The Chicago Sky sent shockwaves through the league on Wednesday afternoon when they announced that they were trading Marina Mabrey to the Connecticut Sun. In return, they receive a 2025 first-round draft pick, a 2026 first-round pick swap and veterans Moriah Jefferson and Rachel Banham. Chicago also is sending a 2025 second-round pick to Connecticut.

“Marina has made a significant impact over the past two seasons with the Sky behind her scoring ability, playmaking, competitiveness and commitment to the community,” Chicago Sky General Manager Jeff Pagliocca said. “We appreciate all of her contributions to the organization and wish her continued success in the league.”

The move comes a day after Mabrey scored 15 points, dished out four assists and grabbed three steals in a 93-85 upset over the Las Vegas Aces.

Due to the scoring exploits of Angel Reese and Chennedy Carter, Mabrey has grown as a playmaker. She is currently averaging 14.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. Mabrey, who is known for her 3-point shooting, has gone from shooting 39 percent from beyond the arc last season to shooting 34.8 percent from deep in 2024. She has shown steady improvement as rebounder and defender, with a total of 109 rebounds and 29 steals in 24 games this season.

The Sky have one of the lowest 3-point percentages in the league at 31.4 percent. Mabrey was the player that was regularly attempting 3s. Now, it will be Banham, a nine-year veteran who has played for Connecticut and the Minnesota Lynx. She is averaging 4.8 points, 1.2 rebounds and shooting 34.5 percent from the 3. She has scored in double figures three times this season, including a season-high 24 points in a 96-69 win over the Phoenix Mercury on July 14. In that game, she hit eight 3-pointers, a WNBA record for a reserve player.

Jefferson has been in the league since 2016. She had played for the Las Vegas Aces, Lynx, Dallas Wings and Mercury. Last year, she averaged 10.5 points and 3.6 assists per game for the Mercury. She is currently out with an ankle injury. Before that, she was averaging 2.1 points, 0.7 assists, shooting 37.5 percent from the field and shooting 33.3 percent from the 3-point line.

The Sky also look to maximize their chances in next year’s draft with this move.

“We are very excited to welcome Rachel and Moriah to the Sky and we know that both will bring a ton of value to this roster this season,” Pagliocca said. “Adding another essential first round draft pick in 2025 will strengthen our draft capital next year.”

The month-long Olympic Break can’t come soon enough for the Atlanta Dream (7-16).

Losers of seven-straight games, the Dream will wrap up their first stretch of the season with a visit to the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday (1 p.m. ET, League Pass). If the game resembles the first two contests between the two teams, another unfavorable result likely is on the way for Atlanta. Minnesota unleashed an offensive onslaught in late May, winning 92-79. In the mid-June matchup, an inability to score sunk the Dream in a 68-55 loss.

Win or lose on Wednesday, the Dream will sit in ninth place, out of the playoff picture. And because they do not own their 2025 first-round draft pick, the prospect of some lottery luck provides no solace for frustrated fans.

It’s easy, and not wrong, to attribute Atlanta’s bleak situation to injury. Rhyne Howard is expected to return to the lineup on Wednesday after missing 10 games due to the ankle injury she suffered last time the Dream traveled to Minnesota. Jordin Canada has played just four games, as her comeback from the hand injury that kept her out of the first 14 games of the season soon was followed by a broken finger. Aerial Powers, Atlanta’s off-the-bench energy booster, also has missed seven games, the majority of them due to a calf injury.

Offensive woes in ATL

Injury-induced absences, particularly those of Howard and Canada, have exacerbated the Dream’s woes, especially on the offensive end. Howard is supposed to be the team’s offensive engine, with Canada as the offensive organizer. Without the pair, the offense has been pitiful. The Dream score a league-low 75.0 points per game, which is more than three points per game worse than the second-lowest scoring team. Over their seven-game losing streak, scoring has been even more difficult, as the team has averaged just 72.9 points per game.

The offense, however, wasn’t exactly humming with Howard. In the 13 games she played, the Dream had an offensive rating of 94.8. Without her, the offensive rating is 92.3; for the full season, it’s 93.7. Regardless of who has or has not been available, finding and maintaining an offensive flow has been challenge for the Dream. The ball rarely pings around the halfcourt; instead, every player often takes a beat or two before making the next pass, attacking the basket or taking a shot, thereby failing to bend the defense and, in turn, demanding that the Dream offense live by tough shots, whether that be a running hook or short fadeaway from Tina Charles, a drive into a contested midranger by Allisha Gray or a deep, late-clock 3-pointer from Howard.

While the return of Howard and eventual return of Canada will raise the Dream’s offensive floor, it’s misguided to assume that the pair will relieve Atlanta’s ills. Last season, the Dream’s offensive efficiency sunk over the second half of the season; the problems have persisted. Instead of injecting more motion, movement or creativity, the only new wrinkle has been dumping the ball to Charles and letting her go to work. And although the third all-time leading scorer in WNBA history can still get buckets, her scoring rarely facilitates a dynamic, team-wide offensive attack.

