching that I think that
she needed for it to lead to success for the
team and making deep playoff runs and having really successful seasons.
(21:30):
And she misses. She missed some time with her kne injuries.
So the fact that she came back and she's been
playing the way she's playing, and Jordan adding having Jordan
Canada back has been amazing for them too. So them
finishing second again, we always sad, like they're they're like
still like they're still like very much.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
Flying under the radar.
Speaker 4 (21:46):
They're in second place right now, they're tied for second
place right now, and like he's still not really people
are still not really talking about.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
The dream and I'm like why they're so they're really good.
They're really good, speaking of people are really good.
Speaker 4 (22:02):
I think I think the m VP race is over.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Well, yeah, it's done.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Yes, I have a whole little I wrote that down
for today.
Speaker 4 (22:16):
Yes, Yeah, let's let's hear what you have to say,
because we missed you last week when I was going
in my little heads ahead about with with a t
F in Asia, and they just played each other last
week and Asia, I mean, you had you had a
good game too, but Asia hooped.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
I don't know she took that ship personally.
Speaker 4 (22:37):
I guess like she had to because he was like runaway, runaway.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
MVP pre all Star, like we all were saying it like.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
It's fees year, It's fees Yer And Asia said, who Hosier?
Speaker 1 (22:53):
And you remember when Asia said it after that one
horrible blowout where they were they was dancing down the
tunnel in the video before the game and then they
got blown out, and she said, if.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
You're not embarrassed, del come back.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
They have been winning since. They have been winning.
Speaker 4 (23:11):
Since quite literally franchise franchise record winning streak.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
Right now. I think that's up.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Yeah, the fourteen games, fourth longest regular season treak in
WNBA history, tied with Atlanta.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
For second and the standings.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Asia continued her stamp I'm the MVP with thirty one
and eleven against the Chicago Sky. It was her third
consecutive game with at least thirty points.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
Yeah, guys, she got it. She is now first in scoring.
She is now first in scoring, second in rebounding, first
in blocks.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
To to be.
Speaker 5 (23:55):
Able to be able to have so let's a disappointing
season to start and not sink into that and to
really straight up take ownership and be like, look, I'm
the leader of this team.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
If you are not embarrassed, like get away from me,
and then to take over as she had, everybody has
to rise as the occasion when you're a star player
is speaking like that, apps like that and leading by example,
And that's exactly what she's doing. So not only is
she proving to be the best player in the w
right now or like so talented, but she is truly
(24:30):
proving to be the most valuable player that you could
have as an asset on your team period. To literally
rally the troops like that because they were down in
the dumps, like it was bad.
Speaker 4 (24:41):
Like that, that loss, you're right, You're absolutely right that
loss could have crash that could have led to like
crash out like it does take a very special person.
It takes a very special leader. It takes a very
special coach staff team to not allow a game like
(25:04):
that like lead into a downward spiral because like you said,
they were having like what many were saying, a very
disappointing year which they still like in our standards of
what the Races look like. Yes, absolutely in the grand scheme,
they were having like a decent year. But that fifty
point loss that they had at home, right, it was
(25:26):
at the crib, That's like that was a defining moment.
Like I feel like every team has like a defining moment,
like special teams. And I feel like if anybody ever
releases like a documentary or a storytell all whatever about
certain teams that they've been on, there's always like a
moment in the season where like something switches.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
And it's good or it's bad.
Speaker 4 (25:50):
And I think for the Aces, like that was a
moment where shit could have gotten real bad, real dark.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
For that team.
Speaker 4 (25:56):
And we're just talking from outsiders. This is outside looking.
I don't got no information about what went on and
after that game since then, like other than just watching
them play basketball. But the ownership that Asia took and
how she has definitely like put this whole team on
her back essentially has been insane to watch and also
(26:18):
takes a special team To not take that personally.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Like to not be like, oh, she's looking at us
and making us sound like it's us, to be like.
Speaker 3 (26:27):
You know what, yeah, I am embarrassed.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
Like that's all because by herself, even though it might
look like she's not out there playing by herself, and
for her teammates to get behind her and be like yeah,
like this is embarrassing, right and not be like no.
