Around the W: June Review 2024

A look back at how each WNBA team did in the month of June.

We’ve completed the second month of the WNBA season as we say goodbye to June. The standings have had some movement but nothing substantial. I look back at how each WNBA team did over this past month. The records listed are specific for June. The full WNBA standings will be listed at the very end. First up, it’s time to highlight the monthly award winners.

Monthly Awards

Angel Reese is the WNBA Rookie of the Month in June. She averaged a double-double of 14.5 PPG and 13.2 RPG. She set a new WNBA record with 10 consecutive games with a double-double. Caitlin Clark had another strong month as well, averaging 15.0 PPG, 6.7 APG, and 5.8 RPG. Sadly, Cameron Brink tore her ACL in a game against the Connecticut Sun on June 18th. Brink had been one of the league’s other top rookies behind Reese and Clark but will miss the remainder of this season.

The Minnesota Lynx had arguably the best month out of any team. They finished June with a 9-2 record. And to top it all off, not only did they represent the Western Conference in the Commissioner’s Cup Championship game, but they won the Cup by defeating the New York Liberty 94-89. Minnesota becomes the 4th different WNBA team to win the Commissioner’s Cup since it came into existence four years ago (Seattle, Las Vegas, New York, and Minnesota). The Western Conference is now 3-1 during the Commissioner’s Cup Championship final.

Minnesota Lynx Coach Cheryl Reeve has her team in a great position through the first two months of the season.

Sabrina Ionescu was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month averaging nearly 20 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 7.4 APG. Ionescu helped lead the New York Liberty to a league-best 10-1 record. Sabrina is arguably having the best season of her career.

A’ja Wilson averaged nearly 30 PPG (27.2) and over 10 RPG throughout her games in June. Wilson has simply played at a level far above the rest of the players this season. She won Player of the Month in May and now again in June. While the Las Vegas Aces haven’t been as dominant this season overall, Wilson absolutely has been. Last year, A’ja was part of a three-player race for the league’s MVP award. That went to Breanna Stewart by the slimmest of margins. If Wilson keeps up these types of numbers there will be no doubt about the award at the end of this season.

WNBA All-Stars

The WNBA All-Star Teams were officially announced. All of Team USA Olympic players received an automatic bid to the All-Star team whether their 2024 season production was worthy of it or not. The other 12 players were voted on by the fans, media, and coaches.

Below is the breakdown of each team with how many All-Star representatives they will have at the All-Star game. The Las Vegas Aces led all teams with four players. The Washington Mystics were the only team not to have a single All-Star.

Atlanta - 1
Chicago - 1
Connecticut - 3
Dallas Wings - 1
Indiana Fever - 3
Las Vegas Aces - 4
Los Angeles Sparks - 1
Minnesota Lynx - 2
New York Liberty - 3
Phoenix Mercury - 3
Seattle Storm - 2
Washington Mystics - 0

Atlanta Dream

June Record: 3-8

The Atlanta Dream really struggled in June. Unfortunately, their top scorer, Rhyne Howard suffered a left ankle injury during their loss to the Minnesota Lynx on June 19th. Including that game, the Dream lost four of their remaining five games in June.

Their best game came on June 28th against the Connecticut Sun where they won 78-74. Allisha Gray led the team with 17 points in that game.

Their worst loss was on June 11th where they fell 87-68 to the Washington Mystics. Atlanta needs to find a way to turn their season around or they might be headed for the WNBA Draft Lottery.

Chicago Sky

June Record: 3-8

It was a rough month for the Chicago Sky. They lost six of their first seven games in June. It wasn’t all bad though. They got some important wins against Washington, Dallas, and Indiana. Those are all teams Chicago will need to beat if they want to position themselves for one of the final playoff spots.

On top of that, Angel Reese played at an incredible level earning a double-double in 10 consecutive games in June. As the season progressed, Reese has gotten better and better.

Chennedy Carter has also been a pleasant surprise for the Sky. She finished June by scoring double figures in seven straight games. In six of those, she scored at least 15 PPG.

Sometimes it’s about the long game. While a 3-8 month is disappointing overall, the Chicago Sky saw good development from some of their younger players in Carter, Reese, and Kamilla Cardoso.

Connecticut Sun

June Record: 7-4

After going the entire month of May without a single defeat, the Connecticut Sun fell back to Earth a little bit in June. They were still one of the better teams finishing 7-4 but they went through a rough stretch toward the end of the month.

Connecticut went 9-0 overall before suffering their first loss of the season. It came against the New York Liberty by a final score of 82-75. The Sun lost three of their final four games at the end of June. They lost to both the Aces (85-74) and the Storm (72-61) by double digits. They nearly lost to the Washington Mystics as they were trailing in the final minute. Connecticut forced OT and went on to beat the Mystics 94-91. But after that, they dropped a home game to the Atlanta Dream (78-74). They nearly lost four games in a row which was a stark difference from their undefeated month in May.

Dallas Wings

June Record: 1-11

No team fell further than the Dallas Wings. After they finished May with a .500 record, Dallas completely collapsed and lost their first 10 games in June. They lost to 8 different teams (nearly the entire league) during that 11-game losing streak.

Their lone victory was a surprising 94-88 win over the Minnesota Lynx. The Lynx were just coming off of their impressive Commissioner’s Cup Championship win over the New York Liberty and maybe overlooked Dallas. Or maybe they were tired from playing that extra game and doing the extra traveling. Either way, it was a great win for Dallas. Coach Latricia Trammell was in tears after the game and just talked about how she wanted her players to have that moment and get back on the winning side.

Unfortunately, the positive moment didn’t last. They lost their final game of June 97-76 to the Seattle Storm. And have started July by losing their first two games of the new month.

After having the fourth-best record in the WNBA one year ago, winning a playoff series, and advancing to the WNBA Semi-Finals, the Dallas Wings look to be a completely different team in 2024. Unless they turn things around quickly, they’re going to miss the playoffs and will be bound for the lottery. They have dealt with multiple injuries to key players including Satou Sabally and Natasha Howard but the roster still has a lot of talent on it. It’s a little shocking they’ve been this bad this season.

Indiana Fever

June Record: 7-4

After having the second-worst record in May (1-8), the Indiana Fever completely turned things around in June. They finished three games above .500 with a 7-4 record. The young team finally built their chemistry and had some time to practice with one another.

The league offices did Indiana no favors by scheduling them to play 11 games within the first 20 days of the season. As I’ve written about a couple of times before, I believe they did this so that they could turn around and boast and publicize the improved TV viewership numbers and attendance records. There is no denying Caitlin Clark has been a monstrous draw for the casual basketball fan, selling out every arena the Fever play in. The league props up these numbers and it does make the league look very good. This is incredibly important because the WNBA is looking to negotiate a new and much higher-paying TV Media Rights deal over the next year. I’m sure a lot of the preliminary negotiations are already happening. The league has already been growing noticeably in recent seasons and players like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are ushering the WNBA into a new era of popularity.

All of that is great but it certainly didn’t help the Indiana Fever, who are a young and inexperienced team. With a new primary piece, some additional new faces, and essentially no practice time when they were playing, traveling, and playing another game again the next day, the team didn’t know how to play with one another. They finally got practice time and didn’t have to play a game every other day. Once that happened, the wins started piling up. They even won four games in a row in June, something they hadn’t done in many years.

Indiana even positioned itself to compete for the 8th and final playoff spot. They’ve been hovering around the 8th or 9th seed for a couple of weeks now. They’ve recovered very well after a disastrous May. If they can string together a couple more months where they play .500 basketball or better they will almost certainly reach the playoffs for the first time in eight years.

Las Vegas Aces

June Record: 6-4

The two-time defending champions lost just six games all season long last year and finished with a 34-6 record. It certainly was a bit shocking to see them pick up their sixth loss already while we were still in June. Las Vegas finished 6-4 during the month, so they still had a winning record. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a bit shocking to see them lose four games in a single month. The Aces have been so dominant for so long and they finally started to look beatable.

Most of this had to do with the fact that earlier in June, Chelsea Gray was still out with her injury. The team was struggling to run their offense as effectively without the “Point Gawd” in the lineup. Jackie Young also got sick for 2-3 games and struggled in those games putting even more pressure on A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum.

Las Vegas lost three games in a row to Seattle (78-65), Los Angeles (96-92), and Minnesota (100-86). After picking up a good win against the Phoenix Mercury, they lost again, this time to the New York Liberty (90-82).

Chelsea Gray returned to the lineup on June 19th against Seattle. They took down the Storm 94-83. The Aces won four games in a row to close out the month including important wins against Seattle and Connecticut who are above them in the standings.

Los Angeles Sparks

June Record: 2-9

The Los Angeles Sparks season went from bad to worse when star rookie Cameron Brink tore her ACL. This is a rebuild season for the Sparks so having their top development piece get injured and out for the season is a huge disappointment and very unfortunate for the team.

The Sparks best win was 96-92 over the Las Vegas Aces. Dearica Hamby got some revenge on her former team leading LA with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Rickea Jackson finished with 16 points and five rebounds.

Minnesota Lynx

June Record: 9-2

The Minnesota Lynx had a fantastic month in June. Their 9-2 record solidified their first-month success as one of the WNBA’s top teams this season. They qualified for the Commissioner’s Cup by going 4-1 in their five Cup games. They had a +67-point differential in those games as they dominated most of their opponents.

Not only did they qualify for the game, but they took full advantage of their opportunity. They defeated the New York Liberty 94-89 in the Commissioner’s Cup Championship game. Napheesa Collier was awarded the game’s MVP award scoring 21 points and six rebounds. But it was Bridget Carleton that made the biggest difference. Normally a role player, Carleton led the Lynx with 23 points on 8-10 FG including 6-8 FG from beyond the arc. Carleton also had five assists and four rebounds.

Outside of the Cup game, Minnesota took down the Seattle Storm 83-64 and the Las Vegas Aces 100-86. Those three teams are vying for the top record in the Western Conference, so picking up those two wins puts Minnesota in a great position.

New York Liberty

June Record: 10-1

The New York Liberty had the best month of any WNBA team finishing with a 10-1 record. They went a perfect 5-0 in the Eastern Conference Commissioner’s Cup games. Unfortunately, they fell short of winning the Cup Championship for a second year in a row as they fell to Minnesota.

Their only loss in the standings came against the Phoneix Mercury by a score of 99-93. They handed the Connecticut Sun their first defeat of the season (82-75) and they picked up a big win against the Las Vegas Aces (90-82).

With their impressive record in June, they took over the #1 overall seed in the WNBA standings. This team looks more dangerous than a year ago when they reached the WNBA Finals. If they can hold onto the top seed through the final months of the season, they will have homecourt throughout the entire WNBA playoffs.

If New York has gotten better and if Las Vegas had dropped even a slight step, it could be the Liberty that come away with their first WNBA Championship trophy at the end of this season.

Phoenix Mercury

June Record: 6-4

After having a losing record (3-5) in May, the Phoenix Mercury turned things around in June finishing two games above .500. More importantly, they started getting healthy. Brittney Griner broke a bone in her foot in the preseason but returned to action on June 7th against the Lynx. Griner helped Phoenix come away with the victory but it was Kahleah Copper who hit the game-winner with one second left to go in the game.

Rebecca Allen also returned after missing a few games. With Griner and Allen back in the lineup and Kahleah Copper having one of the best seasons of her career, Phoenix went 4-1 during a 5-game stretch in the middle of the month.

The Mercury have positioned themselves to be a safe playoff team. They’re sitting at the tail end of legit contenders. Anything can happen in the playoffs and they have multiple players who are great at closing out games, Brittney Griner, Kahleah Copper, and Diana Taurasi.

Seattle Storm

June Record: 7-3

Seattle improved upon their strong finish to May by winning seven out of their ten games in June. The Storm went 4-1 in Commissioner’s Cup games but their one defeat was against Minnesota who also went 4-1. The Lynx represented the Western Conference due to that tiebreaker.

The Storm got big wins against the Las Vegas Aces (78-65) and the Connecticut Sun (72-61). They just haven’t been able to figure out the Lynx. After losing 83-64, Seattle drops to 0-3 against Minnesota this season.

Seattle has played well overall but hasn’t been quite as elite as the teams at the very top of the WNBA standings. The core is still building a rapport with each other but there are a lot of positives. Nneka Ogwumike has been everything they could have hoped for when she signed. Skylar Diggins-Smith is a huge improvement over the team’s point guard situation in 2023. And second-year player Jordan Horston has improved her game becoming a much more efficient scorer and is turning into a lockdown defender.

The Storm will go as far as Jewell and Nneka can take them. With the help of DPOY candidate Ezi Magbegor and Diggins-Smith, they have a chance to be a Top 3 team by the end of the season.

Washington Mystics

June Record: 4-7

After the Mystics didn’t win a single game in May, they were much more competitive in June. While they still had a losing record, Washington won four games in June. They won against Atlanta, Chicago, and two times against the Dallas Wings.

Their best win was 97-69 over the Wings. In that game, Emily Engstler led the way with 23 points off the bench on 7-11 FG. Karlie Samuelson added 17 points. Big Mama Stef contributed with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. Jade Melbourne added 13 points on 4-5 FG off the bench.

More disappointing than their win-loss record is the fact that Shakira Austin has played just six games this season. She hasn’t played since late May. With Elena Delle Donne sitting out this season and possibly headed for retirement, Austin was supposed to take over as the Mystics franchise player. That hasn’t happened. Unfortunately, Austin hasn’t been able to develop into the team’s top player after she has shown so much promise in previous seasons.

If Austin isn’t able to recover, heal, and turn things around the Mystics may have to find a different franchise player. That could come in the WNBA Draft if they land the #1 pick and have the opportunity to draft Paige Bueckers.

Overall Standings

1. New York Liberty 17-4

2. Connecticut Sun 17-4

3. Minnesota Lynx 15-6

4. Seattle Storm 14-7

5. Las Vegas Aces 13-7

6. Phoenix Mercury 11-10

7. Indiana Fever 9-13

8. Chicago Sky 8-12

9. Atlanta Dream 7-13

10. Los Angeles Sparks 5-16

11. Washington Mystics 5-17

12. Dallas Wings 5-17

Notes:
Thanks for all the great support! Please tell other WNBA fans about my coverage. Supporting Independent media is increasingly important.
Also, I want to credit Across the Timeline and HerHoopStats as I use their sites frequently for stats and information.

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