Ball Up Top: A Women’s Basketball Podcast

There are five games or less in the WNBA regular season and we are being set up for one of the best finishes we’ve had in recent league history. There’s a fight for the second seed, the sixth seed and the eighth seed. No more than two games separate the groupings of teams in the mix for those positions so, naturally, that means there are a lot of games with stakes this upcoming weekend. In keeping with our end-of-season content offerings, we’ve got our Thursday recap and weekend preview available on podcast and video form on YouTube (you can watch it at the bottom of the email here if you prefer in video form).It’s been a little light this week on the paid tier content, I know. But rest assured, this week was about getting interviews and the legwork to make sure your September is stuffed to the gills with insider content, analysis and some fantastic guests and profiles. If there were ever a time to get a free trial or hop on the Ball-Knower tier for a month, now is the time!Now, let’s get to the Watch Guide! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard.Tyler, Greer and Chauny are back on the pod this week with a couple broader topics as the regular season winds down in the WNBA. The show opens with a discussion about Candace Parker’s Chicago Sky jersey retirement and some of the simmering beef between her and Angel Reese. After a conversation about the concept of standing on business and when to do it, the discussion turns towards the WNBA playoffs. With so many teams clogging the top six seeds, regularly jockeying for position, the show turns to a relatively simple question: who is the toughest matchup for each playoff team? If you love the show, we’d love and appreciate a five star rating on Apple podcasts as well as a kind review if you’ve got the time! We’re also on the road to 5,000 subscribers on YouTube and 2,000 followers on TikTok so if you enjoy our content here, tell a friend to tell a friend to follow us on their preferred platform!Scroll Ahead to Hear…0:00 - Show Introduction.3:05 - Candace Parker’s Jersey Retirement and the Game Within the Game…18:20 - Toughest Matchup For Each Playoff Team…Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!Our intro music is made by Denver’s own DLZMKSBTS, the King of Mile Hi-Fi. Check out all his music on Spotify here and on Instagram here.Additionally, we’ve gotten some requests recently about additional donations for the NCS crew. If you don’t want to do a full subscription but want to support our work in any capacity, we are also opening up donations via Venmo as well. For those that have asked, we can’t tell you how much we appreciate and rest assured it is going back into the company to provide you with the best WBB coverage you can find! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

To quote the venerable Steve Miller Band, ‘Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’…into the future.’ Most teams have somewhere between six and seven regular season games left on their schedule while the difference between playoff qualification and elimination is one win or loss. If that doesn’t get you out of bed and ready to watch the WNBA, I don’t know what will. Add in a couple of increasingly compelling award races and we’ve got plenty to talk about going into the postseason. All season long I’ve been wondering how long it would take for the discourse to return to (semi) normal in the W and it feels like right now there’s no think pieces, no agitation outside the usual suspects and a chance to let the basketball do the talking. It’s kind of nice, isn’t it? If you missed any of our Sunday wrap show on YouTube, it’s here available as a podcast. We’re also expanding our coverage with Ball Up Top on Wednesdays, a Thursday night recap and weekend preview pod on Fridays and the Wrap on Sundays. Right when you need it, we’re ramping up for the stretch run as well. So tell a friend to tell a friend so you can stay up to date on all the action as we barrel towards one of the most fun Finals chases we’ve had in the W in the last four or five years. Now, to the column! 1. Phee vs. A’ja For MVP. Buckle Up, Folks. Guys, it’s okay to debate about awards. We don’t need to kumbaya and treat this like everyone gets a trophy at the end of the year. It’s sports. It’s competitive. As long as things stay within the lines (a big ask, I know), we should be comfortable standing behind our faves and their on-court cases for major awards. It’s part of what makes the game fun! To that end, the race for MVP is officially on. After A’ja Wilson’s 36 point ,13 rebound performance against Washington I opined on Bluesky that eventually the multi-time MVP had to be taking the lead in the race if she continued to do this. It was out of Napheesa Collier’s control, being injured and all, but if another player is repeatedly putting up guady statlines in your absence we’ve gotta have the conversation at some point, right? Well, Phee returned to the Lynx lineup after 22 days out and put up 32 points and 9 rebounds on 11/16 from the field, 2/3 from deep and 8/9 from the line. Game on. With just seven or so games left in the regular season, and one matchup against each other, this MVP race is shaping up to be one for the ages. To put it in historical context, we’ve had two truly close battles for the award in the last 15 years in the W. In 2023, Breanna Stewart edged out Alyssa Thomas by just seven total votes and Wilson by 13 to win. Ten years earlier, Candace Parker outlasted Maya Moore by a mere 16 votes. It wouldn’t surprise me if this season is just as close. Wilson has been the engine of a Las Vegas Aces turnaround that no one seemed to think was possible. Since the All-Star break, the reigning MVP is averaging 24.2 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game all while propelling the Aces to a 10 game winning streak. Collier has been the difference between the Lynx being a very good finals team and a historically great one. She’s having her most efficient shooting year ever, is flirting with a 50-40-90 season (currently 54.3% FG, 37.8% 3PT, 90.7% FT) and still remains one of the top defensive players in the league. You can’t really go wrong with either and if I bristled at the notion of pre-emptively awarding Wilson the MVP last season after just one month of play, I have to be consistent and say the same about Collier now. It’s a legit race and that September 4th matchup between the two may just be a Game of the Year contender. 2. Dominique Malonga For Sixth Woman of the Year? It’s Not That Crazy When You Think About It… One of my favorite things to do is watch team social media accounts towards the end of the year. Subtly, you start to see little posts and pieces of content that range from subtly including historical context in stats to outright announcing MVP candidacies. On Saturday, Seattle Storm PR put out a curious tweet that led me to believe they’re trying to quietly push a narrative to the forefront… Kind of interesting to make sure to include two Sixth Player of the Year winners, eh? Almost as if the wheels are turning to try and make a push for French rookie Dominique Malonga to be involved in the race. On the surface, one might think that it’s a bit late for this. I even wrote the other week in Five Out that Malonga was a lot like Rickea Jackson in that they came on extremely strong late in their rookie seasons but they hadn’t been out-front early enough to be in contention for an honor like Rookie of the Year. But when I started to dive into the Sixth Woman of the Year numbers, I realized the Storm may actually have a point. Since the All-Star break, Malonga has averaged 12.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game on just 20.5 minutes per game. Her field goal percentage sits at around 57% from the field while she’s also become quite a prolific offensive board getter. Anyone watching her can see the potential, from her length to her defense down to the little things like her ability to reset screens and be an effective roller. When you start to find statistical equalizers, like Per 36 Minutes numbers, Malonga’s average skyrocket to 19.9 points and 12.4 rebounds per game. Compare that to Naz Hillmon, the Sixth Woman of the Year frontrunner, whose Per 36 averages come out to around 12.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. I can understand the argument that arriving late to the party can take you out of contention for a seasonal award and that it can sometimes be the fault of a coach rather than a player. But Sixth Woman of the Year is one of those rare awards where minute variance may actually be somewhat acceptable. After all, it’s an honor for the best bench player in the league. You could make an argument that Malonga isn’t your normal rotational center but, as of now, she hasn’t started in a single game this year. Maybe she should be getting a little more play than we’ve given her this year? 3. Are The Liberty Too Hurt To Contend? After a dreadful two-loss weekend, the New York Liberty have now lost four of their last five and are now in a dogfight to keep a top four seed in the playoffs. Keep in mind, the difference between No. 4 and No. 5 is home court advantage in the best-of-3 opening round. To say that it matters a bit more in the WNBA would be an understatement. For example, if you’re New York wouldn’t you rather get Phoenix or Seattle at home rather than on the road in an elimination game? But my concern is that this has just been the year from hell in terms of injuries. I know Indiana fans can relate. The Liberty are down basically their entire bench frontcourt plus Breanna Stewart and now Sabrina Ionescu has picked up an injury that sidelined her in a pivotal Saturday matchup against Atlanta. At this point I’m genuinely not sure who else they can lose and still remain competitive.The belief is that Ionescu’s injury isn’t long term and that Stewart is aiming to be back before the playoffs but that still doesn’t solve the issue of Nyara Sabally (knee injury) and Izzy Harrison (concussion), two vital rotational pieces for New York. You saw it against Chicago, in which Emma Meesseman and Jonquel Jones were simply outrun by the trio of Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso and Elizabeth Williams. Against the best and deepest frontcourts in the league, how long can you expect to reasonably hold out before the dam breaks? New York’s greatest asset last season was their depth and the ability to throw out talented and versatile defenders at any point in the game. They legitimately ran 8 deep with 6’1+ long defenders that could also shoot. Those players are still on the roster, the issue is that a good chunk of them are in street clothes. With just a couple weeks until the playoffs, the Liberty are caught between two hard places: they need to win games but also need to be patient with their stars to prep for a long postseason run. I don’t envy Sandy Brondello but if you dig deep and prove your championship bonafides with a skeleton crew roster, you’ll be set up well to win it all when you get everybody back. 4. The WNBA’s Treatment of the Mohegan Tribe Is As Bad Optically As It Is Economically…I have a video coming on YouTube today that explores this more in depth but the gist of it is this: the WNBA is screwing up the Connecticut Sun deal to a point where I genuinely am wondering if the only route to true success for this league is to divest from the NBA entirely. For those that need a quick refresher: the Sun were going to sell the team for about $325 million to a former Boston Celtics minority owner named Steve Pagliuca. His idea would be to buy the team, relocate them to Boston and play some games in Providence on the dates that conflicted at TD Garden with the Celtics and Bruins. The WNBA, more or less, spiked that deal, hoping to entice the Mohegan Tribe to sell the franchise to the league for roughly $250 million so they could relocate it to a market of their choice, preserving Boston as an expansion franchise that could fetch a hefty fee. This past week, further reporting came out that the Sun are considering taking the team completely off the market with an added revelation that the WNBA had come to the Tribe with an offer to buy the team and relocate them to Cleveland once before. I’m no Juris Doctor but it feels like messing with someone’s business like this constitutes some type of tortious interference. If the argument is “well the Tribe aren’t owners but instead Governors of a franchise that is owned by the league thus they can set the market”, are we not talking about a monopoly? Let’s face it: the economics here are terrible. I’ll eventually have a full column about why the W would be foolish to follow the NBA’s business practices of short-term gains at the expense of long-term fandoms but let’s focus on the Sun for now. Yes, the NBA and its existing Board of Governors comprise the majority of the WNBA’s control and voting power. But what kind of message does it send to the non-affiliated owners — Larry Gottesdiener and his group in Atlanta, the Alters in Chicago, Force 10 in Seattle or even L.A.’s consortium — and what their value to the league itself is? It’s no secret that there’s always been a schism between the non-NBA circle and the existing powers-that-be. The issue is now the shamelessness of the current cultural moment has brought that to light and now we’re seeing just how much of a ratfuck this is all turning into. What exactly is the incentive for even billionaires like a Jimmy Haslem (the money behind the Nashville expansion bid) or the big money involved in Austin’s expansion to even try? The message being sent here is ‘we’re taking care of the NBA guys first and then we’ll talk’. And, given that the NBA has just sort of fallen upwards into its’ success on the back of a TV rights bubble that seemingly is never going to pop, is that really who you want to take your cues from? And why does every WNBA franchise have to be rooted in an NBA city? On one hand, the idea of full-year round basketball in a market carries some interest but the WNBA is also trying to establish itself as its own unique brand away from its’ male counterpart. Isn’t a market like a Nashville or Austin more interesting? But beyond that, I have a huge issue with how this all looks. The Mohegan Tribe, as I’ve outlined before, are one of the most successful ownership groups in the WNBA’s history. None of these supposed business geniuses in the NBA managed to turn a profit for their W franchises in the early years of the league. The Tribe did. Many of the NBA owners didn’t even care to have a team, let alone take care of it. At a time when the W was on life support, the Tribe stepped up. It feels a little on-the-nose to have a collection of moneyed white dudes try to shortchange and dictate terms of ownership to one of just two Native American ownership groups in professional sports. As I’ve written before, the message is a terrible one on a bunch of different levels. Basically, you’re telling the independent owners who helped build the league to where it is that their contributions aren’t valued and that what Tilman Fertitta wants, Tilman Fertitta gets. To be clear, I’m not naïve. This is capitalism, baby, and the way of the world as we know it. But just because things exist as they are doesn’t mean we immediately have to shrug our shoulders and bury our heads in the sand. It’s underhanded and unnecessary. My hope now is that the Tribe pulls the sale, takes the exciting core that they have and goes and wins a title with it in a few years. Make Cathy hand you that trophy with a smile on your face. 5. Paige vs. Caitlin And How To Keep Arguments Straight…Paige Bueckers is finally receiving the Caitlin Clark treatment. After a 44 point explosion against Los Angeles late last week, the 2025 No. 1 overall pick was blitzed, double and tripled in the subsequent two games against Seattle and Golden State. While she managed to not allow that to turn into turnovers, Bueckers shot uncharacteristically bad from the field (2/7 vs. Seattle, 3/12 vs. Golden State) which brought an end to her season-long double figure scoring streak. Still, 30 games above 10 points per on average is pretty damn good. Here’s where things get a little fuzzy and why we have to keep our arguments straight with regard to Paige and the others she’s compared to. Yes, the Wings rookie has had a tough adjustment to the type of swarming defense Clark received all the way through her debut season. But that doesn’t necessarily matter in the Rookie of the Year race. Is Sonia Citron getting the Caitlin Clark treatment? Has she the entire year? No? Then it shouldn’t necessarily be part of the argument for Rookie of the Year. Furthermore, there is no doubt that CC managed to improve her team in her first WNBA campaign, guiding the Fever to the playoffs after a 13-27 season the year prior. Is Paige doing that? Not particularly. But it’s worth noting the Washington Mystics are 3-7 since trading Brittney Sykes so if we’re utilizing a ‘rookie makes team better’ argument, it hasn’t really borne itself out even with Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron getting expanded roles. This isn’t to take digs on Soni’s ROTY candidacy. Instead, it’s to try and give us all a little perspective and understanding that Paige for Rookie of the Year and Paige as the next Caitlin Clark are two separate arguments. If you want to make the argument that CC was better than Paige is as a rookie on the above basis, then we can have that discussion. But using those points and trying to apply them to Paige vs. Sonia for Rookie of the Year is a moot point when neither player are getting the same treatment Caitlin did on a number of fronts. We can be fans, and sometimes even stans, but we gotta keep it ethical. If you’re gonna be a hater, be unabashed in your haterdom. Let everyone upfront where you’re at and where you’re coming from. But if you want to argue on ethical terms, then we have to least keep the arguments consistent across the board. We’ve gotten some requests recently about additional donations for the NCS crew. If you don’t want to do a full subscription but want to support our work in any capacity, we are also opening up donations via Venmo as well. For those that have asked, we can’t tell you how much we appreciate and rest assured it is going back into the company to provide you with the best WBB coverage you can find! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

