Speaker 1: In Case You Missed It with Christina Williams is an
Speaker 1: iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports
Speaker 1: and Entertainment. What's Up, y'all, welcome to another edition of
Speaker 1: In Case You Missed It with Christina Williams. And I
Speaker 1: am super excited to be back home for a couple
Speaker 1: of days. So I went to Nashville for opening weekend
Speaker 1: of Athletes Unlimited Basketball. And for those of you who
Speaker 1: do not know what AU is, it's a pro women's
Speaker 1: basketball league that lasts for a month from February to
Speaker 1: the first week of March. And for the first year
Speaker 1: they were in Las Vegas, then they did two seasons
Speaker 1: in Dallas, and now they're in Nashville, so bringing pro
Speaker 1: basketball to Nashville. There's a lot of WNBA players there,
Speaker 1: and what makes AU super unique is that they have
Speaker 1: different rosters every week, so a new draft every week,
Speaker 1: and they have a different kind of point system with
Speaker 1: the leaderboard, and at the end of the competition, there's
Speaker 1: actually one champion as opposed to an entire team. So AnyWho,
Speaker 1: I was super excited to go to Nashville and visit
Speaker 1: Athletes Unlimited. Always good to just be in and around
Speaker 1: women's sports. So, you know, I didn't have a lot
Speaker 1: of time to tour Nashville, but me and Friend to
Speaker 1: the Show, Taarrika Foster Brasby, we did have a chance
Speaker 1: to visit the African American Music Museum, and so that
Speaker 1: was really fun. We had some really good food and
Speaker 1: it was just a really good time. So I'm happy
Speaker 1: to be back in New York, and you know, there's
Speaker 1: so much to talk about. And here joining me this
Speaker 1: week to help break down the latest and greatest and
Speaker 1: women's basketball and beyond is friend to the Show, Natalie Esquire.
Speaker 1: She is a producer and sports reporter, and I am
Speaker 1: super excited to have her back on the show. Natalie,
Speaker 1: How are.
Speaker 2: You doing, Christina? Always such a warm welcome for you.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much. I am doing better. I also,
Speaker 2: like you, was traveling also to cover women's sports.
Speaker 3: I was in New Orleans.
Speaker 2: No, not for the super Bowl, right, there was actually
Speaker 2: something else going on, if you can believe that. I
Speaker 2: was covering the Sports Power Brunch, which you know, honors
Speaker 2: really powerful women in sports. And so I went down
Speaker 2: to New Orleans to cover that and I got back
Speaker 2: and girl, I came down with the flute. So if
Speaker 2: I sound a little nasally, please forgive me. But I'm
Speaker 2: better than I was the last few days.
Speaker 3: But I'm not fully back there yet.
Speaker 2: But I'm envious because I love Nashville and the food
Speaker 2: in Nashville is great, and it looks like you guys
Speaker 2: had a great time.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, listen, I'm so sorry you're not feeling good.
Speaker 1: Wishing you all good vibes and speedy recovery. But I'm
Speaker 1: glad that you here today. And speaking of the super Bowl,
Speaker 1: our first headline for this week. I mean, obviously, the
Speaker 1: Eagles completely slaughtered to see and it was just no competition.
Speaker 1: I don't know what happened to Kansas City. It's like
Speaker 1: the Monstars came and sucked all of their powers out.
Speaker 1: But I mean, the game was just all of Philly
Speaker 1: from start to finish. But one of my favorite things
Speaker 1: about the Super Bowl, outside of that halftime show shout
Speaker 1: out to Kendrick Lamar, is absolutely the commercials. Like I
Speaker 1: lived for the Super Bowl ads, and one of the
Speaker 1: best commercials by far this year had to have been
Speaker 1: the Nike twenty twenty five So Win Super Bowl campaign,
Speaker 1: and it was the first time in over two decades
Speaker 1: that there was a Super Bowl ad featuring all female athletes,
Speaker 1: and so in this campaign, it featured WNBA stars Asia Wilson,
Speaker 1: Sabrineo Nescue, Caitlin Clark, and USC women's basketball star Juju Watkins,
Speaker 1: and it was narrated by Doci. So I think that
Speaker 1: that was phenomenal. What were your thoughts about the Nike campaign.
Speaker 1: I know that this year, at least when I was
Speaker 1: looking through social media, everyone's like, oh my god, the
Speaker 1: commercials are so scale this year. But when that Nike
Speaker 1: commercial came on, it just changed the game for the
Speaker 1: conversation when it came to the Super Bowl ads this year.
Speaker 1: What did you think about the Nike So Win campaign?
Speaker 3: Yeah, oh my god, that stole the show.
Speaker 2: I've already used the slogan because you know, people love
Speaker 2: Asia Wilson, as you know, they love to talk about
Speaker 2: her good but sometimes not always the right way. So
Speaker 2: I just reminded people like the Nike ad said you
Speaker 2: can't win, so go win, right, and so amazing, Like
Speaker 2: the ad was breathtaking visually, conceptually, and the messaging and
Speaker 2: just the athletes. Of course, I know she's not a
Speaker 2: basketball player, but I think just the ending with Jordan
Speaker 2: Chiles doing the Nike.
Speaker 3: Symbol like what I mean, there were just so many
Speaker 3: things about that ad.
Speaker 2: I loved Juju with the hands over the net and
Speaker 2: hanging down. I mean, like, I watch that ad so
Speaker 2: many times that night while the game was going on,
Speaker 2: which is crazy because I am an Eagles fan, so
Speaker 2: I was very happy obviously about the outcome, but I
Speaker 2: could not stop watching it. I've continued to watch it.
Speaker 2: I sent it to so many people like they weren't
Speaker 2: also seeing.
Speaker 3: It, but it was just like, oh my god, I've seen.
Speaker 2: This office talk the next day. Just is an incredible
Speaker 2: ad and I mean you'd expect no less from Nike.
Speaker 2: And I mean, look at the lineup of athletes you
Speaker 2: name them. You had Caitlin Clark, you had Asia Wilson,
Speaker 2: you had Juju Wakin, Sabrina and Escu. They all looked amazing, fierce,
Speaker 2: and I love that there's individual like sub campaigns almost
Speaker 2: in there for each of them. So most of them
Speaker 2: like posted on social afterwards with like their part of
Speaker 2: the campaign.
Speaker 3: And it was beautiful.
Speaker 1: Oh I agree, And I feel like it personally resonated me,
Speaker 1: especially as a black woman in sport, just how sometimes
Speaker 1: people can put you in a box or just these
Speaker 1: their own limitations, set their own limitations on you, and
Speaker 1: then you flip it around by just showing that you
Speaker 1: can produce, that you can win in any situation. So
Speaker 1: I like how personable the ad was, and obviously just
Speaker 1: seeing w NBA stars or just women athletes in general
Speaker 1: on the biggest stage and having the best commercial by far,
Speaker 1: I think that it was a win win for everyone.
