David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 2

LOS ANGELES – The last time the Dallas Wings visited Crypto.com Arena, Paige Bueckers eviscerated the Los Angeles Sparks’ defense tying a WNBA rookie record in points with 44. Prior to the Sparks’ game against the Wings on Sunday, head coach Lynne Roberts vowed that things would be different this time around. Paige Bueckers fell […]

LOS ANGELES – In a must-win game to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Los Angeles Sparks emerged victorious, 91-77, against the Dallas Wings on Sunday. Helping lead the way for the Sparks was Julie Allemand who reached a new career-high in scoring in the process. Allemand has been an important player for the Sparks […]

LOS ANGELES – With the 2025 WNBA regular season entering its final week, the Los Angeles Sparks’ chances at making the playoffs are hanging on by a thread. The Sparks need to win all three of their final games while getting help from the Seattle Storm. Following the Indiana Fever’s win on Sunday, the Storm […]

With plenty of big names being enshrined into the 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame this Saturday, Carmelo Anthony’s speech is already shaping up to be one of the best of the weekend. Carmelo Anthony delivered a powerful ode to basketball during his speech, and he also paid tribute to his late father who passed away […]

Among the big names selected to be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend was former NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony. Even without any NBA championship rings, Anthony’s resume is as good as anyone else’s. One of the most gifted scorers the game has ever seen, Anthony delivered a powerful message during his Hall […]

One of the most publicized beefs in the NBA the past several years was between Shaquille ‘Shaq’ O’Neal and Dwight Howard. That beef has since been squashed ahead of Dwight Howard’s Hall of Fame induction, with Shaq finally giving the former Orlando Magic big man his flowers. While Shaq claimed that there never was a […]

The 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony is a big one for LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Wade was inducted into the Hall back in 2023, and James will join him shortly after he retires. But both players were in attendance this weekend as the 2008 Team USA gold medal squad, dubbed the ‘Redeem Team,’ […]

The beef between Shaquille ‘Shaq’ O’Neal and Dwight Howard is officially over. The beef has been over for quite some time now, but it was made official prior to Dwight Howard being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. It’s a well deserved honor for one of the best big men to play in the […]

The Indiana Fever have been hit hard this season with injury issues, including the recent devastating news that star guard Caitlin Clark would be out for the remainder of the season. It was a double whammy for the Fever this week as backup guard Chloe Bibby was lost for the year as well. To help […]

In a today’s day and age where flash and flair and high octane scoring has become commonplace, Los Angeles Sparks forward Dearica Hamby stands opposite. Hamby is a walking double-double, on most nights sleepwalking to double figures in points and rebounds, and doing so a quiet, fundamental way. She’s taken the lead in that aspect […]

The Indiana Fever suffered a major blow this week when it was announced that star guard Caitlin Clark would miss the remainder of the season due to injury. The Fever are in the midst of a heated playoff race alongside the Seattle Storm and Los Angeles Sparks, and it’s sure to be an uphill climb […]

LOS ANGELES – While the Los Angeles Sparks have not yet been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, they face an uphill climb down the stretch of the regular season. The Sparks kept their postseason hopes alive on Sunday following their 81-78 win against the Washington Mystics, and with the second game of a back-to-back looming […]

The Indiana Fever have been hit hard by injury issues this season, including a major blow with star guard Caitlin Clark. While three players in Sophie Cunningham, Aari McDonald and Sydney Colson are out of the year, Clark’s status is a little more uncertain. She’s currently dealing with a groin injury as well as a […]

The 2004-05 Illinois Fighting Illini team is arguably the greatest team in program history. With Bruce Weber as head coach and stars such as Deron Williams, Dee Brown and Luther Head, that Illinois team made it to the national championship game before falling to North Carolina, 75-70. Although that Fighting Illini team did not win […]

It’s been a trying year for the Connecticut Sun as they entered the first season of a rebuild. But as the regular season winds down, the Sun’s young core has shown some promise. But the Sun were dealt a tough blow this week when it was revealed that veteran guard Bria Hartley had suffered a […]

Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic is currently playing for his home country of Slovenia at EuroBasket, and his team find themselves in a precarious situation. Slovenia is currently 0-2 with three games remaining before the next phase of the tournament. Following the most recent loss for Slovenia at EuroBasket, Luka Doncic laid out what […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Sparks’ quest to make the WNBA Playoffs suffered a crushing blow on Friday following their 76-75 loss to the Indiana Fever. The loss dropped the Sparks to 17-20 and put them two games back of the eighth seed with only seven games remaining. Following the loss, Sparks forward Dearica […]

During the Indiana Pacers’ run to the NBA Finals during the 2024-25 season, one of the team’s unsung hero’s was backup point guard TJ McConnell. McConnell was one of the Pacers’ most consistent players throughout the postseason, and he tried his best to lead a comeback during Game 7 of the Finals against the Oklahoma […]

LOS ANGELES – Just before Los Angeles Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts’ pregame press conference on Friday, she had been meeting with her staff talking about potential reasons for the uptick in injuries this WNBA season. The Sparks have been relatively healthy since Cameron Brink returned to the lineup on July 29. Since then, Friday’s […]

