David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 26

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Sparks have been hit with a wave of absences and injuries this season and have yet to see a fully healthy lineup under new head coach Lynne Roberts. As a result, rookies such as Sarah Ashlee Barker have been called upon to play a bigger role for the Sparks […]

The Phoenix Mercury have been one of the best teams in the WNBA this season, and they recently got a major boost with the return of Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper from injury. Following their 83-75 win against the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday, the Mercury improved to 9-4. Not only that, but Alyssa Thomas reached […]

The NBA world was greeted with shocking news on Wednesday when it was announced that the Buss family would be selling their majority ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers’ sale was valued at $1o million and majority ownership would belong to Mark Walter, the CEO and chairman of TWG Global. But even after […]

The Los Angeles Sparks have been hit with a recent wave of injuries and absences including a leg injury to star guard Kelsey Plum whose timeline for a return is currently unknown. With the number of available players on the active roster slipping to only eight players, the Sparks signed a pair of players, including […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Sparks were dealt a major blow before their Tuesday night game against the Seattle Storm when it was revealed that star guard Kelsey Plum would be sidelined due to a leg injury. Plum was in uniform for the team’s loss against the Minnesota Lynx over the weekend, and was […]

The Indiana Pacers will be facing elimination following their 120-109 Game 5 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals. One thing the Pacers have going for them is Game 6 will be on their home court. And in the midst of the Pacers trying to spark a late rally in Game 5, […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder came into Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers with the series tied at two games apiece. The Thunder won Game 4 to even the series up, and as of publication, they held a slim lead over the Pacers in the fourth quarter of Game 5. It’s been […]

The Connecticut Sun are shifting through a rebuilding season with a decent mix of veterans and young players on their current roster. At 2-8, they have the second worst record in the WNBA, but there have been encouraging signs. One of those bright spots for the Sun has been rookie wing Saniya Rivers, although she […]

The New York Liberty suffered their first loss of the 2025 WNBA season following their 102-88 defeat by the Indiana Fever. Next up on the schedule for the Liberty is the Atlanta Dream at home on Tuesday. And it’s possible they could have needed reinforcements available. Jonquel Jones appeared on the team’s injury report for […]

The Connecticut Sun are in the midst of a rebuilding year with a decent mix of veterans and young players on their roster. There have certainly been struggles for the Sun this season, but there have been encouraging signs as well. Speaking of encouraging signs, the Sun received good news on Saturday in regards to […]

The Phoenix Mercury got a huge boost on Saturday when it was announced that star guard Kahleah Copper would make her 2025 WNBA season debut after rehabbing from a knee injury, as per Aya Abdeen of Ballislife. The announcement comes on the heels of another big return for the Mercury in star forward Alyssa Thomas […]

The New York Liberty are no longer the only team in the WNBA undefeated following their 102-88 loss to the Indiana Fever. Buried by an avalanche of three-point shots amid Caitlin Clark’s return, the Liberty dropped to 9-1 on the season. Despite the loss, it was a big night for Liberty guard Natasha Cloud who […]

The Indiana Fever got a huge boost before their big matchup against the New York Liberty on Saturday when it was announced that star guard Caitlin Clark would make her return from a quad injury. And Clark set the tone early with a huge first quarter that carried over throughout the Fever’s 102-88 win against […]

The Los Angeles Sparks came into their matchup against the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday a little short-handed. Julie Allemand is away from the team as she participates in Eurobasket for the Belgium national team, and Odyssey Sims was a late scratch from the lineup due to personal reasons. That left the team very thin in […]

The Indiana Pacers are battling it out against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4 of the NBA Finals and looking to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. If the Pacers do manage to take firm control of the NBA Finals, a big reason for that will be the defense Andrew Nembhard has […]

The Atlanta Dream have been one of the best teams in the WNBA this season, buoyed by their offseason acquisitions of Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones, as well as the All-Star level play from veteran guards Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray. During the Dream’s 88-70 win against the Chicago Sky on Friday, Brittney Griner moved […]

This week, some of the absolute best high school basketball players in the country came together for the annual Top 100 Camp put on by the NBA’s Players Association. The camp gives young players the opportunity to compete against one another under the tutelage of current and former NBA players. One of the main headliners […]

The Chicago Sky suffered a major blow last weekend when it was revealed that Courtney Vandersloot will miss the remainder of the season due to an ACL injury. Vandersloot had been the team’s starting point guard and veteran leader in the locker room. While she still brings her veteran presence, her absence leaves a gaping […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder are coming into Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers in what’s essentially a must-win situation. Although they have Game 5 at home, a 3-1 deficit is not something the Thunder want to face. During his pregame press conference, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault spoke about what they […]

Following the New York Knicks’ elimination in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Indiana Pacers, the organization made the shocking move to fire head coach Tom Thibodeau. In the days after Thibodeau’s firing, speculation swirled about a possible rift in the Knicks’ locker room regarding player opinions on Thibodeau. But during a recent episode of […]

