logo
Los Angeles visits Minnesota after Jackson's 30-point game

Los Angeles visits Minnesota after Jackson's 30-point game

Fox Sports13-06-2025

Associated Press
Los Angeles Sparks (4-7, 3-6 Western Conference) at Minnesota Lynx (9-1, 8-1 Western Conference)
Minneapolis; Saturday, 1 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles Sparks visits the Minnesota Lynx after Rickea Jackson scored 30 points in the Sparks' 97-89 victory over the Las Vegas Aces.
Minnesota went 14-6 in Western Conference action and 16-4 at home during the 2024-25 season. The Lynx averaged 8.6 steals, 4.2 blocks and 13.4 turnovers per game last season.
Los Angeles finished 8-32 overall last season while going 5-15 in Western Conference play. The Sparks averaged 78.4 points per game while shooting 42.3% from the field and 32.0% from 3-point distance last season.
INJURIES: Lynx: None listed.
Sparks: Cameron Brink: out (knee), Rae Burrell: out (leg).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Indiana Fever Make Announcement After Connecticut Sun Game
Indiana Fever Make Announcement After Connecticut Sun Game

Yahoo

time6 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Indiana Fever Make Announcement After Connecticut Sun Game

Indiana Fever Make Announcement After Connecticut Sun Game originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Caitlin Clark helped the Indiana Fever secure a second-straight win, improving to 6-5 to begin the 2025 WNBA season. Advertisement In their second matchup against the Connecticut Sun, Clark and the Fever walked away with a comfortable 88-71 win on Tuesday night. Entering the game, the Fever were in a three-way tie for first in the WNBA Commissioner's Cup Eastern Conference standings with the New York Liberty and the Atlanta Dream. Their win over New York on Saturday helped them climb, but it was the Liberty's win over Atlanta on Tuesday that gave Indiana the spot in the Commissioner's Cup championship. Indiana announced the news with a post on social media. "heading to the Commissioner's Cup Championship Game," the Fever wrote on X. Clark and the Fever will play in the Commissioner's Cup Championship Game on July 1, where they will likely face the first-place team in the Western Conference, the Napheesa Collier-led Minnesota Lynx. Advertisement The Commissioner's Cup is an annual in-season competition that started in 2021. Last year, the Lynx defeated the Liberty 94-89 in the championship. The first Commissioner's Cup champion was the Seattle Storm in 2021. Indiana has never played in the championship. But there are player benefits for winning and even just making it to the Commissioner's Cup championship. With total prize compensation at $500,000, each player on the winning team will earn $30,000, while the losers will make $10,000. The MVP will also earn an additional $5,000. Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts during the game against the Connecticut Ruszkowski-Imagn Images In the win over the Sun, Clark tallied 20 points and six assists, but it was an incident with Marina Mabrey, who intentionally shoved her to the floor, that stole the headlines. Advertisement Up next for the Fever is a trip to the Bay Area to face Kate Martin and the Golden State Valkyries for the first time ever. Related: Sophie Cunningham Ejected For Getting Payback After Caitlin Clark Incident This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 18, 2025, where it first appeared.

Will the Warriors keep Jonathan Kuminga? Key dates during the NBA offseason
Will the Warriors keep Jonathan Kuminga? Key dates during the NBA offseason

