David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 56

The FIBA World Cup is set to take place next month and will be held across three countries: Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines. While Team USA has a roster full of NBA players set to compete, the rest of the field is full of NBA players suiting up for their home country. One of those […]

To say it’s been a tough season for the Seattle Storm would be an understatement. After losing Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird this offseason, the Storm have been fully immersed in a rebuilding year. So far, they’ve sputtered to a 5-19 record and they are 1-9 in their last ten games. They’ve had some silver […]

The UCLA Bruins basketball team is heading into a retooling year. With the loss of four starters in Jaime Jaquez Jr., Jaylen Clark, Tyger Campbell and Amari Bailey as well as sixth man David Singleton, the 2023-24 team is going to look a lot different. The Bruins also lost Mac Etienne to the transfer portal. […]

The Minnesota Lynx had finally started to get healthy. For a period before the All-Star break, they had been without No. 2 overall pick Diamond Miller as well as veteran wing Aerial Powers and center Jessica Shepard. Miller and Powers were dealing with ankle injuries and Shepard had a non-COVID illness. All three players have […]

The Seattle Storm knew this season was going to be difficult. With the loss of Breanna Stewart to the New York Liberty and Sue Bird to retirement as well as the majority of the roster hitting free agency, this team was going to look very different from the past couple of seasons. The only players […]

The Golden State Warriors have been blessed to have had one of the greatest players to ever play the game in Stephen Curry on their roster for over a decade now. The explosive guard is arguably the greatest shooter ever and he’s helped lead the Warriors to four championships in the past nine seasons. He’s […]

The FIBA World Cup is set to tip-off next month and for the first time the event will be hosted by three different countries; Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines. The tournament has major implications in that it will serve as a qualifier for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Plenty of NBA players with foreign nationalities are […]

The Washington Mystics have been hit hard by the injury bug this season. After looking like they could be a dangerous team this season, they’ve lost six of their last ten games and are 12-11 overall. They are currently playing without Elena Delle Donne, Ariel Atkins, Shakira Austin and Kristi Toliver. That’s three starters and […]

The Las Vegas Aces have been the best team in the WNBA this season by a mile. With a league-leading 22-2 record, they are the overwhelming favorites to make it back to the Finals and win the WNBA championship. Led by reigning MVP A’ja Wilson with a deadly backcourt in Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum […]

Just when it appeared as if the Minnesota Lynx were finally getting healthy, injury struck again. This time it’s a costly blow as the team announced that All-Star Napheesa Collier would miss Friday’s game against the New York Liberty due to an ankle injury. After losing No. 2 overall pick Diamond Miller for about a […]

To the surprise of nobody, the San Antonio Spurs selected Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. They now have a potential franchise cornerstone and generational talent. The name of the game now becomes filling out the rest of the roster and providing a solid supporting cast around him. […]

Over the past few decades, the San Antonio Spurs have had one of the absolute best scouting teams in the NBA. The Spurs have been praised for finding diamonds in the rough and major contributors in the second round of the NBA Draft. The Spurs came into the 2023 NBA Draft with two picks and […]

The Connecticut Sun have been one of the surprise teams of the season in that despite losing former head coach Curt Miller and star center Jonquel Jones, they have placed themselves in the conversation for championship contender. Led by the duo of Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner, the Sun are 18-6 and have the third […]

After a slow start to the 2023 WNBA season, the Minnesota Lynx have been playing improved basketball. That’s partly because they are finally getting healthy. No. 2 overall pick Diamond Miller missed about a month this season due to an ankle injury but she has since returned to the lineup. Veteran wing Aerial Powers had […]

After starting off the 2023 WNBA season in poor fashion, the Minnesota Lynx have begun to play much better. A big part of that reason is they are finally getting healthy after having several key players on the Lynx injury report. The got rookie sensation Diamond Miller back after she missed about a month due […]

After spending the entirety of his 11-year NBA career with the Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard finally did what NBA fans and pundits alike have been clamoring for and asked for a trade. Throughout his career, Lillard has proclaimed his loyalty to the Blazers organization, but the team has wasted years of his prime by […]

Kelsey Mitchell has played six seasons in the WNBA, all with the Indiana Fever. She’s developed into one of the best guards in the league and a consistent double-digit scoring threat. Last season she averaged a career-high 18.4 points per game, just a season after putting up 17.8 and 17.9 points per game respectively, the […]

The Los Angeles Sparks have been decimated by injuries this season. While they recently got some reinforcements back in the lineup with the return of starting wings Lexie Brown and Layshia Clarendon, it wasn’t enough for them to get back on the winning track this weekend. The Sparks suffered a franchise tying eight game losing […]

The Toronto Raptors came into this offseason in an interesting situation. After rumors floated around the trade deadline that they might look to blow things up, they opted to stay put and shift that decision to after the season. After Fred VanVleet opted to leave via free agency and join the Houston Rockets, that chatter […]

