August 13, 2025 • 27 mins
The WNBA's current standings and award races reveal fascinating storylines as we approach the final stretch of the season. The Minnesota Lynx have established themselves as clear frontrunners with a commanding lead over the second-place Liberty, while the playoff race remains tight with my Sparks just 0.5 games out of the final spot.
• Napheesa Collier emerges as MVP frontrunner while leading the WNBA in scoring and ranking first in both offensive and defensive metrics
• Cheryl Reeve looks like Coach of the Year with Minnesota's dominant season, with Karl Smesko and Nate Tibbets as strong contenders
• Kayla Thornton stands out as Most Improved Player after transforming from role player to All-Star
• Naz Hillmon leads Sixth Woman race, providing crucial production for an injury-plagued Dream team
• Paige Bueckers is the clear Rookie of the Year favorite with no real competition
• The WNBA's "Big Three" currently ranks Collier first, Stewart second, and Wilson third
• Playoff pressure mounts for top teams: Lynx must validate regular season dominance, Liberty have no excuses with their depth
• Key questions for contenders: Mercury's scoring depth, Dream's health, Aces' championship DNA, Fever's Caitlin Clark integration
Please like, subscribe, comment, and tell anyone who's anyone about the show. Hope you're all having a good one!
https://linktr.ee/GetABucketShow for more content!!!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's up everybody.
It's your favorite show'sfavorite show.
Get a Bucket.
I'm your host, trey, and asusual, I hope you're all having
a wonderful, wonderful day Now.
Today we're going to talk aboutsome WNBA updates, but before
we do that, please make sure tohit that like and subscribe
button, comment, tell anyoneabout the show, try to get the
ratings up a little bit, youknow, just a little bit.
Like I said, we're going totalk about here some W NBA
updates.
(00:20):
All right, now I think it's fairto say that we got to look at
the standings because, well, Imean, that's going to be how
we're looking currently, right?
So we got here the Lynx numberone, roof Roof.
The Liberty defending champsnumber two.
They say first is the worst,second is the best.
(00:43):
So if you believe that, liberty, y'all on record, y'all on
track.
Atlanta Dream number three,mercury number four, fever,
commissioner Cup champs numberfive, aces number six, storm
number seven and the Valkyriesat number eight.
Now, right here, if you look,you see a team highlighted,
that's my Sparks.
We're number nine, but we rightaround the corner from reaching
(01:04):
that playoffs race.
You know I'm saying, uh, thenwe, we outlast in the mystics.
They number 10.
And then the sky, wings and sun, round out the final three
teams now.
Um, remember this listing,ladies and gentlemen, because it
does.
It is going to be important.
It's going to be important.
It is going to be important tonote.
Now I will say this I had somepredictions going on at the
(01:35):
beginning of the year.
Right, I did, I did.
Matter of fact.
Let's start it off with theCoach of the Year predictions.
Now.
Let's pull up my stats Now.
Coach of the Year, you see allmy predictions, right?
You see all my predictions sofar.
I had some reasons why, and Istated those.
So, if y'all want to listen tothat episode, by all means go
ahead.
But Coach of the Year,currently, I got Cheryl Reeves.
(01:57):
Ladies and gentlemen, I mean, Iread off to y'all the standings.
Okay, the Lynx they're numberone in the WNBA and it's by a
wide margin.
Okay, it's by a wide margin.
The next team I stated was theLiberty.
I think it's like a five-gamedifference or something like
(02:17):
that.
It's kind of crazy.
It's kind of crazy.
Now I got some runner-ups.
Okay, carl Smesko, off the dream.
You've been doing your thing,champ.
Your team is number three rightnow and y'all have been dealing
with injuries.
Plus, this is your first seasontogether, so because of that,
the Lynx weren't together lastyear.
(02:38):
So they have the cohesion.
It's just the disparity inwhich they're currently number
one.
That's the reason why I gotthem higher than the dream.
But Carl has been doing histhing coaching wise.
I can't I cannot slight him.
Also, nate tibbets, off themercury.
Your big three was not completethis entire year and you were at
the top of the league at onepoint in time.
(02:59):
Y'all have slipped a little bit.
I do understand that the benchdepth does does concern me a
little bit, but overall I thinkyou're number three for me in
terms of coaching, Because whaty'all have had to deal with
injuries, cohesion issues, andthe big three was hurt.
I factored that in.
(03:22):
You also got to look at SandyBrandello, stephanie White.
They was up there CommissionerCup win without your
quote-unquote star by the casualfans, right, I like her.
So again, you see, stephanie.
You saw Sandy Carl's up there.
I didn't talk about Becky,because the Aces ain't really
(03:43):
doing their thing, but againthough, ladies and gentlemen,
that's coach of the year, nowmost improved.
I had some people listed up here.
It was some young guns.
I'm not going to lie to y'all.
I was really hoping that theywould vault out right in terms
of things that I needed to see.
Some of them did do well, likeAaliyah Bolson has done a
(04:05):
wonderful job, angel Reese hasimproved, kaylin Clark's been
injured, aaliyah Edwards wasinjured and she also recently
got traded, like this listingMelissa Smith got traded, her
damn self and Ezzie Magbogorshe's been doing pretty well.
Actually she's leading the WNBAin blocks, but I don't know if
that's enough to get MIP,because I think she might have
been doing that last year.
(04:25):
So currently constructed rightnow.
I don't think there's a playerthat is most improved, deserves
it more than Kayla Thornton fromthe Golden State Valkyries.
Like, let me know who elsedeserves it more?
Champion last year, role playergiving about what?
(04:46):
Six points, 5.5 points per game, and then we divvy out an
all-star season, like she wasselected for the all-star team,
ladies and gentlemen, not as areserve.
Most improved?
Without question Kayla Thornton.
If you have somebody else, Iwould really love to hear it.
(05:07):
But if she don't win,somebody's cheating in the WNBA
and an investigation reallyneeds to take place.
I don't care.
When she was injured she playedenough games to get most
improved because she was anall-star.
So argue with your mama.
Now, sixth woman of the year wecan argue a little bit about.
I had some question marks aboutthis.
(05:28):
So, as y'all see, I had NatashaCloud on mine right, breonna
Jones on mine, cheyenneParker-Tayes on mine and Dana
Evans.
