Five Out: Angel Reese's Historic Season, The Liberty on Fraud Watch and the WNBA's Storytelling Problem

This week dives into a couple narratives surrounding the WNBA and its storytelling problem. Plus, some hot New York Liberty takes.

Your long-term substitute teacher is back and reminding you to stay locked in with No Cap Space as we have a ton of good content coming down the pipeline. 

Tuesday’s Luxury Tax is an exciting one as Tennessee’s new head coach Kim Caldwell joins us. 

We also have an exclusive interview with Oklahoma Sooner Raegan Beers. 

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Photo: from Chicago Sky social media.

ANGEL REESE HAD A HISTORIC SEASON. PERIOD. 

We got a bit of sad news this weekend as Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese announced Saturday that she suffered a season ending wrist injury. Now whether that means end of the regular season and she could re-emerge for the playoffs or the end of the year entirely, I don’t know. I’m not a doctor nor do I play one on TV. What I do know is how we categorize and summarize her rookie campaign should be in a similar fashion as the all-time greats because it was truly historic. 

Our own Tyler DeLuca went iso Saturday night to put into context just how good her season was and you should give it a watch. 

Statistically, Reese grabbed the most rebounds in a single season AND had the most consecutive double-doubles in WNBA history. Not for rookies, but for every able bodied woman that hit that court regardless of age. She also became the only player in history to average more than 12 rebounds averaging 13 to go along with 13 points on the year. She also had an insane period of three games where she averaged 20 rebounds. That is not a typo. She grabbed 60 boards in three games. 

Any other year Angel would’ve been Rookie of the Year, but this year she just happened to go up against another generational talent and put up a pretty good fight considering she was going against the #1 pick as a #7 pick herself. A lot can be made about her finishing around the rim and how it needs to improve, but let me say this; nobody was able to box her out consistently the entire year so I don’t want to hear as much about the flaws as I do how she was able to bang with a league full of grown women. And let me add, if she can ever replicate and sustain the numbers she put up in June, MVP is not out of the question. 

THE WNBA HAS A STORYTELLING PROBLEM 

One reason we at No Cap Space are so adamant about making sure Angel’s story as well as many others’ are documented from an objective perspective is because the WNBA can’t be trusted to do it. The rest of the outside world has engaged in culture war, back and forth nonsense all season, and the WNBA did nothing to quell it in terms of storytelling and guiding new fans. Respectfully, the weekly spaces appeared to be invested in that drama and didn’t provide much help in shepherding new fans and there were no throwback pieces on who held the records that Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark were breaking on a weekly basis. Fans were left to their own devices and forced to post Ticha Penicheiro highlight reels on their own private accounts, which Penicheiro graciously interacted with. It shouldn’t be like this. There was a great opportunity for the new fans to be introduced to legends through the achievements of the sensational, overachieving rookies and the league completely botched it. 

This issue has been prevalent for years, most recently during the league’s 25th anniversary in 2021. Literally nothing was done to rehash the history and tell how we got to this moment in time, but Diana Taurasi did receive a GOAT ball. 

What I don’t want to happen is years from now, when Caitlin and Angel’s rookie seasons are being discussed, it’s in the context of all the bickering that took place as a result of right-wing media’s racist rage baiting. While that is an unavoidable part of the story it should not be what either of them are reduced to and it is still the league’s job to make sure of that. 

THE WNBA HAS A STORYTELLING ISSUE AND IT MAY HAVE LED TO SHERYL SWOOPES CRASHING OUT A LITTLE

I was having a conversation on Twitter last week about how the Harlem Shake trend of 2013 did some damage to black culture by overshadowing the original dance out of New York. The 2013 trend was fun and became an absolute cultural phenomenon, but now makes it a little harder to find information on the OG version. 

When I think about the current Caitlin Clark run from that perspective I’m able to empathize with Sheryl Swoopes more while still disagreeing with how she and the people defending her have gone about things on Twitter since February. 

As previously stated, the WNBA is pretty terrible when it comes to making sure black legends get their flowers. We watched as public pressure had to be applied to ensure that Sylvia Fowles was given a proper sendoff the same way her white counterpart Sue Bird was. In this regard I could see Swoopes feeling the need to be protective of her legacy and that of her legendary black peers. I still believe that the focus should’ve been on pressuring the W to do a better job of handling that task instead of being kind of weird whenever she got in front of a podcast mic and spoke on Clark. Because of how this whole saga started, apology or not, she’s been labeled a hater and everything she does is seen from that angle. Is it unfair? Maybe. But in my opinion it was completely preventable. There’s nothing wrong with being a hater, I know this first hand, but do it ethically or you create unnecessary problems for yourself. 

FOOTBALL IS BACK AND HOPEFULLY WNBA DOESN’T FUMBLE. 

With the WNBA playoffs right around the corner, one thing that sticks out to me is how high the stakes are for all teams involved. The Las Vegas Aces are trying to three-peat. The New York Liberty are trying to end a 28 year drought and have something to hang in Barclays besides that lone Commissioner’s Cup banner. The Connecticut Sun are trying to prove they’re legit by also winning a title for the first time in franchise history. The Fever are getting a taste of the postseason for the first time in a long time. The Lynx want another ring after being overlooked all season. The list goes on. 

My hope is that as football has returned, both college and pro, that WNBA media doesn’t rely too heavily on centering the Caitlin Clark effect to compete with football because we live in America and football is still king. I understand she’s gotta have a segment because that’s just how it is and truthfully, I feel like it’s warranted. She’s had an incredible season while facing a tremendous amount of pressure and handled it all admirable. I’m ok with the kid getting some love. But I don’t see the Fever winning a title this year (2028 is a different story!), so there has to be a setup for after Indiana gets eliminated. Find the drama in all the matchups and let that lead. People love mess even when they’re not fully familiar with the people involved. 

THE NEW YORK LIBERTY ARE ON FRAUD WATCH 

I’m writing this a few hours after the Liberty completed the season sweep of the Las Vegas Aces, beating them 75–71. I’m beyond unmoved by that win and not just because I’m a hater. The Aces were without what looks to be this year’s MVP A’ja Wilson and the supposed MVP candidate and First Team All-WNBA guard Sabrina Ionescu finished with 14-4-4 on 6-21 shooting and 1-9 from deep. That’s a Caitlin Clark statline from May. Her and Breanna Stewart were uncharacteristically bad from the free throw line, missing three in three in the clutch and Stewie looked out of sorts when the Liberty kept going to her for a bucket. It was very reminiscent of this past finals where she shot 17 percent in a game and finished with the same point total as Cayla George in another. There are no footnotes in the win/loss column, but if I were a Liberty fan, I would be a tad concerned about my stars getting the yips in the clutch. Above all, prayers up for Betnijah Laney. She took a nasty spill after a collision with Jonquel Jones and left with a leg injury. Hopefully it’s nothing major.