So the brands adapted. With an impeccable roster headlined by Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and Jewell Loyd, Nike began releasing their player’s exclusive colorways to the public. 

Bird and Loyd, each known for their affinity with Kyrie Irving’s former Nike signature shoes, received a number of colorways in the marketplace, with Bird headlining the “Keep Sue Fresh” collection that spanned from the Kyrie 4 Low to the Kyrie Infinity. 

Out in Phoenix, DT began repping ‘Bron’s signature series, from the LeBron 9 and LeBron X to the LeBron 19—she even had compiled an extensive Mercury-colored collection of LeBron PEs, including the LeBron 18 “La Cabra”—which translates to the GOAT in Spanish.

In Washington, six-time All-Star Elena Delle Donne was paying homage with her PE rotation, dawning a Swoopes I-inspired colorway of the Nike Hyperdunk 2017 alongside a steady influx of KD 12s. But at the tail end of the 2019 season, Delle Donne flipped the script, electing to wear a lace-less model, the Nike Air Zoom UNVRS. Constructed around the brand’s newest technology, Flyease provided wearers with a hands-free, easy-access design geared toward those with disabilities. The latter would serve as a three year-long smoke signal of what was to come. 

In October of 2022, Nike and Elena Delle Donne officially released the Nike Air Deldon. While the high-top model wasn’t specifically marketed as a signature offering, the silhouette was as close to one as you could get. Built with Flyease technology at its foundation, the Air Deldon was inspired by the two-time MVP’s younger sister Lizzie, who is disabled. The model represented several aspects of Delle Donne’s personal journey, detailing her battle with Lyme disease on one colorway while joining Nike’s BE TRUE initiative that heralds the LGBTQIA+ community with a rainbow-treated installment.  

Then there’s Sabrina Ionescu. Before the legend of Caitlin Clark arose, Ionescu captivated the nation in college—breaking national and school records at the University of Oregon with a flashy play style and an unstoppable pull-up three. 

While standing on the shoulders of the legends that came before her, Nike announced Ionescu would be the eighth women’s signature athlete in Nike Basketball history. After 17 years, The Swoosh had returned in full to the women’s game and they flooded Sabrina’s business with support. An expansive marketing campaign, a full release schedule featuring more than a dozen colorways, a full unisex apparel collection and intricate storytelling that ran throughout the model. 

Touted as the first-ever unisex signature basketball shoe, the Nike Sabrina 1 sold out the first handful of colorways during the late summer. Then it took things to another level when the model was added to Nike’s customizable Nike By You platform. With layers of detailed fabrics, stitching and panels, the Sabrina 1 brought out the platforms’ full potential, allowing fans of the already praised silhouette to create their own 1-of-1 versions.

Custom Nike Sabrina 1s engulfed social media in the following months, with creators drawing inspiration from their favorite colorways of past signature models like the “Bruce Lee” Kobe 5. Some designs even stuck and were replicated at mass, like the titular rendition dubbed the “What The” colorway—inspired by Nike Basketball’s mid-2010s run of taking every colorway from one signature shoe and compiling it into one loud, expressive and surprisingly cohesive ensemble.

From the W and the NBA to men’s and women’s college basketball and the G-League, the Nike Sabrina 1 exploded in popularity. As soon as the 2023-24 season tipped, the low-top model quickly became a go-to for many Nike-endorsed NBA players with Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Tyler Herro and others customizing their own PEs at a frantic pace.

This time around, Sabrina’s sneaker won’t be a one-and-done: she confirmed during this year’s New York Liberty training camp that her second signature is currently in the works. 

And then there’s the long awaited announcement of the Nike A’One. As the first Black woman to receive a signature shoe with the brand since Sheryl Swoopes, A’ja Wilson continues to cement her legacy as not only a great, but a player deserving of the utmost recognition and respect. After headlining the Nike Cosmic Unity last season and dawning a regal black and gold LeBron 21 PE during the 2023 Finals, two-time WNBA Champion and New York Times Best-Selling Author A’ja Wilson has been positioned for an insanely bright future, and arrival of the A’One in the Spring of 2025 was met with top-tier marketing: Wilson posted a flick of herself wearing an iconic hoodie that read, Of Course I Have a Shoe Dot Com with the caption: “The answer to the question.” It was just as iconic as Wilson and her illustrious career. 

Wilson and Nike aren’t just only releasing a signature sneaker though—the two-time WNBA champion and MVP has been working for over a year now on a full apparel collection and signature slides, too. She’s been heavily involved in each step of the process, consistently checking in with the brand and going as far as to suggest satin-lined hoods so women wouldn’t have to wear a bonnet during travel days. 

As for other stars, in the summer of 2021, Jordan Brand announced the largest women’s roster in the brand’s history, signing Dearica Hamby, Satou Sabally, Jordin Canada, Aerial Powers, Te’a Cooper, Crystal Dangerfield, Arella Guirantes and Chelsea Dungee. Joining an established core of Kia Nurse and Asia Durr, the Jumpman went out and put pen to paper with Rhyne Howard, Dana Evans, Isabelle Harrison and Gabby Williams over the next year and a half. 

Picking up the legacy of the since-retired Moore, Jordan’s revamped athlete roster has brought a fresh perspective to the brand’s once-reserved approach to the ladies’ side of the game. Player Exclusive colorways have flooded WNBA hardwoods as a result. Kia Nurse’s Toronto Raptors-treated Tatum 1, Satou Sabally’s international-inspired Air Jordan 37 and Isabelle Harrison’s butterfly-coated Jordan Luka 2—in homage to her late sister—have each extrapolated a piece of the respective athletes’ journeys. In turn, sneaker blogs and team social media accounts have begun to add another element of storytelling to the WNBA’s atmosphere. 

Even though signature silhouettes and exclusive colorways continue to draw headlines, both Nike and Jordan have been cultivating their next generation of partners in the backdrop through the new possibilities presented by NIL. Mirroring the selectivity of their signature lineup, Nike has signed reigning National Freshman of the Year Juju Watkins, former AP Player of the Year Paige Bueckers and top high school sophomore Jerzy Williams to NIL deals. 

In the same realm, Jordan Brand has signed Rutgers-bound guard Kiyomi McMiller, LSU’s SEC Freshman of the Year Mikaylah Williams and UCLA point guard Kiki Rice. 

While it’s yet to be officially announced, Caitlin Clark has reportedly signed an endorsement deal with The Swoosh as well. Clark was one of the brand’s first NIL signings before her senior year at Iowa. 

This is just the beginning, and with investment, attention to detail, and unwavering support for women’s basketball, the renaissance continues.

Feeling nostalgic? Here’s a history lesson on how past WNBA legends paved the way in the sneaker game.

The post Today’s WNBA Legends Are Shifting Sneaker Culture  appeared first on SLAM.

The distinguished honor, which was announced on Thursday, was presented to her by two-time WNBA All-Star and Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally, who surprised her in Camden HS’s gym alongside her parents, teammates and her coach, Natalie Funderburk, who won Gatorade South Carolina Girls Basketball Player of the Year in ’92.

“I’m just honored and grateful just to be in a position,” Edwards told WSLAM’s Madison Firle. “I mean, even to be considered for this title is an achievement in itself. But for Gatorade to consider me the best girls basketball player in my class is it’s just crazy. I have no words for it. I’m just happy that other people see the work that I’ve put into the game.”

Edwards is a standout forward who can knock down shots and put up big time numbers. As she gets ready for the next level, stars like Sabally already can tell her future is bright:

“She’s gonna make an impact on women’s basketball, inspiring the next generation and really, you know, giving young women [something to look up to],” Sabally says, later adding: “We always look at stats, but South Carolina obviously has a winning culture. And, you know, adding an asset like [Joyce] will drive that winning culture forward. I mean, Dawn Staley doesn’t recruit lightly. And she will definitely select players that are worth of the legacy that they’re building. So I’m just super excited about that.”

All images can be credited to: Gatorade Player of the Year / Joe Greer

The post Joyce Edwards Named 2023-24 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player appeared first on SLAM.

Challenges were few and far between before a trip to Connecticut early in the campaign. It was exactly what the ball club needed in order to realize what it was going to take in order to return to where it was last year.