Speaker 4 (26:46):
Yeah exactly. So I mean I feel like delivery. I
mean we're seeing it right now with another team. You know,
you have a player that is like, we need to
be better, we need to do better.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
I need to do better.
Speaker 4 (26:57):
But it's like context is impoorant one, and then yes,
you got to practice what you preach. I don't think
I think that reporter kind of set her up a
little bit, which I don't like one. But it's like,
why would anybody be happy with a team you're not
(27:17):
making the second year you haven't made the playoffs, You underachieved,
you went through some adversity, and just like the aces
went up, they went down, and again that's just sports.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
Like there's a lot of.
Speaker 4 (27:30):
Things that happened that like are completely out of your control,
like injuries and people at the top, you know, not
being the great the greatest decision makers.
Speaker 3 (27:38):
But that was before this group even got there.
Speaker 4 (27:41):
Like I was on that team, like I know what
goes on in the top in that organization. We're talk
about the Chicago Sky if you guys don't know, but
like it's not yeah, if you guys didn't know, like
there is issues at the top, and you know, some
people are like, yeah, well.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
You are not the first person to say that.
Speaker 4 (28:00):
No, I was on a team we would I've never
been I've never seen a team win a championship and
the players be like, we're let's we don't really know
if we want to run this back or not. That
was what the experience for me was like in Chicago,
Like we won that championship and everybody left. I was like, dang,
(28:23):
we not going to try and one another. The coach
even left.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
You left in the middle of the season. We're here.
Speaker 4 (28:29):
I've never it was so weird, like that championship, that
team was so special, Like the ups and downs of
that season, you know, me getting waves, me being brought
back and like just welcomed back, like I wasn't even
gone for that long. Like it was a very special
group of women on that team. And the fact that
like we won that championship, we were able to like
(28:50):
celebrate for like five minutes and then everybody like went
their separate ways. It was like it was like the
last year of like summer camp before, like you're too
old to being so no more, like you're never going
to see these people again. We're like thanks for the mems.
That's what my season in Chicago was like. Like I remember,
we like won, We had like it was like an
early game, so like the game was over like at
(29:12):
like five or six in the afternoon.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
We like celebrated the championship.
Speaker 4 (29:16):
We had our like parade like a few days later,
and then I personally was in France playing basketball like
a week after that.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
So I was like sometimes I'm like, did that even happen?
For real?
Speaker 4 (29:28):
Was that even real life? Like I didn't even get
to like bask in the championship energy at all? Yeah,
But it was like, dang, Like even now, like that
was like the last year before the w kind of
like started going crazy because the way that like the
Aces were able to like carry on for like six
(29:48):
months after they won that championship, I was like, dang,
I wish we were able to like do that, Like
they were on like TV and at award shows and
like just doing all the stuff. And I was like dang,
like we can get none of that, But none of
the team prior to like twenty twenty three got any
of that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
So it's cool seeing like when you win.
Speaker 4 (30:07):
A championship how much you get to enjoy it and
just kind of like be a champ like until someone
makes you not one, basically because even like the next year,
because the team was basically disbanded, there was like no
title defense going on, like that wasn't the conversation that
was being had like oh the sky going to run
(30:28):
it back because like nobody it wasn't the same team.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
So that kind of made me sad.
Speaker 4 (30:34):
It makes me sad because the skuy haven't been like
we It's so crazy how you go o from winning
a championship to like what they're dealing with now and
that was only three years ago.
