June 25, 2025 • 43 mins
On this episode of Full Circle, Lexie Brown and Mariah Rose explain how All-Star voting works and Lexie makes a case for her 3 nominations from the Seattle Storm. They discuss how the Valkyries became the expansion team blueprint, what makes the Mercury so dangerous, and look forward to new east-west matchups coming out of the Commissioner’s Cup. They also check-in on the league’s rookies and give their ROTY picks.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Full Circle is an iheartwoman's sports production and partnership with
Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Hello, everybody, Welcome to another episode of Full Circle Podcast.
I am Lexie Brown here with my girl Mariah Rose,
fresh off of her European trip to hit No, France.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
What part of friend? Where where was you at now? Like?
I can't keep up with you? Can I? Girl? How
was it all over the place? It looked amazing? I was.
I was enjoying all of the content.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
It was beautiful.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
It was hot outside, hot, but it was gorgeous and
it was a special experience.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
I felt really blessed to be there.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
I love that you were on a panel.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Right, yes, yes, girl, Yeah, guys, Mariah goes to do
work things, right, she does fun things, but she also
is booked and busy globally.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Okay, Like, let's let's let's keep that in mind. How
amazing that is.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
I'm so jealous, but I'm so happy that you got
to have that experience because your ones are my wins.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
Thank you, queen, go girl? How are you you know?
Speaker 2 (01:22):
I'm okay I'm not gonna lie to y'all and say
that I'm doing great. I as once this episode drops,
you guys will see that I did not play in
tonight's game against the Fever. I underwent a procedure yesterday,
which was Monday, some crones related things. I will go
a little bit more into detail on my TikTok if
y'all care, But if anybody that has been keeping up
(01:43):
knows that I've been dealing with this for the last
few years.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
And it hasn't been easy.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
And it's now I'm in a new city, new team,
new doctors, new everything. So just figuring that out something
that I just wanted to get ahead of because the
last time I didn't get ahead of something, it spiraled
into something really, really horrible.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
So we just wanted to prevent that. And yeah, I mean,
I'm feeling.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Okay sick that I'm not able to play in our
game tonight, but I will be there supporting and sharing
them on.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
So yeah, but the show must go on.
Speaker 4 (02:16):
Right of course, Lexi. We're praying for you and we.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Love you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
I mean, this is something that keeps me locked in
for sure, Like this is literally a Basket women's basketball show,
and I'm a women's basketball player, so this is like
the most locked in thing I could probably do despite
not playing.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
So having these conversations.
Speaker 4 (02:36):
Your life is women's basketball.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
Yeah, like hikey, not even low key hike.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
So being able to have this show and hop on
here and talk about the w and everything's going on
is something that I really love to do, and it's
keeping me locked in and motivated and ultimately like busy
and happy because this is something I'm really passionate about
and I love doing. So I'm glad that we have
this together, and I'm glad I have you here supporting
me and doing this and building this with me. So Okay,
(03:04):
sorry to get all sappy. Of course, of course I'm
excited for today.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Yeah, me too.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Okay, So let's get into it. We are one third
of the season checked. You know, last episode we were
talking about Q one. What are some things that you've
been noticing, Riah during this first what thirteen fourteen games?
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Well, I feel like everyone's been adjusting to the beginning
of the season, but we're at a point where we're
starting to really see who teams are, including your team,
the Seattle Storm heating up, y'all went three and zero
behind Mekka going three straight games scoring twenty five plus
and shooting seventy one percent. And fun fact, the Seattle
(03:47):
Storm are seven to zero when Necka scores above twenty points,
so her impact is super important. Six wins in your
last seven games and definitely a legit playoff threat if
Neka can stay healthy and consistent. Lexi, what have you
been peeping?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
You know, it's funny that you mentioned that about her
twenty point plus scoring because we literally have said that
in the locker room.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
We're like, nek well, you score twenty voys, we.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Not lose it, Like that's something that we all understand
as a team. And then a shout out to her
for winning Western Conference Player of the Week, something that
she absolutely deserves with those stats and numbers that you
just said. You know, I'm just gonna use this time
to give an all star breakdown why my team should
have multiple All Stars, and that's all we're gonna talk about,
(04:34):
because I know we've won three games in a row.
It's amazing, six out of our last seven, which is
also amazing, But I really just want to take this
moment to talk about three of my teammates that I
feel like should be All Stars this season, starting with Neka.
She is thirteenth in the league and scoring, seventh and rebounding.
Skyler is eleventh in the league in scoring and fourth
(04:56):
and assists, and my dark horse for All Star even
though she shouldn't be a guitark course, but when you
look at her numbers, they might not be like I
popping like Skyler and Ekkas is Gabby. She's twenty six
in scoring, but she does so many things for our
team that you don't see on the stat sheet. Our
defense is night and day when she's on the court
(05:18):
versus off the court. And she said back to back
double doubles, so one her first double double was points
and rebounds and her most recent double double was points
and assists. So Gabby is on the hunt for a
triple double. I feel like she's gonna get one this season.
We'll see if she can do it. She's absolutely capable
of it, and she's actually a forward I think an
(05:40):
All Star voting. Not sure if that helps her or
hurts her when it comes to the voting, which we
will get into later. Since there's been a lot of
conversation about how All Star voting works. But for the
Storm talk today because I know this is a very
pro Seattle Storm show in a pro Atlanta Dreamstorm, that's
the Maritz team. I just wanted to take a moment
(06:03):
to give a little All Star spiel and I need
our Seattle Storm fans, our Neca fans, our Skylar fans,
our Gabby fans to go vote for them, like y'all
are in control of this right now. For the starters
are the fans. So I need y'all to get on
your little tap tap machines, your iPads, your computers, tap
tap machines and go vote, like especially on the days
(06:26):
that our double days, triple days, whatever days. But we
are definitely trending in the right direction, and it's been
a really fun journey to be a part of just
seeing the ebbs and flows of a season like so
early for us and us you know, getting a little
bit better every day, a little bit better every game.
So we're definitely heading in the right direction. I still
(06:47):
think we have more to give, but it's still very early,
So shout out to the Storm.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
It's been It's been a lot already and we're only
a third of the way through the season, so I'm
just excited to see what's up next for us.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Well, I'm looking forward to that Fever game. I'm looking
forward to what y'all have coming up. We're wondering if
you guys can keep it rolling against Indiana, Connecticut and
Golden State this week.
Speaker 4 (07:11):
And speaking of Golden State, the.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
Golden State Valkyries have become the expansion team blueprint. They
are now the most valuable team and the newest WNBA team.
The Golden State Valkyries are valued at five hundred million
dollars by Sportico. They're tied to the Golden State Warriors,
which are the NBA's most valuable team, and they share
an arena with them, and they became the first WNBA
(07:36):
team to hit ten thousand season tickets sold in their
first ever season, and the sportco estimates that the Golden
State Valkyries will bring in more than seventy million dollars
in revenue in twenty twenty five, which will more than
double what any WNBA team made in twenty twenty four.
To talk about what's happening with them on the court,
they're sitting at seven and six, already out performing.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
Most past expansion team.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
They're five and two at home at the Chase Center,
and this week they have a pretty big stretch against
the Liberty, the Sky and the Storm. So Lexi, what
are you thinking about the Valkyries Man?
Speaker 2 (08:14):
When I watched them play and even when we when
we played them in Golden State, which this week we're
gonna get our get back when we go back there,
they just look like they have a lot of fun.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Like I'll just I.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Look at them sometimes and I'm like, they just are
They just are playing so loose, they play free, and
they just look like they're having a lot of fun,
and that goes a long way in the professional sports room.
I think it's a very underrated thing when you're just
able to play free like that. They've won four out
of their last five.
Speaker 4 (08:45):
Well, there's not one singular star.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Exactly, but I will say if they were to have
to pinpoint a singular star, it would be Kayla Thornton.
And I do think that she will get She will
be an All Star this year. I feel like your
playoff team, you're in playoff contention. She's averaging fifteen points
and seven rebounds, Like those are all star numbers if
(09:09):
you ask anybody, and you're on a playoff team, you're
on an expansion team which had pretty much zero expectations.
They had very low expectations, and they're surpassing them. And
you have to have a really good leader to do that,
and I think Kylea Thorn has taken that role and
she has definitely thrived in it. I think people forget
that she was a dog in Dallas, like she was
(09:31):
a problem in Dallas. She would have got her a
championship with the Liberty, But this is the Kayla Thorn
that us as players are already very familiar with. So
I'm just really happy that she's getting her opportunity. They're
leading the league in attendance and it's probably not even close.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
And I read.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Somewhere that they have over fifty million dollars projected revenue,
not including media, merch and other things, which I think
is like insane.
Speaker 4 (09:57):
Like seventy million total.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Yeah, like and that's crazy.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
What's it like as a player seeing the numbers as
far as revenue and everything is concerned, because that's what
people always pend point when they're criticizing the WNBA or
WNBA players. What's it like as a player seeing not
only the attendants grow or the fans grow online, but
the numbers, like the numbers behind it are showing that
the league is growing and bringing in money.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Yeah, I mean, I think the argument I always have
with people is that it's not about the revenue all
the time. Sometimes it's about the investment that you put
into these organizations and teams and then the revenue will come.
So seeing the Valkyries have so much energy and money
and support put in and pour it into them from
day one, like that makes.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Such a big difference.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
A lot of these other expansion teams were teams that
were discarded from their previous city, all like, we didn't
want this team here, so we're just going to put
them on in this city. This city was like they
work their asses off to bring a team to Golden State.
So even having that energy is completely different from any
other expansion team that we've seen that I've seen, and
(11:07):
it makes a difference, and it's it's really exciting. And
like you said, it's the blueprint and we have two
more teams coming, so I'm hoping that they come with
the same energy because now the standard is up here,
the standard is high, So I want to shout out
to Golden State organization.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
They've done such a great job in year one.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
This is I was expecting big things, but they have
definitely surpassed all of my expectations as far as an organization.
