After a busy offseason filled with veteran stars moving into a new team, this week offered their first revenge game for one of those franchise’s stubborn guys. Often, the return game could be an interesting lens in different directions taken by teams and players, and the matchup against the Las Vegas storm provided that contrast.
Lloyd took part in a hot night contest with the Connecticut sun earlier in the week, winning Friday’s match against the Washington mystics. Despite a fierce departure from Seattle, including coaching staff research and trade requests, Storm gave the two-time champions a tribute video (a gesture that was strangely unexpanded to Breanna Stewart). Storm fans lovingly showered Lloyd with Lloyd. She hit the first four shots, the best time echo in Seattle, but missed the final 11 with a 20-point loss, examining a new direction for the 2025 storm.
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Seattle built the Big 3 during the 2024 offseason, but failed to make up for its All-Start Rio with meaningful depth. If Stars Stop Performance Like a Star – If Lloyd handled injuries at the end of the 2024 season, there was no backup plan.
The storm made up for Lloyd with one All-Star, adding a full season for veterans Alisha Clark and Erica Wheeler, and Gabby Williams for a deeper rotation. After what appears to be an extraordinary defeat to Phoenix to start the season, Seattle has earned the second-best net rating in the league after New York.
Meanwhile, Ace is experiencing the 2024 storm problem. Las Vegas doubled its offseason star power and believed a healthy season of four best players would offset the roster’s backend loss, but the ace believed there was less competition to start the season with W’s best team. Only A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young play at the All-Star level, with collective defensive mal lazyness, Las Vegas struggles to answer early.
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As Ace tries to fix the course, another revenge game looms, with two-time champion Kelsey Plum returning to Las Vegas on Friday as a member of the Los Angeles Sparks. Ace wants to welcome Plum as warmly as Seattle Lloyd.
Here are the power rankings for this week:
Three outstanding performances
1. Is Alisha Gray the best player of your dreams?
For all the questions about how Carl Smesco’s system works with two post-up bigs, Alicia Gray almost went under the radar that she is an absolute perfect fit under her new head coach. In Gray’s game under the previous administration in Atlanta, even if inefficiencies exist, they are completely removed. Her shot chart is an analytical dream. She accounts for 56% of her attempts beyond the three-point arc within 10 feet of the basket. That means she averaged career-highs with 3-point attempts and free-throw attempts, packing her career-best in assists, rebounds, blocks and turnovers into her stats sheet.
Gray does everything for his dreams. She sets a great screen from her guard position and springs up the shooter. She usually has a gaze above the defender and can find a teammate who opens in the paint, and she was elite during the transition. She must also protect her best opposition, whether it’s Kelsey Mitchell or Page Buker, even tracking Jacee Sheldon and Ty Harris through the screen.
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Gray was particularly good last week against her former team, the Dallas Wings. The Dallas Rookie couldn’t find room to go to her pull-ups, and the attack stagnated on the court with her. Meanwhile, Gray was a great leader as Atlanta’s secondary playmaker, assisting six times with zero turnovers.
Dreams may already be there while waiting for Rhyne Howard to make the leap until he becomes a superstar. She is second in the league, beating behind Napheesa Collier, and looks even more comfortable with Atlanta’s new system.
2. Chicago is already rethinking its identity
One of the goals Chicago Sky has stated in the season was to expand Angel Reese’s offensive repertoire. His second year advance was playing in the post, mainly as a rookie, so Sora moved her around the court, hoping she would lift the ball and start at the boundary line. However, early returns were not promising. Lease finished 0 out of the field and finished the field on Thursday with five turnovers against freedom, with the sky having 23 prizes earning 27 points in New York.
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Chicago is desperate for a victory over Sparks, who has lost the final three, and is now away from their new identity. Sora put Reese and Camila Cardoso near the basket and attempted to bl the opposite of the paint, similar to what the two Bigs did as rookies. The result was 50 paint points, equaling the sum of the first two games against Fever and Liberty.