Speaker 1 (30:44):
But it's it's obviously it's a like if you're a
if you're gonna get upset at criticism over the team
when the team is as low in the standings as
they are, that's where gonna say, like that's just how it's.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
Gonna be, like they're there.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
If you are in a situation like that, there do
need to be changes, whether that's what they starts in
that person, these people, whatever, whoever it may be. Also,
I feel like reporting in that instance, like irresponsible reporting
on Angel Reese is so dangerous in my opinion, because
(31:24):
people already know how the world feels about her. She's
one of the most polarizing not women's basketball, not basketball
athletes on the planet, like and so to release something
like that, And because when I first heard about it,
about the quote, I didn't even bad Deny because I
was Kobe Bryant fan. I remember Steph Curry when the
(31:44):
Warriors were bad that one year, looking at the Breast
Conference and being like, we suck.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
And there needs to be changes.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
I like legium, like I'm used to that.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
Behavior Asia Wilson what she said a few weeks ago,
so it didn't make me bad any But when I
saw the reaction to what people like, oh, she called
her teammates out, blah blah blah, and then I went
and read.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
It, I was like, this ain't even that bad.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
This is not Michael Irvin bring in a list of
players and yeah, and then they like started dragging like
other teammates into it.
Speaker 4 (32:13):
Like overall, like poor irresponsible reporting. I think the timing
was weird, Like you couldn't waited like one more and
two more weeks to like put that out when the
season is over, Like now, you're just kind of like
throwing salt in a wound.
Speaker 3 (32:33):
Because also keep in mind.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
She's not just talking like what you were just talking
about with your media. They she was asked, what did
you think she was gonna say? They've won what ten games?
Speaker 4 (32:43):
They knew that, they knew exactly what she was gonna say,
and that's what they asked her. So yes, like that,
It's it's a hard lesson that you have to learn
as an athlete, as a role model, as somebody who
you know is considered a star in this in this space,
like she is young, if every everybody always forgets how
young she is. So yes, and she apologized, like I
(33:07):
think it's probably been a very hard week for her
as far as like dealing with a lot of noise,
a hard week for the whole team. You don't want
to hear, you know, it's hard for you to hear
that from your own teammates when you already like you
already know, like we know we're not good, we're not
out of the playoffs, like we've won ten games, like
we've been struggling all year, We've had a lot of adversity,
(33:29):
like we know. So yeah, I'm sure that that's not
something that you want to hear in that moment.
Speaker 3 (33:33):
But it's like she ain't.
Speaker 4 (33:35):
Saying get everybody, get everybody up out of here. I
mean she did say like I might have to get
up out of here, which okay, Like, okay, I want
to get out of my current situation. I'm sure people
want to get out of their current situation, like it's
the reality, you exactly, And she could this team could
very well, like go through the off season and come
back and everyone's a little bit better, a year older,
(33:55):
a year wiser, go get their confidence back, playing in
other leagues, playing overseas, getting healthy, and then you could
have the same roster and have a different result.
Speaker 3 (34:04):
But again, she can say what she wants guys.
Speaker 4 (34:09):
Like, at the end of the day, the problem with
this guy is up here, it's above us, and it's
been that way, like it's been like that. There's a
few organizations where the problem is up here, Okay, Like
that is something that I've learned this year by being
more spec doing more spectating than playing. I've been watching
(34:32):
like decisions transactions being made from people at the top,
and I'm.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
Just like, what what is this? What is going on here?
Speaker 4 (34:42):
Some of these players are being put in very very
poor situations that are it's hard to win. It's very
hard to win in this league. And I said that,
I said that on Gills once and then everyone was like.
Speaker 3 (34:54):
Isn't it hard to win in every league? Yes?
Speaker 4 (34:57):
It is, Yes, it is hard to win in every league,
especially a professional one. That you have to put the
Rubik's cube, the puzzle pieces whatever together, like you could
have all these beautiful, shiny, wonderful pieces, like this is
a beautiful piece. This is a beautiful piece, but if
it don't fit, it's gonna be ugly.
Speaker 3 (35:17):
But the pieces beautiful gowns, beautiful gowns, you.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Know, beautiful gowns.
Speaker 3 (35:21):
But if they don't fit together, it doesn't matter.
Speaker 4 (35:24):
And like that's the art of being a GM and
running a team. And that's why you know, the Minnesota
Links when they had their like dynasty run, like that
was so special to watch. When it was the Links
and the and the Sparks in the finals all the time,
that was so fun to watch. What the Vegas has
been able to do with their organization what the Golden
State Valkyries have done immediately, Like just the basketball junkie
(35:46):
in me, like, I just love seeing when things are
put together the right way, but it also it's not
fun to watch things when they're not put together the
right way.
