Good Follow - Fighting in the WNBA, Mercury Move to 3rd + Skylar Diggins Praises Nneka Ogwumike & More
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Hey, what's up, y'all? Welcome to Good Follow, presented by DraftKings. I'm Roz Goldenwood. That's my girl, Logan Hackett. And I think that we switched places, Logan, because I was just in France. Now I made it back to New York at our New York studios here. And you're in France now, right? What's going on? Yes, I am actually here with Nike for...

Something that is absolutely insane. Faith Kipiagon, an Olympic runner and world record holder, she is going for the four minute mile or under the four minute mile. So she's trying to become the first woman to go under four minutes. I think 359 is what they're aiming for. I think she could go a little less, but she's doing it in the big stadium, the big track stadium that they had the Olympics at. And it is a huge deal. What?

What, Logan? And Nike invited you out there to be a part of covering it? Yes, they did. I'm so incredibly thankful. And in the meantime, while Logan's doing historic things out in France, we're going to keep it local here because we got a great show for you focusing on a lot of women's topics, certainly around the WNBA. Let's get to our show menu and topics, the girls.

And a fever Sophie Cunningham, her popularity has soared since then. Is she a hero or a heel? And how are Alyssa Thomas and those Phoenix Mercury, how are they managing to be third in the standings? I've got some answers. Put some respect on Nneka's name. Say it again, Skylar Diggins. That's enough. Enough is enough. Jeez. And then the Liberty, they've hit an injury bug. And that depth that I spent so much time highlighting for you, it is certainly being tested.

Also reminder, we are now dropping two new episodes a week, one on Tuesday and one on Thursday. So make sure to tap in and subscribe, comment, like, and as always, thank y'all so much for following us. But are you ready to get into it? Because we have a good show.

Let's do it. Let's do it. So Sophie Cunningham has been the talk of the WNBA. Honestly, I was at the airport and they were swabbing my bag. I got kind of like randomly tested and the guy brought her up. He was like, I saw a girl named Sophie with Caitlin Clark the other day. And I was like, wow.

it's actually crazy how wide streaming I never would have expected those words out of his mouth. Actually, actually hilarious because I was in Cannes during all of this. Right. And so like, this is a huge marketing advertising festival, Cannes Lions. And like word was starting to buzz there. Like, I feel like I was talking with like Gary Vee or Draymond Green or like various people out there and like the CMO of such brand. And they was like, they

what's going on and they're like this is crazy i was like i literally went to france and the wnba exploded and so it was crazy so crazy and actually sophie's social media has exploded her take-off went from 300k to 1 million followers and her jersey is now sold out now in this scuffle no player no players were suspended but sophie did have to pay a 400 fine for her flagrant foul against jc sheldon in the last 46 seconds

But my question to you Roz is, was the fine worth the new popularity that she now has?

I have $400 for you right now. For anyone who can get my social media following up 700,000 subscribers or followers. I have $400 right now. Hell yeah, it was worth it. First of all, it also comes with a little bit of lore and notoriety and there's a toughness edge to it. There's a lot of sports storytelling that goes into that, that you can't...

You can't manufacture that artificially. Like this is one of those moments where like sometimes you just got to be in it and it comes. Now, regarding the foul itself, the Sophie Cunningham foul, as an athlete, I'm going to just, I've been an athlete the majority of my life. I'm going to keep that hat on in this answer. And the way I came up

is that you had your teammates back. You hit one of my teammates, you hit our star player, you were gonna feel that. You weren't just gonna get away from it. Get away. You might catch an elbow or a hard foul at one point in the game. And look, back in the day for me, it was Stanford University, whether it was Candace Wiggins, whether it was Nneka Agwumike to my teammates. Look, people are crying over Nneka Agwumike right now as we speak. Skylar Diggins, did you see her last interview?