The entire team, ignited by Hammon’s statement following that game made it a mission to take that next step defensively. From June 11 on, nobody has been better.

That theme of a relentless resistance has been paramount to this postseason run so far. While scoring over 90 in three of their last five games, the Aces have not allowed an opponent to net more than 85 points since August 28 at the New York.

With a berth to the Finals on the line, the Aces dug in. The ball pressure was tremendous. With help rotating over led by A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas held one of the W’s most elite scorers, Arike Ogunbowale to just 25 percent shooting in the final 10 minutes.

Up by one with under 1:30 remaining, the defending champions pieced together multiple special defensive possessions. All five players were communicating, and working in unison. It was Hammon’s dream. The Wings did not make a single field goal in the final 4:58 seconds of the contest. The Vegas coach could not help her excitement. Her smile postgame was of a proud coach that saw her team accept the challenge and dominate.

Hammon kept it real after grinding out the close out game on the road. “It just shows you that we can win with our defense. It’s not always going to be a pretty one. These are the ones you actually have to find ways to win.”

She continued, “When the ball’s popping and we’re scoring 90 and 100 points, those are easy ones for us. When we have to win like this and really prove to ourselves that we can win like this, that it’s not about the offense all the time, it’s about rebounding and defense, which we did very well down the stretch.”

If Vegas can continue this kind of defensive efficiency, it will become the second team since 2015 to own a playoff defensive rating under 90. The versatility on this end of the floor starts and ends with back to back WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Wilson. The former South Carolina star was the only player in the W to average two or more blocks per 40 minutes.

You can see it live in action, her emotions on the floor explain to the world truly how much defense means to her. She is on you defensively like your mother with a camera on a family vacation.

It does not stop at No. 22.

Remember the 2020 Seattle Storm championship team? Current member of the Aces, Alysha Clark was a key piece to that side’s success, especially defensively. Bringing in the 2020 All-Defensive First Team forward was an early sign Hammon wanted to focus on defense. It has more than paid dividends. Clark has done everything Vegas has asked of her coming off the bench.

Guess who was the main defender on Satou Sabally in the final 10 seconds of Game 3? It was the Middle Tennessee product.

Don’t sleep on Kiah Stokes either. The 2023 WNBA Sixth Player of the Year tied her career high in steals, and recorded more than 0.9 blocks per game for the first time in three years. Stokes and Clark were the only two Aces’ players with a defensive rating under 96 in more than 20 games played in 2023.

It is all accompanied by Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young. The three perimeter players cause constant havoc. Both Young and Plum increased their steals total from 2022 while the “Point GAWDDD” matched last season’s total.

It is the true definition of a complete team. Hammon’s team managed to do that for the most part against Dallas, but the challenge becomes even tougher with the Liberty on tap.

This year’s WNBA Finals and going to be a match up for the ages. We’re hyped, you ready?

Action photo via Getty Images. Portraits by Atiba Jefferson.

The post The Aces’ Defensive Identity Has Elevated This Team to Another Level appeared first on SLAM.

Satou Sabally knew. 

Even before this season officially began, the 25-year-old Dallas Wings forward knew. She could feel it. She had worked for it.

In fact, shortly after new head coach Latricia Trammell arrived, Sabally shared it with her.

“I remember when I first was hired and was talking to her, she said, This is my year,” Trammell recalled. “And she’s kept that same mindset. She’s a determined young lady. She’s a competitor. I’m so very proud of her. “She’s taken the excuse away from everyone else not to join that bandwagon.”

By the way, the line for that bandwagon forms to the right and is already several miles long. And with good reason. 

Sabally, the Wings No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft, is finally fully healthy and enjoying her best season in the League. So far, the “Unicorn,” named so due to her unique playing skills and versatility, became the first player in Wings/Shock franchise history and the eighth in WNBA history to record seven straight double-doubles in a single season.

“I’m just focusing on being dominant, and this is a way to be dominant. It’s a way to show that I’m more than just an offensive player and the other things that come with it,” Sabally says. “Just continuously wanting to be better. Obviously I am a scorer and I’m also a defender this year which has been nice, and I feel it has given me some type of control of the game without having to rely on if my shot falls or not. So that has been really good.”

Sabally leads the League in rebounds per at 11 and is fourth in the League and second on the team in scoring at 20.9 ppg. She also ranks second on the team in steals (1.5 per).

In June, she earned her first career WNBA Player of the Week honor after leading the Wings to two wins over the course of three games, averaging 19.3 points and a League-leading 12.3 rebounds. And she was named an All-Star for the second time—but this time as a starter.

At 6-4, she’s an imposing figure with the look and feel of a center. She impacts the game the moment she steps on the court—scoring, defending multiple positions, passing, rebounding and shooting threes. Teams double-team her instantly and often resort to physicality to try and stop her. But never fear—she returns it decidedly, as a recent game against the Phoenix Mercury shows, when Sabally ended up with a bloody face and still continued to play.

But there’s no pity party here. Sabally’s on top of the world right now, playing the game she adores, on a team with teammates she loves. She’s controlling the game, controlling the pace, helping the team win and—most importantly—she’s healthy and having fun.

“Staying healthy is something you can control to some extent. I haven’t been able to control some things in the past, but I’m healthy now. I’m in a good spiritual mindset as well,” she says. “I am just having fun and not letting myself get into a state of ever not believing in myself. I just completed a chapter that has been really hard, but I learned from it and I’m moving on.” 

It was a chapter that included battling back from multiple injuries that threatened to derail her young WNBA career and left her in a dark emotional state, taking the joy out of her passion.

“After last year, it was really, really hard for me emotionally. I didn’t want to touch a basketball. I associated basketball with pain,” Sabally says. “It was a really sad thing, and I promised myself to never have to go through that again. 

“Athletes learn to play through pain, but I pushed that line and I didn’t see joy in basketball anymore. But I think it was good—it was a moment for me to realize that this is where I never want to be again, and I will always protect my body. I do know this is my destiny and my purpose, and I knew the whole time I just needed a short break and [I’d] be back.”

So she set about getting her body back in shape through strength training, rehab and practice. And as she’s done the past couple of years, Sabally also played overseas, viewing it as a “training camp” for the WNBA season.

“I do think that that experience, especially this year going from January to April, is important. I was on a mission,” she says. “I wanted to win the EuroLeague and I wanted to enter the WNBA season in my prime form, and that is what I worked toward.”

She was successful in both. Her Fenerbahce Alagoz Holding squad won EuroLeague and the Turkish League championship this year, and her WNBA season is speaking for itself. 

“I just tried to get my body to where I could step onto a basketball court and feel good. I started shooting, and I had joy because I didn’t have to think about everything,” she says. “I just gave my body time, and that’s the hardest thing to do as an athlete, but you have to.” 

Sabally, who often arrives to practice up to four hours early, is also adhering to a structured daily schedule that includes lifting weights, doing yoga and pilates, and rehabbing. 

As passionate as she is about basketball on the court, Sabally is just as passionate off the court, where she serves as vice president of the WNBPA. “I feel that this is a way to protect players’ rights and ensure we are well taken care of and still in a position to learn,” says Sabally, who previously served on the union’s Social Justice Committee. 

She adds that she’s looking forward to having a seat at the table during the next CBA negotiations and focusing on “ensuring charters for everyone, just protection of players, player comfort” and the W’s policy on prioritization, which affects players who compete overseas and report to training camps late. 

To relax, Sabally sits on her couch, puts up her feet and reads. “I love to read, I am actually reading The Covenant of Water from Oprah’s Book Club. I love Oprah and want to meet her one day.”

She also supports her younger sister Nyara, who was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft and plays for the New York Liberty. Satou considers her greatest achievement being able to play against Nyara when the Wings recently faced the Liberty. They both went to Oregon but never played together due to injuries. The sisters hope to get a chance to play together in the future on the German national team.

Until then, it’s clearly Satou Season in the W. The signs are everywhere. There’s the looming, no-brainer, second All-Star nod; the imposing physicality on the court; the improved defense; the growing chatter around the League that she could be a candidate for both MVP and the Most Improved Player awards; the large smile displaying the faint outline of dimples, and the stylish pre-game outfits. It’s all adding up. 

She was named Finals MVP in the EuroLeague, and she’s looking to do the same in the WNBA.