Dana has been hooping a littlebit.
Breonna has not been the sixthwoman.
She's been starting my bad.
I ain been starting my bad, Iain't know.
Like same with Natasha Clow,and Cheyenne Parkatias actually
(05:52):
was on maternity leave, so she'scoming back.
So she's not going to playenough games.
But the top two, though for methey're starters, but they could
have been bench players, no lie.
And when their teams actuallyget healthy, well, at least the
Liberty Natasha could come offthe bench.
We'll see what happens.
But in the meantime, my currentsix women of the years this
(06:15):
one's interesting.
I might have to have NazHillman leading the helm, ladies
and gentlemen, because theAtlanta Dream, like I said, have
had injuries.
She's played all the games andshe's performing quite well 9.6
rebounds, 2 assists, 0.4 steals,0.5 blocks on, 48% from the
(06:37):
field, 32 from the three, 82from the free throw line.
That's not bad, that's not bad.
So, again, the Dream Dreamerthird, and they dealt with a lot
of injuries.
Nas Hillman has helped them outtremendously as a sixth woman.
Yeah, helped them out.
(06:58):
So, again, nas Hillman, that'smy sixth woman of the year right
now, but Sammy Whitcomb fromthe Mercury does have something
to say, because I do hear you.
You know what I'm saying.
Like 10 points, three rebounds,three assists, .8 steals, .2
blocks on 39, 34, 84 splits.
Now here's the thing, thoughshe has started 18 games out of
(07:19):
the 29 she's played.
So she's going to have to comeoff the bench at some point in
time a little bit more.
But if that happens, she'splayed.
So she's gonna have to come offthe bench at some point in time
a little bit more, but if thathappens, she's gonna have
somethingto say.
Same with dana evans, who, asy'all see, I do have on screen,
still right, she's just notgiven the production that I
would have wanted.
I would have long.
I would have wanted to see alittle bit more production from
her.
But again, though, if we canget a little more uptick from
(07:41):
her and if the Aces can get upthere a little bit in ranking,
she may have a shot.
Jessica Shepard, she has anadvantage over Naz Hillman right
now because her team iscurrently number one and again
it's by awide margin.
So when we're looking at this,jessica Shepard giving me 7.7
rebounds, 2 assists, .4 stealsand .1 blocks Efficiency is not
(08:04):
that good, I mean field goalpercentage and .1 blocks
Efficiency is not that good, Imean field goal percentage.
She's shooting 60.
She's shooting better from thefield than she is from the free
throw line.
She's not shooting that andshe's not shooting threes.
So again, I do like her as aplayer and
the team help her out.
But I would like to see NazHillman win for sixth woman of
(08:26):
the year.
If the season were to end todayand if the Dreamer made a top
three seed, I would like to seeNas Hillman get it over Jessica
Shepard.
And then, if Emma Miesman cancome off the bench someone like
Emma I think Natasha started waytoo many games Emma's going to
have to come off the bench forthe liberty someone on liberty
(08:46):
to win it.
Maybe they have a shot.
But those four yeah, those fourare my favorites right now to
win six women of the year.
So you know I'm biasly pullingfor Dana
just because she hit my.
She was on my list initiallyfor predictions, but let's see
what happens.
Rookie of the year this one'sgoing to be easy peasy, lemon
squeezy.
Ladies and gentlemen, paigeBeckers, I told y'all before.
(09:07):
I'm going to say it again.
It's a cut and dry answer.
She's the best rookie, she'sone of the best players in the
league right now.
I said one of the best players.
She was an all-star this year,I'm not saying top 10.
We're not getting.
Is it really up for discussion?
(09:27):
Her competition with SoniaCitrone and Kiki Arieffin, who
they both were all-stars thisyear, is just that.
It's levels to this, I'm sorry.
So again,paige, tip of the cap.
And I'm pissed at the fact thatmy Sparks could not win number
one draft pick last year.
That's all I'm saying, becausewe would have had Paige Beckham,
(09:48):
fakia Jackson, cameron Brink,audrey Stevens and oh my gosh,
de'erica Hamby Bro.
We would have been killing.
That's all I'm saying.
But speaking of killers, let'sgo ahead and move on up to the
D-poys, which y'allcan see on the screen.
I had Brittany Griner, alyssaThomas and Nafisa Collier as my
(10:09):
expectations for deep poise.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, Ican confidently say only one of
them messed up.
My expectations daggone it.
And the reason why I say thatmy deep poise right now is
Nafisa Collier.
She's top in defensive ratingand win shares, if you want to
(10:31):
base it off stats, right.
But the team again number one.
They look like juggernauts whenshe's on the court.
They still look good when she'soff the court, but they really
look solid when she's on thecourt and she can guard one
through five without question.
So in terms of depoyoy, thereigning depoy, she got it.
(10:54):
Now her, her, her competitionis alissa thomas and asia wilson
.
Alissa thomas, you know you canmake the argument that nevisa
collier has four other player orthree other players that are in
the top 10 defensive rating,right.
So if you say, if you look atit from that perspective and
coming at it from an analyticalstandpoint, okay, cool, alyssa
(11:16):
Thomas might be more of adefensive anchor than Nafisa
Collier.
I hear that Satu's the onlyother player on the Mercury in
the top 10for defensive rating.
So cool.
You got three for Fee, one forAlyssa Thomas.
I've made that case for Fee forMVP.
So I hear for Alyssa Thomas.
When I look at Fee, though,there is a little bit of a
(11:36):
distinction.
Alyssa Thomas can guard theones and twos, but I think Fee
guards the perimeter a littlebit better.
Personally, alyssa Thomas canguard one through five as well,
but in terms of fluidity, Ithink I I give the nod to fee
just a little bit more.
But again, though, you want tobase it off of, off of teammates
, I do hear you for a list oftimes.
(11:58):
And then, well, asia wilson shehas no other teammate in the
top 20 defensive win shares andher team ranking hurts, plus
your team's past success.
So, while your, your teammatescurrently might not be
defensively what they might havebeen in the past, the past kind
(12:20):
of hurts you a little bit, asia.
But again, ladies and gentlemen, if you feel like she's deep
boy, I hear that argument too,because of the others supporting
cast, just remember, though,the others are pretty damn good,
they sell.