Speaker 3 (35:54):
But you're like, dang, like I don't that's what you
shouldn't do.
Speaker 4 (35:57):
Like I'm taking notes on what they got going on
over here.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
So if I ever at the opportunity.
Speaker 4 (36:02):
To do something like this, I don't know what to do,
what to not do?
Speaker 3 (36:15):
Do you watch? This is random? Do you watch or
do you do you like Katsi the group the.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
Group from the Gap commercial?
Speaker 3 (36:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (36:24):
And do you like are you like in tune with
like any of like K pop things?
Speaker 3 (36:29):
I'm not.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
I know who they are, I get the lore, I
know like the backstory. I'm not like, oh, I can
like sing all the songs, but I understand what's going on, like.
Speaker 4 (36:40):
I know BGS, I promise God is relevant to basketball. Okay,
So Katsi is a K pop adjacent girl group, right
that was created? And how K pop groups work? Is
I want to I don't know? It might be is
a Korea. I think it's in Korea where K pop's
from Korean. It's like like boy band, girl group, boot
(37:06):
camp military, like they do not play. So Catsie is
the newest group that they created. It's like their first
like global group that comes from this media group called
Hype I want to say So on Netflix. They have
a documentary about it about how they put the group together,
and it was like basically like they brought them to
(37:27):
this academy in LA and they're like, okay, like we're
just gonna like teach y'all like how to be pop
stars and give y'all all the tea and all the information.
And then like a year into it, they're like, JK,
this is a reality show and you're gonna be broadcasting
to the world and get voted off and that's how
we're gonna form the group. So they had them like training,
They like brought a bunch of gros No it's Mariah.
(37:51):
It's nuts, Like it is crazy, like these are like
twenty two and younger, like they're like fifteen to twenty
two year olds, and they like put them in this
house in LA and they're like training and then they
give them these things called missions and they got to
like do choreography and sing and dance, and it's like
this huge production and it's like so they can make
cats Eye essentially, Like that's what the end result was,
(38:13):
was the group Catside, but it started it's.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
Called Dream Academy.
Speaker 4 (38:16):
Yes, anyway, this is relevant to basketball because if I'm
a GM, I'm running my team like a K pop group.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
So if y'all know.
Speaker 4 (38:24):
Anything about K pop, like y'all need to dig, I've
got I've like gotten dragged deep into this K pop world.
Speaker 1 (38:30):
I do know how they like when they're key, do
not start.
Speaker 4 (38:36):
We need in the United States need to pull a
page out of that book and apply it to sports,
because I feel like they might do something similar to that,
like right now with like the tennis, golf, I'm sure
like if kids want to be in entertainment, like you
got to start at a really young age gymnastics, but
like these bigger sports like basketball, football, because of the
(38:57):
money now that you can make so early in college,
like you don't even have to be a professional athlete
to make generational money anymore.
Speaker 3 (39:05):
Like that's amazing.
Speaker 4 (39:07):
But I've been seeing clips everywhere about how they're talking
about like hey, it was destroying basketball and yeah, yeah,
like they're talking about how it's all ruining. I don't
even know what girls AU basketball looks like right now.
The last time I tapped in with it, I was like,
what is going on here?
Speaker 3 (39:24):
So I want I.
Speaker 4 (39:26):
Want K pop principles some of them because some of
the stuff that they do is a little bit wild
and it's.
Speaker 3 (39:31):
Like very like but they don't care.
Speaker 4 (39:32):
They're like, if you want this or you don't, like
you're gonna work hard, You're not gonna work hard, Like
these girls got put through hell. But now Catsy is
like one of the biggest Like the fact that the
group came out at first of all, I had no
idea that this was going on. It was like a lie,
like people like people were like live voting on this whatever.
Speaker 3 (39:49):
So they like document the whole thing. So like seeing what.
Speaker 4 (39:53):
Cat's Eye is now first and then them dropping the
documentary about it, You're like, damn, like this is crazy.
But they know what they're doing because this group came
out of nowhere and now they're everywhere like what they did.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
Like when you're watching it, thing like you're like there's no.