“Yes, of course,” she says, when asked if an MVP is in her future. “If I don’t get an MVP, I want an MIP. I think that I can be [MVP] one day, and I am definitely working to that point.”

Meanwhile, she is focused on building her legacy (“global greatness,” she calls it), putting together wins with her teammates and staying in her happy zone. 

“I am happiest when I can play basketball and I’m in my zone. When I don’t think about anything else but basketball, I can just flow and be free on the court,” she says. “It’s when I can enjoy my teammates’ success…I’m just really happy how we’re evolving as a team. It’s been so much fun playing, and I really want to get out there and play 100 percent every day. I’ve been really enjoying playing here.”

Sabally—who says the unicorn nickname has been around since her college days—is much more than that now. She’s a unicorn in beast mode. She laughs at that analogy and explains why she’ll always be a unicorn. 

“It’s like a magical creature. I think so many people see a beautiful thing when they see a unicorn, and that is what I want people to feel like when they see me play basketball,” she says. “That is just like, wow, something they haven’t seen before, and I want to give them that.

“I love the unicorn analogy because they are just so pretty; sometimes it has a soft side to it and people do think I’m soft a little bit, then they see me play and it’s surprising.”

Photos via Getty Images.

The post Dallas Wings Satou Sabally Opens Up About Overcoming Injuries and Finding Her Joy Again appeared first on SLAM.

What happens when you look to blend the best of speed and flight? Jordan Brand asked that question, and the answer was the Air Jordan 37.

Jayson Tatum and Satou Sabally are what we call, in the new age of positionless hoops, the ultimate hybrid. The Prince of Boston coupled with that suave demeanor is smooth yet shifty. He’ll cross you with ease and bully you on the block with his 6-10 frame, fresh out of bed.

Sabally, third-year forward for the Dallas Wings, is brilliantly versatile; her game reads like poetry. The J? Silky. Handles? Filthy. Spin cycle? Gracefully elegant. Chase down blocks? Loads of ’em. 

Two of the most multifaceted hoopers on Jordan Brand’s expanding roster of basketball brilliance not only have the type of games that general managers salivate over, they’re leading the Brand into a new era of sustainability and peak performance.

Built for the future of the game and its athletes’ multi-directional play, Jumpman has always kept the visceral sense of rising through the air with blistering speed at the forefront of its discussions when dropping one of the most coveted performance sneakers on the market. The 37th iteration of Jordan’s signature line isn’t any different in that respect. 

“We wanted to create this pretty much one-of-one system that really no other basketball player could feel other than in the shoe; that really celebrates the best of speed, and the best of flight,” Chad Troyer, Senior Product Line Manager at Jordan Brand, tells KICKS.

And with a roster featuring players of nearly every build in men’s and women’s professional basketball, the 37 needed to be able to blend a myriad of properties to support their athletes; from the debut of a Jordan-only foam, evolving the Leno-weave upper and delving into the three phases of a jump, all while maintaining their commitment to sustainability (but more on that later). 

Nearly four decades of basketball history and heritage reside in Jordan Brand’s upcoming hybrid. So when constructing a lightweight support system that functions with the natural movements of the foot, Troyer and the Brand swung their gaze straight to the Air Jordan VII’s interior make up. 

While serving as a wink to the VII during its 30th anniversary, the buffed-up ankle collar, underlying forefoot pattern and familiar geometric color blocking on the outsole all seek to evoke 1992 nostalgia. 

Bam Adebayo, Rui Hachimura and Dearica Hamby all need both distinctive and effective support while wreaking havoc on the block and drawing defenders out to the midrange. The Leno-weave upper takes direct inspiration from the exoskeleton construction of the famous Nike Air Huarache and the targeted areas of protection of ankle straps and tape. 

Blending Tinker Hatfield’s past innovations with modern-age performance served as an empowering anchor of inspiration throughout the 37’s process. “We’re just wanting to make it newer and better now,” Troyer adds.

From the inner paneling of the VII to the carbon fiber shank’s return for the first time since the 32, the new aesthetic created by merging the structural design with the Leno-weave upper has excited Troyer the most.  

Yet the evolution of the upper is seen in a whole new space with the 37, “allowing the structure to be very strong where you need it,” says Troyer, “and then opened up and lightweight and flexible when you don’t.”  

Allowing varying light and colors to poke through the panels of the forefoot, the introduction of a specialized TPE yarn amidst the tooling of the zoned upper– crafted out of a single fiber of monofilament called Arkema—pays direct homage to the meticulous craftsmanship displayed in West African basket weaving.

“You can really see inside, you can see your sock, you can see the insole. It’s just going to become a unique aesthetic where we haven’t been before,” Troyer adds.

We’re not talking about picking and pulling random ideas and influences just to be sorted 
out later down the line here, we’re talking going into the deepest depths of the bottomless bag of Jumpman’s creative and technological capabilities.

The bevy of His Airness’ insurmountable athletic feats on the hardwood provide Nike’s Sport Research Lab in Beaverton with a scientific treasure trove of jumping sequences to dissect and translate toward designing footwear for the future. The result was an amalgamation of modern sports research and a contemporary treatment of reductive layering. 

The basis of Jumpman’s newest modernization is rooted in NSRL’s study of the three stages of jumping: load, launch and crash. So while the ultimate goal is to create lightweight products, Troyer and the Brand knew in order to achieve their ultimate realization, a little bit of additional weight and structure was necessary—enabling them to remove copious amounts of weight from the upper by way of the Arkema threads. 

The Load Phase acts as a conduit for transferring motion from the heel through the forefoot. By way of the AJ XI’s staple carbon fiber shank underneath the midfoot and the inclusion of Formula 23 foam, which is being debuted in the Jordan Luka 1, the users’ second-long movement of loading is instantaneously softened. 

“It’s more responsive, more comfortable, and also more sustainable than any foam that we’ve been able to use,” Troyer tells KICKS. “So it has performance properties that are great just to provide new solutions.”

The Launch Phase may mistakenly feel like the final stage of the process, but by creating additional protection for the heel and landing, athletes are much more inclined to “engage the rest of the system and ultimately jump higher,” Troyer says. 

Affixed with full-length Zoom Strobel alongside an additional Zoom Air unit in the forefoot for increased responsiveness and the sensation of a double-stacked propulsion, the inserted rebound technology is placed as close to the foot as possible.

The Crash Phase, the instantaneous deceleration of the jump, is an aspect rarely traversed within performance sneakers, but no longer. 

“It’s really integrating those aspects and creating the system based on the insights and asking if we can help athletes crash harder, meaning protecting their heel and allowing them to put more force into their jump, then they’re going to be able to engage the rest of the system and ultimately jump higher,” Troyer says.

The sleek and structured heel features a TPU mold that encases the Brand’s proprietary foam technology, ultimately acting as a crash-landing pad for the energy and force the wearer exudes when striking the court. 

“It’s totally a balance,” Troyer adds.

His Airness was the ultimate hybrid on the court. Just like his game, his 37th signature is a quintessential blend of strength and grace, of dominance and modernism. 

Beefing up their roster with the additions of Paolo Banchero, Rhyne Howard and Isabelle Harrison this summer, the Brand is able to bring their young athletes behind the curtain of crafting the model early in their careers. “They’re really along with us on the journey throughout, before it’s even done,” Troyer says. 

And among the first few flavors of the silhouette to drop—including “Beyond Borders” in September and “The Hare” this Fall—are both Tatum’s and Sabally’s PEs. 

“Now that we have this new roster of young exciting talent,” Troyer says, “we’re really learning from them as well to help inform what the ultimate hybrid means.” 

Photos courtesy of Nike.

The post Light Show: An Exclusive Look at the Air Jordan 37 appeared first on SLAM.

Allisha Gray led the Wings with 17 points and five rebounds, followed by a 13-point, five rebounds, and three assists outing from Tyasha Harris. Marina Mabrey contributed 11 points, and four rebounds, and Satou Sabally rounded out Dallas’ double-digit scorers with 10 points, two rebounds, and two dimes in 15 minutes of action.

