Ball Up Top: A Women’s Basketball Podcast

There are five games or less in the WNBA regular season and we are being set up for one of the best finishes we’ve had in recent league history. There’s a fight for the second seed, the sixth seed and the eighth seed. No more than two games separate the groupings of teams in the mix for those positions so, naturally, that means there are a lot of games with stakes this upcoming weekend. In keeping with our end-of-season content offerings, we’ve got our Thursday recap and weekend preview available on podcast and video form on YouTube (you can watch it at the bottom of the email here if you prefer in video form).It’s been a little light this week on the paid tier content, I know. But rest assured, this week was about getting interviews and the legwork to make sure your September is stuffed to the gills with insider content, analysis and some fantastic guests and profiles. If there were ever a time to get a free trial or hop on the Ball-Knower tier for a month, now is the time!Now, let’s get to the Watch Guide! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard.Tyler, Greer and Chauny are back on the pod this week with a couple broader topics as the regular season winds down in the WNBA. The show opens with a discussion about Candace Parker’s Chicago Sky jersey retirement and some of the simmering beef between her and Angel Reese. After a conversation about the concept of standing on business and when to do it, the discussion turns towards the WNBA playoffs. With so many teams clogging the top six seeds, regularly jockeying for position, the show turns to a relatively simple question: who is the toughest matchup for each playoff team? If you love the show, we’d love and appreciate a five star rating on Apple podcasts as well as a kind review if you’ve got the time! We’re also on the road to 5,000 subscribers on YouTube and 2,000 followers on TikTok so if you enjoy our content here, tell a friend to tell a friend to follow us on their preferred platform!Scroll Ahead to Hear…0:00 - Show Introduction.3:05 - Candace Parker’s Jersey Retirement and the Game Within the Game…18:20 - Toughest Matchup For Each Playoff Team…Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!Our intro music is made by Denver’s own DLZMKSBTS, the King of Mile Hi-Fi. Check out all his music on Spotify here and on Instagram here.Additionally, we’ve gotten some requests recently about additional donations for the NCS crew. If you don’t want to do a full subscription but want to support our work in any capacity, we are also opening up donations via Venmo as well. For those that have asked, we can’t tell you how much we appreciate and rest assured it is going back into the company to provide you with the best WBB coverage you can find! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

To quote the venerable Steve Miller Band, ‘Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’…into the future.’ Most teams have somewhere between six and seven regular season games left on their schedule while the difference between playoff qualification and elimination is one win or loss. If that doesn’t get you out of bed and ready to watch the WNBA, I don’t know what will. Add in a couple of increasingly compelling award races and we’ve got plenty to talk about going into the postseason. All season long I’ve been wondering how long it would take for the discourse to return to (semi) normal in the W and it feels like right now there’s no think pieces, no agitation outside the usual suspects and a chance to let the basketball do the talking. It’s kind of nice, isn’t it? If you missed any of our Sunday wrap show on YouTube, it’s here available as a podcast. We’re also expanding our coverage with Ball Up Top on Wednesdays, a Thursday night recap and weekend preview pod on Fridays and the Wrap on Sundays. Right when you need it, we’re ramping up for the stretch run as well. So tell a friend to tell a friend so you can stay up to date on all the action as we barrel towards one of the most fun Finals chases we’ve had in the W in the last four or five years. Now, to the column! 1. Phee vs. A’ja For MVP. Buckle Up, Folks. Guys, it’s okay to debate about awards. We don’t need to kumbaya and treat this like everyone gets a trophy at the end of the year. It’s sports. It’s competitive. As long as things stay within the lines (a big ask, I know), we should be comfortable standing behind our faves and their on-court cases for major awards. It’s part of what makes the game fun! To that end, the race for MVP is officially on. After A’ja Wilson’s 36 point ,13 rebound performance against Washington I opined on Bluesky that eventually the multi-time MVP had to be taking the lead in the race if she continued to do this. It was out of Napheesa Collier’s control, being injured and all, but if another player is repeatedly putting up guady statlines in your absence we’ve gotta have the conversation at some point, right? Well, Phee returned to the Lynx lineup after 22 days out and put up 32 points and 9 rebounds on 11/16 from the field, 2/3 from deep and 8/9 from the line. Game on. With just seven or so games left in the regular season, and one matchup against each other, this MVP race is shaping up to be one for the ages. To put it in historical context, we’ve had two truly close battles for the award in the last 15 years in the W. In 2023, Breanna Stewart edged out Alyssa Thomas by just seven total votes and Wilson by 13 to win. Ten years earlier, Candace Parker outlasted Maya Moore by a mere 16 votes. It wouldn’t surprise me if this season is just as close. Wilson has been the engine of a Las Vegas Aces turnaround that no one seemed to think was possible. Since the All-Star break, the reigning MVP is averaging 24.2 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game all while propelling the Aces to a 10 game winning streak. Collier has been the difference between the Lynx being a very good finals team and a historically great one. She’s having her most efficient shooting year ever, is flirting with a 50-40-90 season (currently 54.3% FG, 37.8% 3PT, 90.7% FT) and still remains one of the top defensive players in the league. You can’t really go wrong with either and if I bristled at the notion of pre-emptively awarding Wilson the MVP last season after just one month of play, I have to be consistent and say the same about Collier now. It’s a legit race and that September 4th matchup between the two may just be a Game of the Year contender. 