As the WNBA regular season prepares to make way for the playoffs, we at No Cap Space WBB wanted to do something for the fans that just can’t get enough. On Friday mornings here and on YouTube, we’ll have a recap of Thursday’s game action as well as the Watch Guide in video and podcast form. Now, you’ll get the best of every world: A week recap/weekend preview on Friday, a weekend recap/week preview on Monday and the biggest topics in the game on Wednesdays for Ball Up Top. Today we’re discussing Angel Reese’s impact now that she’s fully healthy for Chicago, the Aces complete turnaround and where Phoenix goes from here. After the review, we look at the week ahead. The Watch Guide remains the same, giving you even deeper dives on what to watch for as the standings get tighter and the stakes higher. We’ve gotten some requests recently about additional donations for the NCS crew. If you don’t want to do a full subscription but want to support our work in any capacity, we are also opening up donations via Venmo as well. For those that have asked, we can’t tell you how much we appreciate and rest assured it is going back into the company to provide you with the best WBB coverage you can find!Friday, August 15Minnesota Lynx (28-7) vs. Indiana Fever (19-16): 7:30 PM ET, IONWhy It’s Worth a Watch: Minnesota is on the final leg of a three game road trip that included New York and Atlanta (both losses). Oh, and it’s a back-to-back tonight against the Fever who are coming off five days rest. Tired legs vs. fresh legs. You do the math. Yet in spite of that disadvantage, I wouldn’t be shocked if the Lynx made this a game. Matchups like this are the difference between playoff contenders and champions. Meanwhile, Indiana is fighting for their postseason lives. A win here could get you closer to Phoenix and New York, but a loss brings you a bit too close to the 8th or even 9th seed. There’s your stakes. What to Watch For: Jessica Shepard had a phenomenal night against Brittney Griner and Bri Jones, pacing Minnesota with 15 points and 16 rebounds so I’m interested in her upcoming battle with Aliyah Boston. Courtney Williams will probably want a bounceback game after a 3-14 performance in the loss to Atlanta. For the Fever, I’m watching how Odyssey Sims plays given her ever increasing significance. They need to start fast because Minnesota won’t let them back into a game the way Connecticut did. Must Watch Score: 8.5/10Seattle Storm (18-18) vs. Dallas Wings (9-27): 7:30 PM ET, IONWhy It’s Worth a Watch: The Storm, like the Fever, are trying to stave off postseason elimination. With about eight or nine (depending on the team) games left in the regular season, every win counts. Seattle has just a half game lead on Los Angeles who don’t play again until next Tuesday. All the pressure is on them in this matchup as Dallas just plays for the end of the year. What to Watch For: Paige Bueckers went thermonuclear against L.A., setting multiple records en route to a 44 point performance, and I’m curious how she follows that up. Skylar Diggins and Brittney Sykes are much better defenders than Kelsey Plum and Julie Allemand, so how will Bueckers adjust? In light of her performance, will Chris Koclanes decide to empower her by running things through her more? There’s a lot of cool to follow there. Unfortunately, I have a feeling the Storm frontcourt is going to tear the Wings apart. To that end, Dominique Malonga may have herself a game. If we get big minutes from her, this game turns into a really fun future superstars showcase. Must Watch Score: 7.5/10Golden State Valkyries (18-17) vs. Phoenix Mercury (21-14): 10:00 PM ET, IONWhy It’s Worth a Watch: This game has some of the highest stakes of the weekend from a postseason positioning standpoint. The Mercury were run out of the gym on Thursday night against Las Vegas and now welcome in a Valkyries team that has the capability of doing the same. Golden State, for their part, wants to keep pace with Indiana and can draw level with them if the Fever lose to Minnesota. What to Watch For: The Mercury started to flow in the second quarter when they ran the offense a little less through Alyssa Thomas. The unintended consequence was Thomas looking visibly frustrated at times. I can attribute that to a fierce competitor who really wants to win but sometimes it feels like Kahleah Copper needs to be a bit more than a spot up shooter. How this big three of AT, Kah and Satou Sabally handle these big moments is important to understanding just how far they can this postseason. Must Watch Score: 9/10Saturday, August 16New York Liberty (22-14) vs. Atlanta Dream (23-13): 2:00 PM ET, CBSWhy It’s Worth a Watch: I think Phoenix is fading a bit so I’d argue that New York, Atlanta and Las Vegas are the three teams vying for that second seed. Right now, the Dream hold a half game lead on the Aces and a full game lead on the Liberty. You see where I’m going with this? One game can be the difference between 2nd and 4th. Every single game matters especially in the W’s playoff format. A top four seed has home court advantage for the Best-of-3 first round. If you’re Atlanta or New York and drop one too many, you might end up in a much harder do-or-die playoff situation if it comes to that. Plus, we get some amazing individual matchups. Game of the Season candidate if both teams play to their potential. What to Watch For: Sabrina Ionescu and Rhyne Howard feel very similar in that they can run hot and cold as shooters. When they’re on, the 2020 and 2021 number one picks are top 8 players in the league. When they’re off, it can look like Spice Adams shooting threes in open gym. If even one is cooking on Saturday, we’re in for a treat. Natasha Cloud vs. Allisha Gray is a great defensive stopper vs. dominant scorer matchup while the chess match between Sandy Brondello and Karl Smesko should be a blast for scheme scholars. Must Watch Score: 9.5/10Las Vegas Aces (23-14) vs. Washington Mystics (16-20): 3:00 PM ET, League PassWhy It’s Worth a Watch: The Mystics are on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs but that doesn’t mean they’re completely out. All it would take is a couple wins to be right back in the mix. The only tough part is they’re facing off against the hottest team in the WNBA right now. Could it get out of hand? Maybe. But there’s a cool narrative thread happening with these two teams. Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen bear some resemblance as players to Jackie Young and A’ja Wilson which gives us this cool young team vs. what-they-can-be story. What to Watch For: A’ja Wilson has been on fire this August which will make this game a great test for Kiki Iriafen. In a lot of ways, it’s A’ja vs. Baby A’ja. A matchup of single-leg-sleevers. Potentially great television. Speaking of must-watch players, Chelsea Gray has successfully turned the clock back three years. The Point Gawd has returned to form at last and looks as good as she looked in the 2022 Conference Semifinals vs. Seattle. If you’ve been around, you know what I mean. If you haven’t, here you go. Enjoy. How Sonia Citron handles her and Jackie Young will be a fun storyline as well. Must Watch Score: 7.5/10Connecticut Sun (8-27) vs. Chicago Sky (9-26): 4:00 PM ET, CBSSNWhy It’s Worth a Watch: Both the Sky and Sun have been eliminated from the playoffs so you’d expect this to be a pair of teams that are just going through the motions before the year is out. Right? Wrong. Tyler Marsh and Rachid Meziane are building cultures in their respective cities and a game like this matters. It’s why you see the Sky beating New York and the Sun winning three in their last four. I expect the players to come out with the same energy they have all season and treat this like something it may not even be. That’s what makes both teams fun future buys… What to Watch For: This frontcourt battle is going to be a blast. Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who has come on strong late in the year, and Tina Charles taking on Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese. Size, scoring, versatility, intensity. You get it all. There’s also a fun LSU vs. LSU story with Reese meeting Sun rookie Aneesah Morrow. Connecticut’s backcourt duo of Saniya Rivers and Leila Lacan is quickly becoming one of my favorite tandems in the league and when they’re shooting well it’s legitimately a treat to watch. Must Watch Score: 7/10Sunday, August 17Seattle Storm (18-18) vs. Washington Mystics (16-20): 3:00 PM ET, League PassWhy It’s Worth a Watch: Not only is this Brittney Sykes’ first trip back to Washington since they traded her, this one feels like a bit of a make-or-break for the Mystics. A loss to the Aces will put them right on the edge of the cliff but a second loss to Seattle would tip them off the rocks and into the water. The schedule feels ripe for the Storm to rip off two wins before the last two games (Indiana, Minnesota) of their five game road stand. Can they do it against a Mystics team — one that’s won the previous two matchups against Seattle, it should be noted — that will probably be fighting for their playoff lives? What to Watch For: I don’t even know if we’d get it but I want to see Dominique Malonga vs. Kiki Iriafen minutes. Those two are, to me, future All-WNBA forwards. In the backcourt, Brittney Sykes sees her old Mystics teammate in Sonia Citron. Given that the trade was, on some level, motivated by Washington going all in on Citron and Iriafen and letting Sykes go to a win-now team, will there be any added intensity? Especially given that the playoffs are more or less on the line? I would like to see it! Must Watch Score: 7/10Golden State Valkyries (18-17) vs. Dallas Wings (9-27): 4:00 PM ET, League PassWhy It’s Worth a Watch: These are the exact games that no playoff hopeful should drop if they want to stay in the hunt. Dallas is inconsistent but has shown the ability to scare the hell out of (or even beat) teams that are better than them on-paper. Golden State is also a somewhat streaky team, winning or losing in bunches. If there’s a game on the schedule that feels like it could become weird in a hurry, it’s this one. What to Watch For: Veronica Burton vs. Paige should be pretty fun. The former Northwestern superstar is a top candidate for Most Improved Player and has really come into her own as an impact player on both ends of the floor. How she defends Paige will be a cool battle to watch. Golden State has the size advantage and I’ve spilt enough ink about the Wings frontcourt issue. It wouldn’t surprise me if we saw a big game out of Iliana Rupert or Janelle Salaun. Must Watch Score: 7/10Indiana Fever (19-16) vs. Minnesota Lynx (28-7): 7:00 PM ET, CBSSNWhy It’s Worth a Watch: All the reasons outlined above, except even more stakes. What to Watch For: What that↑ said. Must Watch Score: 8/10Monday, August 18Connecticut Sun (8-27) vs. New York Liberty (22-14): 7:00 PM ET, League PassWhy It’s Worth a Watch: This might be the most skippable matchup of the weekend but there’s still some possibility.. Belgian superstar Emma Meesseman sees her former national team head coach across the floor in Rachid Meziane and Connecticut does have an advantage in this one, assuming the injury report remains the same throughout the weekend. The Liberty’s loss to the Sky showed that their lack of depth in the frontcourt leaves them vulnerable over the course of a game especially if the threes stop falling. Connecticut does have a decent rotation of Tina Charles, ONO and Aaliyah Edwards. Maybe we might see something we weren’t expecting. After all, it happened at the start of August!What to Watch For: Assuming Izzy Harrison, Nyara Sabally and Breanna Stewart are out for this game as well, the frontcourt minutes for New York will be vital. Jonquel Jones needs to continue to be the 20+ point per game scorer she is capable of being while Sabrina Ionescu just needs a couple threes to fall. But Connecticut will have Tina Charles to counter and Nelson-Ododa, who to me feels like the player that will decide this matchup. If she is playing her best, she can be a dimension New York doesn’t have right now. Must Watch Score: 6.5/10Las Vegas Aces (23-14) vs. Chicago Sky (9-26): 8:00 PM ET, NBATVWhy It’s Worth a Watch: This is another fun frontcourt matchup and while it’s likely to end in a blowout, we get Angel vs. A’ja. How will Becky Hammon handle her interior? Wilson on Kamilla Cardoso with NaLyssa Smith on Reese? Do they go bigger with Kiah Stokes and play them more traditionally, letting the shooters take advantage of the Sky’s perimeter defense? And it’s crazy to believe given that the season is almost over but this Tyler Marsh and Becky Hammon’s first time meeting one another as head coaches. What to Watch For: Wilson is on a tear right now and this feels like one of those games where the master shows the pupils how it’s done. Both Reese and Cardoso will be superstars in their own rite but for now the belt belongs to A’ja. I’m a sucker for young upstars vs. bonafide champions so this is right up my alley. Must Watch Score: 8/10If You Can Only Watch One Game A Day…Friday, August 22 - Minnesota Lynx (28-7) vs. Indiana Fever (19-16): 7:30 PM ET, IONSaturday, August 23 - New York Liberty (22-14) vs. Atlanta Dream (23-13): 2:00 PM ET, CBSSunday, August 24 - Seattle Storm (18-18) vs. Washington Mystics (16-20): 3:00 PM ET, League PassMonday, August 25 - Las Vegas Aces (23-14) vs. Chicago Sky (9-26): 8:00 PM ET, NBATVHonorable Mentions -Friday, August 22 - Golden State Valkyries (18-17) vs. Phoenix Mercury (21-14): 10:00 PM ET, IONNo Cap Space WBB is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard.It’s Tyler, Chauny and Greer on this episode of Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast, recording on a Wednesday morning to make sure you got all the most recent reactions to a stacked Tuesday night of games. The Liberty defeated the Lynx, the Sun upset the Mystics while the Sky showed some fight and the race tightens between Las Vegas, Phoenix and Atlanta. Our crew discusses all the major WNBA action from last night while taking a look at some of the more macro stories in the league as well. Is A’ja Wilson really making an MVP push? What do we make of the Connecticut Sun’s franchise sale troubles and how much much tighter can the seeding race get in the WNBA? If you love the show, we’d love and appreciate a five star rating on Apple podcasts as well as a kind review if you’ve got the time! We’re also on the road to 5,000 subscribers on YouTube and 2,000 followers on TikTok so if you enjoy our content here, tell a friend to tell a friend to follow us on their preferred platform! Additionally, we’ve gotten some requests recently about additional donations for the NCS crew. If you don’t want to do a full subscription but want to support our work in any capacity, we are also opening up donations via Venmo as well. For those that have asked, we can’t tell you how much we appreciate and rest assured it is going back into the company to provide you with the best WBB coverage you can find! Scroll Ahead to Hear… 0:00 - Show Introduction.2:05 - Lynx vs. Liberty Recap.17:10 - The Race For A Top 4 Seed.20:53 - The Aces Late Season Surge.28:40 - How For Real Is Phoenix? Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!Our intro music is made by Denver’s own DLZMKSBTS, the King of Mile Hi-Fi. Check out all his music on Spotify here and on Instagram here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

