Over the past five years, I’ve cleared my schedule for every A’ja Wilson vs. Breanna Stewart matchup — and there have been a lot of them. They are the two players who define this WNBA generation, with a total of six MVPs and six titles between them, and the face of USA Basketball. They enjoy the competition of playing against the best in their position and level up when they meet.
The Wilson-Stewart era is far from over. Wilson is on track to be MVP again, while Stewart is putting together another All-WNBA season. Although the Las Vegas Aces are ranked higher, the New York Liberty have mostly gotten the best of them this season, including the Commissioner’s Cup final. A playoff series between them (the fifth matchup in seven seasons) would be high-level theater.
It would be nearly impossible for another singles rivalry to reach those heights—again, look at all the hardware these two have in their trophy cases—but it was fun to look into the future during the week of the aptly named rivalry. Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark still have a long way to go to reach Wilson-Stewart levels, but they have the right ingredients. They are elite players at the same position who have come together through USA Basketball; like Stewart and Wilson, each was MVP at the U-19 World Cup. Both had outstanding college careers, and are now trying to compete for titles in the WNBA.
Bueckers and Clark only met three times in the pros, and the first was largely forgettable. However, the last two were worth the wait. The third quarter of Friday’s game between Dallas and Indiana was a real highlight, as the two unselfish guards tried to bond with each other as players. Six of their baskets were immediately followed by points in the second, including a very entertaining stretch where Clark hit a layup, Bueckers followed with a pull-up 3, Clark responded with a pull-up jumper and Bueckers hit another shot up the middle. Not much addition from nominal point guards, but the seeds of a longer rivalry.
Clark gets the best of Bueckers one-on-one as Fever top Wings
Ideally, the Wings and Fever will meet in the playoffs (with Azzi Fudd and Jessica Shepard both healthy by that point) and give this matchup the stakes it deserves. For now, it’s a pleasant undercard to the Wilson-Stewart rivalry.
In trend
Indiana Fever
The Fever’s big three have been solid all season, and the never-ending question is who fills the gaps in Indiana’s best lineups. Lexie Hull has a record of success on the wing. Even if she doesn’t put up a lot of snaps, she’s respected as a spacer and has an endless motor. And if Hull has an off night, Sophie Cunningham can step into that 3-and-D role.
It’s a winger spot that has been more of a quagmire for the Fever, but KK Timpson has recently taken ownership of the position. The sophomore forward’s defense was always ahead of her offense, but she progressed just enough to justify her minutes. Instead of clogging up the paint, even though she doesn’t have much range, Timpson has become a very good cutter, and there’s probably no better passer in the league at finding the cutter than Clark. When the defense collapses on Timpson, she is increasingly comfortable playing the ball. Lately, she’s made some tough passes to Aliyah Boston in the lane.
Timpson is also a more versatile defender than the rest of the players on Indiana’s roster. Not only can he switch to guards, but he can also serve as a primary defender on perimeter players. This allows for unconventional crossover matchups, which are necessary when the Fever needs to hide Clark on a less threatening player.
Timpson has been at career highs multiple times over the past two weeks, most recently scoring 20 goals against Atlanta to help Indiana earn a road win to even the season series. She hasn’t attempted a single shot from outside the penalty area, but she doesn’t have to—not when she’s also cleaning the glass and defending the rim. Timpson has made great strides since last year’s postseason, when she mostly played as a defensive backup. Now, she’s making a positive impact on both sides of the ball.
Seattle Storm
This position is more reflective of Natish Hiedeman’s version of the Seattle Storm than if she ends up missing extended time. On a side note, kudos to Hiedeman for putting together the third-longest hitting streak (256) in league history before a shoulder injury ended it on Sunday.
But the Storm had a nice week regardless, comfortably beating the Chicago Sky before falling short the other time against Portland and Chicago. Their defense is going nicely, which seems to be the identity of the team with so many long and athletic wings and bigs. They force a lot of turnovers (17 percent of opposing possessions) and have the third lowest effective field goal percentage. Seattle emphasizes getting into gaps and creating turnovers; that aggression sometimes manifests itself in becoming too unhappy, but it’s a reasonable trade-off for a young team.