2. Dominique Malonga For Sixth Woman of the Year? It’s Not That Crazy When You Think About It… One of my favorite things to do is watch team social media accounts towards the end of the year. Subtly, you start to see little posts and pieces of content that range from subtly including historical context in stats to outright announcing MVP candidacies. On Saturday, Seattle Storm PR put out a curious tweet that led me to believe they’re trying to quietly push a narrative to the forefront… Kind of interesting to make sure to include two Sixth Player of the Year winners, eh? Almost as if the wheels are turning to try and make a push for French rookie Dominique Malonga to be involved in the race. On the surface, one might think that it’s a bit late for this. I even wrote the other week in Five Out that Malonga was a lot like Rickea Jackson in that they came on extremely strong late in their rookie seasons but they hadn’t been out-front early enough to be in contention for an honor like Rookie of the Year. But when I started to dive into the Sixth Woman of the Year numbers, I realized the Storm may actually have a point. Since the All-Star break, Malonga has averaged 12.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game on just 20.5 minutes per game. Her field goal percentage sits at around 57% from the field while she’s also become quite a prolific offensive board getter. Anyone watching her can see the potential, from her length to her defense down to the little things like her ability to reset screens and be an effective roller. When you start to find statistical equalizers, like Per 36 Minutes numbers, Malonga’s average skyrocket to 19.9 points and 12.4 rebounds per game. Compare that to Naz Hillmon, the Sixth Woman of the Year frontrunner, whose Per 36 averages come out to around 12.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. I can understand the argument that arriving late to the party can take you out of contention for a seasonal award and that it can sometimes be the fault of a coach rather than a player. But Sixth Woman of the Year is one of those rare awards where minute variance may actually be somewhat acceptable. After all, it’s an honor for the best bench player in the league. You could make an argument that Malonga isn’t your normal rotational center but, as of now, she hasn’t started in a single game this year. Maybe she should be getting a little more play than we’ve given her this year? 3. Are The Liberty Too Hurt To Contend? After a dreadful two-loss weekend, the New York Liberty have now lost four of their last five and are now in a dogfight to keep a top four seed in the playoffs. Keep in mind, the difference between No. 4 and No. 5 is home court advantage in the best-of-3 opening round. To say that it matters a bit more in the WNBA would be an understatement. For example, if you’re New York wouldn’t you rather get Phoenix or Seattle at home rather than on the road in an elimination game? But my concern is that this has just been the year from hell in terms of injuries. I know Indiana fans can relate. The Liberty are down basically their entire bench frontcourt plus Breanna Stewart and now Sabrina Ionescu has picked up an injury that sidelined her in a pivotal Saturday matchup against Atlanta. At this point I’m genuinely not sure who else they can lose and still remain competitive.The belief is that Ionescu’s injury isn’t long term and that Stewart is aiming to be back before the playoffs but that still doesn’t solve the issue of Nyara Sabally (knee injury) and Izzy Harrison (concussion), two vital rotational pieces for New York. You saw it against Chicago, in which Emma Meesseman and Jonquel Jones were simply outrun by the trio of Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso and Elizabeth Williams. Against the best and deepest frontcourts in the league, how long can you expect to reasonably hold out before the dam breaks? New York’s greatest asset last season was their depth and the ability to throw out talented and versatile defenders at any point in the game. They legitimately ran 8 deep with 6’1+ long defenders that could also shoot. Those players are still on the roster, the issue is that a good chunk of them are in street clothes. With just a couple weeks until the playoffs, the Liberty are caught between two hard places: they need to win games but also need to be patient with their stars to prep for a long postseason run. I don’t envy Sandy Brondello but if you dig deep and prove your championship bonafides with a skeleton crew roster, you’ll be set up well to win it all when you get everybody back. 4. The WNBA’s Treatment of the Mohegan Tribe Is As Bad Optically As It Is Economically…I have a video coming on YouTube today that explores this more in depth but the gist of it is this: the WNBA is screwing up the Connecticut Sun deal to a point where I genuinely am wondering if the only route to true success for this league is to divest from the NBA entirely. For those that need a quick refresher: the Sun were going to sell the team for about $325 million to a former Boston Celtics minority owner named Steve Pagliuca. His idea would be to buy the team, relocate them to Boston and play some games in Providence on the dates that conflicted at TD Garden with the Celtics and Bruins. The WNBA, more or less, spiked that deal, hoping to entice the Mohegan Tribe to sell the franchise to the league for roughly $250 million so they could relocate it to a market of their choice, preserving Boston as an expansion franchise that could fetch a hefty fee. This past week, further reporting came out that the Sun are considering taking the team completely off the market with an added revelation that the WNBA had come to the Tribe with an offer to buy the team and relocate them to Cleveland once before. I’m no Juris Doctor but it feels like messing with someone’s business like this constitutes some type of tortious interference. If the argument is “well the Tribe aren’t owners but instead Governors of a franchise that is owned by the league thus they can set the market”, are we not talking about a monopoly? Let’s face it: the economics here are terrible. I’ll eventually have a full column about why the W would be foolish to follow the NBA’s business practices of short-term gains at the expense of long-term fandoms but let’s focus on the Sun for now.

As the WNBA regular season prepares to make way for the playoffs, we at No Cap Space WBB wanted to do something for the fans that just can’t get enough. On Friday mornings here and on YouTube, we’ll have a recap of Thursday’s game action as well as the Watch Guide in video and podcast form. Now, you’ll get the best of every world: A week recap/weekend preview on Friday, a weekend recap/week preview on Monday and the biggest topics in the game on Wednesdays for Ball Up Top. Today we’re discussing Angel Reese’s impact now that she’s fully healthy for Chicago, the Aces complete turnaround and where Phoenix goes from here. After the review, we look at the week ahead. The Watch Guide remains the same, giving you even deeper dives on what to watch for as the standings get tighter and the stakes higher. We’ve gotten some requests recently about additional donations for the NCS crew. If you don’t want to do a full subscription but want to support our work in any capacity, we are also opening up donations via Venmo as well. For those that have asked, we can’t tell you how much we appreciate and rest assured it is going back into the company to provide you with the best WBB coverage you can find!Friday, August 15Minnesota Lynx (28-7) vs. Indiana Fever (19-16): 7:30 PM ET, IONWhy It’s Worth a Watch: Minnesota is on the final leg of a three game road trip that included New York and Atlanta (both losses). Oh, and it’s a back-to-back tonight against the Fever who are coming off five days rest. Tired legs vs. fresh legs. You do the math. Yet in spite of that disadvantage, I wouldn’t be shocked if the Lynx made this a game. Matchups like this are the difference between playoff contenders and champions. Meanwhile, Indiana is fighting for their postseason lives. A win here could get you closer to Phoenix and New York, but a loss brings you a bit too close to the 8th or even 9th seed. There’s your stakes. What to Watch For: Jessica Shepard had a phenomenal night against Brittney Griner and Bri Jones, pacing Minnesota with 15 points and 16 rebounds so I’m interested in her upcoming battle with Aliyah Boston. Courtney Williams will probably want a bounceback game after a 3-14 performance in the loss to Atlanta. For the Fever, I’m watching how Odyssey Sims plays given her ever increasing significance. They need to start fast because Minnesota won’t let them back into a game the way Connecticut did. Must Watch Score: 8.5/10Seattle Storm (18-18) vs. Dallas Wings (9-27): 7:30 PM ET, IONWhy It’s Worth a Watch: The Storm, like the Fever, are trying to stave off postseason elimination. With about eight or nine (depending on the team) games left in the regular season, every win counts. Seattle has just a half game lead on Los Angeles who don’t play again until next Tuesday. All the pressure is on them in this matchup as Dallas just plays for the end of the year. What to Watch For: Paige Bueckers went thermonuclear against L.A., setting multiple records en route to a 44 point performance, and I’m curious how she follows that up. Skylar Diggins and Brittney Sykes are much better defenders than Kelsey Plum and Julie Allemand, so how will Bueckers adjust? In light of her performance, will Chris Koclanes decide to empower her by running things through her more? There’s a lot of cool to follow there. Unfortunately, I have a feeling the Storm frontcourt is going to tear the Wings apart. To that end, Dominique Malonga may have herself a game. If we get big minutes from her, this game turns into a really fun future superstars showcase. Must Watch Score: 7.5/10Golden State Valkyries (18-17) vs. Phoenix Mercury (21-14): 10:00 PM ET, IONWhy It’s Worth a Watch: This game has some of the highest stakes of the weekend from a postseason positioning standpoint. The Mercury were run out of the gym on Thursday night against Las Vegas and now welcome in a Valkyries team that has the capability of doing the same. Golden State, for their part, wants to keep pace with Indiana and can draw level with them if the Fever lose to Minnesota. What to Watch For: The Mercury started to flow in the second quarter when they ran the offense a little less through Alyssa Thomas. The unintended consequence was Thomas looking visibly frustrated at times. I can attribute that to a fierce competitor who really wants to win but sometimes it feels like Kahleah Copper needs to be a bit more than a spot up shooter. How this big three of AT, Kah and Satou Sabally handle these big moments is important to understanding just how far they can this postseason. Must Watch Score: 9/10Saturday, August 16New York Liberty (22-14) vs. Atlanta Dream (23-13): 2:00 PM ET, CBSWhy It’s Worth a Watch: I think Phoenix is fading a bit so I’d argue that New York, Atlanta and Las Vegas are the three teams vying for that second seed. Right now, the Dream hold a half game lead on the Aces and a full game lead on the Liberty. You see where I’m going with this? One game can be the difference between 2nd and 4th. Every single game matters especially in the W’s playoff format. A top four seed has home court advantage for the Best-of-3 first round. If you’re Atlanta or New York and drop one too many, you might end up in a much harder do-or-die playoff situation if it comes to that. Plus, we get some amazing individual matchups. Game of the Season candidate if both teams play to their potential. What to Watch For: Sabrina Ionescu and Rhyne Howard feel very similar in that they can run hot and cold as shooters. When they’re on, the 2020 and 2021 number one picks are top 8 players in the league. When they’re off, it can look like Spice Adams shooting threes in open gym. If even one is cooking on Saturday, we’re in for a treat. Natasha Cloud vs. Allisha Gray is a great defensive stopper vs. dominant scorer matchup while the chess match between Sandy Brondello and Karl Smesko should be a blast for scheme scholars. Must Watch Score: 9.5/10Las Vegas Aces (23-14) vs. Washington Mystics (16-20): 3:00 PM ET, League PassWhy It’s Worth a Watch: The Mystics are on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs but that doesn’t mean they’re completely out. All it would take is a couple wins to be right back in the mix. The only tough part is they’re facing off against the hottest team in the WNBA right now. Could it get out of hand? Maybe. But there’s a cool narrative thread happening with these two teams. Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen bear some resemblance as players to Jackie Young and A’ja Wilson which gives us this cool young team vs. what-they-can-be story. What to Watch For: A’ja Wilson has been on fire this August which will make this game a great test for Kiki Iriafen. In a lot of ways, it’s A’ja vs. Baby A’ja. A matchup of single-leg-sleevers. Potentially great television. Speaking of must-watch players, Chelsea Gray has successfully turned the clock back three years. The Point Gawd has returned to form at last and looks as good as she looked in the 2022 Conference Semifinals vs. Seattle. If you’ve been around, you know what I mean. If you haven’t, here you go. Enjoy. How Sonia Citron handles her and Jackie Young will be a fun storyline as well. Must Watch Score: 7.5/10Connecticut Sun (8-27) vs. Chicago Sky (9-26): 4:00 PM ET, CBSSNWhy It’s Worth a Watch: Both the Sky and Sun have been eliminated from the playoffs so you’d expect this to be a pair of teams that are just going through the motions before the year is out. Right? Wrong. Tyler Marsh and Rachid Meziane are building cultures in their respective cities and a game like this matters. It’s why you see the Sky beating New York and the Sun winning three in their last four. I expect the players to come out with the same energy they have all season and treat this like something it may not even be. That’s what makes both teams fun future buys… What to Watch For: This frontcourt battle is going to be a blast. Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who has come on strong late in the year, and Tina Charles taking on Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese. Size, scoring, versatility, intensity. You get it all. There’s also a fun LSU vs. LSU story with Reese meeting Sun rookie Aneesah Morrow. Connecticut’s backcourt duo of Saniya Rivers and Leila Lacan is quickly becoming one of my favorite tandems in the league and when they’re shooting well it’s legitimately a treat to watch. Must Watch Score: 7/10Sunday, August 17Seattle Storm (18-18) vs. Washington Mystics (16-20): 3:00 PM ET, League PassWhy It’s Worth a Watch: Not only is this Brittney Sykes’ first trip back to Washington since they traded her, this one feels like a bit of a make-or-break for the Mystics. A loss to the Aces will put them right on the edge of the cliff but a second loss to Seattle would tip them off the rocks and into the water. The schedule feels ripe for the Storm to rip off two wins before the last two games (Indiana, Minnesota) of their five game road stand. Can they do it against a Mystics team — one that’s won the previous two matchups against Seattle, it should be noted — that will probably be fighting for their playoff lives? What to Watch For: I don’t even know if we’d get it but I want to see Dominique Malonga vs. Kiki Iriafen minutes. Those two are, to me, future All-WNBA forwards. In the backcourt, Brittney Sykes sees her old Mystics teammate in Sonia Citron. Given that the trade was, on some level, motivated by Washington going all in on Citron and Iriafen and letting Sykes go to a win-now team, will there be any added intensity? Especially given that the playoffs are more or less on the line? I would like to see it! Must Watch Score: 7/10Golden State Valkyries (18-17) vs. Dallas Wings (9-27): 4:00 PM ET, League PassWhy It’s Worth a Watch: These are the exact games that no playoff hopeful should drop if they want to stay in the hunt. Dallas is inconsistent but has shown the ability to scare the hell out of (or even beat) teams that are better than them on-paper. Golden State is also a somewhat streaky t

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard.It’s Tyler, Chauny and Greer on this episode of Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast, recording on a Wednesday morning to make sure you got all the most recent reactions to a stacked Tuesday night of games. The Liberty defeated the Lynx, the Sun upset the Mystics while the Sky showed some fight and the race tightens between Las Vegas, Phoenix and Atlanta. Our crew discusses all the major WNBA action from last night while taking a look at some of the more macro stories in the league as well. Is A’ja Wilson really making an MVP push? What do we make of the Connecticut Sun’s franchise sale troubles and how much much tighter can the seeding race get in the WNBA? If you love the show, we’d love and appreciate a five star rating on Apple podcasts as well as a kind review if you’ve got the time! We’re also on the road to 5,000 subscribers on YouTube and 2,000 followers on TikTok so if you enjoy our content here, tell a friend to tell a friend to follow us on their preferred platform! Additionally, we’ve gotten some requests recently about additional donations for the NCS crew. If you don’t want to do a full subscription but want to support our work in any capacity, we are also opening up donations via Venmo as well. For those that have asked, we can’t tell you how much we appreciate and rest assured it is going back into the company to provide you with the best WBB coverage you can find! Scroll Ahead to Hear… 0:00 - Show Introduction.2:05 - Lynx vs. Liberty Recap.17:10 - The Race For A Top 4 Seed.20:53 - The Aces Late Season Surge.28:40 - How For Real Is Phoenix? Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!Our intro music is made by Denver’s own DLZMKSBTS, the King of Mile Hi-Fi. Check out all his music on Spotify here and on Instagram here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

While Five Out can sometimes venture out into the world of sports business, society and culture, it is occasionally fun to have a column that is just WNBA-centric.After a week of great games, jockeying in the standings and some MVP caliber performances from some of the top players in the league, we get five topics that are as hoop-heavy as you can get.In case you missed our Sunday wrap show, you can access it here as a podcast or below on YouTube. Be sure to like, share and subscribe or give us a five star rating and review on Apple if you enjoy the show! We always appreciate it and the growth of No Cap Space WBB doesn’t happen without you! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Now that we’re in the swing of Wednesday podcasts, we hope you’ve all been enjoying the double dose of our crew every week. If you missed our Sunday live show (or Monday morning pod, if you read Five Out), you can see it at the link below on YouTube. You can also see Ball Up Top in full over there in video form as well! Just be sure to like, share and subscribe if you do!Chauny, back by popular demand, is in the host seat once again. One might say that in a group where everyone eats but there’s a clear star, she’s the Paige Bueckers of this ship. After a bit of internal crisis at such realizations, the show opens with a simple question: is there anyone in the same tier as the Minnesota Lynx right now? Andrew argues that Atlanta and New York could still get the best of them in a multi-game series and the debate ensues. After touching on Alanna Smith’s Defensive Player of the Year candidacy, the crew discusses the mess happening in Chicago and where the fault lies for an organization that feels caught in a death spiral. The show wraps with a look at another team in turmoil, the Seattle Storm.Scroll ahead to hear…0:00 - Show Introductions4:59 - Is Minnesota in a tier of their own?22:17 - Alanna Smith’s Defensive Player of the Year candidacy…24:04 - The Sky is…falling…43:31 - Storms in Seattle…Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more!No Cap Space WBB is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Without being too hyperbolic, this has been one of the better WNBA late season playoff races I can remember. While there’s been plenty of jockeying in the standings at this point in prior years, there’s something about there being three (maybe even four) true Finals contenders in the mix. But before we dive into that, let’s welcome you back to Five Out now that we’re reformatted and back to our normal style.As we mentioned last week, the column will now include a Monday podcast that comes from our Sunday live wrap shows on YouTube. It’ll cover the biggest games of the day and some of the biggest news items between Thursday and the end of the week. Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast will now be dropping every Wednesday morning instead of Tuesday to give you two evenly spaced out podcasts that talk women’s basketball!Keep an eye out for more Overtime Select coverage this week as well. Chauny was down in Atlanta for the weekend getting you caught up on the next generation of women’s hoops stars and the WNBA legends they’re working with this summer (and that’s before we start to get into NCAA previews). In short, it’s a great time to be a women’s basketball fan! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

