Underwhelming WNBA All-Star weekend, and the Spurs are on the rise
The WNBA All-Star weekend was forgettable aside from Stud Budz (Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman) content, and Sabrina Ionescu winning her second 3-point contest because the players didn’t bother to compete hard in the exhibition. Their showing was as god-awful as the NBA ballers disrespecting the game and fans yearly.
The game overshadowed the message the players sent warming up, wearing shirts that said, “Pay us what you owe us.” There’s no doubt the women are criminally underpaid, and they should do whatever is necessary to secure raises, but they should ask themselves why anyone at home should care to see that exhibition in the future if this is what they get.
Napheesa Collier was the MVP of the night. That award should be a big deal for her résumé, but it can’t mean anything because it looked at times like players were shooting in an empty gym.
The NBA All-Star game didn’t go to hell until the players were fat and happy financially. That’s not the case for the women, so going through the motions on national TV plays into the incorrect narrative that the league is boring and is a wasted opportunity for the players to separate themselves to casual fans.
Watching anyone chuck a bunch of 3-pointers or dribble into the lane unchallenged is as stimulating as sitting in for a root canal. Almost 17,000 present fans, per ESPN, could have been doing something else and if they knew what’s good for them, probably should have because life is too short to waste on bad basketball.
Keep an eye out for the San Antonio Spurs:
The Spurs are on the verge of a massive leap that could catapult them into their first playoff trip since 2018-19. Gregg Popovich has shifted to only management for health reasons and his apprentice, Mitch Johnson, is the head coach. The upcoming season will be Johnson’s first real opportunity to have final say over lineups, which he should have had last year as he assumed the interim role for 77 games (32-45) after Pop’s stroke.
Losing him for the season was an emotional hit, but they still improved by 12 wins from a year prior. It could have been more if not for Wembanyama’s blood clot that shut him down on Feb. 20, shortly after the team traded for De’Aaron Fox, wrecking any chance at competing for a play-in tournament spot and beyond.
Yet they’re on the come up again this offseason, drafting the talented southpaw Dylan Harper second overall plus Carter Bryant at 14. The former adds a ball handler who is hard to speed up to the bench, and the latter is a defensive pest who will find a way into the rotation somehow.
The backup big man problem, the equivalent of bleeding out when Wembanyama sat on most nights, is solved by adding Luke Kornet and Kelly Olynyk. Kornet blossomed into a dependable paint protector in Boston and good screener. Don’t be surprised to see the Spurs go huge with Wembanyama and Kornet or Olynyk sharing the floor in some lineups to punish opponents on the glass.
Shooting coach Chip Engelland’s secret sauce for improving accuracy was closely replicated; if not, they would have never let him go to Oklahoma City. Those techniques, along with extensive practice, will eventually turn Stephon Castle into a more proficient marksman and inside finisher. He’s already a big contributor, guarding the opposing team‘s best perimeter player. He also has a quick first step and high-grade athleticism.
Fox had surgery on his left pinky finger shortly after 17 games in San Antonio. He had been playing with a dislocation since the second day of training camp with the Kings. It affected his shots as he put up an All-Star caliber year, but he should be healthy next season. Keep in mind that he’s arguably the fastest player on Earth with the ball and can create double teams easily.
But the head of the monster is Wembanyama’. Barring some injury, he’ll enter top 10 status and be a candidate for the Most Valuable Player award and Defensive Player of the Year.
He’s a versatile freak who was the only player in the NBA in 2024-25 to record at least 24 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks per game. He’s deadliest at 0-3 feet, using his eight-foot wingspan to log 80.9% of attempts. He started hoisting 3.3 more threes last season, too, and raised his accuracy by 2.7% (35.2).
However, his best gift is his passing. His assist-to-turnover numbers undersell his impact, yet his team had limited weapons his first two years, and many of his sick passes went nowhere. Eventually, he’ll be a triple-double threat every night.
Wembanyama’s disruption will keep improving as he gets more comfortable guarding at the level of the screen, limiting his time in drop coverage.
He was playing at an All-NBA level before checking out for the season and is ready to pick up where he left off. He said he was medically cleared to return on July 14.