Daily Briefing — June 12, 2022: A’ja Wilson with an MVP moment

There’s little doubt Wilson has been the best player in the WNBA thus far, to be frank. (Note: this is the official position of TDB, not of The Next at large.) And this was one heck of an “MVP moment.”

*Stocks = steals + blocks

But first, read:

• Our Jenn Hatfield not only proclaims Myisha Hines-Allen’s struggles to be over, but chronicles how she got past them
• The Mercury News’ Alex Simon details the dueling forces vying for the Bay Area’s prospective WNBA expansion team
• The Shelby Star’s Cora Hall profiles Debbie Antonelli’s broadcaster career ahead of her induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame
• Basketball News’ Nekias Duncan breaks down Emma Meesseman’s impact for the Sky through one play from Friday’s win over the Sun

W Roundup

Connecticut: Waived point guard Yvonne Anderson, who was playing decently for someone who’d barely cracked 10 minutes across the past couple weeks, on a team that features exactly one good guard at the moment. Your guess as to the rationale behind this move is as good as mine.

Watch List, Sunday, June 12

(All times in Eastern, Game Of The Day in bold)

Chicago @ New York, 2 p.m., Amazon Prime video (Local: YES App)

Seattle @ Dallas, 4 p.m., League Pass (Local: JOEtv/Amazon Prime video, Bally Sports Southwest Extra)

Phoenix @ Washington, 6 p.m., League Pass (Local: Bally Sports Arizona, Monumental/NBC Sports Washington)

Indiana @ Minnesota, 7 p.m., League Pass (Local: Indiana Fever Livestream, Bally Sports North)

Saturday, June 11 recap

Las Vegas beat Los Angeles, 89-72. The Sparks led by five in the mid-first quarter, before the Aces went on separate 12-0 and 17-5 runs. Las Vegas shot 11.9 percentage points better from the field, and won the rebounding battle by 11; the Aces notched a season-high 11 steals, but committed 19 turnovers; Los Angeles committed 20 fouls.

Las Vegas was led by center A’ja Wilson’s season-high 35 points in 33 minutes on 13-for-23 from the field (1-4 3pt.) and 8-for-8 from the line and 11 rebounds for a double-double, plus two steals and four blocks — the first 35 pts/11 reb/2 stl/4 blk performance in a regulation game in WNBA history, per Across The Timeline; point guard Kelsey Plum had 17 points on 6-for-14 shooting (1-7 3pt.), three rebounds, eight assists, and two steals against five turnovers; combo forward Dearica Hamby notched 20 points on 8-for-10 FG (3-3 3pt.), eight rebounds, and three steals against four turnovers.

Big Nneka Ogwumike led the Sparks with 16 points on 5-for-13 shooting (2-4 3pt.), nine rebounds (three offensive), and two steals; combo forward Katie Lou Samuelson had 13 points on 4-for-6 FG (1-2 3pt.), three rebounds, and two steals without a turnover.