Expansion is set to hit the WNBA over the next few years, but making a roster is currently tough. With only 12 roster spots available among 13 current teams, it’s not uncommon to see draft picks, first-rounders even, struggling to make a team’s final roster. Plenty of talented college basketball players often find themselves on […]

LOS ANGELES – After nearly a week off since their last game, the Los Angeles Sparks were back on the court on Tuesday night against the visiting Phoenix Mercury. The Sparks couldn’t put together a win streak as they fell to the Mercury, 92-84, in a game that was physical from the opening tip. Following […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Sparks suffered a minor setback on Tuesday in their quest to make the playoffs following the team’s 92-84 loss to the Phoenix Mercury. But the Sparks’ loss aside, one of the more pressing concerns after the game was the status of Rickea Jackson who seemingly suffered an injury late […]

Over the past couple of seasons, one of the biggest false narratives from fans and media surrounding LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is that he chooses to sit out games, especially back-to-backs. What a lot of those people don’t seem to realize is that the game restrictions and limitations are coming from the team and […]

The 2025-26 season for the Iowa Hawkeyes is going to be the start of a new era with new head coach Ben McCollum in place after the program parted ways with longtime head coach Fran McCafferey. With McCollum at the helm for Iowa, several of his former Drake players followed him via the transfer portal, […]

On Monday, the Chicago Sky paid tribute to one of the greatest players in WNBA history with the jersey retirement ceremony for Candace Parker. Earlier this season, Parker had her jersey retired by the Los Angeles Sparks, the team she began her career with, and this marked an honor for her hometown team where she […]

The Chicago Sky witnessed the honoring of a legend in Candace Parker on Monday with her jersey retirement ceremony. But on the court, those in attendance were witnessing the future of the Sky in Angel Reese who reached a franchise record during the team’s game against the Aces. Against the Aces, Angel Reese reached the […]

The New York Liberty have suffered a rash of injuries lately which has coincided with them falling out of the No. 2 seed in the WNBA standings, and now in a battle for playoff positioning and possible homecourt advantage in the opening round of the postseason. But the Liberty received reinforcements on Monday with Breanna […]

Earlier this WNBA season, former star Candace Parker had her jersey retired by the Los Angeles Sparks, the team she was drafted by and played the first 13 season of her career with. On Monday night, Candace Parker had her second jersey retirement, this time by the Chicago Sky. A Chicago native, Candace Parker’s second […]

Amid the 2025 WNBA season, one of the major issues dominating headlines is the negotiations surrounding a potential new CBA. With an Oct. 31 deadline approaching for the WNBA and the players union to agree on a new CBA, the chances of that happening are unlikely, as per Annie Costibile of Front Office Sports. Negotiations […]

The Minnesota Lynx got a big win on Sunday, 97-84, against the Indiana Fever, but the game was significant in that it was the return of star forward Napheesa Collier from an ankle injury. Collier had been sidelined for seven consecutive games since suffering the injury back on Aug. 2. Collier’s return gives the Lynx […]

LOS ANGELES – As Kelsey Plum walked over to a small group of reporters following the official launch of her new foundation, the excitement and joy in the eyes of the Los Angeles Sparks star was unmistakable. After a press release that went out on Thursday, Kelsey Plum officially launched the new foundation at the […]

With only a handful of games remaining in the 2025 WNBA regular season, the Los Angeles Sparks are firmly in the playoff hunt. After a frustrating start to the season, the Sparks have since turned things around with a stretch that began right before the All-Star break. As the season winds down, the Sparks had […]

When it comes to the greatest players in Orlando Magic franchise history, a discussion cannot be complete without the mention of Dwight Howard. Regardless of whatever fans and media may think of him, Howard is certainly one of the best players to suit up for the Magic and one of the best overall with his […]

Sunday was a big and solemn day in the NBA world and for the Los Angeles Lakers as it marked what would have been the late Kobe Bryant’s 47th birthday. Many of his peers, including Pau Gasol, took to social media to honor Bryant on his special day. Current Lakers star LeBron James was also […]

The Orlando Magic have had one of the better offseasons in the NBA so far, beginning with the trade for Desmond Bane ahead of the NBA Draft, and then signing Tyus Jones in free agency and re-singing Moritz Wagner as well. The Magic made another roster move, late in the offseason, with the signing of […]

It’s been seven games now that Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier has missed since she suffered an ankle injury back on Aug 2. The Lynx have managed to go 5-2 in her absence and have held on to the No. 1 overall seed in the WNBA standings. However, the MVP candidate might be close to […]

The Las Vegas Aces stayed red-hot on Saturday following their 91-81 win against the Washington Mystics, their tenth consecutive win now. During the Aces win, A’ja Wilson finished with 36 points and 13 rebounds, putting her behind only Diana Taurasi for the WNBA record of most career games of at least 30 points, as per […]

In a battle between two teams who have already been eliminated from playoff contention in the WNBA standings, the Chicago Sky fell to the Connecticut Sun, 94-84, on Saturday. To make matters worse for the Sky, they played the entire second half without head coach Tyler Marsh who was ejected from the game in the […]

Coming into the 2025 WNBA season, Los Angeles Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts knew that Azurá Stevens was going to be a perfect fit for her system. Roberts was looking to implement a style of play that was successful during her tenure as head coach of the Utah Utes. That is, an uptempo style emphasizing […]