February 12, 2025 • 51 mins
This week, Khristina is joined by basketball analyst Natalie Esquire to break down the biggest stories in women’s hoops. First they discuss Nike’s groundbreaking Super Bowl commercial celebrating female athletes, analyze the Las Vegas Aces’ latest free agency moves, and unpack what Katie Lou Samuelson’s contract divorce means for the Indiana Fever. Plus, they preview the Unrivaled 1v1 bracket, make their picks for must-watch matchups, and break down why Seattle might not be a contender this year.
Want more women’s basketball scoop? Follow the show on Instagram @ICYMIwithKW and X @ICYMIwithKW and for more on Khristina follow her on Instagram @khristinawilliams
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CREDITS
Executive Producers:
Nikki Ettore
Jessie Katz
Tyler Klang
Jonathan Strickland
Producer:
Mike Coscarelli
Producer & Editor:
Tari Harrison
Host:
Khristina Williams
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
In Case You Missed It with Christina Williams is an
iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports
and Entertainment. What's Up, y'all, welcome to another edition of
In Case You Missed It with Christina Williams. And I
am super excited to be back home for a couple
(00:23):
of days. So I went to Nashville for opening weekend
of Athletes Unlimited Basketball. And for those of you who
do not know what AU is, it's a pro women's
basketball league that lasts for a month from February to
the first week of March. And for the first year
they were in Las Vegas, then they did two seasons
in Dallas, and now they're in Nashville, so bringing pro
(00:45):
basketball to Nashville. There's a lot of WNBA players there,
and what makes AU super unique is that they have
different rosters every week, so a new draft every week,
and they have a different kind of point system with
the leaderboard, and at the end of the competition, there's
actually one champion as opposed to an entire team. So AnyWho,
(01:07):
I was super excited to go to Nashville and visit
Athletes Unlimited. Always good to just be in and around
women's sports. So, you know, I didn't have a lot
of time to tour Nashville, but me and Friend to
the Show, Taarrika Foster Brasby, we did have a chance
to visit the African American Music Museum, and so that
(01:27):
was really fun. We had some really good food and
it was just a really good time. So I'm happy
to be back in New York, and you know, there's
so much to talk about. And here joining me this
week to help break down the latest and greatest and
women's basketball and beyond is friend to the Show, Natalie Esquire.
(01:48):
She is a producer and sports reporter, and I am
super excited to have her back on the show. Natalie,
How are.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
You doing, Christina? Always such a warm welcome for you.
Thank you so much. I am doing better. I also,
like you, was traveling also to cover women's sports.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
I was in New Orleans.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
No, not for the super Bowl, right, there was actually
something else going on, if you can believe that. I
was covering the Sports Power Brunch, which you know, honors
really powerful women in sports. And so I went down
to New Orleans to cover that and I got back
and girl, I came down with the flute. So if
I sound a little nasally, please forgive me. But I'm
(02:34):
better than I was the last few days.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
But I'm not fully back there yet.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
But I'm envious because I love Nashville and the food
in Nashville is great, and it looks like you guys
had a great time.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Yeah, well, listen, I'm so sorry you're not feeling good.
Wishing you all good vibes and speedy recovery. But I'm
glad that you here today. And speaking of the super Bowl,
our first headline for this week. I mean, obviously, the
Eagles completely slaughtered to see and it was just no competition.
(03:03):
I don't know what happened to Kansas City. It's like
the Monstars came and sucked all of their powers out.
But I mean, the game was just all of Philly
from start to finish. But one of my favorite things
about the Super Bowl, outside of that halftime show shout
out to Kendrick Lamar, is absolutely the commercials. Like I
(03:24):
lived for the Super Bowl ads, and one of the
best commercials by far this year had to have been
the Nike twenty twenty five So Win Super Bowl campaign,
and it was the first time in over two decades
that there was a Super Bowl ad featuring all female athletes,
(03:44):
and so in this campaign, it featured WNBA stars Asia Wilson,
Sabrineo Nescue, Caitlin Clark, and USC women's basketball star Juju Watkins,
and it was narrated by Doci. So I think that
that was phenomenal. What were your thoughts about the Nike campaign.
I know that this year, at least when I was
looking through social media, everyone's like, oh my god, the
commercials are so scale this year. But when that Nike
(04:06):
commercial came on, it just changed the game for the
conversation when it came to the Super Bowl ads this year.
What did you think about the Nike So Win campaign?
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Yeah, oh my god, that stole the show.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
I've already used the slogan because you know, people love
Asia Wilson, as you know, they love to talk about
her good but sometimes not always the right way. So
I just reminded people like the Nike ad said you
can't win, so go win, right, and so amazing, Like
the ad was breathtaking visually, conceptually, and the messaging and
(04:41):
just the athletes. Of course, I know she's not a
basketball player, but I think just the ending with Jordan
Chiles doing the Nike.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Symbol like what I mean, there were just so many
things about that ad.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
I loved Juju with the hands over the net and
hanging down. I mean, like, I watch that ad so
many times that night while the game was going on,
which is crazy because I am an Eagles fan, so
I was very happy obviously about the outcome, but I
could not stop watching it. I've continued to watch it.
I sent it to so many people like they weren't
(05:15):
also seeing.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
It, but it was just like, oh my god, I've seen.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
This office talk the next day. Just is an incredible
ad and I mean you'd expect no less from Nike.
And I mean, look at the lineup of athletes you
name them. You had Caitlin Clark, you had Asia Wilson,
you had Juju Wakin, Sabrina and Escu. They all looked amazing, fierce,
and I love that there's individual like sub campaigns almost
(05:41):
in there for each of them. So most of them
like posted on social afterwards with like their part of
the campaign.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
And it was beautiful.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Oh I agree, And I feel like it personally resonated me,
especially as a black woman in sport, just how sometimes
people can put you in a box or just these
their own limitations, set their own limitations on you, and
then you flip it around by just showing that you
can produce, that you can win in any situation. So
(06:10):
I like how personable the ad was, and obviously just
seeing w NBA stars or just women athletes in general
on the biggest stage and having the best commercial by far,
I think that it was a win win for everyone.
And then on the Nike tip, also I loved the
Jordan Brand commercial when Philly won. My friend Dave aka
(06:31):
to Ching, if you ever came to a street ball
tournament in New York City, the voice of New York
Team to Ching, shout out to Dave. He narrated that commercial.
So I love how, you know, just having those connections
in touch.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
Point the one for Jalen Hurts. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
But I'm talking about the one for Jalen Hurts. Now
You're a good girl, I was saying. I also liked
that commercial but from Jordan Brand as well, one because
someone that I personally know was narrating the voiceover and
voice of basketball in New York. I said, But also
I just think that it was just keep it simple, stupid.
That is my strategy for life. Just keep it simple
(07:07):
and the rest will flow. But I absolutely love those
two ads were my top faith from the Super Bowl.
Going back to ads right. Another big ad that made
headlines this week was the Angel Reese McDonald's commercial and
it featured New York Liberty star Brianna Stewart, WNBA legend,
(07:28):
Lisa Leslie, Lotto and more people as well. And so,
what did you think about the McDonald's I love that
it paid homage to, you know, those that came before
her and also the future of the sport, but also
how much she looks out for her people. We know
that when Angel Reese was in college, Lotto feature her
(07:48):
in that video with Cardi B. And so I love
that Angel Reese is a girl's girl, and I think
that this was a huge cultural moment just for women's sports,
to see women in the front and center of some
of the biggest ads of the week.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Yeah, that was a very dope thing to see the commercial.
I love when she's like with Lisa Leslie and she's like, yeah,
o gee, you know, just the respect that Angel shows
to the giants that came before her. I feel like
you know, And I don't want to like judge all
younger people or put you know, people into a box.
(08:28):
Right everyone ever, people are individuals. But sometimes whether it's
sports or music, you don't always see that reverence sometimes
for those that came before us. And she always pays reverence.
And I think that's an incredible trait about her, and
so I love that. I love that she had Stewie
(08:50):
in there, her former teammate, like she just like you said,
she looks out for her people.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
I am in awe of Angel the time.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
And that's why I'm sort of struggling to find my
words because we've talked about her before. But like her
crown is so heavy, and she has to carry and
deal with so much. And I know publicly she presents
as strong, and I'm sure she is strong, but as
a black woman, you know, I know, and I don't
(09:22):
have anywhere the amount of like burden that Angel Reaves
has to carry. But we often have to present as
strong and do all these things, and we don't have
moments to be vulnerable, you.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Know, and so and we're not given grace.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
And so when you just constantly see her often being
attacked and she just comes with another one, another endorsement,
a cover on a magazine. You know, it's like, she's
just so fierce, and she is also one of the
top basketball players in the world.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
And I want to make that very clear, because.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
There's this idea that like she's just an off the
court kind of person and like she's you know, like
she's not this great basketball player, and she is, you know,
and you're even seeing an unrivaled each week as she's
getting better and better and she's still dominating on the
boards and the glass, and so I'm so proud of her.
I thought the commercial was so dope. I love seeing
(10:20):
the other players in it. I love her sharing her
moment with them, and I just look forward to all
that she's gonna do because I know there's gonna be
so much more.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
She never stops.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Okay, y'all, we're gonna take a quick break and when
we get back more headlines with Natalie Esquire Unrivaled. They
introduced their one B one tournament this week, and we've
(10:53):
already seen round one of the competition. We know that
there is a huge prize pot over three hundred thousand
dollars on the line and the winner, the individual player
that wins will walk home with two hundred thousand dollars
and by the time this episode is published, we will
potentially I mean no, we'll get the round two by
(11:15):
the time this episode is published. So what were her
thoughts on Round one? I have my own thoughts, Okay.
One of my personal favorite parts about the one v
one tournament was that or learning that each player chose
the song that they would come out to, because I
was super confused when Lexi Hall came out to a
little boozy set it off. I was like, WHOA, what
(11:37):
is going on? But then I was scrolling X and
I saw djn Carrington say something. Angel Reese was like, yeah,
guess who picked that song for her? So I thought
that was super funny. I was personally surprised that Stewie
lost twelve to zero to Leah Edwards. That was very,
very shocking. I do think that this one v one tournament.
(12:00):
I wouldn't say it exposes anyone, but it just shows,
you know, just a certain skill sets. Not everyone is
a one B one player. A lot of people or
a lot of athletes can simply play into system and
be great in that, and so I just thought it
was fun. I thought that the matchups swore was kind
of evenly matched. I like that Lexi Hall, she put
(12:20):
up a good fight against Ryan Howard. What were your
thoughts about the one B one tournament.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
You know, I think it's okay to say that some
players get exposed and unrival maybe not specifically the one
on one, but I mean Satu soldly said that, you know,
when talking about like three on three format and the
players themselves, they said that because like there's no one
there to like, it's them. They have to defend, they
have to do everything, and like we saw last night,
(12:45):
like these are the top athletes in the world, and
after they were done, they were breathing heavily, you know,
and they're just like, you know, it's a lot of work,
you know. So I love what Kullyacopper said when she
was just like, I think the big girls need their own,
you know, bracket, and I think that's something to consider.