While Five Out can sometimes venture out into the world of sports business, society and culture, it is occasionally fun to have a column that is just WNBA-centric.After a week of great games, jockeying in the standings and some MVP caliber performances from some of the top players in the league, we get five topics that are as hoop-heavy as you can get.In case you missed our Sunday wrap show, you can access it here as a podcast or below on YouTube. Be sure to like, share and subscribe or give us a five star rating and review on Apple if you enjoy the show! We always appreciate it and the growth of No Cap Space WBB doesn’t happen without you! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Now that we’re in the swing of Wednesday podcasts, we hope you’ve all been enjoying the double dose of our crew every week. If you missed our Sunday live show (or Monday morning pod, if you read Five Out), you can see it at the link below on YouTube. You can also see Ball Up Top in full over there in video form as well! Just be sure to like, share and subscribe if you do!Chauny, back by popular demand, is in the host seat once again. One might say that in a group where everyone eats but there’s a clear star, she’s the Paige Bueckers of this ship. After a bit of internal crisis at such realizations, the show opens with a simple question: is there anyone in the same tier as the Minnesota Lynx right now? Andrew argues that Atlanta and New York could still get the best of them in a multi-game series and the debate ensues. After touching on Alanna Smith’s Defensive Player of the Year candidacy, the crew discusses the mess happening in Chicago and where the fault lies for an organization that feels caught in a death spiral. The show wraps with a look at another team in turmoil, the Seattle Storm.Scroll ahead to hear…0:00 - Show Introductions4:59 - Is Minnesota in a tier of their own?22:17 - Alanna Smith’s Defensive Player of the Year candidacy…24:04 - The Sky is…falling…43:31 - Storms in Seattle…Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!No Cap Space WBB is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Without being too hyperbolic, this has been one of the better WNBA late season playoff races I can remember. While there’s been plenty of jockeying in the standings at this point in prior years, there’s something about there being three (maybe even four) true Finals contenders in the mix. But before we dive into that, let’s welcome you back to Five Out now that we’re reformatted and back to our normal style.As we mentioned last week, the column will now include a Monday podcast that comes from our Sunday live wrap shows on YouTube. It’ll cover the biggest games of the day and some of the biggest news items between Thursday and the end of the week. Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast will now be dropping every Wednesday morning instead of Tuesday to give you two evenly spaced out podcasts that talk women’s basketball!Keep an eye out for more Overtime Select coverage this week as well. Chauny was down in Atlanta for the weekend getting you caught up on the next generation of women’s hoops stars and the WNBA legends they’re working with this summer (and that’s before we start to get into NCAA previews). In short, it’s a great time to be a women’s basketball fan! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

A quick programming note for you loyal podcast listeners. Ball Up Top is moving to Wednesdays full-time! We will now have a second show for you that will be a live weekend wrap up that will air on Sundays on YouTube and edited into pod form for Monday morning. That will push Ball Up Top to Wednesdays so you now get two chances to listen to some women’s basketball a talk a week with us!Chauny is in the host chair with Tyler and Andrew as the trio discusses the recent action near the WNBA trade deadline. Brittney Sykes is now in Seattle and the pod breaks down how the move benefits both teams. The discussion then covers the hottest teams in the league right now including the Los Angeles Sparks who continue to surge towards a playoff spot before wrapping up with a discussion around DeWanna Bonner, Sophie Cunningham and how rivalries grow organically in the WNBA.Scroll ahead to hear…0:00 - Show Introduction6:11 - Trade Breakdowns…25:30 - What is L.A.’s ceiling?46:05 - Connecticut Sun/WNBA sale drama.53:10 - One last look at DeWanna Bonner’s Indiana exit.Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Some news on the home front. Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is moving to Wednesdays so we can get you two pods per week. On Sundays, our No Cap Space WBB team will be live on YouTube breaking down the biggest WNBA games of the weekend and biggest news items headed into Monday. Ball Up Top will be each Wednesday previewing the week ahead. It's all a part of our desire to get you a little more content and women's hoop talk! Be sure to subscribe, like and rate us five stars on Apple, Spotify or wherever you're listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

While the injury bug continued to hit the New York Liberty, the L.A. Sparks finally got one of their young superstars back after a 13 month recovery. Tyler, Greer and Andrew take a look at Cam Brink’s ceiling and what it could mean for a late season playoff push from Los Angeles.The trio open the show with news of Kennedy Burke’s injury and how the short turnaround times are hurting the WNBA as a league and may become a source of contention at the CBA Bargaining table. The show wraps up with a discussion on the upcoming trade deadline and some of the best moves top teams can make.Scroll ahead to hear…0:00 - Show Introduction2:15 - The WNBA’s Injury Issue & The Effect on CBA Negotiations15:00 - Cam Brink’s Return and What It Means For L.A.36:50 - One Move We Want To See At The Trade DeadlineBall Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard.In longtime WNBA fan circles, there is a term called ‘Messy Monday’. Effectively it means that at the start of the week, we’re due for some fun things to talk about. Instead of a Messy Monday, we got a Meesy Monday this week with Belgian superstar Emma Meesseman joining the defending WNBA champion New York Liberty. Tyler, Chauny and Greer are on the pod this week opening with the implications of the move and what it means for the rest of the league. The conversation then moves to the WNBA players and their ‘Pay Us What You Owe Us’ shirts at the All-Star game as well as the CBA negotiations continuing with the league. After a quick piece on the impact of the Studbudz 72 hour stream in Indianapolis, the crew takes a look at the season ahead and some predictions for the second half of the year. Scroll ahead to hear… 0:00 - Show Introduction1:39 - Emma Meesseman joins New York Liberty6:55 - Are the Liberty the best starting five in WNBA history? 22:06 - The future of the WNBA/WNBPA CBA negotiations…39:30 - Buy/Sell for the second half of the WNBA season…Summer is here so get fitted for all your functions with Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! Check out their new ‘Summer School’ hat series and rock your favorite school in style as well as our No Cap Space WBB collection. In partnership with Homefield, we’ve curated all their women’s basketball merch into one place here.' This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