Speaker 4 (40:10):
Way, like this is like the end result of like
all this nonsense that they put these girls through, but
like they knew exactly what they're doing, like that Cat's
Eye group is like they're like the perfect group. But
when you see how they all started, like they gave
them makeovers, they had them like, but you can see
like like they was like aligning them in certain ways,
like they kind of knew who they wanted in the group,
(40:30):
so they kind of like started finessing the system a
little bit to try and like get them closer and closer,
and then eventually they picked the six of them. But
I'm like, if I ever have a team or a
coach and a coach or anything, I'm running this shit
like a K pop group.
Speaker 3 (40:46):
They don't play.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
They work like gen Z were working like the people
back in the day.
Speaker 3 (40:51):
Yes, back in the day. You gonna get what you earn,
and earn what you get.
Speaker 4 (40:55):
Like they do not play. And like there was even
a girl on the group. I think her name is
Adele Adela or something like that. She was great singer,
beautiful girl, great dancer.
Speaker 3 (41:07):
But they're like.
Speaker 4 (41:08):
She's too she's too good at everything, she cannot be
in a group.
Speaker 3 (41:13):
So she got voted off.
Speaker 4 (41:15):
But now she they like gave her like a solo deal,
so like now she's doing like the solo thing. But
the guy who runs the k pop basically he was
just like everybody can't be the best at everything, Like
we can't have six girls who are exceptional singers and
exceptional dancers. It's not gonna work. You gonna have like
a lead singer, you're gonna have the lead dancer. You're
(41:35):
gonna have like there's like like Mariah, there's like so
much exactly. There's like so much lore behind k pop,
Like they have like names for like certain people, like
they have like you have the lead singer, you have
the lead dancer. Then you have like so they have
one one member who's like seventeen or eighteen, and like
they have like a name for that, the young one,
(41:55):
like just the little young, innocent one, like that's a role.
Then you have one that's like just the pretty one
who's like okay at everything, but she's gorgeous.
Speaker 3 (42:02):
Like they have that, like they like they do not play.
Speaker 4 (42:06):
But like they had this mega superstar and they're like,
uh uh, you're too good.
Speaker 3 (42:11):
You gotta go.
Speaker 4 (42:12):
Like they didn't break their bags trying to find five
members to fit her. They found six members that fit
each other, and I feel like that's how teams should
be ran and built just like that, Like, yes, everyone
is super talented in their own way, but do they work?
Speaker 3 (42:26):
Does it work? Does it fit?
Speaker 4 (42:28):
That's why the whole super team thing is does we've
seen it.
Speaker 1 (42:32):
Said building super teams, We're building K pop groups.
Speaker 3 (42:38):
Y'all playing chess checkers.
Speaker 4 (42:39):
I'm playing chess over here, okay, exactly rerunning it.
Speaker 3 (42:43):
My team is gonna be ran like a K pop group.
Speaker 4 (42:47):
But yes, you need to watch that if y'all are
interested in like K pop and just these girls like
work their asses off so like it is. It's really
sad when they start getting voted off because they're like kids,
but like, it's a very interesting thing to see and
if you can like watch it with kind of having
like sports and athletics and at the back of your mind,
it's like super interesting to watch and be like, what
if like sports were ran like this, Like what would
(43:09):
how would sports look like? Anyway, I think my final
thought of the show is it's so interesting that it's
us in the sparks fighting for a lot. The last
spot I was gonna say earlier want to be messy.
I'm like, guys, all year long, I have just been
questioning this move from both parties, and I feel like
(43:33):
I just kind of got stuck in some crossfire of
people wanting to make changes in the careers. So whatever
shit happens. But the fact that like I'm not, not
only am I not playing, we as a team underachieved,
Like that's not shade we have. We're potentially could finish
the season right at five hundred or like rate above
(43:56):
five hundred. The Sparks may miss the playoffs again, like
these are nobody is. Nobody has won really in this situation,
Like I just just this whole year, like I don't
know this. This is not gonna get me in trouble
at this point because like what more can I don't play,
Like there's not really anything that can happen at this point.
