The first full month of the WNBA’s 30th season is nearly in the books, with Tuesday’s Commissioner’s Cup Championship sending us into July. But before we put June in the rearview, we had an outstanding final week of the month, one that produced several headlines.
SCHEDULE: Check out the full WNBA on NBC, Peacock slate of games
To begin the week, the Dallas Wings and Seattle Storm may have delivered us the game of the year up to that point. The overtime thriller provided us with a glimpse of two of the league’s most promising young talents playing at elite levels. For Seattle, Dominique Malonga was arguably the best player on the floor on Monday, even with her fellow 2025 Draft member, Paige Bueckers, occupying the same 94 feet at Climate Pledge Arena. Malonga scored a career-high 37 points on 14-of-24 shooting, which included a pair of three-pointers, along with 12 rebounds for her second double-double within a three-game stretch. Her efforts were ultimately overshadowed by Bueckers’ late heroics, where the 2025 first-overall pick scored Dallas’ final eight points in regulation to erase a late six-point deficit and force overtime — she’d end up finishing with 27 points (17 combined in the fourth quarter and overtime) to help the Wings eke out a 112-110 win. Azzi Fudd, the 2026 No. 1 pick, also did her part with 26 points.
The Phoenix Mercury bounced back on Wednesday in Indianapolis to avenge their Monday-night loss to the Indiana Fever with a 111-109 win in the rematch. But the win came with its share of talking points, with the fallout of the Mercury’s physical play and Caitlin Clark’s early exit (back injury) being at the center of attention. Alyssa Thomas landed on Clark as both players went to the floor to retain a loose basketball. Thomas’ right arm made contact with Clark’s neck, which wasn’t penalized during the win. The veteran forward eventually received a one-game suspension from the league office following its review of the play after the game. But the lack of real-time action may have affected the final outcome.
There were no altercations or controversial moments on Thursday’s slate, only a historical performance. Marina Mabrey, in front of the Toronto crowd, served up a 50-piece in a complete beatdown of the Los Angeles Sparks and became just the fourth player in WNBA history to log a 50-point game. Her 53 points tied a WNBA record for most points in a game, alongside A’ja Wilson and Liz Cambage. Mabrey’s eruption was highlighted by her nine three-pointers, which was the second time she has reached that number of makes within the past three games.
More history was made just a day later when Kamilla Cardoso notched a career-best 30 points on 13-of-13 field goals, the most field goals in a game without a miss in league history. The record could have grown even greater if the matchup between the Sky and Portland Fire had been more competitive and Cardoso had been able to log any fourth-quarter minutes. Still, she only needed 24 minutes of action to break a long-standing record. Chicago’s win was also noteworthy since Courtney Vandersloot was in the lineup for the first time since tearing her ACL in a game against the Fever on June 7, 2025. The well-renowned floor general produced 10 points and seven assists off the bench in 14 minutes in one of the Sky’s few feel-good moments of the season.
The week ended appropriately over in Washington, D.C., where the Mystics and Portland Fire needed four overtime periods to determine a winner. Three players scored at least 30 points, and four others finished the game with 20 or more points before the Mystics ultimately earned a 124-123 victory. And while the highs of last week’s action may be hard to top in the current, there’s still a good chance we get at least a few games worth celebrating in early July. Let’s begin with Tuesday’s Commissioner’s Cup Championship.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Las Vegas Aces at New York Liberty
(Tuesday, June 30 at 7 p.m. ET on Prime Video)
Both teams will have traveled over to New York following their Sunday games, so there will be no rest advantage here for either the Aces or Liberty. But the Liberty does get this championship bout at home, where they are above .500 on the season. My colleague Jackie Powell and I will have a more thorough breakdown of the matchup in our WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Championship Roundtable. But in short, a matchup between the last two WNBA champions, two who maintain legit odds to reach the pinnacle again on the backs of two of the most accomplished players the league has seen, will always make for must-see TV.
Dallas Wings at Connecticut Sun
(Thursday, July 2 at 8 p.m. ET on Prime Video)
Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd get to return to Connecticut, where they spent their college careers and earned a national championship before becoming the first players selected in their respective WNBA drafts — the nostalgia, and likely an appreciative crowd, could be reasons this Thursday-night matchup might be a good one. But even without the connections, the Sun is currently playing some good ball. They’ve won two straight games for the first time all season and have done so by playing some high-level defense. Between Bueckers and Jessica Shepard’s sustained success throughout the year, the Wings seem to have real deep-playoff-run potential all of a sudden. While the Sun doesn’t possess that type of upside, they’ll enter this matchup rested and feeling good about the direction they’re currently trending in.
Minnesota Lynx at New York Liberty
(Friday, July 3 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ION)
I can’t help but think about the Lynx-Liberty 2024 WNBA Finals matchup whenever these two teams are mentioned in the same breath — specifically, the Game 5 clash that could’ve swung in either direction. Surely, the Lynx haven’t forgotten about that loss, even if much of their personnel from the memorable win-or-go-home contest are either injured or no longer employed by Minnesota. Meanwhile, New York will have competed in the Commissioner’s Cup Championship 72 hours earlier, and the result of that game could play a role in what type of Liberty team shows up on Friday. Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu will get their first shot at slowing down the rookie phenom, Olivia Miles, who continues to make her case for the Rookie of the Year award come season’s end. Barclays Center should be electric.
Golden State Valkyries at Atlanta Dream
(Saturday, July 4 at 1 p.m. ET on CBS/Paramount+)
The Valkyries got back on track last week after two losses at the hands of Lynx and Aces. Golden State hosted two matchups against Atlanta and earned a double-digit win in the first before squeaking by with a three-point win in the second, thanks to a couple of productive performances from Gabby Williams. Atlanta’s back-to-back losses were followed by another in Seattle, leaving the Dream with three straight defeats and a slide in the league standings. Angel Reese, Rhyne Howard, and the rest of the Dream will dart across the country to the nation’s capital to end their road trip against the Mystics before finally heading home for some much-needed home cooking against the Valkyries. Will the third time be the charm?
Indiana Fever at Las Vegas Aces
(Sunday, July 5 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN/Disney+)
The Aces and Fever will see each other for the first time since last postseason’s competitive five-game semifinals matchup. The stakes were undoubtedly higher in that postseason matchup than they will be on Saturday, but a nationally televised game to end the weekend should probably get the juices flowing. Will Caitlin Clark play? Perhaps her availability in Indiana’s prior games during the week will give us a better idea of what to expect when Indiana and Las Vegas take the floor at T-Mobile Arena. Regardless, the Fever have played well without her, even against this Aces team in the previously mentioned playoff series. But A’ja Wilson is still the top dog in the WNBA — she’ll have a chance to show that on Sunday as Las Vegas returns home from the East Coast. The matchups between Wilson and Aliyah Boston are always fun, which should remain the case this upcoming weekend.