She was on the stage crying behind Nneka and I felt that in my soul. I felt it in my soul as someone who knows Nneka. I'm a grown woman and an adult. I don't even play on a basketball team anymore. I'm ready to fight right now for Nneka Okumike. Like, don't play with her. So I feel like

stepping up for your teammate I feel the way I was raised is necessary especially your star and for the Indiana fever in the 2024 season and so far up until that moment right now in the 2025 season until Sophie Cunningham did that there just have been no repercussions for hitting on Caitlyn and I've always found that to be weird whether you whose team you rock with

Or like if you are rooting for this team or if you feel like, you know, Caitlyn deserved or did blah, blah, blah. If she's flopping, if she's in the mix. Either way, I've always found that this star player, this teammate that you do blood, sweat and tears with and also a generational talent, you know, everyone's worthy of protecting. But certainly that that like beyond just kind of like coming in and like separating, there's just been no like.

tough person to be like, you're not doing that here. Right. And even there's been current athletes who have gone on their podcast to kind of echo that sentiment, which I feel is pretty widely understood. Like even on stud buds, we love stud buds, Courtney Williams and the teacher hide a man. I was chuckling watching them talk about it because they were like, would you have my back? And like, they obviously felt like, yeah, of course I would. But Courtney Williams had me laughing because Courtney was like,

first of all, they wouldn't even do that to me. Kourtney was like, they know who to play with. They wouldn't even try that with me. And that had me chuckling, you know, but ultimately,

Ultimately, Sophie came into the season and publicly told us that she was going to have her teammates back. She that wasn't it. She wasn't going to allow that to happen. All of that tussling that happened to Caitlin in 2024. And so when the moment came, Sophie stood on business, you know, so and she's always had a certain level of toughness around her.

Now, did Sophie's foul, like there's a difference between catching an elbow and or a hard foul in a half court set versus Sophie Cunningham grabbing a girl in an open court and dragging her down. It's full stop, it's inappropriate and whether it's dangerous is debatable, but there's a very different way in the way she did it, but I will say she stood on business on what she said she was gonna be there to do and she had her teammates back. Here's where people are protective, Logan.

It's in the consistency of coverage. This is where I see people being protective, and I get it, okay? Let's revisit Marina Mabry's foul.

So Marina Mabry makes a foul on Caitlin Clark. It's a non-basketball foul, like non-basketball play possessions over and she pushes her. Now, whether Caitlin Clark flops or not, now that's debatable. But the imagery is dramatic and she goes down. OK, not only were no suspensions handed out, Marina got to stay in the game. Like what? A player was pushed to the ground. You know, like where are the refs, first of all, taking control afterwards in the aftermath of it? Let's talk about coverage of it.

People she was seen having fun, playful coverage of it on TikTok because she's over there, Millie rocking in her huddle and doing everything. And she's even saying, like, I don't give a F. And that was the kind of coverage that came out of it. Just for comparison, Kennedy Carter last season did a non-basketball push of Caitlin Clark, a non-basketball foul.

And she was not afforded that level of grace. She did not get fun, playful TikTok coverage afterwards. She was very much made a villain out of that. And both Kennedy and Marina were non-remorseful about the foul afterwards. You know, both were. Both have histories of skirmishes on the court and talking trash and, you know, being controversial at times. So the coverage of it was different.

And that can be shown. That can be compared. And that's where people get protective. I'll give another example. Dejanay Carrington has not been afforded that grace in the way that she's covered for her physical and aggressive and active defense. She accidentally hit somebody in the eye and it was not, she was not afforded grace there. So I say all that to say, like, I come from old school era where like, you know, you have your teammates back, but I do understand and I,

stand with the protectiveness around the way that that's covered. And often the difference can be just around, are we covering it? If that would happen to somebody who was a Black player, are we covering it the same way? And have we in the past? And it actually has been very different. Yeah, that was one of my first thoughts with it. And I

I mean, I completely agree with everything you say. It's like in the NHL, you have your enforcers and the people. If your star player gets hit, then you know that next fourth line player is coming on to hit the best player on the ice. So I absolutely love that. And Caitlin does need people to stick up for her. I mean, there were times where she was on the ground. Other teams were having to like pull her back up. But yeah, that double standard is absolutely insane. But I want to move on to the Phoenix Mercury, who I actually watched play the sky on the weekend. And it

It is very interesting to watch them play because something will be going on and you're thinking to yourself, what just happened? And then Sky had the ball and the next thing you know, Phoenix had it again. It was like, how the heck? What is going on? And that game was a crazy blowout. But last season they finished in seventh place. And in the offseason, they lost huge names like DT, Brittany Griner, Natasha Cloud. However, they added their big three. And that is Satya Sabli, Kalia Copper and Alyssa Thomas.

