WNBA Wraparound: Lynx win Commissioner’s Cup, Caitlin Clark and Diana Taurasi face-off, and Sun struggle

Here’s everything you need to know from the WNBA last week, in this week’s WNBA Wraparound.  

3 highlights from last week around the WNBA

Minnesota Lynx win Commissioner’s Cup, beat New York Liberty: The Lynx beat the Liberty 94-89 on Tuesday night to win the 2024 Commissioner’s Cup, powered by MVP candidate Napheesa Collier and a massive game by Bridget Carleton. Carleton had the best performance of her WNBA career, finishing with 23 points on 8-10 shooting, five assists, four rebounds, and three steals. Meanwhile, Collier was named MVP — the Lynx’s best player all season long had 21 points, six rebounds, and three assists. She also helped hold Liberty star center Jonquel Jones to three points, a season-low. 

Minnesota earned a $500,000 cash bonus, split among everyone on the roster, and Collier gets an additional $5,000 for earning MVP. The Liberty took the lead to start, but Minnesota held New York to just 10 third-quarter points and were in control the rest of the way. For the Liberty, Breanna Stewart led the way with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Sabrina Ionescu had 23 points and 10 assists. 

“It means a lot,” Collier said of the victory. “I think it’s just a testament to where we’re at this season. This is the best group. The way that we’re jelling. Our personalities just mesh so well.”

Caitlin Clark, Fever defeat Taurasi, Mercury: The Phoenix Mercury outdueled the Indiana Fever in one of the most highly-anticipated match-ups of the season, which marked the first time 42-year-old Diana Taurasi and 22-year-old Caitlin Clark would square off. 

The two have been linked since Taurasi — one of the best point guards in WNBA history – warned that Clark would inevitably face a difficult transition in her first season as a pro. That pretty innocuous remark, coupled with several others, became a sensationalized news story. Then, earlier this month, when the Team USA Olympic roster was announced, Taurasi was on the list and Clark was not, sparking further debate about the changing of the guard, and further linking the two point guards.

Facing off for the first time, both had strong games. The Fever battled from 16 down to defeat the Mercury 88-82. Clark, who’s averaged 16.2 points, 6.6 assists and 5.5 rebounds this season, ended the afternoon with a near triple-double of 15 points, 12 assists, and 9 boards. Taurasi put up 19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals in the loss. 

The Connecticut Sun are struggling: The Sun, who jumped out to a league-best 13-0 start, have faltered of late, losing three of their last four games. They still hold a 14-4 record — good for second-best in the WNBA — but racked up losses to the Aces, Storm, and Dream in a one-week span. The Aces and the Liberty have both had their number in recent years, and the Sun are 0-2 against teams from last year's Finals so far this season.

Three-point shooting has been a significant issue; no rotation player on the Sun shoots better than 38.5 percent from 3 — Ty Harris holds that mark and has been the most reliable 3-point shooter on the roster. The team’s 5.2 3s per game is second lowest in the league, and the 30.8 3-point percentage is the third-worst. The Sun also have the league’s worst free-throw percentage — 75.1 percent. DeWanna Bonner (16.7 points) and DiJonai Carrington (13 points) are the two leading scorers on the team, and both shoot less than 42 percent from the field, which has made cold spells quite common for Connecticut. 

2 WNBA games to tune into this week 

Minnesota Lynx @ New York Liberty – Tuesday, July 2 at 7 p.m.

The Liberty were obviously disappointed with the Commissioner’s Cup outcome, but they have a chance at redemption on Tuesday. This time, however, the game between the Liberty (16-3) and the Lynx (14-4) will be played at the Liberty’s home arena at Barclays — the Cup had to be moved to the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York due to the NBA Draft. 

They’ll want to keep down the turnovers in order to best position themselves for the win — the Liberty had 21 turnovers en route to 27 Lynx points. 

“We’re our own worst enemy,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said after the loss to the Lynx. “We’re still right there. It’s a great learning experience. We rebounded well, but the turnovers were just an Achilles heel tonight.”

Chicago Sky @ Seattle Storm - Friday, July 5 at 10 p.m.

The Sky (6-11) and the Storm (12-6) face off twice — first on Friday at 10 p.m., and then on Sunday at 6 p.m. — and both matchups should be exciting. Chicago’s been fun to watch across the board — Angel Reese has had a fantastic start to her WNBA career, and Chennedy Carter has been on a scoring tear. 

Meanwhile, the Storm have quietly been one of the best teams in the league so far this season, led by Skylar Diggins-Smith, Nneka Ogwumike, and Jewell Lloyd. This match-up will feature some of the most exciting players in the game on both sides.  

1 WNBA story to monitor this week: Jonquel Jones is quietly having an excellent season

The Liberty have been the best team in the league by most measures, and Jonquel Jones has returned to MVP form after a quieter first season in New York. Jones is averaging 16.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists this season, while shooting a career-high 59 percent from the field. She’s hitting 1.9 3s per game on 43.6 percent — her best clip since 2018 — and her 16.8 points per game are the second-most of her career. 

Jones had a quiet pair of games this week — a 3-point outing against the Lynx in the Commissioner's Cup and a five-point outing against the Dream — but scored in double-figures in 8 consecutive games prior. Her best game of the season came in a win against the Aces on June 15, when she exploded for 34 points on 12-of-16 shooting and 8 rebounds. 

Sabrina Ionescu, who’s been enjoying a career season of her own, has played well off of Jones. 

“I think the chemistry that [Jones and Ionescu] have grown this year certainly helps us go to a different level. And the rest of it is, she’s just a skilled, big player,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said of Jones. “I mean, it’s pretty fun to watch when she can shoot three, she can do a transition, a little bit of a euro step and pass it to her teammates. This is something that she’s always had, and we are trying to find ways to continue to grow it. But this is her taking ownership of it.”