David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 18

LOS ANGELES – It’s been four games since Cameron Brink made her return from injury, and the Los Angeles Sparks have gone 3-1 in that stretch. It’s a continuing trend from the team whose current hot streak began just before the All-Star break before Brink returned to the lineup. But it can’t be overstated how […]

LOS ANGELES – Following the Los Angeles Sparks’ 100-91 win against the Indiana Fever on Tuesday, the team pushed their current win streak to two games. The Sparks have rebounded strong after a disappointing loss to the Las Vegas Aces last week. Against the Fever, it was Kelsey Plum and Rickea Jackson who put their […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Sparks continued their hot streak, having won eight of their last ten games now following their 100-91 win against the Indiana Fever at home on Tuesday. Helping lead the way for the Sparks was All-Star guard Kelsey Plum who dished out a game-high 11 assists. Following the Sparks’ win […]

Coming into the 2025 WNBA season, Los Angeles Sparks rookie Sarah Ashlee Barker wasn’t expected to play a major role in the rotation. The No. 9 overall pick, Barker was joining a Sparks team that had a few veteran players ahead of her on the depth chart. But during the early weeks of the season, […]

The Detroit Pistons took a big leap forward this past season when they made the playoffs and ended up playing the New York Knicks tough in their opening-round playoff series. The goal for this upcoming year is to continue to build on that success with the young core they have. The Pistons continued to add […]

Over the weekend, news broke that Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca had reached a deal regarding the sale of the Connecticut Sun. It seems to be a given that Celtics ownership will bring the Sun under their banner. But what is yet to be settled is where the team will play in future seasons. […]

The Los Angeles Sparks had one open roster spot following the waiving of veteran center Mercedes Russell, and to this point they had kept that spot open. With WNBA teams allowed to sign players to 7-day contracts during the second half of the season, the Sparks made such a roster move with the signing of […]

The Los Angeles Sparks have been one of the hottest teams in the WNBA since the All-Star break posting a 4-1 record. That stretch goes back to before the break as well with the Sparks winning seven of their last nine games. But in a somewhat strange and interesting dynamic, the majority of the Sparks’ […]

The Portland Trail Blazers made a major splash in free agency with the signing of Damian Lillard. Following a buyout from the Milwaukee Bucks, Lillard made the decision to return to the only franchise he had ever known prior to the 2023 trade. Lillard is expected to sit out this upcoming season as he rehabs […]

The Connecticut Sun are mired in a rebuilding year and they currently hold the worst record in the WNBA at 5-21. But Friday was one of the Sun’s high points the season as they not only beat the defending champion New York Liberty, but they blew them out, 78-62. The Sun have an upcoming rematch […]

Following the Minnesota Lynx’s game against the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday, the one thing on everyone’s minds was the injury sustained by Napheesa Collier late in the third quarter. And rightfully so, Collier is the Lynx’s best player and MVP candidate. But the Lynx managed to set a WNBA record with their road win […]

At 7-20 and on a seven-game losing streak, the Chicago Sky see their playoff hopes slipping away with each passing game. Looking to snap the losing skid and get back in the win column, the Sky will host the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday. The question for the Sky is are they going to still be […]

The Minnesota Lynx may have demolished the Las Vegas Aces, 111-58 on Saturday, but all the attention after the game was on the status of All-Star forward and MVP candidate Napheesa Collier who suffered an injury late in the third quarter. Collier exited the game and did not return, and head coach Cheryl Reeve spoke […]

The Los Angeles Sparks shook off their Tuesday’s loss to the Las Vegas Aces with a big double-overtime road win, 108-106, against the Seattle Storm on Friday. The Sparks had four out of their five starters score 20+ points, with the lone player in single digits being point guard Julie Allemand. Although Allemand’s box score […]

The Atlanta Dream have been one of the better teams in the WNBA this season, and they are currently 17-11 and hold the third best record in the league. But the Dream have sustained a couple of injuries to key players recently in Brittney Griner and Rhyne Howard. In response to the injuries, the Dream […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ major roster moves of the offseason have been to retain their own free agents. The team re-signed two key players in Julius Randle and Naz Reid, ensuring that the majority of last season’s Western Conference Finals team remained intact. With their roster largely done, the Timberwolves made a pair of late offseason […]

In today’s day and age, it’s rare to find a college basketball program that does not use the transfer portal. Regardless of what people feel about it, it’s given programs a pathway to add talented players outside of the standard high school recruiting. Not only can programs add players from other Division 1 schools, but […]

The Golden State Valkyries have surprised many this WNBA season as they’ve been an incredibly competitive team and are firmly in the mix for a playoff spot in what many felt like was going to be a struggling year. Instead, the Valkyries are in eighth place after having defeated the Washington Mystics, 68-67 on Thursday. […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are under new management this upcoming season following the firing of David Griffin and hiring of Joe Dumars. After trading Brandon Ingram at last season’s trade deadline, the team continued to reshape their roster by trading CJ McCollum to the Washington Wizards for Jordan Poole. It’s the time of offseason where […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Sparks were on a five-game win streak and had won six of their last seven games coming into Tuesday’s home game against the Las Vegas Aces. A big reason for the Sparks’ improved play has been finally being healthy and having a consistent rotation. Fourth-year guard Rae Burrell is […]

