The stretch run of the 2024 WNBA season is heating up, but before jumping back into the race for the postseason, let’s take a quick beat to acknowledge one of the finer rookie seasons in recent memory that came to an early end this weekend. Angel Reese’s debut campaign is over after suffering a wrist injury against the Los Angeles Sparks, but the 34 games Reese competed in painted a picture of a player who will be a force in the league going forward.
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Reese had enormous expectations placed upon her thanks to her collegiate résumé and massive fan base, yet simultaneously, she also had some doubters who didn’t believe her game could translate to the pro level. She wasn’t exactly set up to succeed immediately with a first-year head coach and a roster featuring only three returners — two of whom (Marina Mabrey and Elizabeth Williams) didn’t finish out the season in Chicago due to trade and injury.
What a year. I never would have imagined the last bucket of my rookie season would be a 3 but maybe that was God saying give them a taste of what they will be seeing more of in Year 2 lol🥲Through it all, I have showed that I belong in this league even when no one else believed.… pic.twitter.com/re1X85mWR2
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) September 8, 2024
But on essentially a brand-new team, Reese made a powerful imprint. The list of records she has already set, for the Sky and league-wide, is lengthy. She made the All-Star team and was just as effective alongside the best players in the world as she was in a normal regular-season game. Chicago was projected to finish 11th by The Athletic and even 12th by other outlets; instead, the Sky remain in playoff contention with five games to play.
Reese was a league-wide phenomenon. Chicago played in the two highest-rated regular-season games in 2024 — both against Indiana. The Sky had the second-highest road attendance in the WNBA behind the Fever (their home attendance was limited by the capacity of Wintrust Arena), and they had multiple road games moved to larger arenas to accommodate demand. She launched an apparel line with Reebok, appeared in multiple national commercials and was the inspiration for a Barbie night at a home game.
The Sky started the year with their franchise player demanding a trade because she didn’t trust the organization to provide her with what she needed. Six months later, they have a new franchise cornerstone, improved team security, and a practice facility on the way. The Sky have shown a renewed commitment to investing in their players, spurred by the star power of Reese.
She wasn’t the most impactful rookie in her class, but Reese left an indelible legacy on the 2024 season and the Chicago organization. Love her or hate her, Reese is inextricably linked to the present and future of the WNBA.
| Rank | Team | Previous rank |
|---|---|---|
1 | New York | 1 |
2 | Minnesota | 2 |
3 | Las Vegas | 3 |
4 | Indiana | 4 |
5 | Seattle | 6 |
6 | Connecticut | 5 |
7 | Washington | 9 |
8 | Chicago | 11 |
9 | Phoenix | 10 |
10 | Atlanta | 7 |
11 | Dallas | 8 |
12 | Los Angeles | 12 |
Three standout performances
1. Lexie Hull’s clutch plays
Good wing play is hard to find in the WNBA. There is a glut of productive scoring guards and power forwards, but that small forward position is tricky to fill. Even contenders have a hard time finding the right balance of defense and spacing on the perimeter; it was one of the reasons the Liberty struggled against the Aces in the 2023 postseason.
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Indiana attempted to fill its hole at small forward with Katie Lou Samuelson during free agency, but as the Fever have embarked upon their post-Olympics surge, it’s been Hull who has grabbed hold of that position. Before the All-Star break, Hull was shooting 33.8 percent from the field with more turnovers than assists. Even so, the lineup data with Hull and the core four was compelling: In 45 minutes, Indiana had outscored its opponents by 36 points.
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) September 9, 2024
Hull’s jumper has come alive in the last month. Per Across the Timeline, her 3-point percentage of 69.7 is the best (with a minimum of 25 attempts) in a 10-game span in WNBA history.
But it’s the hustle plays Hull is making in clutch end-of-game situations that also stand out. Against the Sparks on Wednesday, she collected an offensive rebound in a one-possession game with less than a minute remaining, and then she made both free throws. Against Atlanta on Sunday, she had another key rebound in traffic with Indiana up four with 14 seconds to play. It has continued a trend of Hull coming with late-game boards or critical free throws in close games for weeks, as the Fever are 5-2 since she entered the starting lineup.
This is the role Hull occupied at Stanford, but her shooting wasn’t good enough in her first two seasons to get her on the court. Now, her offense is allowing all of the other facets of Hull’s game to shine through.
2. Sydney Colson is the quintessential vet
The average WNBA fan is probably more familiar with Colson’s social media than her game. After all, in 35 games, Colson has been a DNP-CD nine times and played fewer than 10 minutes 17 times. But the Aces have needed her lately, and the 35-year-old veteran is delivering.
Colson got the call for her first minutes on Friday at the start of the fourth quarter in Connecticut. She picked up Marina Mabrey full court, went over screens on Tyasha Harris to deny the long ball, and even drew a moving screen on Alyssa Thomas that led to a technical foul — all little bits of defense, ball movement and veteran savvy that helped Las Vegas claw back to a victory.
