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Happy Saturday and welcome back to Layup Lines, your quick recap of what’s going on in the WNBA.
We have an incredible day of hoops ahead and my suggestion is to lock in.
This 561 word newsletter should take about 2 minutes to read.
🤩 Acquaint yourself with the couch
Lynx rookie Olivia Miles made eight 3-pointers on Thursday, a WNBA single-game record for a rookie.
It’s been a prety mild-mannered week around the league. Outside of two fun Thursday night games — Indiana beating Atlanta by double digits, Minnesota knocking off Golden State via Olivia Miles — the teams that were supposed to win did so.
The schedule shifts into another gear today. We have fun rookies, the best teams in the league and lots of national TV. Behold a beautiful day of hoops:
Seattle @ Minnesota (1:00pm ET, ABC): Will be fun to watch how Olivia Miles attacks fellow rookie Awa Fam.
Golden State @ Las Vegas (3:00pm, ABC): How does the league’s best defense try and contain A’ja Wilson?
Washington @ Atlanta (6:00pm, League Pass): The Mystics are going to have a hard time outscoring the Dream, so I’m curious how the youngest team in the league responds defensively.
Indiana @ New York (8:00pm, CBS / Paramount+): When Sabrina Ionescu is out (this time with a back injury), the Liberty rely on fun offensive guards who largely cannot play a lick of defense. The Fever should be able to hit triple digits tonight.
In terms of wagers, I like Washington / Atlanta over 159.5 points scored (-110), the Fever to win (+135) and Natisha Hiedeman over 13 points (+100) for the Storm against her former team.
*I am 6-3 on bets I like this year.
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📈 Quick standings update
The Lynx lost five of last year's top eight scorers to free agency. Napheesa Collier hasn’t played yet. Kayla McBride is shooting just 31% on 3-pointers so far.
And yet here we are, looking at Minnesota in first place in June.
Death, taxes and Cheryl Reeve.
🗞️ Good reads from around the league
How the Lynx have survived — and thrived — without Napheesa Collier (ESPN)
Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark may be Fever's cornerstones, but Kelsey Mitchell is the rock (The Athletic)
How Aneesah Morrow turned a summer of sacrifice into a WNBA surge (USA TODAY)
🗽 Pic to go
As I walked out of the Barclays Center on Wednesday night after New York’s win over Toronto, I saw multiple street vendors selling unlicensed Liberty gear. It took a couple minutes to spot someone selling Knicks shirts — and this was during Game 1 of the NBA Finals in a city completely obsessed with the Knicks.
Yes, this was in Brooklyn and not Manhattan, yes, my personal experience isn’t a perfect anecdote for a city of more than 8 million people…but it can be easy to forget that this team played at a 5,000 seat multi-purpose shoebox in Westchester as recently as 2019.
In 2026, more than 14,500 people watched the Liberty live in a regular season game against an expansion franchise even while the Knicks were in the Finals. The growth is just incredible.
Courtesy of my phone
Layup Lines is written 100% by a human being. I very much appreciate you reading!
— Everett Cook, Founder & Editor