Dynasty & Goat?
Las Vegas won their third title in four years. Whether that qualifies as a dynasty of not, it is certainly a nice run.
The Aces have gotten to where they are with four important things:
1- They have one of the top coaches in the WNBA in Becky Hammon. She was leader as a player then developed as a coach under Gregg Popovich. Pop may well be the best coach in WNBA history.
The story was shared that one of the first things Hammon did when she took over the Aces was to meet with A’ja Wilson. In the meeting Hammon told Wilson, “If we are going to be good, I have to be able to coach you hard in front of your teammates.” This was learned from Pop about how he coached Tim Duncan.
2- The Aces have the best player in the WNBA today, and perhaps the best player in WNBA history. A’ja Wilson would average 30ppg if not for the fact she is playing with three other Olympians.
3- The Aces are playing with four Olympians, some other teams have 3 and even 4 good players but others do not have 4 elite players.
4- The Las Vegas organization is a destination for players. It is well run and it treats players well. You combine that with a “players’ coach” in Becky Hammon, and you end up getting players like Jewel Loyd wanting to play there.
Refs Can’t Stay Out of the Limelight
It was so fitting to this WNBA season that contest would be mired with refs stepping up to assess four technical fouls and one ejection.
According to reports, Coach Nate Tibbetts said to the ref, “That’s f**king terrible.” Then turned away and repeated it. The ref gave him for a T after the first statement, then a second for the second two seconds later.
I don’t know if there are such as a thing as “automatic technical words” in the WNBA, I would doubt it. My guess is that it was not the first time a WNBA coach had addressed that particular ref (or any ref) with profanity. So the decision to give a technical in the Finals is dubious at best. The decision to give two technicals for one tirade by the coach is not a decision a ref under emotional control would make.
So in my opinion, the ref did what the refs have done all season- become the center of attention for questionable calls.
Whose Side Are Fans On?
If you had any doubt whether fans are on the side of the players or the side of ownership/commissioner- the fans during the award ceremony let you know where they were.
When WNBA Commissioner, Cathy Engelbert was introduced to present the championship trophy and then again when introduced to present the Finals MVP award- the fans buried Engelbert with boos. Two reporters at the game, sitting 10 rows up, said that the boos were so loud that they could not hear what Engelbert had to say.
Two was not enough, in most years Engelbert stayed on the floor after the awards to interact with players and owners. In this case, she was immediately escorted off the floor. And she again had a chorus of boos rain down on her.
NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver is Engelbert’s boss. He appointed her and has defended her. Silver’s comment after the Naphessa Collier press conference was that it seemed like the players had let things get personal. His comment seemed to infer that the women players were being petty. The reality is that all heated negotiations become personal. The way to diffuse the “personal” part of things is to sit down and have the ability to listen and work out compromises.
The chorus of boos for Cathy shows that the negative feelings toward the commissioner, the management, and the NBA shadow hanging over the league must be recognized. The WNBA has a problem with their fans- it is not just the players who are upset.
Fevers’ Future
For Fever fans, it is really easy to have this thinking:
1- The Fever played toe to toe with Las Vegas, and were literally only one basket away from beating them and going to the Finals.
2- You could say the Fever were actually second best team in the WNBA without Caitlin Clark. When they get Clark back, they are ready now to get the title.
3- The Fever did all this without not only Clark, but Sophie Cunningham and others.
4- With all the free agents in this off-season, the Fever will certainly have money to go out and get players.
5- Kelsey Mitchell (1st Team- All-WNBA) and Aliyah Boston (2nd Team- All-WNBA) grew and grew during the season, so the Fever will have a much better season.
All of these things may be true. As a Fever fan, I am already excited about what the next season can be. But….
None of next year will be this simple. It is a nice problem to have, but what happens when you put Caitlin Clark back with this team.
How does Clark have to adjust her game to not take away Mitchell and Boston’s increase? Does she have to adjust her game- shoot less, be less of a gambler with passes? If she is asked to do any of those things, does that take away what makes her great?
How do Boston and Mitchell have to adjust their games to allow Clark to be Clark? Does limiting or adjusting their games take away what has made All-WNBA?
My point would be that it will be exciting when Clark comes back but from a coaching standpoint, it will be a “new team.” Fortunately Steph White has shown an ability to communicate with players and to fit players into roles- she will need to do this next year.
Elephant in the Room
Any conversations about “next year” for the Fever or for the WNBA must be tempered with two big questions:
1- Will there be a “next season?” Listening to a couple different podcasts, the reporters in each said something like this, “Their hard feelings and they aren’t close now, but in the end there is too much for both sides to lose, they will reach an agreement.”
I hope they are right in their assessment, but I question whether that is true. My bet is that if the WNBA has a season, it will be delayed. I hope I am wrong.
2- Players under rookie contracts are tied to their teams. A total of two veterans are tied to their team. EVERYONE else is a free agent. The Fever would seem to be a good destination- good coach, respected organization, huge fan support, going to have money. Will Mitchell, Boston, Cunningham, and Hull be targets of other franchises? All seem to be happy in Indiana, but…
Could other teams be willing to over pay Hull or Cunningham because they think they will be a boost to their attendance- kind of fan favorites?
Could Boston or Mitchell be convinced with pay and the possibility of moving out of Clark’s shadow to look at other places?
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