And with that, they're now third in the league. They look so good to me. And they're also on a five-game win streak. But do you think they're overachieving or are they exactly where they need to be? You know, I think it is overachieving. Logan, you mentioned a big three. Kalia Clapper has barely played to start the season. She's played in three games so far. Like,

a casual to medium level fan might've even looked at that roster and said, okay, Kalia Copper has been out for a lot of this. Um, Satu Sabali. Okay. Um, Alyssa Thomas. All right. And,

And looked at their roster and been like, wait, who are the rest of these players? Because they got a bunch of foreign players and non-traditional rookies that are really playing very well and within a system. You've got Monique Okoa-Makani, right? Started playing ball at the age of 11. Like she's been playing over in France and Europe. Playing in the WNBA was a dream. Like her pro career was in Europe, but it worked out. You know, you look at Catherine Westbelt, okay? She's 29 now.

She's a rookie this year in the WNBA, but she's been playing pro overseas. So it worked out that she found her way in now. You know, you have Lexi Held, a rookie. You also have other active, hustling, defensive, disruptive player like that Laksa or Mack who's blocking shots everywhere.

You know, they're all buying into what coach Nate Tibbetts is selling, which is they've got this identity of being tough and physical and disruptive and, and just long and defensive. They are tied for number one in the league for steals. And guess what? Guess what? Who else's teams always have a reputation of being physical and tough and defensive? Alyssa Thomas's teams.

No matter where she goes, that identity follows her. And so now look at this Phoenix Mercury team. They're all about that identity. They're physical and tough. Hello, Alyssa Thomas. Again, with Alyssa, you got to be watching because everything that they do, she's so integral to. She's quarterbacking their offense, their defense. She's leading the league in assists. Again, she is...

Nearing a triple-double in averages. She's filling that stat sheet. She's doing a little bit of everything. And she continues to be great and playing at a high level. And then you got Satu Sabli, right? I spoke with Satu, who told me she likes playing for Nate Tibbetts. She's really thankful to have the clean slate and a fresh start in Phoenix after all those years in Dallas. And honestly, she also told me she heard the disrespect.

She heard the talking. And in Michael Jordan terms, she said, I took that personally, you know, and so she's healthy right now. And she just wants to let her game do the talking and so thankful to have the chance to let her game do the talking. And I'll give one more shout out for that team to the veteran, Sammy Whitcomb. She's been playing great.

So, so good. And actually going back to AT, one thing that I've never noticed, even while watching on TV, is how much she talks during the game. A, to her teammates, but B, she is talking trash all game, not only to the other team, but people who are sitting courtside as well. The cast of The Shy was sitting courtside. They were chirping throughout the whole entire game. And then afterwards she went and was like, take the L, take the L. But

Either chirping or a huge smile on her face, I absolutely love to see it. And I was really analyzing their interactions with their coach, with Nate Tibbetts, and it looked so good. Like, I love where this team is right now. But you also mentioned Nneka a few times, and I know that she's your girl. And we had a little moment following the Storm's Sunday night win over the Liberty. Skylar Diggins had an emotional postgame press conference and gave her flowers to Nneka Ogwumike.

Let's hear what she had to say. I came here to play with Nneka. What she does, you know, day in and day out is special. You shouldn't take it for granted. Like, I love her. She's a champion. She's the most disrespected MVP in the history of our league.

And every night she's breaking records. It's amazing what she's done. And we celebrate her every day. It's a blessing to be on this team with her. And, you know, she's the first Ballot Hall of Famer. First of all, I do have to call out how good Skylar Diggins' arms look. They are absolutely ripped. That was the first thing I saw. Yeah, no, Sky be in that weight room.