But it also sort of makes it fun because like
(13:06):
the bigs versus the guards were interesting. You saw how
Skylar her strategy with like the fouling. She is diabolical, by.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
The way, but like I a minute, she is a minute.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
So I think, like the first time you really saw
that play out was with like Chelsea Gray and Shakierra
Austin and shout out to Shakira, Like how incredible for her.
Like to me, she's just one of the great stories
of Unrival because I've loved just seeing her on the
court and playing and being healthy. And I thought like
in her post game she was saying a lot in
her post game right, like she's like that's what I do,
(13:39):
and like basically like when she's healthy, no one can
beat her, and like I get it, Like it seemed
like she probably felt some type of way about being
where she was seated and you know, all that kind
of stuff. Again, she didn't say that, but like there
was a tone to her postgame commentary and I love that.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
I like that.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
She's gonna probably be going into the next season with that.
She looks good and you just beat Chelsea Gray the
point God, you know what I'm saying. But you saw
that on display because her length was really an issue
for Chelsea and Chelsea was trying to like get to
the rim and she block it, which forced Chelsea to
have to just make a bunch of tough shots, which
we know Chelsea Gray can do. But on a night
(14:16):
when they're not falling. Then that worked out in Shahera's favor.
And so you when you see a matchup like that,
you kind of say, oh, it's probably a bad matchup
where you do wonder should guards be playing guards? Like
with Ka in her case, like she said, she's a
she's a big guard. She's a tall guard, so she
can kind of hang with a big with like Aliyah,
and so it's a different kind of outcome there. And
(14:36):
Skyler her shot was falling, so she was able to
get her shots off. Plus she had that strategy. So
I could imagine some of the other guards maybe if
they have to, like you know, go up against the
big again, employing maybe Skylar's strategy, because you know, sometimes
those matchups can be interesting with the guards in the post.
But I loved it. And for Aliyah Edwards, like come on,
(14:59):
like that's ragging rights. You beat Stewie. And I think
with Stewie for that, it's probably more of a like
a Alia Edwards is her teammate, right, and they're both yukon.
But you you're like, Okay, she's probably not even guarding
her as close as she needs to be, cause like
you're not expecting Alia Edwards to rain threes, like from
what we know of her, that's not her game. So
(15:21):
it was so fast, and it was so quick, you know,
like Brianna was probably a little surprised. So it was great.
It's all in good fun. And I love that she
congratulated her after on Twitter. She's one of the faces
of unrivaled, right her and and the FESA started this,
and so you need her to be a good sport
about this. You know, you heard the story years ago
(15:41):
of Lebron getting dunked on in the footage getting you know,
taken away, right, like the fact that allegedly right, the
fact that she's allowing this to happen, similar to Stephen
Curry playing Sabrina Jonescu and three point Challenge and being
okay if he loses to her, right, Like you need that,
and so Stewie being okay that she lost like that,
(16:03):
and she knows like the internet may clown her or
whatever may come with it. That's all a part of
growing women's basketball. Because Kenneth Parker talked about this, we
have to start talking about the game like the way
we talk about men's sports, and to normalize and not
disrespecting the players. But you know, barbershops talk the things
that happens. We can say, oh, this person got cooked.
(16:24):
You know, I saw Chelsea Gray got cooked, and it's like, yeah,
you're a Chelsea Gray fan. You may not like hearing that,
but she did. She got cooked. And we need to
be able to talk about them like that. We know
these are all legends, these are all the top players.
There's no disrespect intended. It was fun, it was great.
And I love what Rival's doing for women's basketball right now.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
And how about all five Luna Owls making it to
the second round. I mean, and they are still the
only undefeated team at Unrivals right now, so that speaks
for itself. I'm looking forward to seeing Courtney Williams and
Ali Chagray matchup. I think that's the next match up
in round two. So I guess we'll see that and
(17:02):
we'll figure it out. But I need to know your predictions.
Who do you have holding up that trophy at the
end of the one v one tournament?
Speaker 3 (17:11):
Oh gosh, girl, that's so hard.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Well, first, let me ask this question because there's some
players who ended up having to pull out a unrivaled
and I can't remember the full list. Is Kayla McBride
one of them?
Speaker 1 (17:26):
She is, She's out.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
I had Caleb McBride is like the sneaky underdog, and
I'm pretty sure I had like tweeted that or something
because she's been playing such beautiful basketball and unrivaled and
just interviewing her there, the way she talks about this
being like, you know, pure hoops and just everything, I
thought she really had like a really strong chance. Oh
my gosh, you're really putting me on the spot here.
(17:49):
I feel like, ah, shoot.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
I don't know. I honestly do not know.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
I mean, after seeing this strategy that Skyler imposed, it's
hard to go against fee right with the way she's
been playing in general, for Kia looked really good yesterday.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Alesha, g shit, I'm sorry. Sorry.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
I know people are thinking like every Quay or like
Jewel Lloyd. They're probably like the favored people. But fat,
I'm gonna just go with the player that's been playing
the best and unrivaled.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Fie. I'm gonna go in a Fisa Collier.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
I like that. I think he can win it all too.
I'm not gonna lie. I think her. My second choice
would be Skyler Diggan Smith only because she's a small
she's small, got but got big heart, and she plays deepense.
She has strategy as we saw yesterday, like just her
IQ level, she's not backing down. I think I saw
her stripped Deer Cook in the first round in one
(18:59):
position as well. I just think just her IQ and
her the way she competes that sends her apart. And
so either one of those two I could see definitely
winning and I think that they, as Alicia ed Gray
and all the players stated, conditioning is a huge, huge
part of it as well. Can't get gassed. I remember
(19:21):
seeing Jackie Young she was playing in the first round
and at one point had gotten filed and then she
was down, but she also used that as a point
of her strategy to get a breath and get back
up and compete. So it'll be interesting to see what
happens in round two and beyond for unrivals one v
one tournament. All right, moving on to the herder stuff
(19:42):
and the headlines, and I'll kind of break this down
for the audience that's listening. Katie Lou Samuelson and the
Indiana Fever have agreed to a contract divorce, so Katie
Lou Samuelson was on a deal worth over a little
bit over one hundred and eighty thousand dollars with the
Indiana Fever, and that deal was a protected deal, And
(20:03):
so what happened is they mutually agreed to a buyout
agreement and Katie Lou was taking a little bit over
one hundred and six thousand dollars and that's her existing
contract minus the veteran minimum plus five K for the
right of set off rule per her hoop stats, and
then if she clears waivers this week, she will become
(20:23):
an unrestricted free agent. Now, league sources tell me that
there are several teams interested in Katie Lou Samuelson. Now,
for what it's worth, Katie Lou is a shooter right
and there are a few teams out there who are
a few pieces away, I think from building out their
bench to be able to really compete. I can see
(20:45):
Katie Lou in maybe a Seattle I can see Katie Lou,
and maybe a Minnesota. I can see Katie Lou. Maybe Vegas,
maybe they can sign her to come off the bench
to help with some of the shooting. So it'll be
really interesting to see where she lands. After this buyout
with Indiana, obviously they needed to clear cap space. So
(21:05):
now this creates more room for Indiana to sign another player.
And if you think the Indiana fever, the Indiana you
are already a really really good team and now we
have more cap space to get it even better, to
even become more solid. So I know this might be
a little bit too much for you, net but you
know where could you see Katie Lou being of a
(21:29):
help to you? Oh which roster?
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah, so first I would also say like shout out
to Katie Lou because I think it's I mean, obviously
it's I usually agreed upon separation and she's getting the buyout.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
But it's a little different than the Marina Maybery situation.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
But I think it's good that players are having you know,
movement and exercising you know that right, pushing it, you know,
to get themselves to where they want to be. You know,
we just saw the NWSL get rid of a draft,
which gives players there's more options to move and be
where they want to be. And why shouldn't they have
the right, just like us in our jobs, to work
(22:06):
where they want to be. And so you know, the
fever loaded up, and there's probably not like a really
natural place for Katie Lou on that team anymore where
she's probably going to get the minutes that she would
desire or a rotation spot that she wants, And so
good for her. You pointed out that it's the minus
the veteran minimum, so now a team can offer her
the vet minimum and she'll get that salary back. But
(22:29):
that will help a team that's financially strapped. So you
bring up a team like Vegas, I wonder after signing
Tiffinny Mitchell though, like if they would still go after
Katie Lou but sure, like who doesn't want more shooting
and so like, that's definitely the kind of player, at
least from a financial, you know position, I think would
(22:50):
be a player that Vegas could target and would be
realistic for them at least financially to sign because they
don't really have a lot of room and so because
of that buy that would help a team like them.
Seattle though, is badly in need of replacing some of
that production that they're losing with Jewel Lloyd. And yes
(23:11):
they are going to have Gabby the entire season, and
Neka and even Gabby they took less than what they
could make to leave Seattle with some money. So if
they could sign Katie Lou also on the minimum, that
would still probably leave them money to still go out
and do more if they because right now I don't
have Seattle anymore as like a contending team. I think
(23:32):
they need to do. I think they're a very good team,
but you don't just lose Jewel Lloyd. And also, like
I mean, we don't know what was going to happen,
but like Jordan Horston, you know.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
It was just about to say. So I was have
Athletes Unlimited actually saw firsthand the Jordan Horston injury at
Athletes Unlimited and obviously still waiting for evaluations and the
MRI to report to come out. When she went down,
she was holding like her knee or her leg and
it looked really really bad. I was sitting court side
(24:07):
by the way, so I heard and saw everything. Obviously,
Coach Noe and Ebie Hoffin was there, so you know,
they kind of have a feel about what's going on firsthand.
And so you know, my prayers are up to Jordan
and I hope she's okay. We know that she's just
come back from an injury not too long ago. But
(24:28):
that's a big hole if you lose Jordan Horsten before
the season starts.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
So you know, I don't know what Seattle plans are,
right because like, on one hand, they're gonna have Yabby
the full season, you also have players just taking a
natural leap, so you expect Ezzie to take another leap forward.
Mekka is still Neka Skyler is playing right now out
of her mind. That's how she ended the season. It's
(24:53):
continuing into unrivaled. You know, I think when she first
got to Seattle, she started off a little slow. You know,
she's coming back and you know, pregnancy all those things.
So but she's like inform and she looks really good.
So the team is also going to have another year together.