Like I knew that we didn't say like they were
contenders or anything like that, but I knew that they
were going to be better than what everybody thought. But
you know, they're the way that the organization has been run,
how they're present, they're promoting their players on socials, how
(11:44):
they talk about each other, how they talk about the
team and everything like that. Like it this is something
that we've never seen before, and it's showing in their play.
So it's just it's really exciting to see. It's like
a really exciting time for women's sports, despite you know,
some of the noise that we hear about it, Like
these are the moments and these are the things that
should be celebrated.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
I read that the owners paid a fifty million dollar
expansion fee and for the team to be valued at
five hundred million dollars in their first season.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
I mean they their investment.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Podcast change It works if you're investing in your teams,
it works.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
Yeah, in one year not even a year.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Like, yes, it works, it absolutely works. So I'm excited
to go back there because it was fun playing in there.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Well, let's talk about another team that's on a hot streak.
Why does it feel I.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
Will because we played the episode. But it feels like
everything is so positive.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Everybody's on Does it feel like everybody's on a good
because that's what this show was about, right, We're talking
about all the positive things right now.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Okay, this is Good ViBe's only episode. Guys, Okay, if
you haven't notice.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Heymen, let's talk about the Mercury Rising. They're on a
five game win streak, which is their longest since twenty
twenty one. They scored one hundred and seven points versus
the Chicago Sky and a franchise record of seventeen threes.
They are fully healthy, clicking offensively, but they have some
big tests against the Liberty and the Aces coming up.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
We've said this in our preseason like they have the
three headed snake of at Satu and Ka, how are
the rest of the pieces gonna fit? This is the
most beautifully constructed roster I think I've seen in the
w in a long time, especially considering that they have
six rookies on their team, which is incredible. The next
(13:41):
team with the highest are Dallas and Connecticut tied with four.
But the fact that they are playing this way with
six rookies, which is half of their roster guys, maybe
even over half the roster if they are carrying in
eleven players. Like the things that they're doing, the way
that they're playing, moving the ball, shooting the ball. Satu
(14:02):
At and Ka are playing very well together. I wasn't
sure how they were gonna be able to play together
on the court because all three of them are like
historically pretty ball dominant, and that's not a bad thing.
So it was just figuring out who was gonna get
their shots where, and they're figuring it out like very seamlessly.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
Even adding cod to the mix.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
As of late, she is just like slid right into
the rotation and they have not missed a beat.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
They've actually gotten better.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Satu and At are leading the way saw Tou averaging
nineteen points, eight rebounds, At averaging fourteen points, seven rebounds,
and nine assists, which is incredible.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
The scariest thing.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
About the Mercury is that you can you have three
very reliable stars for the most part, and if it's
not all three, it's definitely going to be two of them.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
They're supporting cast, which is included in their starting lineup,
and coming off the.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Bench, they probably have I have the highest scoring bench
in the league. I tried to find that number today
and I couldn't find it. But I'm going to assume
that they have one of the highest, if not the
highest bench scoring. In their last five games, they've had,
you know, their normal stars Atsatu and Ka, but every
other game a different person has stepped up to be
that fourth option. When they played Dallas, Laksa fourteen points.
(15:23):
When they played Vegas, Sammy woodcomb eighteen when they played Connecticut,
held in Blaksa combined for twenty five. When they played
New York, Makhanie had twenty one. Like at any given night,
somebody on their supporting cast is going to rise to
the occasion and be a problem. And that's what makes
the Mercury so dangerous. We felt it game one when
(15:45):
they whooped our ass in Phoenix, and we were like, oh,
they're legit right now. And now they're just continuing to
get better and better and better. And again, the six
rookies on the team and them playing at this level
is super impressive, and it's been really cool to see them,
like gel the way that they're gelling with injuries, not injuries,
(16:05):
people in the lineup, out the lineup. They're doing a
really good job over there in Phoenix, not Gonnayy, not
gonna iy.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
It's really nice to see people clicking and to see
so much parody. That's my favorite way to watch. It's
like when you don't really know who. Obviously there are
the heavier hitters and like teams that are ahead in
a way.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
But it feels like there's this parody, like when it
comes to playoff time.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
No, absolutely, on a good any given day, it could
be somebody's good day and you never know.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
I mean, I think there are teams that are separating
themselves from the rest of the pack.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
There's only six teams over five hundred right now, so
I don't know if that's a good thing or a
bad thing, but that's not a lot of teams that are.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
Over that have won more than half of their games.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Minnesota is the only team that's undefeated at home. But
I'm really excited for this next month of games because
now that Commissioner's Cup is we're going to see more
East West matchups that we haven't seen yet. Like we're
about to go on the East Coast road trip very soon.
So I'm excited to see new teams play each other
because I feel like a lot of teams have played
(17:12):
each other multiple times. So I'm really interested to see
some new matchups, some new games. You know, things have
been getting a little spicy out there, so I'm really
excited to see, you know, that carryover to other games,
and you know it's because you know, you see the
safe people all the time. You're like, damn, I'm sick
of y'all. Can we play someone else?
Speaker 3 (17:31):
Like that's what's going on.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
So it's gonna be nice to see some new groups
of games because I really do feel like a lot
of teams have played each other a thousand times, and
that's what happens, Like we see it in the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
You play a team five.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Straight times, some shit might pop off, right, So like
that's what we're seeing right now in our season. We're like, damn,
like we haven't like, can we can we play some
new people?
Speaker 3 (17:55):
Please?
Speaker 2 (17:55):
So I'm excited to play the Fever. I'm excited to
go to the East Coast. We come to Atlanta soon,
Mariah Girl. Yeah, we get to go play in New York.
We get to see Connecticut this week. So I'm excited
to see some new faces for sure, get some good
bump show.
Speaker 4 (18:13):
Yeah, I need to go get my tickets.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Speaking of new faces, let's talk about these rookies. So, Lexi,
I'm curious who your pick for Rookie of the Year is.
Speaker 4 (18:23):
What you're noticing from the rookies this year.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
We gave the rookies a lot of love prior to
the season, starting in our preseason episode because we were
talking about how a lot of them are in situations
where it's low stakes so they get to shine. And
there's no better picture of that than Pagebackers. Right now,
she's leading the rookies in scoring and assis. She scored
twenty plus points in her last three games. She's top
(18:47):
twelve in the league in.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
Scoring period, page which is crazy. It is crazy.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
So she's really found her aggression in her stride. You
got Sonia Citron from the Mystics doing historic stat lines.
Speaker 4 (19:00):
That have only been matched by WNBA legends.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
And then we've talked about Kiki Eriefn already from the
Mystics their first rookie of the month. I believe that
we already mentioned that. But she's had some very rare
rookie stat combos and a major impact already as a starter,
which is crazy. So Laxie, what are you noticing as
far as the rookies are concerned.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
I mean, like you said, they're all in very low
stakes environments and that's kind of like the best place
to be as a rookie, somewhere where you can learn,
somewhere you can grow and just become that leader. You
see it With Page we talked about a few episodes
ago how they needed her to be a more aggressive
score and that's exactly what she's doing.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
She's definitely becoming that. I think she just needed to
get comfortable, like it's her first it's her first professional season,
like it was going to take her some time. But
for her to bounce back the way that she has after.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Being out with an injury and then an illness, like,
it's super impressive for someone that young.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
Being twelve in the league in scoring not a surprise.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
I've always thought she was a super well balanced score
three level score and a very high IQ level score,
So I still think it's Page Rookie of the Year
award to lose at this moment in time.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Dallas probably will need to win a little bit more
for her to like completely run away with it, but
I think they'll be able to do that. I don't
foresee them continuing on this like downward spiral they're on,
especially with the trajectory of Page and Arique, They're kind
of finding their cadence together. So I'm hoping for the
best for the Dallas Wings because I do want Page
(20:34):
to have a rookie season that she can look back
on and be proud of. I think whether they win
a lot of games or not.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Like she should still feel that way, but having some
wins will definitely help her in that regard. I know
we said Kiki was her closest calm, but Sonya is
creeping up, like she has now passed Kiki in scoring.
She's averaging fifteen points, five rebounds, shooting forty nine percent
from the fieldy seven percent from the three. So Sonya
(21:03):
is having a very incredible rookie campaign as well. So
I mean, I think between her and Kiki on that
Mystics team, Kiki averaging thirteen and nine, shooting fifty percent
from the field. It's like one A, one B when
it comes to you know, rookies, but at the end
of the day, they're chasing page.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
So well, I want to ask you, do you feel
like okay, because Caitlin Clark had an anomaly of a
rookie season outside of all of the stuff that everybody
talks about with her popularity and whatnot and coming off
of her college career, but as a WNBA player, her
rookie experience was Rookie of the Year playoffs, like very
(21:43):
very high stakes. She didn't come into a super low
stakes sort of situation. I'm not sure if she made
it high stakes or or if she just came I mean,
they had a.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Number one pick, right, No, but you're absolutely right, Like
when you frame it that way, like it was literally
like playoffs or bust for her like right, for whatever reason,
but because that seemed like you said they had been
stacking number one picks, it was just like it's a
matter of time y'all utilize all this talent that you
guys have been stockpiling for years.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
So you're absolutely right.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
I never thought about that, Like we're talking about how
low stakes of environment this rookie class has.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
And last year it was.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Like, if y'all don't make it to the playoffs, like
this was a waste of season.
Speaker 4 (22:23):
And they did, and Caitlyn sets the bar.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Y and so many exactly she kept sets the bar
high in so many areas. But I think the expectation
of a rookie that bar has been sat very high
by Caitlyn, especially since she brought a lot of new
fans in that now were like, well, Kaitlyn Clark won
Rookie of the Year and went to the playoffs and
this not and let the league assists and did all
of these crazy things that are pretty abnormal for rookie
(22:49):
like Pages experience. I think there's a lot of fans
coming in, Like my sister's one of them who like
watches every Page game and she's like sick of the
Wings losing, and I'm like, this is what a rookies
experience should be.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
Like the number one like this is one another.