Speaker 1: And then on the Nike tip, also I loved the
Speaker 1: Jordan Brand commercial when Philly won. My friend Dave aka
Speaker 1: to Ching, if you ever came to a street ball
Speaker 1: tournament in New York City, the voice of New York
Speaker 1: Team to Ching, shout out to Dave. He narrated that commercial.
Speaker 1: So I love how, you know, just having those connections
Speaker 1: in touch.
Speaker 3: Point the one for Jalen Hurts. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1: But I'm talking about the one for Jalen Hurts. Now
Speaker 1: You're a good girl, I was saying. I also liked
Speaker 1: that commercial but from Jordan Brand as well, one because
Speaker 1: someone that I personally know was narrating the voiceover and
Speaker 1: voice of basketball in New York. I said, But also
Speaker 1: I just think that it was just keep it simple, stupid.
Speaker 1: That is my strategy for life. Just keep it simple
Speaker 1: and the rest will flow. But I absolutely love those
Speaker 1: two ads were my top faith from the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1: Going back to ads right. Another big ad that made
Speaker 1: headlines this week was the Angel Reese McDonald's commercial and
Speaker 1: it featured New York Liberty star Brianna Stewart, WNBA legend,
Speaker 1: Lisa Leslie, Lotto and more people as well. And so,
Speaker 1: what did you think about the McDonald's I love that
Speaker 1: it paid homage to, you know, those that came before
Speaker 1: her and also the future of the sport, but also
Speaker 1: how much she looks out for her people. We know
Speaker 1: that when Angel Reese was in college, Lotto feature her
Speaker 1: in that video with Cardi B. And so I love
Speaker 1: that Angel Reese is a girl's girl, and I think
Speaker 1: that this was a huge cultural moment just for women's sports,
Speaker 1: to see women in the front and center of some
Speaker 1: of the biggest ads of the week.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that was a very dope thing to see the commercial.
Speaker 2: I love when she's like with Lisa Leslie and she's like, yeah,
Speaker 2: o gee, you know, just the respect that Angel shows
Speaker 2: to the giants that came before her. I feel like
Speaker 2: you know, And I don't want to like judge all
Speaker 2: younger people or put you know, people into a box.
Speaker 2: Right everyone ever, people are individuals. But sometimes whether it's
Speaker 2: sports or music, you don't always see that reverence sometimes
Speaker 2: for those that came before us. And she always pays reverence.
Speaker 2: And I think that's an incredible trait about her, and
Speaker 2: so I love that. I love that she had Stewie
Speaker 2: in there, her former teammate, like she just like you said,
Speaker 2: she looks out for her people.
Speaker 3: I am in awe of Angel the time.
Speaker 2: And that's why I'm sort of struggling to find my
Speaker 2: words because we've talked about her before. But like her
Speaker 2: crown is so heavy, and she has to carry and
Speaker 2: deal with so much. And I know publicly she presents
Speaker 2: as strong, and I'm sure she is strong, but as
Speaker 2: a black woman, you know, I know, and I don't
Speaker 2: have anywhere the amount of like burden that Angel Reaves
Speaker 2: has to carry. But we often have to present as
Speaker 2: strong and do all these things, and we don't have
Speaker 2: moments to be vulnerable, you.
Speaker 3: Know, and so and we're not given grace.
Speaker 2: And so when you just constantly see her often being
Speaker 2: attacked and she just comes with another one, another endorsement,
Speaker 2: a cover on a magazine. You know, it's like, she's
Speaker 2: just so fierce, and she is also one of the
Speaker 2: top basketball players in the world.
Speaker 3: And I want to make that very clear, because.
Speaker 2: There's this idea that like she's just an off the
Speaker 2: court kind of person and like she's you know, like
Speaker 2: she's not this great basketball player, and she is, you know,
Speaker 2: and you're even seeing an unrivaled each week as she's
Speaker 2: getting better and better and she's still dominating on the
Speaker 2: boards and the glass, and so I'm so proud of her.
Speaker 2: I thought the commercial was so dope. I love seeing
Speaker 2: the other players in it. I love her sharing her
Speaker 2: moment with them, and I just look forward to all
Speaker 2: that she's gonna do because I know there's gonna be
Speaker 2: so much more.
Speaker 3: She never stops.
Speaker 1: Okay, y'all, we're gonna take a quick break and when
Speaker 1: we get back more headlines with Natalie Esquire Unrivaled. They
Speaker 1: introduced their one B one tournament this week, and we've
Speaker 1: already seen round one of the competition. We know that
Speaker 1: there is a huge prize pot over three hundred thousand
Speaker 1: dollars on the line and the winner, the individual player
Speaker 1: that wins will walk home with two hundred thousand dollars
Speaker 1: and by the time this episode is published, we will
Speaker 1: potentially I mean no, we'll get the round two by
Speaker 1: the time this episode is published. So what were her
Speaker 1: thoughts on Round one? I have my own thoughts, Okay.
Speaker 1: One of my personal favorite parts about the one v
Speaker 1: one tournament was that or learning that each player chose
Speaker 1: the song that they would come out to, because I
Speaker 1: was super confused when Lexi Hall came out to a
Speaker 1: little boozy set it off. I was like, WHOA, what
Speaker 1: is going on? But then I was scrolling X and
Speaker 1: I saw djn Carrington say something. Angel Reese was like, yeah,
Speaker 1: guess who picked that song for her? So I thought
Speaker 1: that was super funny. I was personally surprised that Stewie
Speaker 1: lost twelve to zero to Leah Edwards. That was very,
Speaker 1: very shocking. I do think that this one v one tournament.
Speaker 1: I wouldn't say it exposes anyone, but it just shows,
Speaker 1: you know, just a certain skill sets. Not everyone is
Speaker 1: a one B one player. A lot of people or
Speaker 1: a lot of athletes can simply play into system and
Speaker 1: be great in that, and so I just thought it
Speaker 1: was fun. I thought that the matchups swore was kind
Speaker 1: of evenly matched. I like that Lexi Hall, she put
Speaker 1: up a good fight against Ryan Howard. What were your
Speaker 1: thoughts about the one B one tournament.
Speaker 2: You know, I think it's okay to say that some
Speaker 2: players get exposed and unrival maybe not specifically the one
Speaker 2: on one, but I mean Satu soldly said that, you know,
Speaker 2: when talking about like three on three format and the
Speaker 2: players themselves, they said that because like there's no one
Speaker 2: there to like, it's them. They have to defend, they
Speaker 2: have to do everything, and like we saw last night,
Speaker 2: like these are the top athletes in the world, and
Speaker 2: after they were done, they were breathing heavily, you know,
Speaker 2: and they're just like, you know, it's a lot of work,
Speaker 2: you know. So I love what Kullyacopper said when she
Speaker 2: was just like, I think the big girls need their own,
Speaker 2: you know, bracket, and I think that's something to consider.
Speaker 2: But it also sort of makes it fun because like
Speaker 2: the bigs versus the guards were interesting. You saw how
Speaker 2: Skylar her strategy with like the fouling. She is diabolical, by.
Speaker 1: The way, but like I a minute, she is a minute.
Speaker 2: So I think, like the first time you really saw
Speaker 2: that play out was with like Chelsea Gray and Shakierra
Speaker 2: Austin and shout out to Shakira, Like how incredible for her.
