Thornton has been on a roll recently, recording a double-double in three straight games. To say she held her own against Seattle’s talented frontcourt would be an understatement; Kayla was the best player on the court for significant stretches of the contest. She matched her season-high in points while establishing a new high in rebounds. Despite averaging nearly 29 fantasy points per game, Thornton is rostered in just under 82 percent of ESPN leagues. That percentage should increase in the aftermath of her recent performances.

After undergoing an arthroscopic procedure on her left knee in mid-May, Copper did not play in Phoenix’s first 11 games. She’s set to make her debut Sunday night, with the Mercury making the news official on Saturday. While Copper may not take on a complete workload immediately, the talented scorer can be a difference-maker in fantasy leagues. Sami Whitcomb may be the most likely candidate to move to the bench, but she will still figure prominently in the Mercury rotation.

Sunday’s game will be the second Wilson has missed due to the league’s concussion protocols. Elizabeth Kitley started Friday’s comeback victory over the Wings, playing 18 minutes and accounting for two points, four rebounds and one assist. While Kitley may retain that role on Sunday, rookie Aaliyah Nye (five points, four rebounds, one steal and one three-pointer in 22 minutes) should once again play more minutes off the bench.

Sabrina Ionescu willed the Liberty through stretches making big shots, including a 34-foot three-pointer right as the second quarter ended to give the Liberty only a three-point deficit heading into halftime. She scored at many different levels on Saturday afternoon including from deep, in the restricted area right at the rim, in the paint, and in the mid-range, making shots 16-17 feet away from the basket. The Liberty scored 38 points in the second half and Ionescu accounted for almost 45% of them, scoring an even 17 points in the second half in addition to 17 also in the first half.

Clark’s return to play opened with a bang after being out for five games. With 1:30 left in the first quarter, Clark scored 9 points off three straight three-pointers in 47 total seconds to tie the game up at 24 apiece. Clark would hit three more three-pointers in the first half including a 31-foot step-back trey over the outstretched arms of Breanna Stewart. Half of those first half made threes were from over 30 feet deep. Clark’s second half was quieter on the scoring front, but she still found ways to impact the game. Six of her nine total assists all came in the second half, finding Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull for open shots in addition to hitting Aliyah Boston cutting to the basket on the inside.

Collier exploded out of the gate with a 16-point first quarter, coinciding with five rebounds and four assists to build Minnesota’s lead to 19 by the end of the opening frame. The early offensive explosion set the table for what was to come for both her and the Lynx the rest of the way, as the lead eventually grew to as many as 35 points before the Lynx earned a 23-point victory. Collier’s final line rivaled a couple of her previous sensational ones of the early season, as she topped 30 points for the third time while registering a season-high in assists. Not only is she off to an MVP-like start for the contending Lynx, but Collier is leading ESPN fantasy leagues in average points per game.

Clark will make her highly anticipated return to the Fever’s starting lineup to play against the still undefeated New York Liberty in a Commissioner’s Cup game. While Clark was out for five games, back-up point guard Sydney Colson started in her place. Clark said pregame that she won’t be on a minutes restriction.

For the second straight game, the Liberty will be without their 2024 WNBA Finals MVP Jonquel Jones, who didn’t travel to Indiana. But also this is the first game of a potential seven games that the Liberty will be without Leonie Fiebich due to her participation in the EuroBasket qualifying tournament. Burke will start in Fiebich’s place and will be expected to guard both backcourt and front court players using her size, length and speed. This is Burke’s second start of the season.

Jones won’t play in Indiana on Saturday and did not travel with the team. Head coach Sandy Brondello noted that they didn’t want to rush Jones when she’s not feeling 100% so early in the season. Starting for the second game in a row at the center spot will be Nyara Sabally, who will make her second WNBA start of her career. Sabally is on a minutes restriction according to New York Post’s Madeline Kenney but will play in more than 15 minutes on Saturday afternoon. Expect Kennedy Burke for sure and possibly Isabelle Harrison to augment some of the front court minutes as well.

Reese took advantage of her matchup against Brionna Jones, a natural center that had to guard a more athletic power forward. She also successfully out-muscled Rhyne Howard under the basket when Howard got matched up with Reese in transition while Reese was running the floor. But once Dream coach Karl Smesko put more athletic stretch fours on Reese in Nia Coffey and Naz Hillmon, Reese had less of an advantage and struggled with both of their length and athleticism. Reese’s most productive quarter came in the second when she accounted for 52.4 percent of the team’s points scored.