Yes it will be minus Jewel, but like you're gonna
have like some more continuity, so they'll be better anyway naturally,
(25:15):
And there might be like an idea of like doing
it by committee, but still Jewel Lloyd is hard to replace,
and so getting you know, another bone to fide shooter
on that roster, especially in light of what we don't
know with Jordan Horston, just prayers up for her. So
I think Seattle really needs to be a team that
probably goes after her. I don't know if your sources,
(25:39):
Miss Insider, if that's one of the teams they've said
is on the list. I could definitely see Seattle obviously.
I'm sure if she's doing this buyout, she wants to
be like on a contending team. The Mercury needs to
also follow. They have the too, yes, they have the
cap Staves and but also again with her being buy out,
(26:00):
try to get Katie Lou on a minimum and you
can still go get other players I think of the
teams because she's leaving Indiana, do you think the Liberty
would have any interest in her?
Speaker 1 (26:12):
League sources have told me that the Liberty are not
going to be in the running for Katie Lou.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
Okay, what about the Links?
Speaker 1 (26:20):
The Links I'm here may be interested in her?
Speaker 2 (26:23):
Yeah, okay, yeah, So I mean I think it's one
of the contenders. You know, I think it's probably those
those four teams that we just said, but I think
Seattle or Phoenix to me, I would probably put them
ahead of like a team like the Links or Aces.
Speaker 3 (26:41):
But I could see her working probably on any of
those four rosters to different degrees.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
I agree. Hey, we're gonna just pause right there for
another quick break, and here's a word from our sponsors
going back to me attendant AU. And then you're talking
about the Jordan Horston injury and saying that they need
(27:09):
a shooter. I mean, what Jordan Horston does defensively as well,
and then her size that matters and you need a
player who can account for that. And there aren't many
free agents on the market who can do that. But
I was watching Athletes Unlimited and you know, over the
last few years it's become a breeding ground for gms
and coaches to go and do some scouting. And one
(27:31):
player I think that deserves to at least get a
training camp contract or an extra look is Crystal Bradford.
She played in China recently with Camilla Cardoso, came back
stateside and it's doing her second season at AU and
Tarika Fossil Brasby wrote an article about her movers of
the Week for Athletes Unlimited and Crystal Bradford was one
(27:52):
of those players who played phenomenally this past weekend on
both ends of the floor. I know that in the past,
just based off conversation that I've had with several people
around the league. I know that there was questions about
her character. We know what happened in Atlanta with the
tenders and bites truck Courtney Williams. But I think that
(28:13):
people deserve second chances. We've seen what a second chance
got Courtney where it got her. You know, all star
level player went to the finals this year. I think
that Crystal Bradford has matured in so many ways. Just
me seeing her in person this year, because the last
time I saw her was last year in Dallas, so
being able to see her. She's in shape. She's in
(28:35):
tip top shape, like tiptop shape, lost some weight, got
some muscle. Just her mindset is different, the way she
leads on the court. I was hearing her, the way
she was talking and communicating with her teammates, just seeing
her hustle. I think that she could be someone that
GM should or is worth looking at in terms of
a training camp contract maybe or signing for a minimum.
(28:58):
I could see her helping a team like the Aces,
helping a team maybe like Seattle, be better coming off
the bench. She can score, she can defend, and that's
a player that if people are not looking at. I
think that they should look at as a possible help
to Seattle now that they may not have Jordan Horston.
(29:18):
All right, and rounding out our topics of the week,
the Las Vegas Aces have made some additions and subtractions.
So Sidney Colson has signed a one year deal with
the Indiana Fever, Alicia Clark is returning to the Seattle Storm,
and of course we know about the blockbuster trade that
(29:38):
sent Kelsey Plumb to the Los Angeles Sparks for Jewel Lloyd.
And then on the addition side, they added Diane Parker, Tyas,
Tiffany Mitchell, Dana Evans, They've re signed Queen Eggbow, and
then they have Elizabeth Kitley who was drafted in twenty
twenty four and was sidelined due to injury the possible
return in the twenty twenty five seasons. So, Natalie, what
(30:00):
do you like about the subtractions and the additions to
this Las Vegas Aces squad.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
Yeah, So, as far as like the subtractions, I think
that while sid Coulson is a huge locker room loss,
and she is a basketball loss too, I always thought
Sid's production and what she does for the Aces was replaceable,
so that from just a basketball like on the court
(30:26):
standpoint didn't feel that huge to me.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
But culturally, like from a team culture and locker room,
you know, she was so much intertwined with the identity
of that team and who the Aces are.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
So I thought in that aspect, you know, it was
a big loss, and it's gonna.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
Be interesting to me to see her on the fever
and how she fits.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
In there because, like what we know, such her big personality,
So she's gonna definitely bring a different kind of like
personality to that team. So it's gonna be interesting to
watch that in Indiana. I didn't expect that. That wasn't
on my bingo card.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Oh so, one thing I want to say about Sid,
I mean, I know you said that what she does
is replaceable, but the Aces don't win that championship against
the New York Liberty without Sid being a plus seventeen.
I mean, I agree with you. I think that she
coachally brought so much to that locker room. I'm excited
to see her in Indiana. I think that Indiana one
was able to make all of the signings that they
(31:22):
did because one, they made a front office change. First, right,
you add an Amber Cox front of the show. By
the way, she has a lot of great relationships with players,
and that's the most important thing when you were recruiting.
I think that from the inside out, the Fever had
to change the front office because there were murmurs right
that players were not happy with what was happening in
(31:43):
the front office with the Indiana Fever. And in the
off season, top to bottom, they made changes from the
coaching to the general manager to the president of the Fever,
and they brought in people one that you know, know
what it takes to win, but just women who gets
the job done. And so I think that that was
one of the reasons why Sid also left. But also money.
(32:04):
They're paying her a little bit more than what the
Aces was giving her at the VET minimum. She's getting
about ninety thousand dollars with the Indiana Fevers. So I
mean that makes a difference. Right. For so long players
have been encouraged just take less, just take let's do
what's best for the team. But you see in this
free agency the players are not really trying to do
that right now.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
It does I mean, I don't know Sid, I don't
I'm not an insider like Christina.
Speaker 3 (32:29):
I don't know anything, I think it's the money.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Like I think if Vegas could match that, I think
Sid would still be in Vegas. So it's not like
Vegas doesn't have a great culture as we know it.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
They you know.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
I feel like in this move of like facilities and
all this stuff, people are forgetting that Vegas was one
of the trendsetters in this and like started that, and
so they've had that culture, they've had the facilities. You know,
she already had it in Vegas, you know. So but
get your bag, you know. And so while I don't
(33:03):
think I agree with you that, I don't think the
Aces win without what she did. That can always be
said of any player on any team who's like a
good role player and does their part. And so like
again I'm not trying to disrespect Sid, but like I
thought that was replaceable.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
And the reason I bring that up is not about Sid.
Sid's amazing.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
It's about there's this narrative that's trying to, in my opinion,
be formed about the Aces and like, oh, they've gotten
worse and like they're in this dire situation because they
lost like all these like big pieces and you're not
I'm sorry, you're not selling me on Sid being a big,
big basketball piece for the Aces. You know, with all
respect to Sid, you're just not. But I don't want
(33:43):
to because in the same vein like with the Liberty right,
you lose a KT, right, and the impact of a
player on the locker room is real, And so I
don't want to discount what Sid brings to the Aces organization.
But everything in Vagus will always start and end with
Asia Wilson, and as long as you have her at
(34:04):
the top, you build around that and they're going to
always be in good shape. And that's true of any
great player. If you want to equate it to the NBA, right,
that's going to be true Lebron, That's going to be
true of Stephen Curry. That was true with Michael Jordan, right,
And so it's not like a disrespect to the to
the rest of it and the other co stars, but
(34:24):
it always starts and ends with who the franchise star
is not in.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
Dallas, though not with Luca I'm joking.
Speaker 2 (34:33):
Yeah, but Candice Parker, like I can bring it back
to the w NBA, right, and and and all the
great but in terms of the rest of like what's
happening with with Vegas, and so Alicia Clark is tremendous,
you know, and I like, obviously she has roots in
Seattle and they also were giving her a bump up
and pay. Last year was a little bit of a
(34:55):
down season for Alicia and I and I think what's
really important for people, because I feel strongly about this
to think about with Vegas and a lot of this insight,
some of it I get from Callie Finn, who covers
the Las Vegas aces right and she's there up close
and personal watching them. But like I think people just
(35:15):
are like, oh, Vegas loss, and like they didn't have
a bench, and like that's why. And I feel like
that sells short, like what happened in Vegas last season.
So Cally just put out like a really great story
yesterday that people should go read. But in general just
about their season. Like as we covered the season last year,
you have to remember you had Chelsea Gray who was
(35:35):
returning from injury and did not start the season. She
missed a number of games, right Jackie Young got injured.
Post Olympics, you had the Olympics and they had several
players not just their core four, but you also had
Tip who was an Olympia, like several of their players' Olympians, right,
and when Chelsea Gray is like missing for that chunk
of the season. Now players are playing out of position
(35:58):
because you're asking Jackie Young to all handle more and
dude more than she normally does. You're asking Kelsey Plump
to pick up more. Kelsey was also just dealing with
a lot of personal stuff in her life.
Speaker 3 (36:09):
Right. You had a lot that was happening. A team
that had already won two championships, so they already play
further into the season, right, So there's a lot of
wear and tear on those players, and so I think
there was a lot of things. It was like a
culmination of things that affected the Aces. The Liberty were
just a better team all season. Please Christina, make sure
(36:29):
Liberty fans hear me saying that the Liberty were just
a better team. So were the Minnesota Links, and that's
why they were at the top. But I think that
there's a lot of stock being put into last season,
and I feel like last season was an anomaly for
the Aces. I don't think that's like what their situation is.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
So I really like their additions because if you're paying
attention to what happened last year, Like the depth did
impact them that other teams had, but a lot of
that was like also because the people that they did
have coming off their bench were older, right, and so
they were slower, right, so they got younger. They added
Tiffany Mitchell, which you know, so you get a game
(37:10):
Cox reunion. I love the Parker Tias signing. It gives
Asia that much needed help in the front core. And
to me, that was one of the glaring, biggest, most egregious, uh,
just one of the glaring things last year that was
like really problematic with the Aces, and now she's getting
(37:31):
a former All Star. I'm sure Parketiss, who also had
a somewhat down here last year, probably looking to remind
people what she can do.
Speaker 3 (37:40):
And so I really like that signing. Of course, they
added Jeweloyd.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
I think there are a lot of people playing with
Jeweloyd's name as well in terms of like what she
can do. So I feel like, listen, I've watched it,
like the Aces remind me a lot of the Warriors,
and I've watched it as a Warriors fan, Like when
you do the team they lose, they come back the
vengeance that they have, So this idea that they got worse.