It wasn’t as messy of a Monday as last week was but we still got plenty of interesting storylines and topics to discuss on Ball Up Top. Andrew and Tyler hold down the fort, opening the show with a quick hitter on DeWanna Bonner’s move to Phoenix (the full reaction vid is available on YouTube here) before running through the finalized All-Star game lists. After that, the two discuss their biggest surprise storylines of the WNBA season so far before wrapping the show with a quick chat about Team USA’s championship win in the FIBA Americup.Scroll ahead to hear…0:00 - Show Introduction1:27 - DeWanna Bonner to Phoenix reactions…6:30 - All-Star roster reactions…25:30 - Biggest surprises halfway through the WNBA season.45:00 - Team USA/FIBA Americup takeawaysSummer is here so get fitted for all your functions with Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! Check out their new ‘Summer School’ hat series and rock your favorite school in style as well as our No Cap Space WBB collection. In partnership with Homefield, we’ve curated all their women’s basketball merch into one place here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard.To say this was a Messy Monday in the WNBA might be an understatement. Expansion franchises, a big trade as well as All-Star starter announcements? That’s basically asking for a packed Ball Up Top on a Tuesday. Tyler and Chauny have the wheel and dive into everything that happened this past week and in the past 36 hours to get you ready for another slate of games in WNBA world. Scroll ahead to hear… 0:00 - Show Introduction2:47 - Expansion Thoughts and Reactions.21:37 - NaLyssa Smith Trade Reactions.38:16 - All-Star Starters Reactions.Summer is here so get fitted for all your functions with Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! Check out their new ‘Summer School’ hat series and rock your favorite school in style. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Well, glad the schedules didn’t align and we recorded this after our usual Monday night time slot. With so much happening in the last 18-24 hours in the WNBA world, this week’s Ball Up Top is up to date and ready to roll. Andrew, Chauny and Tyler are on hand to dissect the DeWanna Bonner situation and Aari McDonald’s signing to the Indiana Fever as well as wondering aloud what’s happening with Caitlin Clark, who is in a 3 point shooting slump over three games.The pod continues with a discussion about the Los Angeles Sparks and whether or not the team can do a bit better than one of the worst in the western conference. While looking at the free agent possibilities, it opened up a discussion surrounding the Washington Mystics and their potential frontcourt duo of the future.Scroll Ahead to Hear…0:00 - Show Introduction2:31 - DeWanna Bonner and the Fever break up.21:46 - What to make of Caitlin Clark’s shooting slump…39:27 - Is this a lost season for the L.A. Sparks?49:34 - Is Kiki Iriafen/Shakira Austin the frontcourt of the future for the Mystics?Summer is here so get fitted for all your functions with Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! Check out their new ‘Summer School’ hat series and rock your favorite school in style. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard.This was a busy week in the WNBA and naturally there is plenty to discuss. Andrew and Chauny hold it down and discuss Caitlin Clark’s return from injury and how serious the Fever are as contenders with her in the lineup. Afterwards, Andrew talks through his experience in Vegas for Aces vs. Wings and his press row perspective of the dustup between Chris Koclanes and DiJonai Carrington.The two continue the pod with a dive into the Angel Reese point forward experiment as well as Phoenix’s status as a legit contender in the WNBA. The show wraps with a quick hit on who is a pretender and who is for real a quarter of the way through the regular season. 0Summer is here so get fitted for all your functions with Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! Check out their new ‘Summer School’ hat series and rock your favorite school in style. Scroll Ahead to Hear… 0:00 — Show Introduction1:52 - Caitlin Clark is back so how serious are the Fever as contenders? 14:40 - Andrew’s press row view of the Dallas Wings dynamic. 33:57 - The Angel Reese point forward experiment in Chicago… 47:15 - How for real are the Phoenix Mercury now that Kahleah Copper is back? 57:16 - Pretenders vs. ContendersNo Cap Space WBB is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard.Andrew and Tyler hold things down on this week’s episode of Ball Up Top. With so much happening in the league just one month into the regular season, the two open the show with a general enthusiasm of how well positioned the W is. Whether it be top teams or interesting superstars, there’s something for everyone this year. The discussion veers towards the Minnesota Lynx and their status as a WNBA analog to this year’s Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA. Some other major topics are touched on, including the positive early returns on Golden State as a franchise, what on earth Chicago does next and whether or not Indiana should open space to hold on to Aari McDonald. With Paige Bueckers still out of the lineup, Andrew and Tyler opine on the Rookie of the Year race and if there should be an age limit to ROTY for overseas players entering the W for the first time. Scroll ahead to hear… 0:00 - Show Introduction 2:19 - The WNBA’s great storylines to come this year. 6:39 - Does Minnesota feel like the Oklahoma City Thunder this year? 20:05 - Should Indiana hold on to Aari McDonald? 27:28 - The Rookie of the Year Race and the selection criteria… 44:26 - Is Golden State a future dark horse contender based on their foundation?52:01 - Tumblr is OUT on Chris Koclanes! The WNBA season is here and there’s plenty of ways to support your team, pro or college. To get your summer fits right and repping women’s basketball the way it deserves to be repped, head on over to Homefield! Our No Cap Space WBB collection has curated all of their women’s basketball gear into one easy place for you to find. Use code NOCAP15 to get 15% off your first order!Our intro music is courtesy of Dlzmksbts, Denver’s King of ‘Mile HiFi’. You can stream his music on Spotify here.No Cap Space WBB is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

This week on Ball Up Top, Chauny and Tyler get things rolling with a discussion on the Liberty’s historic blowout of the Connecticut Sun and the wonkiness of the Commissioner’s Cup schedule and rules. It’s been a busy week on and off the floor and some late Monday news about the Las Vegas Aces running back their tourism board sponsorship made for a fun conversation. The pod wraps up with a discussion on hardship contracts, cap rules and then a quick stock up/stock down segment before the outtro music kicks in.You can find the podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your pods. Be sure to rate, review and (hopefully!) give us five stars!Scroll Ahead to hear…0:00 - Show Introduction1:59 - How much of a juggernaut are the New York Liberty?16:05 - The Las Vegas Aces are getting sponsorship money again…27:37 - Early impressions of the Aces…34:10 - Injuries across the league and hardship contracts.42:55 - Stock up/stock downThe WNBA season is here and there’s plenty of ways to support your team, pro or college. To get your summer fits right and repping women’s basketball the way it deserves to be repped, head on over to Homefield! Our No Cap Space WBB collection has curated all of their women’s basketball gear into one easy place for you to find. Use code NOCAP15 to get 15% off your first order!Our intro music is courtesy of Dlzmksbts, Denver’s King of ‘Mile HiFi’. You can stream his music on Spotify here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard. Be sure to rate, review, give us five stars if you can on Apple or Spotify and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube page as well.With a few data points under our belt, we’re finally ready to talk some true basketball in the WNBA world. Then the Indiana Fever announced that Caitlin Clark would be out for around two weeks with a left quad strain. So, there went that news cycle! Of course, given Clark’s status as a top five guard in the league and the Fever’s best player, it’s a pretty huge deal. So this Tuesday we open the show discussing whether or not Fever fans should be worried, how Aliyah Boston can lead the way and if this actually might be a positive for Indiana come playoff time. The pod rolls on with a discussion of which new coaches we are putting stock in and who we may be a little out on before wrapping up with some trade machine takes and realizing that there might not be a home for Arike Ogunbowale this year if Dallas truly thinks the pairing of her and Paige Bueckers/DiJonai Carrington may not be a long-term fit. Scroll ahead to hear…0:00 - Show Introduction2:40 - Caitlin Clark Injury News and What the Fever Do Next… 21:17 - Stock Up/Stock Down of New WNBA Coaches50:06 - Too Early Trade Machine TakesThe WNBA season is here and there’s plenty of ways to support your team, pro or college. To get your summer fits right and repping women’s basketball the way it deserves to be repped, head on over to Homefield! Our No Cap Space WBB collection has curated all of their women’s basketball gear into one easy place for you to find. Use code NOCAP15 to get 15% off your first order!Our intro music is courtesy of Dlzmksbts, Denver’s King of ‘Mile HiFi’. You can stream his music on Spotify here.No Cap Space WBB is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

This week is about the basketball. We discussed some of the larger cultural issues at play when it comes to the Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese rivalry on Five Out already. So the podcast is dedicated to providing a space to get away from the thinkpieces for a little while.Now, to the basketball. There’s so much to discuss. We open the hoop talk with a bit on the new look Fever and honor DeWanna Bonner reaching third on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list. Also on the docket? The New York Liberty and what constitutes a juggernaut, is it time to start monitoring how much of a superstar Rhyne Howard really is and whether or not we are on Arike Ogunbowale trade watch.Scroll ahead to hear…0:00 - Show Introduction and Quick Hit on Postgame Show.7:30 - Honoring DeWanna Bonner’s career and climb up the scoring ladder.13:07 - Are the Fever already further along than we had originally expected them to be?23:39 - Liberty vs. Aces recap.34:06 - Favorite teams based on early impressions.44:20 - Agenda Watch.54:53 - Discussing the Paige Bueckers/Arike Ogunbowale fit in Dallas. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard. Be sure to rate, review, give us five stars if you can on Apple or Spotify and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube page as well.This week is about big swings and bold predictions. If you missed this week’s Five Out (which you can find here), Andrew laid out his five bold (and not so bold) predictions for the WNBA season ahead. On this episode of Ball Up Top, Chauny and Tyler take a crack at their hottest and spiciest takes this coming year.Spring is in full swing and summer is around the corner so if you want to update your wardrobe ahead of the good weather, head on over to Homefield! Our No Cap Space WBB collection has curated all of their women’s basketball gear into one easy place for you to find. Use code NOCAP15 to get 15% off your first order!Our intro music is courtesy of Dlzmksbts, Denver’s King of ‘Mile HiFi’. You can stream his music on Spotify here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

We are officially back into a weekly flow at No Cap Space WBB and so you can reliably count on Ball Up Top hitting your inbox on Tuesday mornings. This week, Andrew and Chauny load up the show with plenty of thoughts on the WNBA so far.Scroll Ahead to Hear…0:00 — Show Introduction3:15 - Preseason Thoughts: College Trips9:00 - The ‘Multiple Faces of The League’ Discussion12:35 - The Players That Have Impressed in Preseason23:20 - Paige Bueckers Early Evaluations27:24 - Shyanne Sellers Signing to Atlanta36:48 - WNBA Roster Issues44:15 - The Aces Kiersten Bell Issue…56:20 - Paige and the Consistent Coverage Equity DiscussionSpring is in full swing and summer is around the corner so if you want to update your wardrobe ahead of the good weather, head on over to Homefield! Our No Cap Space WBB collection has curated all of their women’s basketball gear into one easy place for you to find. Use code NOCAP15 to get 15% off your first order!Our intro music is courtesy of Dlzmksbts, Denver’s King of ‘Mile HiFi’. You can stream his music on Spotify here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard. Be sure to rate, review, give us five stars if you can on Apple or Spotify and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube page as well.After a few weeks off our normal weekly format due to the NCAA Tournament, Ball Up Top is back to its regularly scheduled programming. This week, Tyler, Chauny and Greer dive into what the early takeaways have been from WNBA Training Camps officially kicking off.Scroll Ahead to Hear… 0:00 - Show Introduction2:00 - Seattle Storm6:10 - Golden State Valkyries10:15 - Los Angeles Sparks12:50 - Las Vegas Aces19:15 - Phoenix Mercury25:50 - Dallas Wings33:50 - Minnesota Lynx38:10 - Chicago Sky45:20 - Indiana Fever56:30 - New York Liberty59:10 - Washington Mystics1:03:50 - Connecticut Sun1:09:27 - Atlanta DreamSpring is in full swing and summer is around the corner so if you want to update your wardrobe ahead of the good weather, head on over to Homefield! Our No Cap Space WBB collection has curated all of their women’s basketball gear into one easy place for you to find. Use code NOCAP15 to get 15% off your first order! Our intro music is courtesy of Dlzmksbts, Denver’s King of ‘Mile HiFi’. You can stream his music on Spotify here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

While South Carolina has owned LSU on the court in recent years, Milaysia Fulwiley’s transfer may add a bit of juice to what may become a full-on rivalry. The former South Carolina guard had been rumored in recent days to have LSU at the top of her list and, on Friday afternoon, she made her commitment official.Chauny, Tyler and Greer hoped on the podcast for an emergency show that you can find here in audio form and on YouTube (video link is below). Be sure to subscribe to us on those platforms as well and, if you have a women’s basketball fan or enthusiast in your life, send us their way so they can stay up to date on everything happening in the game! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

