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Today is the 67th birthday of former NBA big man Alton Lister. He played 953 games over 16 seasons. Maybe you remember him on the Warriors or Bucks. You definitely remember the time Shawn Kemp dunked on him and then pointed at Lister lying on the ground. The Lister Blister.
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What a day in the WNBA
Yesterday’s WNBA focus should have been all about the Las Vegas Aces advancing to the WNBA Finals for the third time in four years. Their 107-98 overtime win over a scrappy Indiana Fever team missing several starters, including Caitlin Clark, should have been the big news. Or maybe it should’ve been the broadcasting rights deal that was struck with Versant for the next 11 years to put games on USA Network?
Those are both big deals for the league. Instead, the main story of the WNBA centered around Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier’s criticism of WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert. Collier had a prepared statement and read it to the media. You can read the statement here. You can watch the statement here.
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It was a complete detonation of the commissioner. These were the most poignant and damning things said by Collier about Engelbert:
“The real threat to our league isn’t money, it isn’t ratings or even missed calls or even physical play. It’s the lack of accountability from the league office.”
Oh lord! Phee came out swinging at the top of this. The biggest gripe right away was the officiating in the WNBA.
“Whether the league cares about the health of the players is one thing, but to also not care about the product we put on the floor is truly self-sabotage. Year after year, the only thing that remains consistent is the lack of accountability from our leaders.”
Collier went on to mention that, in the ongoing labor negotiations, the league loves to use the buzzword “sustainability” as an excuse to not give the women what they’re worth as players. It’s worth reminding people that Collier helped create the Unrivaled league outside of the WNBA calendar. It pays players a lot more money than the WNBA does.
“But what’s truly unsustainable is keeping a good product on the floor while allowing officials to lose control of games. Fans see it every night. Coaches, both winning and losing, point it out every night in pregame and postgame media. Yet leadership just issues fines and looks the other way. They ignore the issues everybody inside the game is begging to be fixed. That is negligence.”
It’s also worth noting here that Collier’s coach, Cheryl Reeve, was suspended from Game 4 of their playoff series against Phoenix for aggressively criticizing the officials after being ejected from Game 3. Collier was hurt on the play, and Reeve (incorrectly) wanted a foul call. But that suspension, in my opinion, showed a gross misuse of authority by the league when a fine would be the proper punishment.
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At this point in the statement, you could pass it off as sour grapes by Collier for the Lynx’s season ending under some questionable officiating at times but also some great play from the Mercury. The next part, though, was not that.
Collier told a story about how, in February, Collier sat with Engelbert and asked how she plans to address the issues facing the WNBA.
“Her response was, ‘Well, only losers complain about the refs.’”
Phee went on to say that she asked Engelbert about how she plans to fix the issue of young players like Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers (who’ll have a new coach next season, by the way) driving so much interest for the league but each getting paid less than $80,000 per season.
“Her response was, ‘Caitlin should be grateful she makes $16 million off the court because without the platform the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.’ In that same conversation, she told me, ‘Players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal I got them.’”
WOW! If that statement was uttered, it is absurd. It seems like a good time to remind everybody that Clark, who has a big offseason ahead, was an economy in her time at Iowa, where she reportedly made over $3 million.
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Collier spoke much more about this and punctuated her statement with: “We have the best players in the world. We have the best fans in the world. But right now we have the worst leadership in the world.”
Engelbert issued a corporate-speak statement about being disheartened by Collier’s comments and how her commitment to the players and league will not waver. Yawn.
On Friday, we’re going to begin a fun, best-of-seven (for the first time!) WNBA Finals between the Mercury and Aces. It should be great, even if the officiating isn’t. The big question for the league now is whether or not this commissioner can work toward what’s best for the league with these very real concerns on full blast.
The Last 24
💰 Negotiations over. The Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga have finally agreed to a deal. He gets two years, $48.5 million and some flexibility.
🗣️ Speaking of Kuminga. Yes, he’s signed and back on the roster. But the questions aren’t going anywhere.
🧘 LeLoad Management? We’ve never really seen LeBron James need to take games off. This time might be different for the 41-year-old.
