The Weekly Roundup: Syl’s Slam Dunk of a Finale, Team Wilson Lights Up the Scoreboard, and Other Highlights from All-Star Weekend
Recapping the highs and lows from the Windy City
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Earlier this season, I wrote about how the WNBA is more fun to watch now than ever, due in part to the league’s current golden age of offensive efficiency. And my goodness was that on full display last weekend! Three-point machine Allie Quigley dominated the three-point contest and claimed her fourth career title. Sylvia Fowles had quite the All-Star Game swan song, opening the game with a triple (she’s hit just one other three-pointer in her entire WNBA career) and later throwing down a dunk as Wintrust Arena erupted. Team Wilson’s 134 points, Kelsey Plum’s 30 points, and the teams’ combined 39 threes (including four-pointers) all tied or set All-Star Game records.
I get it. It’s an all-star game. We’re not exactly seeing the world’s stingiest defense being played. Nevertheless, the weekend highlighted the quality of the WNBA’s on-court product - it’s really, really good (and yes, I appreciate that’s not the hottest of takes and there’s an element of preaching to the choir here). That makes the weekend’s snafus, which reduced the league’s visibility during All-Star, all the more disappointing. From what I could gather from afar, it seemed like a fantastic, fun-filled weekend of basketball, but it could have been better! Let’s hope the league and its partners address these issues in the future - the players, coaches, and fans deserve it.
Inside All-Star weekend with Aaron Barzilai
Last weekend, several members of the Her Hoop Stats crew traveled to Chicago to cover WNBA All-Star weekend. Overcoming a significant bout of FOMO (fear of missing out), I spoke with one of them, Her Hoop Stats founder Aaron Barzilai, about his experience in the Windy City.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Adam Vachon: Aaron, you attended the last full All-Star weekend in 2019, which took place in Las Vegas. Can you compare and contrast your experience this past weekend with that from a few years ago?
Aaron Barzilai: It felt very different. I actually think the difference might be the cities and the arenas themselves. I said on the podcast we recorded afterward that overall I gave this year’s All-Star Game a “B” for a grade. They can't all be the best All-Star Game in the history of the league. I enjoyed the setup of Las Vegas better. It was a great experience this weekend, but when we were in Vegas, I saw more signage about the event. They were really good [in Las Vegas] about promoting their team’s players, like A’ja Wilson and Liz Cambage. There was definitely some signage this weekend, but there's also just so much else going on in Chicago. I'm sure there was plenty of stuff happening in Vegas, but it felt a little more like you were in your own little world that was a hundred percent about basketball.
So overall, I enjoyed both the experience and the game itself in 2019 a little bit more, but that’s not to take anything away from this year’s All-Star weekend, which was still a great experience.
What did it look like to you on TV?
AV: It looked like a lot of fun! I know there was some understandable criticism on social media about the skills challenge and the three-point contest taking place at McCormick Place (and significantly limiting attendance) rather than the much larger Wintrust Arena. Though, it did seem like the smaller, more intimate venue coupled with the high school and AAU players in attendance made for a really neat, energetic atmosphere. What was your perspective on this situation?
AB: If you think of the three audiences, I think two of them were served really well. There were issues with the skills challenge and three-point contest being moved from ESPN to ESPNU due to Wimbledon, but my understanding is that the broadcast itself was great. If you were in the arena, it also felt great. My guess would be that the players really enjoyed being there - Candace Parker and A’ja Wilson certainly looked like they were having a good time on Saturday at McCormick Place. I think that was good. But then there's the third group, which is the fans that were there and couldn't get in. They were understandably frustrated.
AV: One factor that caused some of the issues at this year’s All-Star weekend (including, but not limited to, not being able to book the Wintrust Center) was how little time there was between when the league announced Chicago as the host and when the event actually happened. I’m not sure if there was anything preventing the W from making that decision sooner, but if not, hopefully, the league learns from that and avoids similar issues from popping up in the future.
