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00:00The beginning of a new season in the WNBA on this Friday, a triple header of action tonight,
00:07a triple header of great basketball tomorrow on a Saturday that features two more key matchups
00:13to begin this W campaign and a full preview of everything with our coach,
00:19J.Y. James Young and his very own pick six on this Friday.
00:25Wow.
00:25Early line previewing the WNBA campaign.
00:29J.Y., let's dive right in, and let's start at the very top.
00:33Who do you expect to win a WNBA championship in 2025?
00:38You know, after taking 25 years to win their first one,
00:41I'm looking at the New York Liberty to repeat as WNBA champions,
00:45a team that returns possibly three of the top ten players in the world,
00:49and Sabrina Inesco, Brianna Stewart, and of course, John Quell Jones.
00:54But it's deeper than that.
00:55It's the player, Marine Johanna, is coming back from France from this year.
00:58It's the emergence of Naira Sabley, who had a huge game five.
01:03And I look at Natasha Cloud as a sneaky pickup to come over as a free agent.
01:07Now, they're going to miss Bernardi-Laney Hamilton,
01:09but I'm taking the favorites of New York Liberty at plus 220 to win the WNBA championship.
01:14Exceeding expectations here, Coach, in 2025.
01:18Give me a WNBA team that should go over their win total this year.
01:22For me, it's a new era, but it's going to be a good era.
01:25And that's the Phoenix Mercury.
01:26You know, obviously, you look at the fact that Diana Taurasi retires.
01:29Obviously, Brittany Grider is going to be in Atlanta.
01:31But you look at that three-headed monster, obviously, a Satu Sabley, Kalia Copper,
01:37and then a Swiss Army Knife, Alyssa Thomas.
01:39Alyssa Thomas will play with more dynamic offensive players.
01:42I think that win total is at 24 and a half wins.
01:44I think they're going to be sneaky good.
01:46Give me the Phoenix Mercury.
01:47If they can get everyone on the same page, which is a big thing,
01:50I'd like them to go over 24 and a half wins this season.
01:52A different time now for the Connecticut Sun,
01:56who used to have some wonderful veteran star players
01:58that are now all basically in new spots,
02:01including Alyssa Thomas playing in Phoenix.
02:04Tawana Bonner now plays in Indiana with the Fever as well.
02:08Alyssa Thomas is basically good for damn near a triple-double each
02:11and every night she steps out onto the floor.
02:14Let's go to the other side of the equation, JY,
02:17a team that maybe is getting a little bit too much love in the odds marketplace.
02:22That you expect to stay under their win total this year.
02:25Which WNBA team are you highlighting?
02:28All right.
02:29I may have to duck and hide my social media profile.
02:32It is the Chicago sky.
02:35Chicago sky, which I don't understand.
02:36Their win total is 18 and a half.
02:38I think they got 13 wins last year.
02:40They're a team in a disarray.
02:42James Wade had walked out of them two years ago.
02:44They get Teresa Weatherspoon.
02:45They fire her halfway during the year.
02:47Then they get rid of Marina Mabry, right?
02:49Obviously, you know, Kennedy Carter is gone.
02:52And their win total is five higher than last year?
02:55I get they got Haley Benlitz.
02:57I know Cardozo is going to be better.
02:59I know Angel Reese is going to step up.
03:01But I think this team struggles.
03:02Under 18 and a half wins this year for the Chicago sky.
03:06How about that here?
03:07And talking about, you know, some upset picks that we have.
03:09The WNBA, the MVP.
03:10Oh, it's easy.
03:11It's got to be Asia Wilson.
03:12It's got to be Kaitlin Clark.
03:13Coach, tell us why it's not going to be either one of those two ladies.
03:17Well, obviously, I'm going to another one of the top five players in the world.
03:20And that's a big piece.
03:21Nafisha Collier, obviously the player out of UConn, did a great job with the Minnesota
03:25Leagues playing for the best coach in the WNBA.
03:28Let's be honest.
03:28And obviously, Cheryl Reeve.
03:30I look at the way that Nafisha plays.
03:33Inside out.
03:34All five starters die for Minnesota.
03:35A team that's going to be on a mission after losing that tight game five.
03:40She is one of the best players in the world.
03:41And if she was playing in New York or L.A. or Vegas, one of those big media markets, you'd
03:45be talking about her being the best player in the world.
03:48Big piece.
03:48Nafisha Collier, MVP of the season.