Speaker 4 (23:03):
They don't get the number one pick by winning the championship.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
The number one pick team is not exactly and not
saying that like they are like the worst team ever,
but like that's typically how it goes like you are
the number one pick and the bad teams get the
better rookies, Like that's the reality of the situation. But
when Kitlin came in last year, they were like, if
y'all don't made the playoffs, everybody gotta go, Like it
(23:29):
was crazy. But they rose to the occasion and made
a crazy playoff push for the second in the second
half of the season, because the first half of the
season did not start very good, Like they struggled for
a little bit. They came out of All Star breaks swinging.
They really turned a corner after All Star Break, And
that's what I feel like could happen with the Dallas
Wings as well, Like you need time to grow, especially
(23:50):
with the rookie leading the way.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
They're new to this league.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
They're new to the pace, they're new to the physicality,
the traveling is different, the cadence of games. They're playing
way more games and a shorter amount of time.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
Like there's a lot of things that are different from
the college game to the programe. So I mean, these
last these last two rookie classes have been so impressive
to me, and I think I hope everybody is impressed
by all of them. Like top to bottom, like we
can get into more of the rookies.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
We talk about Page, Sonya and Kiki a lot, but
I mentioned a Cola mccannie who plays for Phoenix, like
she's having a great rookie season. We've mentioned Lexi Held
who's also on Phoenix. One rookie that we got to
give a little up to is Papou Like bench scoring
seven points, shoot a fifty seven percent from three. She's
leading the league right now in three point percentage. So
(24:39):
PopOut and Ali and I, who plays for Vegas. I
think those two are the steals of the draft because
they're both coming in and making immediate impacts on their teams.
You know, Vegas is going through what they're going through,
but that doesn't take away from Hallie and I is
playing like it's very impressive. We just played them, and
her shot is quick, she can defend, she can rebound like.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
She's a really great WNBA player, as so is Palpal.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
So seeing these rookies come in and being you know,
instantly utilized is something that I love to see because
you know, when I was.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
A rookie, I didn't get utilized at all.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
So being able to see these rookies come in and
be able to play to their strengths and have their
teammates have confidence in them, have their coaches have confidence
in them.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
Like, that's something that's super amazing.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
I'm glad you mentioned the confidence, yeah, because that's what
I was going to bring up. That's it takes a
lot of confidence to come into a new space as
a rookie and take over like that, or to make
your mark, or to play your game that you were
playing in college or that we might know you from.
On top of that, with players like Page or Key
Key or all of them, like they're in a new
social media type of era. The Page came off of
(25:45):
a whole press tour going into the season. She didn't
get to rest at all before becoming a WNBA player.
They're getting comments and all of this attention. They've got
a lot going on for such young people. And I'm
glad that you guys as vets, as teammates. It seems
to be that from hearing your stories or other WNBA
players that I've spoken to in interviews and whatnot, the
(26:06):
stories of like y'all kind of got hazed or like
ignored a little bit. I'd be like y'all are really
bringing these rookies in and like, come on, Auntie's.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
Baby, come on, come on.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
I mean, I want to say, are I mean our
rookie dom Like she's not really getting the minutes that
she probably was expecting or that anybody was expecting. But
I'm watching her every day improve and get better. And
I love being on the court with her, Like I've
never played with somebody that is like her before, and
she's literally nineteen years old, so her coming over here
and going through this process.
Speaker 4 (26:38):
I'm so excited to see her star getting minutes. I'm
so excited about.
Speaker 3 (26:42):
Me too, and like I'm so impressed. I'm so impressed
with her.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Like I just thought, I think of like myself at nineteen,
and I'm like, I would never be able to do this,
like especially being away from home.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
And then I think.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
Gabby has done such a good job of just making
sure that she feels comfortable and feels like she has someone.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
In her cour in her at all times.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
But I mean, I think our whole team has done
a really good job of making her feel comfortable.
Speaker 3 (27:04):
And I know it's.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Probably not easy for her, you know, making this transition
and not probably getting on the floor as much as
she wants. But like I said, I see her improving
every day and her.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
Time is gonna come.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Like she's a baby, like she has more than enough time.
But I think everybody is really excited to see her
get major minutes. And if that comes this season, cool,
If it doesn't, you know, that's fine too. That's just
like the reality of how deep our team is in Seattle.
But I mean, even though she's not in the running
for Rookie of the Year at the moment, I do
want to shout out don because I see her every
(27:36):
day putting the work in and I see her every
day learning and getting better and learning how to be
a pro in the WNBA.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
So I just want to give her a little shout out.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
And she's in a high stake situation, so she's gonna
learn so much. Yeah, Like she's in a we are
going to the playoff type of situation, like we are
not playing, you know, so she doesn't get to just
like who figure it out.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
Also, she's in the situation of you gonna dunk in
a game, and how many players have that expectation?
Speaker 3 (28:05):
Girl? Wait, what are you going dunk? To see her? Get?
You go dunk.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
Like how many girls get asked that? Like nobody gets
asked that, Like when you gonna dunk?
Speaker 4 (28:15):
She and her and BG need to have like a
a red tabletop.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Free They need to have a free game dunk contest.
Now Dom doesn't one handed dunk. She does it in
our warm up line.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
She does it before we run to the benches before
the game.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
Like she does it very easily. So when that happens
in a game, I'm gonna lose my shit, Like, don't
let me be actually in the game when that happens,
Like it's over it, Like call the time out please,
because I'm gonna be like running laps around the court.
Like when that end game dunk happens, Like we are
so excited for like last game, we thought she was
(28:49):
gonna do it, but it's like we're like she's just
got in the game.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
Like we're like, you've been sitting You're getting the game.
Speaker 4 (28:55):
Dunk dump dunk dunk.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
She's like, guys, I can't just go and do so
shout out to Dom.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
She's doing great, everybody. I know you guys.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
I know a lot of people want to see her
on the court more, but her time is coming. Okay,
just know that she's working her ass off and when
she gets her opportunity, she's going to be amazing.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
We can't wait. So let's talk about All Star.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Because I'm on the edge of my seat since we
tease it a little bit at the beginning.
Speaker 3 (29:29):
So I'm going to give a little bit of an overview.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
And then we're going to talk about our picks, who
we want to vote for, those kind of things. But
for the fans that don't know, first I'll explain how
voting works. So if you haven't voted yet.
Speaker 3 (29:41):
Go do that, please please.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
But the voting, Okay, so you make your All Star vote.
You'll see WNBA dot com. Make your account, go vote.
But the voting is fifty percent the fan vote, twenty
five percent, players twenty five percent media. Those votes compiled
count to vote towards players that make the team.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
Okay, just the starters, yes, yes, just the starters, guys, Yes,
that's just.
Speaker 4 (30:07):
For the starters.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
The top four guards and the top six front court
players with the best weighted average becomes starters. Meanwhile, the
coaches then select the twelve reserves, and they cannot vote
for their own players. So the fan, media, players vote
counts for the starters, the top four guards, and the
(30:29):
top six front court players, and then the rest are
selected by WNBA coaches. And it's fair because they can't
vote for their own players.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
Yes, okay, guys, do you understand? Yes?
Speaker 4 (30:39):
Please?
Speaker 3 (30:40):
There's been a lot of back.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
And forth about the selection process, and I'm like, yes,
are y'all new here? Yes, yes, y'all are new here.
The NBA does their voting the exact same way the fans.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
Yes, All Star Weekend.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
Is for the fans, so of course their vote does matter,
because if it wasn't for the fans, all Star weekend
when it exists, because what is the point there's no fans.
Speaker 4 (31:03):
We're tuning, going to watch what the fans want to say.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Well, that's why there's a there's like a weighted average
for a reason, like the fans need to feel like
they are part of the selection process because All Star
Weekend is for fans. So if y'all are not happy
with the fan voting, then go vote some more for
your faves.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
Is right?
Speaker 4 (31:23):
There are some double there are some double voting.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Yeah, there's like a very there's like a very simple
and easy way to fix that.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
If you're not happy with the votes.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
If y'all are voting for Love Island and you have
voted for your WNBA All Stars, I don't want to
see your tweets complain.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
I don't want to see yours come out.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
I don't want to see your I don't want to
see your complaints about anything.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
A little bit of an overview of how the voting
is going, slash what the weekend entails. It'll be hosted
this year in Indianapolis by the Indiana Fever July eighteenth
and nineteenth. We've got the Skills Challenge and the three
Point Contest on Friday, and then the All Star Game
will happen on Saturday, which is what you guys are
voting for. The rosters for the fan voting opened earlier
this month and it closes this week. I believe when
(32:08):
this episode comes out, you'll have three more days. And
the first returns just dropped. So far, Caitlin Clark leads
the way with all players with five hundred and fifteen thousand,
nine hundred and thirty three votes, followed by the Fista
Collier with four hundred and eighty four thousand, nine hundred
and fifty eight votes. That is literally so many. But
that means that these two will serve as captains for
(32:29):
the All Star Draft July eighth, ahead of the game
in Indianapolis. And I just want to put in perspective
how much the league has grown, because this made me
like want to cry earlier reading it. In twenty twenty three,
the entire first round of votes had four hundred and
twenty two thousand votes. Okay, this year, Caitlyn Clark and
the Feasta Collier alone have more than that.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Let's clap it up, everybody, Let's clap it up.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
Let's clap Kalla McBride is ranked fortieth this year with
forty four thousand votes, which means she would have voting
in twenty twenty three.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
Even compared to Clark's own rookie year, her first round
vote total has more than doubled from two hundred and
sixteen thousand and twenty twenty four to five hundred and
fifteen thousand and twenty twenty.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
That's incredible.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
That is really incredible, And I'm glad you put it
in perspective that way, because again, things like this need
to be celebrated. I don't care who your favorite players are,
who you like, who you don't like. When you see
numbers like this, you can't not be happy for the
league as a whole, because that means that there's massive
growth going on.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
And that's what.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
We've been wanting and begging for and asking for and
playing our asses off for. Is this growth that we're
seeing right now, and to have the numbers to back
it up with these fan voting things is amazing. Y'all
could be bad as y'all want, but the Indiana Fever fans,
they show up and show out like I know they're probably, oh,
(33:58):
they went not in decided because they're hosting like it's
going to be very pro Indiana Fever atmosphere in there,
which I guess like it should be like that you're
hosting the city, you're the hosting city.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
The same thing happened with the Golden State Warriors in
San Francis. Buddy Healed was in the three point contest.
