Latest news with #WNBADraft
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Skip Bayless Thinks The WNBA Might Be Lying About Caitlin Clark
Skip Bayless Thinks The WNBA Might Be Lying About Caitlin Clark originally appeared on The Spun. Skip Bayless thinks the WNBA might be lying about Caitlin Clark's injury. Clark, a two-time WNBA All-Star and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 Draft, has been out with a groin injury since July 15. Clark has been progressing well in her injury, but she's yet to return to the floor. There is currently no timetable set for her return. "No return to practice, she's been able to get a little bit more of her full-court running with all of her body weight," Fever coach Stephanie White said after practice. "It's really building up from doing minimal to building some endurance to do longer periods of time. She's been able to do a little more on the court in terms of how she moves, but not into practice shape." Clark suffered the injury in the final minute of an 85-77 victory over the Connecticut Sun. The Fever have been playing well without her, but obviously, it's a massive blow - both to the Fever and the league as a whole - to have her sitting on the sideline. The former Iowa Hawkeyes star has missed a total of 19 games this season. But is Clark's injury actually worse than the Indiana Fever and the league are saying right now? Sports media personality Skip Bayless is accusing the WNBA and the Fever of potentially lying about Clark's injury status. He thinks it might be worse than what is being said publicly. Bayless suggested that Clark actually suffered a much worse injury that what the team is reporting on. 'Is it possible that this time, she tore her groin so badly that she's already been privately ruled out for the rest of the season, yet the league wants to keep the media and the fans in the dark about this so that people keep tuning in, figuring, 'Oh, she'll be back soon,'' Bayless suggested. 'Is that what's going on? Maybe.' Are you buying into what Bayless is selling? Skip Bayless Thinks The WNBA Might Be Lying About Caitlin Clark first appeared on The Spun on Aug 14, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Aug 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Angel Reese Makes Big Sneaker Announcement For Fans On Thursday
Angel Reese Makes Big Sneaker Announcement For Fans On Thursday originally appeared on The Spun. Angel Reese has not yet announced when she'll return to the hardwood, but she did have exciting news to share with her fans Thursday. Reese, the No. 7 pick from the 2024 WNBA Draft, signed a multi-year contract extension with Reebok after completing her rookie season. Reebok agreed to give her a signature sneaker as part of this deal. "I'm extremely excited to let you guys know that we are officially coming out with a Reebok by Angel signature shoe," Reese said. "We've already kicked off the design process, and it means the world to me to have Reebok's full support and confidence with this shoe and overall partnership. A signature shoe has always been a dream of mine, and I want all the young girls out there to remember that anything is possible." Well, it's almost time for Reese's fans to get their hands on the Reebok Angel Reese 1. The two-time All-Star announced that her AR1 in the "Diamond Dust" colorway will be available in stores this September. "September 18th. AR1's coming to a store near YOU," Reese wrote on X. Most of Reese's fans are fired up about this news. "I speak for EVERYONE when I say we will be buying," one fan commented. "I'm ready for these not gone lie," a second fan replied. "Instant cop for me," another fan wrote. It's safe to say Reese's fans really like the "Diamond Dust" AR1. Will you be getting a pair? Angel Reese Makes Big Sneaker Announcement For Fans On Thursday first appeared on The Spun on Aug 14, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Aug 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
Reuters
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Star rookie Paige Bueckers back in action for Wings
June 12 - Wings rookie standout Paige Bueckers will return from a four-game absence when Dallas visits the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday night. Bueckers missed three games due to a concussion and another because of an illness. Bueckers was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft after being a college star at UConn, where she was a three-time first-team All-American and also won one national championship (2025) and one national player of the year honor (2021). She has averaged 14.7 points, 6.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds in six games for Dallas. Bueckers last played on May 29 when the Wings lost 97-92 to the Chicago Sky. She had 15 points, eight assists, five rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots. Dallas has a 1-9 record, which ranks last in the 13-team league. --Field Level Media
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
WNBA's 'Line ‘Em Up" initiative has league's three-point line installed at outdoor courts around the country
Bethany Donaphin, a former player and now the head of league operations for the WNBA, remembers what it was like to grow up in New York City in the 1990s loving basketball. As a tween she would make it a point during recess to play basketball out on the blacktop. Donaphin was always the only girl playing, something that looking back was a bold choice. It was a decision that took a ton of confidence and a boat load of risk to participate in a situation where she was the only girl. It took a lot of guts for a 12-year-old Donaphin to want to set herself apart, especially at a time when most girls are looking to fit in. Advertisement Donaphin's early memories resonate for many former and current WNBA players. This idea that young girls always had something to prove and were underestimated when they stepped onto an outdoor court in a park or blacktop at school has been the inescapable reality, the status quo. This summer the WNBA is looking to challenge that common experience with the launch of their new nationwide initiative 'Line 'Em Up,' which will paint the official WNBA three-point line on outdoor park basketball courts across the United States. The league will launch this officially in New York on Thursday at the outdoor courts of Brooklyn Bridge Park, and later in July the league will take the campaign to Indianapolis for WNBA All-Star Weekend. 