But the strategy also made a painfully clear look at the challenges of Chicago’s spacing. Opponents include Kia Nurse, who is also afraid of Courtney Vandersloot as a shooter in the starting lineup, fires from long ranges, keeping Reese and Cardoso in smoking defenses. Rebecca Allen, the best movement shooter on the roster, is inexplicably coming out of the bench. The sky also paired with Michaela Onien and Elizabeth Williams.
There may be enough rosters to allow Chicago to return to its two-post appearance, but at the same time it’s not in court. If the sky doesn’t manually space the floor by relocating the lease, they will need more shooters around her and Kaldoso, and that’s not happening yet.
3. Lynx’s 18-0 run
Minnesota is 4-0 to start the season, but there are no more games than against Winless Connecticut. Taiyo played Minnesota better than the team in 2024, but it shouldn’t have been translated in 2025 along with another coach and two returning players. However, on Friday he rose 15 points at 5:20, playing for Target Center, looking to win the first victory of the season. Instead, the Lynx rolled up an 18-0 run to steal the victory.
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The finish reminded me of the importance of Natisha Hedeman to Minnesota. On the night when Courtney Williams didn’t have it (0 out of 11 on three turnovers), the Lynx had a backup point guard that could boost the pace during the transition, resulting in training colliers with fouls, scores and assists.
Hiedeman also hit a game sticker 3. The 28-foot bomb left 1:05, giving Minnesota the first lead of the game. While the team lead guard sits around Reed’s bleeding point (think Kate Rinklerk in Indiana or Plum in Los Angeles), the Lynx has a secondary option that can play next to Williams and replace her if necessary.
Minnesota was also trapped in defense in its final stretch, showing its high on the screen, pushing Connecticut far from the basket. Jessica Shepherd is an excellent addition to the lynx in this regard, with lateral mobility at the boundaries to play its aggressive style, leaving a minimal drop-off from Alana Smith. Minnesota forced four turnovers in those four minutes, two of which were shot clock violations.
Even if this is not the way Lynx wants to win every game, they are trying to entertain these experiences as they shatter the season to pursue another trip to the final.
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“Going to the championship is not just one game, it’s a journey, and that’s the fun part,” Williams said before the game. “I love this. … This is what you prepare for in the moment, this is what builds chemistry, this is what keeps that championship meaningful.
This week’s rookie
Carlaite, Golden State Valkyrie
It was common practice to suggest that young French players could challenge Booker for the Rookie of the Year, but the expectation was that they would become Dominique Malonga. Instead, her fellow Golden State Valkyries fellowman got a head start in that race. We will certainly be back at Janelle Surrown at a later date, but for now, 21-year-old point guard Cara Leit was a revelation, especially considering that she was left unprotected by Dallas in the expanded draft.
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She is extremely difficult to get away from the paint, and once she gets there it is too many versatile to protect. Leite is happy with the little runners, especially during the transition, and he is bowing his head all the way to the rim. She’s always raising her head for a kickout to the 3-point line or dumping to the rolling big. As a WNBA rookie, she also has tough defensive duties, which really puts Plum in her Golden State victory in Los Angeles.
If you’re a Georgia Amoor fan and are waiting for her to return, Late has shocking similarities: her endless enthusiasm (she celebrates everything), her preference to earn her three seconds, and how her ponytail bouncing off when she runs. Late had obvious joy in court, and she won it with her play during her WNBA debut.
Game to watch
Seattle (3-1) Minnesota (4-0), 8pm ET Tuesday
In addition to the two hottest teams in the league, the unparalleled Lunar owl reunion of Skylar Diggins, Collier and Courtney Williams. This was a matchup that gave Seattle particularly difficult in 2024, revealing Lynx’s championship aspirations by defeating the storm twice to start that season. Minnesota is still a clear competitor, and Seattle hopes to be one. This is a good opportunity for the storm to reach that level.
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This article was originally published in Athletics.
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