San Francisco Chronicle​

timean hour ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

Will the Warriors keep Jonathan Kuminga? Key dates during the NBA offseason

The 2024-25 NBA season concludes Sunday night, when the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers play Game 7 of the NBA Finals. What's next on the NBA calendar? The better question might be, what isn't? The crowning of a new NBA champion Sunday night spells a significant swing in the offseason transaction cycle, beginning on Wednesday with the NBA draft in which the Golden State Warriors pick 41st. Then it's on into free agency, summer league and preparations for the 2025-26 season. Here are key dates this offseason and how they affect Golden State: Monday: Teams can begin negotiating with their own free agents. Big man Kevon Looney and guard Gary Payton II, are Warriors bound for unrestricted free agency, as well as wing Kevin Knox and forward Braxton Key. Jonathan Kuminga and Pat Spencer are restricted free agents. Looney (4.5 points, 6.1 rebounds in 76 games in 2024-25) and Payton (6.5 points, 3 rebounds over 62 games) were both key contributors to the Warriors' last title run in 2022-23. They're clubhouse culture stalwarts and rotation regulars. Both said during their respective end-of-year news conferences that they hope to stay with Golden State. Knox and Key played reserve roles as midseason callups from G League Santa Cruz, while Kuminga and Spencer could theoretically re-sign without testing restricted free agency. Wednesday: First round of the NBA draft. The annual NBA draft begins with its first round from Barclays Center in New York. The Warriors traded their first-round pick to the Miami Heat as part of their package to acquire star wing Jimmy Butler. Thursday: Second round of the NBA draft. The draft continues with the second round, in which Golden State picks 41st overall. To prepare for their pick, the Warriors have been hosting workouts at Chase Center with mostly experienced college prospects. Golden State acquired important contributors in the second rounds of both the 2023 and 2024 drafts, taking senior big men Trayce Jackson-Davis and Quinten Post, respectively. June 29: Last day for teams to tender qualifying offers to restricted free agents. For the Warriors, that's Kuminga and Spencer, to whom they can tender one-year qualifying offers to officially initiate unrestricted free agency. Then the two players can field offer sheets from other teams, which the Warriors are entitled to match with the right of first refusal. Kuminga, 22, is bouncy, explosive and a bludgeoner of the basket as a combo forward. Last season, he averaged 15.3 points (45.4% shooting, 30.5% 3-point shooting), 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists. Initially out of the rotation in the playoffs, he nevertheless averaged 15.3 points (on 48.4% shooting and 40% 3-point shooting) in postseason play — including a 30-point, six-rebound effort in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 draft, he's Golden State's most dynamic athlete, a player with two-way upside on the wing. Spencer, a 28-year-old sturdy, springy reserve point guard, averaged 6.4 minutes in 39 games. The lacrosse legend had an 11-minute burst in the playoffs (with four points, two rebounds, two steals) against the Timberwolves in Game 1, Golden State's lone victory in the series. Undrafted after playing one season of college basketball at Northwestern, Spencer worked his way to Golden State through Santa Cruz. Absent a tendered qualifying offer, restricted free agents become unrestricted free agents. June 30: NBA's league year officially ends and free agency begins. The end of the 2024-25 league year (operationally) coincides with the start of free agency at 3 p.m., when teams can officially begin negotiating with free agents from other teams. The Warriors have nine players under standard contracts for 2025-26. As a result, their active payroll sits at $170.5 million against a luxury tax line of $187.8 million and restrictive (for roster building) aprons of $195.9 million and $207.8 million. Their needs include adding size, athleticism and shooting. July 1: NBA's new league year begins. The transaction moratorium halts official transactions through July 6 save for the signing of rookie deals, two-way contracts and offer sheets for restricted free agents. July 5: Seventh annual California Classic begins at Chase Center. Participants this year in the four-team, three-day summer showcase include the Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat. The Warriors play the Lakers on July 5, the Spurs on July 6 and the Heat on July 8. July 6: Free agents can officially sign contracts; trades can be made official. The NBA's transaction moratorium ends at 9 a.m., allowing for the completion of trades, contract extensions and for free agents to consummate contracts with their new clubs. Teams also have 24 hours to match offer sheets for restricted free agents beginning at 9 a.m. July 10: NBA summer league begins in Las Vegas. The NBA's annual summer league begins on UNLV's campus, concluding July 20 with the championship game at Thomas & Mack Center.

6 biggest stories of 2025 WNBA season so far
6 biggest stories of 2025 WNBA season so far