So, again, those are my threefor deep boy.
But I mean, I'm I'm definitelycurious
what y'all thinking about it.
But we got to talk about heremvp, right, um, mvp, you know.
(12:49):
I mean like who we, who we got,who we got, ladies and
gentlemen.
Well, I had Nafisa Khalia,breanna Stewart, asia Wilson,
ryan Howard and I had KaitlynClark.
Kaitlyn obviously was going tobe because fans were going to be
voting her, but also, too, shewas going to be viewed as the
engine to a team that I thoughtcould have gone pretty far if
(13:12):
they were injury-free, right,and if she was playing.
But in the meantime, my MVP,ladies and gentlemen, nafisa
Collier.
Now she is currently out, so wedo have the opportunity for
people to maybe try to gain sometraction, but keep in mind
(13:38):
she's leading the WNBA inscoring.
Her team's number one.
She's the best player on thebest team.
She's top in defensive ratingand win shares.
She's top in offensive ratingand win shares, meaning she's
tops in win shares all total.
Like that's kind of crazy.
We don't see that happen tootoo often, ladies and gentlemen.
So when we talk about value,really tough to argue.
(14:01):
Who more valuable than NafisaCollier for the 2025 WNBA season
?
Now, to be fair, alyssa Thomasdoes make quite an argument to
triple-double queen for the WNBA.
You know what I'm saying.
You talk about where they'repositioned and you got to factor
in that her team has beeninjured.
(14:21):
Fee's team has not been injured, by the way.
Kayla McBride, I think, wasinjured for a little bit but has
still played enough games to beselected for the all-star team.
So they have not really beeninjured like that.
So maybe you wantto argue that case right.
How about Alicia Gray?
Because again, her stars havebeen out.
Hell, ryan Howard's played likehalf the season, so I mean she
didn't even get to the all-stargame.
(14:43):
Like, come on now and theystill top three.
Alicia gray might be morevaluable to her team than than
than the visa collier is because, again, the injuries.
I so I'll hear alicia gray formvp, because
again her team been injured.
But when we talk about feeacross the board god, I mean
(15:09):
don't get me wrong Alicia Graybeen hooping.
Now Alicia Gray can get abucket.
She's been carrying the teamhelping out.
Breonna Jones been hooping too,but I think Alicia Gray is I
think it's safe to say easilythe number one.
But Fee is a different breed.
She's definitely a differentbreed.
But I am curious though I'mwilding on this whole MVP thing.
Y'all let me know.
(15:29):
But, ladies and gentlemen, wealso got to talk about because
we've talked about all the WNBAawards thus far.
So we're going to see whathappens
when the awards come out.
I want to focus on, though, thebig three.
The WNBA's big three, ladiesand gentlemen, consists of Asia
(15:50):
Wilson, nafisa Collier andBreanna Stewart, but there's got
to be a ranking with it.
There's got to be a rankingwith this now, ladies and
gentlemen, and I think theremight be, at least for the 2025
season.
We'll see what happens nextseason We'll see, but in the
meantime, yeah, fee got numberone.
Yeah, nafisa Collier is numberone in the WNBA.
There's some pressure, there'ssome expectations with that.
(16:12):
She was in the finals, right.
If she gets back to the finalsand wins it too, that definitely
solidifies it without question.
There's no argument If shedoesn't win, especially if she
gets out early.
I can hear why other peoplemight say the other two, but
again, nafisa Collier number one, without
question.
Now two and three.
It does get a little tricky forme right now.
(16:33):
I have Breanna Stewart numbertwo, but keep in mind, asia
Wilson is arguably the reasonwhy the Aces are in playoff
contention.
Jackie Young has been playingwell too, but like it's looking
a little tough over there in theaces world, like like to the
point where kelsey plum islooking a lot better right now,
(16:56):
I promise y'all, because they'renot doing this hot and and the
aces were what a four seed lastyear, champions the seasons
before, and kelsey plum is themain subtraction, oh.
So again, I I'm looking atBreanna Stewart right now at
number two.
But I might take Asia Wilson asnumber two as well.
(17:18):
But Breanna Stewart for me isnumber two because when I look
at Breanna Stewart, she still isone of the better players from
a scoring perspective, from arebounding perspective, from a
playmaking perspective, from adefense perspective.
She's not a slouch.
And then when we talk aboutefficiency, she's still one of
the more efficient players inthe game.
She's had a little bit of aslippage I guess I will give
people that, but overall you gotto look at the amount of focus
(17:42):
she does draw.
So I do expect somewhat of adip, even though I do expect her
to still remain efficient.
I have called her the KevinDurant of the WNBA, right.
So again, breanna Stewart, forwhat she brings, overall I
do have her number two.
I'm not going to lie to you,but because of her supporting
cast being healthier than theAces, I will hear folks saying
(18:05):
Asia's number two, but for me Icannot give her but so much
grace Because, remember, themain subtraction was in fact
Kelsey Plum and she brought backJewel Lloyd, who the
expectations were.
Jewel Lloyd's in the bucket.
That's an all-star caliberplayer, spoke to make it work.
We got to see.
(18:26):
If it's Jewel Lloyd or ifthere's a team cohesion issue,
we'll figure it out.
But Asia, giving you 30 points,20 rebounds, it don't seem like
it's her, but it is kind oftough for me to put her at
number three right now on thebig three list.
But again, ladies and gentlemen, we're talking about the big
three out of all the WNBA.
That's what we're talking about, right?
(18:46):
But these women do have somepress rolling because we do have
playoffs coming up.
So again, ladies and gentlemen,this big three, they're going
to have to show up and show outbecause, well, if they can't,
it's goingto be a little tricky.
Now I mentioned playoffs.
(19:15):
As y'all can see, valkyries arecurrently at that eighth spot,
my Sparks we're 0.5 games away.
We're 0.5 games away fromgetting to the playoffs.
We should be able to make it tothe playoffs, ladies and
gentlemen, and, as y'all can see, the Lynx are far ahead of
everybody else.
So we might have to play theLynx game like round one and
that could get ugly, becausethey got all the pieces to beat
(19:37):
our ass.
So that would be a little tough.