SUN TAKE GAME 1

— WSLAM (@wslam) August 19, 2022

Created to create separation in the third quarter after going on a 13-0 run that helped build a 20-point cushion in the third seed’s favor. The Suns kept the Wings scoreless for over five minutes, leading to the Sun closing out the third quarter with a 17-5 run that gave them an 18-point lead going into the fourth quarter.

After the tough Game 1 loss, Coach Vickie Johnson told assembled reporters that she didn’t “recognize” who the Dallas Wings were on the hardwood and noted that some players were noticeably “complaining” and “not taking accountability.”

“The first thing I told my team is ‘I didn’t recognize my team tonight.'” Johnson said. “If we can think we can do it individually and beat Connecticut, it’s not gonna happen.”

Vickie Johnson: "The first thing I told my team is 'I didn't recognize my team tonight.'"

Said players were "complaining," "not taking accountability."

"If we can think we can do it individually and beat Connecticut, it's not gonna happen."

— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) August 19, 2022

Arike Ogunbowale, Dallas’ leading scorer, is still not healthy enough to play due to an abdominal injury she aggravated during the final days of the regular-season.

It’s really that simple for DB pic.twitter.com/do0bk85mpV

— WSLAM (@wslam) August 19, 2022

The Wings will look to tie the series up with a Game 2 win over the Sun on Sunday.

The post Vickie Johnson Didn’t ‘Recognize’ Dallas Wings Team That Lost Game 1 appeared first on SLAM.

For over forty years, Lee has been at the forefront of making Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday. At the age of 95, her age hasn’t stopped her activism; even back in 2016, when she was 89-years-old, Lee walked from Fort Worth, TX, to Washington D.C. to show her support. Finally, like many others, Lee can officially celebrate Juneteenth as a federally recognized holiday on June 19th.  

Hosting Lee before the holiday weekend was crucial not only for Coach Vickie Johnson but also for her players.

“It was great for my players to see such great history. She is someone who has experienced so much in life and has fought for other people. She has done what God has placed us on this earth to do — and that is to serve other people,” Johnson said per TheNextHoops. 

The players got the chance to talk about what needs to change, gain insight, and most importantly, be inspired by Lee’s legacy. One of which was forward Satou Sabally.

“We have to protect each other, protect humankind. She said that it isn’t going to happen in a day, but over time you can change minds and use the power we have in our hands. Pay attention to homelessness, schooling, and education. Be involved in rallies and walks and celebrate Juneteenth but also know the history that America is laid on.” Sabally said. 

The WNBA has continued to make efforts to change and bring attention to social injustices. This relates to Opal Lee’s actions of being able to think outside yourself and fight for something greater.

The post The Dallas Wings Host the “Grandmother” of Juneteenth appeared first on SLAM.

Kahleah Copper really picked up where she left off overseas. SHEESH @kahleahcopper

(via @EuroLeagueWomen) pic.twitter.com/AmLP54eQtq

— WSLAM (@wslam) December 7, 2021

In 26 minutes, the 2021 All-Star dropped 35 points, grabbed three rebounds and four steals on an efficient 12-18 shooting from the field, leading Avenida (6-2) to a 77-69 win over MBA Moscow (2-6).

The former 7th overall pick in the 2016 draft has been playing in the EuroLeague since November 16th, when Spanish club Perfumerias Avenida announced its signing of Copper. Since joining the EuroLeague, Copper has been on a tear. In her November 24th debut, Copper scored a team-high 25 points, shooting a scintillating 9-11 from the field while swiping two steals in Avenida’s 96-54 win over KSC Szekszard.

In her very next game against UMMC Ekaterinburg, Copper dropped 34 points, six boards, and three dimes in 30 minutes on the court. Copper and Perfumerías Avenida Basketball Club’s next matchup will be against fellow WNBA guard Jasmine Thomas and TTT Riga on Saturday.

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The New York Liberty sent a shock wave across the WNBA earlier this season when they waived point guard Layshia Clarendon after three games. An integral part to the Liberty’s 2020 season, Clarendon stepped into the starting position after the loss of Sabrina Ionescu and averaged career highs in field goal percentage (46.5) and points (11.5). Many fans thought that they would remain with the team. 

No need to worry about Clarendon landing on their feet though. They went from a team looking to win its first championship to the Lynx, a team that is not only tied for the most championships in the League (four) but also has won more Western Conference championships than any other franchise in the conference. They also currently hold the League record with 10 consecutive playoff appearances. Stroke of luck? Maybe. A case of good things happening to good people? Possibly. Or is it just simply another example of the resiliency, faith and motivation of Clarendon, and why it’s so difficult to ever count them out?

One of the most powerful and well-respected voices in the W, Clarendon isn’t your typical player. It’s not only because they are the first non-binary and transgender person in the League (using the she/her, he/him, and they/them pronouns interchangeably), but also because they understand the uniqueness they bring to the game and to the point guard position, stemming back to their days in the NCAA.

“Alexis Gray-Lawson was an amazing player at Cal. People were like Oh you’re the next Alexis Gray-Lawson, and I’m like No, I’m the first Layshia Clarendon,” the guard shares with WSLAM. “I think the way I play in W, I’m one of the most physical point guards. I think I have the savvy of some of the legendary point guards…but, like, the dribble hold, and some of the moves that I do, no one does that in the WNBA and especially not to the extent that I do. No one plays with the physicality at the point guard position that I do. And so that’s one of the things I love about the uniqueness of my game; I don’t try to emulate anyone.” 

Arriving in Minnesota after initially signing a hardship contract in late May, Clarendon’s presence was immediately felt. Trying to block out of their mind the difficulties that come along with picking up your family and relocating with a newborn, as she and her wife recently celebrated the birth of their child “Baby C,” the All-Star point guard focused on the new opportunity ahead of them and provided the fire the Lynx needed to charge toward the team’s first win of the season. And that spark wasn’t temporary. Clarendon’s impact continued, and Minnesota won seven straight games heading into the Olympic break. The combination of Clarendon’s high-level contributions plus the return of key players from injury helped make the Lynx the hottest team in the League in mid-July. 

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Impactfulness has become a pattern for Clarendon. The same effort taken with each dribble and each pass to ensure precision and efficiency during game play is the same effort put forth in every conversation and meeting in which they are standing on the right side of social justice and LGBTQ+ rights. It was Clarendon’s idea to dedicate the 2020 WNBA season to the Say Her Name campaign. It was Clarendon standing front and center when the WNBA and WNBPA launched the Social Justice Council to drive the players’ activism efforts. It was Clarendon standing together with other leading voices of the League—Nneka Ogwumike, Elizabeth Williams, Sue Bird, Natalie Achonwa, Chiney Ogwumike and Satou Sabally— as the executive council of the WNBPA, ensuring the expressions of the diverse group of people who make up the WNBA are represented fairly, adequately and equitably. It was also Clarendon who played a crucial part in helping to negotiate the WNBA’s acclaimed new CBA, a process they credit for aiding their understanding of true leadership, democracy and governance. 

“The things that came out of that deal were phenomenal, but the internal process that we all went through as leaders, it stretched us in ways that helped prepare us for Bradenton,” Clarendon says. 

“Leadership is a lot of listening. And that’s really hard and very humbling when you have so many different people with different wants. You just have to listen and keep the best interest of everyone. You have your opinions, and you have your feelings, but you have to check your ego.”

Clarendon flawlessly handles the pressure: the pressure that comes with playing for one of the most demanding coaches in the game, the pressure that’s attached with inspiring so many young trans and queer people to live their lives in openness, the pressure that comes along with being a new parent, and the pressure that builds from within from wanting to accomplish every goal set. 

“I hope anyone who’s ever played with me felt seen. I hope I change the way we view gender forever. That would be amazing if I helped slow up the binary in sports. That I fought for the liberation of all people, the same way I fought for social justice and the world, but also for this League. Especially in the CBA. I hope we look back and look at that as a stepping stone for the one that’s really going to blow it out of the water.” 

When it’s all said and done, Clarendon wants to leave the League in a better place than they found it, so the legacy of impactful and intentional progression can continue for another 25 years and beyond. Inspiring and influential, the WNBA is a better place because players like Clarendon have graced its courts. 

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Photos via Getty Images.

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Straying away from the typical East-West format due to the Olympic year, fans have been anxiously awaiting the list of their favorite players that will get their chance to face off against Team USA.

