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  • Report: WNBA, players association not close on CBA as deadline looms

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    With just over a week remaining until the Jan. 9 deadline for a new WNBA collective bargaining agreement, the league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association are not close to a deal, ESPN reported on Wednesday.

    The report indicates that the league and players association are very far apart on a number of basic points including what the revenue-sharing system, which the league currently does not have, could look like, what could be considered revenue and the process of accounting for expenses.

    The league is reportedly claiming that the latest proposal from the WNBPA (30% of gross revenue for the players and a salary cap of around $10.5 million) would not be sustainable for the league to survive, costing the WNBA approximately $700 million over the length of the pact.

    The last reported proposal from the WNBA side offered 50-plus-percent of net revenue (revenue subtracting expenses), raising average salaries from $120,000 to $530,000 and max salaries from $249,244 to $1.3 million immediately and close to $2 million over the course of the deal.

    The WNBA’s proposed salary cap is $5 million with growth in line with revenue sharing over the deal.

    Just after Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier’s team was eliminated from the playoffs in September, Collier, the WNBPA vice president, called a press conference and said WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert was providing the ‘worst leadership in the world.’

    ‘For too long I have tried to have these conversations in private,’ Collier added. ‘But it’s clear there’s no intention of accepting there’s a problem (with the league’s officiating, in particular). The league has made it clear, it isn’t about innovation. It isn’t about collaboration. It’s about control and power.’

    In mid-December, the WNBA’s players voted to give WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike and the executive committee the authority to potentially initiate a strike.

    ‘The players have spoken,’ the WNBPA said in a statement. ‘Through a decisive vote with historic participation, our membership has authorized the WNBPA’s Executive Committee to call a strike when necessary. The players’ decision is an unavoidable response to the state of negotiations with the WNBA and its teams.’

    The WNBA is scheduled to introduce expansion teams in Portland and Toronto in 2026 to bring its number of teams to 15. A strike, if set into motion, could affect that timeline with the season scheduled to begin in May.

    –Field Level Media

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  • Lynx place two on WNBA All-Defensive first team

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    Minnesota Lynx forwards Alanna Smith and Napheesa Collier anchor the WNBA’s 2025 All-Defensive first team announced on Wednesday.

    Joining the duo is Seattle Storm guard Gabby Williams and two players currently competing in the WNBA Finals, Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson and Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas.

    Smith and Wilson were named 2025 Co-Defensive Players of the Year last month.

    The Lynx had an WNBA-best 34-10 record this past season but were eliminated by the Mercury in the semifinals of the playoffs.

    Named to the All-Defensive second team were Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston, Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton, Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard, Storm forward Ezi Magbegor and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart.

    –Field Level Media

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  • Lynx can eliminate Valkyries with first-round series sweep

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    The top-seeded Minnesota Lynx look to move one step closer to returning to the WNBA Finals with the Game 2 playoff matchup against the host Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday night in San Francisco.

    Minnesota (1-0) dominated Game 1 of the best-of-three series with a 101-72 rout on Sunday in Minneapolis. It was the Lynx’s second win over the No. 8 seed Valkyries in as many games and third in their last four games overall. Minnesota won Thursday’s regular-season finale, 72-53, and claimed a 78-72 win in San Francisco on Sept. 6.

    The Lynx are 5-0 against Golden State in the franchise’s debut season. With her 20 points in Game 1, Most Valuable Player candidate Napheesa Collier heads into Wednesday’s potential close-out contest having notched at least 19 points in all five meetings against the Valkyries.

    Game 1 also continued a torrid run of late for Minnesota reserve Natisha Hiedeman. She scored 18 points on Sunday, which gave her 63 combined points in the Lynx’s three recent matchups with Golden State.

    Hiedeman was 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc in her season-high 24-point performance on Sept. 6.

    Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said via the Minnesota Star-Tribune that Hiedeman ‘is playing at a different level.’

    ‘She is just playing her best basketball of the season. She’s confident,’ said Reeve, whose squad fell to the New York Liberty in five games in the 2024 finals.

    As the series shifts to the Bay Area, Golden State will try to stay alive in part with a more spirited defensive effort. The 101 points allowed on Sunday were tied for the second-most the Valkyries allowed in a season when they led the WNBA in scoring defense at 76.3 points per game.

    Golden State coach Natalie Nakase lamented her team’s foul trouble in Game 1. The Valkyries were whistled for 22 team fouls and had three players with at least four personal fouls: Temi Fagbenle, Kaila Charles and 2025 WNBA Most Improved Player Veronica Burton.

    ‘It takes our aggression away and that’s when I’m not OK with it,’ Nakase said of the officiating. ‘I want to fight fair. I really do. But I love the fact both teams are playing with their all.’

    Despite her foul trouble, Burton finished with 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds on Sunday. Burton averaged 11.9 points, six assists and 4.4 rebounds while playing in all 44 regular-season games. She led the team in points, assists, steals (1.1) and blocks (0.6) in picking up the slack for Golden State after the midseason loss of Kayla Thornton to a knee injury.

    –Field Level Media

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  • Valkyries G Veronica Burton named Most Improved Player

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    Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton was named WNBA Most Improved Player by a landslide margin on Monday.

    Burton received 68 of 72 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters after posting career highs of 11.9 points, 6.0 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals while starting all 44 games for the expansion franchise.

    Last season, Burton averaged 3.1 points, 1.9 assists, 1.4 rebounds and 0.5 steals in 31 games for the Connecticut Sun. According to the WNBA, she is the first player to increase her averages by at least five rebounds, two assists and two rebounds from one season to the next among players to compete in a minimum of 30 games both seasons.

    Burton, 25, helped Golden State (23-21) become the first WNBA expansion team to the reach the playoffs.

    Azura Stevens (two votes) of the Los Angeles Sparks, Allisha Gray (one) of the Atlanta Dream and Natisha Hiedeman (one) of the Minnesota Lynx also received votes.

    Burton started just 20 games over her first three seasons before breaking out this year.

    Burton was a first-round pick of the Dallas Wings in 2022 and averaged 2.6 points as a rookie and 2.4 points in 2023. She started just once in 31 games for Connecticut last season.

    She was selected in the expansion draft by the Valkyries and things came together. She made 61 3-pointers after making a combined 38 over her first three seasons, and she racked up 50 steals and 27 blocked shots on the defensive side.

    According to the WNBA, Burton will receive $5,150 and a trophy in recognition of the achievement.

    –Field Level Media

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