Speaker 2: Like to me, she's just one of the great stories
Speaker 2: of Unrival because I've loved just seeing her on the
Speaker 2: court and playing and being healthy. And I thought like
Speaker 2: in her post game she was saying a lot in
Speaker 2: her post game right, like she's like that's what I do,
Speaker 2: and like basically like when she's healthy, no one can
Speaker 2: beat her, and like I get it, Like it seemed
Speaker 2: like she probably felt some type of way about being
Speaker 2: where she was seated and you know, all that kind
Speaker 2: of stuff. Again, she didn't say that, but like there
Speaker 2: was a tone to her postgame commentary and I love that.
Speaker 1: I like that.
Speaker 2: She's gonna probably be going into the next season with that.
Speaker 2: She looks good and you just beat Chelsea Gray the
Speaker 2: point God, you know what I'm saying. But you saw
Speaker 2: that on display because her length was really an issue
Speaker 2: for Chelsea and Chelsea was trying to like get to
Speaker 2: the rim and she block it, which forced Chelsea to
Speaker 2: have to just make a bunch of tough shots, which
Speaker 2: we know Chelsea Gray can do. But on a night
Speaker 2: when they're not falling. Then that worked out in Shahera's favor.
Speaker 2: And so you when you see a matchup like that,
Speaker 2: you kind of say, oh, it's probably a bad matchup
Speaker 2: where you do wonder should guards be playing guards? Like
Speaker 2: with Ka in her case, like she said, she's a
Speaker 2: she's a big guard. She's a tall guard, so she
Speaker 2: can kind of hang with a big with like Aliyah,
Speaker 2: and so it's a different kind of outcome there. And
Speaker 2: Skyler her shot was falling, so she was able to
Speaker 2: get her shots off. Plus she had that strategy. So
Speaker 2: I could imagine some of the other guards maybe if
Speaker 2: they have to, like you know, go up against the
Speaker 2: big again, employing maybe Skylar's strategy, because you know, sometimes
Speaker 2: those matchups can be interesting with the guards in the post.
Speaker 2: But I loved it. And for Aliyah Edwards, like come on,
Speaker 2: like that's ragging rights. You beat Stewie. And I think
Speaker 2: with Stewie for that, it's probably more of a like
Speaker 2: a Alia Edwards is her teammate, right, and they're both yukon.
Speaker 2: But you you're like, Okay, she's probably not even guarding
Speaker 2: her as close as she needs to be, cause like
Speaker 2: you're not expecting Alia Edwards to rain threes, like from
Speaker 2: what we know of her, that's not her game. So
Speaker 2: it was so fast, and it was so quick, you know,
Speaker 2: like Brianna was probably a little surprised. So it was great.
Speaker 2: It's all in good fun. And I love that she
Speaker 2: congratulated her after on Twitter. She's one of the faces
Speaker 2: of unrivaled, right her and and the FESA started this,
Speaker 2: and so you need her to be a good sport
Speaker 2: about this. You know, you heard the story years ago
Speaker 2: of Lebron getting dunked on in the footage getting you know,
Speaker 2: taken away, right, like the fact that allegedly right, the
Speaker 2: fact that she's allowing this to happen, similar to Stephen
Speaker 2: Curry playing Sabrina Jonescu and three point Challenge and being
Speaker 2: okay if he loses to her, right, Like you need that,
Speaker 2: and so Stewie being okay that she lost like that,
Speaker 2: and she knows like the internet may clown her or
Speaker 2: whatever may come with it. That's all a part of
Speaker 2: growing women's basketball. Because Kenneth Parker talked about this, we
Speaker 2: have to start talking about the game like the way
Speaker 2: we talk about men's sports, and to normalize and not
Speaker 2: disrespecting the players. But you know, barbershops talk the things
Speaker 2: that happens. We can say, oh, this person got cooked.
Speaker 2: You know, I saw Chelsea Gray got cooked, and it's like, yeah,
Speaker 2: you're a Chelsea Gray fan. You may not like hearing that,
Speaker 2: but she did. She got cooked. And we need to
Speaker 2: be able to talk about them like that. We know
Speaker 2: these are all legends, these are all the top players.
Speaker 2: There's no disrespect intended. It was fun, it was great.
Speaker 2: And I love what Rival's doing for women's basketball right now.
Speaker 1: And how about all five Luna Owls making it to
Speaker 1: the second round. I mean, and they are still the
Speaker 1: only undefeated team at Unrivals right now, so that speaks
Speaker 1: for itself. I'm looking forward to seeing Courtney Williams and
Speaker 1: Ali Chagray matchup. I think that's the next match up
Speaker 1: in round two. So I guess we'll see that and
Speaker 1: we'll figure it out. But I need to know your predictions.
Speaker 1: Who do you have holding up that trophy at the
Speaker 1: end of the one v one tournament?
Speaker 3: Oh gosh, girl, that's so hard.
Speaker 2: Well, first, let me ask this question because there's some
Speaker 2: players who ended up having to pull out a unrivaled
Speaker 2: and I can't remember the full list. Is Kayla McBride
Speaker 2: one of them?
Speaker 1: She is, She's out.
Speaker 2: I had Caleb McBride is like the sneaky underdog, and
Speaker 2: I'm pretty sure I had like tweeted that or something
Speaker 2: because she's been playing such beautiful basketball and unrivaled and
Speaker 2: just interviewing her there, the way she talks about this
Speaker 2: being like, you know, pure hoops and just everything, I
Speaker 2: thought she really had like a really strong chance. Oh
Speaker 2: my gosh, you're really putting me on the spot here.
Speaker 2: I feel like, ah, shoot.
Speaker 3: I don't know. I honestly do not know.
Speaker 2: I mean, after seeing this strategy that Skyler imposed, it's
Speaker 2: hard to go against fee right with the way she's
Speaker 2: been playing in general, for Kia looked really good yesterday.
Speaker 3: Alesha, g shit, I'm sorry. Sorry.
Speaker 2: I know people are thinking like every Quay or like
Speaker 2: Jewel Lloyd. They're probably like the favored people. But fat,
Speaker 2: I'm gonna just go with the player that's been playing
Speaker 2: the best and unrivaled.
Speaker 3: Fie. I'm gonna go in a Fisa Collier.
Speaker 1: I like that. I think he can win it all too.
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna lie. I think her. My second choice
Speaker 1: would be Skyler Diggan Smith only because she's a small
Speaker 1: she's small, got but got big heart, and she plays deepense.