(38:06):
I don't think they got worse. I actually think they
got better at Kelsey's spot. Kelsey's great again, no disrespect
to her, like, but Jewels a bigger guard, She's a
better defender. I think they got better at that spot.
And so I like they short up there starting five.
They added Dana Evans as well, so now they have
(38:28):
some shooting coming off the bench, They have some scoring
coming off the bench, and they have a lot of bigs.
So you know you mentioned Queen Eggbow. You still have
you know, Megan on the team. You still have you
mentioned kit Lee. That's a huge piece for the Aces.
(38:48):
And Becky Hammond is on record saying that she expects,
you know, kit Lee to be playing like her best
basketball come like July. So I think we're gonna see
her before July. But as Callie broke it down to me,
that likely means that it's going to be like a
ramp up for her, right, So they're gonna still need
(39:08):
that help in the front court until she's like ready
to really contribute. And Christina, they still have a draft pick,
which you can view that as an asset. They lost
it because of an investigation they got a draft pick right,
so now that's an asset they have or another piece
that they can have add in a very deep draft.
I think the Aces are in very good composition. I
(39:30):
think they are still a contending team. I would not
put them right now ahead of the Links or the Liberty.
Those would still be the top two teams to me,
but I would still put them ahead of the Fever.
I think they're they're probably the third best team coming
in if I were doing power rankings today. I love
their moves. They got younger, they got Asia at the
front court help she needs. They're going to be reinvigorated.
(39:50):
Despite Chelsea Gray's loss last night in Unrivaled, she looked
great's she's looking like the point god again and they're
going to have her fresh to start the season.
Speaker 3 (40:00):
I think that it would be a mistake to sleep
on the Las Vegas Aces.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
Yeah, and let's not forget Asha Wilson is still the
rating MVP, which is on a different gear when people
underestimate her. So of course she's gonna come back and
the Aces come back. I think it's interesting that you
compared them to the Warriors when they had that down
here and came back and won the championship. I do
(40:23):
think that we have to monitor Jackie Young's health. I mean, unrivaled.
It's been really hard to see her try to get
back into the game slowly she is suffering from an injury.
If I were her, I'm not a doctor, I don't
know what's exactly what's going on, but I always shut
it down and rest and recover to get ready for
(40:45):
the season. We saw what happened in that one v
one tournament when she would hit the floor. I wouldn't
want to take any chances if I'm Jackie Young or
the last Vegas aces and so I think that their
success obviously will get hurt. If Jackie Young is not
ready or healthy for the season, that does slim in
their chances because she just contributes so much to the squad.
(41:06):
Very interesting you brought up how she was playing the
point guard for the twenty twenty four season. We saw
her do that at Notre Dame and she was their
successful number one pick. So I think it's great when
you can have her play in different positions as well.
It lends to the versatility of the roster. I'm excited
as you mentioned Tiffany Mitchell and Asia Wilson teaming up again.
(41:28):
I know Game Clops fans everywhere are excited. I'm also
excited to see the development of Dana Evans. I think
that the coaching staff that he did a great job
at going out and getting Tie and John Lucas to
add to the staff. With the exits of Todd Marsh's
now the head coach of the Chicago Sky and Natalie
Nicasse who's the head coach of the Golden State Valkyries,
(41:50):
it's always going to be about developing these young stars.
You mentioned how young they are. It's going to be
about that development and them getting better, and that's going
to strengthen in the Las Vegas Aces.
Speaker 2 (42:00):
Damon Evans, that seemed like it was a down year
for her in Chicago last year, and there there was
just a lot of changes. Obviously, you bring in two
lottery picks and and Angel Reese and Kamila Cardozo and
the team is really now going to be about them.
So it sort of changed, you know, maybe her trajectory
(42:20):
a little bit, but it seemed like just everybody kind
of knowing their roles last year in Chicago, it just
didn't maybe work out the way that it needs to
so she gets this fresh start. She seems very excited
about it. She changed that name on her on her Instagram,
but quickly the updates to let let let everyone know
she's with the Las Vegas Aces.
Speaker 3 (42:39):
How do you think Dana will do there?
Speaker 2 (42:41):
You said that you liked the move for her, but
based on seeing what happened last year, I mean, I
guess what do you think happened and what do you
what are your expectations for her next season?
Speaker 1 (42:50):
What happened last year? Laman in that locker room, so
I don't necessarily know. I remember her representative had posted
or published a post on x saying that they had
requested a trade at the trade deadline, and we know
she did not get traded from the Chicago Sky Marina
Maybrey left, so it seemed like there were just maybe
(43:10):
some locker room issues in Chicago. Diamond de Shields is
now with the Connecticut Sun. We've seen Marina Connecticut with
Connecticut as well, different players taking exits out of Chicago.
But now it seems like when you have a new coach,
they want to fill out their rosters to the best
of their ability, and so maybe she just didn't fit
(43:31):
into what Tdy Marsh is having planned for the Chicago
Sky They've signed a player like he and Nurse, which
is more veteran than Dana Evans. I think it's great
that she's now at the Las Vegas Aces. She gets
to learn from the point God and Chelsea Gray. But
like I said, I'm super excited to see what her
(43:53):
ceiling is under Becky Hammond. When I think about Dana Evans,
I think about how Jackie Young was developed by Ti Marsh,
and I can see something similar in terms of her
trajectory being the same, where she becomes more of a sharpshooter,
more efficient at that, and also just how her IQ
increases as a basketball player. I think that she can
(44:15):
provide a spark off the bench, but it's gonna take
some time. And so, like I said, I'm most excited
to see how this coaching staff will help her improve
her game. But she has some great vets, a great
core to learn from. These are players who have won
at every level. So I'm excited to see, you know,
just a re emergence of Dana Evans. I know that
(44:37):
also at the end of the season, Dana and Izzy
Harrison had talked about the mental aspect playing a role
into their time in Chicago. So just seeing her get
back to the main thing and just seeing her fall
in love with basketball again. I think that that's what
makes me excited about Dana Evans in Las Vegas. And
so yeah, I'm just excited for this young core and
(44:59):
just to see every pans out. I mean on paper,
as you said, everyone questioned for the last couple of years,
Vegas's bench and their Black of Death, and you add
these pieces not necessarily huge names, right, but like these
mid tier players who can make something happen. And I'm
also excited for Cheyenne Parker Tias because people forget that
(45:22):
she was an All Star in twenty twenty three and
she may have had a down year last year, but
I think that she might have a breakout year as well.
With more responsibility in helping Asia Wilson in that front court,
I think that people will change their narratives and how
they think or see some of these players, you know
what I mean. So that's what I'm excited about the
most about the Las Vegas Agies. We didn't talk about
(45:44):
them losing Tiffany Hayes, but you know, I think that
also is plays a huge part as well, and losing
a player like Tiffany Hayes who won six Player of
the Year. It's kind of crazy when you think about
who has won six Player of the Year over last
several years. Maybe a member of the Aces will win
it again. If you go to the Aces, you're bound
(46:07):
to be a six Player of the Year day.
Speaker 3 (46:09):
She got paid day.
Speaker 1 (46:10):
So I think that with the subtractions, right, it came
down to, like, who's paying any more? Who's getting me
the bag? Because all four players who left right with
the exception of Kelsey Plumb, they're going to teams with
the facilities, with the resources, but all of the things right,
so it comes down to how can this benefit me?
(46:31):
I think no, not to the Aces at all, but
I think that they probably have made the decision like, Okay,
they're paying me more here. But also I think that
the Valkyries got better because they needed a star and
Tiffany Hayes is a starter. She's worthy of that, and
so I'm excited to see one on her and Kate
(46:51):
Money Kate Martin reunite on the Valkyries. But also I
think that Minnesota kind of set the tone when it
came to just getting a bunch of underdogs and putting
them on a roster. And you don't need big. You
need to go super big when it comes to formulating
a w team that can compete. Right. I don't think
(47:12):
the Valkyries are gonna win a championship, but I think
that now they can at least have some dog in
the fight. What do you think.
Speaker 2 (47:19):
I don't think the Valkyries are going to be very good,
but we'll see. I mean, I like, but I expected
that in the first year, so I was just to
like to put a bow on. Like the Aces, the
last thing I'll say about them is that just one
other thing I want to like. And again this is
all my opinion, but I want to shift this narrative
a little bit. There's this idea that like all their
(47:41):
players loft like left them. I think the Aces were
okay losing those players, Like I think the Aces maybe
didn't want to keep some of those players. In the
nicest way, Becky let us know that when she said
this team is going to look different, right, So it's
not all like, oh, these players are all just leaving
(48:02):
the Aces and they're ch like, No, the Aces are
okay parting ways because they understand they need to make
changes to their roster and are also still thankful and
grateful for those players and their contributions and what they did.
Speaker 3 (48:15):
It's not like they're.
Speaker 2 (48:16):
Just leaving because the Aces are like this bad place
to be and no one wants to play with Asia Wilson.
So these narratives that get fun, I just I want
to kind of put them in check. But you know,
to the Valkyries, there were a lot of people who thought,
like Kelsey Plumb could like end up on you know,
the Valkyries, and I never understood that.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
Like I think it was because of her relationship with Natalie.
I think that's why. But according to my sources, Los
Angeles was the choice for Kelsey's you know, where she
wants to go. But yeah, no, great conversation, and that's
going to wrap it up for this week's headlines in
women's basketball and women's sports. Thank you so much Natalie
(48:59):
for joining.
Speaker 3 (49:00):
Us this week. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (49:03):
Hang tight, y'all. We'll be right back with one of
my favorite segments, the Things that I loved this week.
Welcome back to in case you missed it with Christina
Williams and shout out to my girl Natalie again for
(49:24):
joining us this week to break down the latest headlines.
But as you guys know, it's my favorite part of
the show. And here is the thing that I loved
this week. Okay, so the thing that I loved this
week was obviously I talked about at the top of
the show, but just being in Nashville. But the thing
that I loved about being in Nashville was the reunion
(49:45):
between me and my girls. Shout out to Tarika fossor Brasby,
Brady Diaz and Ross golds On Wooded. All three have
been on the show, but they are by homegirls in
real life. Just being able to take a pause from
our busy, busy schedules. I mean, obviously we were in
Nashville working, but we had some time to go out
and enjoy the town and just celebrate all of our
(50:08):
wins together. And so I had a lot of fun
being in Nashville. The weather was beautiful, the culture and
vibes were great. I think we were on Broadway or
broad Street. Don't correct me if I'm wrong, but AnyWho,
just seeing all of the vibrancy of Nashville. We saw
a bride with all of her sequence and everybody had
(50:29):
their cowboy hats on and it was a lot going on,
but it was good vibes. So that was the one
thing that I loved this week. And I'm also looking
forward to head into the Bay this weekend for NBA
All Stars. So if you guys see your girl out there,
make sure you stop and say hello. We're gonna be
recording some live show, so definitely stop by to check
(50:49):
us out, and that's gonna do it for this week's episode.