🏀 Card shark. Lakers forward Jake LaRavia has a familiar hobby. He’s collecting trading cards with the best of us.
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🏃 Speed it up! The Celtics always say they want to play faster. Payton Pritchard might finally get his wish.
🏀 Numbers game. The NBA and Amazon have partnered up to offer a few new stats for fans and broadcasters.
Suns Preview
Is Phoenix in trouble?
Another preseason day, another day of reverse ranking NBA teams as we preview all 30 for the upcoming season. And I know what you’re thinking: “Z-Unit (nobody calls me that), didn’t you just start on Monday, which means you’re predicting the Phoenix Suns to finish 13th in the West?” I’m as uneasy with this “prediction” as you are! I don’t know that it feels right, but I also don’t know that it feels wrong.
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The Suns have been a bastion of chaos since Mat Ishbia purchased the team in 2023. They’re on their fourth coach in four seasons after hiring Mike Budenholzer last summer, firing him this summer and hiring Jordan Ott to take over. And they traded Kevin Durant before eating $19.3 million in dead cap money each of the next five years to waive Bradley Beal. So what’s in store for them this season as they try to restructure their roster around Devin Booker? Let’s dive in.
Drama Meter: Five seems low, but it felt safe. Ishbia has all kinds of lawsuits and bad press around the team. And we don’t know if any of what they’ve put around Booker will make him happy. But at least the 28-year-old signed an extension.
Hot Seat Meter: This meter should be as cold as an Icelandic ice bar. Ott was recently hired to be the coach for the Suns for the next few years. However, Ott is the organization’s fourth coach in four years, so you can’t say his seat is cold in a world of Ishbia.
Offseason question: They brought in Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks, which sounds fine … except they play the same position as Booker. Mark Williams is a good big man option if healthy. Khaman Maluach (10th pick) has high potential, but he’s a project. And they don’t really have a point guard, nor team defense.
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2026 free agents: Mark Williams (restricted) | Nick Richards | Jordan Goodwin | Collin Gillespie | Nigel Hayes-Davis (restricted)
There isn’t much else here for potential trade chips, unless Maluach progresses and makes Richards expendable.
Expectations for this season: I know this is a different team and coach and year, but it’s hard for me to divorce myself from the Suns being 3-17 without Durant last season. Any kind of injury to Booker absolutely cooks this team, and he’s missed 14 or more games in the three years prior to last season. But we know Ishbia likes predictions!
Hornets Preview
Is Charlotte a serious team?
I’ve been asking myself this question for a long time about the Hornets. Even though the aesthetic rebrand has been superb, there are a lot of nights that make this franchise still feel very much like the Bobcats.
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The Hornets have been under new ownership for a couple of years and brought in a new front office and a new coach, and we still saw the same ol’ Hornets last season. Have they done enough to make everybody forget about the bad Hornets? Or are we going to be subjected to another season of wondering if they can put LaMelo Ball in meaningful basketball games? Let’s see what everybody is buzzing about! That’s a bee/hornet pun!
Drama Meter: A three might even be high because I’m not sure what people actually expect out of a team like this. If everybody is healthy, some stakes can hit the team, but that’s been an issue for a while now.
Hot Seat Meter: Charles Lee was a highly regarded assistant coach for a long time before he took this job last season. I can’t imagine ownership is putting this on him at this point.
Offseason question: It’s hard to know if it’s been established in the slightest over the last year. Ball has missed 141 games over the last three seasons. Brandon Miller played in 27 games last season. Their guys just aren’t on the court enough.
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2026 free agents: Collin Sexton | Pat Connaughton | Mason Plumlee | Spencer Dinwiddie
Plumlee is kind of their only big man, so he’s unlikely to get moved (I think). It’ll be interesting to see how Sexton fits next to Ball and rookie Knueppel.
Expectations for this season: They have to be low, and some of that is injury expectations. A lot of that is that the roster isn’t very good. It’s young and in need of development. That rarely leads to victories. Maybe Knueppel will be a steady piece for them (our draft experts love the fit). Maybe their backcourt will light it up. But do the Hornets have any real defense?
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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Charlotte Hornets, Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Lynx, NBA, WNBA, The Bounce
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