Speaker 1: She has strategy as we saw yesterday, like just her
Speaker 1: IQ level, she's not backing down. I think I saw
Speaker 1: her stripped Deer Cook in the first round in one
Speaker 1: position as well. I just think just her IQ and
Speaker 1: her the way she competes that sends her apart. And
Speaker 1: so either one of those two I could see definitely
Speaker 1: winning and I think that they, as Alicia ed Gray
Speaker 1: and all the players stated, conditioning is a huge, huge
Speaker 1: part of it as well. Can't get gassed. I remember
Speaker 1: seeing Jackie Young she was playing in the first round
Speaker 1: and at one point had gotten filed and then she
Speaker 1: was down, but she also used that as a point
Speaker 1: of her strategy to get a breath and get back
Speaker 1: up and compete. So it'll be interesting to see what
Speaker 1: happens in round two and beyond for unrivals one v
Speaker 1: one tournament. All right, moving on to the herder stuff
Speaker 1: and the headlines, and I'll kind of break this down
Speaker 1: for the audience that's listening. Katie Lou Samuelson and the
Speaker 1: Indiana Fever have agreed to a contract divorce, so Katie
Speaker 1: Lou Samuelson was on a deal worth over a little
Speaker 1: bit over one hundred and eighty thousand dollars with the
Speaker 1: Indiana Fever, and that deal was a protected deal, And
Speaker 1: so what happened is they mutually agreed to a buyout
Speaker 1: agreement and Katie Lou was taking a little bit over
Speaker 1: one hundred and six thousand dollars and that's her existing
Speaker 1: contract minus the veteran minimum plus five K for the
Speaker 1: right of set off rule per her hoop stats, and
Speaker 1: then if she clears waivers this week, she will become
Speaker 1: an unrestricted free agent. Now, league sources tell me that
Speaker 1: there are several teams interested in Katie Lou Samuelson. Now,
Speaker 1: for what it's worth, Katie Lou is a shooter right
Speaker 1: and there are a few teams out there who are
Speaker 1: a few pieces away, I think from building out their
Speaker 1: bench to be able to really compete. I can see
Speaker 1: Katie Lou in maybe a Seattle I can see Katie Lou,
Speaker 1: and maybe a Minnesota. I can see Katie Lou. Maybe Vegas,
Speaker 1: maybe they can sign her to come off the bench
Speaker 1: to help with some of the shooting. So it'll be
Speaker 1: really interesting to see where she lands. After this buyout
Speaker 1: with Indiana, obviously they needed to clear cap space. So
Speaker 1: now this creates more room for Indiana to sign another player.
Speaker 1: And if you think the Indiana fever, the Indiana you
Speaker 1: are already a really really good team and now we
Speaker 1: have more cap space to get it even better, to
Speaker 1: even become more solid. So I know this might be
Speaker 1: a little bit too much for you, net but you
Speaker 1: know where could you see Katie Lou being of a
Speaker 1: help to you? Oh which roster?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so first I would also say like shout out
Speaker 2: to Katie Lou because I think it's I mean, obviously
Speaker 2: it's I usually agreed upon separation and she's getting the buyout.
Speaker 3: But it's a little different than the Marina Maybery situation.
Speaker 2: But I think it's good that players are having you know,
Speaker 2: movement and exercising you know that right, pushing it, you know,
Speaker 2: to get themselves to where they want to be. You know,
Speaker 2: we just saw the NWSL get rid of a draft,
Speaker 2: which gives players there's more options to move and be
Speaker 2: where they want to be. And why shouldn't they have
Speaker 2: the right, just like us in our jobs, to work
Speaker 2: where they want to be. And so you know, the
Speaker 2: fever loaded up, and there's probably not like a really
Speaker 2: natural place for Katie Lou on that team anymore where
Speaker 2: she's probably going to get the minutes that she would
Speaker 2: desire or a rotation spot that she wants, And so
Speaker 2: good for her. You pointed out that it's the minus
Speaker 2: the veteran minimum, so now a team can offer her
Speaker 2: the vet minimum and she'll get that salary back. But
Speaker 2: that will help a team that's financially strapped. So you
Speaker 2: bring up a team like Vegas, I wonder after signing
Speaker 2: Tiffinny Mitchell though, like if they would still go after
Speaker 2: Katie Lou but sure, like who doesn't want more shooting
Speaker 2: and so like, that's definitely the kind of player, at
Speaker 2: least from a financial, you know position, I think would
Speaker 2: be a player that Vegas could target and would be
Speaker 2: realistic for them at least financially to sign because they
Speaker 2: don't really have a lot of room and so because
Speaker 2: of that buy that would help a team like them.
Speaker 2: Seattle though, is badly in need of replacing some of
Speaker 2: that production that they're losing with Jewel Lloyd. And yes
Speaker 2: they are going to have Gabby the entire season, and
Speaker 2: Neka and even Gabby they took less than what they
Speaker 2: could make to leave Seattle with some money. So if
Speaker 2: they could sign Katie Lou also on the minimum, that
Speaker 2: would still probably leave them money to still go out
Speaker 2: and do more if they because right now I don't
Speaker 2: have Seattle anymore as like a contending team. I think
Speaker 2: they need to do. I think they're a very good team,
Speaker 2: but you don't just lose Jewel Lloyd. And also, like
Speaker 2: I mean, we don't know what was going to happen,
Speaker 2: but like Jordan Horston, you know.
Speaker 1: It was just about to say. So I was have
Speaker 1: Athletes Unlimited actually saw firsthand the Jordan Horston injury at
Speaker 1: Athletes Unlimited and obviously still waiting for evaluations and the
Speaker 1: MRI to report to come out. When she went down,
Speaker 1: she was holding like her knee or her leg and
Speaker 1: it looked really really bad. I was sitting court side
Speaker 1: by the way, so I heard and saw everything. Obviously,
Speaker 1: Coach Noe and Ebie Hoffin was there, so you know,
Speaker 1: they kind of have a feel about what's going on firsthand.
Speaker 1: And so you know, my prayers are up to Jordan
Speaker 1: and I hope she's okay. We know that she's just
Speaker 1: come back from an injury not too long ago. But
Speaker 1: that's a big hole if you lose Jordan Horsten before
Speaker 1: the season starts.
Speaker 2: So you know, I don't know what Seattle plans are,
Speaker 2: right because like, on one hand, they're gonna have Yabby
Speaker 2: the full season, you also have players just taking a
Speaker 2: natural leap, so you expect Ezzie to take another leap forward.
Speaker 2: Mekka is still Neka Skyler is playing right now out
Speaker 2: of her mind. That's how she ended the season. It's
Speaker 2: continuing into unrivaled. You know, I think when she first
Speaker 2: got to Seattle, she started off a little slow. You know,
Speaker 2: she's coming back and you know, pregnancy all those things.
Speaker 2: So but she's like inform and she looks really good.
Speaker 2: So the team is also going to have another year together.
Speaker 2: Yes it will be minus Jewel, but like you're gonna
Speaker 2: have like some more continuity, so they'll be better anyway naturally,
Speaker 2: And there might be like an idea of like doing
Speaker 2: it by committee, but still Jewel Lloyd is hard to replace,
Speaker 2: and so getting you know, another bone to fide shooter
Speaker 2: on that roster, especially in light of what we don't
Speaker 2: know with Jordan Horston, just prayers up for her. So
Speaker 2: I think Seattle really needs to be a team that
Speaker 2: probably goes after her. I don't know if your sources,
Speaker 2: Miss Insider, if that's one of the teams they've said
Speaker 2: is on the list. I could definitely see Seattle obviously.