Make sure you rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast,
and I'll see you guys in the day in case
you missed it. With Christina Williams is an iHeart women's
sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment.
(51:10):
You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
In Case You Missed It with Christina Williams is an
iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports
and Entertainment. What's Up, y'all, welcome to another edition of
In Case You Missed It with Christina Williams. And I
am super excited to be back home for a couple
(00:23):
of days. So I went to Nashville for opening weekend
of Athletes Unlimited Basketball. And for those of you who
do not know what AU is, it's a pro women's
basketball league that lasts for a month from February to
the first week of March. And for the first year
they were in Las Vegas, then they did two seasons
in Dallas, and now they're in Nashville, so bringing pro
(00:45):
basketball to Nashville. There's a lot of WNBA players there,
and what makes AU super unique is that they have
different rosters every week, so a new draft every week,
and they have a different kind of point system with
the leaderboard, and at the end of the competition, there's
actually one champion as opposed to an entire team. So AnyWho,
(01:07):
I was super excited to go to Nashville and visit
Athletes Unlimited. Always good to just be in and around
women's sports. So, you know, I didn't have a lot
of time to tour Nashville, but me and Friend to
the Show, Taarrika Foster Brasby, we did have a chance
to visit the African American Music Museum, and so that
(01:27):
was really fun. We had some really good food and
it was just a really good time. So I'm happy
to be back in New York, and you know, there's
so much to talk about. And here joining me this
week to help break down the latest and greatest and
women's basketball and beyond is friend to the Show, Natalie Esquire.
(01:48):
She is a producer and sports reporter, and I am
super excited to have her back on the show. Natalie,
How are.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
You doing, Christina? Always such a warm welcome for you.
Thank you so much. I am doing better. I also,
like you, was traveling also to cover women's sports.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
I was in New Orleans.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
No, not for the super Bowl, right, there was actually
something else going on, if you can believe that. I
was covering the Sports Power Brunch, which you know, honors
really powerful women in sports. And so I went down
to New Orleans to cover that and I got back
and girl, I came down with the flute. So if
I sound a little nasally, please forgive me. But I'm
(02:34):
better than I was the last few days.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
But I'm not fully back there yet.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
But I'm envious because I love Nashville and the food
in Nashville is great, and it looks like you guys
had a great time.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Yeah, well, listen, I'm so sorry you're not feeling good.
Wishing you all good vibes and speedy recovery. But I'm
glad that you here today. And speaking of the super Bowl,
our first headline for this week. I mean, obviously, the
Eagles completely slaughtered to see and it was just no competition.
(03:03):
I don't know what happened to Kansas City. It's like
the Monstars came and sucked all of their powers out.
But I mean, the game was just all of Philly
from start to finish. But one of my favorite things
about the Super Bowl, outside of that halftime show shout
out to Kendrick Lamar, is absolutely the commercials. Like I
(03:24):
lived for the Super Bowl ads, and one of the
best commercials by far this year had to have been
the Nike twenty twenty five So Win Super Bowl campaign,
and it was the first time in over two decades
that there was a Super Bowl ad featuring all female athletes,
(03:44):
and so in this campaign, it featured WNBA stars Asia Wilson,
Sabrineo Nescue, Caitlin Clark, and USC women's basketball star Juju Watkins,
and it was narrated by Doci. So I think that
that was phenomenal. What were your thoughts about the Nike campaign.
I know that this year, at least when I was
looking through social media, everyone's like, oh my god, the
commercials are so scale this year. But when that Nike
(04:06):
commercial came on, it just changed the game for the
conversation when it came to the Super Bowl ads this year.
What did you think about the Nike So Win campaign?
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Yeah, oh my god, that stole the show.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
I've already used the slogan because you know, people love
Asia Wilson, as you know, they love to talk about
her good but sometimes not always the right way. So
I just reminded people like the Nike ad said you
can't win, so go win, right, and so amazing, Like
the ad was breathtaking visually, conceptually, and the messaging and
(04:41):
just the athletes. Of course, I know she's not a
basketball player, but I think just the ending with Jordan
Chiles doing the Nike.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Symbol like what I mean, there were just so many
things about that ad.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
I loved Juju with the hands over the net and
hanging down. I mean, like, I watch that ad so
many times that night while the game was going on,
which is crazy because I am an Eagles fan, so
I was very happy obviously about the outcome, but I
could not stop watching it. I've continued to watch it.
I sent it to so many people like they weren't
(05:15):
also seeing.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
It, but it was just like, oh my god, I've seen.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
This office talk the next day. Just is an incredible
ad and I mean you'd expect no less from Nike.
And I mean, look at the lineup of athletes you
name them. You had Caitlin Clark, you had Asia Wilson,
you had Juju Wakin, Sabrina and Escu. They all looked amazing, fierce,
and I love that there's individual like sub campaigns almost
(05:41):
in there for each of them. So most of them
like posted on social afterwards with like their part of
the campaign.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
And it was beautiful.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Oh I agree, And I feel like it personally resonated me,
especially as a black woman in sport, just how sometimes
people can put you in a box or just these
their own limitations, set their own limitations on you, and
then you flip it around by just showing that you
can produce, that you can win in any situation. So
(06:10):
I like how personable the ad was, and obviously just
seeing w NBA stars or just women athletes in general
on the biggest stage and having the best commercial by far,
I think that it was a win win for everyone.
And then on the Nike tip, also I loved the
Jordan Brand commercial when Philly won. My friend Dave aka
(06:31):
to Ching, if you ever came to a street ball
tournament in New York City, the voice of New York
Team to Ching, shout out to Dave. He narrated that commercial.
So I love how, you know, just having those connections
in touch.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
Point the one for Jalen Hurts. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
But I'm talking about the one for Jalen Hurts. Now
You're a good girl, I was saying. I also liked
that commercial but from Jordan Brand as well, one because
someone that I personally know was narrating the voiceover and
voice of basketball in New York. I said, But also
I just think that it was just keep it simple, stupid.
That is my strategy for life. Just keep it simple
(07:07):
and the rest will flow. But I absolutely love those
two ads were my top faith from the Super Bowl.
Going back to ads right. Another big ad that made
headlines this week was the Angel Reese McDonald's commercial and
it featured New York Liberty star Brianna Stewart, WNBA legend,
(07:28):
Lisa Leslie, Lotto and more people as well. And so,
what did you think about the McDonald's I love that
it paid homage to, you know, those that came before
her and also the future of the sport, but also
how much she looks out for her people. We know
that when Angel Reese was in college, Lotto feature her
(07:48):
in that video with Cardi B. And so I love
that Angel Reese is a girl's girl, and I think
that this was a huge cultural moment just for women's sports,
to see women in the front and center of some
of the biggest ads of the week.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Yeah, that was a very dope thing to see the commercial.
I love when she's like with Lisa Leslie and she's like, yeah,
o gee, you know, just the respect that Angel shows
to the giants that came before her. I feel like
you know, And I don't want to like judge all
younger people or put you know, people into a box.
(08:28):
Right everyone ever, people are individuals. But sometimes whether it's
sports or music, you don't always see that reverence sometimes
for those that came before us. And she always pays reverence.
And I think that's an incredible trait about her, and
so I love that. I love that she had Stewie
(08:50):
in there, her former teammate, like she just like you said,
she looks out for her people.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
I am in awe of Angel the time.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
And that's why I'm sort of struggling to find my
words because we've talked about her before. But like her
crown is so heavy, and she has to carry and
deal with so much. And I know publicly she presents
as strong, and I'm sure she is strong, but as
a black woman, you know, I know, and I don't
(09:22):
have anywhere the amount of like burden that Angel Reaves
has to carry. But we often have to present as
strong and do all these things, and we don't have
moments to be vulnerable, you.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Know, and so and we're not given grace.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
And so when you just constantly see her often being
attacked and she just comes with another one, another endorsement,
a cover on a magazine. You know, it's like, she's
just so fierce, and she is also one of the
top basketball players in the world.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
And I want to make that very clear, because.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
There's this idea that like she's just an off the
court kind of person and like she's you know, like
she's not this great basketball player, and she is, you know,
and you're even seeing an unrivaled each week as she's
getting better and better and she's still dominating on the
boards and the glass, and so I'm so proud of her.
I thought the commercial was so dope. I love seeing
(10:20):
the other players in it. I love her sharing her
moment with them, and I just look forward to all
that she's gonna do because I know there's gonna be
so much more.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
She never stops.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Okay, y'all, we're gonna take a quick break and when
we get back more headlines with Natalie Esquire Unrivaled. They
introduced their one B one tournament this week, and we've
(10:53):
already seen round one of the competition. We know that
there is a huge prize pot over three hundred thousand
dollars on the line and the winner, the individual player
that wins will walk home with two hundred thousand dollars
and by the time this episode is published, we will
potentially I mean no, we'll get the round two by
(11:15):
the time this episode is published. So what were her
thoughts on Round one? I have my own thoughts, Okay.
One of my personal favorite parts about the one v
one tournament was that or learning that each player chose
the song that they would come out to, because I
was super confused when Lexi Hall came out to a
little boozy set it off. I was like, WHOA, what
(11:37):
is going on? But then I was scrolling X and
I saw djn Carrington say something. Angel Reese was like, yeah,
guess who picked that song for her? So I thought
that was super funny. I was personally surprised that Stewie
lost twelve to zero to Leah Edwards. That was very,
very shocking. I do think that this one v one tournament.
(12:00):
I wouldn't say it exposes anyone, but it just shows,
you know, just a certain skill sets. Not everyone is
a one B one player. A lot of people or
a lot of athletes can simply play into system and
be great in that, and so I just thought it
was fun. I thought that the matchups swore was kind
of evenly matched. I like that Lexi Hall, she put
(12:20):
up a good fight against Ryan Howard. What were your
thoughts about the one B one tournament.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
You know, I think it's okay to say that some
players get exposed and unrival maybe not specifically the one
on one, but I mean Satu soldly said that, you know,
when talking about like three on three format and the
players themselves, they said that because like there's no one
there to like, it's them. They have to defend, they
have to do everything, and like we saw last night,
(12:45):
like these are the top athletes in the world, and
after they were done, they were breathing heavily, you know,
and they're just like, you know, it's a lot of work,
you know. So I love what Kullyacopper said when she
was just like, I think the big girls need their own,
you know, bracket, and I think that's something to consider.
