Skyler Diggins moves on from the Seattle Storm to the Chicago Sky - (John Mac - photo)

Flau'jae Johnson - (WNBA - Photo)

Gabby Williams - ( WNBA - Photo)

The Washington Mystics made a surprise trade in dealing the teams statistics leader, Brittney Sykes, 31 to the Seattle Storm - (WNBA photo) WNBA ROUNDUP + PLUS

Li Yueru was not happy with the lack of playing time in Seattle and asked to be traded - (John Mac - photo) FINDING A WNBA HAPPY PLACE

Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics ALL TIME NBA 1st TEAM - BREAKING IT DOWN

SPORTS NOTES - WNBA GOING THRU THEM CHANGES

James Loving/National Radio Text Service

Skyler Diggins moves on from the Seattle Storm to the Chicago Sky - Sky drafting UCLA's Gabrella Jaquez may pay off in a big way - Dallas Wings appear to be seriously upgrading - The Golden State Valkyries made one mistake - THIS DAY IN THE NBA - NBA's ALL TIME BEST PLAYERS 1st and 2nd TEAMS

Thursday May 7, 2026

WNBA

Five UCLA players are the most players drafted from the same university in the same year by the WNBA. More on this topic will be explored in a future column.

Chicago Sky

A surprise move for us was Skyler Diggins moving on from Seattle Storm to the Chicago Sky. Diggins has a history of being with a franchise for a couple of years, then moving on.

At 35 Diggins remains a major contributor for whatever team she is with, Both the Sky and Seattle are undergoing major changes. Since the Sky traded disgruntled star Angel Reese the Sky are trying to upgrade their guard positions. It appears one change is maturing the team with solid experience from major players.

Seattle seems to be cleaning house. They are going with youth and upgrading the team's height. The Sky drafting UCLA's Gabrella Jaquez may pay off in a big way. Her maturation process to the pro game will be determined about how many minutes she plays.

The pro game is more physical and a faster pace. UCLA played an up-tempo style which may help her in her in that transition. Bigger, older with strong bodies and mentally matured is something that must be dealt with. Her brother Jaime Jaquez, being a two year NBA pro, can help her mentally prepare for what to expect.

A new coach is also in the mix. Seattle must change a team whose former players appear to have been fleeing a sinking ship.

Dallas Wings

Dallas appears to be seriously upgrading with the addition of two seasoned veterans that can bolster their rebounding and defense. Azzi Fudd is an interesting overall number one draft selection. She is a former teammate of Page Bueckers at Connecticut University where they won an NCAA title together.

They two are rumored to be romantically involved to which Bueckers says is nobody's business. They also host a podcast.

If anything, the controversy should be an interesting development for the Wings to draw more media attention. If they can begin having winning ways, they could possibly outdraw the city's NBA club, the Israeli owned Mavericks.

GOLDEN STATE COULD BE GREAT

From the outset, in putting the Golden State Valkyries club together they seemed to be doing everything right. They had a balance mix of age groups, 20-25, 26-30 and over 30.

In addition, they had a number of international players on their roster. Their team chemistry paid of fast as they were the first expansion team to make the playoffs in their initial season. To top that, they are the most valuable franchise in the league.

They made one mistake that prior to the draft they traded the choice Flau'jae Johnson to Seattle. In her first game as a pro, she scored 12 and 20 in her two preseason games.

The Valkyries received Marta Suarez a player whose talents have yet to be demonstrated. She was released this week. Preserving cap space was the reason given for making the trade. In doing so the Valkyries saved only $40,000 and lost possibly one of the leagues future superstars.

A good move is Gabby Williams joining the club. Most memorable is Williams last second shot for France made against the USA in the Olympics final game in Paris. If she didn't step over the 3-point line the game would have gone into overtime. Williams is a seasoned player that can strengthen the Golden States roster.

General Manager Ohemaa Nyanin said. "Our goal was to construct a roster that embodies both versatility and depth, bringing in a strong mix of leadership, defense, and scoring ability. These players were carefully chosen not only for their skills on the court, but also for their ability to fit into the culture we're working to build here at Golden State."

The concept paid off as the team is built to be reckoned with.

NBA

At midseason, my fantasy NBA final matchup would be the San Antonio Spurs against the Detroit Pistons. The reason being they have both been languishing in the standings for so many seasons. Their new emergence would make for an interesting finals with many storylines.

Credit should go out to Lakers coach JJ Redick for doing a credible job under extenuating incredible circumstances. The reasons why is enough material for a future column.

THIS DAY IN THE NBA

May 7, 1972 The Lakers defeated the New York Knicks 4-1 in the NBA Finals, capturing their first league championship since moving to Los Angeles from Minneapolis.

May 7, 1989 Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls got the ball on the right side of the court with his team trailing by one point in the closing seconds of a deciding Game 5 of their 1989 Eastern Conference First Round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jordan drove just inside the top of the key and while falling away from the basket to his left nailed an 18-footer over the outstretched fingertips of leaping Cavaliers' defender Craig Ehlo for a 101-100 victory.

May 7, 1994 In one of the biggest upsets in NBA Playoff history, the eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets eliminated the top-seeded Seattle SuperSonics 98-94 in overtime in Game 5 of their Western Conference First Round series at the Seattle Coliseum. The Nuggets, who won the last three games of the series, became the first # 8 seed to upset a # 1 seed since the First Round of the NBA Playoffs went to a best-of-5 format in 1984. Nuggets center Dikembe Mutombo fell to the floor after grabbing the final rebound, clutching the ball as tears of joy streamed down his face.

May 7, 1995 Indiana's Reggie Miller scored eight points (two three-pointers, two game--winning free throws) over the final 16.4 seconds of the game, helping lead the Pacers to a shocking 107-105 come-from-behind win over host New York in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series. The Pacers went on to win the series in seven games.