AB: Yeah, that was on my mind as well. I don't think you and I have hit on this magic idea that Cathy Engelbert or the league office hasn’t considered. Cathy, I hope you're reading this because one of the questions I would've asked at the press conference had I been able to attend is ‘what are the lessons you've learned?’ You're continuing to invest in and grow the league's capabilities so that, say, the 2026 or 2027 All-Star Game will be even more successful. In particular, I'm curious to know what they think is the best practice for when they should announce the location of next year’s All-Star Game. Should they announce, say, at the 2026 All-Star Game press conference, where the 2027 All-Star Game will take place?
At the same time, I'm very empathetic to the challenges that they have. It’s really complicated when you're in that spot. I think they had a lot of constraints, and, in general, there was a lot of uncertainty. For example, we already know the sites of future NBA All-Star Games. We certainly know where the Final Four will be held in the future. But those dates are fixed, and I think one of the challenges is that the NBA schedule is usually pretty fixed. It must be really hard for the WNBA to, say, reserve Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle for July 9, 2023. We have a guess when the schedule's going to start. And now you’re going to have a 40-game regular-season schedule; there's a lot to work out on all of that. If there was more certainty in the WNBA schedule, I would expect that would make it easier to plan as well.
And so that's why I'm curious to know what they've taken away internally and what changes they’ll apply in the future.
AV: So, you just talked about asking the league what takeaways it has from the weekend. Turning that question to you, what’s one change you would make to All-Star weekend going forward, whether it’s specific to the games, the setup, or the other festivities?
AB: So, I like innovation, but I was not a huge fan of the four-point shot. The Her Hoop Stats team will tell you I was very skeptical that that was going to increase scoring. I thought they were going to shoot like 25% from four-point range, worse than a typical three-pointer. It was way less than that.
Perhaps I’m a little unique, but I really enjoy the passing and the ball movement more than the fancy stuff. There were some great backdoor cuts. I would like to see them move the four-point spot to the restricted area so teams are incentivized to get to the basket. I think it would also have the benefit of causing teams to play a little harder on defense if they understood that if they just let them waltz in for a layup, it's even more costly. I think that would be an interesting way to play.
AV: That’s a good idea. I do appreciate the WNBA implementing innovative changes during the All-Star Game, but the four-point shot was a flop. For the most part, it felt like players were so interested in the novelty of attempting a four-point shot that it resulted in several forced heaves. What about the other changes - the 20-second shot clock and eliminating free throws for most of the game? Any strong thoughts on those?
AB: The reality is there really weren't that many possessions that ended with shot clock violations in previous All-Star Games, so I don't think that changed things much. I actually like the concept of automatic free throws. I believe the NBA's G League has experimented with similar automatic free-throw style rules to speed up the game. So I'm definitely open to that in general, not just for the All-Star Game.
In the 2019 All-Star Game, I remember they had what I would think of as hockey-style substitution. So you could just kind of hang out in the middle of plays, and it was fun. So, that would also be interesting.
AV: What was your favorite part of All-Star weekend?
AB: It was really the community. Now, the community was missing one very important person in Brittney Griner, and it was nice to see how they kept her top of mind. It was great seeing all these amazing players on the court despite it not being a normal basketball game. I enjoyed catching up with old friends, people that I've met through covering women’s basketball. And it's also very nice just to be with a like-minded group of people that all are invested in women's basketball.
AV: That’s awesome. Sadly, I wasn’t able to attend this year’s All-Star weekend, but that sense of community sounds very similar to the Final Four (which I did attend). Meeting a group of people who are similarly very passionate about women’s basketball and invested in growing the game was a neat experience. Well, that’s all I have, any parting thoughts on this year’s WNBA All-Star weekend?
AB: Like I said, I thought it was great. I'm just so glad I went. I'm grateful for the opportunity to cover this league and to work with all the people that helped put on the events and are part of the broader women's basketball community. I'm already looking forward to the next one!