The Dream need difference-making defense

Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Defensively, the Dream have done a better job of surviving without two of their star starters; their 101.1 defensive rating puts them in the middle of the pack.

However, the team has missed the defensive playmaking punch that Howard and Canada can provide. Before her injury, Howard had ramped up her intensity on that end of the floor, averaging a career-high 2.2 steals per game, which is the second-best mark in the league. Last season, Canada led the league in steals with 2.3 per game. During her short time wearing a Dream jersey, she averaged 1.3 per contest. The ability of Howard and Canada to turn opponents over could juice Atlanta’s transition offense, a priority for the team that, without the injured pair, they only intermittently have achieved. The Dream induce opponents into an average of 13.2 turnovers per game, which ranks 10th in the league. They’ve then been ineffective in converting turnovers into points, as they are second-to-last in points off turnovers per game with 13.7.

Atlanta’s struggle to turn defense into offense is illustrative of how just about everything that leads to winning basketball is difficult for the Dream right now. In short, it’s been a nightmare season.

After an uncharacteristic start to the season, it seems 100 percent safe to say that the Las Vegas Aces (16-7) we all knew are officially back for good. They’re 9-1 in their last ten games, looking healthy and making wins look like routine; the Aces undoubtedly have regained their stride. A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young have played at a very high level in the last 10 games, while the leadership of Chelsea Gray continues to be evident on and off the court. The Aces are riding insane momentum going into the incoming Olympic break.

A’ja Wilson, Cover Girl

Just when you thought the best couldn’t get better, she did. In the past two weeks, Wilson has graced the cover of NBA 2K25, won the ESPY for Best Athlete in Women’s Sports and continued her legendary WNBA season by breaking records and barriers, including the Aces franchise record for points on Sunday night.

Wilson is currently leading the W in points and blocks, while ranking second in rebounds and fifth in steals. Heading into the Olympic break, Wilson looks to go gold for the second time as she is representing Team USA in the 2024 Games. This season alone, Wilson has unveiled plans for a signature shoe, appeared on a 2K cover and won an ESPY for being the best in her craft before soon representing her country in the Olympics, maintaining an extremely high chance of winning her third WNBA MVP award and striving to lead the Aces to the first WNBA three-peat since 1999. Talk about exemplifying greatness.

Maintaining Momentum

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Luckily for the Aces, they’ve already done the hard work. Getting out of a slump with the world on your shoulders is tough, especially when you’re known for nothing short of success. The next big test for the Aces is maintaining their flow and focus when play resumes in August. This isn’t this team’s first rodeo, but that doesn’t mean it makes it any easier. The final push of the season will be extra tough for this squad because every other team in the W will go out of their way to keep the Aces from catching fire and bringing another chip back home. Can Vegas keep it up?

The Seattle Storm (16-8) were not at their best last Sunday, but still managed to pull off a win over the Atlanta Dream (7-16), thanks in large part to the efforts of their two youngest starters.

Jordan Horston and Ezi Magbegor, aged 23 and 24, respectively, were terrific in Seattle’s 81-70 victory, combining to score 34 points on a highly efficient 16-for-22 shooting from the field. The duo also racked up five offensive rebounds, four steals and five blocked shots, thoroughly outplaying their individual matchups in every area the Storm have been relying on them for.

On a team with elite offensive talents such as Jewell Loyd, Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith, Horston and Magbegor’s work on the other end of the court has been crucial to Seattle’s success. They’ve often sacrificed their own offensive output, deferring to the team’s stars while bearing the burden of its most difficult defensive assignments. The Storm currently rank third in the WNBA in defensive rating (93.6 points allowed per 100 possessions) and opponents’ turnover rate (20.2 percent), and if those numbers hold for the rest of the season, both Horston and Magbegor are sure to get heavy consideration for the WNBA’s All-Defense teams.

On Sunday, however, the Storm’s young duo showed that they’re also capable of stepping up offensively. Though Seattle’s veterans were uncharacteristically inefficient and Diggins-Smith was forced to exit early due to injury, Horston and Magbegor picked up the slack, particularly during a late fourth-quarter run that put the game out of reach after Atlanta had kept things close most of the way.

“They’re both playing with a lot of confidence. When they’re able to give us some extra lift on the offensive end, that’s amazing because we always talk about their defensive tenacity and their athleticism,” said Storm head coach Noelle Quinn after the game. “But when they’re playing efficiently on the offensive end, it’s great for us.”

For Magbegor, that isn’t new. Last season, she averaged a career-high 13.8 points on 51.3 percent shooting while playing in all 40 games, and has put up similar offensive numbers thus far in 2024.

Horston, on the other hand, has made multiple noticeable improvements in her second season as a pro. Whereas she often struggled with her own pace of play as a rookie, she’s letting the game come to her now, resulting in a considerable jump in scoring efficiency: 48.4 percent shooting from the field, up from 36.7 percent in 2023. The talented wing has always been capable of stuffing the stat sheet—her collegiate career at Tennessee was a statistically productive one—but she’s taken a less-is-more approach as a member of the Storm, combining her natural athletic gifts with her tenacity on defense to fuel her team.

