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Fever against Heaven… and all that followed
Blink, and the show’s over. But we’re still talking about it.
In the final two minutes of the first quarter of Saturday’s Fever-Sky match, Sophie Cunningham and Tyasha Harris trapped Sky center Elizabeth Williams in the corner and forced a turnover. Monique Billings made an outlet pass to Cunningham on a fast break with an open lane to the rim, but as she rose, Sky’s DiJonai Carrington tried to block her shot and instead took her out with a head and neck.
From a purely basketball standpoint, this foul was exactly what the officials said: Flagrant 2. Carrington was later ejected, and what followed was another politicized moment in the WNBA.
A few minutes after going to the locker room, Carrington posted on Threadssaying, “White Privilege” and marked the fever.
The fact is that this was just a bad basketball game and it should be treated as such.
Let me quote the NBA for a moment. Charlotte Hornets guard Grayson Allen has a reputation around the league as a dirty player after countless instances of being overly physical on the ball. But it was one example from the 2021-22 season in which he took down then-Bulls guard Alex Caruso, who was in the air on a quick layup, somewhat similar to Carrington’s play on Cunningham. Allen was called for Flagrant 2, ejected and subsequently suspended for one game. In the weeks that followed, Allen came under public scrutiny as many believed he violated the unspoken code of not playing a player in the air too aggressively, due to the risk of injury.
Why is this relevant now? Because unlike Allen’s NBA game, Carrington’s has become anything but basketball.
Many WNBA players continue to ask that the league not be politicized and that the discussion be focused on the game itself. Cunningham herself said, “WNBA media, all we do is cover everything but basketball,” in response to the increased level of coverage of transgender women in sports that followed her public comments on the topic.
However, when these athletes use their platforms to highlight non-basketball topics, the news cycle will reflect that.
Since its inception, the WNBA has been a league dedicated to championing social issues. But only in recent years have players experienced what it means to be part of the mainstream of sports.
Being a public figure taking a public stance means there will be a public response, and that’s what the players at W have to reconcile.
More: The WNBA feels less like a sport and more like a “social powder keg,” and it takes the mind offwrites our own Candace Buckner.
Is the WNBA leadership improving?
In response to the increased discussion about transgender women in the WNBA, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent a letter to team presidents, general managers and coaches last week.
She emphasized the need to approach the topic with integrity and respect, but did not clarify whether trans athletes are allowed to compete in the WNBA. The memo states that a working group of presidents and CEOs will discuss the matter during an upcoming meeting.
But Engelbert didn’t talk about it publicly.
In response, many media personnel and fans are once again questioning whether Engelbert is the right leader to lead the league through what appears to be a recurring PR crisis. However, that seems to be the case the first time this season that Engelbert has taken a proactive approach to a question of this magnitude in the entire league.
What do you guys stand on Engelbert? What would you like to see from her? Let us know in the comments below, or at NoOffseason@theathletic.com.
Fast Breaks
📈 Mysticism up, Mercury down. See who else is trending in what way our latest power rankings.
🧠 Speaking of Phoenix, he was getting a star Kelsey Plum wise or risky? Fortune favors the brave, but it could go terribly wrong.
🏀 Caitlin Clark she was suspended after her eighth technical foul of the season… for a few hours, at least. It was quickly undone.
🏙️ Freedom gave up Bethany Laney-Hamilton. The Mystics were then awarded the 32-year-old forward.
🎙️ The “No Offseason” podcast crew. breaks down Carrington’s sacking and the political climate in the league. Plus, is load management a necessary evil? Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Team USA: Star filled World Cup roster, and fickle?
USA Basketball published his list for the upcoming World Cup, which will be held in Berlin from September 4 to 13, and is full of names that every fan will recognize.
Clark, Paige Bueckers, Aliyah Boston and Angel Reese are debut for the senior national team, chasing his fifth consecutive world championship.
There is never a US national team selection without controversy, and the omission of Sabrina Ionescu — who has represented the USA in each of the last two major international tournaments — raised his eyebrows. But the talent pool in basketball is too deep to accommodate everyone, and the new general manager will only have a harder time Sue Bird to make these census decisions.
There could also be a secondary USA team with Ionescu, Olivia Miles, Kelsey Mitchell, Veronica Burton, Marina Mabrey, Sonia Citron, Allisha Gray, Kiki Iriafen, Dearica Hamby, Cameron Brink, Shakira Austin and Brionna Jones. Those 12 would compete with any other team in the tournament.
The expectation is always gold or bust for Team USA. But as France proved at the Paris Olympics, the rest of the world is not far behind. You only need 12 players, and the French, Germans and Belgians (to name a few) have enough to pose a challenge, even against a group as stacked as the Americans.
Numbers game
16: Keeper of the fever Kelsey Mitchell set a WNBA record by scoring at least 20 points in 16 straight games, surpassing the previous mark set by A’ja Wilson in 2024. During those 16 games, Mitchell averaged 27.6 points while shooting 52 percent from the field and 49 percent from 3s. A couple of friends recently asked me for an NBA competition for Mitchell; when I put her points and 3s per game and effective field goal percentage into Stathead, I got five seasons of Stephen Curry from 2015 to 2023. That’s the level of scorer and scorer that Mitchell has been this season.
10: Speaking of shooting, Kayla McBride hit 10 3-pointers to set a single game record in Minnesota’s win over Dallas last weekend. McBride is having the most prolific shooting season of his career, posting his league-highest ever offensive rating (105.2 points per 100 possessions), field goal percentage (45.5) and points per game (87.5). It’s great to see players like McBride (34) and Mitchell (30) reaching new heights at this stage of their careers.
0: So many minutes A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young combined for the Las Vegas rivals’ nationally televised Sunday matchup against New York on Sunday, as Aces chosen to lead their stellar trio on the second game of back-to-back games. Las Vegas was in the midst of a four-game stretch in six days in four different cities, and decided to blow the Liberty game, a tactic visibly associated with Aces coach Becky Hammon’s NBA mentor Gregg Popovich. If you’re worried about workload management coming to the WNBA, especially as the regular season stretches to 50 games in 2027, fear not just yet. No other team has adopted this tactic, at least not as aggressively with three players, and all three stars have an added incentive to stay healthy ahead of next month’s World Cup.
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