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This week on The IX Sports Podcast, host Jackie Powell is joined by guest host Maggie Hendricks, who also serves as the Chicago Sky beat reporter for The IX Sports.
The pair started off the podcast by recapping the news that the Phoenix Mercury parted ways with DeWanna Bonner to allow her to chase a championship in what may be her last season before retiring. Bonner signed with the Atlanta Dream.
“In Atlanta, they have so many great players, but they’re really not battle tested, and they they need somebody to say, ‘Hey, this is how we’re going to do it.’ And DeWanna has been in every high pressure situation you can think of in the WNBA. She has been on championship teams. She’s been to the WNBA Finals many times when she was with the Sun, she was there a bunch of times. So like she understands what needs to happen for teams to win championships, and they need that voice,” Hendricks said.
Then they moved on to discuss the situation that took place at Sunday’s Indiana Fever at Chicago Sky game.
One of the former NBA players who is attempting to ‘join’ the WNBA showed up at the game Sunday and was ejected after stepping over a group of photographers and behaving in a way that was threatening the players. The man then went on Fox News on Monday night and said that the Chicago Sky invited him. The owner of the Sky, Michael Alter, made it clear to Chicago media that the ex-NBA player was not invited by the Sky. Alter also said it was his decision not to inform the team. The ex-NBA player is now banned from Wintrust Arena.
You can hear more of their discussion on the episode.
Back in the world of basketball, Powell posed a big question to Hendricks: does defense in the WNBA still win championships.
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The pair used the example of the Indiana Fever, which has the best offense in the WNBA, but the 11th-ranked defense.
“And so it’s really this question of sure these offenses are potent, but is this really what is going to help teams like this get to where they want to go?” Powell asked.
Hendricks argued that much of it comes down to the playoffs just being a different entity from the regular season.
“The playoffs ask more of these players. The games are fast. There’s bigger spotlight. There’s more media. There’s more everything, and the games mean so much, and players need to understand that feeling,” Hendricks said.
Tune in to the episode to hear more about defense — and some news about Unrivaled.
Make sure to subscribe to The IX Sports Podcast for in-depth coverage of women’s soccer, hockey and basketball; and tune in each weekday morning for a quick overview of the biggest headlines on Women’s Sports Daily, like WNBA news and PWHL expansion updates.
