Unscripted with Dawn Mitchell: Lynx's Napheesa Collier, Cheryl Reeve
2025 WNBA Predictions: MVP, Champion, All-WNBA, and more
The 2025 WNBA regular season is finally here and in this episode, we're sharing our predictions for how we think the year will shape out. We tell you who we're picking for MVP, who we think will be on the All-WNBA teams, who we think will win the title, and which teams are going to surprise people. Also, we share our thoughts on recent developments involving Connecticut Sun ownership, roster cutdowns, and news that impacts upcoming international competitions.
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New York Times
9 minutes ago
- New York Times
The Astros are rolling, but injuries are testing Houston's depth
HOUSTON — Still in a dirt-stained uniform, Jacob Melton trudged across an almost empty clubhouse on Friday night. He bore almost no weight on a sprained right ankle that dimmed the delight of his first big league extra-base hit — a perfect personification of the Houston Astros' predicament. A deluge of injuries is overshadowing Houston's most dominant stretch of the season. The club has opened a four-game lead in the American League West with a skeleton roster in desperate need of some reinforcements. Advertisement Yordan Alvarez's right hand fracture has crippled an already top-heavy lineup. Isaac Paredes' straining his left hamstring on Thursday night only furthered the problem. Friday brought a 'pretty good sprain' of Melton's ankle, forcing the Astros further into the most vulnerable piece of their organization. Position player depth is almost nonexistent, part of why Houston signed a slew of veterans to minor-league deals prior to spring training. One of them, Luis Guillorme, will be summoned from Triple-A Sugar Land before Saturday's game against the Minnesota Twins, two league sources told The Athletic on Friday night. Guillorme will likely take Melton's spot on the 26-man roster, though no final decision had been finalized as of Friday night. Postgame comments from manager Joe Espada all but confirmed a prolonged absence for Melton, the team's most touted position player prospect who chased home three runs during Houston's 10-3 mauling of Minnesota on Friday. 'It's a pretty good sprain,' Espada said. 'It doesn't look like he'll be playing for a couple days, but we're going to get some tests tomorrow and see where we go from there.' Melton could barely walk across Houston's clubhouse on Friday night without assistance. He leaned on a chair throughout a two-minute postgame interview that began not with his 111.3 mph triple but the explanation of another injury in a season full of them. First extra base hit for the rookie!#BuiltForThis — Houston Astros (@astros) June 14, 2025 A back injury impacted Melton throughout spring training before a groin issue cropped up at the beginning of his Triple-A season. On Friday, during his 11th major-league game, Melton turned toward the Crawford Boxes to track Willi Castro's solo home run. 'When I realized I wasn't going to have a play on it, tried to back off the wall and get turned around and get squared up with where I thought it was going to hit, I just rolled (my ankle) and landed on it a bit awkward,' Melton said. 'Not ideal by any stretch of the imagination, but I'll play the cards I'm dealt.' Advertisement Paredes' prognosis appears more favorable. Imaging revealed a 'small' strain of his hamstring, Paredes said through an interpreter. Espada called his third baseman 'day to day' and seemed optimistic he would avoid the injured list. 'I feel a lot better than yesterday,' Paredes said through an interpreter. 'I think every day is getting better. I think we're close to being 100 percent, being able to play every day, which is what I want to do.' Hamstring injuries are always fickle, so cautious optimism is prudent. That Paredes is so vital to Houston's success only reinforces the thought of being measured in bringing him back. Paredes has hit a team-leading 15 home runs, part of a standout season from a surefire American League All-Star candidate. Long coveted from afar and finally acquired this winter as part of the Kyle Tucker trade, Paredes has exceeded almost every expectation since his arrival. His 131 OPS+ and .378 on-base percentage trail only resurgent shortstop Jeremy Peña for the team lead. Mauricio Dubón replaced Paredes following his injury on Thursday and started at third base in his absence on Friday, but adding Guillorme to the active roster could spell more time in left field for the former American League utility Gold Glover. Dubón took over for Melton in left field on Friday following his injury. Guillorme is a far more sure-handed defender than Shay Whitcomb, the club's backup utility infielder who played the final four innings of Friday's game at third base. Guillorme bats left-handed, too, bringing more balance to a roster that will lose some if the left-handed hitting Melton hits the injured list. (Photo of Paredes after he suffered his leg injury: Alex Slitz / Getty Images)