03:50You can see Nafisha Collier in the first game of this WNBA campaign tonight.
03:55A five and a half point spread in favor of her links on the road in Dallas to take on who?
04:02That would be Paige Beckers in her debut with the Wings.
04:06It's one of our first games of the WNBA season on this Friday night.
04:09So, J.Y., it's a natural transition from that MVP bet, Nafisha Collier, at a plus 300 price
04:15to rookie of the year.
04:18And for a second consecutive season, that first overall pick is expected to be a generational
04:23star from the very start of her W campaign.
04:27That would be Paige Beckers, a hefty favorite at minus 370.
04:30So, J.Y. was spoiling a little bit.
04:32That is your pick.
04:33But tell us why you think Paige Beckers has success from the very start of her time in the WNBA.
04:40Well, I'm going to do a double whammy with this one.
04:42I'm going to pick Paige to be rookie of the year.
04:44And it's also my best bet tonight for Paige Beckers to go over 14 and a half points.
04:49She averaged 12.5 points per game and only 23 minutes of action.
04:52This is an extremely – I saw Paige play AAU in high school, and she was the best basketball
04:58player I have seen live in the AAU high school ranks in regards to her ability to do everything
05:04at a really high level.
05:06The good thing with her is she has Enrique Wimbawale, who is that number one scoring officer.
05:10But when you look at Natasha Howard, gone.
05:13Satu Saboli, gone.
05:14Yes, Melissa Smith comes in and other veterans come in.
05:17But Paige is going to be the certified Robin to Enrique's Batman.
05:21She's going to have a monster season in the WNBA.
05:24She goes over 14 and a half points tonight, and she is your runaway rookie of the year.
05:29And I will say this.
05:29If Caitlin Clark is the biggest star in the WNBA, if you just look at just the way they
05:34watch college basketball, Paige Beckers is probably the second most popular player in
05:38the WNBA, and that starts tonight.
05:41Let's take a look at this weekend's action in totality, Coach.
05:44If you said, you know what, there's a lot going on.
05:46There's the Preakness.
05:47There's the NHL.
05:48There's Major League Baseball.
05:49There's the NBA.
05:49If I needed to watch one game this weekend in the WNBA, which game should I be watching?
05:54I really, you know, listen, if you could, I would watch the doubleheader of both games
05:59that obviously features the Aces and the Liberty, and then, of course, the second game being
06:04with Caitlin Clark, because I think people want to see Caitlin Clark.
06:07And it's going to be interesting to watch, guys, Caitlin, because when you look at Caitlin,
06:11this is a player that, you've got to remember, they don't get time off.
06:14They go right from the college season, right to the WNBA.
06:17She's rested.
06:18She didn't go into unrival.
06:20She's ready to roll.
06:21She's going against a fever.
06:22That's going to get ugly.
06:24And think about this.
06:24It's not just the fact that you have Caitlin Clark and Aaliyah Boston.
06:28It's bringing in Duana Bonner.
06:29It's bringing in Natasha Howard.
06:31It's bringing in Sophie Cunningham.
06:32It's getting Stephanie White, one of the three best coaches in the world, on the women's
06:36side to go along with Becky Hammond and Cheryl Reeve.
06:38This team is locked and loaded, and they're going to make a serious run at a WNBA championship
06:44because of not just Caitlin Clark, but the rest of the team that surrounded her.
06:48And the retention of Kelsey Mitchell as well, one of the best scorers in the W.
06:53So we'll talk about Caitlin Clark in year number two of the WNBA and the updated expectation
07:00this year in Indianapolis.
07:03WNBA title odds, MVP odds with JY on the other side of the break on the debut weekend of the W in 2025.
07:11Tonight starts the 2025 WNBA season.
07:15Can the W capitalize on its momentum once again?
07:19The answer to that should be a resounding yes.
07:22But of course, JY, so much attention into a record-setting 2024 season in the WNBA
07:27because of Caitlin Clark's emergence in her rookie season with Indiana.
07:33And last year, they finished in even 500 at 20 and 20.
07:37They got swept in the opening round of the playoffs by the Connecticut Sun.
07:40But there is no question about it.
07:42What Caitlin Clark was able to do with the fever in the home stretch after the Olympic and All-Star break
07:49gives you all the optimism you could want in Indy for a true championship contender this year.
07:55They played 11 games in 20 days to start the season because of all the attention and eyeballs on CeCe and her team.