Speaker 2: I'm sure if she's doing this buyout, she wants to
Speaker 2: be like on a contending team. The Mercury needs to
Speaker 2: also follow. They have the too, yes, they have the
Speaker 2: cap Staves and but also again with her being buy out,
Speaker 2: try to get Katie Lou on a minimum and you
Speaker 2: can still go get other players I think of the
Speaker 2: teams because she's leaving Indiana, do you think the Liberty
Speaker 2: would have any interest in her?
Speaker 1: League sources have told me that the Liberty are not
Speaker 1: going to be in the running for Katie Lou.
Speaker 3: Okay, what about the Links?
Speaker 1: The Links I'm here may be interested in her?
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, yeah, So I mean I think it's one
Speaker 2: of the contenders. You know, I think it's probably those
Speaker 2: those four teams that we just said, but I think
Speaker 2: Seattle or Phoenix to me, I would probably put them
Speaker 2: ahead of like a team like the Links or Aces.
Speaker 3: But I could see her working probably on any of
Speaker 3: those four rosters to different degrees.
Speaker 1: I agree. Hey, we're gonna just pause right there for
Speaker 1: another quick break, and here's a word from our sponsors
Speaker 1: going back to me attendant AU. And then you're talking
Speaker 1: about the Jordan Horston injury and saying that they need
Speaker 1: a shooter. I mean, what Jordan Horston does defensively as well,
Speaker 1: and then her size that matters and you need a
Speaker 1: player who can account for that. And there aren't many
Speaker 1: free agents on the market who can do that. But
Speaker 1: I was watching Athletes Unlimited and you know, over the
Speaker 1: last few years it's become a breeding ground for gms
Speaker 1: and coaches to go and do some scouting. And one
Speaker 1: player I think that deserves to at least get a
Speaker 1: training camp contract or an extra look is Crystal Bradford.
Speaker 1: She played in China recently with Camilla Cardoso, came back
Speaker 1: stateside and it's doing her second season at AU and
Speaker 1: Tarika Fossil Brasby wrote an article about her movers of
Speaker 1: the Week for Athletes Unlimited and Crystal Bradford was one
Speaker 1: of those players who played phenomenally this past weekend on
Speaker 1: both ends of the floor. I know that in the past,
Speaker 1: just based off conversation that I've had with several people
Speaker 1: around the league. I know that there was questions about
Speaker 1: her character. We know what happened in Atlanta with the
Speaker 1: tenders and bites truck Courtney Williams. But I think that
Speaker 1: people deserve second chances. We've seen what a second chance
Speaker 1: got Courtney where it got her. You know, all star
Speaker 1: level player went to the finals this year. I think
Speaker 1: that Crystal Bradford has matured in so many ways. Just
Speaker 1: me seeing her in person this year, because the last
Speaker 1: time I saw her was last year in Dallas, so
Speaker 1: being able to see her. She's in shape. She's in
Speaker 1: tip top shape, like tiptop shape, lost some weight, got
Speaker 1: some muscle. Just her mindset is different, the way she
Speaker 1: leads on the court. I was hearing her, the way
Speaker 1: she was talking and communicating with her teammates, just seeing
Speaker 1: her hustle. I think that she could be someone that
Speaker 1: GM should or is worth looking at in terms of
Speaker 1: a training camp contract maybe or signing for a minimum.
Speaker 1: I could see her helping a team like the Aces,
Speaker 1: helping a team maybe like Seattle, be better coming off
Speaker 1: the bench. She can score, she can defend, and that's
Speaker 1: a player that if people are not looking at. I
Speaker 1: think that they should look at as a possible help
Speaker 1: to Seattle now that they may not have Jordan Horston.
Speaker 1: All right, and rounding out our topics of the week,
Speaker 1: the Las Vegas Aces have made some additions and subtractions.
Speaker 1: So Sidney Colson has signed a one year deal with
Speaker 1: the Indiana Fever, Alicia Clark is returning to the Seattle Storm,
Speaker 1: and of course we know about the blockbuster trade that
Speaker 1: sent Kelsey Plumb to the Los Angeles Sparks for Jewel Lloyd.
Speaker 1: And then on the addition side, they added Diane Parker, Tyas,
Speaker 1: Tiffany Mitchell, Dana Evans, They've re signed Queen Eggbow, and
Speaker 1: then they have Elizabeth Kitley who was drafted in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty four and was sidelined due to injury the possible
Speaker 1: return in the twenty twenty five seasons. So, Natalie, what
Speaker 1: do you like about the subtractions and the additions to
Speaker 1: this Las Vegas Aces squad.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So, as far as like the subtractions, I think
Speaker 2: that while sid Coulson is a huge locker room loss,
Speaker 2: and she is a basketball loss too, I always thought
Speaker 2: Sid's production and what she does for the Aces was replaceable,
Speaker 2: so that from just a basketball like on the court
Speaker 2: standpoint didn't feel that huge to me.
Speaker 3: But culturally, like from a team culture and locker room,
Speaker 3: you know, she was so much intertwined with the identity
Speaker 3: of that team and who the Aces are.
Speaker 2: So I thought in that aspect, you know, it was
Speaker 2: a big loss, and it's gonna.
Speaker 3: Be interesting to me to see her on the fever
Speaker 3: and how she fits.
Speaker 2: In there because, like what we know, such her big personality,
Speaker 2: So she's gonna definitely bring a different kind of like
Speaker 2: personality to that team. So it's gonna be interesting to
Speaker 2: watch that in Indiana. I didn't expect that. That wasn't
Speaker 2: on my bingo card.
Speaker 1: Oh so, one thing I want to say about Sid,
Speaker 1: I mean, I know you said that what she does
Speaker 1: is replaceable, but the Aces don't win that championship against
Speaker 1: the New York Liberty without Sid being a plus seventeen.
Speaker 1: I mean, I agree with you. I think that she
Speaker 1: coachally brought so much to that locker room. I'm excited
Speaker 1: to see her in Indiana. I think that Indiana one
Speaker 1: was able to make all of the signings that they
Speaker 1: did because one, they made a front office change. First, right,
Speaker 1: you add an Amber Cox front of the show. By
Speaker 1: the way, she has a lot of great relationships with players,
Speaker 1: and that's the most important thing when you were recruiting.
Speaker 1: I think that from the inside out, the Fever had
Speaker 1: to change the front office because there were murmurs right
Speaker 1: that players were not happy with what was happening in
Speaker 1: the front office with the Indiana Fever. And in the
Speaker 1: off season, top to bottom, they made changes from the
Speaker 1: coaching to the general manager to the president of the Fever,
Speaker 1: and they brought in people one that you know, know
Speaker 1: what it takes to win, but just women who gets
Speaker 1: the job done. And so I think that that was
Speaker 1: one of the reasons why Sid also left. But also money.
Speaker 1: They're paying her a little bit more than what the
Speaker 1: Aces was giving her at the VET minimum. She's getting
Speaker 1: about ninety thousand dollars with the Indiana Fevers. So I
Speaker 1: mean that makes a difference. Right. For so long players
Speaker 1: have been encouraged just take less, just take let's do
Speaker 1: what's best for the team. But you see in this
Speaker 1: free agency the players are not really trying to do
Speaker 1: that right now.