This week, Andrew and Tyler hold court on Ball Up Top and grade all 13 WNBA team’s drafts, from A to F. They discuss the best value picks, how good players can really be when taken in the second and third round and some of their biggest surprises of the night.We also have some fun things to announce! As always, you can get 15% off your first Homefield order using NOCAP15. We are also nearing 100 paid subscribers on Substack and, once we get there, Chauny and Andrew will clue you in on the origins of ‘Slack Mamba’, ‘Ethical Hate’ and debate the merits of both as it comes to Sabrina Ionescu. Be sure to rate, review, give us five stars if you can on Apple or Spotify and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube page as well.Scroll Ahead to Hear…0:00 - Show Introduction3:49 - Atlanta Dream Draft Recap10:04 - Chicago Sky Draft Recap15:35 - Connecticut Sun Draft Recap21:00 - Dallas Wings Draft Recap26:36 - Golden State Valkyries Draft Recap31:48 - Indiana Fever Draft Recap36:06 - Los Angeles Sparks Draft Recap39:57 - Las Vegas Aces Draft Recap44:30 - New York Liberty & Phoenix Mercury Draft Recap45:27 - Seattle Storm Draft Recap52:49 - Washington Mystics Draft Recap This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

The NCAA Tournament is underway and we had a lot happen in the world of women’s basketball this week. We had just a couple upsets but a lot of great stories, some good ethical hate and some coaching changes as well. For those that are still looking for end-of-day content, we have nightcap wrap up shows on YouTube for every day of games. You can find that on our YouTube page where we just passed over 3,000 subscribers. Thanks a ton to everyone that has tuned in and tapped in with us over the years! Our wrap show is attached here as a podcast for everyone to listen to whenever you want to as we get into another 12 hour slate of games today. Now, let’s get to the column! 1. Women’s March Madness should move to neutral sites for the first two rounds and I’m tired of it being treated like a hot takeI’m somewhere between Mugatu taking crazy pills in Zoolander and the Joker saying “I’m tired of people saying it’s not”. Folks, we have evolved past the need for home site matchups and the only people left arguing for it seem to be fanbases who ostensibly benefit from it because they never actually have to travel. I’m going to lay out five reasons why I feel like we’re ready for this. It’s time. * From an aesthetic and production standpoint, I’m sick of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament looking like an NIT. The March Madness logo slapped on a team’s home floor does absolutely nothing for me. It certainly doesn’t make me feel like I’m officially watching the NCAA Tournament. Call it superficial but I do believe these things matter subconsciously to viewers and fans. * There’s a fair argument over travel and suitable host sites for the first two rounds (I mean, we’re in Birmingham and Spokane this year for God’s sake) but how accessible are some of these home sites? We got lucky this year with South Bend and Baton Rouge being the only two tough ones. But in the past we’ve had to contend with Starkville, Oxford, Blacksburg, Bloomington, Ames, the list goes on. Again, this is great for local fanbases but this tournament, respectfully, isn’t about you guys. March Madness is an event that, to me, is built to capture national interest in the sport. There is an entire regular season to see your team. * I also don’t love that home sites are primarily built around a single program when there are four teams present. You may burn some fans if you put a first round in Denver, for instance, but a big draw for March in your city is that you pay a ticket and just get to go watch anybody hoop. I was in Sacramento during the 2023 men’s tournament and I can tell you firsthand that fans there for other teams became Princeton fans over the course of two days. You miss that at home venues. They have their team and they’re staying with them. * It creates an environment where the women’s tournament doesn’t feel like it has that mainstream juice until the Sweet 16. Maybe that’s by design — let the men’s tourney hold court the first weekend and then the women take over — but it’s a risky proposition if the men have a year like this one when a lot of the biggest brands are still in the mix. * And finally, I don’t think the sport should be governed by fear of ridicule anymore. At this point, why should any of us care? There will always be an adjustment period for people to come out to the opening two rounds but not making that choice out of fear of a lack of crowd is ignoring the fact that not even every top 16 team draws well in their own arena anyway. It may take a year or two to catch on but I’d rather get that out of the way now than continue to push it past. 2. Larry Vickers hire solidifies that the HBCU pipeline is very real in women’s college basketballLarry Vickers move to Auburn from Norfolk State was a seismic one when you consider the implications to the HBCU coaching pipeline. In a lot of ways, it solidified that the mobility offered by those jobs is as good as any other mid-major program. In just four years, we’ve seen Vanessa Blair-Lewis move from Bethune-Cookman to George Mason, Tomekia Reed from Jackson State to Charlotte and now Vickers from Norfolk State to Auburn. That’s two mid-majors and a high-major with a significant history of success in women’s college basketball. There is a question about what it means for HBCU coaches on a more complex level. As highlighted in prior stories, there is a belief among some that to be a coach at a school like that is almost to understand that you are there for a greater purpose than just your career. To take on a job like that has a nobility and an altruism in it given the funding gaps and disparities that exist between HBCU’s (historically black colleges and universities) and PWI’s (predominantly white institutions). But at the same time, if that upward mobility is offered then it creates an environment where you can do better by the kids by getting better coaches. It also means that schools can find success that can achieve some semblance of economic gain for the university writ large. It may not lead to a massive wave of coaching hires but a power four taking a shot on Vickers tells me that there is a consideration that success in the SWAC or MEAC isn’t qualified anymore. If you win in those leagues, you are a winner and deserve a shot at a better job. If he manages to achieve success on the Plains, then expect more people to look towards HBCU’s for their next head coach. That, to me, is a win for everyone even if there is a complexity to it. 3. Can revenue sharing concepts keep head coaches at their mid-major programs? It’s something to keep an eye on.I was thinking a lot about this when it appeared that Molly Miller wouldn’t be going to Arkansas. We know now that Arizona State was instead the choice but in the moment I wondered if GCU was able to offer her a sweet enough deal to be able to stick around for a little while longer. With the incoming House settlement that will allow players to fully be paid and a revenue sharing model implemented in collegiate sports, the concept of which program gets what slice of the pie is going to be a fascinating story going forward. In some ways, we’ve seen it play out in the past with certain university presidents and athletic directors deciding that women’s hoops is a priority for the school. Old Dominion and Louisiana Tech are two such examples who enjoyed unparalleled runs of dominance from the late 1970’s all the way up to as recently as the early 2000’s. There are places that we would call ‘basketball schools’ — like Gonzaga or San Diego State on the men’s side — but not any true WBB schools at this current point in time. As revenue sharing becomes a story that will change how athletic departments handle their business, I’m curious if some places decide to throw their weight behind women’s hoops. Which creates an interesting discussion about coaches and what they want to stay and do. If you’re at a mid-major, for instance, that doesn’t offer football and instead is willing to give you a higher share of a smaller budget, is that actually better than going to a power four that is only handing you one or two percent of a bigger pie? When I look at Carly Thibault-DuDonis at Fairfield, for instance, that’s what I see. Why go to Wisconsin when you know you’re going to be taken care of in the future here? Of course, the typical factors remain: salary, assistant pool, recruiting budget, facilities and more. But the revenue sharing piece of this is a really interesting subplot to watch and I wonder if it has the chance to be something of an equalizer for schools that want to make it a priority to advance women’s basketball at their schools. 4. The lack of mid-major upsets feels like a post-COVID market correctionI’ve seen a lot on the men’s and women’s side of the tournament about how the predictability of the last couple years has been a result of NIL and the transfer portal decimating mid-majors and allowing the richest programs to simply get richer. While I would agree that those two concepts play a significant role, I also think we’re forgetting another component: this is a post COVID market correction. Allow me to explain… In the two to three seasons following the pandemic, a ton of upperclassmen had the ability to take fifth and sixth years of eligibility because of the blanket waiver provided by the pandemic. Mid-majors were able to load up on talent while maintaining some of the best players in program history for another season. Take 2022, when South Dakota’s Hannah Sjerven was a sixth year senior and helped lead the team to a Sweet Sixteen appearance. While that had the upfront benefit of giving your team a shot to make the second weekend or upset a higher seeded high-major, it caused roster congestion. Some top mid-major players transferred out of their programs out of a lack of playing time or staying behind stars that had taken one more year than anticipated. It also pulled away playing time, development and an opportunity for younger athletes to be able to get their own chance to gain valuable late season experience. In the women’s game, I think the gap between high major players and mid major players is still substantial because the difference in athleticism is much more than it is in the men’s game. Over there, you can just be a good athlete without being a great basketball player and that can help overcome disparities come March. In our game, the athletic gap coupled with the skill issue makes the first and second round a daunting proposition for any mid-major that doesn’t have substantial experience. And as we are finally fully out of the realm of experience being the great equalizer, mid-major coaches will need to find something else. 5. A quick Monday preview of the matchups ahead… Because of Five Out, our Ball-Knower’s Daily Watch Guide won’t be going out today. But surprise! That means you get it here. These are somethings I’m looking for in each of the games ahead… I have Michigan State upsetting NC State in my bracket. I love this Spartan team and while they can run very hot and cold, they have a good complement of shooters, length and defending that can hang with this incredible guard group that the Wolfpack have. Beyond that, they’re gritty and can handle a lot of in-game adversity. The team that doesn’t get tight is the team I like in these tournaments. Texas feels like they’re rolling but I want to see how they handle a plucky Illinois team that has given more than a couple top end programs their share of fits this season. A lot of people want that Tennessee vs. Texas rematch and I would classify myself as one of them. But I’m not counting the Illini out wholesale just yet and you shouldn’t either. Ava Heiden vs. Raegan Beers sounds like a very fun matchup along with the Hawkeye - Sooner backcourt battle we’re about to see. If there’s any chance of an upset today, I think it’s in the 6 vs. 3 games. What I’m most curious about is if OU fans can sell out the Lloyd Noble Center. This would be the year for it. Alabama vs. Maryland feels the most electric of any matchup. There are shooters and there will be pace. Sarah Ashlee Barker vs. Kaylene Smikle is one of the best pure scorer matchups of the season. Once again, the question of how 100% Aneesah Morrow and Flau’jae Johnson are will matter especially against this Florida State teams. Makayla Timpson is an effort rebounder in the same way Morrow is and Ta’Niya Latson is a scorer. I would love to see Latson get a shot at a Sweet Sixteen here but we’re in the PMAC for this so anything goes. West Virginia vs. North Carolina is going to be some nasty hoops in the same way Alabama vs. LSU football circa 2007 was nasty football. Expect some hard nosed defense on both ends of the floor and no basket is going to come easily. But I’m psyched to see if we get a JJ Quinerly legacy game in Chapel Hill. Both of the back end games for UConn and USC don’t feel in jeopardy of upset but I think the question is how good they look in their games. The Women of Troy got started a little slow against UNC Greensboro before taking the reins and running away with the game. The Huskies look like world beaters and that continues what we’ve come to expect. It’ll be a great day and hang with us on YouTube later in the night for another nightcap on No Cap!No Cap Space WBB is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

