September 28, 2024
Locked On Women’s Basketball: Forgotten teams in WNBA history
By The Next
How much do you know about teams like the 2000 Phoenix Mercury and the 2002 Orlando Miracle?
In the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, Hunter Cruse, Em Adler and Lincoln Shafer decide to travel back in time and revisit WNBA teams of the past. They spin two wheels to determine where in WNBA history they’ll end up, with one wheel selecting the year (1997-2015) and one selecting the team.
Continue reading with a subscription to The Next
Get unlimited access to women’s basketball coverage and help support our hardworking staff of writers, editors, and photographers by subscribing today.
Already a member?
Login
The first team the wheels select is the 2000 Phoenix Mercury. Under head coach Cheryl Miller, that team went 20-12, a five-win improvement over 1999, and lost in the Western Conference semifinals to the Los Angeles Sparks. Its top players included forward Brandy Reed, guard Tonya Edwards and forward/center Jennifer Gillom. Here’s Adler on Reed:
“This is one of two Brandy Reed seasons. One of the most lost players in in league history, [she was an] absolute frickin’ star for two and a half seasons, and then we’re not going to talk about what happened afterwards. … If you’ve never heard of her, there are reasons, but she was absolutely insane and probably deserved to finish, like, top-three in MVP [voting] twice.”
Save 28% on The Next during the WNBA playoffs!
The 2024 WNBA playoffs are here, and we have a reporter in every market ready to bring you the latest coverage of your favorite team. Make sure you don’t miss any of the action by subscribing now and saving 28% in honor of the 28th WNBA season.
Later in the episode, the wheels land on the 2002 Orlando Miracle, who became the Connecticut Sun a year later. The Miracle were led in 2002 by Dee Brown, went 16-16 and missed the playoffs. Their best players included guard Shannon Johnson, forward/guard Nykesha Sales and forward Wendy Palmer. Adler explains where the franchise was at this point in WNBA history:
“This is the last year before Mike Thibault gets there [as head coach and general manager]. So what that means is you have a lot of players who basically don’t perform as well as they do in any other season of their career, except for Wendy Palmer, who just randomly shoots super well from three and stops committing a lethal amount of turnovers.”
Get 24/7 soccer coverage with The Equalizer
The Next is partnering with The Equalizer to bring more women’s sports stories to your inbox. Subscribers to The Next receive 50% off their subscription to The Equalizer for 24/7 coverage of women’s soccer.
Make sure to subscribe to the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast to keep learning about the WNBA, women’s college basketball, basketball history and much more!
Add Locked On Women’s Basketball to your daily routine
Here at The Next, in addition to the 24/7/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.