Like crazy, they are so toned and defined, but Roz, do you agree with Skylar on this? - Wholeheartedly. Say it louder for the people in the back, Skylar. I mean, Nneka is literally what excellence and consistency looks like combined over the course of a career. Go and check her stats.

She has never shot below 50% in any of the 14 seasons that she's played. She has never averaged below 13 points per game. She's an excellent player at every range she scores from. She's brilliant. She's smart. She's highly skilled. She's athletic. She's dependable. Nneka actually has been in the MVP conversation for the last three years consecutively.

Okay, it's been eight. She'd been right there. It's been Asia. It's been the FISA, but neck is in the conversation. You know, she wasn't a front runner for MVP, but NECA has absolutely been in an MVP conversation for the last three seasons in a row. So from a legacy standpoint, like just she's one of the best leaders ever in sports and has led the WNBA and its players through some of the most critical, challenging, impactful times.

literally to the existence and opportunity for the WNBA. She leads that. From a legacy standpoint, Nneka is one of the great leaders of all sports. Like for the WNBA, she has led its players, the league, through some of the most challenging and critical times.

in the history of the league, for the survival of the league, some of the most impactful policymaking she has been a part of. And yet people still want to play in her face. You know, leaving Nneka Ogwumike off of the Olympic team in 2016 is one of the most regrettable decisions in the history of sports, in my opinion. It's absolutely shameful.

Shame. Like, shameful. Nneka was the MVP that season. She was the 2016 MVP and left off the 2016 Olympic team. She's the only MVP that hasn't been on an Olympic team.

So I think Skylar said it right. You know, Nneka just comes in and does her job every game over the course of over a decade now, breaking records, climbing the history ladders and continuing to be a graceful leader. With All-Star Ronan coming up, do you fear for her place in the All-Star game this year? No.

Okay, good. I think the only fear I might have is if she gets to be a starter or not, but Nneka's an all-star. Yeah, I really think the players, because there's the players vote and the media vote, they can really carry that. And you know, we were just talking about Sophie Cunningham, and I feel like it's kind of the same situation in a way. Like, we've had saucy Sophie

since way before this happened. But now because she's on the fever and all eyes are on them, a lot of people are seeing this for the first time. And with the new fans coming in, I feel like Nneka is not getting as appreciated because not that many people might be watching her. But I really, really hope that she continues to thrive. And the fact that she's been in the league since 2012 and she's done everything that she has, new fans really need to put some respect on her name. Everyone needs to put some more respect on her name.

I think not knowing who Nneka Agumake says a lot more about you as a fan than it says anything about her. Hello. Absolutely. And the last topic we have has been a big topic of conversation in the past few weeks, which is New York Liberty's death. It has been absolutely insane, but it's being tested out right now. Sabrina's out indefinitely. Leonie Phoebus is out until the end of the month. Jonquil Jones is slated to miss four to six weeks, and they're in the middle of a four-game road trip. Do you think that's a good thing?

Do you think they're deep enough to withstand all the injuries right now? I think so. However, I do think it's funny. Like when it rains, it pours. Of course, when their depth is being tested, they are in the thick of a very challenging part of their schedule. They're seeing some very tough teams. And of course, they're right in the middle of a road trip of all the times that that could have happened. But any team that's going to be down three starters and two of those are

I mean, arguably I feel should be all stars would need some time to adjust, you know, so you're not going to have John Quayle Jones probably through the all-star break.

Sabrina, we're not sure when she's coming back from that neck injury. And then Leone Femish will be back at the end of the month after Eurobasket. But I think you certainly miss so much with those three. I mean, with Jonquil Jones, her double-double that she's giving you of production. But defensively, you miss Jonquil. You miss Leone Femish. You miss their size. Leone's 6'4". The versatility. You miss Sabrina's ability to handle pressure, put the ball on the floor against the defense, to score points. You miss all of that. Even with

Those three out the Liberty are still they've had a couple of losses here. They're still right in these games. And probably the biggest takeaway for the Liberty is they've been shooting themselves in the foot and losing the possession battle. They're turning it over too much and they're giving up too many offensive rebounds. And so that's really been the issue. And the good thing is those things, those are things that can be worked on and, and, and implemented.