But there is a little pressureon the Lynx because, again, if
they lose early.
Y'all see where they arerecord-wise.
I mean, bro, there's a mean gapbetween them and everybody else
.
So you can't lose early.
And you already got to thefinals.
So with me saying you have thebest player, y'all have so many
(19:58):
defensive players on the team inthe top
ten, y'all have to get.
I honestly want to say back tothe finals, like, if y'all can't
, what are we doing?
I'm sorry we might have to makea couple trades, because now it
(20:19):
just seems like y'all gonna bein limbo, even though you look
dominant during the regularseason.
Then the Liberty can y'allactually dominate?
I talked about the links, right, can y'all dominate because
y'all have the depth and talentto do so.
So you're supposed to win thisyear.
Can you actually get the jobdone?
There's really no excuses.
Barring significant injurieswhich have happened over the
(20:42):
year, y'all have enough talentand WNBA experience per player
to gel when the time comes.
So again, can y'all in factdominate and you go 10 women
deep?
No excuses, none whatsoever.
So the defending champs shouldbe
able to run it back.
(21:02):
The Mercury Do you have enoughconsistent scoring?
Big three Y'all cool.
The supporting cast still wantto figure it out and we're not
going to be able to until we getto playoffs.
That's where the bread and'renot going to be able to.
Until we get to playoffs.
That's where the bread of thebutter, that's when the bread
and buzz is going to be.
So I'm looking forward toseeing if the mercury are going
to have enough scoring option.
They have enough defense, weknow that.
(21:23):
Do they have enough offense?
Well, they have enough peopleto get a bucket when the time
comes, because three peopleusually is not going to be
enough tocarry you over the hump.
Just saying the dream Are y'allgoing to be healthy?
I said Ryan Howard already out,and she's been out for a little
(21:45):
.
Second.
Brittany Griner, you know whatI'm saying.
Can you come back healthy?
Like, is there too much usageon Alicia Gray?
That's what I'm trying tofigure out.
And will y'all have enoughcohesion?
Because, again, this is y'allfirst season.
That's what we need to figureout, but that's what I'm
figuring out.
That's really my biggest thingfor the Dream.
Outside of that, they can becontenders, ladies and gentlemen
.
There's aworld where they win it.
(22:07):
I'm not going to lie to you,but there are some question
marks and it's surroundinghealth.
So we got to put a pin in thatthe Storm is there enough
balance?
You made the trade for BrittanySykes Excellent, excellent
acquisition.
Is there enough balance overallon the squad?
And I'm wondering when the timecomes for next season, when the
(22:30):
time comes for next season, howmuch will Dominique Malanga
factor in to the Storm's play,because her and Ezzie might need
to coexist.
And you got Nneka, you gotGabby Williams, you got a lot of
players.
So you got to figure out thebalancing overall, because the
(22:51):
timing could actually gel outfor the Storm for the next
couple years if they play theircards right.
So again, I want to seeif that balance is enough.
Then, for the Aces, do y'allhave a Trump card?
Because, damn, it's really notlooking that good.
It's really not looking thatgood, bro.
And again, y'all havesufficient talent.
(23:12):
Becky, we got to see what youcan do as a coach.
Jewel, there's some pressure onyou.
Asia, I think you get a pass.
But next season there might besome pressure on you again,
because if it's back-to-backyears, hey, have y'all lost your
swag.
Do y'all need to make somechanges overall?
(23:34):
Does Asia need to leave?
Let's figure that out.
Butagain, there's some pressure
there.
The fever when will caitlynclark be available and after a
certain point in time is itideal for her to come back?
They won the commissioner cupchamp, remember.
Natasha howard won finals.
(23:55):
Mvp alia boston has been theirbest player.
Kelsey mitchell is consideredthe toughest player to guard by
a lot of players.
Should we mess up the cohesionof the fever?
Because when you insert aplayer like caitlyn clark she
does have to kind of orchestratethe offense.
(24:15):
She can't play off ball likethat.
So again, although I think shecould, in theory, her play style
, what everybody wanted to see,yes, she kind of has to have the
ball in her hands.
Does that mess up the flow thatthe Fever have actually
established to win theCommissioner Cup
championship?
We'll figure it out.
And, like I said, the valkyries, can they actually make it?
(24:39):
But, more importantly, can mysparks outlast the valkyrie and
mystics?
That's really up for debatebecause, like I did see us do
well against the mystics, liveAll right, we were down by 10,
came back, like we go down earlyand then fight back.
Can we get rid of that, sparks,please?
(25:01):
Like can we just stay up thewhole time, wire to wire?
I'd appreciate it Because, damn, I get tired of seeing like us
down and having to claw all theway back.
I appreciate us fighting back,don't get me wrong, but that's
the playoff race right now.
That's what it's looking like,ladies and gentlemen, and keep
in mind it's crazy, because Ireally wrote this list about two
(25:23):
, three weeks ago.
So not much haschanged from the playoff race.
So again, I mean, that's whatit is and ideally, if we could
do this playoff wish list, Iwould like to see Lynx versus
Sparks.
I would like for us to get somecompetition for the future.
We need to see where we rank sothat way we can start training
(25:45):
in the offseason.
I would love to see.
I said Liberty versus Fever,but I kind of want to see
Mercury versus Fever.
I do, but that's only ifKaitlyn Clark is playing.
If not, then I'll go Libertyversus Fever, dream versus
Mercury, Because I want to seeBrittany Griner return back home
(26:05):
.
Maybe she amps up her play andthen you got the Storm versus
the Aces.
Or you can switch the Lynx andAces, storm and sparks, because
again, neca was on my sparks, sowas britney sykes.
Nice little back and forth, Iwould appreciate it.
Plus, we do have history withthe trades.
I've talked about that on theshow before.
Iwould like to see that.
(26:26):
But again, ladies and gentlemen, those are my wish lists that
y'all heard.
So, again, I think I think weabout cover all the updates that
we got.
So I think that about does itfor the show, ladies and
gentlemen, but I want to hearfrom y'all.
Are there any updates that Imissed?
Is there anything that y'allwant to talk about?
How do y'all feel about theseason awards?
(26:47):
What about the big three?
Is my ranking off?
I'd love to hear that.
And then my playoff race.