But it also sort of makes it fun because like
(13:06):
the bigs versus the guards were interesting. You saw how
Skylar her strategy with like the fouling. She is diabolical, by.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
The way, but like I a minute, she is a minute.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
So I think, like the first time you really saw
that play out was with like Chelsea Gray and Shakierra
Austin and shout out to Shakira, Like how incredible for her.
Like to me, she's just one of the great stories
of Unrival because I've loved just seeing her on the
court and playing and being healthy. And I thought like
in her post game she was saying a lot in
her post game right, like she's like that's what I do,
(13:39):
and like basically like when she's healthy, no one can
beat her, and like I get it, Like it seemed
like she probably felt some type of way about being
where she was seated and you know, all that kind
of stuff. Again, she didn't say that, but like there
was a tone to her postgame commentary and I love that.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
I like that.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
She's gonna probably be going into the next season with that.
She looks good and you just beat Chelsea Gray the
point God, you know what I'm saying. But you saw
that on display because her length was really an issue
for Chelsea and Chelsea was trying to like get to
the rim and she block it, which forced Chelsea to
have to just make a bunch of tough shots, which
we know Chelsea Gray can do. But on a night
(14:16):
when they're not falling. Then that worked out in Shahera's favor.
And so you when you see a matchup like that,
you kind of say, oh, it's probably a bad matchup
where you do wonder should guards be playing guards? Like
with Ka in her case, like she said, she's a
she's a big guard. She's a tall guard, so she
can kind of hang with a big with like Aliyah,
and so it's a different kind of outcome there. And
(14:36):
Skyler her shot was falling, so she was able to
get her shots off. Plus she had that strategy. So
I could imagine some of the other guards maybe if
they have to, like you know, go up against the
big again, employing maybe Skylar's strategy, because you know, sometimes
those matchups can be interesting with the guards in the post.
But I loved it. And for Aliyah Edwards, like come on,
(14:59):
like that's ragging rights. You beat Stewie. And I think
with Stewie for that, it's probably more of a like
a Alia Edwards is her teammate, right, and they're both yukon.
But you you're like, Okay, she's probably not even guarding
her as close as she needs to be, cause like
you're not expecting Alia Edwards to rain threes, like from
what we know of her, that's not her game. So
(15:21):
it was so fast, and it was so quick, you know,
like Brianna was probably a little surprised. So it was great.
It's all in good fun. And I love that she
congratulated her after on Twitter. She's one of the faces
of unrivaled, right her and and the FESA started this,
and so you need her to be a good sport
about this. You know, you heard the story years ago
(15:41):
of Lebron getting dunked on in the footage getting you know,
taken away, right, like the fact that allegedly right, the
fact that she's allowing this to happen, similar to Stephen
Curry playing Sabrina Jonescu and three point Challenge and being
okay if he loses to her, right, Like you need that,
and so Stewie being okay that she lost like that,
(16:03):
and she knows like the internet may clown her or
whatever may come with it. That's all a part of
growing women's basketball. Because Kenneth Parker talked about this, we
have to start talking about the game like the way
we talk about men's sports, and to normalize and not
disrespecting the players. But you know, barbershops talk the things
that happens. We can say, oh, this person got cooked.
(16:24):
You know, I saw Chelsea Gray got cooked, and it's like, yeah,
you're a Chelsea Gray fan. You may not like hearing that,
but she did. She got cooked. And we need to
be able to talk about them like that. We know
these are all legends, these are all the top players.
There's no disrespect intended. It was fun, it was great.
And I love what Rival's doing for women's basketball right now.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
And how about all five Luna Owls making it to
the second round. I mean, and they are still the
only undefeated team at Unrivals right now, so that speaks
for itself. I'm looking forward to seeing Courtney Williams and
Ali Chagray matchup. I think that's the next match up
in round two. So I guess we'll see that and
(17:02):
we'll figure it out. But I need to know your predictions.
Who do you have holding up that trophy at the
end of the one v one tournament?
Speaker 3 (17:11):
Oh gosh, girl, that's so hard.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Well, first, let me ask this question because there's some
players who ended up having to pull out a unrivaled
and I can't remember the full list. Is Kayla McBride
one of them?
Speaker 1 (17:26):
She is, She's out.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
I had Caleb McBride is like the sneaky underdog, and
I'm pretty sure I had like tweeted that or something
because she's been playing such beautiful basketball and unrivaled and
just interviewing her there, the way she talks about this
being like, you know, pure hoops and just everything, I
thought she really had like a really strong chance. Oh
my gosh, you're really putting me on the spot here.
(17:49):
I feel like, ah, shoot.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
I don't know. I honestly do not know.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
I mean, after seeing this strategy that Skyler imposed, it's
hard to go against fee right with the way she's
been playing in general, for Kia looked really good yesterday.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Alesha, g shit, I'm sorry. Sorry.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
I know people are thinking like every Quay or like
Jewel Lloyd. They're probably like the favored people. But fat,
I'm gonna just go with the player that's been playing
the best and unrivaled.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Fie. I'm gonna go in a Fisa Collier.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
I like that. I think he can win it all too.
I'm not gonna lie. I think her. My second choice
would be Skyler Diggan Smith only because she's a small
she's small, got but got big heart, and she plays deepense.
She has strategy as we saw yesterday, like just her
IQ level, she's not backing down. I think I saw
her stripped Deer Cook in the first round in one
(18:59):
position as well. I just think just her IQ and
her the way she competes that sends her apart. And
so either one of those two I could see definitely
winning and I think that they, as Alicia ed Gray
and all the players stated, conditioning is a huge, huge
part of it as well. Can't get gassed. I remember
(19:21):
seeing Jackie Young she was playing in the first round
and at one point had gotten filed and then she
was down, but she also used that as a point
of her strategy to get a breath and get back
up and compete. So it'll be interesting to see what
happens in round two and beyond for unrivals one v
one tournament. All right, moving on to the herder stuff
(19:42):
and the headlines, and I'll kind of break this down
for the audience that's listening. Katie Lou Samuelson and the
Indiana Fever have agreed to a contract divorce, so Katie
Lou Samuelson was on a deal worth over a little
bit over one hundred and eighty thousand dollars with the
Indiana Fever, and that deal was a protected deal, And
(20:03):
so what happened is they mutually agreed to a buyout
agreement and Katie Lou was taking a little bit over
one hundred and six thousand dollars and that's her existing
contract minus the veteran minimum plus five K for the
right of set off rule per her hoop stats, and
then if she clears waivers this week, she will become
(20:23):
an unrestricted free agent. Now, league sources tell me that
there are several teams interested in Katie Lou Samuelson. Now,
for what it's worth, Katie Lou is a shooter right
and there are a few teams out there who are
a few pieces away, I think from building out their
bench to be able to really compete. I can see
(20:45):
Katie Lou in maybe a Seattle I can see Katie Lou,
and maybe a Minnesota. I can see Katie Lou. Maybe Vegas,
maybe they can sign her to come off the bench
to help with some of the shooting. So it'll be
really interesting to see where she lands. After this buyout
with Indiana, obviously they needed to clear cap space. So
(21:05):
now this creates more room for Indiana to sign another player.
And if you think the Indiana fever, the Indiana you
are already a really really good team and now we
have more cap space to get it even better, to
even become more solid. So I know this might be
a little bit too much for you, net but you
know where could you see Katie Lou being of a
(21:29):
help to you? Oh which roster?
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah, so first I would also say like shout out
to Katie Lou because I think it's I mean, obviously
it's I usually agreed upon separation and she's getting the buyout.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
But it's a little different than the Marina Maybery situation.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
But I think it's good that players are having you know,
movement and exercising you know that right, pushing it, you know,
to get themselves to where they want to be. You know,
we just saw the NWSL get rid of a draft,
which gives players there's more options to move and be
where they want to be. And why shouldn't they have
the right, just like us in our jobs, to work
(22:06):
where they want to be. And so you know, the
fever loaded up, and there's probably not like a really
natural place for Katie Lou on that team anymore where
she's probably going to get the minutes that she would
desire or a rotation spot that she wants, And so
good for her. You pointed out that it's the minus
the veteran minimum, so now a team can offer her
the vet minimum and she'll get that salary back. But
(22:29):
that will help a team that's financially strapped. So you
bring up a team like Vegas, I wonder after signing
Tiffinny Mitchell though, like if they would still go after
Katie Lou but sure, like who doesn't want more shooting
and so like, that's definitely the kind of player, at
least from a financial, you know position, I think would
(22:50):
be a player that Vegas could target and would be
realistic for them at least financially to sign because they
don't really have a lot of room and so because
of that buy that would help a team like them.
Seattle though, is badly in need of replacing some of
that production that they're losing with Jewel Lloyd. And yes
(23:11):
they are going to have Gabby the entire season, and
Neka and even Gabby they took less than what they
could make to leave Seattle with some money. So if
they could sign Katie Lou also on the minimum, that
would still probably leave them money to still go out
and do more if they because right now I don't
have Seattle anymore as like a contending team. I think
(23:32):
they need to do. I think they're a very good team,
but you don't just lose Jewel Lloyd. And also, like
I mean, we don't know what was going to happen,
but like Jordan Horston, you know.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
It was just about to say. So I was have
Athletes Unlimited actually saw firsthand the Jordan Horston injury at
Athletes Unlimited and obviously still waiting for evaluations and the
MRI to report to come out. When she went down,
she was holding like her knee or her leg and
it looked really really bad. I was sitting court side
(24:07):
by the way, so I heard and saw everything. Obviously,
Coach Noe and Ebie Hoffin was there, so you know,
they kind of have a feel about what's going on firsthand.
And so you know, my prayers are up to Jordan
and I hope she's okay. We know that she's just
come back from an injury not too long ago. But
(24:28):
that's a big hole if you lose Jordan Horsten before
the season starts.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
So you know, I don't know what Seattle plans are,
right because like, on one hand, they're gonna have Yabby
the full season, you also have players just taking a
natural leap, so you expect Ezzie to take another leap forward.
Mekka is still Neka Skyler is playing right now out
of her mind. That's how she ended the season. It's
(24:53):
continuing into unrivaled. You know, I think when she first
got to Seattle, she started off a little slow. You know,
she's coming back and you know, pregnancy all those things.
So but she's like inform and she looks really good.
So the team is also going to have another year together.
Yes it will be minus Jewel, but like you're gonna
have like some more continuity, so they'll be better anyway naturally,
(25:15):
And there might be like an idea of like doing
it by committee, but still Jewel Lloyd is hard to replace,
and so getting you know, another bone to fide shooter
on that roster, especially in light of what we don't
know with Jordan Horston, just prayers up for her. So
I think Seattle really needs to be a team that
probably goes after her. I don't know if your sources,
(25:39):
Miss Insider, if that's one of the teams they've said
is on the list. I could definitely see Seattle obviously.