There’s been a lot of fuss about Texas during their first year in the SEC and all they’ve done is win a regular season championship and come a coinflip away from taking the top seed in the SEC tournament.All their success earned them the third #1 seed overall and the alleged ire of a coach out west.Texas can prove something tonight by either following in the footsteps of South Carolina and hanging over 100 on their opponent, or Southern California and stumbling out the gates a bit.Regardless, of how they do it, the good folks at Slander U believe they’re going all the way and bringing that national championship back to Austin and sparking a major transfer in the process.Teej and Mr. Blah Blah join Chauny to discuss how Texas will win the Natty like only they can. Enjoy an episode chock full of all the slander you can handle. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Our first week of March Madness previews is here on No Cap Space WBB! For the next few days you’ll hear perspectives from hall-of-famers and national champions on the mindset required to win the NCAA Tournament, beat reporters and national media members who have been following the game all year, and bonafide haters who want to see nothing more than chaos unfold.Be sure to subscribe to No Cap Space WBB here or on Apple or Spotify to get every pod straight to your device the minute it goes live. If watching on video is more your speed, each individual segment will be posted to YouTube throughout the week!Our second episode of the week brings you out into the world of Sports Twitter (the good version) where SiriusXM’s Katie Nolan and Underdog Fantasy’s TylerIAm are ready to bring their hottest takes to the pod. Both discuss their favorite players, biggest swings in terms of bracket predictions and provide an overall vibe check on teams that fans might have questions about heading into the first weekend. Scroll ahead to hear… 0:00 - Show Introduction2:13 - Katie Nolan joins the show.42:45 - TylerIAm joins the show.If you haven’t already, be sure to enter our No Cap Space WBB Bracket Challenge on ESPN.com to see if you can best any of us, Katie or Tyler this March and get a chance to win a free subscription to our paid tier as well as some Homefield merch. And if you want to take a look at Homefield’s offerings, we curated all their women’s basketball gear into the No Cap Space WBB Collection. Take a look and use NOCAP15 for 15% off your first order! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Our first week of March Madness previews is here on No Cap Space WBB! For the next few days you’ll hear perspectives from hall-of-famers and national champions on the mindset required to win the NCAA Tournament, beat reporters and national media members who have been following the game all year, and bonafide haters who want to see nothing more than chaos unfold.On this inaugural episode, we welcome in Texas Longhorn legend Fran Harris, a former Southwest Conference Player of the Year, SWC All-Decade Team Member, 1986 NCAA National Champion and 1997 WNBA Champ with the Houston Comets. She tells us about the mentality needed to win the Tournament and her favorite memories from that ‘86 team that finished undefeated and was chronicled in our Legendarium installment ‘Team of Destiny’. Fran was also heavily involved in Austin’s WNBA expansion bid and dishes a bit on what comes next for them as well as teases a new developmental league in women’s basketball that she’s trying to spearhead.After Fran, longtime friend of No Cap Space Seerat Sohi of The Ringer joins Tyler and Chauny to chop it up on all things March Madness. The trio break down their favorite matchups, storylines, picks and more.Scroll ahead to hear…0:00 - Show Introduction2:26 - Fran Harris joins the show.31:08 - Seerat Sohi joins the show.If you haven’t already, be sure to enter our No Cap Space WBB Bracket Challenge on ESPN.com to see if you can best any of us, Seerat or Fran this March and get a chance to win a free subscription to our paid tier as well as some Homefield merch. And if you want to take a look at Homefield’s offerings, we curated all their women’s basketball gear into the No Cap Space WBB Collection. Take a look and use NOCAP15 for 15% off your first order! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

We’ve made it, friends!After months of predicting, projecting and figuring out who the top teams are in the world of NCAA women’s basketball, we still have no idea! This Tournament might be one of the most open in recent memory, with four programs that could reasonably be national champions but no one really head and shoulders above everyone.For starters, announcements from No Cap Space WBB!* Get your look right with the No Cap Space WBB Collection on Homefield! We partnered with (in our unbiased opinions) the best collegiate apparel brand in the country to curate every piece of women’s basketball gear on their site, giving you a one stop shop for some great March Madness fits off. And if you use code NOCAP15, you get 15% off your first order!* Also join our ESPN Bracket Challenge! Compete against us, your favorite media personalities and some of the greatest women’s basketball players in the history of the game. Think your skills of deduction and prediction are better than legit hall-of-famers? Well, now is a chance to find out!* 1st Place Receives: 1 Year free subscription to No Cap Space WBB’s Ball-Knowers’ Substack Tier plus a $50 Homefield gift card.* 2nd Place Receives: 6 month free subscription to No Cap Space WBB’s Ball-Knowers Substack Tier plus a Homefield tee of your choice.* 3rd Place Receives: 3 month free subscription to No Cap Space WBB’s Ball-Knowers Substack Tier plus a Homefield hat of your choice.* Consider a free trial or subscribing to our Ball-Knowers paid tier of No Cap Space WBB on Substack. You’ll be getting special features, daily previews for every round of games in the NCAA Tournament and access to our subscriber chat, which will be rolling all month long.* And finally, NO CAP SPACE WBB IS HEADED TO TAMPA! We’ll have not one, not two, but three sets of Boots on the Ground at the 2025 Final Four this year. It’s a situation where we truly couldn’t do it without you, your views, subscriptions, likes, comments and shares. Just a year after we were told to, in essence, get our numbers up to be on the radar, we are here covering the NCAA Tournament in full. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you all. You are a fundamental part of helping us put together the most comprehensive women’s basketball coverage anywhere.And be sure to subscribe to the podcast and rate, review and give five stars!! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

On this edition of the No Cap Space WBB postgame show, the whole crew is on hand to break down the SEC, ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 women's basketball conference tournament championships. Be sure to rate and review Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast wherever you get your pods and subscribe to our work on Substack and Youtube. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

It’s Tournament and Awards season and that means we have reactions on Ball Up Top! Tyler and Chauny look at some of the biggest snubs and surprises of the conference awards before breaking down the power four brackets that are already underway! You can also listen to the pod on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to rate, review us (and give us five stars!).0:00 - Show Introduction3:13 - Postseason Award Reactions22:24 - Conference Tournament Previews22:30 - Big 1231:11 - ACC37:00 - Big Ten47:32 - SECBall Up Top is brought to you in part by Homefield. Prepare for Tourney Season with some gear from Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! A new No Cap Space collection is coming soon on the side so stay tuned and get your merch while you can!And a big shoutout to DlzMksBts, who provides our intro and outro music on podcast platforms. Check out his new project, ‘Bough’ by Deca & Dealz available on Youtube and Spotify. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Ball Up Top welcomes a special guest this week, Seerat Sohi of The Ringer WNBA Show. She, along with Chauny and Andrew, talk about the most recent major trade in the W, sending Ariel Atkins from the Washington Mystics to the Chicago Sky in exchange for the third overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. The group then discusses the most random Final Four contender in NCAA women’s basketball this year as well as previewing UCLA vs. USC and highlighting the most compelling conference regular season title races left in college hoops.Be sure to rate, review and give five stars for the podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts and be sure to sign up for our paid ‘Ball-Knowers’ tier to get access to even more content from your favorite friends at No Cap Space WBB. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Andrew, Greer and Tyler are back on Ball Up Top after a long week unveiling the new Ball-Knowers tier on Substack and launching the first installment of the ‘No Cap Covers’ series. And there’s plenty to talk about. The crew first touches on Marina Mabrey’s trade request out of Connecticut and the Sun’s decision to reject it. What does it mean for the WNBA veteran and the perception of the franchise? That conversation then turns to a chaotic NBA All-Star weekend that Greer just returned from so the gang has their best and worst ideas for the WNBA’s future All-Star games.Andrew has to cut out of the pod early but that gives plenty of time for Greer to take the ISO and announce to the world that UConn might finally be back as a regular title contender. The pod wraps with Tyler and Greer’s Final Four projections with just a couple of weeks left before Tournament season starts.Ball Up Top is brought to you in part by Homefield. Prepare for Tourney Season with some gear from Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! A new No Cap Space collection is coming soon on the side so stay tuned and get your merch while you can!And a big shoutout to DlzMksBts, who provides our intro and outro music on podcast platforms. Check out his new project, ‘Bough’ by Deca & Dealz available on Youtube and Spotify.Scroll Ahead to Hear…0:00 - Show Introduction.3:18 - Marina Mabrey trade request reactions.17:44 - WNBA All-Star: Should we be worried about the NBA’s flop and what are the best and worst ideas for the W’s All-Star Week?36:15 - Is UConn officially back? Does South Carolina’s ceiling look different?1:00:07 - Final Four ProjectionsBe sure to visit us on NoCapSpaceWBB.com and subscribe to the Substack for all our news and content right into your email inbox! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

After an insane week of WNBA Free Agency, Tyler DeLuca finally catches a break. Andrew and Greer take the lead on the podcast to run through the early winners and losers of the first set of sign-and-trades as well as major signings. Then the gears turn towards the college game as we prepare for a big slate of games this week, including UConn vs. Tennessee. Andrew and Greer discuss the re-emergence of the Lady Vols under Kim Caldwell and debate whether or not the biggest rivalry in women’s basketball is finally going to return to form. Huskies forward Sarah Strong will be an important part of that game and leads the final segment, where the National Freshman of the Year race is examined.Ball Up Top is brought to you in part by Homefield. Prepare for February and the NCAA Tournament season with some gear from Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! A new No Cap Space collection is coming soon on the side so stay tuned and get your merch while you can!Scroll ahead in the podcast to hear…0:00 - Show Introduction.4:01 -WNBA Free Agency Winners & Losers35:43 - Is the UConn - Tennessee rivalry finally coming back to prominence?53:22 - The National Freshman of the Year race: Who leads? Who will win? Who is in the Top 3?Be sure to rate and review the podcast on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your pods. It’s much appreciated! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

WNBA Free Agency, at long last, is promising the chaos longtime fans of the league have hoped for. Major stars leaving their teams, testing the markets and large scale turnovers that change the balance of power in the league. Who won early in a wild Tuesday of moves? We break down some of the biggest ones here…You can also listen to it in podcast form above or on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to rate, review us (and give us five stars!). This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Tyler and Andrew hold down the fort this Tuesday and get to react in real time to No. 2 South Carolina’s win over No. 18 Tennessee. They discuss the hallmarks of the Gamecocks greatness as well as Lady Vols head coach Kim Caldwell getting her team up to speed in the SEC a bit earlier than expected. The pod then touches on the blockbuster three team trade in the WNBA and what domino will fall next in free agency before discussing whether or not the Seattle Storm still could select Olivia Miles with the number two pick. They wrap the show with a chat about what’s to come in NCAA women’s basketball in February and what teams have the most pressure to perform. Be sure to rate the podcast five stars and leave a (hopefully good!) review on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts!Scroll ahead in the recording to hear…0:00 - Show introduction1:50 - Game reactions: South Carolina.11:45 - Game reactions: Tennessee.25:40 - What is the next WNBA Free Agency domino?38:25 - Should the Seattle Storm still select Olivia Miles with the No. 2 pick?52:06 - What NCAA program has the most pressure in the home stretch? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

The first domino of the WNBA offseason has fallen. The Seattle Storm, Los Angeles Sparks and Las Vegas Aces have agreed to a three team trade that will send Jewell Loyd to Vegas, Kelsey Plum to L.A. and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft to Seattle. Here is the full breakdown of who gets what… Los Angeles: Kelsey Plum, No. 9 Overall PickSeattle: No. 2 Overall Pick, Li YueruLas Vegas: Jewell Loyd, No. 13 Overall PickOn a special emergency pod, Tyler, Chauny and Andrew break everything about the trade down and who wins, who got better and what it means for the rest of the season ahead. Be sure to rate the podcast five stars and leave a (hopefully good!) review on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts!Get ready for the year ahead with some gear from Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! The new Homefield knit sweaters and bomber jackets are perfect gifts to kick off your new women’s basketball year in style.Thanks for reading No Cap Space WBB! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

This week, Andrew and Tyler hold down the Ball Up Top fort to discuss a variety of topics. We receive more information on Chennedy Carter’s split with the Chicago Sky, talk about the marketing of bigs like Lauren Betts, look at NCAA Bracketology and look at the surprises and success of Unrivaled up to this point. Be sure to rate the podcast five stars and leave a (hopefully good!) review on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts!Scroll ahead to hear…0:00 - Show Introduction.1:20 - Chennedy Carter’s split with the Chicago Sky16:56 - Unrivaled Surprises.39:20 - NCAA Bracketology Thoughts1:09:20 - Lauren Betts, Player of the Year Race and How to Market Bigs This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard.Chauny, Tyler, and Greer are holding it down for this week’s edition of Ball Up Top as WNBA core and restricted contract conversations opened up. Notably Chennedy Carter hasn’t received her qualifying offer which the crew dives into. Plus following South Carolina’s dominant win against Texas, have they made a case for #1? Lastly, a look ahead to the official start of Unrivaled.Ring in 2025 and get ready for the year ahead with some gear from Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! The new Homefield knit sweaters and bomber jackets are perfect gifts to kick off your new women’s basketball year in style.Scroll ahead in the pod to hear…0:00 - Show Introduction1:17 - Chennedy Carter’s Free Agency and Chicago Sky decision making.18:06 - South Carolina’s case to be #1 in the nation.30:27 - NCAA Title Odds and how the media talks about contenders midseason.29:54 - Unrivaled preview Thanks for reading No Cap Space WBB! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