That being said, the All-Star roster is loaded on both sides, featuring veterans and a few newbies as well.

First-time All-Stars include: six-year veteran Betnijah Laney (New York Liberty); second-year forward Satou Sabally (Dallas Wings); seven-year veteran Dearica Hamby (Las Vegas Aces); third-year guard Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas Wings); sixth-year wing Kahlea Copper (Chicago Sky); six-year veteran Courtney Williams (Atlanta Dream); and five-year pro Brionna Jones (Connecticut Sun).

Notable players returning to the All-Star Game include two-time MVP Candace Parker (Chicago Sky), four-time All-Star Liz Cambage (Las Vegas Aces); and three-time All-Star Jonquel Jones (Connecticut Sun).

Team WNBA and Team USA will face off in Las Vegas on July 14 at 7pm (ET) on ESPN.

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Bird, who will turn 40 this month, missed half of the abbreviated 22-game regular season with a bone bruise in her knee. The SLAM 228 cover subject will suit up for the Storm as they take on the Las Vegas Aces in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals tonight.

Making her debut at No. 4 on the list, Liberty rookie Sabrina Ionescu appeared in just 3 games this season before exiting the wubble with a Grade 3 ankle sprain. The former Oregon star and No. 1 pick in the 2020 Draft could be a face of the league for years to come.

Despite not playing since 2018, four-time WNBA champion Maya Moore appeared at No. 5 on the list. Moore, 31, decided to take off a second consecutive season to focus on reform in the American justice system.

Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne ranked No. 8 on the list despite sitting out the season due to health concerns. Delle Donne, who suffers from Lyme disease, was inexplicably denied a medical exemption from the league.

Top-10 Most Popular WNBA Jerseys:

1. Sue Bird, Seattle Storm
2. Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury
3. Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks
4. Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty
5. Maya Moore, Minnesota Lynx
6. A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
7. Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm
8. Elena Delle Donne, Washington Mystics
9. Courtney Vandersloot, Chicago Sky
10. Satou Sabally, Dallas Wings

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The season tips off on Saturday, July 25 at noon ET with the Storm against the Liberty. Below is our 2020 preview to get you ready for the action. Let’s go.

EAST

1. Chicago Sky

If there’s one team everyone in the League should fear this upcoming season, it’s the Sky. This Chicago group is one of the youngest in the League, so it’s no surprise that they are also one of the most athletic. Behind prolific scorers in two-time Three-Point Contest champion Allie Quigley and Diamond DeShields, the Sky were second in scoring last season, just behind the champion Washington Mystics. Not only that—they were also  second in assists, in large part due to Courtney Vandersloot, the record holder for most assists in a single season. In keeping core pieces like Stefanie Dolson, Cheyenne Parker and Gabby Williams, while also picking up Sydney Colson and Azura Stevens, Sky Town has a lot to look forward to in the 2020 campaign.

2. Connecticut Sun

Connecticut came just short of the championship in 2019 with one of the strongest rosters in the WNBA, but this year’s roster looks slightly different. Although they’ll be without leading scorer Jonquel Jones, who has chosen to sit out over health concerns due to COVID-19, they won big time in acquiring DeWanna Bonner during free agency. Along with veteran guards Alyssa Thomas and Jasmine Thomas, Bonner will help fill the major scoring void. The big question for the Sun revolves around team chemistry, having lost on-court leader Courtney Williams, as well as having picked up multiple free agents this offseason.

3. Washington Mystics

The reigning WNBA Champions will aim to defend their title in 2020, although they’ll be without some major pieces. They took a big hit during free agency in losing Point God Kristi Toliver, and will be without 2019 MVP Elena Delle Donne and free-agent signee Tina Charles due to health concerns over COVID-19. Washington added vet Essence Carson to help fill the void of Natasha Cloud, who has chosen to sit out the season in order to focus on the fight for social justice. Even without some serious offensive pieces, they still have last year’s Finals MVP Emma Meesseman, who will need to step up once again if the Mystics are to make another deep playoff run.

4. Indiana Fever

Indiana has struggled since their last playoff appearance in 2016, but this new squad could be considered the sleeper of the League. With lottery picks in the most recent drafts, the Fever are now young, quick and hungry to win. Indiana’s biggest strength is their talented bigs, including Natalie Achonwa, Teaira McCowan and the 2020 No. 2 overall pick Lauren Cox. They also have strong young guards in Kelsey Mitchell and Victoria Vivians, who returns this season after missing last year due to a knee injury. Behind the veteran leadership of Candice Dupree and Erica Wheeler, as well as former Mystics assistant and new head coach Marianne Stanley, Indiana’s ceiling is extremely high.

5. Atlanta Dream

Having lost Angel McCoughtry during free agency, Atlanta has a lot of question marks around this upcoming season. With significant movement in the offseason, the Dream’s roster has several new faces playing together for the first time. Courtney Williams and Shekinna Stricklen join the team after a WNBA Finals run with the Sun last season, and therefore will need to provide leadership in the locker room. Additionally, their frontcourt crew of Elizabeth Williams, Glory Johnson and Kalani Brown is extremely strong. The future definitely looks bright for the Dream, as they also picked up scoring sensation Chennedy Carter in this year’s Draft.

6. New York Liberty

The team with the most unknowns is the new Brooklyn crew. With one of the most inexperienced rosters, new head coach Walt Hopkins will need to rely on veterans Layshia Clarendon, Amanda Zahui B and Kia Nurse to help transition the rookies into the pros. That being said, the Liberty have some of the best prospects from this year’s draft, including NCAA phenom Sabrina Ionescu and former Husky Megan Walker. If Sabrina, Megan and the rest of the rookies are able to adapt quickly, the Liberty could have a surprisingly successful season. New York will be without Asia Durr, though, who decided to opt out of the 2020 season due to health concerns over COVID-19.

WEST

1. Seattle Storm

The 2018 championship team is finally back together after a year of many injuries, and we have a feeling they’re about to pick up right where they left off. Stewie is back, Sue is back, and the best part is that a lot of the younger players now have more experience to help take Seattle back to the top. We witnessed Jordin Canada and Jewell Loyd really come into their own in 2019, leading Seattle to the second round of the playoffs. With last year’s Defensive Player of the Year Natasha Howard, as well as new additions in Morgan Tuck and Epiphanny Prince, the Storm are destined for another title run.

2. Phoenix Mercury

Skylar Diggins-Smith, Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi are the new “Big Three” of the WNBA, and they’re likely to take the Mercury near the top at IMG this summer. Phoenix already had a stacked roster and the addition of one of the best scoring guards in the League only makes them that much better. With Bria Hartley and 2019 champion Shatori Walker-Kimbrough joining the mix, there’s no doubt that Phoenix has the deepest roster in the League. Diana “The GOAT” Taurasi is back this year after missing most of last season due to injury, which makes Phoenix one of the early favorites to win it all. 

3. Las Vegas Aces

The Las Vegas Aces are one of the top teams to watch in 2020. In another major free agency move, Vegas picked up Angel McCoughtry, who adds the experienced guard play they have been missing. Although they’ll be without Liz Cambage (due to health concerns over COVID-19) and Kelsey Plum (due to a torn achilles suffered in the offseason), the Aces roster is still strong. With some of their major players missing, 2018 Rookie of the Year A’ja Wilson is set to have another breakout season and potentially be an MVP candidate.

4. Los Angeles Sparks

You know the competition in the West is great when the Sparks are somehow in the middle of the pack, even though they have one of the greatest players ever hooping for them. The big question for L.A. this year is how Coach Derek Fisher implements his offensive system with top scorers Candace Parker, Nneka Ogwumike, Chelsea Gray and Riquna Williams. The Sparks also picked up Brittney Sykes and longtime rival Seimone Augustus. If Coach Fisher and his staff are able to put together a game plan that gets everyone on the roster involved, the Sparks could be the team to beat in the West.

5. Minnesota Lynx

Cheryl Reeve’s Lynx look a lot different than most years, as they continue their rebuilding period. Their leader, Maya Moore, has continued her inspiring path of pursuing social justice reform, which leaves Sylvia Fowles as the veteran in the locker room. The Lynx have lots of promising young talent on the roster, including 2019 Rookie of the Year Napheesa Collier. They also picked up some strong prospects in this year’s Draft with Mikiah Herbert Harrigan and Crystal Dangerfield. With sharpshooters Rachel Banham and Lexie Brown, the Lynx still have a chance at a solid season that could help develop a lot of their talent for the future.