Speaker 2: It does I mean, I don't know Sid, I don't
Speaker 2: I'm not an insider like Christina.
Speaker 3: I don't know anything, I think it's the money.
Speaker 2: Like I think if Vegas could match that, I think
Speaker 2: Sid would still be in Vegas. So it's not like
Speaker 2: Vegas doesn't have a great culture as we know it.
Speaker 3: They you know.
Speaker 2: I feel like in this move of like facilities and
Speaker 2: all this stuff, people are forgetting that Vegas was one
Speaker 2: of the trendsetters in this and like started that, and
Speaker 2: so they've had that culture, they've had the facilities. You know,
Speaker 2: she already had it in Vegas, you know. So but
Speaker 2: get your bag, you know. And so while I don't
Speaker 2: think I agree with you that, I don't think the
Speaker 2: Aces win without what she did. That can always be
Speaker 2: said of any player on any team who's like a
Speaker 2: good role player and does their part. And so like
Speaker 2: again I'm not trying to disrespect Sid, but like I
Speaker 2: thought that was replaceable.
Speaker 3: And the reason I bring that up is not about Sid.
Speaker 3: Sid's amazing.
Speaker 2: It's about there's this narrative that's trying to, in my opinion,
Speaker 2: be formed about the Aces and like, oh, they've gotten
Speaker 2: worse and like they're in this dire situation because they
Speaker 2: lost like all these like big pieces and you're not
Speaker 2: I'm sorry, you're not selling me on Sid being a big,
Speaker 2: big basketball piece for the Aces. You know, with all
Speaker 2: respect to Sid, you're just not. But I don't want
Speaker 2: to because in the same vein like with the Liberty right,
Speaker 2: you lose a KT, right, and the impact of a
Speaker 2: player on the locker room is real, And so I
Speaker 2: don't want to discount what Sid brings to the Aces organization.
Speaker 2: But everything in Vagus will always start and end with
Speaker 2: Asia Wilson, and as long as you have her at
Speaker 2: the top, you build around that and they're going to
Speaker 2: always be in good shape. And that's true of any
Speaker 2: great player. If you want to equate it to the NBA, right,
Speaker 2: that's going to be true Lebron, That's going to be
Speaker 2: true of Stephen Curry. That was true with Michael Jordan, right,
Speaker 2: And so it's not like a disrespect to the to
Speaker 2: the rest of it and the other co stars, but
Speaker 2: it always starts and ends with who the franchise star
Speaker 2: is not in.
Speaker 1: Dallas, though not with Luca I'm joking.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but Candice Parker, like I can bring it back
Speaker 2: to the w NBA, right, and and and all the
Speaker 2: great but in terms of the rest of like what's
Speaker 2: happening with with Vegas, and so Alicia Clark is tremendous,
Speaker 2: you know, and I like, obviously she has roots in
Speaker 2: Seattle and they also were giving her a bump up
Speaker 2: and pay. Last year was a little bit of a
Speaker 2: down season for Alicia and I and I think what's
Speaker 2: really important for people, because I feel strongly about this
Speaker 2: to think about with Vegas and a lot of this insight,
Speaker 2: some of it I get from Callie Finn, who covers
Speaker 2: the Las Vegas aces right and she's there up close
Speaker 2: and personal watching them. But like I think people just
Speaker 2: are like, oh, Vegas loss, and like they didn't have
Speaker 2: a bench, and like that's why. And I feel like
Speaker 2: that sells short, like what happened in Vegas last season.
Speaker 2: So Cally just put out like a really great story
Speaker 2: yesterday that people should go read. But in general just
Speaker 2: about their season. Like as we covered the season last year,
Speaker 2: you have to remember you had Chelsea Gray who was
Speaker 2: returning from injury and did not start the season. She
Speaker 2: missed a number of games, right Jackie Young got injured.
Speaker 2: Post Olympics, you had the Olympics and they had several
Speaker 2: players not just their core four, but you also had
Speaker 2: Tip who was an Olympia, like several of their players' Olympians, right,
Speaker 2: and when Chelsea Gray is like missing for that chunk
Speaker 2: of the season. Now players are playing out of position
Speaker 2: because you're asking Jackie Young to all handle more and
Speaker 2: dude more than she normally does. You're asking Kelsey Plump
Speaker 2: to pick up more. Kelsey was also just dealing with
Speaker 2: a lot of personal stuff in her life.
Speaker 3: Right. You had a lot that was happening. A team
Speaker 3: that had already won two championships, so they already play
Speaker 3: further into the season, right, So there's a lot of
Speaker 3: wear and tear on those players, and so I think
Speaker 3: there was a lot of things. It was like a
Speaker 3: culmination of things that affected the Aces. The Liberty were
Speaker 3: just a better team all season. Please Christina, make sure
Speaker 3: Liberty fans hear me saying that the Liberty were just
Speaker 3: a better team. So were the Minnesota Links, and that's
Speaker 3: why they were at the top. But I think that
Speaker 3: there's a lot of stock being put into last season,
Speaker 3: and I feel like last season was an anomaly for
Speaker 3: the Aces. I don't think that's like what their situation is.
Speaker 2: So I really like their additions because if you're paying
Speaker 2: attention to what happened last year, Like the depth did
Speaker 2: impact them that other teams had, but a lot of
Speaker 2: that was like also because the people that they did
Speaker 2: have coming off their bench were older, right, and so
Speaker 2: they were slower, right, so they got younger. They added
Speaker 2: Tiffany Mitchell, which you know, so you get a game
Speaker 2: Cox reunion. I love the Parker Tias signing. It gives
Speaker 2: Asia that much needed help in the front core. And
Speaker 2: to me, that was one of the glaring, biggest, most egregious, uh,
Speaker 2: just one of the glaring things last year that was
Speaker 2: like really problematic with the Aces, and now she's getting
Speaker 2: a former All Star. I'm sure Parketiss, who also had
Speaker 2: a somewhat down here last year, probably looking to remind
Speaker 2: people what she can do.
Speaker 3: And so I really like that signing. Of course, they
Speaker 3: added Jeweloyd.
Speaker 2: I think there are a lot of people playing with
Speaker 2: Jeweloyd's name as well in terms of like what she
Speaker 2: can do. So I feel like, listen, I've watched it,
Speaker 2: like the Aces remind me a lot of the Warriors,
Speaker 2: and I've watched it as a Warriors fan, Like when
Speaker 2: you do the team they lose, they come back the
Speaker 2: vengeance that they have, So this idea that they got worse.
Speaker 2: I don't think they got worse. I actually think they
Speaker 2: got better at Kelsey's spot. Kelsey's great again, no disrespect
Speaker 2: to her, like, but Jewels a bigger guard, She's a
Speaker 2: better defender. I think they got better at that spot.
Speaker 2: And so I like they short up there starting five.
Speaker 2: They added Dana Evans as well, so now they have
Speaker 2: some shooting coming off the bench, They have some scoring
Speaker 2: coming off the bench, and they have a lot of bigs.