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The Aces relied upon her more on Sunday against the Liberty with A’ja Wilson unavailable, a familiar situation for the defending champs to be short-handed on the road in New York. Much like she did in Game 4 of the finals, Colson was a defensive pest, creating leakouts with her ball pressure and hitting just enough shots to help keep Las Vegas attached. A blown layup on a fast break might have prevented the Aces from pulling off the upset, but without her 3s and one truly spectacular hook shot, they never would have been that close.
SYDNEY COLSON!!!?!!?!?!??!!@SydJColson // #ALLINLV pic.twitter.com/1Yy66sMvjp
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) September 8, 2024
Colson is reluctant to call her own number. She knows that she is brought in to slow down the opposition and get Las Vegas into its offense, which usually doesn’t end on a Colson basket.
“I really don’t care very much about scoring, which is why I’m not known as a scorer,” Colson said after beating the Sun. “That’s the part that gets me riled up. When we can stop somebody, that’s super frustrating for the other team. I like that, I like us being tough in that way. A lot of people can hit a lot of shots. Not a lot of people can stop people and do it as a team. So for me, that gets us going, that’s where we get our juice.”
3. Some questionable late-game execution
The WNBA delivered five true nail-biters over the weekend alone, and with those close games came some head-scratchers in terms of late-game decision-making.
The Mystics had an odd final possession against the Lynx; down three with 26 seconds left, Washington settled for a turnaround jump shot from Brittney Sykes. Minnesota’s defense had sucked in a little on Sykes’ drive, but there wasn’t a clean angle for a pass to a 3-point shooter. Even so, it’s hard to see the upside of a contested 2-pointer with 14 ticks on the clock. Better to continue to move the ball than rush a shot that wouldn’t even tie the game, though there’s some grace against a defense that is as connected and effective as the Lynx.
But that paled in comparison to Atlanta’s end-of-game execution against Indiana. Setting aside the fact that the Dream blew a 16-point second-half lead, they still were within two points with 29.2 seconds remaining in overtime and a timeout in hand. Instead of playing out the clock and trying to get a stop, Atlanta waved the white flag on defense and fouled immediately. Since the Dream weren’t in the bonus, they had to foul again to send the Fever to the line, but instead of fouling Aliyah Boston on the inbounds, they waited until Caitlin Clark got the ball, and fouled a 90-percent free-throw shooter. The clock was in their favor to play out that possession without fouling, and not only did they reject that opportunity, but they also sent the worst possible player to the foul line.
Atlanta is the worst offensive team in the league, yet the Dream chose to bank on their offense and Indiana missing free throws instead of just attempting to defend for 24 seconds. It was truly mind-boggling and could be a game that they look back on if they end up missing the playoffs as they now trail Chicago by one game for the eighth (and final) seed.
Rookie of the week
Nika Mühl, Seattle Storm
The Storm have a below-average assist percentage this season and the lowest assist rate in the league since the Olympic break. Yet they have been shockingly unwilling to use their rookie point guard. First-year point guards have a notoriously steep learning curve (with the obvious exception in Indiana), but it’s been strange to watch a team that needs more ball movement keep Mühl sidelined, especially considering she was such an effective pick-and-roll operator at UConn. The Nika/Nneka connection is right there!
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Mühl finally hit 40 minutes this season after playing six in a blowout win over the Mercury on Saturday, which means she is six away from setting the record for most minutes without a point in a WNBA season. Given her place on the Seattle pecking order, I don’t expect Mühl to get on the court that much longer, but I’ve already been very wrong about what this rookie season would be like for Mühl. Here’s hoping for a more productive sophom*ore season.
Nika Muhl has checked into the game for the Storm!
She received a huge ovation from the Seattle crowd✨#WNBA pic.twitter.com/FUblsEmZDo
— WNBA Universe (@wnbauniverse) September 8, 2024
Game to circle
Las Vegas Aces at Indiana Fever, 7 p.m. (ET) Wednesday and 7:30 p.m. Friday
The Aces have routed the Fever in both meetings this season, but each took place in Las Vegas before the Olympic break. Now, Indiana has the best offense in the league over the last month, and the Aces have had intermittent defensive lapses that could be problematic against the Fever’s pace. Given that these teams figure to land on opposite sides of the playoff bracket, a postseason matchup seems unlikely. But we’ve been waiting to see if the WNBA’s upstart franchise can hold up with the two-time reigning champions, and if it doesn’t happen in a series, at least this two-game set will provide some insight into that matchup.
(Photo: Geoff Stellfox / Getty Images)
Sabreena Merchant is a women's basketball Staff Writer for The Athletic. She previously covered the WNBA and NBA for SB Nation. Sabreena is an alum of Duke University, where she wrote for the independent student newspaper, The Chronicle. She is based in Los Angeles. Follow Sabreena on Twitter @sabreenajm