6. Dallas Wings

Dallas has the most inexperienced roster in the West, but don’t let that fool you—they have some true bucket-getters on their squad who are poised to have big seasons. All eyes will be on 2019 Rookie of the Year runner-up Arike Ogunbowale, who averaged 19.1 points per game in her first season. Most exciting, though, is their pickup of Katie Lou Samuelson, who didn’t see much playing time with Chicago last year. As a UConn product, you know she’s bound to be a sponge and learn quickly how to be implemented into the offense, especially under head coach Brian Agler. With the addition of top prospects Satou Sabally and Bella Alarie, the Wings are low-key our favorite to shock the League this season, potentially even clinching a playoff spot.

—

Camille Buxeda is a Senior Content Producer at SLAM. Follow her on twitter @CamilleBuxeda.

Photos via Getty.

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Hebard didn’t have to wait long before learning her fate. Only seven names came off the board before the Chicago Sky selected the 6-4 forward with the No. 8 pick.

“It was definitely weird to be home in Alaska, but it also was a dream,” says Hebard, a two-time recipient of the Katrina McClain Award given to the nation’s top power forward. “I was excited, my parents were there, and it was a fun night. After I got the call and they told me I was going to Chicago, it was just an amazing feeling, and I was so happy to be able to spend it with my family.”

Although Hebard grew up in Alaska, she does have one major tie to the Windy City. She was born in Chicago and adopted by her parents, Dorothy and John, when she was a few days old. Aside from playing in a couple Chicago-based AAU tournaments as a kid, Hebard hasn’t spent much time in her birthplace. She’s thrilled to start her career in a city with a rich basketball tradition.

“I’m so excited,” she says. “I got so many messages and DMs from fans in Chicago saying they were super excited they drafted me. Just to go to such a big city and a city that loves its sports, I’m so glad and excited to be a part of it.”

Draft night didn’t go how Hebard had envisioned it would. There wasn’t a big party with all of her closest friends and family. Instead, Hebard was about as socially distant as she could be, celebrating with her family in Fairbanks, a remote community located about 200 miles south of the Arctic Circle.

It was fitting that Hebard was home for the occasion. She became just the third Alaskan to be selected in the WNBA Draft, following in Jessica Moore and Kelsey Griffin’s footsteps. Moore was a second-round pick in 2005 and enjoyed a nine-year pro career after winning three national titles at UConn, while Griffin was taken third overall in 2010 after a prolific career at Nebraska.

Hebard was the first player to be drafted from Alaska’s Interior, a region known for its world-class hunting and fishing, the Midnight Sun and the northern lights. Fairbanks is proud of her and demonstrated its support following the draft. After she was picked by Chicago, Hebard hopped in the car and drove near her alma mater, West Valley High School, where she captured three Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year awards. Hebard was at the grand marshal in the victory parade, as members of the community lined the streets and honked their car horns and waved out their windows as she drove by.

During the age of social distancing sparked by the coronavirus, it was the perfect form of celebration for Hebard to feel connected to her hometown.

“I didn’t know what the parade was going to be like until I got there,” Hebard says. “I just felt a lot of love. I saw lots of friends and my former teachers and counselors. It felt like Alaska was a part of my draft night—that was really big for me because a lot of people couldn’t make it out to see me play at Oregon. I know everything is shut down and there’s a lot of stress in the world, but that was a light and was something that gave me hope. It’s something I’ll always remember.”

Oregon fans will always cherish the mark Hebard left on the program during her four-year career. She received All-Pac-12 honors each season, setting conference and national records while helping the program reach new heights alongside Ionescu and Satou Sabally, who was taken second overall by the Dallas Wings in this year’s draft.

Hebard will be remembered as one of the most efficient scorers the women’s collegiate game has ever seen. She finished her college career as the Pac-12’s all-time leader in career field-goal percentage (65.1 percent) and her 987 field goals is the most in Ducks history. One of Hebard’s most eye-opening stretches came during her sophomore season, when she set an NCAA record—for both genders—with 33 consecutive made field goals.

The streak spanned 11 quarters and two overtime periods, and it highlighted her ability to turn proper positioning into points.

“I think it’s all about playing physical and making the best of the pass,” Hebard says of her efficiency. “Playing with Sabrina, it was like, I don’t want to mess this up for her either. It’s really just about being strong and focusing on what I want to do and where I want to do it.”

Oregon fans fell in love with Hebard the scorer, but Ducks fans also grew a bond with Ruthy the woman, who is almost always lighting up arenas with her bright smile. Hebard credits her mom for instilling the positive outlook she’s mastered.

“My mom always used to tell me, ‘If you’re not having fun, don’t do it,’” Hebard says. “I remember her telling me that one time when I was probably upset about a game. I was like, You know, this is actually really fun, and I kind of took a step back and thought about what my world would be like without basketball. I knew that wasn’t going to happen, so I really have always tried to be a light to anyone and let other people see how much fun you can have with the game.”

Hebard is now back in Eugene, OR, preparing for her rookie season the best she can. Her WNBA debut was supposed to come May 15 when the Sky were scheduled to host the Minnesota Lynx in their season opener. The coronavirus has postponed the start of the season indefinitely, and Hebard hasn’t received any instructions about when she’ll be able to head to Chicago and join her new team.

“Everything is still wait-and-see until everything is clear,” she says. “Right now, we’re all trying to work out, and we’re having weekly Zoom calls with the team.”

The former Oregon star will have to wait a little longer to fulfill her dream of playing at the next level, but Hebard is anxiously awaiting the challenge. After establishing herself as one of the most dependable collegiate players, Hebard says she intends to pick up where she left off in Chicago once the WNBA season tips off.

“I’m excited to bring my energy to the next level and hopefully continue my consistency at the next level,” she says. “I hope I’m able to make plays and keep scoring, really help the team any way I can.”

—

Brad Joyal is a contributor to SLAM. Follow him on Twitter @BradJoyal.

Photos via Getty Images.

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Three event-filled years have gone by. Two Pac-12 championships, one trip to the NCAA finals that ended in heartbreak and one chance at redemption that never came. But Sabally’s not looking back. Instead, she’s ready for her future—the WNBA and the glory it promises.

In 2017, when Sabally had committed to Oregon, ESPN had the tall German ranked as just the 36th-best player in her recruiting class. 

“I just thought, OK, I’m not a top-ranked player. I’ll play like one and I’ll get up there,” the junior says about her mindset at the time.

Now, just three short years later, Sabally is widely projected to go No. 2 in the 2020 WNBA Draft.

Oregon coach Kelly Graves once described her as “maybe the most interesting player I’ve ever coached.” And it’s clear to see why. The 6-4 German may occupy the forward position, but she boasts the athleticism and ball skills often found in a guard. Sabally averaged 15 points per game this season while shooting 39 percent from beyond the arc. She knocks down threes with ease, she relishes smacking her opponents’ shots away and she twists and turns her way to the basket with the poised body control of a cat.

But Graves also knows her as a woman who is incredibly curious and self-aware. He remembers how, during a team trip to the Muhammad Ali Museum early on in her freshman year, he couldn’t get her to leave. She stood there long after everyone else had left, reading every plaque, asking questions, hungry to learn every crumb of information about the legendary athlete and civil rights activist. 

Sabally arrived in Eugene, OR, as a lanky kid from Berlin and struggled to keep up with stars like Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard in practice that first year. But she kept pushing, kept firing shot after shot, putting in hours of work in the gym and staying up all night to complete her schoolwork. 

When you ask her about her time in Oregon, her toothy smile grows wide. Her love for the sport radiates through the computer screen as she reflects on all of the everlasting memories she made with her teammates.

Despite being named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, she was convinced her shooting wasn’t good enough. So she improved, shooting 51.3 perecent from the field during her sophomore year and averaged a career-high 16.9 points per game. By the time her junior year rolled around, she had become one of the leading voices on the team. But she also knew that she could do more on the court to help Ionescu and the rest of her teammates. She became hungrier defensively, crashing the boards every time and she averaged 6.9 rebounds per game this season. In her three-year college career, she’s made 180 three-pointers, good for ninth in school history. 