Speaker 2: So you know you mentioned Queen Eggbow. You still have
Speaker 2: you know, Megan on the team. You still have you
Speaker 2: mentioned kit Lee. That's a huge piece for the Aces.
Speaker 2: And Becky Hammond is on record saying that she expects,
Speaker 2: you know, kit Lee to be playing like her best
Speaker 2: basketball come like July. So I think we're gonna see
Speaker 2: her before July. But as Callie broke it down to me,
Speaker 2: that likely means that it's going to be like a
Speaker 2: ramp up for her, right, So they're gonna still need
Speaker 2: that help in the front court until she's like ready
Speaker 2: to really contribute. And Christina, they still have a draft pick,
Speaker 2: which you can view that as an asset. They lost
Speaker 2: it because of an investigation they got a draft pick right,
Speaker 2: so now that's an asset they have or another piece
Speaker 2: that they can have add in a very deep draft.
Speaker 2: I think the Aces are in very good composition. I
Speaker 2: think they are still a contending team. I would not
Speaker 2: put them right now ahead of the Links or the Liberty.
Speaker 2: Those would still be the top two teams to me,
Speaker 2: but I would still put them ahead of the Fever.
Speaker 2: I think they're they're probably the third best team coming
Speaker 2: in if I were doing power rankings today. I love
Speaker 2: their moves. They got younger, they got Asia at the
Speaker 2: front court help she needs. They're going to be reinvigorated.
Speaker 2: Despite Chelsea Gray's loss last night in Unrivaled, she looked
Speaker 2: great's she's looking like the point god again and they're
Speaker 2: going to have her fresh to start the season.
Speaker 3: I think that it would be a mistake to sleep
Speaker 3: on the Las Vegas Aces.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and let's not forget Asha Wilson is still the
Speaker 1: rating MVP, which is on a different gear when people
Speaker 1: underestimate her. So of course she's gonna come back and
Speaker 1: the Aces come back. I think it's interesting that you
Speaker 1: compared them to the Warriors when they had that down
Speaker 1: here and came back and won the championship. I do
Speaker 1: think that we have to monitor Jackie Young's health. I mean, unrivaled.
Speaker 1: It's been really hard to see her try to get
Speaker 1: back into the game slowly she is suffering from an injury.
Speaker 1: If I were her, I'm not a doctor, I don't
Speaker 1: know what's exactly what's going on, but I always shut
Speaker 1: it down and rest and recover to get ready for
Speaker 1: the season. We saw what happened in that one v
Speaker 1: one tournament when she would hit the floor. I wouldn't
Speaker 1: want to take any chances if I'm Jackie Young or
Speaker 1: the last Vegas aces and so I think that their
Speaker 1: success obviously will get hurt. If Jackie Young is not
Speaker 1: ready or healthy for the season, that does slim in
Speaker 1: their chances because she just contributes so much to the squad.
Speaker 1: Very interesting you brought up how she was playing the
Speaker 1: point guard for the twenty twenty four season. We saw
Speaker 1: her do that at Notre Dame and she was their
Speaker 1: successful number one pick. So I think it's great when
Speaker 1: you can have her play in different positions as well.
Speaker 1: It lends to the versatility of the roster. I'm excited
Speaker 1: as you mentioned Tiffany Mitchell and Asia Wilson teaming up again.
Speaker 1: I know Game Clops fans everywhere are excited. I'm also
Speaker 1: excited to see the development of Dana Evans. I think
Speaker 1: that the coaching staff that he did a great job
Speaker 1: at going out and getting Tie and John Lucas to
Speaker 1: add to the staff. With the exits of Todd Marsh's
Speaker 1: now the head coach of the Chicago Sky and Natalie
Speaker 1: Nicasse who's the head coach of the Golden State Valkyries,
Speaker 1: it's always going to be about developing these young stars.
Speaker 1: You mentioned how young they are. It's going to be
Speaker 1: about that development and them getting better, and that's going
Speaker 1: to strengthen in the Las Vegas Aces.
Speaker 2: Damon Evans, that seemed like it was a down year
Speaker 2: for her in Chicago last year, and there there was
Speaker 2: just a lot of changes. Obviously, you bring in two
Speaker 2: lottery picks and and Angel Reese and Kamila Cardozo and
Speaker 2: the team is really now going to be about them.
Speaker 2: So it sort of changed, you know, maybe her trajectory
Speaker 2: a little bit, but it seemed like just everybody kind
Speaker 2: of knowing their roles last year in Chicago, it just
Speaker 2: didn't maybe work out the way that it needs to
Speaker 2: so she gets this fresh start. She seems very excited
Speaker 2: about it. She changed that name on her on her Instagram,
Speaker 2: but quickly the updates to let let let everyone know
Speaker 2: she's with the Las Vegas Aces.
Speaker 3: How do you think Dana will do there?
Speaker 2: You said that you liked the move for her, but
Speaker 2: based on seeing what happened last year, I mean, I
Speaker 2: guess what do you think happened and what do you
Speaker 2: what are your expectations for her next season?
Speaker 1: What happened last year? Laman in that locker room, so
Speaker 1: I don't necessarily know. I remember her representative had posted
Speaker 1: or published a post on x saying that they had
Speaker 1: requested a trade at the trade deadline, and we know
Speaker 1: she did not get traded from the Chicago Sky Marina
Speaker 1: Maybrey left, so it seemed like there were just maybe
Speaker 1: some locker room issues in Chicago. Diamond de Shields is
Speaker 1: now with the Connecticut Sun. We've seen Marina Connecticut with
Speaker 1: Connecticut as well, different players taking exits out of Chicago.
Speaker 1: But now it seems like when you have a new coach,
Speaker 1: they want to fill out their rosters to the best
Speaker 1: of their ability, and so maybe she just didn't fit
Speaker 1: into what Tdy Marsh is having planned for the Chicago
Speaker 1: Sky They've signed a player like he and Nurse, which
Speaker 1: is more veteran than Dana Evans. I think it's great
Speaker 1: that she's now at the Las Vegas Aces. She gets
Speaker 1: to learn from the point God and Chelsea Gray. But
Speaker 1: like I said, I'm super excited to see what her
Speaker 1: ceiling is under Becky Hammond. When I think about Dana Evans,
Speaker 1: I think about how Jackie Young was developed by Ti Marsh,
Speaker 1: and I can see something similar in terms of her
Speaker 1: trajectory being the same, where she becomes more of a sharpshooter,
Speaker 1: more efficient at that, and also just how her IQ
Speaker 1: increases as a basketball player. I think that she can
Speaker 1: provide a spark off the bench, but it's gonna take
Speaker 1: some time. And so, like I said, I'm most excited
Speaker 1: to see how this coaching staff will help her improve
Speaker 1: her game. But she has some great vets, a great
Speaker 1: core to learn from. These are players who have won
Speaker 1: at every level. So I'm excited to see, you know,
Speaker 1: just a re emergence of Dana Evans. I know that
Speaker 1: also at the end of the season, Dana and Izzy
Speaker 1: Harrison had talked about the mental aspect playing a role
Speaker 1: into their time in Chicago. So just seeing her get
Speaker 1: back to the main thing and just seeing her fall
Speaker 1: in love with basketball again. I think that that's what
Speaker 1: makes me excited about Dana Evans in Las Vegas. And
Speaker 1: so yeah, I'm just excited for this young core and
Speaker 1: just to see every pans out. I mean on paper,
Speaker 1: as you said, everyone questioned for the last couple of years,
Speaker 1: Vegas's bench and their Black of Death, and you add
Speaker 1: these pieces not necessarily huge names, right, but like these
Speaker 1: mid tier players who can make something happen. And I'm
Speaker 1: also excited for Cheyenne Parker Tias because people forget that
Speaker 1: she was an All Star in twenty twenty three and
Speaker 1: she may have had a down year last year, but
Speaker 1: I think that she might have a breakout year as well.
