And other superlatives
Now that we are into the Finals I thought it would fun to look at the first two rounds and treat them like the NCAA does with its basketball tournaments, give out some playoff awards, and name an all-tournament team. I also have a couple of Razzies to give out to players and teams who crapped the bed during this postseason. So let’s go:
The first team:
- PG: Jordin Canada, Atlanta
- SG: Arike Ogunbuwale, Dallas
- SF: Gabby Williams, Golden State
- PF: Breanna Stewart, New York
- C: Aja Wilson, Las Vegas
Canada was the best point guard in the playoffs through the first round and semifinals, finishing first at her position in shooting and steals and second in points, rebounds and assists. She was the difference maker vs the Liberty in the semis. Arike scored 75 points over games 2 and 3 to keep the Wings alive and push Golden State to the limit in the first round. Gabby Williams scored 10 points a game higher in the playoffs than the regular season and led the Valkyries to the finals. Then there’s Stewie and Wilson who did what they always do while taking both of their teams to the semis despite tumultuous lineups all season.
Second team: Aliyah Boston (Indiana), Sonia Citron (Washington), Angel Reese (Atlanta).
Boston was the only one of Indiana’s Big 3 who wasn’t stifled any night of round 1. Citron piggybacked off of her FIBA experience to the tune of 25 points a game in the playoffs. And saving the best for last Reese was the defensive anchor that powered the Dream past the Mystics and Liberty to get to the Finals.
Only three on the second team? Yeah, and my explanation is that after those eight no one else had a consistently great game to game performance. There were some great individual games like Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell in game 2 of the first round and some great individual stats like Rhyne Howard’s 2 steals per game but nobody outside of those eight put it together at a high level every night.
And now on to the other awards…
Biggest Individual Glowup: Gabby Williams (Runner up: Jordin Canada)
Williams went from 14 to 24 points per game in the playoffs and much more. Look at this comparison:
| Points | FG% | 3FG% | Rebounds | Steals | Assists | |
| Season | 14.4 | 40.4 | 34.2 | 3.3 | 1.6 | 2.2 |
| Playoffs | 23.1 | 43.4 | 37.7 | 4.7 | 1.6 | 3.7 |
Williams is the one player on the Valkyries that can be called upon to score 20 any given night and has led the Valks to the finals while they play an offense that scrambles to find a second and third scorer every night. Being the one player the opposing defense has to focus on and almost doubling your point production is just insane work.
Biggest Team Glowup: Golden State
In two years they went from an expansion team to a Finals berth, and without throwing a bunch of money around to buy an All Star roster of free agents. They picked the right players in the expansion draft and hired the right coach, and they didn’t resort to either expansion extreme – stinking for cheap until they had to get good to make money or trying to speed run the process and load up with big expensive names. Instead they focused on getting good players in who could fit the coaches system and would buy in.
On a personal note, I have to admit that I was a doubter. Having seen a few different places in the NBA try the no superstar, defense above all approach and only one succeeding briefly in Detroit in 2004 (h/t to my man Brooklyn Ike for reminding me) I had resigned myself to believing that it had a ceiling, especially against teams with established championship pedigree or an otherworldly player leading it. But they swept that very team in the second round so what do I know?
Biggest Flop: Olivia Miles, Minnesota
How the mighty fell. Miles had the second best statistical season of any first year point guard in league history, won the rookie of the year in a unanimous vote, was talked about for MVP all season and got six first place votes. She ended her season getting benched at halftime of game 2 of the first round and not returning, after an abysmal game 1. Statistically, she went from 19.8 points on 49% shooting and 6 assists per game in the regular season to 8 points on 20% shooting and 1 assist per game in the playoffs. Oof…
Biggest Team Flop: Minnesota
Miles was not just an individual disappointment, her whole team can join her to sit next to the fail whale. As I tracked the playoff contenders all season I continued to note that Minnesota was killing everyone while staying in first place, and that there were no signs of setup other than the law of averages eventually kicking in. And boy did that happen. The only team in the playoffs where all five starters have made an All Star team either this season or last, the Lynx went out like the Titanic, losing two lopsided games to the eighth seeded New York Liberty. Two of those five starters (Miles and Natasha Howard) completely cramped the bed while a third (Napheesa Collier) was a total disappointment as well. And they ended the season with coach Cheryl Reeve saying ‘hey, I’ve got multiple rings, I’m good’ at the post-game presser after taking the broom as a cherry on top.
The Not So Fast Award: The Point Guard Revolution
The league has been dominated by bigs and wings since its inception but some people were predicting a new wave on the horizon. Between active veteran points like Sabrina Ionescu, Chelsea Gray, and Kelsey Plum and the new generation of Clark, Miles, and Paige Beuckers it sure seemed during the season like the prophecy may soon be on its way to coming true. Until the playoffs started. Of the five All Star point guards who were in the playoffs three were gone after the first round and the other two got swept in the semis. All were ultimately outplayed by Jordin Canada, who is in the Finals as I type this out.
So we’re gonna need to wait a few years to see this happen, or if the next generation of centers and power forwards slide into the seats at the top of the league and keep the train rolling as it always has. But one thing is for sure, the takeover did not come in 2026 and probably won’t in 2027 either. Speaking of which…