Did I mess up anything?
Anybody, anybody at all.
Y'all let me know.
But, ladies and gentlemen, Ihope y'all continue to watch the
WNBA and support it, as well ascontinue to support my show.
(27:08):
So again, my name is Trey.
I am the host of Get a Bucket.
Please make sure to like,subscribe, comment, tell anyone
who's anyone about my show.
Hope you all are having a goodone.
Take care.
What's up everybody.
It's your favorite show'sfavorite show.
Get a Bucket.
I'm your host, trey, and asusual, I hope you're all having
a wonderful, wonderful day Now.
Today we're going to talk aboutsome WNBA updates, but before
we do that, please make sure tohit that like and subscribe
button, comment, tell anyoneabout the show, try to get the
ratings up a little bit, youknow, just a little bit.
Like I said, we're going totalk about here some W NBA
updates.
(00:20):
All right, now I think it's fairto say that we got to look at
the standings because, well, Imean, that's going to be how
we're looking currently, right?
So we got here the Lynx numberone, roof Roof.
The Liberty defending champsnumber two.
They say first is the worst,second is the best.
(00:43):
So if you believe that, liberty, y'all on record, y'all on
track.
Atlanta Dream number three,mercury number four, fever,
commissioner Cup champs numberfive, aces number six, storm
number seven and the Valkyriesat number eight.
Now, right here, if you look,you see a team highlighted,
that's my Sparks.
We're number nine, but we rightaround the corner from reaching
(01:04):
that playoffs race.
You know I'm saying, uh, thenwe, we outlast in the mystics.
They number 10.
And then the sky, wings and sun, round out the final three
teams now.
Um, remember this listing,ladies and gentlemen, because it
does.
It is going to be important.
It's going to be important.
It is going to be important tonote.
Now I will say this I had somepredictions going on at the
(01:35):
beginning of the year.
Right, I did, I did.
Matter of fact.
Let's start it off with theCoach of the Year predictions.
Now.
Let's pull up my stats Now.
Coach of the Year, you see allmy predictions, right?
You see all my predictions sofar.
I had some reasons why, and Istated those.
So, if y'all want to listen tothat episode, by all means go
ahead.
But Coach of the Year,currently, I got Cheryl Reeves.
(01:57):
Ladies and gentlemen, I mean, Iread off to y'all the standings.
Okay, the Lynx they're numberone in the WNBA and it's by a
wide margin.
Okay, it's by a wide margin.
The next team I stated was theLiberty.
I think it's like a five-gamedifference or something like
(02:17):
that.
It's kind of crazy.
It's kind of crazy.
Now I got some runner-ups.
Okay, carl Smesko, off the dream.
You've been doing your thing,champ.
Your team is number three rightnow and y'all have been dealing
with injuries.
Plus, this is your first seasontogether, so because of that,
the Lynx weren't together lastyear.
(02:38):
So they have the cohesion.
It's just the disparity inwhich they're currently number
one.
That's the reason why I gotthem higher than the dream.
But Carl has been doing histhing coaching wise.
I can't I cannot slight him.
Also, nate tibbets, off themercury.
Your big three was not completethis entire year and you were at
the top of the league at onepoint in time.
(02:59):
Y'all have slipped a little bit.
I do understand that the benchdepth does does concern me a
little bit, but overall I thinkyou're number three for me in
terms of coaching, Because whaty'all have had to deal with
injuries, cohesion issues, andthe big three was hurt.
I factored that in.
(03:22):
You also got to look at SandyBrandello, stephanie White.
They was up there CommissionerCup win without your
quote-unquote star by the casualfans, right, I like her.
So again, you see, stephanie.
You saw Sandy Carl's up there.
I didn't talk about Becky,because the Aces ain't really
(03:43):
doing their thing, but againthough, ladies and gentlemen,
that's coach of the year, nowmost improved.
I had some people listed up here.
It was some young guns.
I'm not going to lie to y'all.
I was really hoping that theywould vault out right in terms
of things that I needed to see.
Some of them did do well, likeAaliyah Bolson has done a
(04:05):
wonderful job, angel Reese hasimproved, kaylin Clark's been
injured, aaliyah Edwards wasinjured and she also recently
got traded, like this listingMelissa Smith got traded, her
damn self and Ezzie Magbogorshe's been doing pretty well.
Actually she's leading the WNBAin blocks, but I don't know if
that's enough to get MIP,because I think she might have
been doing that last year.
(04:25):
So currently constructed rightnow.
I don't think there's a playerthat is most improved, deserves
it more than Kayla Thornton fromthe Golden State Valkyries.
Like, let me know who elsedeserves it more?
Champion last year, role playergiving about what?
(04:46):
Six points, 5.5 points per game, and then we divvy out an
all-star season, like she wasselected for the all-star team,
ladies and gentlemen, not as areserve.
Most improved?
Without question Kayla Thornton.
If you have somebody else, Iwould really love to hear it.
(05:07):
But if she don't win,somebody's cheating in the WNBA
and an investigation reallyneeds to take place.
I don't care.
When she was injured she playedenough games to get most
improved because she was anall-star.
So argue with your mama.
Now, sixth woman of the year wecan argue a little bit about.
I had some question marks aboutthis.
(05:28):
So, as y'all see, I had NatashaCloud on mine right, breonna
Jones on mine, cheyenneParker-Tayes on mine and Dana
Evans.
Dana has been hooping a littlebit.
Breonna has not been the sixthwoman.
She's been starting my bad.
I ain been starting my bad, Iain't know.
Like same with Natasha Clow,and Cheyenne Parkatias actually
(05:52):
was on maternity leave, so she'scoming back.
So she's not going to playenough games.
But the top two, though for methey're starters, but they could
have been bench players, no lie.
And when their teams actuallyget healthy, well, at least the
Liberty Natasha could come offthe bench.
We'll see what happens.
But in the meantime, my currentsix women of the years this
(06:15):
one's interesting.
I might have to have NazHillman leading the helm, ladies
and gentlemen, because theAtlanta Dream, like I said, have
had injuries.
She's played all the games andshe's performing quite well 9.6
rebounds, 2 assists, 0.4 steals,0.5 blocks on, 48% from the
(06:37):
field, 32 from the three, 82from the free throw line.
