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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
As the WNBA grows and evolves, camp day games remain a unique staple: 'We know it's gonna be really, really loud'
CHICAGO — Girls wearing red, black and white basketball jerseys filed into the front row of seats at the baseline at Wintrust Arena last week. The jerseys read 'Kia Nurse Elite,' and warming up in front of them was WNBA veteran and Chicago Sky guard Kia Nurse, the namesake and patron of their Canadian high-performance summer team. Just as she ran off the court to head to the locker room, Nurse yelled, 'OK, high fives!' and slapped the hands of everyone on her team. These are the kind of interactions that can happen on camp days, a longtime WNBA staple. Games are held during the weekday, with start times around 11 a.m., and the stands are filled with kids from youth basketball teams and day camps around the area. Not every team hosts camp days, while some have held multiple per season. This game against the Atlanta Dream was on July 16, just before the All-Star break, as well as a Nike tournament for girls basketball in Chicago. The atmosphere is loud and fun. While there are lots of things the WNBA needs to change about the season schedule as the league grows and expands, camp days should not be on the chopping block. There's nothing like the exuberance of these games, with kids getting excited about basketball as well as the gameday experience, including scoreboard games encouraging them to dance like a hot-air inflatable, or choose the song they want to hear in full later in the game. (The kids chose Chappell Roan's 'HOT TO GO.') The major hallmark of camp days is that the kids can get really, really loud. 'At one point they were screaming, and then the announcers said 'Louder!', and I was like, I didn't know they could get louder. They did!' Dream forward Brionna Jones said. 'But you definitely feel that energy when you're playing in front of kids, because you know they're out there having fun, it makes you want to go out there.' The noise means the players have to be creative in how they communicate with each other on the court. 'We know it's gonna be really, really loud, so as far as the game goes, just trying to communicate as well as possible so we can actually hear what's going on. But we love that kind of energy that the kids bring,' Atlanta guard Maya Caldwell said. The idea behind camp days is that it will create young WNBA fans, but it's not easy on the players. The Sky's Michaela Onyenwere likes to get to the arena early to go through her pregame routine. With the 11 a.m. tipoff, her alarm clock went off at 6:15 a.m. to give her enough time to get to Wintrust and prepare for the game. Her teammate Rachel Banham admits she is not a morning person, but they both see the importance of the games. 'I think it's really fun for the kids to be able to come out and see us. It's always really, really loud. You can't hear anything, so it's definitely an adjustment, but I think it's cool that kids are able to get out here and see us,' she said. According to Front Office Sports, multiple WNBA team presidents believe the games are still valuable, and cite feedback from fans whose interest began from a camp day game. The game ended up being a blowout win for Atlanta, with the Dream winning 86-49 over the Sky. It was the kind of win that set the Dream up well heading into the second half of the season, and the kind of loss the Sky just want to forget about. Jones had 14 points and 9 rebounds, and was named to the All-Star Game the next day as an injury replacement. Perhaps somewhere among those screaming kids, there was a young girl watching how Jones grabbed those rebounds, how she went hard in the paint, and found a role model. The camp games are a little different for the players, and ask more of them, but they get the point: maybe that young fan will play in a WNBA camp day 20 years from now.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Angel Reese makes WNBA history with latest double-double streak as Sky fall to Lynx
Angel Reese is on a double-double streak once again. The Chicago Sky star recorded her 10th-straight double-double on Tuesday night in their 91-68 loss to the Minnesota Lynx. That made her the first player in WNBA history to rack up multiple streaks of at least 10 straight games with a double-double. Reese's current streak dates back to their loss to the Atlanta Dream on June 22, when she had 10 points and 19 rebounds. There are actually just five games this season in which Reese has fallen shy of that mark. She entered Tuesday's game averaging 14 points and 12.6 rebounds per contest. Reese went on a 15-game double-double streak last year in her rookie campaign with the Sky. She averaged 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game last summer and finished in second in the Rookie of the Year race behind Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark. They Sky went just 13-27 last season, missed the playoffs and parted ways with head coach Teresa Weatherspoon. Reese dropped 11 points and 11 rebounds in their blowout loss to the Lynx on Tuesday night, which marked their first game back from the All-Star break. She secured her double-double midway through the fourth quarter after driving in and sinking a tough contested layup in the paint. Reese also picked up her seventh technical foul of the season in the loss. If she's assessed another one, she'll face an automatic one-game suspension from the league. But despite her double-double, the Lynx still rolled to the dominant win. All five of their starters finished in double figures, with both Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride putting up 19 points a piece. They shot nearly 45% from the field as a group and held the Sky to just 12 points in the third period while breaking the game wide open. That pushed the Lynx to 21-4 on the season, and a perfect 13-0 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Kamilla Cardoso also had a double-double for Chicago with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. Kia Nurse finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Those two, along with Reese, were the only players to hit double figures for the Sky. The Sky now sit at 7-16 on the season, which is the third-worst record in the league ahead of only the Dallas Wings and Connecticut Sun. Reese and the Sky will be back in action next on Thursday against the Seattle Storm.