“She’s growing in a lot of ways,” Quinn said of Horston. “It’s not always going to be perfect, but what I really like to see is the confidence she plays with, and her next-play mentality is improving … that shows a lot of maturity.”

“We know who Jordan is,” added Magbegor. “She’s athletic and she likes to run. When she’s running, she’s scanning the floor and looking to kick it ahead. It ignites us.”

For now, Horston and Magbegor can stick to their roles of stoppers and defensive playmakers. The core of Loyd, Ogwumike and Diggins-Smith is enough to carry the team on most nights, and how well the trio plays during the playoffs will determine how far the Storm get in their quest for a fifth championship.

There will come a time, however, when Seattle’s youngsters will be asked to take over and lead the franchise. Their stellar play on Sunday provided a brief glimpse into that future, and if the Storm’s coaches are correct in their assessments, the team will be in good hands.

For the past three years, Ke’Shunan James, a member of Murray State Hall of Fame who played for the Racers from 2014 to 2018, has been playing in Slovakia, where she has won three championships in a row. Last season, she took her game to another level, earning Finals MVP, Player of the Year, Forward of the Year, Import of the Year and All-Slovakia First Team honors. Playing for Piešťanské Čajky, she averaged 18.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 3.0 steals per game. We talked to her about her career so far, basketball in Slovakia and future plans.

What was your first love: softball, volleyball or basketball? How did basketball manage to win?

Softball had my heart first because my mom played it. What was the biggest reason I started? I wanted to be like her. Then, I became really good at it and my career got off. Basketball was the choice because I figured out that I could go further in the sport, like I’m doing now. Softball stopped in college, basketball didn’t.

What was the basketball culture like in Tennessee when you were growing up?

The basketball culture was OK, not like most places. If you played, then you played; if you didn’t, then you didn’t.

What do you remember about high school ball and committing to Murray State?

High school ball was fun for me. I enjoyed it very much. I became really close with my coach and he helped me with sending film to colleges and pushing me to the next level. Once I committed, I was ready to prove myself. I felt like I had a lot of odds stacked against me so I needed to work hard.

As the OVC Freshman of the Year, you were second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.4 points per game. How did the older players feel about it?

Being the best player as a freshman was hard for me. I think I didn’t have much support from my teammates and I learned early that I was alone. So I just adapted and kept going.

You led the OVC in scoring your junior year. Was that big for you?

It wasn’t enough for me. I have always been my biggest critic and so once I did something or broke a record, I was always looking for the next thing to do. I was in competition with myself.

In 2018, your senior season, you were named the OVC player of the year.

I felt like I should have won this award two years in a row. I deserved it twice. I’m grateful for the award, but they should have given it to me my junior year as well.

Not going to argue with that. Were you always this confident in your talent and abilities? Or was that something that you had to develop because of circumstances?

I think growing up my mom and dad helped me be confident. They always told me to bet on myself. I worked very hard from a very young age. I practiced every day, even on my off days. Nothing was ever given to me! I got everything I have now from pure work. So I think my confidence is knowing that I will put in the work to make it happen for myself. Never asked for a hand out and never got one. So I am confident in my abilities.

Then you went on to play in Greece, Mexico and Ukraine. Can you rate those experiences?

Greece was my favorite country, the people, the weather, the food, everything was great. [In] Mexico, [the] basketball was good; I wish I was there the whole season because maybe it would have been a better experience. Ukraine? I loved the money. That’s it.

Three years ago you moved to Slovakia. What did you know about the country prior to your move there?

The only thing I knew about Slovakia was that I played against one of their teams when I was in Ukraine. I took a chance and now I’m a triple champion, so I’m happy with the results.

Image courtesy of Lukáš Droppan.

In the 2021-22 season you suffered a knee injury. Instead of cutting you, your club kept you on the roster and helped you recover.

It was my first big injury and it almost broke me. I cried every day and never thought I would be the same. I’m grateful for my club Čajky because they all took very good care of me and made sure I came back stronger. Everyone thought I was out for the entire season, but I pushed myself and came back during playoffs and helped win the first-ever championship title in club history.

What about this season?

It was a little bit sweeter for me to win this year because we had a lot of haters. We had some teammates that left to go play for Banská and thought the grass was greener on that side. So to win and not only win, but we won 3-0, was even sweeter and made me very happy.

Staying on the same team for three years is rare for US players in Europe, let alone winning three championships in a row. Is there mutual trust between you and the club?

I’m doing what’s best for my career. This is not anyone else’s career so I’m doing what’s best for me. Also they take care of me and I’m not in a bad situation at all.

Any regrets about your career, like not making the WNBA? At least not yet that is.

I’m happy with my career right now. I’m playing well, I hope to continue. I’m with a solid team with a solid coach. I hope to continue with another great season. If I have a chance to play in the WNBA, I would gladly do it, but I’m very happy with my career right now as well.