That's not bad, that's not bad.
So, again, the Dream Dreamerthird, and they dealt with a lot
of injuries.
Nas Hillman has helped them outtremendously as a sixth woman.
Yeah, helped them out.
(06:58):
So, again, nas Hillman, that'smy sixth woman of the year right
now, but Sammy Whitcomb fromthe Mercury does have something
to say, because I do hear you.
You know what I'm saying.
Like 10 points, three rebounds,three assists, .8 steals, .2
blocks on 39, 34, 84 splits.
Now here's the thing, thoughshe has started 18 games out of
(07:19):
the 29 she's played.
So she's going to have to comeoff the bench at some point in
time a little bit more.
But if that happens, she'splayed.
So she's gonna have to come offthe bench at some point in time
a little bit more, but if thathappens, she's gonna have
somethingto say.
Same with dana evans, who, asy'all see, I do have on screen,
still right, she's just notgiven the production that I
would have wanted.
I would have long.
I would have wanted to see alittle bit more production from
her.
But again, though, if we canget a little more uptick from
(07:41):
her and if the Aces can get upthere a little bit in ranking,
she may have a shot.
Jessica Shepard, she has anadvantage over Naz Hillman right
now because her team iscurrently number one and again
it's by awide margin.
So when we're looking at this,jessica Shepard giving me 7.7
rebounds, 2 assists, .4 stealsand .1 blocks Efficiency is not
(08:04):
that good, I mean field goalpercentage and .1 blocks
Efficiency is not that good, Imean field goal percentage.
She's shooting 60.
She's shooting better from thefield than she is from the free
throw line.
She's not shooting that andshe's not shooting threes.
So again, I do like her as aplayer and
the team help her out.
But I would like to see NazHillman win for sixth woman of
(08:26):
the year.
If the season were to end todayand if the Dreamer made a top
three seed, I would like to seeNas Hillman get it over Jessica
Shepard.
And then, if Emma Miesman cancome off the bench someone like
Emma I think Natasha started waytoo many games Emma's going to
have to come off the bench forthe liberty someone on liberty
(08:46):
to win it.
Maybe they have a shot.
But those four yeah, those fourare my favorites right now to
win six women of the year.
So you know I'm biasly pullingfor Dana
just because she hit my.
She was on my list initiallyfor predictions, but let's see
what happens.
Rookie of the year this one'sgoing to be easy peasy, lemon
squeezy.
Ladies and gentlemen, paigeBeckers, I told y'all before.
(09:07):
I'm going to say it again.
It's a cut and dry answer.
She's the best rookie, she'sone of the best players in the
league right now.
I said one of the best players.
She was an all-star this year,I'm not saying top 10.
We're not getting.
Is it really up for discussion?
(09:27):
Her competition with SoniaCitrone and Kiki Arieffin, who
they both were all-stars thisyear, is just that.
It's levels to this, I'm sorry.
So again,paige, tip of the cap.
And I'm pissed at the fact thatmy Sparks could not win number
one draft pick last year.
That's all I'm saying, becausewe would have had Paige Beckham,
(09:48):
fakia Jackson, cameron Brink,audrey Stevens and oh my gosh,
de'erica Hamby Bro.
We would have been killing.
That's all I'm saying.
But speaking of killers, let'sgo ahead and move on up to the
D-poys, which y'allcan see on the screen.
I had Brittany Griner, alyssaThomas and Nafisa Collier as my
(10:09):
expectations for deep poise.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, Ican confidently say only one of
them messed up.
My expectations daggone it.
And the reason why I say thatmy deep poise right now is
Nafisa Collier.
She's top in defensive ratingand win shares, if you want to
(10:31):
base it off stats, right.
But the team again number one.
They look like juggernauts whenshe's on the court.
They still look good when she'soff the court, but they really
look solid when she's on thecourt and she can guard one
through five without question.
So in terms of depoyoy, thereigning depoy, she got it.
(10:54):
Now her, her, her competitionis alissa thomas and asia wilson
.
Alissa thomas, you know you canmake the argument that nevisa
collier has four other player orthree other players that are in
the top 10 defensive rating,right.
So if you say, if you look atit from that perspective and
coming at it from an analyticalstandpoint, okay, cool, alyssa
(11:16):
Thomas might be more of adefensive anchor than Nafisa
Collier.
I hear that Satu's the onlyother player on the Mercury in
the top 10for defensive rating.
So cool.
You got three for Fee, one forAlyssa Thomas.
I've made that case for Fee forMVP.
So I hear for Alyssa Thomas.
When I look at Fee, though,there is a little bit of a
(11:36):
distinction.
Alyssa Thomas can guard theones and twos, but I think Fee
guards the perimeter a littlebit better.
Personally, alyssa Thomas canguard one through five as well,
but in terms of fluidity, Ithink I I give the nod to fee
just a little bit more.
But again, though, you want tobase it off of, off of teammates
, I do hear you for a list oftimes.
(11:58):
And then, well, asia wilson shehas no other teammate in the
top 20 defensive win shares andher team ranking hurts, plus
your team's past success.
So, while your, your teammatescurrently might not be
defensively what they might havebeen in the past, the past kind
(12:20):
of hurts you a little bit, asia.
But again, ladies and gentlemen, if you feel like she's deep
boy, I hear that argument too,because of the others supporting
cast, just remember, though,the others are pretty damn good,
they sell.
So, again, those are my threefor deep boy.
But I mean, I'm I'm definitelycurious
what y'all thinking about it.
But we got to talk about heremvp, right, um, mvp, you know.
(12:49):
I mean like who we, who we got,who we got, ladies and
gentlemen.
Well, I had Nafisa Khalia,breanna Stewart, asia Wilson,
ryan Howard and I had KaitlynClark.
Kaitlyn obviously was going tobe because fans were going to be
voting her, but also, too, shewas going to be viewed as the
engine to a team that I thoughtcould have gone pretty far if
(13:12):
they were injury-free, right,and if she was playing.
But in the meantime, my MVP,ladies and gentlemen, nafisa
Collier.
Now she is currently out, so wedo have the opportunity for
people to maybe try to gain sometraction, but keep in mind
(13:38):
she's leading the WNBA inscoring.