Newsweek
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Newsweek
Angel Reese Bracing for WNBA Suspension After Sky-Lynx
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Fresh off a solid showing in the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game, Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese gave her fans something to talk about on Tuesday night. In the Sky's first matchup in nearly a week, Reese, who hasn't played since July 14 due to a lingering leg issue, and the rest of her teammates came out flat, struggling to generate any offense while committing turnover after turnover. In Tuesday's 91-68 loss to the Minnesota Lynx, Reese locked up her 16th double-double of the season (11 points, 11 rebounds)—she also had nine turnovers—but what had fans talking was what happened with 2:42 left in the first quarter and the Sky holding a 16-12 lead. Reese was assessed a technical foul—her seventh of the season—which will lead to a suspension if and when she picks up her eighth, per Underdog WNBA. "Status alert: Angel Reese has been assessed 7th technical foul. If she receives another, she'll be automatically suspended one game," Underdog WNBA wrote on X. More Basketball: Marcus Smart Reveals How Luka Doncic Convinced Him to Join the Lakers Angel Reese #5 of the Chicago Sky celebrates a play against the Minnesota Lynx during the first half at Wintrust Arena on July 12, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. Angel Reese #5 of the Chicago Sky celebrates a play against the Minnesota Lynx during the first half at Wintrust Arena on July 12, 2025 in Chicago, Basketball: Caitlin Clark Trolls Kelsey Plum After Getting Shaded at All-Star Game In addition to leading the WNBA in rebounding, Reese also leads the league in technicals — two more than the next-closest player, Shakira Austin of the Washington Mystics (five). Reese, Austin, and Atlanta's Allisha Gray are the only players in the WNBA with more than two technical this season. Per WNBA rules, "any player or coach is automatically suspended without pay for one game upon receiving an eighth technical foul during the regular season. For every two additional technical fouls received during that regular season, the player or coach will be automatically suspended for an additional game." The WNBA automatically suspended players after their seventh technical foul up until this season before increasing that number to eight with the shift from a 44-game schedule to a 40-game schedule.