That wouldn't happen anywhere else.
Speaker 3 (34:19):
Like, no, this is true.
Speaker 2 (34:21):
Four Fever players are on the top ten, Caitlyn Clark
at one, Eliah Boston third, Kelsey Mitchell seventh, and Lexi
Hole at nine. So if y'all want anybody on your
favorite team to make this list doesn't mean that they're
going to be an All Star, but as a player,
it probably feels amazing to see your name on that
(34:44):
list for the fan voting, Like we can be happy
for them for that, even though you can think that
they should be an All Star or amazar. But I'm like,
how amazing was it probably for Lexi Hole to wake
up and be like, oh, I'm top ten and fan
voting for All Star because she works hard, She's in
the WNBA for a reason, Like that's if she wants.
Speaker 3 (35:05):
If her fans want to put her in.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
The All Star Game, then they have every right to
do that, and she has every right to be happy
for her, and it's beautiful and everyone else should be
happy for her as well, Like, I don't know why
that's so hard for people to do.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
Caitlyn Clark is bringing a lot of fans to the
league and she's doing incredible and she deserves it because
she's an amazing player. We just talked about her rookie
year and how high stakes it was and how she
lived up to.
Speaker 4 (35:25):
All of those expectations.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
But I think it's important to put in perspective that
the growth of the league. Outside of her, it has
just like spread to everyone on her team, like her teammates,
Like you said, Luxy Hole getting to see her her
name in top ten All Star voting, Fee getting double
the votes that there were in twenty twenty three total.
Like everybody is really rising right now, and it's just
(35:49):
so special to see and shout out the Fee being second.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
Yeah, shout out, hey, she's that girl. She is And
I was.
Speaker 2 (35:56):
Just like everybody across the league, like you said, is elevating,
whether that's on the court, off the court, Like there
are hobbies outside of basketball.
Speaker 3 (36:08):
What they're doing in the community.
Speaker 2 (36:10):
Like there's so many positive things that everybody is doing
that is outside of the realms of a forty minute game.
And I think that needs to be appreciated more. That
needs to be celebrated more, and that needs to be
embraced more, because there is so many layers to being
in a professional athlete outside of showing up for games
and playing at a high level three to four times
(36:32):
a week. Like that is obviously a very important thing,
but for athletes, sometimes things that go on in the
game are absolutely outside of your control.
Speaker 3 (36:41):
But how do you show up every day as your
best self, how do you show up to be a
good teammate, how do you show up to be a
good role model, how do you show up to.
Speaker 2 (36:48):
Be a good member of the community. Like, those are
things that we can control. So I think everything that's
going on in the league right now, even though some
of it is a little messy, some of it can
be a little spicy, overall, the league is growing and
that's like exactly what we need, especially heading into these
CBA negotiations, which actually we could talk about that briefly
(37:09):
because there's been a lot of messaging out as of
late about the CBA negotiations.
Speaker 3 (37:15):
And we had our whole episode with Terry, who's the
head of our players Association.
Speaker 2 (37:19):
So if you guys want to go take a deep
dive into what the CBA is, what our renegotiation period is,
all that kind of stuff, y'all can go tune into
that episode that we did months ago called Power to
the Players.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
It was an amazing episode. I'm so glad that we
did it.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
But some of the messaging that you guys have been seeing,
I will like summarize it simply to this is that
our salaries do not rise with the revenue of the league,
and that's as.
Speaker 3 (37:50):
Simple as I can put it.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
Our Players Association Instagram has it all broken down in
more detail. Like I said, we already went into this
our episode with Harry, But at the end of the day,
what we want as players is our salaries to rise
with the value of the league. So one of our
biggest issues right now is just having that really hard
(38:12):
salary cap that does not move. Whether the league makes
one hundred million dollars more or fifty million dollars more,
it doesn't matter. Our salary cap is our salary cap,
and that's something that we are really fighting hard on.
Is something we want a bigger share of the pie,
and we want to be able to grow.
Speaker 3 (38:31):
With the league.
Speaker 2 (38:31):
And I think that's something that is really important for
people to understand. And I think it's also important to
just keep it in the realms of like the WNBA.
I know that there's always like, well, the men do
it this way, the men do it that way. But
then I think when you bring that into the conversation
and the conversation goes somewhere else that has nothing to
do with what we're asking for.
Speaker 3 (38:50):
What we want. We want our salaries to grow the
same way the league is growing.
Speaker 2 (38:55):
So again, y'all want to hear more about the CBA,
go tune into our episode, head to the players Association
Instagram website. There's so much messaging out right now. A
lot of players have been sharing, there's been interviews about it.
So if you guys really genuinely care, there's so much
information out. If you want to support us, keep showing
up to games by league, pass by jerseys by merch,
(39:17):
go eat at the games, bring your friends, drink, have
a blast. Okay, do everything that you want. Just bring
your ass to the games. Okay, that's my CBA talk.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
One thing I want to highlight that I learned from
our episode with Terry is that comparing the WCBA to
other leagues is harmful because part of the issue, and
part of the things that you guys are still trying
to address about the CBA is the fact that at
the beginning of the league, it was just a copy
and paste of the men's leagues CBA, and it is.
Speaker 4 (39:50):
A completely different league.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Because it's a completely different game, and because you guys
are women, there are things in the CBA that need
to be added and addressed that they would never think
of on that side. So comparing it to their CBA,
or comparing what's going on in the w to comparing
what's going on in the NBA is so harmful to
any negotiations that are happening, in any conversations that are happening,
because the whole point of these negotiations what Lexi and
(40:14):
what's Harry, what they're meeting about and talking about, are
separating the CBA from the men's CBA. So it's not
supposed to be the same. It's not similar. They're not
asking for it to be the same. They're just asking
for what they deserve. You heard me at the top
of the episode speaking about the value of these teams
increasing and the revenue increasing. The players are the products,
(40:34):
and so they deserve a piece of the pie.
Speaker 4 (40:36):
Yeah, that's all.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
That's all. It's simple, and it's business.
Speaker 1 (40:40):
And if the pie turns from a medium pie to
a large pie, then I want a large size.
Speaker 2 (40:45):
If it was a cupcake before and now it's a
sheet cake, I want more of the sheet case. Okay,
we already we've been sharing a cupcake. We've been sharing
cupcakes for too long. Now we got a big old
cupcake is killing me.
Speaker 3 (41:00):
I'm fucking weak.
Speaker 1 (41:02):
Well to end this very positive episode, Lexi, let's give
our flowers. Lexie, who do you want to give your
flowers to today?
Speaker 2 (41:09):
I want to give my flowers to Courtney Williams and
Natisha Heideman aka the stud Buds, because.
Speaker 3 (41:19):
What they are doing with their.
Speaker 2 (41:22):
Live streams is amazing and it's hilarious and I've never
seen athletes do that before. They are streaming multiple times
a week and they're just sitting around chopping it up,
and sometimes they have other players hop on and it's
just like good vibes. Like I've been on a team
with Courtney Williams, Like she's such an adupe human being
(41:43):
and she's funny as shit. So for her to be
able to just be on her little stream and be
herself and make jokes and just keep everything really light, like,
I really love that for them. So shout out to
shout out to the stud Buds. I want to give
them their flowers because I love seeing other players doing
stuff like podcasting and streaming, like I think it's all
(42:04):
it's so amazing. And again, basketball is our job, guys,
Like it's just work.
Speaker 3 (42:09):
We clock in, clock out, put the work in.
Speaker 2 (42:11):
But there's twenty four hours in a day, and I
love seeing people and players utilize their twenty four hours because.
Speaker 3 (42:18):
Twenty four hours is a long time, guys.
Speaker 2 (42:20):
So shout out to the study is what they're doing
is great, it's amazing, it's hilarious.
Speaker 3 (42:25):
So I want to give my flowers to them.
Speaker 1 (42:28):
I want to give my flowers to you, Lexi, because
I'm wishing you a speedy recovery from the procedure and
with everything going on, and we love you so much
and we know you always come back stronger than ever.
And nobody knows how much it takes to be a
pro athlete and what you put into this, and like
how much you're growing every single day and how hard
(42:49):
you work at it.
Speaker 4 (42:49):
So flowers to you, virtual thank you.
Speaker 3 (42:53):
That made my day. I really needed that, I really did,
so guys.
Speaker 2 (42:58):
I hope you guys enjoyed this massively positive episode. It's
something that I absolutely needed and I hope that this
makes y'all's week and makesy'all excited for the games coming
up this week and weekend. So thank you for tuning
in to another episode of Full Circle Podcast.
Speaker 3 (43:14):
We will see y'all next week.
Speaker 1 (43:15):
Bye, thanks for listening to full Circle. We'll be back
next week with more basketball for the Girls, by the girls.
Speaker 3 (43:23):
We want to hear from you.