The Phoenix Mercury have hit a bit of a rough patch, having gone 4-6 in their last ten games, but they still hold the third best record in the WNBA at 16-10. After defeating the Golden State Valkyries on Sunday the Mercury couldn’t put together a win streak as they fell to the Indiana Fever, […]

The Sacramento Kings are a team where it’s not quite easy to identify the direction they’re heading in. On paper, they appear to be a team that can reach play-in positioning, but that’s as far as the team goes. The Kings  have had a rather quiet offseason, with the sign-and-trade for Dennis Schroeder being their […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are entering a new era this season after they traded away veterans CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram. With a couple of seemingly solid draft picks in Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, and bringing in veterans like Kevon Looney and Jordan Poole, the team is looking to compete in the Western Conference […]

LOS ANGELES – Prior to the Los Angeles Sparks’ home game on Tuesday against the Las Vegas Aces, they received a major boost to the lineup. Riding high on a five-game win streak, the Sparks received word that Cameron Brink would make her season debut after being sidelined for over a year due to an […]

The Milwaukee Bucks did not have a first round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft as it belonged to the New Orleans Pelicans via the Jrue Holiday trade from a few years ago. The only draft pick the Bucks had was the No. 47 overall pick which they used on Bogoljub Markovic. But after a […]

The Connecticut Sun are mired in a rebuilding year and have recently addressed rumors that the Sun might be looking at relocating. In seasons like this, one of the most important things for a team to do is evaluate players and prospects that could potentially be a part of the team’s future plans. The Sun […]

The Dallas Wings got a major boost in the lineup on Monday when Paige Bueckers made her returnPaige Bueckers made her return to the court after sitting out Sunday’s 106-80 loss to the Las Vegas Aces. With the defending champion New York Liberty in town, the Wings certainly welcomed their All-Star rookie back in the […]

The Minnesota Lynx had a open roster spot after waiving Alissa Pili right before the All-Star break, and they filled that spot temporarily this week with the signing of veteran WNBA guard Yvonne Anderson, the team announced. The Lynx were already down one guard in the lineup due to the season-ending injury to Karlie Samuelson. […]

The Chicago Sky are in another season of their rebuild centered around the duo of Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. A huge part of building a winning team is putting the right pieces around the franchise cornerstones. The Sky felt they had a temporary answer at point guard with veteran Courtney Vandersloot, but Vandersloot suffered […]

The Los Angeles Sparks’ current win streak hit five games following their 101-99 win against the New York Liberty on Saturday. After giving up a double-digit lead, the Sparks hung on for the win following a game-winner from Rickea Jackson. With a little over five seconds left in the game. Dearica Hamby caught the ball […]

INDIANAPOLIS – When the Los Angeles Sparks acquired Kelsey Plum in a sign-and-trade ahead of the start of the 2025 WNBA season, the prevailing thought was the team was accelerating their rebuild and shifting to more of a win-now mentality. From the comments and quotes by new head coach Lynne Roberts as well as the […]

Back during the 2024 WNBA offseason, the Los Angeles Sparks acquired Julie Allemand in a sign-and-trade with the Chicago Sky. Allemand, who had a solid rookie season with the Indiana Fever in 2020, as well as extensive experience playing professionally overseas, was supposed to give the Sparks a quality option at point guard, a position […]

The Houston Rockets had one of the best offseasons out of any team in the NBA, transforming themselves into a legitimate contender following the trade for Kevin Durant among other roster moves. With their regular season roster pretty much done, hitting on the margins is crucial for contending teams. The Rockets made a recent roster […]

The NBA and WNBA sneaker game has become a booming business with players debuting signature shoes, as well as custom colorways for previously released shoes. A signature shoe though is the peak for players, and New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu recently celebrated the release of her Sabrina 3 ‘Blueprint’ edition shoes. Sabrina Ionescu’s new […]

One of the biggest NBA rumors this offseason that just won’t die is the LeBron James’ potential future with the Los Angeles Lakers. James opted into his contract for the 2025-26 season and has not at all suggested that he won’t play out this season with the Lakers. But following cryptic comments made by his […]

The Miami Heat may have gotten a major steal when they signed undrafted big man Vladislav Goldin to a two-way contract. Goldin was among the Heat standouts during NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, and now the team is hoping they can strike gold twice. The Heat made a roster move on Friday with the […]

The USC Trojans got a major win on Friday with the commitment of Saniyah Hall, the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2026, as per Talia Goodman of On3 Sports. Saniyah Hall’s commitment gives USC the top three recruits in the last four recruiting classes with 2023 No. 1 JuJu Watkins and 2025 No. […]

Pretty much every rookie in the WNBA has a ‘welcome to the W’ moment, that is, a moment where it truly hit them that they are in the WNBA. For some rookies, that could be an embarrassing moment. For others, that could be an enlightening moment. For Dallas Wings All-Star and No. 1 overall pick […]

When an NBA team hires a new head coach, that new coach usually has a say in who they choose to fill out the coaching staff. Such is the case for incoming New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown who is bringing along a few of his former assistants with the Sacramento Kings to his […]