Good Follow - WNBA All-Stars Announced, League Expanding to 18 Teams + Angel Named Player of the Week & More
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It's your girl. I'm Roz Gold on what a best Logan Hackett and Logan. I knew it was coming. Bell time. It is absolutely bell time.

I want to take this moment personally to say hello, good morning, good afternoon, good evening to all 3030 of our YouTube subscribers. If we happen to be at more than that number, I'm speaking directly to the 3030 that are here with us right now because we finally made it.

3,000 followers on YouTube. Now we know people are digesting our podcast all over the place and listening and we appreciate everybody that's listening and tapping in and downloading. But on YouTube in particular, we appreciate it so much. The road to 4K begins now. We're so excited. Thank you for rocking with us. Okay guys, so we have a busy show for you today. There's so much happening right now. Let me take you through the menu for the show. Okay, the WNBA, it's expanding.

They're adding teams, 18 teams by 2030. We're going to react to that. WNBA All-Star starters are revealed. Did they get it right? And what about the reserves? Angel Reese is player of the week. Paige Beckers is rolling and crushing it. The latest on the movers and the shakers of

It has been such a crazy week, but y'all do not forget that you can catch new episodes twice a week, one on Tuesday, one on Thursday. And as always, thank y'all for subscribing, commenting, liking, liking all the buttons, following our socials. But Roz, are you ready to get into it? So yesterday was a pretty chaotic day in the W, but it all started when they announced three new expansion teams, Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, all coming to the league by 2030. So by 2030, there's going to be 18 WNBA teams. And one

parts that stood out to me is that the Valkyries paid 50 million dollars as their expansion fee and these teams are 250 million that's a jump of what five times five times the price 200 million dollars that is crazy but when I first saw it I was shocked at how quickly this is all kind of happening

It's odd because there have been calls for expansion and I feel like they've been heard. But at the same time, we're like, whoa, we got to slow this down. So my question to you is, is CW expanding too quickly or do you think it's kind of catching up to the demand? You know, I totally understand where you're coming from with this concept of like, oh,

These team prices are high. You know what that comes with? Pressure, expectations. However, what I see in the WNBA is a league that is striking while the iron is red hot.

and betting on itself. You know, if you're a commissioner, would you rather be seen as a commissioner who sat on its hands when, you know, there was so much commotion for women's sports and women's basketball and, you know, you've got a monumental CBA coming up and TV rights deals and new teams? You know, like, it's a time of would you rather be acting or sitting back and scared? And so I think oftentimes we commend people for betting on itself. And one thing I'll say about Kathy Engelbert is

Sometimes she's tripped up in the PR battles with different types of slip ups and maybe things she said, but overall this is a very smart woman who has

done big business her entire career, whether at Deloitte and now at the WNBA, probably one of our most accomplished commissioners for the league. When she was leading the league through the pandemic, right, in that bubble season, she was given consultation. They spoke to consultants who predicted that something like some crazy overwhelming percentage that the league would fail, would flop, would die.

And she helped the league in that bubble season get out of that. You know, she's a part of these, you know, CBA negotiations. And right now she's thought of some, you know, getting them through the TV rights deal, you know, thinking of different marketing campaigns and right now thinking about expansion. So these are tough decisions. And I think let's see how it works out. But to your point, there's a lot of pressure with it, Logan.

Absolutely. I feel like one of the biggest things is that there's so much movement in the league. Even yesterday, we saw movement and everyone was shocked about what's happening. There is a huge difference between roster expansion and team expansion. But with this, it means that we're going to have five expansion drafts within six years. And it'll be very, very hard for teams to build depth and stay consistent because everyone's going to be moving around constantly.

Another question comes up and if we will have enough talent. I know there's global talent and people coming in and we've seen how good women's basketball is, but

Could it get to a point where you have a lot of mid-level players on different teams, widespread throughout one star, one A list, top of the ranks per team? You have no clue how it's going to work out. Maybe we won't see any super teams anymore, but it is very much needed. And I think the markets that they put them in also are absolutely thriving. There are people on Twitter saying Atlanta and Dallas are the only teams in the South. But when you look at who the teams are, especially in the Northern areas,

There's a huge market for them. Yeah, yeah. I think that the talent question is very valid. I mean, right now we're sitting here with 13 teams and there's competitive drop off. Look at the Connecticut Sun. They are dramatically less competitive than the rest of the teams. So there is a question about that. And the expansion draft every single year. What does that look like? I think.

You know, people have pointed out, to your point, international players. But and there have been so many stories where we've had a heartache over. Look, Julie Van Loo not making a roster or Deja Kelly. People lamented that there's not enough spots for all the players who could technically be a WNBA player. But we're talking about lower tier or or younger, less experienced players.

that are fighting for those last spots in the league. But what we don't have a surplus of is superstar talent. There's not a whole lot of Nafisa Colliers and Asia Wilsons out there, right? And so what that means is we may end up having lopsided or top-heavy rosters. And we could water down. It could be less competitive, right?

One thing to consider, though, is that this is being staggered over the course of years. So there will be an opportunity. There's going to be a lot of player movement, full stop. And there's going to be an opportunity for new top collegiate talent to come into the league and get comfortable. I mean, there's five years from now until we actually see a team in Philadelphia. But the competition level is a valid question. I mean, I've got other questions, too. You know, you mentioned the pressure that it puts on the league.

So the price point that some of these ownership groups are coming in and buying at, it's at $250 million minimum, pretty much. And some of these valuations are including practice facilities, things like that. But it's hard to tell what's really real. If you're Mark Davis, it's a party.

What does it even matter? You bought your team in 2021 for $2 million. You are so up. I don't even know if there's things that are more up than the Aces in value. The Psy family got the liberty for $15 million in 2019. In 2023, the Valkyries were bought by the Lake Up group and the Warriors group over there for $50 million, which, mind you, at the time, people were clutching pearls over $50 million. This is only two

only two years ago. Now you got teams that are being evaluated at half a billion dollars. Is that real? Is it on paper real? Is it based on potential real? You know, it's kind of, it puts a lot of pressure. You know, the owners that buy in at 250 million, they're going to be a lot easier to be disgruntled or have incredibly high expectations. You know what I mean? And pressure.

And the other thing I'm curious about, too, is CBA negotiations that are happening right now. They are happening now with so much coming in the years to come. I think it's going to I'm just curious how that affects discussions. Overall, the CBA is going to be very impactful, monumental negotiations.

I expect we're going to see some pretty solid jumps in pay for the players. But also the number of teams also splits the pot in more directions too. So it's all very interesting. I mean, ultimately, I think we're all in a grand. We're rooting for the W. We're rooting for the league. We're rooting for it. But boy, things are moving fast.

Yeah. And the biggest thing is that the Valkyries have set the standard for expansion, whether it was it's their play on the court, their coaching staff, the people they have in Chase Center. I saw something yesterday. They're averaging just over 18000 fans, which is on par for the average attendance of the NBA this whole last season, I guess.

But do you think other teams will struggle to make the same impact that the Valkyries are? I think it's hard to compare them to the Valkyries, which are part of the Golden State Warriors family. You know, that group is a machine. The Golden State Warriors, I worked for them as a sideline reporter with the Warriors.

um it's a one from top they literally win the nba's award they give out an award to all the different teams um for their business operations like the warriors have won that this is a muscle machine and they came out and did that with their woman's team like they had a marketing campaign they tapped in with local bay influencers there was a very captivating story around the name of the team the color scheme finding ambassadors like the team itself is not even the best team but

captivating. They're thrilling. You would think we were talking about the defending champs or something. Can you imagine if the team's actually, you know, really a championship contender? It's very exciting. But I think that's why Kathy Engelbert has been focusing on NBA-led ownership and government, governorship groups, because they have the, like, machinery and muscle in place to roll this out. You're seeing how much there's been some kind of

struggles and mishaps with the Portland rollout. Seems like they're a little bit behind the ball. They're supposed to be here next season. They don't have a marketing campaign. They need to figure out the name, leadership. So it's a lot. And that's why I come back to the pressure that's on some of these organizations at a $250 million price point. You really got to make sure that you understand how to operate a W team. And I think everyone can take a page out of the book out of the Golden State Valkyries and what they've done.

Absolutely. And another big thing that came out yesterday was the all-star players and starters. Everybody has officially been announced. The starters are Caitlin Clark, Nafisa Collier, Aaliyah Boston, Paige Beckers, Alicia Grace, Sabrina Ionescu, Neko Gwimake, Satya Sabli, Brianna Stewart, and Asia Wilson, with Nafisa Collier and Caitlin Clark as the all-star game captains. Do you have any surprises about this?

I don't actually have any surprises in the starters. I think they're all deserving. For me, maybe Satu or Alyssa. It was probably going to be one or the other. Alyssa Thomas or Satu Sabli out of the Mercury for a starter. But I think for reserves, we'll easily see Skyler Diggins, Ryan Howard, Brittany Sykes, Alyssa Thomas. I think Angel Reese, Kiki Uriafan as reserves for me. But where I do see some interesting...

- Situations, Logan, if you wanna get a little messy, you wanna get messy? - Oh, I wanna get messy. Oh my gosh, I know exactly what's coming.

We're excited. Cue the fan vote and then cue the player vote. Ooh, the tea is hot. So 50% of the starters vote was fan, 25% media, 25% player vote. Caitlyn is your number one overall vote getter from the fans, hands down. But she gets a nine ranking in the player vote. Gasp. Gasp.

And also other ones that I thought was crazy, Angel, or not crazy, but eyebrow raising. Angel Reese got a 12 from the players. And what's up with Kelsey Plum at 16? Yes. What's up with that from the players? I do not. She's the fourth biggest scorer in the league. I do not understand. I feel like maybe she might be flying under the radar. I mean, I don't know how much the other players watch. They know who Kelsey is. They do. They know who Kelsey is. What's going on with that? She's big, Kelsey. I feel like she's likable, but what's going on with that? That was odd.

You know, I couldn't even place nothing to maybe because the sparks are, you know, not doing well. But she's balling. 16 is crazy for Kelsey Plum. That's the fourth leading scorer in the league. But Caitlin with a nine ranking, maybe people were, maybe the players are annoyed for a few reasons. There's certainly...

You know, she hasn't been having the most efficient season. She's only played nine games. The last three, she's certainly been in a slump. More turnovers at times than field goals made. Her percentages are down. High turnovers. But overall, she's still a highly productive season. She still has had iconic moments this season. She's still dominant. She still makes the fever go. Could it be more than just, like, basketball? Could it also be, like, you know, is it that people think she flops? Is it that she's in too much commotion?

What do you think that is about with Caitlyn? I don't know because she's such a flashy player, but also these are players who also known each other. If you look at the player ranks, you have Asia Wilson as one, Fia as two. Who's three over here? Skylar Diggins at three. I might be a bit surprised to see that. Paige Becker's at four. That's where it kind of gets into the discrepancy

ranking her what five spots above Caitlyn. Honestly, I couldn't tell you. Maybe it's that Caitlyn has been a part of the, what's the word? Talking back to them. Maybe they don't like how she talks. Who knows? She be talking. She be talking. She's demonstrative. I'll either say that you can either be on the, on the boat that thinks like, Hey, she is a flopper or you can say she's demonstrative, but you know, she's in the mix. I'll take another thing. That's interesting for me staying with the fan vote. Total.

Angel's fan vote was 10th overall, 5th for front court players. Angel got 506,000 votes. Kaitlyn got 1.2, almost 1.3 million. Nafisa Collier got 1.1, almost 1.2 million. Aaliyah Boston, 1.1 million. A lot of other players ahead of her were much closer to a million. Angel's fan vote total was 506,000.

She's by far the most followed player in the league. Not even close. Five million followers on Instagram. The next closest is Kaitlyn Clark with like 3.5. And then after that, it's even lower. It's like one million for a couple of players. Where were her fans? They were not as active and as engaged to push her over the hump here. That is interesting, the activity of the fan group for Angel while Kaitlyn's fans are

And Nafisa's fans, and I want to call this out too, this wasn't just the Caitlyn Clark show, although certainly a lot of this action happens around Caitlyn, but Nafisa Collier got 1.1 million votes, 1.17, which I think is very impressive to say that she got recognition and respect at that level. She has recognition and respect. And I wasn't always sure if Nafisa's recognition matched the level of respect.

that she deserved. So I thought that was cool. And I think overall, like we have to look at Caitlyn's large turnout and also the overall turnout. So a rising tide lifts all ships. And this thing that this Caitlyn thing is real, the attention, and it is taking the W with them. Look at the fans that are turning out. In 2023, the year before Caitlyn Clark joined the league, Asia Wilson led the fan vote. Overall, guess how many votes? I have this stat written down.

Angel had five times her. I think 100,000, maybe? 95,000 votes was the top fan vote total in 2023. That's before Caitlyn and Angel joined the league. 95,000 votes. Now this year, Caitlyn Clark alone has brought in 1.29, 1.3 million votes. So the turnout is crazy.

And I also think the attention to the woman's game is exciting. Last thing I'll shout out about the all-star selections. Nneka, shout out to Nneka Agumike, who makes her 10th all-star selection. That puts her in a category with Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, and Tamika Catchings. Just one of four players who have 10 or more all-star selections. Salute to Nneka.

To go with the number of fans voting, I was also really surprised to see that Aaliyah Boston was only like 2,000 maybe votes off of getting the second captain, pretty much replacing Fi. And that says a lot.

about the fever fans because they were going so hard for their players and Lexi Hall I think she was ninth in fan voting but because she didn't really have the media or player votes there she wasn't able to make it but someone like Aaliyah Boston especially with how I mean she's been in the league for a few years but how new she is quote unquote to the league that's saying a lot

Actually want to circle back on Angel. She was just named the WNBA player of the week, and it's quite a turnaround from the slow start that she had at the beginning of the season. She has been playing so well recently. So what do you make of her whole season so far?

I think it's very impressive. Her resilience, her heart, her resolve in the face of adversity and critique. And look, she admitted herself it was not a good start to the season. And she's on a team that is not as competitive as others. So there's only so much that she can control.

But what she can't control, she is absolutely turned around. In particular, the last three games, she's averaging nearly 20 points per game, 17 rebounds, or nearly 50% shooting, four straight games of 15-plus rebounds. I mean, it's been incredible. But here's the issue.

It's in the way people cover Angel Reese. Let's take a look at a clip that just got my attention. But you just said she's selfish and a selfish player won't win a ring. And I'm saying that everyone who has played with Angel Reese and coach Angel Reese has called her an unselfish player and her style of play has translated into winning. So that all I could say for my argument is I don't have facts, but we'll see.

That's how a lot of these conversations go. And it's so frustrating because people be having no facts, but very strong opinions, especially on the play of Angel Reese. And here's the thing. I think it's very much the job of media to objectively cover the ups and downs of a player season. You got to talk about when they're playing well and when they're not playing well.

But I think there's too much media that's very good at discussing when Angel is not playing well and harping on that and jumping on that bandwagon, but not as not as comfortable, if at all, discussing when she's doing well. And I think the reason is because their analysis in general was not based on facts. It was often based on emotions. It was lazy analysis. And honestly, a lot of these guys have not even watched her play. They have not.

And they're just coming in for the headlines and the clicks and all the things. And so that is something that I think is worth fighting for in the object of objectivity and integrity of journalism. Call me old fashioned.

No, you're 100% correct. A lot of times when people have opinions about Angel, my first question is how many games have you watched her play? And I feel like it's just the opposite of rose-colored glasses. They just look for whatever's negative. Even her triple-double, they're not going to talk about that. But then you see a low light or she only has 10 rebounds or she's rebounding me-bounding.

that's what they'll jump on and it is so incredibly annoying also shout out to mariah because she absolutely killed that video if y'all haven't gone to watch it watch it but she is so amazing angel even quote tweeted her i believe so good anyways y'all coming up we have some quick hits for you we'll be right back

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Welcome back to Good Follow, presented by DraftKings. DraftKings, the crown is yours. Logan, the crown is yours, my girl. You know we're at the end of the show. The crown is ours. It's ours, and it's yours. Everybody who's watching with us, make sure you tap in with DraftKings. But it's the time of the show where we're running out of time, but we got to get to the biggest, quickest news headlines and quick hits that you got for us. Yeah, so starting off with an event that I was...

so blessed to be a part of last week. Probably the most special I've ever been to. Olympic gold medalist Faith Kipiagon went for the four minute mile and though she didn't get it, she still made history running the fastest mile by a woman with 4.07, no, 4.06.42. She was on pace to break four until the very last straight and it just kind of went to prove how incredibly hard doing something like this is, especially given that Nike had a ton of technology behind it. I actually have this shirt. I've got Faith. It's one of my favorite things ever.

But when asked at the end if a woman will break four minutes, she said, absolutely, there'll be a woman running a mile in under four minutes. And I think it will take less than 10 years. If it doesn't come my way, then it'll be someone else doing it. And her whole vibe and mindset about the whole thing was just so positive. I love to see it.

Yeah, and I love to see you right in the mix being brought out there by Nike to cover this historic moment and obviously the inspiration factor, whether it happened or not, was super high. What else you got for us? Well, actually, first thing I saw this morning was an iconic picture from last night. Candice Parker's number three jersey was retired by the Sparks, and she joins Lisa Leslie and Penny told her is the only players to have their jerseys retired by the Sparks. But in the picture, it's Candice and she's a bit blurried.

And in the focus is Lisa Leslie just looking at her with so much proudness on her face. And it was amazing.

Yeah, it's really cool to see the generational just like greatness that was on display for Candice and also the respect and love, you know, like Lisa's in so many great players ears. And now Candice Parker has been passing the torch to other players as well. Nothing but respect for Candice, who famously said one of the lines that stand out to me that I think about in life often is time will tell the story. And time has certainly told Candice Parker's story. She's one of the greats.

I love that. I feel like by the time I'm like 80, I'm going to just have quotes of all these athletes like down my arm. Coming up next is that Sophie Cunningham has a new brand deal with Ring. This was also all over my feed and an enforcer on the court to keep Caitlyn safe and Ring keeps her safe. So they kind of played into that. We love the marketing. She she rode that momentum into a brand deal, I guess. So, you know, being Caitlyn's bodyguard and stepping up for Caitlyn pays.

Yep. Those are the, that's the days that we live in now. You just do one little thing. You never know who's watching. You just get a brand deal. Love it. It's an attention economy. We're in an attention economy. Absolutely. Michelle Kang has been a huge tycoon in women's football. She's one of the only ones, but she is now taking over men's football named as the president of the men's a well team. On top of that, she's the majority owner of the spirit, a well feminine and London city lionesses. So she is

getting her way up there and to stay in Europe. The Euros kick off on Wednesday. Spain is eyeing their first title and it is going to be so insane. I'm so excited. Yes, yes. And I'm so excited to be here with you, Logan. I'm welcoming you back to the U.S. And to all of you who joined us, we hit 3K. We're on the road to 4K subscribers on YouTube. And of course, wherever else you get your podcasts, we're crushing it.

for all the listeners out there. Thank you for rocking with us. That'll do it for this episode of Good Follow presented by DraftKings. We're on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We appreciate you and we'll see you next week. Bye, y'all.