I'm sure if she's doing this buyout, she wants to
be like on a contending team. The Mercury needs to
also follow. They have the too, yes, they have the
cap Staves and but also again with her being buy out,
(26:00):
try to get Katie Lou on a minimum and you
can still go get other players I think of the
teams because she's leaving Indiana, do you think the Liberty
would have any interest in her?
Speaker 1 (26:12):
League sources have told me that the Liberty are not
going to be in the running for Katie Lou.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
Okay, what about the Links?
Speaker 1 (26:20):
The Links I'm here may be interested in her?
Speaker 2 (26:23):
Yeah, okay, yeah, So I mean I think it's one
of the contenders. You know, I think it's probably those
those four teams that we just said, but I think
Seattle or Phoenix to me, I would probably put them
ahead of like a team like the Links or Aces.
Speaker 3 (26:41):
But I could see her working probably on any of
those four rosters to different degrees.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
I agree. Hey, we're gonna just pause right there for
another quick break, and here's a word from our sponsors
going back to me attendant AU. And then you're talking
about the Jordan Horston injury and saying that they need
(27:09):
a shooter. I mean, what Jordan Horston does defensively as well,
and then her size that matters and you need a
player who can account for that. And there aren't many
free agents on the market who can do that. But
I was watching Athletes Unlimited and you know, over the
last few years it's become a breeding ground for gms
and coaches to go and do some scouting. And one
(27:31):
player I think that deserves to at least get a
training camp contract or an extra look is Crystal Bradford.
She played in China recently with Camilla Cardoso, came back
stateside and it's doing her second season at AU and
Tarika Fossil Brasby wrote an article about her movers of
the Week for Athletes Unlimited and Crystal Bradford was one
(27:52):
of those players who played phenomenally this past weekend on
both ends of the floor. I know that in the past,
just based off conversation that I've had with several people
around the league. I know that there was questions about
her character. We know what happened in Atlanta with the
tenders and bites truck Courtney Williams. But I think that
(28:13):
people deserve second chances. We've seen what a second chance
got Courtney where it got her. You know, all star
level player went to the finals this year. I think
that Crystal Bradford has matured in so many ways. Just
me seeing her in person this year, because the last
time I saw her was last year in Dallas, so
being able to see her. She's in shape. She's in
(28:35):
tip top shape, like tiptop shape, lost some weight, got
some muscle. Just her mindset is different, the way she
leads on the court. I was hearing her, the way
she was talking and communicating with her teammates, just seeing
her hustle. I think that she could be someone that
GM should or is worth looking at in terms of
a training camp contract maybe or signing for a minimum.
(28:58):
I could see her helping a team like the Aces,
helping a team maybe like Seattle, be better coming off
the bench. She can score, she can defend, and that's
a player that if people are not looking at. I
think that they should look at as a possible help
to Seattle now that they may not have Jordan Horston.
(29:18):
All right, and rounding out our topics of the week,
the Las Vegas Aces have made some additions and subtractions.
So Sidney Colson has signed a one year deal with
the Indiana Fever, Alicia Clark is returning to the Seattle Storm,
and of course we know about the blockbuster trade that
(29:38):
sent Kelsey Plumb to the Los Angeles Sparks for Jewel Lloyd.
And then on the addition side, they added Diane Parker, Tyas,
Tiffany Mitchell, Dana Evans, They've re signed Queen Eggbow, and
then they have Elizabeth Kitley who was drafted in twenty
twenty four and was sidelined due to injury the possible
return in the twenty twenty five seasons. So, Natalie, what
(30:00):
do you like about the subtractions and the additions to
this Las Vegas Aces squad.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
Yeah, So, as far as like the subtractions, I think
that while sid Coulson is a huge locker room loss,
and she is a basketball loss too, I always thought
Sid's production and what she does for the Aces was replaceable,
so that from just a basketball like on the court
(30:26):
standpoint didn't feel that huge to me.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
But culturally, like from a team culture and locker room,
you know, she was so much intertwined with the identity
of that team and who the Aces are.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
So I thought in that aspect, you know, it was
a big loss, and it's gonna.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
Be interesting to me to see her on the fever
and how she fits.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
In there because, like what we know, such her big personality,
So she's gonna definitely bring a different kind of like
personality to that team. So it's gonna be interesting to
watch that in Indiana. I didn't expect that. That wasn't
on my bingo card.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Oh so, one thing I want to say about Sid,
I mean, I know you said that what she does
is replaceable, but the Aces don't win that championship against
the New York Liberty without Sid being a plus seventeen.
I mean, I agree with you. I think that she
coachally brought so much to that locker room. I'm excited
to see her in Indiana. I think that Indiana one
was able to make all of the signings that they
(31:22):
did because one, they made a front office change. First, right,
you add an Amber Cox front of the show. By
the way, she has a lot of great relationships with players,
and that's the most important thing when you were recruiting.
I think that from the inside out, the Fever had
to change the front office because there were murmurs right
that players were not happy with what was happening in
(31:43):
the front office with the Indiana Fever. And in the
off season, top to bottom, they made changes from the
coaching to the general manager to the president of the Fever,
and they brought in people one that you know, know
what it takes to win, but just women who gets
the job done. And so I think that that was
one of the reasons why Sid also left. But also money.
(32:04):
They're paying her a little bit more than what the
Aces was giving her at the VET minimum. She's getting
about ninety thousand dollars with the Indiana Fevers. So I
mean that makes a difference. Right. For so long players
have been encouraged just take less, just take let's do
what's best for the team. But you see in this
free agency the players are not really trying to do
that right now.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
It does I mean, I don't know Sid, I don't
I'm not an insider like Christina.
Speaker 3 (32:29):
I don't know anything, I think it's the money.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Like I think if Vegas could match that, I think
Sid would still be in Vegas. So it's not like
Vegas doesn't have a great culture as we know it.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
They you know.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
I feel like in this move of like facilities and
all this stuff, people are forgetting that Vegas was one
of the trendsetters in this and like started that, and
so they've had that culture, they've had the facilities. You know,
she already had it in Vegas, you know. So but
get your bag, you know. And so while I don't
(33:03):
think I agree with you that, I don't think the
Aces win without what she did. That can always be
said of any player on any team who's like a
good role player and does their part. And so like
again I'm not trying to disrespect Sid, but like I
thought that was replaceable.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
And the reason I bring that up is not about Sid.
Sid's amazing.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
It's about there's this narrative that's trying to, in my opinion,
be formed about the Aces and like, oh, they've gotten
worse and like they're in this dire situation because they
lost like all these like big pieces and you're not
I'm sorry, you're not selling me on Sid being a big,
big basketball piece for the Aces. You know, with all
respect to Sid, you're just not. But I don't want
(33:43):
to because in the same vein like with the Liberty right,
you lose a KT, right, and the impact of a
player on the locker room is real, And so I
don't want to discount what Sid brings to the Aces organization.
But everything in Vagus will always start and end with
Asia Wilson, and as long as you have her at
(34:04):
the top, you build around that and they're going to
always be in good shape. And that's true of any
great player. If you want to equate it to the NBA, right,
that's going to be true Lebron, That's going to be
true of Stephen Curry. That was true with Michael Jordan, right,
And so it's not like a disrespect to the to
the rest of it and the other co stars, but
(34:24):
it always starts and ends with who the franchise star
is not in.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
Dallas, though not with Luca I'm joking.
Speaker 2 (34:33):
Yeah, but Candice Parker, like I can bring it back
to the w NBA, right, and and and all the
great but in terms of the rest of like what's
happening with with Vegas, and so Alicia Clark is tremendous,
you know, and I like, obviously she has roots in
Seattle and they also were giving her a bump up
and pay. Last year was a little bit of a
(34:55):
down season for Alicia and I and I think what's
really important for people, because I feel strongly about this
to think about with Vegas and a lot of this insight,
some of it I get from Callie Finn, who covers
the Las Vegas aces right and she's there up close
and personal watching them. But like I think people just
(35:15):
are like, oh, Vegas loss, and like they didn't have
a bench, and like that's why. And I feel like
that sells short, like what happened in Vegas last season.
So Cally just put out like a really great story
yesterday that people should go read. But in general just
about their season. Like as we covered the season last year,
you have to remember you had Chelsea Gray who was
(35:35):
returning from injury and did not start the season. She
missed a number of games, right Jackie Young got injured.
Post Olympics, you had the Olympics and they had several
players not just their core four, but you also had
Tip who was an Olympia, like several of their players' Olympians, right,
and when Chelsea Gray is like missing for that chunk
of the season. Now players are playing out of position
(35:58):
because you're asking Jackie Young to all handle more and
dude more than she normally does. You're asking Kelsey Plump
to pick up more. Kelsey was also just dealing with
a lot of personal stuff in her life.
Speaker 3 (36:09):
Right. You had a lot that was happening. A team
that had already won two championships, so they already play
further into the season, right, So there's a lot of
wear and tear on those players, and so I think
there was a lot of things. It was like a
culmination of things that affected the Aces. The Liberty were
just a better team all season. Please Christina, make sure
(36:29):
Liberty fans hear me saying that the Liberty were just
a better team. So were the Minnesota Links, and that's
why they were at the top. But I think that
there's a lot of stock being put into last season,
and I feel like last season was an anomaly for
the Aces. I don't think that's like what their situation is.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
So I really like their additions because if you're paying
attention to what happened last year, Like the depth did
impact them that other teams had, but a lot of
that was like also because the people that they did
have coming off their bench were older, right, and so
they were slower, right, so they got younger. They added
Tiffany Mitchell, which you know, so you get a game
(37:10):
Cox reunion. I love the Parker Tias signing. It gives
Asia that much needed help in the front core. And
to me, that was one of the glaring, biggest, most egregious, uh,
just one of the glaring things last year that was
like really problematic with the Aces, and now she's getting
(37:31):
a former All Star. I'm sure Parketiss, who also had
a somewhat down here last year, probably looking to remind
people what she can do.
Speaker 3 (37:40):
And so I really like that signing. Of course, they
added Jeweloyd.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
I think there are a lot of people playing with
Jeweloyd's name as well in terms of like what she
can do. So I feel like, listen, I've watched it,
like the Aces remind me a lot of the Warriors,
and I've watched it as a Warriors fan, Like when
you do the team they lose, they come back the
vengeance that they have, So this idea that they got worse.
(38:06):
I don't think they got worse. I actually think they
got better at Kelsey's spot. Kelsey's great again, no disrespect
to her, like, but Jewels a bigger guard, She's a
better defender. I think they got better at that spot.
And so I like they short up there starting five.
They added Dana Evans as well, so now they have
(38:28):
some shooting coming off the bench, They have some scoring
coming off the bench, and they have a lot of bigs.
