The Weekly Roundup: February 15
A new WNBA charting tool from Her Hoop Stats, a look at Natasha Mack's season numbers, and a tribute to Ticha Penicheiro
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Between last week’s megatrade that shook up five teams, and big names moving in free agency, WNBA fans have already seen one of the most exciting offseasons ever, but there are still quite a few notable free agents that fans should keep an eye on.
It’s possible that some of these players are signed soon, but issues like team cap space could make signings take longer than planned, as is the case with Aerial Powers in Minnesota. Powers agreed to sign with the Lynx, but is still waiting to officially sign since the team currently can’t offer her a protected contract. The Lynx currently are at the limit of six specified in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Sue Bird is also still unsigned, but has said that she’s merely waiting for the Storm to resolve their cap situation before re-signing. While it’s likely that Powers and Bird end up on their expected teams, another team could theoretically swoop in and sign them away if an offer is appealing enough.
Notable remaining free agents:
Sue Bird - unrestricted free agent
Liz Cambage - cored by Las Vegas
Natasha Cloud - out of contract; can only negotiate with the Mystics
Emma Meesseman - unrestricted free agent
Chiney Ogwumike - out of contract; can only negotiate with the Sparks
Nneka Ogwumike - cored by Los Angeles
Aerial Powers - verbally agreed to sign with the Lynx
New Free Agency Tool
As part of our continuing effort to unlock better insight about the women’s game, Her Hoop Stats has released a fun new charting tool to help you assess the value of each player’s WNBA contract. You can plot all confirmed 2021 player salaries with stats from last season. You can choose to show just 2021 free agents, including those that are unsigned, or show all players under contract. The tool includes per game, total, advanced, and value stats. Here’s a quick look at what signed free agent salaries in relation to overall win shares produced during 2020.
The Mystics were able to sign a really productive player in Alysha Clark — who leads all signed free agents by this metric — for below the maximum, which helps since they’ll need the cap space to re-sign both Cloud and Meesseman. It took the supermax for Phoenix to re-sign Diana Taurasi for two more years, but she’s still incredibly productive — notching 3.4 total win shares and leading all signed free agents in win shares per 40 minutes.
Just for fun, here’s a quick look at average scoring production from 2020 for the league:
Of the top seven scorers in the league last year, four of them are signed to some version of a max contract, but Arike Ogunbowale and A’ja Wilson, last year’s top two scorers, are still on rookie contracts. Ogunbowale, who was drafted the year before the new CBA went into effect, is the best deal in the WNBA for her team, but among the group of lowest-paid players in the entire league.
Reigning MVP A’ja Wilson is making $70,040 in the last year of her rookie deal, and is set to get paid in 2022 as she heads into restricted free agency. Ogunbowale has to wait a bit before she gets the salary she deserves, though. She gets a small bump to $72,141 in 2022 before becoming a restricted free agent in 2023. Among the group of 2019 draftees still in rookie contracts who exceed their contract value in production are Napheesa Collier for Minnesota and Brianna Turner for Phoenix.
Jacqueline’s Top 25
UConn (16-1)
South Carolina (17-2)
Stanford (18-2)
Louisville (19-1)
Texas A&M (19-1)
NC State (13-2)
Baylor (16-2)
UCLA (12-3)
Maryland (14-2)
Arizona (11-2)
Oregon (12-4)
Michigan (11-1)
Arkansas (15-7)
South Florida (11-1)
Ohio State (12-2)
Kentucky (14-5)
Tennessee (12-5)
Indiana (13-4)
Gonzaga (18-2)
Rutgers (8-3)
Georgia (16-4)
West Virginia (16-3)
DePaul (11-4)
Northwestern (11-4)
Missouri State (13-2)
By The Numbers
Oklahoma State senior Natasha Mack has her team in a position to contend for a Big 12 title and a spot in the NCAA tournament, while also raising her potential WNBA draft stock for April. OSU sits in third place in the Big 12 and are only one game behind the nationally-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers in the standings.