Speaker 1 (43:25):
Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, and tell us
what you want us to talk about. Full Circle is
hosted by Lexi Brown and Mariah Rose. Our executive producer
is Jesse Katz. Our supervising producer is Grace Fuse. Our
producer is Zoe Dankla. 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
(43:46):
and start listening
Full Circle is an iheartwoman's sports production and partnership with
Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Hello, everybody, Welcome to another episode of Full Circle Podcast.
I am Lexie Brown here with my girl Mariah Rose,
fresh off of her European trip to hit No, France.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
What part of friend? Where where was you at now? Like?
I can't keep up with you? Can I? Girl? How
was it all over the place? It looked amazing? I was.
I was enjoying all of the content.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
It was beautiful.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
It was hot outside, hot, but it was gorgeous and
it was a special experience.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
I felt really blessed to be there.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
I love that you were on a panel.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Right, yes, yes, girl, Yeah, guys, Mariah goes to do
work things, right, she does fun things, but she also
is booked and busy globally.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Okay, Like, let's let's let's keep that in mind. How
amazing that is.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
I'm so jealous, but I'm so happy that you got
to have that experience because your ones are my wins.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
Thank you, queen, go girl? How are you you know?
Speaker 2 (01:22):
I'm okay I'm not gonna lie to y'all and say
that I'm doing great. I as once this episode drops,
you guys will see that I did not play in
tonight's game against the Fever. I underwent a procedure yesterday,
which was Monday, some crones related things. I will go
a little bit more into detail on my TikTok if
y'all care, But if anybody that has been keeping up
(01:43):
knows that I've been dealing with this for the last
few years.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
And it hasn't been easy.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
And it's now I'm in a new city, new team,
new doctors, new everything. So just figuring that out something
that I just wanted to get ahead of because the
last time I didn't get ahead of something, it spiraled
into something really, really horrible.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
So we just wanted to prevent that. And yeah, I mean,
I'm feeling.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Okay sick that I'm not able to play in our
game tonight, but I will be there supporting and sharing
them on.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
So yeah, but the show must go on.
Speaker 4 (02:16):
Right of course, Lexi. We're praying for you and we.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Love you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
I mean, this is something that keeps me locked in
for sure, Like this is literally a Basket women's basketball show,
and I'm a women's basketball player, so this is like
the most locked in thing I could probably do despite
not playing.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
So having these conversations.
Speaker 4 (02:36):
Your life is women's basketball.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
Yeah, like hikey, not even low key hike.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
So being able to have this show and hop on
here and talk about the w and everything's going on
is something that I really love to do, and it's
keeping me locked in and motivated and ultimately like busy
and happy because this is something I'm really passionate about
and I love doing. So I'm glad that we have
this together, and I'm glad I have you here supporting
me and doing this and building this with me. So Okay,
(03:04):
sorry to get all sappy. Of course, of course I'm
excited for today.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Yeah, me too.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Okay, So let's get into it. We are one third
of the season checked. You know, last episode we were
talking about Q one. What are some things that you've
been noticing, Riah during this first what thirteen fourteen games?
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Well, I feel like everyone's been adjusting to the beginning
of the season, but we're at a point where we're
starting to really see who teams are, including your team,
the Seattle Storm heating up, y'all went three and zero
behind Mekka going three straight games scoring twenty five plus
and shooting seventy one percent. And fun fact, the Seattle
(03:47):
Storm are seven to zero when Necka scores above twenty points,
so her impact is super important. Six wins in your
last seven games and definitely a legit playoff threat if
Neka can stay healthy and consistent. Lexi, what have you
been peeping?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
You know, it's funny that you mentioned that about her
twenty point plus scoring because we literally have said that
in the locker room.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
We're like, nek well, you score twenty voys, we.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Not lose it, Like that's something that we all understand
as a team. And then a shout out to her
for winning Western Conference Player of the Week, something that
she absolutely deserves with those stats and numbers that you
just said. You know, I'm just gonna use this time
to give an all star breakdown why my team should
have multiple All Stars, and that's all we're gonna talk about,
(04:34):
because I know we've won three games in a row.
It's amazing, six out of our last seven, which is
also amazing, But I really just want to take this
moment to talk about three of my teammates that I
feel like should be All Stars this season, starting with Neka.
She is thirteenth in the league and scoring, seventh and rebounding.
Skyler is eleventh in the league in scoring and fourth
(04:56):
and assists, and my dark horse for All Star even
though she shouldn't be a guitark course, but when you
look at her numbers, they might not be like I
popping like Skyler and Ekkas is Gabby. She's twenty six
in scoring, but she does so many things for our
team that you don't see on the stat sheet. Our
defense is night and day when she's on the court
(05:18):
versus off the court. And she said back to back
double doubles, so one her first double double was points
and rebounds and her most recent double double was points
and assists. So Gabby is on the hunt for a
triple double. I feel like she's gonna get one this season.
We'll see if she can do it. She's absolutely capable
of it, and she's actually a forward I think an
(05:40):
All Star voting. Not sure if that helps her or
hurts her when it comes to the voting, which we
will get into later. Since there's been a lot of
conversation about how All Star voting works. But for the
Storm talk today because I know this is a very
pro Seattle Storm show in a pro Atlanta Dreamstorm, that's
the Maritz team. I just wanted to take a moment
(06:03):
to give a little All Star spiel and I need
our Seattle Storm fans, our Neca fans, our Skylar fans,
our Gabby fans to go vote for them, like y'all
are in control of this right now. For the starters
are the fans. So I need y'all to get on
your little tap tap machines, your iPads, your computers, tap
tap machines and go vote, like especially on the days
(06:26):
that our double days, triple days, whatever days. But we
are definitely trending in the right direction, and it's been
a really fun journey to be a part of just
seeing the ebbs and flows of a season like so
early for us and us you know, getting a little
bit better every day, a little bit better every game.
So we're definitely heading in the right direction. I still
(06:47):
think we have more to give, but it's still very early,
So shout out to the Storm.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
It's been It's been a lot already and we're only
a third of the way through the season, so I'm
just excited to see what's up next for us.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Well, I'm looking forward to that Fever game. I'm looking
forward to what y'all have coming up. We're wondering if
you guys can keep it rolling against Indiana, Connecticut and
Golden State this week.
Speaker 4 (07:11):
And speaking of Golden State, the.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
Golden State Valkyries have become the expansion team blueprint. They
are now the most valuable team and the newest WNBA team.
The Golden State Valkyries are valued at five hundred million
dollars by Sportico. They're tied to the Golden State Warriors,
which are the NBA's most valuable team, and they share
an arena with them, and they became the first WNBA
(07:36):
team to hit ten thousand season tickets sold in their
first ever season, and the sportco estimates that the Golden
State Valkyries will bring in more than seventy million dollars
in revenue in twenty twenty five, which will more than
double what any WNBA team made in twenty twenty four.
To talk about what's happening with them on the court,
they're sitting at seven and six, already out performing.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
Most past expansion team.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
They're five and two at home at the Chase Center,
and this week they have a pretty big stretch against
the Liberty, the Sky and the Storm. So Lexi, what
are you thinking about the Valkyries Man?
Speaker 2 (08:14):
When I watched them play and even when we when
we played them in Golden State, which this week we're
gonna get our get back when we go back there,
they just look like they have a lot of fun.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Like I'll just I.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Look at them sometimes and I'm like, they just are
They just are playing so loose, they play free, and
they just look like they're having a lot of fun,
and that goes a long way in the professional sports room.
I think it's a very underrated thing when you're just
able to play free like that. They've won four out
of their last five.
Speaker 4 (08:45):
Well, there's not one singular star.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Exactly, but I will say if they were to have
to pinpoint a singular star, it would be Kayla Thornton.
And I do think that she will get She will
be an All Star this year. I feel like your
playoff team, you're in playoff contention. She's averaging fifteen points
and seven rebounds, Like those are all star numbers if
(09:09):
you ask anybody, and you're on a playoff team, you're
on an expansion team which had pretty much zero expectations.
They had very low expectations, and they're surpassing them. And
you have to have a really good leader to do that,
and I think Kylea Thorn has taken that role and
she has definitely thrived in it. I think people forget
that she was a dog in Dallas, like she was
(09:31):
a problem in Dallas. She would have got her a
championship with the Liberty, But this is the Kayla Thorn
that us as players are already very familiar with. So
I'm just really happy that she's getting her opportunity. They're
leading the league in attendance and it's probably not even close.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
And I read.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Somewhere that they have over fifty million dollars projected revenue,
not including media, merch and other things, which I think
is like insane.
Speaker 4 (09:57):
Like seventy million total.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Yeah, like and that's crazy.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
What's it like as a player seeing the numbers as
far as revenue and everything is concerned, because that's what
people always pend point when they're criticizing the WNBA or
WNBA players. What's it like as a player seeing not
only the attendants grow or the fans grow online, but
the numbers, like the numbers behind it are showing that
the league is growing and bringing in money.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Yeah, I mean, I think the argument I always have
with people is that it's not about the revenue all
the time. Sometimes it's about the investment that you put
into these organizations and teams and then the revenue will come.
So seeing the Valkyries have so much energy and money
and support put in and pour it into them from
day one, like that makes.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Such a big difference.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
A lot of these other expansion teams were teams that
were discarded from their previous city, all like, we didn't
want this team here, so we're just going to put
them on in this city. This city was like they
work their asses off to bring a team to Golden State.
So even having that energy is completely different from any
other expansion team that we've seen that I've seen, and
(11:07):
it makes a difference, and it's it's really exciting. And
like you said, it's the blueprint and we have two
more teams coming, so I'm hoping that they come with
the same energy because now the standard is up here,
the standard is high, So I want to shout out
to Golden State organization.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
They've done such a great job in year one.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
This is I was expecting big things, but they have
definitely surpassed all of my expectations as far as an organization.