08:04They started 2-9, so they ended the year winning 18 of their final 29 games for that even 500 split.
08:12And not just the growth of Caitlin Clark and Aaliyah Boston, the two previous number one overall picks prior to a couple of weeks ago
08:21and Paige Beckers, but the addition of Stephanie White as the head coach,
08:25the additions of DeWanna Bonner, of Natasha Howard, as you mentioned, Sophie Cunningham, the veteran off the bench,
08:31and the retention of Kelsey Mitchell.
08:33This is a loaded Indiana team entering 2025.
08:38So, J.Y., in your estimation, what does success now look like for Caitlin Clark in the fever in her second year in the WNBA?
08:45If they could find a way to get out of the first round and play a competitive, let's say, Eastern Conference Final Series
08:53versus the New York Liberty, get near 30 wins, and really play the consistent ball.
08:59I think the key thing that Ben mentioned, I kind of talked about last break, is the break.
09:04That Olympic break was huge for Caitlin Clark.
09:07She got to get her legs under her.
09:09She got a little time off, and she spent a lot of time getting stronger.
09:14She's looked physically bigger than last year.
09:17So, she got in the weight room.
09:18She got a little bit quicker.
09:19But I think getting the presence around her, right, with, you know, getting, obviously, DeWanna Bonner,
09:27who is a big shot maker, big shot taker, and takes no you-know-what, getting Natasha Howard,
09:32getting Sophie Cunningham, obviously keeping Kelsey Mitchell, getting Stephanie White.
09:36I think the interesting thing to look at for me is, as much as Caitlin Clark is going to hit logo threes and do everything,
09:41I actually think she leads the WNBA in assists, because I think she's got players around her that's going to be able to make plays.
09:50And if she leads the league in assists, guys, just imagine how much more dangerous she's going to be
09:57if she's able to get the ball up and get other people's shots.
09:59We take a look at the championship odds here for this year in 2025 when the FanDuel Sportsbook,
10:05the Liberty, plus 220, all the way down to the Fever at a plus 390.
10:08Those are the upper echelon teams.
10:09Then we have that shelf, Coach, 12-1 or later.
10:12If we look at the top teams, the Liberty, Aces, the Lynx, and the Fever,
10:14we know they're probably going to be there in the end.
10:17Are there some teams that we can look at this year, Coach, with a surprise who you think
10:20maybe not a lot of people are focusing on that can actually take that next step
10:23and make a deep run into the playoffs?
10:25I just keep looking at Phoenix.
10:28I look at trying to see that Alyssa Thomas, who's basically a walking triple-double,
10:33playing with two offensive firepower players, and Satu Sabli, obviously, and Kalia Copper.
10:41She's got two ladies on the wings that can really go create their shots.
10:45So that's going to open up driving lanes for Alyssa Thomas.
10:50I think they're an intriguing team.
10:51A team to watch, even on top of the board, is I have to see how Jewel Lloyd fits in to Vegas.
11:00Okay?
11:00Kelsey Plum was a big part of that team.
11:02But now you're going small guards.
11:05Now you're going small, small, small, three-guard lineup, right, of Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, Jewel Lloyd.
11:12Jackie Young, pretty strong defender.
11:14Other two, not great defenders.
11:16And have they solved their depth issue in Vegas?
11:19I think Minnesota is the better team out west, and I expect Minnesota to be that team on the western side that faces the Liberty in the finals.
11:27Of course, the Aces and Liberty met in the WNBA finals two years ago.
11:33Las Vegas got the better of New York for their second consecutive WNBA championship.
11:38The Liberty returned the favor in the second round this past postseason,
11:42and then in a thrilling five-game championship set against the Lynx, outlasted Nafisa Collier and Minnesota in overtime.
11:50No discrediting those teams, but, of course, a lot of eyes on the Indiana Fever.
11:55Frankly, I think it says a great thing about where the W stands right now.
11:58There's not a minus money favorite.
12:00There's not a team to win the championship that is leaps and bounds in front of everybody else.
12:04You see those four teams right there, all separated by just over a dollar and a half.
12:09The Liberty, the favorites, the Aces, the Lynx, and the Fever in that fold as well.
12:15JY, as always, we appreciate the time on this Friday.
12:19Enjoy game six tonight for your New York Knicks.
12:22May it be a celebratory evening in the young household.
12:26They fade away to the break in hour number three on the other side.