My All-Star Game MVP: Jonquel Jones
After a lackluster performance in the three-point contest on Saturday, Kelsey Plum rebounded with a 30-point effort the next day en route to WNBA All-Star Game MVP honors (and yes, the world’s tiniest trophy). It was a sensational performance, but it wasn’t the best of the afternoon. No, that honor belongs to a player who seemed hell-bent on winning the All-Star Game MVP award from the get-go: Jonquel Jones.
The reigning regular-season MVP dropped 14 points in the first quarter, including the game’s first four-point shot. Jones finished with 29 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, and two steals. According to Across the Timeline, she was one point shy of tying the All-Star Game scoring record and one rebound shy of tying the All-Star Game rebounding record. Now, I know there’s an unwritten rule in team sports that the MVP of a game, a tournament, or any type of competition must go to a player on the winning team. It’s an arbitrary rule that’s never made much sense to me. With all due respect to Plum, Jones should have received yesterday’s All-Star Game MVP award.
Stat of the Week: Win shares leader equals MVP
Win shares approximate the total number of wins a player produces for their team through their play on the offensive and defensive end of the court. As it turns out, they’re also a pretty good indicator of who will take home league MVP at the end of the season. Since 2013, every player who has led the WNBA in win shares has won the league’s top individual honor.
Could this be the season where the streak ends? Breanna Stewart leads the league with 5.1 win shares, yet A’ja Wilson is currently favored by DraftKings to win at +140 (closely followed by Stewie at +190).
WNBA schedule this week (All times Eastern)
Here is a complete listing of this week’s games, start times, and where you can catch the action.
Her Hoop Stats content in case you missed it
During their time at WNBA All-Star, Dano Mataya and Ice Young got soundbites from several WNBA stars, including Ariel Atkins, Candace Parker, and Sabrina Ionescu. Check out their compilation of these interviews in the latest episode of Dice it Up.
Coach Carolyn Smalls and Basketball Chess broke down film of the highlights from Sunday’s All-Star Game.
Alford Corriette explored the ramifications of multiple teams in the bottom half of the WNBA standings not owning their first-round draft pick in 2023.
From Allie Quigley’s dominance in the three-point contest to the All-Star Game itself and everything in between, the Her Hoop Stats crew discussed the highlights of their experience at All-Star weekend in Chicago.
Who has the most career games (by far) with at least 10 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists? Who’s recorded the most games this season with multiple steals? I answered these questions by providing one notable stat for each All-Star on Team Wilson and Team Stewart.
In the latest edition of WNBA Dissected, Richard Cohen discussed why it’s unlikely we’ll see any blockbuster trades before Friday’s trade deadline and much more from week 9 in the W.
USC and UCLA recently announced their decision to join the Big Ten Conference. Kim Doss explored the ramifications of this for women’s college basketball landscape and what the future holds for the Pac-12.
Other recommended content
For CBS Sports, Matt Norlander detailed how the Western Athletic Conference has adopted a formula developed by Ken Pomeroy for conference tournament seeding.
How has Sue Bird stayed at the top of her game at the age of 41? A big part of the answer is performance enhancement specialist, Susan King Borchardt. ESPN’s Kevin Pelton explained in his latest.
For the Los Angeles Times, Thuc Nhi Nguyen chronicled the evolution of the fashion scene in the WNBA.
For The Athletic, Chantel Jennings outlined the changes WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced over the weekend and described the league’s missteps in organizing All-Star weekend.
The Washington Post’s Kareem Copeland discussed the significance of Breanna Stewart and Elena Delle Donne having their own signature shoes.
Trivia question of the week
First, here’s the answer to last week’s trivia question:
From 2008-2018, the winners of WNBA Rookie of the Year were all No. 1 overall draft picks, with two exceptions. The first was Elena Delle Donne, who won the award in 2013 after being drafted No. 2 overall. Who was the other non-No.1 pick to win Rookie of the Year during this time period?
Answer: Allisha Gray, who won the award in 2017, was the fourth overall pick.
And now, here’s this week’s question:
Excluding the 1997 postseason which did not have playoff series, name one of the two WNBA championship teams to have survived an elimination game in each of their playoff series on the way to the title.
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