Associated Press
10 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Jackie Young, Jewell Loyd rally Aces to 88-84 win over Wings with 17-2 closing run.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jackie Young scored 28 points, including 8-for-8 shooting on free throws in a game-closing 17-2 run, to lead the Las Vegas Aces to an 88-84 win over the Dallas on Friday night to hand the struggling Wings their seventh straight loss. Jewell Loyd added 21 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 28.3 seconds left, and Chelsea Gray had 13 for the Aces (5-4), who were without MVP A'ja Wilson. Wilson, who averages 20.9 points and 9.5 rebounds, was hit in the head on Wednesday and is in concussion protocol. Arike Ogunbowale scored 26 points and Paige Bueckers had her second strong game after missing four, scoring 16 points for the Wings (1-11). DiJonai Carrington added 15 points and Luisa Geiselsoder had 13. Geiselsoder's basket made it 82-71 with 3:55 to play but Dallas didn't score again until Bueckers made two free throws with 8.1 seconds left pulled the Wings to 86-84. Young made two free throws to seal the win. Las Vegas scored 10 straight points from the foul line, using four turnovers and four offensive rebounds to set up the free throws. After Bueckers missed with a minute to go, Gray rebounded her own miss and found Loyd in the left corner. The Wings used an 18-0 run to open the third quarter to turn a nine-point halftime deficit into a 58-49 lead. Las Vegas cut the gap to 70-64 after three quarters but had 10 turnovers Dallas turned into 14 points. The Aces were 26 of 28 from the foul line to 10 of 11 for Dallas. ___ AP WNBA:
Hamilton Spectator
12 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Inside the finish: How Game 4 got away from the Pacers
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Up by 10, late in the third quarter. Up by seven, going into the fourth. The Indiana Pacers had a golden opportunity. And then, thud. A chance at a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals slipped right out of Indiana's hands on Friday night, when the Oklahoma City Thunder — led by a huge finish from MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — outscored the Pacers 31-17 in the fourth quarter to pull off a 111-104 win in Game 4 . Just like that, series tied, 2-2. 'It's frustrating, of course,' Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said. 'You want to win that game ... but that's not how the cookie crumbled.' A look at how the rally — or collapse, depending on perspective — happened: Pacers 89, Thunder 82, 10:56 left Obi Toppin — who had just had a big dunk about three minutes earlier to give Indiana its first 10-point lead of the series — had another slam, this one stopping a mini-burst by the Thunder and restoring a seven-point lead for the Pacers. Indiana went ice cold from there, missing 12 of its final 16 shots from the field. Pacers bending, not breaking The Thunder tied the game at 89, then at 91, then at 95, then at 97. And each time, the Pacers had an answer. Haliburton had a super-high-arching layup for a 91-89 lead with 7:50 left. Andrew Nembhard hit a jumper for a 93-91 lead with 6:59 to play. Haliburton scored again for a 97-95 lead with 5:03 left, and he had a pair of free throws with 4:19 remaining to break yet another tie. 'We had some deflating plays. It was an easy game to give up on,' Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. His team — and the league's MVP — did the opposite. SGA takes over The Indiana lead was up to four with 3:20 left, 103-99. Enter the MVP. Gilgeous-Alexander had eight points in the next three minutes; the Pacers didn't have any. He single-handedly decided the outcome. 'Fouls were an issue,' Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. 'Look, he's a great player. That's the other issue. He's the MVP ... But hey, you're up seven at home. You have to dig in and find a way, and we were unable to do it tonight.' Now what? Indiana knows it has to win at least one more game at Oklahoma City now to become NBA champions. The Pacers won Game 1 there; they know it is possible. 'I'm excited about the challenge,' Haliburton said. ___ AP NBA:
