Bueckers lights up LA

Ask and you shall receive.

Bueckers slams the door on ROY race

Wings star Paige Bueckers all but slammed the door on the 2025 Rookie of the Year race on Wednesday, dropping 44 points in Dallas’s narrow loss to LA to tie Cynthia Cooper’s 1997 rookie single-game scoring record.

• Despite the Sparks officially eliminating the Wings from playoff contention, Bueckers’s efficiency was on full display, tallying the season’s highest single-game performance while shooting over 80% from the field.

• “People have gotten to see the struggles — the injuries, the ups and downs,” Bueckers said afterwards. “For people to continue to follow me and still believe in me, it really means a lot.” [Read more]

Rookie race: Bueckers leads a rookie class thriving in the pros, with Washington’s Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen and Connecticut’s Saniyah Rivers hot on her heels.

• Bueckers currently sits fifth overall in points per game and ninth in assists per game, while Iriafen is fourth in rebounds per game and Citron — who recently set a new Mystics rookie scoring record with 537 career points — is fifth overall in clutch points.

• Rivers has excelled defensively despite the Sun’s struggles, recording 30 career blocks in just 31 games to become the fastest-ever WNBA player to reach that feat. [Full WNBA stats]

Bottom line: Sparks guard Kelsey Plum’s winning buzzer-beater might have squashed Bueckers’s postseason dreams last night, but her heroics won’t go unnoticed with the WNBA’s end-of-season awards fast approaching.

New York shoots for consistency

Coming off Tuesday’s win over No. 1 Minnesota, No. 2 New York will shoot to maintain late-season consistency against now-eliminated No. 12 Chicago in Thursday’s WNBA slate.

• Tied with No. 3 Atlanta at 22-13 on the year, the Liberty could benefit from tonight’s lopsided matchup, while the Dream face an uphill battle against a motivated Lynx side.

• “We're focused on the next nine games,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said. “It’s all about focusing on us and getting as high a position as we can in the standings.” [Read more]

Big picture: However, New York still has work to do after racking up the second-worst 10-game record for any team above the playoff line in recent weeks — including three losses to the Lynx.

• The Sky are now focused on the future, bolstered by star forward Angel Reese’s return from injury as they continue to build under first-year coach Tyler Marsh’s system.

• “I want to hoop,” Reese said earlier this week. “I’m just happy to be out here to play the game I love.” [Watch more]

Tune in: New York tips off against Chicago tonight at 7 PM ET, live on Prime.

WNBA drops playoff schedule

As the 2025 regular season winds down, the WNBA announced this year’s playoff schedule on Wednesday, with the postseason set to tip off on September 14th.

• The latest possible WNBA Finals finish is October 17th, with the league adopting a new extended format featuring a best-of-three round one, best-of-five round two, and best-of-seven final series. [Full schedule]

Big picture: This postseason, every playoff team is guaranteed at least one home game with the first round moving to a one-one-one structure.

• All games will air ESPN, with matchups across ESPN2, ESPN, and ABC.

• Minnesota is currently the only team with a clinched playoff berth, while Dallas, Chicago, and Connecticut have all been eliminated. [Read more]

Coco sacks coach ahead of US Open

Just days ahead of the 2025 US Open, US tennis star Coco Gauff has reportedly parted ways with coach Matthew Daly, after he helped guide the world No. 3 to her first French Open title earlier this year.

• Gauff will still be working with longtime coach J.C. Faurel while also bringing on biomechanics specialist Gavin MacMillan, who No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has credited for helping her find consistency with her serve. [Read more]

Big picture: Despite her breakthrough performance at Roland Garros, Gauff has struggled with her serve since her first-round Wimbledon exit, going on to register 42 double faults at the Canadian Open and 16 in her Cincinnati Open quarterfinal.

• “I’m very much a perfectionist type of person,” Gauff recently told reporters. “So it’s really nothing satisfying until you’re holding the big trophy at the end.” [Watch more]

Bay FC takes aim at NWSL record

After Chicago’s historic Wrigley Field matchup set a new NWSL attendance record in June 2024, Bay FC is gearing up to best the Stars’ title during this weekend’s clash inside San Francisco’s Oracle Park.

• With over 38,000 tickets already sold, Bay is guaranteed to top the league’s single-game record of 35,038. [Read more]

• “We are incredibly proud of what this match means for Bay FC, for the Bay Area, and for the NWSL,” said Bay FC CEO Brady Stewart. “To set a new attendance record is a reflection of the passion and energy our fans bring every time we step on the field.”

Big picture: Reflecting the league’s continued growth, the six most-attended games in history have occurred in the last four seasons, with markets like San Diego, Seattle, and Chicago all reaching new heights.

WNBA shatters attendance records

The NWSL isn’t the only league breaking records, with the WNBA announcing today that overall attendance has topped the 2.5 million mark for the first time.

• The league has sailed past the previous high of 2.36 million set in 2002 despite fielding three fewer teams, with the Indiana Fever leading the pack by hosting more than 300,000 fans through 18 games.

• 2025 expansion team Golden State has also proven its worth, selling out 16 of their 18 home games so far this season.

Looking ahead: Don’t expect this record to last long — with aggressive expansion in the works, the WNBA’s growing fandom has nowhere to go but up.

Quote of the day

Dallas Wings head coach Chris Koclanes
praising his star rookie ahead of Bueckers’s historic 44-point performance against the LA Sparks last night.