Yahoo

time3 hours ago

  • Yahoo

6 biggest stories of 2025 WNBA season so far

The post 6 biggest stories of 2025 WNBA season so far appeared first on ClutchPoints. With the early weeks of the 2025 WNBA season playing out in the shadow of the NBA Playoffs, you can be forgiven if you're late tuning into the league. Advertisement That said, you've missed a lot. The New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx are seemingly on another Finals collision course, Caitlin Clark's disappointing injury has taken some early shine off the Indiana Fever — then she returned with a vengeance, the Golden State Valkyries are here, and the Atlanta Dream might be a good Finals sleeper pick. That's not all. As women's professional basketball continues to grow, the storylines are becoming even more captivating. Here's where we stand as we near one month into the season. The reigning champion Liberty might be even better this year John Jones-Imagn Images The Liberty went 32-8 last year for the second season in a row and finished things off with a five-game WNBA Finals win over the Lynx. They lost Courtney Vandersloot to free agency and Kayla Thornton to the Valkyries in the expansion draft, yet somehow they're even better. Advertisement Veteran Natasha Cloud will get the lion's share of the credit considering the starting guard is the most prominent newcomer — and she won Eastern Conference Player of the Week her first week with the team. But it's more than just her. Kennedy Burke is having her best season so far, emerging as a true knock-down shooter off the bench, while New York finally has Marine Johannès for a full season. Many of the returnees have been better as well, finding themselves in better position with the Liberty running a crisper five-out offense. Jonquel Jones is averaging a double-double and shooting 43 percent from three, while Breanna Stewart's per-game scoring is down slightly, but she's shooting a more efficient 53 percent from the field and taking fewer threes. Lynx' Napheesa Collier is having an MVP season Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images Napheesa Collier is one of those players you might assume has won an MVP at some point along the way, but she actually hasn't. That might soon change. In a career that was already on a Hall of Fame trajectory, Collier is having her best season yet for the Lynx. Advertisement Collier is leading the WNBA in scoring average by more than five points per game at 26.1 with Allisha Gray a distant second. On the other end, she's averaging career bests in steals and blocks. To illustrate just how dominant she's been, she tied A'ja Wilson for the fastest player to ever reach 150 points and 50 rebounds in a season, doing so in just six games. She has also joined Wilson and Aliyah Boston as the only players with multiple 20-point, 10-rebound double-doubles so far this season. Through it all, it should come as no surprise that the Lynx have the best record in the W. An injury sidelines Fever star Caitlin Clark If Caitlin Clark wakes up in the morning, fans want to know about it, so you could imagine their disappointment when a left quad strain put the Indiana Fever star on the sidelines for at least two weeks. Clark last played on May 24 against the Liberty, and after her injury, the Fever turned around and lost to bad Washington Mystics and Connecticut Sun teams back-to-back. Advertisement Before her injury, Clark was putting up numbers on par with what she did as a rookie (so, amazing numbers). She opened the season with a triple-double against the Chicago Sky and notched two more points-assists double-doubles in her next three games. Inefficiency and turnovers have still been a problem for Clark, but hey — she's a second-year player. She has room to improve and has shown every reason to believe she will. Clark finally returned over the weekend against the Liberty and her bonkers performance helped hand the defending champs their first loss of the season. She scored 32 points on seven made threes, highlighted by 25 points and six triples in the first half, with three of them coming in the span of 35 seconds. And just for fun, she added eight rebounds, nine assists and two blocks. No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers makes a major impact for the Wings Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images Paige Bueckers became the latest superstar to join the league when the Dallas Wings took her first overall in the 2025 WNBA Draft. She brought her massive following with her to the W, and in her first few weeks, her fans were not disappointed. Advertisement In her first six games, she filled the stat sheet to the tune of 14.7 points, 6.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game. Though the Wings struggled, she proved that her elite basketball IQ, court vision and moxie would translate seamlessly to the WNBA. The Bueckers experience went on temporary pause, however, after that. The rookie missed three games while in the league's concussion protocol, then an additional game with an illness. Like Clark, she made a statement in her return. Facing the Phoenix Mercury, Bueckers scored 35 points on 13-19 shooting and 5-7 shooting from three. The WNBA welcomes the Golden State Valkyries For the first time since 2008, the WNBA added a new team this season in the Golden State Valkyries. With a roster primarily made of players taken in the expansion draft (and veteran Tiffany Hayes), the team isn't expected to be great, but at 5-5, they've at least shown the ability to compete. Advertisement It doesn't matter too much. In their first season, it's all about the spectacle at Golden State, and the Valkyries are the hottest ticket in town. They've sold out every home game they've played, filling the 18,064-seat Chase Center four times. That gives them the highest average attendance in the WNBA, ahead of the Fever (16,719 per game) and defending champion Liberty (16,113). The Atlanta Dream are a sneaky Liberty-Lynx alternative Last year's finalists, the Liberty and Lynx, could certainly meet in the WNBA Finals once again. But if they don't, the Atlanta Dream could be the team to usurp one of them. Gray is having the best year of her career so far, putting up 21.0 points per game on 42 percent three-point shooting. With Rhyne Howard as productive as ever by her side, the Dream have as powerful a 1-2 punch in the backcourt as you could ask for. The Dream also added newcomers Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones, a pair of perennial All-Stars in the front court. The two are combining to average better than 23 points and 14 rebounds per game for a team that reached the playoffs last year before the Liberty quickly dispatched of them. Advertisement To be fair, with the exception of a win over the Fever, the Dream haven't exactly beaten a WNBA gauntlet. But they are undeniably improved and have the star power to compete with the best. Related: WNBA honors greats with Women's Hall of Fame induction Related: WNBA exposed for excluding players from media rights deal

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store