“I think she’s kind of worked on one facet of her game and improved in that area with each and every year,” Graves says. “She went from basically a spot-up shooter as a freshman to a little bit more of a driver in her second year and now, [she’s] much more of a driver that could create for others. She was better on the block, better on the rebounds. So she continued to evolve as a player as well.”

Born to a Gambian father and a German mother, Sabally grew up in Berlin in a home with six other siblings running around. Basketball is not the most popular sport in Germany—soccer is what courses through the people’s veins, it’s the sport played on playgrounds, fields and streets across the country. 

But Sabally never gave up on her hoop dreams, and she says her family’s continuous support pushed her to keep going. She has even represented Germany on the international level, leading them to first place in the FIBA U20 European Division B Championship three summers ago and helped them qualify for FIBA EuroBasket Women 2021.

“My little brothers are actually playing soccer, and I told them to go to basketball,” she laughs. “But soccer’s fine, too.”

She left everything and everyone she knew home when she traveled to Oregon alone to start her freshman year three years ago. She knows how to lead and how to make her voice heard. And on an Oregon team with loads of talent and incredible aspirations, she stood out.

“I think she was one of those players that was looked up to by everybody, by the young kids, by the older kids,” Graves says. “She wasn’t afraid to step up and challenge other players when that needed to be the case. She’s the whole package in terms of being a great teammate, being a great citizen and being a great basketball player.”

In February, when Sabally announced that she would be forgoing her senior season to enter the WNBA, she was nervous but also felt incredibly calm. She knew people might question her decision, but she felt confident. The memories of dropping 25 points in a win over Team USA in November and a career-high 33 points against Washington State at the start of the year were fresh in her mind. She yearned to help her family financially, to show the world who Satou Sabally is.

“You dream about it the whole time,” Sabally says. “Why wait?”

In just one day’s time, the 22-year-old’s dream of playing in the WNBA will be one step closer. As for the next time she’ll be able to take the court, nobody knows. But when the time comes, she’ll be ready.

—

Bela Kirpalani is a contributor at SLAM. Follow her on Twitter @belakirpalani.

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Top prospects, including Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally, will take part in the draft remotely, while WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert will announce the picks live on ESPN2. Coverage will begin at 8 p.m. EST.

During the draft, the WNBA plans to honor Alyssa Altobelli, Gianna Bryant, Kobe Bryant and Payton Chester, who passed away in a tragic helicopter crash in January.

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—

Aliyah Boston, 6-5 freshman linchpin of the dominant South Carolina women’s basketball team, has always been ahead of the pack when it comes to her decision-making.

A native of St. Thomas, she played and excelled as the lone girl in a boys (ages 9-11) league, but it became obvious that she needed a larger challenge. AAU provided that, but it meant moving to Massachusetts as a 12-year-old, along with her older sister, Alexis, then 14.

So when she sat down with her parents, Cleone and Algernon, they hesitated to send their younger daughter hundreds of miles away. Aliyah, though, didn’t pause for a moment.

“So my mom was like, ‘Oh, would you guys want to move?’ And I was like, ‘Sure, why not?’” Boston recalls. “I don’t think I really was affected by the move initially as my parents were. Because they’re letting their daughters move to the States, and we were just 12 and 14. But I was fine. I was excited. I was like, This is cool.”

She’s certainly made herself at home, though it’s important to note St. Thomas is a US territory: by this past summer, she was a starter and key player on USA Basketball’s U19 team that won gold at the U19 World Cup. No one would be surprised to see her debut on the senior squad before her collegiate career is complete. The USA Basketball head coach, after all, knows a little about her game: it’s South Carolina’s Dawn Staley.

If there’s a throughline in Aliyah Boston’s career so far, it is a maturity beyond her years. She’s a freshman big who uses an ability to see the floor like a veteran point guard to dominate. She’s a young player whose voice carries as a leader on a senior-laden South Carolina team. And even as she’s just begun her collegiate career, she sees where her game has to go to turn her into what she visualizes for the future: a star in the WNBA.

“Something I’m really trying to work on is my outside game,” Boston explains. “I’m starting to shoot midrange jumpshots a lot better and a lot more. That’s what I’m going to continue to work on. And then I just have to continue to get stronger in the post, that battling through contact.”

It is an astounding thing, the idea that Boston is merely scratching the surface of how efficient she can be offensively. Through the end of the regular season, Boston has made 61.4 percent of her attempts from the field, good for 22nd in the country. A thing every South Carolina superstar until the end of time will have to deal with is getting compared to A’ja Wilson, but Boston doesn’t seem fazed, having already exceeded Wilson’s field-goal percentage (54.2 percent).

Boston’s offensive mastery has surprised even Staley, who knew she’d be great, but not this quickly.

“I did not think Aliyah could score as efficiently as she has,” Staley says. “I did not, because when I saw her play, I saw her miss a lot of layups. I mean right at the basket. So I’m like, Oh, we’re going to have to work that, going to have to get her more efficient down near the block. I really underestimated her ability to shoot from the outside.”

It’s been that kind of production that reinforced the eureka moment she had with the media early in her freshman season. Staley recalled the shocked faces from those who cover the team when asking Boston about Wilson.

“She said, ‘I want to be better than A’ja Wilson,’” Staley says. “Those are her words. ‘I don’t want to be A’ja Wilson, I want to be better than A’ja Wilson.’ And those are really strong words around these parts.”

It’s not hard to argue that Boston’s on track to do that already. The WNBA has a different set of rules for early entry than the NBA. Players must turn 22 the year of the WNBA Draft to leave early. Otherwise, it’s four full seasons from their high school graduation. Accordingly, with a December 2001 birthday, Boston will be in Columbia for four years.

Every WNBA talent evaluator I spoke to said if Boston could be a one-and-done player like in the NBA, she’d get chosen in the first round. One GM even said if a team needed a big, Boston could be the first overall selection among a crop that includes Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally, Baylor’s Lauren Cox and Princeton’s Bella Alarie.

“I’m super happy, encouraged, blessed to know she can’t leave early,” Staley notes wryly.

From a matchup perspective, Boston isn’t simply a scorer either. The maturity of her game manifests itself across the box score, something Purdue head coach Sharon Versyp saw up close earlier this season in an 85-49 loss to the Gamecocks. Boston finished with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks, 4 assists and 2 steals.

“The level of maturity is what stood out most,” Versyp said afterward. “You’d never know she was a freshman. Her mind, her motor, the level of things she can bring to the game…and she doesn’t force it. Just extremely impressive.”

This was no one-off performance, either. Her rebounding percentage of 19.2 ranks 50th in the country heading into conference tournament season. Her block rate is 8.9 percent, 41st in the country, and she’s managed a 2.5 steal percentage playing out of the post—making signature deflections and stepping into passing lanes with a defensive understanding beyond her years.

The blocks come not from the typical freshman production—overt athleticism overcoming limited understanding—but rather from patience. She logged 10 blocks as part of a triple-double in her very first game this season, a triple- double against Alabama State, and the blocks often came from waiting—waiting for the right moment, and then striking with that scary wingspan.

“It’s patience,” Boston says of how she gets her blocked shots. “I just wait. I just watch, and then when I know that they’re going up, then I go. A lot of them come from helping, or if they’re directly one-on-one in the post, I just read their body and how they’re going, and then I just follow them.”

It’s nothing like bragging when Boston says it, but she doesn’t shy away from either her goals or her confidence in reaching them. It’s something Staley pushes her on, too.

One of the reasons Staley believed Boston would be not just one of the best, but “by far, the best” of any freshman in this national class was how much she was talking with her teammates, communicating on both ends of the floor, in high school. In her first week of practice with South Carolina, though, Boston wasn’t that same boisterous figure.

“So then I’m like, Aliyah, let’s go, let’s go!” Staley remembers. “Talk about what you’re seeing out there. And from then on you hear her the loudest. Not just in drill work. You hear her in shooting drills, you hear her while we’re getting water, you just hear her! If I had any quality that I could give to a young person it is that. The ability to communicate what they see.”