Mack’s season performance thus far has earned her spots on several award watch lists, including the Wooden Award Late Season Watch List and the Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year watch list. She’s averaging 19.5 points, 12.2 rebounds, 4.1 blocks, and 2.1 steals in 21 games played, all team highs. Aside from leading her team, she also leads the nation with 7.7 total win shares, 3.3 defensive win shares, and 86 total blocks. Mack’s in a position to surpass her 96 blocks in 27 games from last year with three games remaining in the regular season.
Women’sHoopWorld tweeted on Feb. 10 that Mack had more total blocks than 316 D-I teams this year. Just five days later, Mack has passed another six teams. The only team that averages more blocks a game than Oklahoma State is South Carolina, and only 21 entire teams in D-1 have recorded more total blocks than Mack this season.
What We’re Working On
Everything you need to keep up with WNBA free agency. Trackers are updated as we confirm new contracts: 2021 free agency tracker, salary cap team sheets, and WNBA CBA FAQ.
Richard Cohen broke down last week’s WNBA tradepocalypse, and recapped some recent deals that he did and didn’t like.
Christy Winters-Scott and Gabe Ibrahim also broke down the WNBA megatrade and what it means for the league moving forward, UConn-South Carolina, Paige Bueckers and Aliyah Boston, and the exciting Big Ten in the latest episode of Courtside.
Megan Gauer, Her Hoop Stats’ certified bracketologist, looked at her top five seeds in each region through February 10.
Her Hoop Stats narrowed down the 2021 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year award watchlist to 10 semifinals from 10 different schools and eight conferences. Five finalists will be announced in early March, and the winner will be announced in late March.
Jacob Mox joined Megan Gauer to dive deeper into the Becky Hammon watchlist and chat mid-major hoops, bracketology and more on last week’s episode of Unplugged.
Gabe Ibrahim wrote about some unresolved questions that Seattle, Minnesota, and Washington will need to address soon in WNBA free agency (published before Wednesday’s trades).
In case you missed it, Megan Gauer and Calvin Wetzel went live last Monday before the South Carolina-UConn matchup to preview the game and recap last week’s exciting NCAA action.
Other Recommended Reading
For The Next, Dorothy Gentry caught up with Auburn senior Unique Thompson about her rebounding, playing in the SEC, her plans for her future, the talent she wished she had and more.
For The Seattle Times, Percy Allen wrote about Washington senior Khayla Rooks’ relationship with basketball, her dad, and Valentine’s Day.
For the Louisville Courier-Journal, Tim Sullivan wrote about Dana Evans’ resume for Player of the Year, her own reluctance to campaign for awards, and her program legacy.
Maryland Athletics has a really cool web page dedicated to head women’s basketball coach Brenda Frese after she became the program’s winningest coach with win No. 500 on Sunday.
Last November, I wrote about the Philippines’ first-ever professional women’s basketball league, the WNBL, which is set to kick off later this year. The WNBL held its inaugural draft on Saturday, and Dr. Fille Claudine Cainglet, a 32-year-old doctor who was working in an operating room during the draft, made history as the league’s first-ever pick. For The Tiebreaker Times, Matthew Li profiled Cainglet’s standout college career and how she made it back to basketball now that there’s a professional opportunity in her country.
Before You Go
This week’s space is dedicated to Ticha Penicheiro, inspired by this tweet from Dunk Compilation.
Over the course of her career, Penicheiro dished out 2,600 total assists in the regular season and was the first person in league history to reach 2,000 total assists. She ranks second behind Sue Bird for total assists, and currently has a 647-assist margin between her record and Diana Taurasi, who currently ranks fourth overall (Lindsay Whalen is third overall with 2,348 assists).
So if you need a boost to your Monday, I’ll leave you with this video of some of Penicheiro’s best career passes.
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also buy Her Hoop Stats gear, such as laptop stickers, mugs, and shirts!
Haven’t subscribed to the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter yet?