Like I knew that we didn't say like they were
contenders or anything like that, but I knew that they
were going to be better than what everybody thought. But
you know, they're the way that the organization has been run,
how they're present, they're promoting their players on socials, how
(11:44):
they talk about each other, how they talk about the
team and everything like that. Like it this is something
that we've never seen before, and it's showing in their play.
So it's just it's really exciting to see. It's like
a really exciting time for women's sports, despite you know,
some of the noise that we hear about it, Like
these are the moments and these are the things that
should be celebrated.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
I read that the owners paid a fifty million dollar
expansion fee and for the team to be valued at
five hundred million dollars in their first season.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
I mean they their investment.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Podcast change It works if you're investing in your teams,
it works.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
Yeah, in one year not even a year.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Like, yes, it works, it absolutely works. So I'm excited
to go back there because it was fun playing in there.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Well, let's talk about another team that's on a hot streak.
Why does it feel I.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
Will because we played the episode. But it feels like
everything is so positive.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Everybody's on Does it feel like everybody's on a good
because that's what this show was about, right, We're talking
about all the positive things right now.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Okay, this is Good ViBe's only episode. Guys, Okay, if
you haven't notice.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Heymen, let's talk about the Mercury Rising. They're on a
five game win streak, which is their longest since twenty
twenty one. They scored one hundred and seven points versus
the Chicago Sky and a franchise record of seventeen threes.
They are fully healthy, clicking offensively, but they have some
big tests against the Liberty and the Aces coming up.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
We've said this in our preseason like they have the
three headed snake of at Satu and Ka, how are
the rest of the pieces gonna fit? This is the
most beautifully constructed roster I think I've seen in the
w in a long time, especially considering that they have
six rookies on their team, which is incredible. The next
(13:41):
team with the highest are Dallas and Connecticut tied with four.
But the fact that they are playing this way with
six rookies, which is half of their roster guys, maybe
even over half the roster if they are carrying in
eleven players. Like the things that they're doing, the way
that they're playing, moving the ball, shooting the ball. Satu
(14:02):
At and Ka are playing very well together. I wasn't
sure how they were gonna be able to play together
on the court because all three of them are like
historically pretty ball dominant, and that's not a bad thing.
So it was just figuring out who was gonna get
their shots where, and they're figuring it out like very seamlessly.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
Even adding cod to the mix.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
As of late, she is just like slid right into
the rotation and they have not missed a beat.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
They've actually gotten better.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Satu and At are leading the way saw Tou averaging
nineteen points, eight rebounds, At averaging fourteen points, seven rebounds,
and nine assists, which is incredible.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
The scariest thing.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
About the Mercury is that you can you have three
very reliable stars for the most part, and if it's
not all three, it's definitely going to be two of them.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
They're supporting cast, which is included in their starting lineup,
and coming off the.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Bench, they probably have I have the highest scoring bench
in the league. I tried to find that number today
and I couldn't find it. But I'm going to assume
that they have one of the highest, if not the
highest bench scoring. In their last five games, they've had,
you know, their normal stars Atsatu and Ka, but every
other game a different person has stepped up to be
that fourth option. When they played Dallas, Laksa fourteen points.
(15:23):
When they played Vegas, Sammy woodcomb eighteen when they played Connecticut,
held in Blaksa combined for twenty five. When they played
New York, Makhanie had twenty one. Like at any given night,
somebody on their supporting cast is going to rise to
the occasion and be a problem. And that's what makes
the Mercury so dangerous. We felt it game one when
(15:45):
they whooped our ass in Phoenix, and we were like, oh,
they're legit right now. And now they're just continuing to
get better and better and better. And again, the six
rookies on the team and them playing at this level
is super impressive, and it's been really cool to see them,
like gel the way that they're gelling with injuries, not injuries,
(16:05):
people in the lineup, out the lineup. They're doing a
really good job over there in Phoenix, not Gonnayy, not
gonna iy.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
It's really nice to see people clicking and to see
so much parody. That's my favorite way to watch. It's
like when you don't really know who. Obviously there are
the heavier hitters and like teams that are ahead in
a way.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
But it feels like there's this parody, like when it
comes to playoff time.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
No, absolutely, on a good any given day, it could
be somebody's good day and you never know.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
I mean, I think there are teams that are separating
themselves from the rest of the pack.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
There's only six teams over five hundred right now, so
I don't know if that's a good thing or a
bad thing, but that's not a lot of teams that are.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
Over that have won more than half of their games.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Minnesota is the only team that's undefeated at home. But
I'm really excited for this next month of games because
now that Commissioner's Cup is we're going to see more
East West matchups that we haven't seen yet. Like we're
about to go on the East Coast road trip very soon.
So I'm excited to see new teams play each other
because I feel like a lot of teams have played
(17:12):
each other multiple times. So I'm really interested to see
some new matchups, some new games. You know, things have
been getting a little spicy out there, so I'm really
excited to see, you know, that carryover to other games,
and you know it's because you know, you see the
safe people all the time. You're like, damn, I'm sick
of y'all. Can we play someone else?
Speaker 3 (17:31):
Like that's what's going on.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
So it's gonna be nice to see some new groups
of games because I really do feel like a lot
of teams have played each other a thousand times, and
that's what happens, Like we see it in the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
You play a team five.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Straight times, some shit might pop off, right, So like
that's what we're seeing right now in our season. We're like, damn,
like we haven't like, can we can we play some
new people?
Speaker 3 (17:55):
Please?
Speaker 2 (17:55):
So I'm excited to play the Fever. I'm excited to
go to the East Coast. We come to Atlanta soon,
Mariah Girl. Yeah, we get to go play in New York.
We get to see Connecticut this week. So I'm excited
to see some new faces for sure, get some good
bump show.
Speaker 4 (18:13):
Yeah, I need to go get my tickets.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Speaking of new faces, let's talk about these rookies. So, Lexi,
I'm curious who your pick for Rookie of the Year is.
Speaker 4 (18:23):
What you're noticing from the rookies this year.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
We gave the rookies a lot of love prior to
the season, starting in our preseason episode because we were
talking about how a lot of them are in situations
where it's low stakes so they get to shine. And
there's no better picture of that than Pagebackers. Right now,
she's leading the rookies in scoring and assis. She scored
twenty plus points in her last three games. She's top
(18:47):
twelve in the league in.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
Scoring period, page which is crazy. It is crazy.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
So she's really found her aggression in her stride. You
got Sonia Citron from the Mystics doing historic stat lines.
Speaker 4 (19:00):
That have only been matched by WNBA legends.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
And then we've talked about Kiki Eriefn already from the
Mystics their first rookie of the month. I believe that
we already mentioned that. But she's had some very rare
rookie stat combos and a major impact already as a starter,
which is crazy. So Laxie, what are you noticing as
far as the rookies are concerned.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
I mean, like you said, they're all in very low
stakes environments and that's kind of like the best place
to be as a rookie, somewhere where you can learn,
somewhere you can grow and just become that leader. You
see it With Page we talked about a few episodes
ago how they needed her to be a more aggressive
score and that's exactly what she's doing.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
She's definitely becoming that. I think she just needed to
get comfortable, like it's her first it's her first professional season,
like it was going to take her some time. But
for her to bounce back the way that she has after.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Being out with an injury and then an illness, like,
it's super impressive for someone that young.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
Being twelve in the league in scoring not a surprise.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
I've always thought she was a super well balanced score
three level score and a very high IQ level score,
So I still think it's Page Rookie of the Year
award to lose at this moment in time.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Dallas probably will need to win a little bit more
for her to like completely run away with it, but
I think they'll be able to do that. I don't
foresee them continuing on this like downward spiral they're on,
especially with the trajectory of Page and Arique, They're kind
of finding their cadence together. So I'm hoping for the
best for the Dallas Wings because I do want Page
(20:34):
to have a rookie season that she can look back
on and be proud of. I think whether they win
a lot of games or not.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Like she should still feel that way, but having some
wins will definitely help her in that regard. I know
we said Kiki was her closest calm, but Sonya is
creeping up, like she has now passed Kiki in scoring.
She's averaging fifteen points, five rebounds, shooting forty nine percent
from the fieldy seven percent from the three. So Sonya
(21:03):
is having a very incredible rookie campaign as well. So
I mean, I think between her and Kiki on that
Mystics team, Kiki averaging thirteen and nine, shooting fifty percent
from the field. It's like one A, one B when
it comes to you know, rookies, but at the end
of the day, they're chasing page.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
So well, I want to ask you, do you feel
like okay, because Caitlin Clark had an anomaly of a
rookie season outside of all of the stuff that everybody
talks about with her popularity and whatnot and coming off
of her college career, but as a WNBA player, her
rookie experience was Rookie of the Year playoffs, like very
(21:43):
very high stakes. She didn't come into a super low
stakes sort of situation. I'm not sure if she made
it high stakes or or if she just came I mean,
they had a.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Number one pick, right, No, but you're absolutely right, Like
when you frame it that way, like it was literally
like playoffs or bust for her like right, for whatever reason,
but because that seemed like you said they had been
stacking number one picks, it was just like it's a
matter of time y'all utilize all this talent that you
guys have been stockpiling for years.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
So you're absolutely right.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
I never thought about that, Like we're talking about how
low stakes of environment this rookie class has.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
And last year it was.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Like, if y'all don't make it to the playoffs, like
this was a waste of season.
Speaker 4 (22:23):
And they did, and Caitlyn sets the bar.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Y and so many exactly she kept sets the bar
high in so many areas. But I think the expectation
of a rookie that bar has been sat very high
by Caitlyn, especially since she brought a lot of new
fans in that now were like, well, Kaitlyn Clark won
Rookie of the Year and went to the playoffs and
this not and let the league assists and did all
of these crazy things that are pretty abnormal for rookie
(22:49):
like Pages experience. I think there's a lot of fans
coming in, Like my sister's one of them who like
watches every Page game and she's like sick of the
Wings losing, and I'm like, this is what a rookies
experience should be.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
Like the number one like this is one another.