New York Post
21 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Post
WNBA picks, odds, and best bets: Chicago Sky vs. Minnesota Lynx
New York Post may be compensated and/or receive an affiliate commission if you click or buy through our links. Featured pricing is subject to change. Handicapping the first game after an All-Star break is tricky, especially when players are not given that much time off. The WNBA's weekend festivities involved labor talks and an active party scene, so one can certainly wonder about the level of focus with the first game. However, apathy can affect offense as much as it can defense, so I will approach this like I would a conventional matchup. The Minnesota Lynx host the Chicago Sky as 13-point favorites with a total of 162.5 points on Wednesday. These two teams have faced each other three times this month already. Chicago won one of them outright as a double-digit underdog, while Minnesota covered in only one of its two wins. Guard Ariel Atkins is Chicago's best scorer, but her status is unknown after missing their most recent game with a leg injury. That could significantly hurt the Sky, but I still think we will see a good pace. The Sky have adjusted their style over the past month and are now pushing the ball. Rachel Banham of the Chicago Sky in action. Getty Images Part of that new approach is utilizing Rachel Banham's 3-point shooting. The sharpshooter is 12-for-25 from behind the arc in the past three meetings with the Lynx. She has attempted at least seven in each. Banham was not an All-Star and should be refreshed for this first game. Plus, given Minnesota was preoccupied with the midseason game with three players and its head coach, I doubt the team will be super focused on this first game. They know they are considerably better than their opponent. I have a 56-46-1 ATS record in this Post sports section, and my next play is Banham to make at least three 3-pointers at +102 odds at FanDuel. Why Trust New York Post Betting Doug Kezirian is a New York Post contributor who has over two decades of experience in the betting space, including spending 11 years at ESPN as a host, columnist and betting analyst. He's also the rare personality who has documented success – 14th place in 2023 Circa Million and Las Vegas SuperContest ($37K), two top-10 finishes in 2022 William Hill College Football Challenge ($58K) and also grabbed headlines with a $297K win on the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Star
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
The Chicago Sky are trying to protect their players on social media. Here's what that means
(l-r) Paige Bueckers #5 of the Dallas Wings, Nneka Ogwumike #30 of the Seattle Storm, and Reese #5 of the Chicago Sky celebrate after defeating Team Clark during the 2025 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on July 19, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. — AFP INDIANAPOLIS: Chicago Sky co-owner Nadia Rawlinson knew security concerns were serious. The Sky have physical security nearly 24 hours a day – around hotels, outside gyms, by buses and planes – but one of the final frontiers of player safety was the internet. Earlier this month, the Sky teamed up with Moonshot to protect their players from threats and hate on social media, the first relationship of its kind in the WNBA. "People think as athletes, we should take what comes our way,' Sky guard Ariel Atkins said. "We are human and some comments that people make are inhumane. It's phenomenal of our organization to take care of us.' Moonshot's technology was created for use in counterterrorism; it's used by the US government. "It's a great thing to implement right now,' said Sky All-Star Angel Reese, who has one of the most popular social media platforms among WNBA players. "It's really important to be able to have that (protection), especially as a woman." What does this technology do for the Sky players? Moonshot monitors more than 25 social media and internet platforms, including those on which players do not have personal accounts. The technology shrinks the millions of posts it looks at every day into thousands of posts that contain direct threats to the athletes. From there, Moonshot's team of human threat assessors, from clinical psychologists to social workers, takes over. They look through the flagged posts and report them, if necessary – whether that's to the social media platforms themselves for removal or, in more serious and imminent cases, directly to law enforcement. They target actionable threats to the athletes, like the release of their personal information or possible stalkers. It's that human involvement that Moonshot co-founder and CEO Vidhya Ramalingam said is necessary to its success. "This is not a problem that can just be solved by technology alone,' she said. "It's fundamentally a human problem, and this is a human partnership.' How the partnership came to be Rawlinson, who said her own experiences as a woman of color have informed her understanding of the issue, knew it was something she wanted to focus on. "With the rise in women's sports, the rise in attention, the greater fandom, the greater investment, all of it is historic,' Rawlinson said. "But there's a dark side to that. At some point, you just want to play the game, so the goal is to remove some of the noise that happens off the court.' After reading about Moonshot in a tech publication a few weeks ago, Rawlinson reached out to Ramalingam about a partnership. It was a quick connection. "It was really clear there was a values alignment,' Ramalingam said. "Some of that stems from some of our shared experiences as women of color in spaces where so often our voices are underrepresented, and the desire to actually do something about it and not just sit there. "For far too long, I saw women like me, people of color, be overrepresented as targets and underrepresented in the solution,' she said. – AP
