The 2019 WNBA season tips off on Friday night, and it’s set up to be one of the best season ever. The best-of-the-best teams are STACKED this time around, making the champion virtually unpredictable. Four teams stand out with similar title odds — Mystics, Sparks, Aces and Mercury — and each is equipped with multiple All-Stars.
The 7 best things that will happen in the WNBA this season
All of these predictions are totally coming true.
Liz Cambage, the league’s leading scorer, is a Vegas Ace now. Chiney Ogwumike, an All-Star center, joined her MVP sister Nneka AND Candace Parker in Los Angeles. The Mystics’ Elena Delle Donne is (hopefully) healthy again and can team with elite scoring big Emma Meesseman, who’s back in the league after a one-year hiatus. Once Diana Taurasi returns from a back injury, Phoenix will roll.
This is going to be FUN!
To ring in the new season, I won’t give you the usual awards prediction list, because frankly, it’s hard to guess and I’m not trying to get things wrong. Instead, here are seven moments I’m confident will happen at some point.
In no particular order:
1. There will be a new Liz Cambage meme
If you don’t know Liz Cambage, it won’t take you too long to learn how entertaining she is. The 6’8, three-point shooting, league-leading scoring center is incredible to watch on the floor, and she matches that energy off it.
Liz went viral when she fixed a nail on the bench:
And when she told a ref to open her eyes:
She danced on a bus when her technical foul got rescinded:
She twerked with hummus:
And with a speaker:
And did whatever this is:
Liz, we’re ready for more!
2. Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell will cross someone up
Don’t mess with the Fever’s No. 2 pick from last season As a rookie, Kelsey shattered the ankles of anyone in her path in embarrassing fashion.
Imagine Kelsey in Year 2!
3. Gabby Williams will make The Pass, Part 2
If you haven’t seen this pass from former UConn star and current Chicago Sky forward Gabby Williams yet, please stop reading and watch:
Part two is coming. I promise.
4. Odyssey Sims is going to hit a buzzer-beater over the Sparks
The L.A. Sparks and Minnesota Lynx have storied beef and an addiction to playing nail-biting close games. They can’t help themselves. It’s only right that the rivalry between teams who split to back-to-back Finals in 2016 and 2017 enters a weirder chapter.
In the offseason, Minnesota traded trade for Sims, a point guard who was once their mortal enemy. Former Lynx player Lindsay Whalen flagrant fouled her and called the fine she received the best $200 she ever spent.
Now, Sims is her replacement! It’s only right Odyssey becomes a Lynx legend.
5. A Diana Taurasi dagger will ruin someone’s night
Taurasi is known for landing knife-to-the-chest daggers in crunch time for wins. It’s what she does, and always has. Last year’s semifinals was no different.
Taurasi will miss some time due to a back surgery, but when she returns, she’ll be back in business.
6. A’ja Wilson and Liz Cambage are going to do something hilarious on the court
Teaming two of the best talents in the world and two of the league’s most hilarious personalities off it is an absolute dream for fans. If there’s one thing other than play basketball that these two know how to do, it’s HAVE FUN.
They’ve been teammates in Las Vegas for a week, and already we have this:
7. The famous Katie Lou Samuelson meme will make a return
Real UConn fans will remember this meme that Gabby Williams used of her then-teammate, Katie Lou:
It’s hilarious and perfect.
I’ve tried using it, and you should too:
Now that Williams and Samuelson are reunited as members of the Chicago Sky, it has to come back, or else I’ll make it.