As Boston puts it, “Once I started to talk during the drills, I just never stopped.”

That communication extends well beyond the court as well. Staley’s Gamecocks have, for this season and the next three, a coach on the floor. 

It’s just Boston’s MO. She didn’t want to be Wilson, but she grilled Staley over what her relationship with Wilson was like, to know how she can pattern her time in South Carolina after the pathway Wilson paved. And there’s no such thing as too much information for Boston when she’s preparing for opponents.

“We have dialogue with our scouting reports and she can recite everybody,” Coach Staley says. “Everybody from the point guard to the fourth person off the bench. She knows all the personnel, all of it. Everybody. And she knows it in the game. She knows what people are going to do…[She knows] the little integral details of somebody always wants to go, left-hand drive downhill, she knows that. She knows if a post player likes to shoot with heir left hand over the right shoulder. She’ll get a headstart on knowing that is what their strength is and she takes that away and she’ll wait for it. She’ll be patient and wait for it, and then, she makes incredible plays. Honestly, I’ve never been around a young person that is that intelligent.”

Even for the lone opponent to defeat South Carolina this season, Indiana, the key wasn’t finding a way to stop Boston. It was to get her off the floor.

“One of the keys for us was getting Aliyah into foul trouble,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said. “I think early in the season, that’s when you want to catch a team like South Carolina. South Carolina’s a terrific team, a Final Four kind of team. But we’re quite proud of being the lone one to knock them off.” Moren said she thinks it set the stage for their entire season. And Boston hasn’t played as little as she did that day, 14 minutes, in any game since. She played a season-high 37 minutes in a win over Connecticut.

That’s right, a win over Connecticut. Just another way Boston’s managed, already, to best Wilson’s remarkable legacy at South Carolina. And she’s just getting started.

“I’m glad that people think so highly of my game, but I know that I can’t just stay at this level,” Boston says. “I have to just continue to work on different aspects so that I can continue to get better.”

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Howard Megdal is a contributor to SLAM. Follow him on Twitter @howardmegdal.

Photos via Getty and South Carolina.

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Green is the defining color on the women’s side, too, where Oregon and all-world standout Sabrina Ionescu look primed to hang their first-ever championship banner.

MEN’S TOP 10

1. MICHIGAN STATE

If point guard Cassius Winston isn’t the best player in the nation, the other guy is otherworldly. Winston leads an experienced MSU team that also features Joshua Langford and Xavier Tillman. And you know Tom Izzo’s squad will play great defense every night (or hear about it at high volume).

2. KANSAS

It was a busy offseason for the Jayhawks, but the hard work certainly paid off. The NCAA cleared big man Silvio de Sousa to play. Isaiah Moss transferred in from Iowa. Udoka Azubuike and Devon Dotson decided against heading to the NBA. It will take a while, but this will be a dangerous team.

3. KENTUCKY

Yeah, the five-stars (Tyrese Maxey, Kahlil Whitney) are coming to Lexington, but so is Bucknell transfer Nate Sestina. And Ashton Hagans is a first-rate point guard who’s returning. There are other holdovers, too, which means Johnny Cal won’t have to start from the jump this year.

4. LOUISVILLE

There are quick turnarounds, and then there’s Louisville. The program was a giant wreck when Chris Mack took over. One great recruiting class later, and the arrival of St. Joe’s transfer Fresh Kimble, and the Cards could well win the ACC and reach the Final Four. Now that’s fast.

5. DUKE

There’s not much new at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, where Coach K welcomes another batch of freshmen prodigies to launch his annual assault on the ACC. But this year is a little different, because talented sophomore PG Tre Jones is back to help Vernon Carey Jr, Wendell Moore, Cassius Stanley and Matthew Hurt get comfortable, and Zion Williamson isn’t around.

6. FLORIDA

The biggest news in Gainesville came during the summer when former Virginia Tech big man Kerry Blackshear Jr joined the band. He gives the Gators some needed inside pop, while skilled guard Andrew Nembhard leads the perimeter attack, and newcomers Scottie Lewis and Tre Mann fill in everywhere else.

7. MARYLAND

This is the season Terps fans have been waiting for. There is talent all over the roster, beginning with PG Anthony Cowan but also including forward Jalen Smith. The freshman class includes a bunch of big men, and sophomore wing Aaron Wiggins has serious potential.

8. GONZAGA

Here’s the definition of a perennial powerhouse: lose three players early to the NBA and still grab a top 10 rating. The Zags added grad transfers Admon Gilder and Ryan Woolridge for the backcourt and expect Corey Kispert to blossom up front. A bunch of four-star newcomers, led by center Drew Timme, will help.

9. NORTH CAROLINA

What do you do when the top five players from your team leave? You get creative. Ol’ Roy Williams grabbed a couple of grad transfers (William & Mary’s Justin Pierce and Charleston Southern’s Christian Keeling) and a five-star late signee (guard Cole Anthony) to blend with holdovers in a potent concoction.

10. VILLANOVA

The Wildcats have the titles (2016 and 2018), and now they have the recruiting pop, thanks to a great class that includes guard Bryan Antoine (who may redshirt following shoulder surgery) and forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. They’ll work well with returning stalwarts Collin Gillespie, Saddiq Bey and Jermaine Samuels to keep ’Nova elite.

WOMEN’S TOP 10

1. OREGON

Come for Sabrina Ionescu and stay for the rest of the formidable Ducks, who made their first Final Four appearance last year. Ionescu is the nation’s best player, and she’ll get help from frontcourters Ruthy Hebard and Satou Sabally, along with sharpshooter Erin Boley, on the quest to win it all. 

2. BAYLOR

The Lady Bears will mount a national title defense with plenty of ammunition, particularly if Lauren Cox is back in time for the start of the season. Guards DiDi Richards and Juicy Landrum are terrors at both ends, and forward NaLyssa Smith should step up.

3. CONNECTICUT

By this time next year, the Huskies will have a new/old home: the Big East. For now, UConn will scoff at predictions of a drop-off and return to the Final Four for the 97th straight year, or something like that. Crystal Dangerfield and Megan Walker will lead the way. 

4. SOUTH CAROLINA

They don’t often do one-and-done in women’s ball, and that’s a good thing for Gamecock fans, who’ll get to enjoy a dynamite recruiting class for a few seasons. There’s a lot of young talent on the roster–hello, Aliyah Boston and Zia Cooke–and Dawn Staley is the perfect coach to bring it together.

5. TEXAS A&M

Just about everybody is back in College Station, especially high-scoring guard Chennedy Carter, the nation’s runner-up in points. The Aggies haven’t made it to the Final Four since they won it all in 2011, but this loaded team looks ready to end that drought.

6. MARYLAND

All the Terps did was add the nation’s top high school point guard (Ashley Owusu) to a lineup that includes high-scoring Kaila Charles, sharpshooter Taylor Mikesell and 6-5 Shakira Austin. The Big Ten is officially on notice. The rest of you are playing for second place. 

7. STANFORD

From 2008-14, the Cardinals made six Final Four appearances. It might be time for another. No. 1 overall recruit Haley Jones joins guards Kiana Williams and DiJonai Carrington in a potent lineup that should be strong enough to challenge Oregon for the top spot in the Pac-12.

8. SYRACUSE

While ’Cuse fans will certainly miss Tiana Mangakahia, who’s taking the season off as she gets treatment for cancer, the Orange doesn’t need to fear. Digna Strautmane and a bunch of experienced returnees are around. This squad could be your ACC champs…and more.

9. OREGON STATE

OSU fans will spend the season clamoring for 6-9 redshirt freshman Andrea Aquino, and why not? But the key to the Beaver’s success—beyond a redwood-style front line that also includes 6-7 Patricia Morris—is the backcourt, which is led by junior point guard Destiny Slocum and has depth and versatility. 

10. MISSISSIPPI STATE

On paper, it looks like the Bulldogs are in trouble because of some critical losses, but Vic Schaefer has a lot of talent ready to embrace larger roles, like Andra Espinoza-Hunter and Promise Taylor, who defected to Starkville from Mississippi. The youngsters need to step up, but they can handle the responsibility.

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Michael Bradley is a Senior Writer at SLAM. Follow him on Twitter @DailyHombre.

Photos by Ashley Walters and via Getty.

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