Following the Minnesota Lynx’s 94-84 loss to the Seattle Storm on Wednesday, the New York Liberty stood alone as the only undefeated team in the WNBA at 9-0. The Liberty have a couple of days off before their next game on Saturday, June 14 against the Indiana Fever. But it’s possible the Liberty are short-handed […]

When the Los Angeles Lakers shocked the NBA world with the surprising trade for Luka Doncic before the NBA Trade Deadline, the prevailing thought was the franchise had found its superstar for the next decade. When LeBron James inevitably retires, Doncic would be the one to carry on the organization’s legacy. But that mantle comes […]

The Los Angeles Sparks got back in the win column following their 97-89 win against the Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday, and it was second-year wing Rickea Jackson who led the way. Jackson finished with a career-high 30 points, and after the game she spoke about being able to use her versatility to attack the Aces […]

During the month of June, several WNBA teams are going to be losing key players as they head overseas to compete in this summer’s Eurobasket. A few teams, such as the Golden State Valkyries, have made roster moves accordingly. For the Los Angeles Sparks, they will be losing Julie Allemand to Eurobasket. On Thursday, the […]

As the Phoenix Mercury prepared for their Wednesday matchup against the Dallas Wings, one of the big topics at hand was WNBA legend Diana Taurasi. Wednesday was Diana Taurasi’s birthday, as well as Wings’ rookie Paige Bueckers’ first career game against the Mercury. Both UConn guards, Paige Bueckers spoke ahead of the Wings’ game against […]

The Utah Jazz may not have had the lottery outcome they were expecting, but they still have options to add impact-level players to their roster with the picks they have in the 2025 NBA Draft. The Jazz currently hold two first round picks in the NBA Draft at No. 5 and No. 21. Despite finishing […]

The Las Vegas Aces have been struggling to start the 2025 WNBA season with a record of 4-3. Coming into their home game against the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday, the Aces made a couple of roster moves in hopes of trying to get the team back on track. The first move was to cut […]

When the 2024-25 NBA Trade Deadline had passed, Kevin Durant was still a member of the Phoenix Suns. In the days and hours leading up to the deadline, rumors persisted that Durant could find himself on the move amid a disappointing season for the Suns. During the second half of the season, the Suns were […]

LOS ANGELES – Kelsey Plum walked to the bench after fouling out during the Los Angeles Sparks’ 89-81 overtime loss to the Golden State Valkyries, and following the game, the refs and the officiating was clearly on her mind. As the Sparks continue to search for consistency, it was clear they still have kinks to […]

With the upcoming Eurobasket, a few WNBA teams are going to be losing key players as they head overseas to compete with their national teams. The Golden State Valkyries are one of those teams, and the organization made a few roster moves this weekend related to Eurobasket departures. One of the Valkyries’ roster moves this […]

The Dallas Mavericks landed a generational talent in the 1998 NBA Draft when they selected Dirk Nowitzki with the No. 9 overall pick. Nowitzki is widely considered the best player in Mavericks franchise history, but if Don Nelson would have had his way, the team never would have selected Nowitzki in that NBA Draft. Don […]

Following their elimination in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Boston Celtics are heading into what could be an offseason of major shakeup. The Achilles injury to Jayson Tatum changes things for next season, and amid tightening salary cap restrictions, the Celtics could opt to offload big contracts via trade. One player whose name has been […]

Before the Oklahoma City Thunder reached the NBA Finals, their toughest playoff series in the Western Conference was the semifinals against the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets pushed the Thunder to seven games before Oklahoma City emerged victorious. One of the Thunder’s adjustments that was credited as being a key turning point in the series was […]

The Chicago Sky were dealt a significant blow on Sunday when it was revealed that veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot would miss the remainder of the 2025 WNBA season after suffering an ACL injury. Vandersloot sustained the injury during the Sky’s game against the Indiana Fever on Saturday. Courtney Vandersloot’s injury occurred early in the […]

LOS ANGELES – About a quarter of the way through the 2025 WNBA season, the Los Angeles Sparks are still awaiting the return of Cameron Brink from injury. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, Brink suffered an ACL injury about one year ago that cut her rookie season short. While Brink […]

The Golden State Valkyries have been a formidable team during their inaugural season in the WNBA even if their overall record of 3-5 might not completely reflect that. The Valkyries notched their best win of the season so far with their 95-68 demolition of the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday. Aside from the final score, […]

The Chicago Sky came into their big matchup against the Indiana Fever on Saturday with a relatively clean slate of health. Despite sitting out practice earlier this week, starting center Kamilla Cardoso was officially ruled a go. But bad news struck for the Sky during the first quarter of their game against the Fever. Starting […]

The Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky have been trending towards becoming one of the top rivalries in the WNBA. With both teams set to face off against each other on Saturday, in what will be a historic first for the United Center, the Fever will be a little short-handed. Star guard Caitlin Clark was already […]

Despite their 2-6 start to the regular season, the Connecticut Sun have been a tough team to play. With a decent mix of veteran players and rookies, the Sun have managed to grab a little momentum in recent games, winning two of their last three after starting the season 0-5. With a winnable game coming […]