David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 33

After back to back No. 1 picks in the WNBA Draft, the Indiana Fever are firmly in the playoff race. All that remains is where the Fever will ultimately be seeded. They’ll most likely be in the bottom half of the playoff standings, and according to former WNBA star Sue Bird, the duo of Caitlin […]

The Los Angeles Sparks may be in the middle of a tough road trip in the present, but on Thursday they made a few decisions looking towards the future. The Sparks agreed to contract extensions with both Azurá Stevens and Stephanie Talbot, the team announced. The extensions will carry both players through the 2025 season. […]

With the 2024-25 NBA season schedule released last week, many eyes will be on the Los Angeles Lakers as they begin their first season with JJ Redick at the helm. Ahead of the start of the season, we will be making our Lakers bold predictions. It was an offseason of change for the Lakers as […]

After spending the last couple of seasons teetering between trying to contend and trying to rebuild, the Toronto Raptors finally chose a side when they traded two of the last remaining players of their 2019 championship team in Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby. Those trades signaled the Raptors’ shift towards a rebuild around rising star […]

The Los Angeles Sparks’ current road trip continued on Tuesday amid a sold-out historic WNBA game at TD Garden, home of the Boston Celtics. While the Sparks managed to hang tough against the Connecticut Sun, a few miscues and breakdowns in the fourth quarter doomed them. Following the game, Dearica Hamby spoke about what went […]

The Seattle Storm came into the 2024 WNBA season hoping to be a title contender with their free agent acquisitions of Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith. So far, the Storm have been one of the better teams in the WNBA after a slow start to the season. Following the Olympics, the Storm have been one […]

The Los Angeles Sparks began a four-game road trip on Sunday with an 87-71 loss against the Las Vegas Aces. It’s the Sparks third consecutive loss and they are winless since the Olympic break ended. But the Sparks competed throughout most of the game against the Aces and following the game, veteran guard Kia Nurse […]

The New York Liberty have come out of the Olympic break looking like the clear favorite for the WNBA championship. Following the Olympics, the Liberty have been one of the WNBA teams who have been linked to French star Gabby Williams should she decided to return to the WNBA for the second half of the […]

The Phoenix Mercury are 1-1 since the 2024 WNBA season resumed and they’re currently fighting for playoff positioning. The Mercury’s depth has been a talking point all season and they recently received worrisome news regarding Rebecca Allen. But on Sunday the Mercury added a proven veteran to their roster in Monique Billings on a 7-day […]

LOS ANGELES – Coming out of the Olympic break and into the second half of the 2024 WNBA season, the Los Angeles Sparks have been bit by the injury bug. With four players out due to various reasons, the Sparks needed immediate help on Saturday against the Chicago Sky and they turned to a familiar […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Sparks were hoping for a strong showing on Saturday against the visiting Chicago Sky, a showing that would wipe away the bitter taste of their embarrassing loss against the New York Liberty earlier this week. While the effort was better, the Sparks still suffered a late game collapse against […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Sparks are attempting to move past Thursday’s humiliating loss against the New York Liberty, but they have a new challenge ahead of them. With the Chicago Sky in town, the Sparks are tasked with trying to slow down the Sky’s rugged rebounding rookie Angel Reese. Before the game, Sparks […]

Following the 2022 WNBA season, the Seattle Storm lost Sue Bird to retirement and Breanna Stewart to the New York Liberty in free agency. While many may have concluded that the Storm were heading into a rebuild, they still had one mainstay on the roster, Jewell Loyd. Despite the roster upheaval in Seattle, Jewell Loyd […]

During the first half of the 2024 WNBA season, the Connecticut Sun were one of the top teams in the league. They held the second best record behind only the New York Liberty. As the Olympic break ended and the season resumed, the Sun had an open roster spot that they used to sign Celeste […]

While it may be the offseason for college basketball, recruiting is still in full force. Most notably, the class of 2025 will be making their college decisions in the months to come. One of those top prospects, Nikolas Khamenia of Harvard-Westlake High School in California, recently narrowed his list down to five schools including hometown […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Sparks resumed the second half of the 2024 WNBA season on Thursday only to suffer a humiliating 103-68 defeat at home against the New York Liberty. The Liberty rattled off ten straight points to start the game and it was never close at any point. Following the game, Sparks […]

The Los Angeles Sparks resumed the second half of the 2024 WNBA season on Thursday against the New York Liberty, but they did so with a short-handed roster. With no new update yet on the Sparks injury report for Saturday’s game against the Chicago Sky, the team needed to sign Crystal Dangerfield to a third […]

Usually, when a player wins the Rookie of the Year Award, their career is a little more certain and secure. But that hasn’t always been the case for Los Angeles Sparks guard Crystal Dangerfield and her WNBA career. After being named the 2020 WNBA Rookie of the Year with the Minnesota Lynx, Dangerfield has ended […]

The Los Angeles Sparks resume the 2024 WNBA season on Thursday at home against the New York Liberty, but they will be missing several key players due to injury. In addition to Cameron Brink (ACL) and Lexie Brown (Crohn’s) who were already sidelined prior to the Olympic break, the Sparks will also be without both […]