And it often comes with the territory when you got a bunch of players who are playing out of position, playing out of rotation and figuring it out. But in the long run, I actually think this is going to be good for the Liberty to have the shakeup, to get other players some playing time and experience, having media roles. And then, you know, when all those stars come back, keep it chugging.

That's exactly what I was thinking. And honestly, if it gets to a bit, just tell him Marina Johannes. It's like game five season is on the line and she should be able to keep it clutch. But y'all coming up and make my DK game pick of the week. And we have some quick hits for you. We'll be right back.

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Welcome back to Good Follow. Today's episode is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings, the crown is yours. It is now time for the DraftKings Pick of the Week presented by DraftKings. This weekend, we have the battle of the first overall picks with Kaitlyn Clark and the Indiana Fever taking on Paige Beckers and the Dallas Wings on Friday night in Dallas. Despite making headlines week after week, Indiana has had a bit of a streaky season so far, picking up some interesting losses, but also pulling off some great wins. Of course,

Next player to watch here is Kaitlyn Clark who's currently averaging nearly 20 points and 9 assists per game. Although she's been in a bit of a shooting stump, I feel like she can get back into her rhythm against a team like Dallas. With that said, the Wings are starting to pick things up after starting the season 1-11. They picked up two great wins last week and Leigh Heroux has already proven to be a great addition to this roster.

All eyes will be on first overall pick Paige Beckers as she's looking to continue her hot streak. She continues to propel the wings, putting up 61 points, 15 rebounds and 16 assists over three games last week, and there's no doubt she'll want to put on a show for this game. This is going to be such a good one, but I'm going with Indiana to pull out the win here. This segment is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings, the crown is yours.

The crown is yours, Logan. Great job. We've got time left on the show. We need to hear the quick hits, the headlines. What do you have for me? Because it has been busy out there. Super busy. And the first one is actually pretty fun. Caused quite a stir on social media, but a fan posted on Reddit that,

that there should be an NBA and WNBA counterpart jersey swap type of situation. So NBA players swap jerseys with WNBA teams and play in their games. What do you think about that?

I think it's pretty cool. I mean, I just want to make sure that every team has a sister team. But yeah, and also NBA players love showing love to the women's basketball. Oh, absolutely. I also saw someone say that they should do it on days where the counterparts play each other. So the NBA teams play against each other and then the WNBA game is right afterwards. I think that would be so smart.

It could be very cool. Right? And the next one, Cardi B mentioned Asia Wilson in her new song Outside. I love the mentions because all the men's players get all the rap mentions, but the women are coming in.

- Asia, what's poppin' boo? I actually saw Cardi debut this song in Cannes when I was in France for the Spotify concert crowd. And at the time I did not know she shouted out Asia Wilson, but Cardi is very smart, has always been savvy, and whether it's her or her writers, love to see it. Go Asia.

Absolutely. And something else we love to see is money in women's sports and the Golden State Valkyries are the most valuable WNBA team and the first $500 million pro women's team. $500 million valuation at what, 13 games? We're not even halfway through the season. That is insane.

They bought that team for $50 million. It's so crazy. The WNBA is where the money resides. Absolutely. And lastly, I guess actually to go with that, the first women's sports bar in LA is officially open. It's called Untamed Spirits and it opened in early June to coincide with Pride Month.

which we love. Oh, cool. Very cool. Very cool. Oh, man. Everybody making money right now with women's sports. Let's go. And that's why we're here covering women's sports for you. And you know, now we drop on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We're a two time a week drop show. Make sure you tap in with us because that's that's going to do it for this week's episode of Good Follow Show, which is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings, Logan. The crown is yours.

I'm Roz. She's Logan. We appreciate you being here. Subscribe. Follow all the socials. Comment. Yell at us in the comments. All the things. Bring it on. We love it. We'll see you next Thursday, next Tuesday, next Thursday, next Tuesday. Just tap in. Take care. Bye, guys.