WNBA Player News

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.

Griner flirted with a double-double on Friday, while adding a pair of blocks and a steal to log a somewhat productive game from a fantasy basketball standpoint. Yet, neither she nor Brionna Jones had a significant impact against a tough Fever frontcourt that scored a combined 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Griner is still looking for her first double-double of the season and has not provided an abundance of production in fantasy leagues to this point. The veteran center will next take the floor on Sunday against the Liberty.

Howard injured her left leg in the opening minutes of the second quarter while attempting to secure a defensive rebound. She went airborne and appeared to land awkwardly before being helped off the court and into the locker room. However, the former first-overall pick returned to start the second half and ended up having a solid rest of the game. She finished as one of the team’s top scorers and continued to prove herself as one of the most lethal three-point shooters in the WNBA. Still, despite finishing the game, her status will be one to monitor in the coming days.

Canada had one of her most impressive offensive showings on Friday in the Dream’s loss, setting a new season-high in points and made field goals while equaling her season’s total in three-point makes. Yet, there’s an argument to be made that the veteran guard’s final line could have been even better. Of her 30 points, 26 of them came in the first half, which included 10 made field goals. She’d tally only one basket and two more free throws the rest of the way. As for the big picture, Canada’s Friday night performance marks the fourth time in the past five games that she has scored in double figures and logged at least seven assists. She’s been highly productive in fantasy leagues lately.

Mitchell was ekectric in the middle parts of Friday’s game. In the second and third quarter combined, the veteran guard scored 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting and added a pair of three-pointers along the way before finishing with at least 20 points for the ninth time this season while also logging multiple triples for the 13th time. Mitchell didn’t produce much in many other areas, however. As usual, her fantasy basketball production largely hinges on her scoring and three-point shooting.

Boston put together a balanced performance on Friday before fouling out late in the fourth quarter against Atlanta. She tied a season-high in assists and came up just a point shy of her eighth 20-point game of the season. The third-year center had great success against a tough opposing frontcourt that featured Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones, arguably logging the best and most impactful performance of any player that took the floor on Friday. Boston has a chance to turn in another productive outing on Sunday vs. Dallas.

Clark narrowly missed out on her fourth double-double of the season in Indiana’s win over Atlanta. She controlled the game primarily through her passing and concluded with more assists than any other player who took the floor. One negative to highlight, however, is the sophomore guard’s continued struggles as a shooter — she has not shot 50.0 percent from the floor since June 17 against the Sun and is 4-of-35 from beyond the arc over the last five games. Fantasy managers could really benefit from greater shooting efficiency from Clark, given her tremendous volume. She and the Fever will face the Wings on Sunday.

The Fever are reinserting Hull into their starting unit on Friday in place of Aari McDonald. McDonald had started in Clark’s place while the superstar guard was sidelined with an injury, and had performed well enough during that time to keep a starting spot on Wednesday in Clark’s return to the lineup. However, she’ll return to a reserve role as the Fever hope to end a two-game losing streak and regain the momentum they’d built by winning the Commissioner’s Cup Championship. Indiana has lost two of three games to Atlanta this season.

Jones, who last appeared in a game on June 19, was given a timeline of four to six weeks and is not expected to play again before the All-Star break. However, she did participate in half of Friday’s practice before focusing on individual work. Cloud, who missed Tuesday’s win over the Aces, was limited to individual work throughout the session. Due to Cloud’s absence, the Liberty slid Nyara Sabally into the starting lineup against Las Vegas, but she played 18 minutes to reserve Marine Johannès’ 24.

Harrison, who injured her right knee during the third quarter of Sunday’s loss to Seattle, did not play against the Aces on Tuesday. However, her full participation in Friday’s practice suggests a return to action isn’t far off. New York, which remains without the injured Jonquel Jones, hosts the Dream on Sunday afternoon. Due to the team’s limited depth, four of New York’s five starters played at least 32 minutes against Las Vegas.

Waived by the Aces on June 30, Mitchell has found a new home. She’s headed to Seattle, as the Storm are in dire need of improved bench production. The veteran guard appeared in 16 games for the Aces, averaging 3.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in 13.1 minutes. Seattle is ranked 12th in bench scoring, with the team’s reserves contributing 15.7 points per game.