So you know you mentioned Queen Eggbow. You still have
you know, Megan on the team. You still have you
mentioned kit Lee. That's a huge piece for the Aces.
(38:48):
And Becky Hammond is on record saying that she expects,
you know, kit Lee to be playing like her best
basketball come like July. So I think we're gonna see
her before July. But as Callie broke it down to me,
that likely means that it's going to be like a
ramp up for her, right, So they're gonna still need
(39:08):
that help in the front court until she's like ready
to really contribute. And Christina, they still have a draft pick,
which you can view that as an asset. They lost
it because of an investigation they got a draft pick right,
so now that's an asset they have or another piece
that they can have add in a very deep draft.
I think the Aces are in very good composition. I
(39:30):
think they are still a contending team. I would not
put them right now ahead of the Links or the Liberty.
Those would still be the top two teams to me,
but I would still put them ahead of the Fever.
I think they're they're probably the third best team coming
in if I were doing power rankings today. I love
their moves. They got younger, they got Asia at the
front court help she needs. They're going to be reinvigorated.
(39:50):
Despite Chelsea Gray's loss last night in Unrivaled, she looked
great's she's looking like the point god again and they're
going to have her fresh to start the season.
Speaker 3 (40:00):
I think that it would be a mistake to sleep
on the Las Vegas Aces.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
Yeah, and let's not forget Asha Wilson is still the
rating MVP, which is on a different gear when people
underestimate her. So of course she's gonna come back and
the Aces come back. I think it's interesting that you
compared them to the Warriors when they had that down
here and came back and won the championship. I do
(40:23):
think that we have to monitor Jackie Young's health. I mean, unrivaled.
It's been really hard to see her try to get
back into the game slowly she is suffering from an injury.
If I were her, I'm not a doctor, I don't
know what's exactly what's going on, but I always shut
it down and rest and recover to get ready for
(40:45):
the season. We saw what happened in that one v
one tournament when she would hit the floor. I wouldn't
want to take any chances if I'm Jackie Young or
the last Vegas aces and so I think that their
success obviously will get hurt. If Jackie Young is not
ready or healthy for the season, that does slim in
their chances because she just contributes so much to the squad.
(41:06):
Very interesting you brought up how she was playing the
point guard for the twenty twenty four season. We saw
her do that at Notre Dame and she was their
successful number one pick. So I think it's great when
you can have her play in different positions as well.
It lends to the versatility of the roster. I'm excited
as you mentioned Tiffany Mitchell and Asia Wilson teaming up again.
(41:28):
I know Game Clops fans everywhere are excited. I'm also
excited to see the development of Dana Evans. I think
that the coaching staff that he did a great job
at going out and getting Tie and John Lucas to
add to the staff. With the exits of Todd Marsh's
now the head coach of the Chicago Sky and Natalie
Nicasse who's the head coach of the Golden State Valkyries,
(41:50):
it's always going to be about developing these young stars.
You mentioned how young they are. It's going to be
about that development and them getting better, and that's going
to strengthen in the Las Vegas Aces.
Speaker 2 (42:00):
Damon Evans, that seemed like it was a down year
for her in Chicago last year, and there there was
just a lot of changes. Obviously, you bring in two
lottery picks and and Angel Reese and Kamila Cardozo and
the team is really now going to be about them.
So it sort of changed, you know, maybe her trajectory
(42:20):
a little bit, but it seemed like just everybody kind
of knowing their roles last year in Chicago, it just
didn't maybe work out the way that it needs to
so she gets this fresh start. She seems very excited
about it. She changed that name on her on her Instagram,
but quickly the updates to let let let everyone know
she's with the Las Vegas Aces.
Speaker 3 (42:39):
How do you think Dana will do there?
Speaker 2 (42:41):
You said that you liked the move for her, but
based on seeing what happened last year, I mean, I
guess what do you think happened and what do you
what are your expectations for her next season?
Speaker 1 (42:50):
What happened last year? Laman in that locker room, so
I don't necessarily know. I remember her representative had posted
or published a post on x saying that they had
requested a trade at the trade deadline, and we know
she did not get traded from the Chicago Sky Marina
Maybrey left, so it seemed like there were just maybe
(43:10):
some locker room issues in Chicago. Diamond de Shields is
now with the Connecticut Sun. We've seen Marina Connecticut with
Connecticut as well, different players taking exits out of Chicago.
But now it seems like when you have a new coach,
they want to fill out their rosters to the best
of their ability, and so maybe she just didn't fit
(43:31):
into what Tdy Marsh is having planned for the Chicago
Sky They've signed a player like he and Nurse, which
is more veteran than Dana Evans. I think it's great
that she's now at the Las Vegas Aces. She gets
to learn from the point God and Chelsea Gray. But
like I said, I'm super excited to see what her
(43:53):
ceiling is under Becky Hammond. When I think about Dana Evans,
I think about how Jackie Young was developed by Ti Marsh,
and I can see something similar in terms of her
trajectory being the same, where she becomes more of a sharpshooter,
more efficient at that, and also just how her IQ
increases as a basketball player. I think that she can
(44:15):
provide a spark off the bench, but it's gonna take
some time. And so, like I said, I'm most excited
to see how this coaching staff will help her improve
her game. But she has some great vets, a great
core to learn from. These are players who have won
at every level. So I'm excited to see, you know,
just a re emergence of Dana Evans. I know that
(44:37):
also at the end of the season, Dana and Izzy
Harrison had talked about the mental aspect playing a role
into their time in Chicago. So just seeing her get
back to the main thing and just seeing her fall
in love with basketball again. I think that that's what
makes me excited about Dana Evans in Las Vegas. And
so yeah, I'm just excited for this young core and
(44:59):
just to see every pans out. I mean on paper,
as you said, everyone questioned for the last couple of years,
Vegas's bench and their Black of Death, and you add
these pieces not necessarily huge names, right, but like these
mid tier players who can make something happen. And I'm
also excited for Cheyenne Parker Tias because people forget that
(45:22):
she was an All Star in twenty twenty three and
she may have had a down year last year, but
I think that she might have a breakout year as well.
With more responsibility in helping Asia Wilson in that front court,
I think that people will change their narratives and how
they think or see some of these players, you know
what I mean. So that's what I'm excited about the
most about the Las Vegas Agies. We didn't talk about
(45:44):
them losing Tiffany Hayes, but you know, I think that
also is plays a huge part as well, and losing
a player like Tiffany Hayes who won six Player of
the Year. It's kind of crazy when you think about
who has won six Player of the Year over last
several years. Maybe a member of the Aces will win
it again. If you go to the Aces, you're bound
(46:07):
to be a six Player of the Year day.
Speaker 3 (46:09):
She got paid day.
Speaker 1 (46:10):
So I think that with the subtractions, right, it came
down to, like, who's paying any more? Who's getting me
the bag? Because all four players who left right with
the exception of Kelsey Plumb, they're going to teams with
the facilities, with the resources, but all of the things right,
so it comes down to how can this benefit me?
(46:31):
I think no, not to the Aces at all, but
I think that they probably have made the decision like, Okay,
they're paying me more here. But also I think that
the Valkyries got better because they needed a star and
Tiffany Hayes is a starter. She's worthy of that, and
so I'm excited to see one on her and Kate
(46:51):
Money Kate Martin reunite on the Valkyries. But also I
think that Minnesota kind of set the tone when it
came to just getting a bunch of underdogs and putting
them on a roster. And you don't need big. You
need to go super big when it comes to formulating
a w team that can compete. Right. I don't think
(47:12):
the Valkyries are gonna win a championship, but I think
that now they can at least have some dog in
the fight. What do you think.
Speaker 2 (47:19):
I don't think the Valkyries are going to be very good,
but we'll see. I mean, I like, but I expected
that in the first year, so I was just to
like to put a bow on. Like the Aces, the
last thing I'll say about them is that just one
other thing I want to like. And again this is
all my opinion, but I want to shift this narrative
a little bit. There's this idea that like all their
(47:41):
players loft like left them. I think the Aces were
okay losing those players, Like I think the Aces maybe
didn't want to keep some of those players. In the
nicest way, Becky let us know that when she said
this team is going to look different, right, So it's
not all like, oh, these players are all just leaving
(48:02):
the Aces and they're ch like, No, the Aces are
okay parting ways because they understand they need to make
changes to their roster and are also still thankful and
grateful for those players and their contributions and what they did.
Speaker 3 (48:15):
It's not like they're.
Speaker 2 (48:16):
Just leaving because the Aces are like this bad place
to be and no one wants to play with Asia Wilson.
So these narratives that get fun, I just I want
to kind of put them in check. But you know,
to the Valkyries, there were a lot of people who thought,
like Kelsey Plumb could like end up on you know,
the Valkyries, and I never understood that.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
Like I think it was because of her relationship with Natalie.
I think that's why. But according to my sources, Los
Angeles was the choice for Kelsey's you know, where she
wants to go. But yeah, no, great conversation, and that's
going to wrap it up for this week's headlines in
women's basketball and women's sports. Thank you so much Natalie
(48:59):
for joining.
Speaker 3 (49:00):
Us this week. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (49:03):
Hang tight, y'all. We'll be right back with one of
my favorite segments, the Things that I loved this week.
Welcome back to in case you missed it with Christina
Williams and shout out to my girl Natalie again for
(49:24):
joining us this week to break down the latest headlines.
But as you guys know, it's my favorite part of
the show. And here is the thing that I loved
this week. Okay, so the thing that I loved this
week was obviously I talked about at the top of
the show, but just being in Nashville. But the thing
that I loved about being in Nashville was the reunion
(49:45):
between me and my girls. Shout out to Tarika fossor Brasby,
Brady Diaz and Ross golds On Wooded. All three have
been on the show, but they are by homegirls in
real life. Just being able to take a pause from
our busy, busy schedules. I mean, obviously we were in
Nashville working, but we had some time to go out
and enjoy the town and just celebrate all of our
(50:08):
wins together. And so I had a lot of fun
being in Nashville. The weather was beautiful, the culture and
vibes were great. I think we were on Broadway or
broad Street. Don't correct me if I'm wrong, but AnyWho,
just seeing all of the vibrancy of Nashville. We saw
a bride with all of her sequence and everybody had
(50:29):
their cowboy hats on and it was a lot going on,
but it was good vibes. So that was the one
thing that I loved this week. And I'm also looking
forward to head into the Bay this weekend for NBA
All Stars. So if you guys see your girl out there,
make sure you stop and say hello. We're gonna be
recording some live show, so definitely stop by to check
(50:49):
us out, and that's gonna do it for this week's episode.
Make sure you rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast,
and I'll see you guys in the day in case
you missed it. With Christina Williams is an iHeart women's
sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment.
(51:10):
You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Host
Khristina Williams
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