(44:18):
Like I thought that maybe gearing up to playoffs, they
would like maybe throw me in as occasionally sometimes, but
like I haven't played in three straight games, and I
mean I want to play tomorrow because I've typically played
well against the Valkyries and the time that I was given,
But you know, I don't I don't foresee any dramatic
changes happening in a game that is like going to
define if we make the postseason for sure or not.
(44:40):
So I don't know, but I've just been thinking about
this a lot in the last few weeks of just
seeing the position that we are in and the Sparks
are in.
Speaker 3 (44:48):
I'm just like, what was the point at this point?
Speaker 4 (44:52):
Like the Sparks could have just waved me and I
could have like figured it out, but instead I got
put into an odd situation where I'm not helping or
hurting the team right now in Seattle, and then the
Sparks are potentially gonna miss the playoffs again. So I'm like,
(45:12):
what Sparks got nothing in return? Basically, the Stormy didn't
get nothing from me because I don't I played. I've
only played in twenty four of the forty four games
this year.
Speaker 3 (45:21):
So wow, I'm like.
Speaker 4 (45:25):
Long term cool, Like my I feel like every few
years I have a season like this and it's like
just adding another year to my career because like my
body longevity. But you know, honestly, I'm shopping up this
season to like me getting like fully healthy and understanding
what my body canning can take throughout a season.
Speaker 3 (45:42):
Dealing with my crones. That's the That's the one.
Speaker 4 (45:45):
Positive thing I'll take out of this season is like,
I feel really good. I feel really healthy, I feel strong,
and I feel like I can like I'm mentally like
I'm mentally in a better place than I was last
season when I started. Even though last season I was playing,
I wasn't really playing well because mentally and physically, I
don't think I was ready to come back when I did.
(46:06):
This year though, I was very ready mentally and physically
to play. But I think there's a bigger purpose here.
When it happens, I'll be like, great, this is why.
But right now currently I'm just kind of like this
tray doesn't make any sense to anybody me the storm Row,
(46:27):
the Sparks, So I'm just like.
Speaker 3 (46:30):
Whatever, whatever.
Speaker 4 (46:32):
But the fact that we could be the team that
knocks them out of the playoffs run kind of makeshy No.
Speaker 1 (46:38):
You need that that needs need that need that that
has happen.
Speaker 4 (46:42):
Even though I love my girls that are on the
Sparks still like they know I love them, especially the Erica,
like that's my girl for life. But I'm like, y'all gotta,
y'all gotta sit this one out please.
Speaker 3 (46:54):
Any of them would feel the exact same way.
Speaker 4 (46:57):
Yeah, So I just thought that was just something that
was on my min like earlier today, and I.
Speaker 3 (47:02):
Was just like, I can't.
Speaker 4 (47:04):
Like after I saw the fever clinch the thing and
it was us two left, I was like, what are
the odds that, like this is how it all shook out?
Speaker 1 (47:12):
Like I thought the same exact thing, and I was like,
let me not say all that.
Speaker 3 (47:15):
But how weird. It's just life be life for y'all.
Speaker 4 (47:20):
Okay, I said thirty minutes today and here we are
again at an hour.
Speaker 3 (47:27):
Again.
Speaker 4 (47:28):
By the time this episode drops, we will be in
the playoffs or waiting to see what happens. Hopefully we
get this w tomorrow and next week I can fill
y'all in on playoff energy and thoughts and vibes. But
until then, thanks for kicking with us again this week
on an episode of Full Circle.
Speaker 3 (47:48):
We will see y'all next week.
Speaker 1 (47:49):
Bye, y'all, Thanks for listening to Full Circle. We'll be
back next week with more basketball for the girls.
Speaker 3 (47:56):
By the girls.
Speaker 2 (47:57):
We want to hear from you.
Speaker 1 (47:58):
Leave us a review on Apple Podcast 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 Fuz. Our
producer is Zoe Danklab. Listen to Full Circle on America's
number one podcast network, iHeart Open your Free iHeart app
and search Full Circle with Lexi Brown and Mariah Rose
(48:20):
and start listening
Hosts And Creators
Lexie Brown
Mariah Rose
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