The Minnesota Lynx have been playing better since their early start to the 2023 season. Although they just lost to the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday, they are now 10-13 and firmly in the playoff picture after it looked like they might be in contention for a lottery pick. One of the reasons why they’ve […]

When the 2023 WNBA season tipped-off, the general consensus among fans and media alike was that the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty, the two proclaimed ‘super teams,’ were the favorites to meet in the WNBA Finals. As fate would have it, the Aces and Liberty are set to square off next month in […]

The Las Vegas Aces have been rolling in the first half of the 2023 WNBA season. The defending champions are currently 19-2 which is the best record in the league. They are without a doubt the overwhelming favorites to repeat as WNBA champions. The Aces have also managed to stay relatively injury free with only […]

The New Orleans Pelicans dealt with a whirlwind of rumors this offseason that ended up having no merit to them. In the end, the team decided to run it back with the premise that if they can stay healthy, they can be among the top teams in the Western Conference as they were before Zion […]

The Minnesota Lynx have been playing better basketball ever since their poor start to the 2023 season. They are 9-12 and inching closer to a playoff spot than they were earlier in the season. Although they have lost three games in a row, they are currently 6-4 in their last ten games. Having a healthy […]

The Phoenix Mercury are coming off a big win against the Connecticut Sun out of the All-Star break. At 5-15, they’re still one of the bottom teams in the league, but they’re not completely out of the playoff picture just yet. They did receive some brutal news though as Diana Taurasi left the game against […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder are going to have some interesting roster decisions to make as training camp draws near. With NBA teams allowed a maximum of 15 roster spots and three two-way contracts, the Thunder are already over the limit. The Thunder trimmed their roster this week, but even so they still have 20 players […]

The Detroit Pistons have set themselves up nicely for the future with an intriguing young core. In addition to Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren and James Wiseman, they managed to add Ausar Thomson and Marcus Sasser in the draft. They also brought in a few veteran role players in Monte Morris and Joe Harris […]

The Las Vegas Aces may be the team to beat in the WNBA this season, but a potential sleeper team could very well be the Connecticut Sun. They replaced former head coach Curt Miller with Stephanie White this season and so far she’s guided them to a 15-6 record. That’s good enough for third best […]

The Las Vegas Aces have been the talk of the WNBA this season. They just hosted All-Star weekend where they showed out in the Skills Challenge. They hold the best record in the WNBA so far at 19-2 and are the overwhelming favorites to repeat as WNBA champions. A big part of their strong season […]

The Charlotte Hornets suffered through an injury plagued season last year that saw franchise star LaMelo Ball play in only 36 games. After a promising 2021-22 season that saw them reach the play-in, they took a clear step back. It’s hard though to envision the Hornets taking a step forward next season. They appear to […]

The Los Angeles Sparks have been hit with a ton of injuries/absences so far during the first half of the season. They started out the year with some solid play, but it’s quickly dissolved into simply trying to stay healthy from game to game. Fortunately for them, they are within reach of playoff spot. With […]

As the Oklahoma City Thunder continue to take the necessary steps to becoming a power in the Western Conference, they’ve had a somewhat busy offseason. They signed head coach Mark Daigneault to a contract extension after he finished second in the NBA’s Coach of the Year voting. They signed Euroleague star Vasilije Milic, added Jack […]

WNBA All-Star weekend is in the rearview and now teams are ready to focus on the second half of the season and the playoff push that comes with it. The Phoenix Mercury have been playing better as of late despite their brutal start to the 2023 season. Buoyed by the recent news of them hosting […]

NBA Summer League is officially in the books and now begins the doldrums of the offseason. While there are still some major NBA dominoes yet to fall, the time period between now and the start of the 2023-24 season is usually a dry period in terms of roster movement. That said, some teams are still […]

The Drew League has become a rite of passage for many young basketball players in Los Angeles. Before many of them have gone to become both college and professional stars, they got their start against tough competition at the Drew League. The summer pro-am has grown in popularity over the years and not only does […]

The Los Angeles Sparks have been hit with a rash of injuries this season, seemingly more so than any other team in the WNBA. In addition to Stephanie Talbot, who suffered an season-ending injury while playing overseas in Australia, and Katie Lou Samuelson who is out all year while pregnant, the Sparks have had stretches […]

To say that the Louisville Cardinals had a disappointing season last year would be an understatement. A storied college basketball program, the Cardinals finished a dismal 4-28 overall and 2-18 in ACC Conference play. It was a trying season for first-year head coach Kenny Payne. But reinforcements are on the way. Louisville has managed to […]

There’s no question that Atlanta Dream wing Rhyne Howard is one of the top rising stars in the WNBA. Howard won the league’s Rookie of the Year Award last season and was named to the WNBA All-Star team. Rhyne Howard is having a better season this year than she did last year which could logically […]

Even before WNBA All-Star Weekend arrived, it didn’t take long to notice the support for the defending champion Las Vegas Aces. One of the hottest teams in the league right now with some of the biggest names in basketball, the Aces have become a marketing treasure for a league that’s looking to grow and expand […]