Team USA women’s basketball won their eighth straight gold medal with a thrilling 67-66 win against France, but one of the major headlines following the game was French star Gabby Williams. Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese attempted to recruit Williams to the Sky, but she wasn’t the only one interested in Williams’ services. Los Angeles […]

Coming into the gold medal game on Sunday, Team USA women’s basketball had a 60 game Olympics winning streak on the line. And that was tested as Team USA barely pulled off a 67-66 win over France to claim their eighth consecutive gold medal. Following the thrilling game, former WNBA player and Olympics gold medalist […]

During Steve Kerr’s career as head coach of the Golden State Warriors and LeBron James’ career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the two were bitter rivals as the Warriors and Cavaliers met in the NBA Finals four straight seasons. But Steve Kerr is now LeBron James fan for life following Team USA’s gold medal win at […]

France may have failed in their quest to win a gold medal in men’s basketball at the 2024 Olympics, but despite the loss one of the major talking points was San Antonio Spurs recent No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama. Victor Wembanyama had a strong showing in the loss to Team USA prompting a eye-opening prediction […]

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was named the MVP of the 2024 men’s basketball Olympics amid his stellar play for Team USA. James was the oldest player for the United States and was playing in his fourth Olympics. That begs the question as to whether or not he will suit up in 2028. Following […]

Team USA grabbed their fifth straight Olympics gold medal in basketball following their 98-87 win against France on Saturday and a big reason why was the continued brilliance of Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant will have to make a decision on whether or not to play for Team USA in four years for […]

Team USA basketball brought home their fifth straight Olympics gold medal with a 98-87 win over host country France. The trio of LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant were stellar as they’ve been all of the Olympics so far. But Team USA head coach Steve Kerr made sure to single out Devin Booker who […]

The Kansas Jayhawks had a disappointing 2023-24 season. They started out strong in non-conference play, but struggled once Big 12 play began and it culminated in an embarrassing second round exit in the NCAA Tournament against Gonzaga. But the Jayhawks have strengthened their roster this offseason through the transfer portal. Kansas’ latest transfer portal roster […]

The San Antonio Spurs are tasked with building a contending team around franchise star Victor Wembanyama. Wembanyama is going for the gold this weekend in the Olympics but when he returns stateside, the quest to elevate the team into contention resumes. The Spurs added potential wing depth on Friday with the signing of Brandon Boston […]

One of the biggest topics of conversation around the 2024 WNBA season is how this year’s rookie class is adjusting to the league. Among this season’s WNBA rookies is Minnesota Lynx forward Alissa Pili. Alissa Pili was the No. 8 overall pick by the Lynx in the 2024 WNBA draft, but she’s only played sparingly […]

While Team USA easily dispatched Serbia during the group stage of the Olympics, that was far from the case on Thursday. Team USA needed a desperate rally to squeak past Serbia during the Olympics knockout round with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James helping lead the way with a triple-double. Following the game, James took […]

Team USA has advanced to the knockout round of the Olympics and a big reason why is the dominant play of Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson. During the 2024 Olympics run, Wilson has put up three games of at least 20 points and ten rebounds as per the social media page StatMamba. That’s more […]

With Team USA basketball looking to defend their 2020 Olympics gold medal, the Boston Celtics are well-represented with one glaring omission, Jaylen Brown. Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White are all on Team USA’s roster as they go for the gold. Jaylen Brown’s omission from Team USA for the Olympics drew plenty of scrutiny […]

The San Antonio Spurs have one important goal for the immediate future and that’s to build a playoff contender around franchise star Victor Wembanyama. During this portion of the offseason, most teams have already made their major moves and are just filling out their roster for when training camp starts. The Spurs added to their […]

Although the Olympics are still on-going, WNBA players have already begun returning to their home markets in anticipation of the 2024 season resuming. The Los Angles Sparks will pick up the 2024 WNBA season on Aug. 15 at home against the New York Liberty. Currently, the Sparks hold a record of 6-18. That puts them […]

When the 2024 WNBA season resumes on Aug. 15, there are a few teams that are going to have major WNBA draft implications including the Los Angeles Sparks. In professional sports, the act of ‘tanking’ has become a means for teams to acquire top talent to help accelerate a rebuild. Looking out on the horizon, […]

With the Olympics in progress, the 2024 WNBA season and the Los Angeles Sparks are on brief hiatus. The Sparks currently sit at 6-18 and are on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff picture. But one of the bright spots for the Sparks this WNBA season is rookie wing Rickea Jackson. […]

To the surprise of nobody, the Los Angeles Lakers drafted Bronny James with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, pairing him with his dad, LeBron James. In the weeks that have followed, the Lakers and LeBron James have been accused of nepotism by bringing Bronny James to the team. During a […]

Team USA basketball came into the 2024 Olympics as the presumed favorite for the gold medal. So far, they are 2-0 during the group stage of play with the chance to win the group outright should they defeat Puerto Rico on Saturday. But how good is this iteration of Team USA? According to former NBA […]

With the Olympics underway in the group state, Team USA is currently 2-0 largely due to the play of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James. Team USA has one more game in group play on Saturday against Puerto Rico with a chance to finish 3-0 before the medal round. FIBA has released their updated list […]