If you’re not watching Dom Malonga hoop, you’re missing out. 👀 pic.twitter.com/52hwMmVJdm
— Seattle Storm (@seattlestorm) August 11, 2026
If the Storm weren’t an awful bunch to catch the clock — they’re 2-15 in games within five points in the final five minutes — they’d look more like a perennial lottery pick than the worst team in the WNBA. As it stands, their points difference is better than Tempo and Sun despite losing more games.
Trending down
Los Angeles Sparks
Sparks can’t shake the injury bug. After losing Kelsey Plum for six weeks, they traded her for Monique Akoa Makani, who has now missed four straight games. On top of that, Los Angeles lost Cameron Brink to a broken rib in the midst of arguably the best stretch of her professional career.
Without two of their top plus-minus players (Akoa Makani replaced Plum atop the leaderboard for the Sparks), LA is back on a four-game losing streak. The Sparks failed to get to the line or hit 3s during this stretch; they average the fewest free throws per game and shoot less than 30 percent from beyond the arc. Even a relatively good defensive push — LA was around league average over the past week — wasn’t enough to overcome a lack of easy points.
Rebounding has been a struggle for the Sparks of late. None of their guards are all that active on the glass, and Dearica Hamby and Brink are below-average rebounders for their position. Only Tempo and the Aces received a higher percentage of offensive rebounds during this stretch. LA hasn’t let go yet, as most of its losses have come down to the final minutes. But the Sparks are losing margin, and it’s giving them back 8 to 10 points every game.
Rookie of the week
Kiki Rice, Toronto Tempo
(Reminder: This is not the best rookie of the week, rather a player that caught my eye)
Rice has played seven games since returning from an ankle injury; during that span, she’s averaging 9.1 points on 41.5 percent shooting and three rebounds and three assists per game. She came alive last week, totaling 31 points and 11 assists (with just one turnover) against Atlanta and Dallas while making more than 50 percent of her field goal attempts. Rice’s best skill remains getting into the paint and pressing the rim; she is a good finisher, but also reads the floor well as a passer from the paint. Rice also pushes the pace off rebounds and in transition, another useful opportunity for her to score in the lane.
Novak was also a decent perimeter defender, despite the absolutely terrible defensive context in Toronto; Tempo has the worst defensive rating in the league, and it’s not particularly close. Rice is very good on the ball – she stayed tied to Paige Bueckers as Toronto held Bueckers scoreless (0-of-7 shooting) in the first half of their loss to the Wings.
Rice is disruptive and has the size and speed to keep up with most opposing ball handlers. She was a little less effective off the ball and sometimes sinks too much into the paint; she doesn’t seem to have fully grasped how willing and able WNBA players are to shoot from beyond the arc compared to their college counterparts.
If Rice hadn’t been injured, she probably would have been a starter. As it stands, Tempo has to be happy with its progress. They haven’t won a game since Rice returned, but they’re putting themselves in the best possible position to land Rice a good young partner in the 2027 draft.
Play in a circle
Minnesota Lynx at Golden State Valkyries, 10 p.m. (ET) Wednesday, USA Network
Golden State had a great second season. The Valkyries (24-9) have earned a spot in the postseason, and there is still a quarter of the season to go. They have the best defensive rating and the second-best net rating in the WNBA (plus-8.7) and rank second in the league standings. Golden State also had its first All-Star starter in 2026, with Gabby Williams getting the nod after joining the team during the offseason.
The only thing the Valkyries really haven’t done in 2026 is beat the Aces or Lynx. They are 0-3 against Las Vegas and 0-2 against Minnesota, but will likely have to go through one (if not both) of the league’s other two best teams en route to the title. This is an important opportunity for Golden State to prove itself on its home court against top competition before the playoffs. Although the Valkyries have yet to win against the Lynx, the last three games have been a must. Two of them came on the final possession with the ball in the hands of former Minnesota guard Cecilia Zandalasina, and the other was a three-point play in the final minute. It’s only a matter of time before Golden State breaks through, but the Lynx (29-7) are the best team in the league for a reason.