Speaker 1: With more responsibility in helping Asia Wilson in that front court,
Speaker 1: I think that people will change their narratives and how
Speaker 1: they think or see some of these players, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean. So that's what I'm excited about the
Speaker 1: most about the Las Vegas Agies. We didn't talk about
Speaker 1: them losing Tiffany Hayes, but you know, I think that
Speaker 1: also is plays a huge part as well, and losing
Speaker 1: a player like Tiffany Hayes who won six Player of
Speaker 1: the Year. It's kind of crazy when you think about
Speaker 1: who has won six Player of the Year over last
Speaker 1: several years. Maybe a member of the Aces will win
Speaker 1: it again. If you go to the Aces, you're bound
Speaker 1: to be a six Player of the Year day.
Speaker 3: She got paid day.
Speaker 1: So I think that with the subtractions, right, it came
Speaker 1: down to, like, who's paying any more? Who's getting me
Speaker 1: the bag? Because all four players who left right with
Speaker 1: the exception of Kelsey Plumb, they're going to teams with
Speaker 1: the facilities, with the resources, but all of the things right,
Speaker 1: so it comes down to how can this benefit me?
Speaker 1: I think no, not to the Aces at all, but
Speaker 1: I think that they probably have made the decision like, Okay,
Speaker 1: they're paying me more here. But also I think that
Speaker 1: the Valkyries got better because they needed a star and
Speaker 1: Tiffany Hayes is a starter. She's worthy of that, and
Speaker 1: so I'm excited to see one on her and Kate
Speaker 1: Money Kate Martin reunite on the Valkyries. But also I
Speaker 1: think that Minnesota kind of set the tone when it
Speaker 1: came to just getting a bunch of underdogs and putting
Speaker 1: them on a roster. And you don't need big. You
Speaker 1: need to go super big when it comes to formulating
Speaker 1: a w team that can compete. Right. I don't think
Speaker 1: the Valkyries are gonna win a championship, but I think
Speaker 1: that now they can at least have some dog in
Speaker 1: the fight. What do you think.
Speaker 2: I don't think the Valkyries are going to be very good,
Speaker 2: but we'll see. I mean, I like, but I expected
Speaker 2: that in the first year, so I was just to
Speaker 2: like to put a bow on. Like the Aces, the
Speaker 2: last thing I'll say about them is that just one
Speaker 2: other thing I want to like. And again this is
Speaker 2: all my opinion, but I want to shift this narrative
Speaker 2: a little bit. There's this idea that like all their
Speaker 2: players loft like left them. I think the Aces were
Speaker 2: okay losing those players, Like I think the Aces maybe
Speaker 2: didn't want to keep some of those players. In the
Speaker 2: nicest way, Becky let us know that when she said
Speaker 2: this team is going to look different, right, So it's
Speaker 2: not all like, oh, these players are all just leaving
Speaker 2: the Aces and they're ch like, No, the Aces are
Speaker 2: okay parting ways because they understand they need to make
Speaker 2: changes to their roster and are also still thankful and
Speaker 2: grateful for those players and their contributions and what they did.
Speaker 3: It's not like they're.
Speaker 2: Just leaving because the Aces are like this bad place
Speaker 2: to be and no one wants to play with Asia Wilson.
Speaker 2: So these narratives that get fun, I just I want
Speaker 2: to kind of put them in check. But you know,
Speaker 2: to the Valkyries, there were a lot of people who thought,
Speaker 2: like Kelsey Plumb could like end up on you know,
Speaker 2: the Valkyries, and I never understood that.
Speaker 1: Like I think it was because of her relationship with Natalie.
Speaker 1: I think that's why. But according to my sources, Los
Speaker 1: Angeles was the choice for Kelsey's you know, where she
Speaker 1: wants to go. But yeah, no, great conversation, and that's
Speaker 1: going to wrap it up for this week's headlines in
Speaker 1: women's basketball and women's sports. Thank you so much Natalie
Speaker 1: for joining.
Speaker 3: Us this week. Thank you.
Speaker 1: Hang tight, y'all. We'll be right back with one of
Speaker 1: my favorite segments, the Things that I loved this week.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to in case you missed it with Christina
Speaker 1: Williams and shout out to my girl Natalie again for
Speaker 1: joining us this week to break down the latest headlines.
Speaker 1: But as you guys know, it's my favorite part of
Speaker 1: the show. And here is the thing that I loved
Speaker 1: this week. Okay, so the thing that I loved this
Speaker 1: week was obviously I talked about at the top of
Speaker 1: the show, but just being in Nashville. But the thing
Speaker 1: that I loved about being in Nashville was the reunion
Speaker 1: between me and my girls. Shout out to Tarika fossor Brasby,
Speaker 1: Brady Diaz and Ross golds On Wooded. All three have
Speaker 1: been on the show, but they are by homegirls in
Speaker 1: real life. Just being able to take a pause from
Speaker 1: our busy, busy schedules. I mean, obviously we were in
Speaker 1: Nashville working, but we had some time to go out
Speaker 1: and enjoy the town and just celebrate all of our
Speaker 1: wins together. And so I had a lot of fun
Speaker 1: being in Nashville. The weather was beautiful, the culture and
Speaker 1: vibes were great. I think we were on Broadway or
Speaker 1: broad Street. Don't correct me if I'm wrong, but AnyWho,
Speaker 1: just seeing all of the vibrancy of Nashville. We saw
Speaker 1: a bride with all of her sequence and everybody had
Speaker 1: their cowboy hats on and it was a lot going on,
Speaker 1: but it was good vibes. So that was the one
Speaker 1: thing that I loved this week. And I'm also looking
Speaker 1: forward to head into the Bay this weekend for NBA
Speaker 1: All Stars. So if you guys see your girl out there,
Speaker 1: make sure you stop and say hello. We're gonna be
Speaker 1: recording some live show, so definitely stop by to check
Speaker 1: us out, and that's gonna do it for this week's episode.
Speaker 1: Make sure you rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast,
Speaker 1: and I'll see you guys in the day in case
Speaker 1: you missed it. With Christina Williams is an iHeart women's
Speaker 1: sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment.
Speaker 1: You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts.