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Too Soon? ESPN Picks WNBA Award Winners
June 10: ESPN predicts WNBA award winners, EuroBasket is about to shake things up, and Team USA sets its AmeriCup trials roster.
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What to Know About Women’s Basketball Today
1. ESPN Drops (Way Too Early) WNBA Awards Predictions 🤔
We’re just a month into the season, but ESPN’s panel of four journalists is already forecasting who’ll take home the individual hardware this summer. Here are a few of their early picks for top awards:
MVP: Napheesa Collier (Lynx)
Rookie of the Year: Kiki Iriafen (Mystics)
Defensive Player of the Year: Natasha Cloud (Liberty)
WHY IT MATTERS: Sure, it’s early. But there has been standout play from both veterans and rookies. These awards are voted on by media members at the end of the season, so this gives us an early peek into who’s winning over the voters so far. And beyond the bragging rights, these individual performance awards mean extra cash. For players on non-max contracts, they can be a meaningful addition to their overall WNBA earnings.
2. EuroBasket Set to Shake Up Several WNBA Rosters 😬
EuroBasket—an international World Cup-qualifying tournament—kicks off June 18 and runs through June 29. And that means several WNBA teams are about to lose key players to national team duty. (High Post Hoops)
WHY IT MATTERS: Just as teams are starting to click, this stretch will test chemistry and depth. EuroBasket absences could cause major midseason turbulence for teams already navigating a fast-paced WNBA season. Four teams in particular will be impacted—the Liberty, Sparks, Valkyries, and Wings.
The Liberty will lose Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally, who will suit up for Germany.
The Sparks will be without Julie Allemand, who’s headed to play for Belgium.
The Valkyries will miss Julie Vanloo (Belgium), Janelle Salaün (France), Temi Fágbénlé (Great Britain), and Cecilia Zandalasini (Italy).
The Wings will be down Teaira McCowan, playing for Belgium, and Luisa Geiselsöder, with Germany.
3. USA Basketball Announces AmeriCup Trials Roster 🇺🇸
The pros may be busy with the WNBA season, but Team USA is getting ready for a summer run. USA Basketball just released the 21-player roster for next week’s AmeriCup trials as they begin shaping the team for this summer’s tournament.
Names on the list include: Madison Booker, Audi Crooks, Joyce Edwards, Hannah Hidalgo, Flau’jae Johnson, Olivia Miles, and more.
WHY IT MATTERS: This is basically an all-star lineup of college hoops. The players invited will compete for a spot on the final roster for the FIBA AmeriCup, a major international tournament featuring teams from North, Central, and South America, as well as the Caribbean. It’s also a qualifier for the Olympics and the World Cup, so the stakes are high for countries.
OVERTIME ⏱️
The Hartford arena formerly known as the XL Center—part-time home of the UConn Huskies—has been renamed PeoplesBank Arena.
The WNBA launched its new “Line ‘Em Up” campaign, painting official WNBA 3-point lines on public park courts across the country. 👉 Watch the campaign launch video
🗳️ Poll Results from Yesterday: We asked where you stand on schools paying college athletes—and the responses were mixed. 37% of you said schools shouldn’t be paying athletes at all, while 26% said you support it but think it could get messy. The future of college sports is changing fast, and you clearly have a lot of thoughts.
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