WNBA fans are entering into what may be the most exciting free agency period in league history. We’ve got premiere talent names and thanks to interviews coming out of Florida for Unrivaled, we know some of them are looking or may be looking for new homes. The rumor mill is churning at peak efficiency and this is all before we get to a very loaded 2025 WNBA draft. A storied franchise is at the heart of all this excitement as the Los Angeles Sparks are looking to get back to their winning ways and are in a good position to do it with the #2 draft pick to go with an already talented core. Sparks assistant general manager Eli Horowitz sat down with No Cap Space WBB to discuss all the buzz surrounding the exciting young team, the changes being made and the blueprint they’re looking to follow in order to get back to true Hollywood form and hang yet another banner from the rafters at now Crypto.com Arena. Thanks for reading No Cap Space WBB! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard.Ring in 2025 and get ready for the year ahead with some gear from Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! The new Homefield knit sweaters and bomber jackets are perfect gifts to kick off your new women’s basketball year in style.Scroll ahead in the pod to hear…0:00 - Show Introduction2:49 - Examining the Kiyomi McMiller situation unfolding at Rutgers.15:38 - Three hot takes about WNBA Free Agency (starts January 11th).30:27 - NCAA Title Odds and how the media talks about contenders midseason.43:45 - Unrivaled preview and who the most intriguing 3x3 player will be. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Happy New Year, loyal column readers! We at No Cap Space WBB hope you had a lovely holiday and new year. Plenty of resolutions, things to look forward to and actions to take in 2025 especially for us here on Substack. We’ve got a lot of great stuff coming down the pipeline this coming year and we can’t wait to share it all with you in due time. In the meantime, enjoy a nice audio addition to the column. On Sundays, our team will be live on Youtube for what we’re calling ‘Tonight in Women’s Basketball’. It’s a working title, so it’s subject to change. But effectively it’s a wrap of the biggest games of the weekend and some true hoop analysis. That is followed up every Monday morning with this column which examines five big storylines in the past week of the sport and how those intersect with our broader culture. Then, on Tuesdays, you get ‘Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast’ that takes three topics that are currently dominating the discourse in women’s basketball. We’ve got something for everyone and that’s just the start. The Legendarium also returns from its’ winter break this Wednesday and there’s some upcoming features we’re really excited to bring you as well. But for now, let’s get to the column…Complete this sentence: This is the most wide open Naismith WBB Player of the Year Race since _____ … I’d say it was 2019. Each season we’ve had, at most, a two horse race for women’s basketball’s highest honor. In fact, you could make an argument that since 2007, we’ve only had a couple of seasons where the race hasn’t been somewhat predetermined. I mean, just look at the past winners. 2024: Caitlin Clark (2nd)2023: Caitlin Clark2022: Aliyah Boston2021: Paige Bueckers2020: Sabrina Ionescu2019: Megan Gustafson2018: A’ja Wilson2017: Kelsey PlumPrior to 2017, Breanna Stewart won three straight which was preceded by Brittney Griner winning two straight, Maya Moore winning two and Candace Parker as well as Tina Charles winning one. In short, there was a best player and we knew pretty early on who that would be. In 2018 and 2020, Wilson and Ionescu led the pack pretty much wire-to-wire. 2021-2024 was mostly two person races. But this year? It feels a lot like 2019, in which you had Gustafson, Ionescu, Arike Ogunbowale and Asia (now AD) Durr named as finalists. Any one of them could have taken the award home that year and it feels like the field might be even deeper in 2025. There’s NCAA leading scorer Ta’Niya Latson, who has scored less than 20 points in a game once this year and that came when she left after 11 minutes with an injury. She’s scored over 30 points six times through 15 games. Behind her on the list is Hannah Hidalgo, who has systematically ripped the soul out of damn near every top 25 team the Irish have played this year. Then there are stat stuffing superstars like LSU’s Aneesah Morrow (18.1 PPG, 14 RPG) and Vanderbilt’s Khamil Pierre (22.8 PPG, 10.9 PPG). Harvard senior Harmoni Turner is lighting the world on fire in the Ivy League. And that’s before we get to JuJu Watkins, the prohibitive favorite coming into this year. Or maybe Lauren Betts, the best player on the best team in America with the stats to match (19.8 PPG, 10 RPG). Paige Bueckers? Raegan Beers? The list is quite literally 10 deep. The hardest challenge this year might not be in picking a Naismith winner but in picking finalists. It’s indicative of talent dispersal via NIL and the transfer portal (a net good for the game) but also how deep the pool of talent is getting in the sport, a result of the last decade of increased investment in women’s basketball at all levels. In short, the college game has never been in a better place than it is now and I can’t recall a more open race for the top player in America. That, in itself, is worthy of celebration. Olivia Miles has made the leap and it suddenly makes the WNBA Draft very interesting…Guys, it’s time to talk about Olivia Miles. The knock on the senior point guards’ game for years was whether or not she had the goods against top end competition. Even for the most ardent Miles stan, it was hard to defend when you looked at the numbers. In games vs. Top 25 opponents in 2022-2023, Miles was regularly under 15 points with low to mid efficiency shooting nights and hunted a bit defensively. The advanced analytics didn’t necessarily support the idea of her as a potential star at the next level. What a difference a year makes. In what is the greatest three point shooting glow up since Jackie Young magically came alive in Las Vegas, Miles has completely transformed herself from a near career 25% three point shooter to ripping off a ridiculous 48% clip 14 games into the season. With enough games for an effective sample, it appears that the range and deep ball efficacy is here to stay. What stood out to me in the Irish’s win over No. 17 North Carolina Sunday was the method in which she got her shots. These weren’t pick and pops or spot up threes. She was creating space off the dribble and hitting stepbacks with Lexi Donarski (a solid defender at this level) waving a hand in her face. It didn’t matter. Miles is playing with a confidence we haven’t seen her play with before. And it opens up the question: does Curt Miller at least consider her at number one? I know what you’re thinking.“What a stupid hot take, Andrew. I come here for nuance not nonsense!” But hear me out. Maybe I am truly nuts but I see shades of Arike Ogunbowale in Hannah Hidalgo. The pairing of Miles and the latter aforementioned ND superstar has paid dividends beyond belief. If you can get this kind of production out of Miles and make it work with a high energy, somewhat ball dominant guard, who is to say you can’t at the next level with arguably an upgraded version? The way she hits the lane and almost picks her passes in slow motion feels very Chelsea Gray-esque and I feel like the more I watch Miles play, the more that feels like the comp. Everything about Olivia’s game has improved and, had she not had an injury last year, I’d say it’s worth an even closer look given Paige Bueckers’ history with being sidelined herself. That’s not to neg Paige by any means. Instead, Miles is playing so well — and against top competition at that — that it’s worth warranting a bit more litigation at the top pick. Obviously there’s motion and marketing to consider but I’ll leave you with this: Miles is a fantastic personality, great with the media (check out our Luxury Tax episode with her to see firsthand) and already has something that can be branded and packaged. After all, who doesn’t love the goggles!?Players have arrived in Miami for Unrivaled. What is the most exciting thing to watch for? The players are in town, the jerseys have been unveiled and it’s time to get prepared for the inaugural season of Unrivaled. I personally can’t wait to see what’s in store. We’ve written pretty exhaustively about how the league’s business savvy is worth emulating if you’re a person working in the WNBA offices. The 3x3 league unveiled Sephora as the league’s official and exclusive beauty partner, also outfitting the league’s glam room. Opill, which is an over-the-counter contraceptive, will also be a league partner. What I love about these additions is that they are exactly the kind of partnerships longtime WNBA fans have been clamoring for. Essentially, go find the brands that are utilized by your players, that they’ll be passionate about pushing and it will make for a seamless collaboration. Unrivaled seems to understand on a grass roots level what the fanbases are asking for and how to leverage that into marketing dollars. There’s something to be said about the comparative youth of the league’s executive management relative to the W’s and it’s being put on full display. If Unrivaled is a success in year one, I’d be throwing bags from the big orange to entice c-suiters in Miami to come to New York. The games themselves are also going to be a lot of fun. The thing we’re going to explore in Ball Up Top and what I’m most curious about is what players games’ translate best to 3x3 and who might take a second to get acclimated. Ironically, the best player in this format isn’t going to be playing (Kelsey Plum) but I think there are others with 3x3 international experience like Dearica Hamby and Azura Stevens that are going to surprise some people with how dominant they can be. With an emphasis on player development, I’m also curious how that shows up on the court over the course of the protracted season. Will we see Angel Reese, for instance, work on her mid range jumper since the format is more conducive to trying it? The win for Unrivaled is it feels interesting on a number of levels. When you’re just trying to break into an already crowded American sports landscape, that’s a win before you even tip off the first game. WNBA Free Agency “begins” on Saturday… WNBA Free Agency starts on February 1st if you consider the starting point when players can officially sign contracts and offer sheets. But realistically, it begins on Saturday, the 11th. From that day until January 20th, teams can make qualifying offers and core certain players that they want to exclusively negotiate with. Expect players like Kelsey Mitchell of the Indiana Fever to get cored and set the stage for what free agency will look like moving forward. The craziness will come with who doesn’t get cored, who wants to maximize a one year deal before the next collective bargaining agreement is signed and what qualifying offers are made. While I don’t expect top end players like Brittney Griner, Breanna Stewart or Kelsey Plum to change teams even for a season, I think the middle ground of the W is going to change substantially. Arguably the most interesting thing to watch in that nine day span is what the Connecticut Sun will do. They’ve got a really great young core in place and two aging superstars who, I would argue, have topped out in terms of their contributions. That’s not to say Alyssa Thomas and Dewanna Bonner can’t still lead a playoff contender but I think the championship window might be closed on them at this stage of their careers. Does Connecticut run it back for one more season or do they allow the duo to go to open market? My hot take is that depending on how competitive Golden State wants to be out of the gate, they could be an interesting fit for both to jumpstart a new franchise. There’s also a good chunk of ‘reserved’ players — those who have less than three years of service and thus would negotiate exclusively with their previous team if given a qualifying offer — that can be legit pieces to any team. Veronica Burton, Emily Engstler, Natasha Mack and Li Yueru are on this list, for instance. With interest in the W at an all-time high, expect plenty of discussion over the course of the next month. It’s gonna be a doozy. The System vs. The Player: Where the column stands on the Dawn Staley - Milaysia Fulwiley discourse. So I’ve started to see this discourse pop up since the UCLA vs. South Carolina game online and, admittedly, I’ve contributed to it a bit myself. Those that have watched South Carolina this year have been expecting Milaysia Fulwiley to fully break out and assert herself as a player on the level of a Hannah Hidalgo or JuJu Watkins. After all, she really is the third figure in that high powered recruiting class. But, unlike the previous two, Fulwiley has been mainly playing a bench role for South Carolina, having some good games and some quiet games here and there. In spite of that, the Gamecocks are back to being the war machine that they’ve been the past four-plus years and will likely be right back in the national title conversation. So who is right here? It turns out, everyone and no one. Because when it comes to South Carolina, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The system vs. the star is quietly one of the major schisms in sports fandom that divide a lot of our values and viewpoints. Do I personally want to see Fulwiley unleashed? Where she may play you out of certain possessions because of lax defense or a turnover but can make you double take with an insanely acrobatic finish at the rim or a dime to set up a three on the perimeter? Absolutely. To me, Fulwiley is one of the most exciting players in women’s college basketball so of course I, the consumer without a vested rooting interest in South Carolina’s success, want to see that. But just because that’s what I want doesn’t mean that it’s best for the team. Dawn Staley’s job is to win games and develop her players into future pros. She isn’t here to market kids and make the motion. Could she do that? Sure. But the system is what wins at South Carolina. Everyone eats, minutes go to the hot hands and those that commit to the system and to winning are rewarded. Fulwiley, for her part, is a hardworking player with her own agency. A lot of women’s basketball fans want her to transfer because they want to see her cook but it’s pretty clear that Milaysia wants to stay at SC, learn under Staley and be a better version of herself as a player. Folks trying to force a transfer (partly because they don’t like South Carolina too) are going to be disappointed because she isn’t going anywhere. The trick of this dance is that South Carolina fans also have to understand that player motion and system is an either/or proposition in today’s world. Criticism of ‘Dawn Staley is the star of the program’ is kind of b******t considering we never levied that same critique on Roy Williams or Bill Self, who are multi time national champions that don’t have a ton of bonafide NBA or NCAA superstars to point to. I mean, Tyler Hansborough is one of the most accomplished players in UNC history. Systems exist and in those systems, coaches fit players into it and they win a ton of games. Staley isn’t unique in that way and frankly doesn’t warrant the criticism for doing what successful coaches have been doing for decades. But within that, fans need to understand that it does mean the potential for diminished publicity for their players. Caitlin Clark or JuJu Watkins is the system. Hannah Hidalgo is allowed to play through her mistakes. That may not mean a championship ring in April but it does mean some more column inches or talk show minutes. If you have a system like this that values the whole, it means you’re going to win but potentially at the cost of superstardom. Sometimes it feels that the only thing acceptable for some in the Gamecock fanbase is to have *everything*. When you’ve seen UConn receive that same treatment for years, it’s an understandable impulse when it’s your team at the mountaintop and you don’t receive the same promotion. But ultimately, it wasn’t good for the game when UConn dominated the discussion to that degree. Was a post Pat Summitt world where the Huskies crushed everyone en route to four straight titles interesting basketball? I’d argue no. But it won. So what matters more? The ecosystem is more healthy now. That does mean there is more to go around and if the system prevails, you might have to be okay arguing rings while others argue motion. That’s just the way it goes. So, in that respect, there won’t necessarily be a situation in which you get *everything*. It dovetails with the situation unfolding in Rutgers right now with Kiyomi McMiller, the uber talented Allen Iverson-like freshman guard who may on her way out of the program. She released an Instagram post on Sunday announcing she wouldn’t be playing against No. 4 USC and NJ.com later reported that it stemmed from a locker room altercation that occurred after the Scarlet Knights loss to Maryland. As we get back to the system vs. the player, this is an example of how it can go wrong in the latter situation. Rutgers doesn’t stand to win many games without McMiller but they haven’t necessarily been winning with her either. But she’s undeniably watchable and to some, that’s all that matters. Like I said, it’s in the eye of the beholder. What each side needs to know is that they need each other. System fans need fans that prioritize players to be able to drive engagement towards the game in a crowded ecosystem. But player fans need the system folks to be able to provide champions and dynasties that drive the same type of discussion. In this case, everyone has a point and, past it all, Dawn Staley keeps winning and winning and winning. Tough gig.Thanks for reading No Cap Space WBB! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.Thanks for reading No Cap Space WBB! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard.A special end of year Ball Up Top is here! As you get ready to pop some champagne, hit the club or just hang at home and relax, we got you covered with the best moments in women’s basketball this 2024 season, a New Years resolution for the sport and one hot take for 2025. Ring in 2025 and get ready for the year ahead with some gear from Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! The new Homefield knit sweaters and bomber jackets are perfect gifts to kick off your new women’s basketball year in style. Scroll ahead to hear on the pod…0:00 - Show Introduction.2:58 - Best Moments of 2024.23:35 - Women’s Basketball New Years Resolutions for 2025. 40:40 - One Hot Take Prediction for 2025. Thanks for reading No Cap Space WBB! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard.News was dropping all over the place on Monday with the Dallas Wings and Washington Mystics filling their head coaching vacancies and Unrivaled completing their roster with Sabrina Ionescu. With some of these moves and trends shifting the landscape of women’s basketball, Tyler, Chauny, and Greer dove in with their thoughts on this week’s Ball Up Top.The holiday season is here and there’s no better present than some gear from Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! The new Homefield knit sweaters are a perfect winter gift for the college ball-knower in your life…0:00 Intro0:52 Dallas Wings coaching hire and the trends of this WNBA Coaching Carousel19:54 Sabrina is Unrivaled28:58 Are guards the future of women’s basketball?Thanks for reading No Cap Space WBB! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