Speaker 4 (23:03):
They don't get the number one pick by winning the championship.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
The number one pick team is not exactly and not
saying that like they are like the worst team ever,
but like that's typically how it goes like you are
the number one pick and the bad teams get the
better rookies, Like that's the reality of the situation. But
when Kitlin came in last year, they were like, if
y'all don't made the playoffs, everybody gotta go, Like it
(23:29):
was crazy. But they rose to the occasion and made
a crazy playoff push for the second in the second
half of the season, because the first half of the
season did not start very good, Like they struggled for
a little bit. They came out of All Star breaks swinging.
They really turned a corner after All Star Break, And
that's what I feel like could happen with the Dallas
Wings as well, Like you need time to grow, especially
(23:50):
with the rookie leading the way.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
They're new to this league.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
They're new to the pace, they're new to the physicality,
the traveling is different, the cadence of games. They're playing
way more games and a shorter amount of time.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
Like there's a lot of things that are different from
the college game to the programe. So I mean, these
last these last two rookie classes have been so impressive
to me, and I think I hope everybody is impressed
by all of them. Like top to bottom, like we
can get into more of the rookies.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
We talk about Page, Sonya and Kiki a lot, but
I mentioned a Cola mccannie who plays for Phoenix, like
she's having a great rookie season. We've mentioned Lexi Held
who's also on Phoenix. One rookie that we got to
give a little up to is Papou Like bench scoring
seven points, shoot a fifty seven percent from three. She's
leading the league right now in three point percentage. So
(24:39):
PopOut and Ali and I, who plays for Vegas. I
think those two are the steals of the draft because
they're both coming in and making immediate impacts on their teams.
You know, Vegas is going through what they're going through,
but that doesn't take away from Hallie and I is
playing like it's very impressive. We just played them, and
her shot is quick, she can defend, she can rebound like.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
She's a really great WNBA player, as so is Palpal.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
So seeing these rookies come in and being you know,
instantly utilized is something that I love to see because
you know, when I was.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
A rookie, I didn't get utilized at all.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
So being able to see these rookies come in and
be able to play to their strengths and have their
teammates have confidence in them, have their coaches have confidence
in them.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
Like, that's something that's super amazing.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
I'm glad you mentioned the confidence, yeah, because that's what
I was going to bring up. That's it takes a
lot of confidence to come into a new space as
a rookie and take over like that, or to make
your mark, or to play your game that you were
playing in college or that we might know you from.
On top of that, with players like Page or Key
Key or all of them, like they're in a new
social media type of era. The Page came off of
(25:45):
a whole press tour going into the season. She didn't
get to rest at all before becoming a WNBA player.
They're getting comments and all of this attention. They've got
a lot going on for such young people. And I'm
glad that you guys as vets, as teammates. It seems
to be that from hearing your stories or other WNBA
players that I've spoken to in interviews and whatnot, the
(26:06):
stories of like y'all kind of got hazed or like
ignored a little bit. I'd be like y'all are really
bringing these rookies in and like, come on, Auntie's.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
Baby, come on, come on.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
I mean, I want to say, are I mean our
rookie dom Like she's not really getting the minutes that
she probably was expecting or that anybody was expecting. But
I'm watching her every day improve and get better. And
I love being on the court with her, Like I've
never played with somebody that is like her before, and
she's literally nineteen years old, so her coming over here
and going through this process.
Speaker 4 (26:38):
I'm so excited to see her star getting minutes. I'm
so excited about.
Speaker 3 (26:42):
Me too, and like I'm so impressed. I'm so impressed
with her.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Like I just thought, I think of like myself at nineteen,
and I'm like, I would never be able to do this,
like especially being away from home.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
And then I think.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
Gabby has done such a good job of just making
sure that she feels comfortable and feels like she has someone.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
In her cour in her at all times.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
But I mean, I think our whole team has done
a really good job of making her feel comfortable.
Speaker 3 (27:04):
And I know it's.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Probably not easy for her, you know, making this transition
and not probably getting on the floor as much as
she wants. But like I said, I see her improving
every day and her.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
Time is gonna come.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Like she's a baby, like she has more than enough time.
But I think everybody is really excited to see her
get major minutes. And if that comes this season, cool,
If it doesn't, you know, that's fine too. That's just
like the reality of how deep our team is in Seattle.
But I mean, even though she's not in the running
for Rookie of the Year at the moment, I do
want to shout out don because I see her every
(27:36):
day putting the work in and I see her every
day learning and getting better and learning how to be
a pro in the WNBA.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
So I just want to give her a little shout out.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
And she's in a high stake situation, so she's gonna
learn so much. Yeah, Like she's in a we are
going to the playoff type of situation, like we are
not playing, you know, so she doesn't get to just
like who figure it out.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
Also, she's in the situation of you gonna dunk in
a game, and how many players have that expectation?
Speaker 3 (28:05):
Girl? Wait, what are you going dunk? To see her? Get?
You go dunk.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
Like how many girls get asked that? Like nobody gets
asked that, Like when you gonna dunk?
Speaker 4 (28:15):
She and her and BG need to have like a
a red tabletop.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Free They need to have a free game dunk contest.
Now Dom doesn't one handed dunk. She does it in
our warm up line.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
She does it before we run to the benches before
the game.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
Like she does it very easily. So when that happens
in a game, I'm gonna lose my shit, Like, don't
let me be actually in the game when that happens,
Like it's over it, Like call the time out please,
because I'm gonna be like running laps around the court.
Like when that end game dunk happens, Like we are
so excited for like last game, we thought she was
(28:49):
gonna do it, but it's like we're like she's just
got in the game.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
Like we're like, you've been sitting You're getting the game.
Speaker 4 (28:55):
Dunk dump dunk dunk.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
She's like, guys, I can't just go and do so
shout out to Dom.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
She's doing great, everybody. I know you guys.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
I know a lot of people want to see her
on the court more, but her time is coming. Okay,
just know that she's working her ass off and when
she gets her opportunity, she's going to be amazing.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
We can't wait. So let's talk about All Star.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Because I'm on the edge of my seat since we
tease it a little bit at the beginning.
Speaker 3 (29:29):
So I'm going to give a little bit of an overview.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
And then we're going to talk about our picks, who
we want to vote for, those kind of things. But
for the fans that don't know, first I'll explain how
voting works. So if you haven't voted yet.
Speaker 3 (29:41):
Go do that, please please.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
But the voting, Okay, so you make your All Star vote.
You'll see WNBA dot com. Make your account, go vote.
But the voting is fifty percent the fan vote, twenty
five percent, players twenty five percent media. Those votes compiled
count to vote towards players that make the team.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
Okay, just the starters, yes, yes, just the starters, guys, Yes,
that's just.
Speaker 4 (30:07):
For the starters.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
The top four guards and the top six front court
players with the best weighted average becomes starters. Meanwhile, the
coaches then select the twelve reserves, and they cannot vote
for their own players. So the fan, media, players vote
counts for the starters, the top four guards, and the
(30:29):
top six front court players, and then the rest are
selected by WNBA coaches. And it's fair because they can't
vote for their own players.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
Yes, okay, guys, do you understand? Yes?
Speaker 4 (30:39):
Please?
Speaker 3 (30:40):
There's been a lot of back.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
And forth about the selection process, and I'm like, yes,
are y'all new here? Yes, yes, y'all are new here.
The NBA does their voting the exact same way the fans.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
Yes, All Star Weekend.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
Is for the fans, so of course their vote does matter,
because if it wasn't for the fans, all Star weekend
when it exists, because what is the point there's no fans.
Speaker 4 (31:03):
We're tuning, going to watch what the fans want to say.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Well, that's why there's a there's like a weighted average
for a reason, like the fans need to feel like
they are part of the selection process because All Star
Weekend is for fans. So if y'all are not happy
with the fan voting, then go vote some more for
your faves.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
Is right?
Speaker 4 (31:23):
There are some double there are some double voting.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Yeah, there's like a very there's like a very simple
and easy way to fix that.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
If you're not happy with the votes.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
If y'all are voting for Love Island and you have
voted for your WNBA All Stars, I don't want to
see your tweets complain.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
I don't want to see yours come out.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
I don't want to see your I don't want to
see your complaints about anything.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
A little bit of an overview of how the voting
is going, slash what the weekend entails. It'll be hosted
this year in Indianapolis by the Indiana Fever July eighteenth
and nineteenth. We've got the Skills Challenge and the three
Point Contest on Friday, and then the All Star Game
will happen on Saturday, which is what you guys are
voting for. The rosters for the fan voting opened earlier
this month and it closes this week. I believe when
(32:08):
this episode comes out, you'll have three more days. And
the first returns just dropped. So far, Caitlin Clark leads
the way with all players with five hundred and fifteen thousand,
nine hundred and thirty three votes, followed by the Fista
Collier with four hundred and eighty four thousand, nine hundred
and fifty eight votes. That is literally so many. But
that means that these two will serve as captains for
(32:29):
the All Star Draft July eighth, ahead of the game
in Indianapolis. And I just want to put in perspective
how much the league has grown, because this made me
like want to cry earlier reading it. In twenty twenty three,
the entire first round of votes had four hundred and
twenty two thousand votes. Okay, this year, Caitlyn Clark and
the Feasta Collier alone have more than that.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Let's clap it up, everybody, Let's clap it up.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
Let's clap Kalla McBride is ranked fortieth this year with
forty four thousand votes, which means she would have voting
in twenty twenty three.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
Even compared to Clark's own rookie year, her first round
vote total has more than doubled from two hundred and
sixteen thousand and twenty twenty four to five hundred and
fifteen thousand and twenty twenty.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
That's incredible.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
That is really incredible, And I'm glad you put it
in perspective that way, because again, things like this need
to be celebrated. I don't care who your favorite players are,
who you like, who you don't like. When you see
numbers like this, you can't not be happy for the
league as a whole, because that means that there's massive
growth going on.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
And that's what.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
We've been wanting and begging for and asking for and
playing our asses off for. Is this growth that we're
seeing right now, and to have the numbers to back
it up with these fan voting things is amazing. Y'all
could be bad as y'all want, but the Indiana Fever fans,
they show up and show out like I know they're probably, oh,
(33:58):
they went not in decided because they're hosting like it's
going to be very pro Indiana Fever atmosphere in there,
which I guess like it should be like that you're
hosting the city, you're the hosting city.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
The same thing happened with the Golden State Warriors in
San Francis. Buddy Healed was in the three point contest.