Her team's number one.
She's the best player on thebest team.
She's top in defensive ratingand win shares.
She's top in offensive ratingand win shares, meaning she's
tops in win shares all total.
Like that's kind of crazy.
We don't see that happen tootoo often, ladies and gentlemen.
So when we talk about value,really tough to argue.
(14:01):
Who more valuable than NafisaCollier for the 2025 WNBA season
?
Now, to be fair, alyssa Thomasdoes make quite an argument to
triple-double queen for the WNBA.
You know what I'm saying.
You talk about where they'repositioned and you got to factor
in that her team has beeninjured.
(14:21):
Fee's team has not been injured, by the way.
Kayla McBride, I think, wasinjured for a little bit but has
still played enough games to beselected for the all-star team.
So they have not really beeninjured like that.
So maybe you wantto argue that case right.
How about Alicia Gray?
Because again, her stars havebeen out.
Hell, ryan Howard's played likehalf the season, so I mean she
didn't even get to the all-stargame.
(14:43):
Like, come on now and theystill top three.
Alicia gray might be morevaluable to her team than than
than the visa collier is because, again, the injuries.
I so I'll hear alicia gray formvp, because
again her team been injured.
But when we talk about feeacross the board god, I mean
(15:09):
don't get me wrong Alicia Graybeen hooping.
Now Alicia Gray can get abucket.
She's been carrying the teamhelping out.
Breonna Jones been hooping too,but I think Alicia Gray is I
think it's safe to say easilythe number one.
But Fee is a different breed.
She's definitely a differentbreed.
But I am curious though I'mwilding on this whole MVP thing.
Y'all let me know.
(15:29):
But, ladies and gentlemen, wealso got to talk about because
we've talked about all the WNBAawards thus far.
So we're going to see whathappens
when the awards come out.
I want to focus on, though, thebig three.
The WNBA's big three, ladiesand gentlemen, consists of Asia
(15:50):
Wilson, nafisa Collier andBreanna Stewart, but there's got
to be a ranking with it.
There's got to be a rankingwith this now, ladies and
gentlemen, and I think theremight be, at least for the 2025
season.
We'll see what happens nextseason We'll see, but in the
meantime, yeah, fee got numberone.
Yeah, nafisa Collier is numberone in the WNBA.
There's some pressure, there'ssome expectations with that.
(16:12):
She was in the finals, right.
If she gets back to the finalsand wins it too, that definitely
solidifies it without question.
There's no argument If shedoesn't win, especially if she
gets out early.
I can hear why other peoplemight say the other two, but
again, nafisa Collier number one, without
question.
Now two and three.
It does get a little tricky forme right now.
(16:33):
I have Breanna Stewart numbertwo, but keep in mind, asia
Wilson is arguably the reasonwhy the Aces are in playoff
contention.
Jackie Young has been playingwell too, but like it's looking
a little tough over there in theaces world, like like to the
point where kelsey plum islooking a lot better right now,
(16:56):
I promise y'all, because they'renot doing this hot and and the
aces were what a four seed lastyear, champions the seasons
before, and kelsey plum is themain subtraction, oh.
So again, I I'm looking atBreanna Stewart right now at
number two.
But I might take Asia Wilson asnumber two as well.
(17:18):
But Breanna Stewart for me isnumber two because when I look
at Breanna Stewart, she still isone of the better players from
a scoring perspective, from arebounding perspective, from a
playmaking perspective, from adefense perspective.
She's not a slouch.
And then when we talk aboutefficiency, she's still one of
the more efficient players inthe game.
She's had a little bit of aslippage I guess I will give
people that, but overall you gotto look at the amount of focus
(17:42):
she does draw.
So I do expect somewhat of adip, even though I do expect her
to still remain efficient.
I have called her the KevinDurant of the WNBA, right.
So again, breanna Stewart, forwhat she brings, overall I
do have her number two.
I'm not going to lie to you,but because of her supporting
cast being healthier than theAces, I will hear folks saying
(18:05):
Asia's number two, but for me Icannot give her but so much
grace Because, remember, themain subtraction was in fact
Kelsey Plum and she brought backJewel Lloyd, who the
expectations were.
Jewel Lloyd's in the bucket.
That's an all-star caliberplayer, spoke to make it work.
We got to see.
(18:26):
If it's Jewel Lloyd or ifthere's a team cohesion issue,
we'll figure it out.
But Asia, giving you 30 points,20 rebounds, it don't seem like
it's her, but it is kind oftough for me to put her at
number three right now on thebig three list.
But again, ladies and gentlemen, we're talking about the big
three out of all the WNBA.
That's what we're talking about, right?
(18:46):
But these women do have somepress rolling because we do have
playoffs coming up.
So again, ladies and gentlemen,this big three, they're going
to have to show up and show outbecause, well, if they can't,
it's goingto be a little tricky.
Now I mentioned playoffs.
(19:15):
As y'all can see, valkyries arecurrently at that eighth spot,
my Sparks we're 0.5 games away.
We're 0.5 games away fromgetting to the playoffs.
We should be able to make it tothe playoffs, ladies and
gentlemen, and, as y'all can see, the Lynx are far ahead of
everybody else.
So we might have to play theLynx game like round one and
that could get ugly, becausethey got all the pieces to beat
(19:37):
our ass.
So that would be a little tough.
But there is a little pressureon the Lynx because, again, if
they lose early.
Y'all see where they arerecord-wise.
I mean, bro, there's a mean gapbetween them and everybody else
.
So you can't lose early.
And you already got to thefinals.
So with me saying you have thebest player, y'all have so many
(19:58):
defensive players on the team inthe top
ten, y'all have to get.
I honestly want to say back tothe finals, like, if y'all can't
, what are we doing?
I'm sorry we might have to makea couple trades, because now it
(20:19):
just seems like y'all gonna bein limbo, even though you look
dominant during the regularseason.
Then the Liberty can y'allactually dominate?
I talked about the links, right, can y'all dominate because
y'all have the depth and talentto do so.
So you're supposed to win thisyear.
Can you actually get the jobdone?
There's really no excuses.
Barring significant injurieswhich have happened over the
(20:42):
year, y'all have enough talentand WNBA experience per player
to gel when the time comes.