On this week’s edition of the Luxury Tax podcast, the No Cap Space WBB welcomes back Florida State guard Ta’Niya Latson, the current NCAA scoring leader in women’s basketball. She talks with Tyler and Andrew about a host of topics and shares her thoughts on being one of the most underdiscussed star players in the nation this year.Editor’s Note: This episode was recorded before Florida State’s December 19th win over Jacksonville. Latson rolled her ankle in that game but head coach Brooke Wyckoff told the media that her star guard will get some time to rest before ACC play starts. Wishing her a speedy recovery!Tap in to hear…0:00 - Show Introduction0:52 - Ta’Niya’s summer offseason work and her mindset around scoring.5:47 - Being invited to Kelsey Plum’s ‘Dawg Camp’ and what she learned there.9:46 - Dream NIL deal ideas and Ta’Niya’s love for legos and its’ influence on her game.13:41 - Her upbringing and how being a military kid made her a better basketball player.18:00 - How to leave a legacy at Florida State and Latson’s status as a standard bearer for Florida high school girls basketball players.You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you get your pods. All of our Luxury Tax episodes are also in video format on YouTube along with our post-games and video essays. Subscribe to be get notifications of live shows and updates on new content when it comes out. And follow along with us on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

The Luxury Tax podcast is back with new episodes spotlighting the brightest stars, best coaches and biggest influences in women’s basketball. This week, the No Cap Space WBB crew is joined by Harvard guard Harmoni Turner who has set the world on fire following a hot start to the NCAA season. On this episode you’ll hear… 3:30 - Summer of preperationand USA Basketball11:30 - Harmoni’s charity foundation16:30 - Why Harvard and why stick with them the whole way as other schools approached?25:40 - What has made start to this season so special and WNBA aspirationsYou can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you get your pods. All of our Luxury Tax episodes are also in video format on YouTube along with our post-games and video essays. Subscribe to be get notifications of live shows and updates on new content when it comes out. And follow along with us on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok!The holiday season is here and there’s no better present than some gear from Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! The new Homefield knit sweaters are a perfect winter gift for the college ball-knower in your life…Thanks for reading No Cap Space WBB! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard. After a big week of NCAA women’s basketball agendas, Chauny, Greer and Tyler are in the booth with another episode of Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast. The three topics this week touch on a couple of different subjects across the sport. Chauny opens the show with an ISO of her own, putting a cap on the Caitlin Clark TIME Athlete of the Year discussion while expanding on Andrew’s points in Five Out. Afterward, the trio discuss who the top three contenders are for the NCAA Player of the Year as we prepare to turn the page into 2025. The show wraps with a conversation about the teams in the NCAA Top 25 and who is worth buying and selling. Skip ahead to hear……an ad! The holiday season is here and there’s no better present than some gear from Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! The new Homefield knit sweaters are a perfect winter gift for the college ball-knower in your life… Now onto the show… 0:00 - Show Introduction and a special thanks from the No Cap Space WBB crew.6:25 - A Chauny ISO and the TIME Athlete of the Year discussion…24:00 - Who are the top three contenders for NCAA National Player of the Year? 37:30 - Buy or Sell: NCAA WBB Top 25 Week 7.And now…a special ISO from Chauny…Another week, another news cycle filled with unproductive dialogue surrounding Caitlin Clark. The rookie phenom made headlines after being named Time’s Athlete of the Year and gave the quotes that many had been asking for throughout the season to quell any rumors about whether or not she was ok being an extreme right-wing avatar. This led to a bizarre response from Washington Mystics co-owner Sheila Johnson in which she asked “why couldn’t the entire WNBA been put on the cover and said ‘the WNBA is the league of the year’?” Ok. My immediate reaction to the soundbite was why? Why are we taking this moment to make this argument again, why? Especially when she acknowledged how race and privilege play a part in media coverage, a la Paige Bueckers at the ESPYs. What was supposed to be accomplished with this very public interview that once again put a damper on the achievement of one of the most popular representatives of the league? A player that six of the 12 GMs voted in poll this past April saying they would take in a heartbeat if they were starting a franchise. How do you think this particular strategy will get the legends the flowers they deserve? I've said this before on Twitter that our black legends deserve so much more than to be trotted out every time Caitlin accomplishes something in an attempt to browbeat new fans into caring about them. It especially irks my last good nerve when the league itself has done literally nothing to tell its own story when given the chance, but a 22-year-old is expected to carry the league history around in her Prada bag and pull it out any and every time she receives any type of recognition. We are about four years removed from the WNBA’s 25th season that took place in 2021 and let me tell you something America, the league give an absolute piss poor effort to commemorate that milestone. There was no tribute to fallen franchises, specifically the iconic Houston Comets, there were no games featured on ESPN Classic (instead me and the Bonnet Gang crew were trying to watch old games Youtube with Twitter friends via spaces and it was pretty much a disaster). Reader, we were in the trenches. Fast forward to today and we still have to rely on a sort of digital oral history via old fans online to keep narratives straight, highlight different players, and disperse the lore of the league because the WNBA still won’t invest in storytelling and capitalize off this moment by really showing new fans why they should love the game as a whole instead of just chastising them for not doing the leg work before they came in. Case in point, our own Andrew Haubner just wrote another banger for The Legendarium on Pearl Moore and really dug into what made her run so special. While we here at No Cap Space will always answer the call to do the work to cover the game, it would be nice if the entity with significantly more resources and connections could make more of an effort to do the same as well. It is my prayer that the league makes the decision to be a protector of its own brand next year as we all will get a season of peace because let’s be honest, Paige ain’t got the motion to cause all this fuss. Apologies, that hate slipped out before I could stop it. But in all seriousness, we had a season of growing pains, now grow up and get in the booth! You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you get your pods. All of our Luxury Tax episodes are also in video format on YouTube along with our post-games and video essays. Subscribe to be get notifications of live shows and updates on new content when it comes out. And follow along with us on X, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok!Thanks for reading No Cap Space WBB! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard.This week, it’s Andrew, Greer and Tyler. After a busy WNBA week capped off by the Golden State Valkyries expansion draft, the crew looks into what the free agent market might be moving forward. Andrew argues that the W’s newest franchise holds all the cards while Greer and Tyler discuss some of the most intriguing possibilities to join up in the Bay Area.Afterwards, the three discuss the NCAA tiers list from this week’s Five Out column. Each brings a different team from the list and places them where they think it’s best. Plus, a special spotlight on one team in particular: the Tennessee Lady Volunteers. Is Kim Caldwell bringing the swagger back to Rocky Top? It’s all in this week’s pod, available wherever you get them!Skip ahead to hear…0:00 - Show Introduction1:58 - Will Golden State go star hunting in free agency or build organically after their expansion draft?23:10 - Is Tennessee back? Or at least moving in that direction?30:45 - NCAA TiersYou can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you get your pods. All of our Luxury Tax episodes are also in video format on YouTube along with our post-games and video essays. Subscribe to be get notifications of live shows and updates on new content when it comes out. And follow along with us on X, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

After the reveal of the Golden State Valkyries first roster, Tyler and Greer hopped on YouTube live to discuss their immediate thoughts. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you get your pods. All of our Luxury Tax episodes are also in video format on YouTube along with our post-games and video essays. Subscribe to be get notifications of live shows and updates on new content when it comes out. And follow along with us on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok!Thanks for reading No Cap Space WBB! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com