'This is so necessary in order to represent the league in spaces that are iconic,' WNBA Chief Marketing Officer Phil Cook told NBC Sports about the initiative. 'There's not a basketball player in the world who hasn't spent some time dribbling on an outdoor space, and we, [the WNBA] belong in that space. And women, young women, have been going to the park for as long as park basketball has been happening. They just haven't had their representation in that space.' The program has been teased by WNBA players including Atlanta Dream star Allisha Gray, Lynx point guard Courtney Williams, Phoenix Mercury point-forward Alyssa Thomas and Sparks sophomore wing Rickea Jackson in addition to personalities associated with the league including GMA's Robin Roberts and ESPN's Arielle Chambers. Last week on Instagram the teases included photos of a mysterious looking blue background which included a bright orange curved line. Advertisement Last July at WNBA All-Star in Phoenix was when Cook and his team began having conversations about how the WNBA could lay down its legacy in a tangible and more vibrant way. How could the league create something that's representative and 'replicable' but also represents the work the league has done to grow the game of basketball for women, girls and nonbinary people on a larger scale? Over breakfast in Phoenix, Cook and his staff discussed how the league could pursue a project that wouldn't just last during tentpole events including the WNBA Draft, the WNBA All-Star Game, the Commisioner's Cup, the playoffs and WNBA Finals. The league was looking for something permanent. The league enlisted the independent creative marketing company JOAN to come up with a campaign that could represent the ways in which the WNBA has attempted to challenge the status quo, grow the game and encourage empowerment of girls and young people everywhere. Representatives from the marketing agency came back to Cook and his team with the idea to paint a WNBA three-point line on outdoor courts at parks across the country working in conjunction with different cities and parks and recreation departments. Advertisement 'It's a very simple replicable idea that we hope every single outdoor park across the country, and every driveway across the country chalks up their three point line in orange chalk,' Cook said. Beyond New York City and Indianapolis as the first two major places to get these new orange three-point lines, Cook sees a huge opportunity for the league's two upcoming expansion cities in Toronto and Portland to get involved in the campaign. All of the league's current 13 teams including the newest in the Golden State Valkyries have been briefed on the campaign and how they can look to execute painting orange three-point lines in parks within their local communities. As part of the campaign, the league will make a donation to each park that participates in painting an orange three-point line on their courts. To accompany the WNBA's launch of the 'Line 'Em Up' campaign, the league enlisted Korean-Canadian director Iris Kim to create a film that would introduce the program and illustrate the need for orange WNBA three-point lines across the country. The nearly four-minute video includes shots of some of the most famous outdoor parks in the country including Rucker Park in Harlem, Venice Beach in Los Angeles, and two other New York City parks in Dykman and The Cage. Later the film introduces former players Epiphanny Prince, Chamique Holdsclaw and Sue Bird in addition to current Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles, who traveled to New York during Sun training camp to be a part of the film. The four native New Yorkers explain what it was like growing up and playing on outdoor courts and the challenges that came with often being some of only young women. Advertisement 'Growing up in Queens, NY at that time, it was really hard to be a female to get on the court,' Charles said in the film. 'I know I had something to prove. We've all been through it. All the greats, all the ones that you're fans of.' And that includes Holdsclaw who told the story of how she used to hustle all the guys who underestimated her. The film also features two New York community leaders in Sharon Bond and Alex Taylor who have both founded and led organizations that try to encourage participation in basketball for women and girls. Both Bond and Taylor explain that having the new orange three-point line painted on outdoor courts is boon for representation and it sends the message that women and girls are wanted in these spaces. Bird ends the film by stating the mission statement of the entire campaign, which is that the next generation of players won't know a world without a WNBA orange three-point line painted across America. The campaign represents the very fact that the WNBA has become more mainstream and more accessible in the past few years. The league isn't distant and it's much easier now more than ever to understand that the WNBA isn't going anywhere and will be an institution that stands the test of time. Advertisement Donaphin thinks about what it would have been like if she had an orange three-point line to accompany her during those days when she was working hard on her game and often the only girl out there doing it. 'If I had had an orange line while I was going through that process, I think it would have given not just me, but the other kids around me, an understanding that, yeah, what I was doing was completely part of of what any person would do if they if they love something,' Donaphin told NBC Sports. 'And that there was a place for me there.' Check out the new 'Line 'Em Up' website and see if the WNBA's three-point line is coming to a court near you.