So again, can y'all in factdominate and you go 10 women
deep?
No excuses, none whatsoever.
So the defending champs shouldbe
able to run it back.
(21:02):
The Mercury Do you have enoughconsistent scoring?
Big three Y'all cool.
The supporting cast still wantto figure it out and we're not
going to be able to until we getto playoffs.
That's where the bread and'renot going to be able to.
Until we get to playoffs.
That's where the bread of thebutter, that's when the bread
and buzz is going to be.
So I'm looking forward toseeing if the mercury are going
to have enough scoring option.
They have enough defense, weknow that.
(21:23):
Do they have enough offense?
Well, they have enough peopleto get a bucket when the time
comes, because three peopleusually is not going to be
enough tocarry you over the hump.
Just saying the dream Are y'allgoing to be healthy?
I said Ryan Howard already out,and she's been out for a little
(21:45):
.
Second.
Brittany Griner, you know whatI'm saying.
Can you come back healthy?
Like, is there too much usageon Alicia Gray?
That's what I'm trying tofigure out.
And will y'all have enoughcohesion?
Because, again, this is y'allfirst season.
That's what we need to figureout, but that's what I'm
figuring out.
That's really my biggest thingfor the Dream.
Outside of that, they can becontenders, ladies and gentlemen
.
There's aworld where they win it.
(22:07):
I'm not going to lie to you,but there are some question
marks and it's surroundinghealth.
So we got to put a pin in thatthe Storm is there enough
balance?
You made the trade for BrittanySykes Excellent, excellent
acquisition.
Is there enough balance overallon the squad?
And I'm wondering when the timecomes for next season, when the
(22:30):
time comes for next season, howmuch will Dominique Malanga
factor in to the Storm's play,because her and Ezzie might need
to coexist.
And you got Nneka, you gotGabby Williams, you got a lot of
players.
So you got to figure out thebalancing overall, because the
(22:51):
timing could actually gel outfor the Storm for the next
couple years if they play theircards right.
So again, I want to seeif that balance is enough.
Then, for the Aces, do y'allhave a Trump card?
Because, damn, it's really notlooking that good.
It's really not looking thatgood, bro.
And again, y'all havesufficient talent.
(23:12):
Becky, we got to see what youcan do as a coach.
Jewel, there's some pressure onyou.
Asia, I think you get a pass.
But next season there might besome pressure on you again,
because if it's back-to-backyears, hey, have y'all lost your
swag.
Do y'all need to make somechanges overall?
(23:34):
Does Asia need to leave?
Let's figure that out.
Butagain, there's some pressure
there.
The fever when will caitlynclark be available and after a
certain point in time is itideal for her to come back?
They won the commissioner cupchamp, remember.
Natasha howard won finals.
(23:55):
Mvp alia boston has been theirbest player.
Kelsey mitchell is consideredthe toughest player to guard by
a lot of players.
Should we mess up the cohesionof the fever?
Because when you insert aplayer like caitlyn clark she
does have to kind of orchestratethe offense.
(24:15):
She can't play off ball likethat.
So again, although I think shecould, in theory, her play style
, what everybody wanted to see,yes, she kind of has to have the
ball in her hands.
Does that mess up the flow thatthe Fever have actually
established to win theCommissioner Cup
championship?
We'll figure it out.
And, like I said, the valkyries, can they actually make it?
(24:39):
But, more importantly, can mysparks outlast the valkyrie and
mystics?
That's really up for debatebecause, like I did see us do
well against the mystics, liveAll right, we were down by 10,
came back, like we go down earlyand then fight back.
Can we get rid of that, sparks,please?
(25:01):
Like can we just stay up thewhole time, wire to wire?
I'd appreciate it Because, damn, I get tired of seeing like us
down and having to claw all theway back.
I appreciate us fighting back,don't get me wrong, but that's
the playoff race right now.
That's what it's looking like,ladies and gentlemen, and keep
in mind it's crazy, because Ireally wrote this list about two
(25:23):
, three weeks ago.
So not much haschanged from the playoff race.
So again, I mean, that's whatit is and ideally, if we could
do this playoff wish list, Iwould like to see Lynx versus
Sparks.
I would like for us to get somecompetition for the future.
We need to see where we rank sothat way we can start training
(25:45):
in the offseason.
I would love to see.
I said Liberty versus Fever,but I kind of want to see
Mercury versus Fever.
I do, but that's only ifKaitlyn Clark is playing.
If not, then I'll go Libertyversus Fever, dream versus
Mercury, Because I want to seeBrittany Griner return back home
(26:05):
.
Maybe she amps up her play andthen you got the Storm versus
the Aces.
Or you can switch the Lynx andAces, storm and sparks, because
again, neca was on my sparks, sowas britney sykes.
Nice little back and forth, Iwould appreciate it.
Plus, we do have history withthe trades.
I've talked about that on theshow before.
Iwould like to see that.
(26:26):
But again, ladies and gentlemen, those are my wish lists that
y'all heard.
So, again, I think I think weabout cover all the updates that
we got.
So I think that about does itfor the show, ladies and
gentlemen, but I want to hearfrom y'all.
Are there any updates that Imissed?
Is there anything that y'allwant to talk about?
How do y'all feel about theseason awards?
(26:47):
What about the big three?
Is my ranking off?
I'd love to hear that.
And then my playoff race.
Did I mess up anything?
Anybody, anybody at all.
Y'all let me know.
But, ladies and gentlemen, Ihope y'all continue to watch the
WNBA and support it, as well ascontinue to support my show.
(27:08):
So again, my name is Trey.
I am the host of Get a Bucket.
Please make sure to like,subscribe, comment, tell anyone
who's anyone about my show.
Hope you all are having a goodone.
Take care.
Popular Podcasts
Law & Order: Criminal Justice System - Season 1 & Season 2
Season Two Out Now! Law & Order: Criminal Justice System tells the real stories behind the landmark cases that have shaped how the most dangerous and influential criminals in America are prosecuted. In its second season, the series tackles the threat of terrorism in the United States. From the rise of extremist political groups in the 60s to domestic lone wolves in the modern day, we explore how organizations like the FBI and Joint Terrorism Take Force have evolved to fight back against a multitude of terrorist threats.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.