A quick programming note for you loyal podcast listeners. Ball Up Top is moving to Wednesdays full-time! We will now have a second show for you that will be a live weekend wrap up that will air on Sundays on YouTube and edited into pod form for Monday morning. That will push Ball Up Top to Wednesdays so you now get two chances to listen to some women’s basketball a talk a week with us!Chauny is in the host chair with Tyler and Andrew as the trio discusses the recent action near the WNBA trade deadline. Brittney Sykes is now in Seattle and the pod breaks down how the move benefits both teams. The discussion then covers the hottest teams in the league right now including the Los Angeles Sparks who continue to surge towards a playoff spot before wrapping up with a discussion around DeWanna Bonner, Sophie Cunningham and how rivalries grow organically in the WNBA.Scroll ahead to hear…0:00 - Show Introduction6:11 - Trade Breakdowns…25:30 - What is L.A.’s ceiling?46:05 - Connecticut Sun/WNBA sale drama.53:10 - One last look at DeWanna Bonner’s Indiana exit.Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Some news on the home front. Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast is moving to Wednesdays so we can get you two pods per week. On Sundays, our No Cap Space WBB team will be live on YouTube breaking down the biggest WNBA games of the weekend and biggest news items headed into Monday. Ball Up Top will be each Wednesday previewing the week ahead. It's all a part of our desire to get you a little more content and women's hoop talk! Be sure to subscribe, like and rate us five stars on Apple, Spotify or wherever you're listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

While the injury bug continued to hit the New York Liberty, the L.A. Sparks finally got one of their young superstars back after a 13 month recovery. Tyler, Greer and Andrew take a look at Cam Brink’s ceiling and what it could mean for a late season playoff push from Los Angeles.The trio open the show with news of Kennedy Burke’s injury and how the short turnaround times are hurting the WNBA as a league and may become a source of contention at the CBA Bargaining table. The show wraps up with a discussion on the upcoming trade deadline and some of the best moves top teams can make.Scroll ahead to hear…0:00 - Show Introduction2:15 - The WNBA’s Injury Issue & The Effect on CBA Negotiations15:00 - Cam Brink’s Return and What It Means For L.A.36:50 - One Move We Want To See At The Trade DeadlineBall Up Top: A WBB Podcast is brought to you in part by Homefield. Just this past week they revealed the full Can’t Miss Kickoff release schedule with hundreds of new football themed products to get you ready for the fall! Want some women’s hoops merch instead? Check out our No Cap Space WBB collection, a curated page of all of Homefield’s best WBB shirts, jackets, jerseys and more! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard.In longtime WNBA fan circles, there is a term called ‘Messy Monday’. Effectively it means that at the start of the week, we’re due for some fun things to talk about. Instead of a Messy Monday, we got a Meesy Monday this week with Belgian superstar Emma Meesseman joining the defending WNBA champion New York Liberty. Tyler, Chauny and Greer are on the pod this week opening with the implications of the move and what it means for the rest of the league. The conversation then moves to the WNBA players and their ‘Pay Us What You Owe Us’ shirts at the All-Star game as well as the CBA negotiations continuing with the league. After a quick piece on the impact of the Studbudz 72 hour stream in Indianapolis, the crew takes a look at the season ahead and some predictions for the second half of the year. Scroll ahead to hear… 0:00 - Show Introduction1:39 - Emma Meesseman joins New York Liberty6:55 - Are the Liberty the best starting five in WNBA history? 22:06 - The future of the WNBA/WNBPA CBA negotiations…39:30 - Buy/Sell for the second half of the WNBA season…Summer is here so get fitted for all your functions with Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! Check out their new ‘Summer School’ hat series and rock your favorite school in style as well as our No Cap Space WBB collection. In partnership with Homefield, we’ve curated all their women’s basketball merch into one place here.' This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

It wasn’t as messy of a Monday as last week was but we still got plenty of interesting storylines and topics to discuss on Ball Up Top. Andrew and Tyler hold down the fort, opening the show with a quick hitter on DeWanna Bonner’s move to Phoenix (the full reaction vid is available on YouTube here) before running through the finalized All-Star game lists. After that, the two discuss their biggest surprise storylines of the WNBA season so far before wrapping the show with a quick chat about Team USA’s championship win in the FIBA Americup.Scroll ahead to hear…0:00 - Show Introduction1:27 - DeWanna Bonner to Phoenix reactions…6:30 - All-Star roster reactions…25:30 - Biggest surprises halfway through the WNBA season.45:00 - Team USA/FIBA Americup takeawaysSummer is here so get fitted for all your functions with Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! Check out their new ‘Summer School’ hat series and rock your favorite school in style as well as our No Cap Space WBB collection. In partnership with Homefield, we’ve curated all their women’s basketball merch into one place here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard.To say this was a Messy Monday in the WNBA might be an understatement. Expansion franchises, a big trade as well as All-Star starter announcements? That’s basically asking for a packed Ball Up Top on a Tuesday. Tyler and Chauny have the wheel and dive into everything that happened this past week and in the past 36 hours to get you ready for another slate of games in WNBA world. Scroll ahead to hear… 0:00 - Show Introduction2:47 - Expansion Thoughts and Reactions.21:37 - NaLyssa Smith Trade Reactions.38:16 - All-Star Starters Reactions.Summer is here so get fitted for all your functions with Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! Check out their new ‘Summer School’ hat series and rock your favorite school in style. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Well, glad the schedules didn’t align and we recorded this after our usual Monday night time slot. With so much happening in the last 18-24 hours in the WNBA world, this week’s Ball Up Top is up to date and ready to roll. Andrew, Chauny and Tyler are on hand to dissect the DeWanna Bonner situation and Aari McDonald’s signing to the Indiana Fever as well as wondering aloud what’s happening with Caitlin Clark, who is in a 3 point shooting slump over three games.The pod continues with a discussion about the Los Angeles Sparks and whether or not the team can do a bit better than one of the worst in the western conference. While looking at the free agent possibilities, it opened up a discussion surrounding the Washington Mystics and their potential frontcourt duo of the future.Scroll Ahead to Hear…0:00 - Show Introduction2:31 - DeWanna Bonner and the Fever break up.21:46 - What to make of Caitlin Clark’s shooting slump…39:27 - Is this a lost season for the L.A. Sparks?49:34 - Is Kiki Iriafen/Shakira Austin the frontcourt of the future for the Mystics?Summer is here so get fitted for all your functions with Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! Check out their new ‘Summer School’ hat series and rock your favorite school in style. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard.This was a busy week in the WNBA and naturally there is plenty to discuss. Andrew and Chauny hold it down and discuss Caitlin Clark’s return from injury and how serious the Fever are as contenders with her in the lineup. Afterwards, Andrew talks through his experience in Vegas for Aces vs. Wings and his press row perspective of the dustup between Chris Koclanes and DiJonai Carrington.The two continue the pod with a dive into the Angel Reese point forward experiment as well as Phoenix’s status as a legit contender in the WNBA. The show wraps with a quick hit on who is a pretender and who is for real a quarter of the way through the regular season. 0Summer is here so get fitted for all your functions with Homefield! Use promo code NOCAP15 for 15% off your first purchase here! Check out their new ‘Summer School’ hat series and rock your favorite school in style. Scroll Ahead to Hear… 0:00 — Show Introduction1:52 - Caitlin Clark is back so how serious are the Fever as contenders? 14:40 - Andrew’s press row view of the Dallas Wings dynamic. 33:57 - The Angel Reese point forward experiment in Chicago… 47:15 - How for real are the Phoenix Mercury now that Kahleah Copper is back? 57:16 - Pretenders vs. ContendersNo Cap Space WBB is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard.Andrew and Tyler hold things down on this week’s episode of Ball Up Top. With so much happening in the league just one month into the regular season, the two open the show with a general enthusiasm of how well positioned the W is. Whether it be top teams or interesting superstars, there’s something for everyone this year. The discussion veers towards the Minnesota Lynx and their status as a WNBA analog to this year’s Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA. Some other major topics are touched on, including the positive early returns on Golden State as a franchise, what on earth Chicago does next and whether or not Indiana should open space to hold on to Aari McDonald. With Paige Bueckers still out of the lineup, Andrew and Tyler opine on the Rookie of the Year race and if there should be an age limit to ROTY for overseas players entering the W for the first time. Scroll ahead to hear… 0:00 - Show Introduction 2:19 - The WNBA’s great storylines to come this year. 6:39 - Does Minnesota feel like the Oklahoma City Thunder this year? 20:05 - Should Indiana hold on to Aari McDonald? 27:28 - The Rookie of the Year Race and the selection criteria… 44:26 - Is Golden State a future dark horse contender based on their foundation?52:01 - Tumblr is OUT on Chris Koclanes! The WNBA season is here and there’s plenty of ways to support your team, pro or college. To get your summer fits right and repping women’s basketball the way it deserves to be repped, head on over to Homefield! Our No Cap Space WBB collection has curated all of their women’s basketball gear into one easy place for you to find. Use code NOCAP15 to get 15% off your first order!Our intro music is courtesy of Dlzmksbts, Denver’s King of ‘Mile HiFi’. You can stream his music on Spotify here.No Cap Space WBB is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

This week on Ball Up Top, Chauny and Tyler get things rolling with a discussion on the Liberty’s historic blowout of the Connecticut Sun and the wonkiness of the Commissioner’s Cup schedule and rules. It’s been a busy week on and off the floor and some late Monday news about the Las Vegas Aces running back their tourism board sponsorship made for a fun conversation. The pod wraps up with a discussion on hardship contracts, cap rules and then a quick stock up/stock down segment before the outtro music kicks in.You can find the podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your pods. Be sure to rate, review and (hopefully!) give us five stars!Scroll Ahead to hear…0:00 - Show Introduction1:59 - How much of a juggernaut are the New York Liberty?16:05 - The Las Vegas Aces are getting sponsorship money again…27:37 - Early impressions of the Aces…34:10 - Injuries across the league and hardship contracts.42:55 - Stock up/stock downThe WNBA season is here and there’s plenty of ways to support your team, pro or college. To get your summer fits right and repping women’s basketball the way it deserves to be repped, head on over to Homefield! Our No Cap Space WBB collection has curated all of their women’s basketball gear into one easy place for you to find. Use code NOCAP15 to get 15% off your first order!Our intro music is courtesy of Dlzmksbts, Denver’s King of ‘Mile HiFi’. You can stream his music on Spotify here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

Welcome to Ball Up Top, a weekly podcast from No Cap Space WBB. Every Tuesday morning, you can find a show in your emails or social feeds that touches on all the trending topics in women’s basketball. The crew will rotate based on availability, whether it’s Tyler, Andrew, Chauny, Greer or Rashard. Be sure to rate, review, give us five stars if you can on Apple or Spotify and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube page as well.With a few data points under our belt, we’re finally ready to talk some true basketball in the WNBA world. Then the Indiana Fever announced that Caitlin Clark would be out for around two weeks with a left quad strain. So, there went that news cycle! Of course, given Clark’s status as a top five guard in the league and the Fever’s best player, it’s a pretty huge deal. So this Tuesday we open the show discussing whether or not Fever fans should be worried, how Aliyah Boston can lead the way and if this actually might be a positive for Indiana come playoff time. The pod rolls on with a discussion of which new coaches we are putting stock in and who we may be a little out on before wrapping up with some trade machine takes and realizing that there might not be a home for Arike Ogunbowale this year if Dallas truly thinks the pairing of her and Paige Bueckers/DiJonai Carrington may not be a long-term fit. Scroll ahead to hear…0:00 - Show Introduction2:40 - Caitlin Clark Injury News and What the Fever Do Next… 21:17 - Stock Up/Stock Down of New WNBA Coaches50:06 - Too Early Trade Machine TakesThe WNBA season is here and there’s plenty of ways to support your team, pro or college. To get your summer fits right and repping women’s basketball the way it deserves to be repped, head on over to Homefield! Our No Cap Space WBB collection has curated all of their women’s basketball gear into one easy place for you to find. Use code NOCAP15 to get 15% off your first order!Our intro music is courtesy of Dlzmksbts, Denver’s King of ‘Mile HiFi’. You can stream his music on Spotify here.No Cap Space WBB is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com

This week is about the basketball. We discussed some of the larger cultural issues at play when it comes to the Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese rivalry on Five Out already. So the podcast is dedicated to providing a space to get away from the thinkpieces for a little while.Now, to the basketball. There’s so much to discuss. We open the hoop talk with a bit on the new look Fever and honor DeWanna Bonner reaching third on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list. Also on the docket? The New York Liberty and what constitutes a juggernaut, is it time to start monitoring how much of a superstar Rhyne Howard really is and whether or not we are on Arike Ogunbowale trade watch.Scroll ahead to hear…0:00 - Show Introduction and Quick Hit on Postgame Show.7:30 - Honoring DeWanna Bonner’s career and climb up the scoring ladder.13:07 - Are the Fever already further along than we had originally expected them to be?23:39 - Liberty vs. Aces recap.34:06 - Favorite teams based on early impressions.44:20 - Agenda Watch.54:53 - Discussing the Paige Bueckers/Arike Ogunbowale fit in Dallas. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nocapspace.substack.com