NBC Sports
09-06-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
WNBA's 'Line ‘Em Up" initiative has league's three-point line installed at outdoor courts around the country
Bethany Donaphin, a former player and now the head of league operations for the WNBA, remembers what it was like to grow up in New York City in the 1990s loving basketball. As a tween she would make it a point during recess to play basketball out on the blacktop. Donaphin was always the only girl playing, something that looking back was a bold choice. It was a decision that took a ton of confidence and a boat load of risk to participate in a situation where she was the only girl. It took a lot of guts for a 12-year-old Donaphin to want to set herself apart, especially at a time when most girls are looking to fit in. Donaphin's early memories resonate for many former and current WNBA players. This idea that young girls always had something to prove and were underestimated when they stepped onto an outdoor court in a park or blacktop at school has been the inescapable reality, the status quo. This summer the WNBA is looking to challenge that common experience with the launch of their new nationwide initiative 'Line 'Em Up,' which will paint the official WNBA three-point line on outdoor park basketball courts across the United States. The league will launch this officially in New York on Thursday at the outdoor courts of Brooklyn Bridge Park, and later in July the league will take the campaign to Indianapolis for WNBA All-Star Weekend. 'This is so necessary in order to represent the league in spaces that are iconic,' WNBA Chief Marketing Officer Phil Cook told NBC Sports about the initiative. 'There's not a basketball player in the world who hasn't spent some time dribbling on an outdoor space, and we, [the WNBA] belong in that space. And women, young women, have been going to the park for as long as park basketball has been happening. They just haven't had their representation in that space.' The program has been teased by WNBA players including Atlanta Dream star Allisha Gray, Lynx point guard Courtney Williams, Phoenix Mercury point-forward Alyssa Thomas and Sparks sophomore wing Rickea Jackson in addition to personalities associated with the league including GMA's Robin Roberts and ESPN's Arielle Chambers. Last week on Instagram the teases included photos of a mysterious looking blue background which included a bright orange curved line. Last July at WNBA All-Star in Phoenix was when Cook and his team began having conversations about how the WNBA could lay down its legacy in a tangible and more vibrant way. How could the league create something that's representative and 'replicable' but also represents the work the league has done to grow the game of basketball for women, girls and nonbinary people on a larger scale? Over breakfast in Phoenix, Cook and his staff discussed how the league could pursue a project that wouldn't just last during tentpole events including the WNBA Draft, the WNBA All-Star Game, the Commisioner's Cup, the playoffs and WNBA Finals. The league was looking for something permanent. The league enlisted the independent creative marketing company JOAN to come up with a campaign that could represent the ways in which the WNBA has attempted to challenge the status quo, grow the game and encourage empowerment of girls and young people everywhere. Representatives from the marketing agency came back to Cook and his team with the idea to paint a WNBA three-point line on outdoor courts at parks across the country working in conjunction with different cities and parks and recreation departments. 'It's a very simple replicable idea that we hope every single outdoor park across the country, and every driveway across the country chalks up their three point line in orange chalk,' Cook said. Beyond New York City and Indianapolis as the first two major places to get these new orange three-point lines, Cook sees a huge opportunity for the league's two upcoming expansion cities in Toronto and Portland to get involved in the campaign. All of the league's current 13 teams including the newest in the Golden State Valkyries have been briefed on the campaign and how they can look to execute painting orange three-point lines in parks within their local communities. As part of the campaign, the league will make a donation to each park that participates in painting an orange three-point line on their courts. To accompany the WNBA's launch of the 'Line 'Em Up' campaign, the league enlisted Korean-Canadian director Iris Kim to create a film that would introduce the program and illustrate the need for orange WNBA three-point lines across the country. The nearly four-minute video includes shots of some of the most famous outdoor parks in the country including Rucker Park in Harlem, Venice Beach in Los Angeles, and two other New York City parks in Dykman and The Cage. Later the film introduces former players Epiphanny Prince, Chamique Holdsclaw and Sue Bird in addition to current Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles, who traveled to New York during Sun training camp to be a part of the film. The four native New Yorkers explain what it was like growing up and playing on outdoor courts and the challenges that came with often being some of only young women. 'Growing up in Queens, NY at that time, it was really hard to be a female to get on the court,' Charles said in the film. 'I know I had something to prove. We've all been through it. All the greats, all the ones that you're fans of.' And that includes Holdsclaw who told the story of how she used to hustle all the guys who underestimated her. The film also features two New York community leaders in Sharon Bond and Alex Taylor who have both founded and led organizations that try to encourage participation in basketball for women and girls. Both Bond and Taylor explain that having the new orange three-point line painted on outdoor courts is boon for representation and it sends the message that women and girls are wanted in these spaces. Bird ends the film by stating the mission statement of the entire campaign, which is that the next generation of players won't know a world without a WNBA orange three-point line painted across America. The campaign represents the very fact that the WNBA has become more mainstream and more accessible in the past few years. The league isn't distant and it's much easier now more than ever to understand that the WNBA isn't going anywhere and will be an institution that stands the test of time. Donaphin thinks about what it would have been like if she had an orange three-point line to accompany her during those days when she was working hard on her game and often the only girl out there doing it. 'If I had had an orange line while I was going through that process, I think it would have given not just me, but the other kids around me, an understanding that, yeah, what I was doing was completely part of of what any person would do if they if they love something,' Donaphin told NBC Sports. 'And that there was a place for me there.'