That wouldn't happen anywhere else.
Speaker 3 (34:19):
Like, no, this is true.
Speaker 2 (34:21):
Four Fever players are on the top ten, Caitlyn Clark
at one, Eliah Boston third, Kelsey Mitchell seventh, and Lexi
Hole at nine. So if y'all want anybody on your
favorite team to make this list doesn't mean that they're
going to be an All Star, but as a player,
it probably feels amazing to see your name on that
(34:44):
list for the fan voting, Like we can be happy
for them for that, even though you can think that
they should be an All Star or amazar. But I'm like,
how amazing was it probably for Lexi Hole to wake
up and be like, oh, I'm top ten and fan
voting for All Star because she works hard, She's in
the WNBA for a reason, Like that's if she wants.
Speaker 3 (35:05):
If her fans want to put her in.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
The All Star Game, then they have every right to
do that, and she has every right to be happy
for her, and it's beautiful and everyone else should be
happy for her as well, Like, I don't know why
that's so hard for people to do.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
Caitlyn Clark is bringing a lot of fans to the
league and she's doing incredible and she deserves it because
she's an amazing player. We just talked about her rookie
year and how high stakes it was and how she
lived up to.
Speaker 4 (35:25):
All of those expectations.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
But I think it's important to put in perspective that
the growth of the league. Outside of her, it has
just like spread to everyone on her team, like her teammates,
Like you said, Luxy Hole getting to see her her
name in top ten All Star voting, Fee getting double
the votes that there were in twenty twenty three total.
Like everybody is really rising right now, and it's just
(35:49):
so special to see and shout out the Fee being second.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
Yeah, shout out, hey, she's that girl. She is And
I was.
Speaker 2 (35:56):
Just like everybody across the league, like you said, is elevating,
whether that's on the court, off the court, Like there
are hobbies outside of basketball.
Speaker 3 (36:08):
What they're doing in the community.
Speaker 2 (36:10):
Like there's so many positive things that everybody is doing
that is outside of the realms of a forty minute game.
And I think that needs to be appreciated more. That
needs to be celebrated more, and that needs to be
embraced more, because there is so many layers to being
in a professional athlete outside of showing up for games
and playing at a high level three to four times
(36:32):
a week. Like that is obviously a very important thing,
but for athletes, sometimes things that go on in the
game are absolutely outside of your control.
Speaker 3 (36:41):
But how do you show up every day as your
best self, how do you show up to be a
good teammate, how do you show up to be a
good role model, how do you show up to.
Speaker 2 (36:48):
Be a good member of the community. Like, those are
things that we can control. So I think everything that's
going on in the league right now, even though some
of it is a little messy, some of it can
be a little spicy, overall, the league is growing and
that's like exactly what we need, especially heading into these
CBA negotiations, which actually we could talk about that briefly
(37:09):
because there's been a lot of messaging out as of
late about the CBA negotiations.
Speaker 3 (37:15):
And we had our whole episode with Terry, who's the
head of our players Association.
Speaker 2 (37:19):
So if you guys want to go take a deep
dive into what the CBA is, what our renegotiation period is,
all that kind of stuff, y'all can go tune into
that episode that we did months ago called Power to
the Players.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
It was an amazing episode. I'm so glad that we
did it.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
But some of the messaging that you guys have been seeing,
I will like summarize it simply to this is that
our salaries do not rise with the revenue of the league,
and that's as.
Speaker 3 (37:50):
Simple as I can put it.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
Our Players Association Instagram has it all broken down in
more detail. Like I said, we already went into this
our episode with Harry, But at the end of the day,
what we want as players is our salaries to rise
with the value of the league. So one of our
biggest issues right now is just having that really hard
(38:12):
salary cap that does not move. Whether the league makes
one hundred million dollars more or fifty million dollars more,
it doesn't matter. Our salary cap is our salary cap,
and that's something that we are really fighting hard on.
Is something we want a bigger share of the pie,
and we want to be able to grow.
Speaker 3 (38:31):
With the league.
Speaker 2 (38:31):
And I think that's something that is really important for
people to understand. And I think it's also important to
just keep it in the realms of like the WNBA.
I know that there's always like, well, the men do
it this way, the men do it that way. But
then I think when you bring that into the conversation
and the conversation goes somewhere else that has nothing to
do with what we're asking for.
Speaker 3 (38:50):
What we want. We want our salaries to grow the
same way the league is growing.
Speaker 2 (38:55):
So again, y'all want to hear more about the CBA,
go tune into our episode, head to the players Association
Instagram website. There's so much messaging out right now. A
lot of players have been sharing, there's been interviews about it.
So if you guys really genuinely care, there's so much
information out. If you want to support us, keep showing
up to games by league, pass by jerseys by merch,
(39:17):
go eat at the games, bring your friends, drink, have
a blast. Okay, do everything that you want. Just bring
your ass to the games. Okay, that's my CBA talk.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
One thing I want to highlight that I learned from
our episode with Terry is that comparing the WCBA to
other leagues is harmful because part of the issue, and
part of the things that you guys are still trying
to address about the CBA is the fact that at
the beginning of the league, it was just a copy
and paste of the men's leagues CBA, and it is.
Speaker 4 (39:50):
A completely different league.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Because it's a completely different game, and because you guys
are women, there are things in the CBA that need
to be added and addressed that they would never think
of on that side. So comparing it to their CBA,
or comparing what's going on in the w to comparing
what's going on in the NBA is so harmful to
any negotiations that are happening, in any conversations that are happening,
because the whole point of these negotiations what Lexi and
(40:14):
what's Harry, what they're meeting about and talking about, are
separating the CBA from the men's CBA. So it's not
supposed to be the same. It's not similar. They're not
asking for it to be the same. They're just asking
for what they deserve. You heard me at the top
of the episode speaking about the value of these teams
increasing and the revenue increasing. The players are the products,
(40:34):
and so they deserve a piece of the pie.
Speaker 4 (40:36):
Yeah, that's all.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
That's all. It's simple, and it's business.
Speaker 1 (40:40):
And if the pie turns from a medium pie to
a large pie, then I want a large size.
Speaker 2 (40:45):
If it was a cupcake before and now it's a
sheet cake, I want more of the sheet case. Okay,
we already we've been sharing a cupcake. We've been sharing
cupcakes for too long. Now we got a big old
cupcake is killing me.
Speaker 3 (41:00):
I'm fucking weak.
Speaker 1 (41:02):
Well to end this very positive episode, Lexi, let's give
our flowers. Lexie, who do you want to give your
flowers to today?
Speaker 2 (41:09):
I want to give my flowers to Courtney Williams and
Natisha Heideman aka the stud Buds, because.
Speaker 3 (41:19):
What they are doing with their.
Speaker 2 (41:22):
Live streams is amazing and it's hilarious and I've never
seen athletes do that before. They are streaming multiple times
a week and they're just sitting around chopping it up,
and sometimes they have other players hop on and it's
just like good vibes. Like I've been on a team
with Courtney Williams, Like she's such an adupe human being
(41:43):
and she's funny as shit. So for her to be
able to just be on her little stream and be
herself and make jokes and just keep everything really light, like,
I really love that for them. So shout out to
shout out to the stud Buds. I want to give
them their flowers because I love seeing other players doing
stuff like podcasting and streaming, like I think it's all
(42:04):
it's so amazing. And again, basketball is our job, guys,
Like it's just work.
Speaker 3 (42:09):
We clock in, clock out, put the work in.
Speaker 2 (42:11):
But there's twenty four hours in a day, and I
love seeing people and players utilize their twenty four hours because.
Speaker 3 (42:18):
Twenty four hours is a long time, guys.
Speaker 2 (42:20):
So shout out to the study is what they're doing
is great, it's amazing, it's hilarious.
Speaker 3 (42:25):
So I want to give my flowers to them.
Speaker 1 (42:28):
I want to give my flowers to you, Lexi, because
I'm wishing you a speedy recovery from the procedure and
with everything going on, and we love you so much
and we know you always come back stronger than ever.
And nobody knows how much it takes to be a
pro athlete and what you put into this, and like
how much you're growing every single day and how hard
(42:49):
you work at it.
Speaker 4 (42:49):
So flowers to you, virtual thank you.
Speaker 3 (42:53):
That made my day. I really needed that, I really did,
so guys.
Speaker 2 (42:58):
I hope you guys enjoyed this massively positive episode. It's
something that I absolutely needed and I hope that this
makes y'all's week and makesy'all excited for the games coming
up this week and weekend. So thank you for tuning
in to another episode of Full Circle Podcast.
Speaker 3 (43:14):
We will see y'all next week.
Speaker 1 (43:15):
Bye, thanks for listening to full Circle. We'll be back
next week with more basketball for the Girls, by the girls.
Speaker 3 (43:23):
We want to hear from you.
Speaker 1 (43:25):
Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, and tell us
what you want us to talk about. Full Circle is
hosted by Lexi Brown and Mariah Rose. Our executive producer
is Jesse Katz. Our supervising producer is Grace Fuse. Our
producer is Zoe Dankla. 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
(43:46):
and start listening
Hosts And Creators
Lexie Brown
Mariah Rose
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