Fever & Mercury Win, WNBA Loses

 

Coach of Year

I know Steph White was not even mentioned for COY, and I recognize that Natalie Nikase of GS would deserve it for the regular season. If the voting came later, after the play-offs, it would have been hard to not consider Coach White. 

White as definitely shored up the Fever defense from a year ago. And the management of the team thru injuries has been spectacular. 

I have not always been a fan of her subbing patterns but her subbing in the play-offs has shown she knows her team. She is not afraid to sit players and not afraid to play players. 

Fever Offensive Change

In this round of the play-offs, moving Aliyah Boston into more of a traditional low post has been a huge decision. Boston’s play vs. A’ja Wilson has shown no one can guard her in the low post. 

Kelsey Mitchell an All-WNBA

Mitchell has removed any doubt about her being All-WNBA. Not only does she score but she doesn’t waste any possessions with wild shots or turnovers. 

Lexie Hull Has Made $$$’s

With the chance to play more minutes, Hull has shined. It will be interesting to see what the new players agreement sets for minimum/maximum salaries, and salary caps. Some reports claim the minimum salary will be at least $500K and max then at $2 million. If that is the case, Hull has probably added at least $250k to her salary.

Drawing Free Agents

The good news for the Fever is that they will have as much money as anyone, and I would suspect what ever the salary cap will be, the Fever can get there. In addition, the Fever crowds, Fever facilities, and having Steph White as coach will keep players. Also consider that Caitlin Clark is still going to be under a rookie contract.

Free Agent Move?

Seattle and New York firing their coach immediately after the season caught many off guard. Seattle’s Noelle Quinn was on her fifth year so it is not surprising. New York’s Sandy Brondello’s firing was more of a surprise. 

If it were the NBA, we would know more about Brondello’s firing, the WNBA reporters tend to be very softball in their approach. Either the Liberty GM is tone deaf with the players or he in fact is very locked into the players. At this point no one is saying. It would seem to me that with massive free agency around the corner and the fact that some key Liberty players have never spoken out about her firing, it leads me to believe that she may have worn thin with some of the players. It would be great if the reporters were more locked in and willing to report the tough stories. 

By the way, there are no Black women coaching in a league dominated by Black women players. 

Cheryl Reeves Went Crazy

Coach Reeves went as crazy as Earl Weaver throw dirt on the umpires. While I agree with her criticism, I disagree with her behavior. 

The NBA Officials twitter can say it was not a foul because it was incidental after the steal, but it was a foul. If you go for a block, get a clean block but bowl over the player when you come down it is a foul. Alyssa Thomas got a clean steal in the first part of her action, but she then hit her. Would she have gotten the steal if she didn’t make the contact after- no. It was a foul in my judgement.

I don’t know how many times in my career as a HS coach that I was disgusted with refs and thought, “This is the night I need to go nuts.” Fortunately I did not. 

Reeves had reason to be very, very, very frustrated but did not have reason to go nuts. 

That said, her punishment was not legitimate. Most sports would not suspend a coach for a play-off game. Most legitimate leagues would give her a heavy fine and maybe suspend her for the first 4 games of the next season. 

If we know anything about the WNBA management, they are largely inept. And we know that despite constant issues with the refs that the league is not going to ever adjust. 

Everyone will look back on this incident and it will define the 2025 WNBA season. You can pick out who you want to rank #1, #2, #3 in helping implode the WNBA season- WNBA leadership, WNBA referees, or Cheryl Reeves. This incident defines the present state of the WNBA. 

You Get What You Deserve

The Minnesota Lynx were the dominate team of the season, but the finals will not see them. Instead the Finals will be the Mercury vs either the Aces or the Fever. The Mercury have talent, no doubt. But the Mercury are a team built for WNBA officiating. The Finals will not be a show case of the best the WNBA has to offer. The lukewarm fan who decides to watch the Finals will probably not stick with it. They will leave saying, “The WNBA is so ugly with all the physical play.” I hope I am wrong.