What's Going On With The WNBA
Paige Bueckers #5 of the Dallas Wings reacts during the first half against the Indiana Fever in a preseason game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on April 30, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. GettyIn a very unexpected fashion, the WNBA announced that Thursday night’s matchup between the New York Liberty and Dallas Wings was abruptly postponed.
The decision stemmed from travel delays caused by mechanical issues with the Liberty’s charter flight.
“The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) game between the New York Liberty and the Dallas Wings, originally scheduled for tonight at 8:00 p.m. CT (9:00 p.m. ET), has been postponed due to travel delays caused by mechanical issues with the New York Liberty’s charter flight,” the WNBA’s statement read.
Will the Game Be Rescheduled?The two teams will have a quick turnaround, as the matchup has been rescheduled for Monday, July 20, in Dallas.
The game will tip off at 8 p.m. ET, and the Wings will honor all tickets purchased for the original Thursday night matchup.
The Dallas Wings vs New York Liberty game at 8pm CT today has been postponed and will now be played on Monday, July 20 at 7pm CT. pic.twitter.com/Zg2SoddO7m
— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) July 16, 2026
Liberty and Wings 2026 BreakdownThis was expected to be an exciting matchup featuring plenty of star power, headlined by Paige Bueckers of the Wings and Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu of the Liberty.
New York enters the matchup with a 13-11 record but has dealt with injury issues throughout the season. Both Ionescu and Satou Sabally have missed more than 10 games.
As for the Wings, they have made a significant leap from where they finished last season. Dallas currently sits at 16-8 and is riding a five-game winning streak. However, the team will first face the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday before taking on New York on Monday.
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It will be UConn women’s basketball vs. South Carolina. Again.
The Huskies defeated the Gamecocks 82-59 in the championship game of the NCAA Women’s Tournament in 2025. South Carolina ousted previously undefeated UConn 62-48 in a national semifinal this past April.
The third part of the recent trilogy will come July 25 in the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game at United Center in Chicago.
UConn vs. South Carolina all-starsRosters were selected Wednesday with the two top vote-getters – Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings and Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever – each assigned to a team.
Former WNBA greats Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon were named honorary general managers and tasked with building the roster around each of the young star guards, with Weatherspoon drafting for Clark’s team (called Team Spoon) and Cooper for Bueckers’ squad (Team Coop).
With the first pick, Weatherspoon chose A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces; Cooper selected Breanna Stewart with her first-round pick.
And by the time they were done, Bueckers’ team had three UConn alumni. Clark is joined by three former South Carolina players.
UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards (3) takes a shot over South Carolina forward Aliyah Boston during the second half of the 2022 national championship game in Minneapolis. South Carolina won the title, 64–49, Kirby Lee-Imagn ImagesThe rostersThese are the full rosters, as chosen by Weatherspoon and Cooper – both members of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The first five players listed for each squad are the starters.
Team Coop
Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings
Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty
Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana Fever
Natasha Howard, Minnesota Lynx
Gabby Williams, Golden State Valkyries
Angel Reese, Atlanta Dream
Marina Mabrey, Toronto Tempo
Dominique Malonga, Seattle Storm
Kelsey Plum, Los Angeles Sparks
Jackie Young, Las Vegas Aces
Sonia Citron, Washington Mystics
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) and Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) were the leading vote-getters in WNBA All-Star balloting. Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn ImagesTeam Spoon
Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever
A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
Olivia Miles, Minnesota Lynx
Aliyah Boston, Indiana Fever
Jessica Shepard, Dallas Wings
Rhyne Howard, Atlanta Dream
Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream
Jonquel Jones, New York Liberty
Courtney Williams, Minnesota Lynx
Kiki Iriafen, Washington Mystics
Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles Sparks
Bueckers, Stewart and Gabby Williams are the UConn alumni on Team Coop.
Team Spoon includes former South Carolina players Wilson, Boston and Gray.
Who to watch?The best matchup of UConn vs. South Carolina players undoubtedly is Stewart vs. Wilson. Both 6-foot-4, they are two of the most dominant players of this generation, with a lengthy list of honors to prove it.
Stewart was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2016 WNBA Draft by the Seattle Storm. She is a three-time NBA champion (2018, 2020 with the Storm, 2024 with the Liberty) a two-time league MVP and an eight-time All-Star.
The Aces made Wilson the No. 1 pick of the 2018 draft. She also is a three-time NBA champion (2022, 2023, 2025), a four-time league MVP and an eight-time All-Star.
Both players have August birthdays. Stewart will be 32, with Wilson turning 30.
On the season, Stewart is averaging 20.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists. Wilson has averages of 25.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists.
Wilson leads the league in points per game. Stewart is sixth. Both stand behind Reese, who averages 11.8 rebounds per game, on that leaderboard.
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Sophie Cunningham’s rise to mainstream popularity has been meteoric. From going viral for her fearless attitude on-court to becoming friends with UFC President Dana White, Cunningham has built a presence outside the sport. She even got a cameo as a ring girl between rounds during the UFC 329 co-main event on July 11. Now, WNBA analyst Jemele Hill has spoken about the Fever guard’s growing fame.
“She also has the podcast. She has some exclusive shoe dropping on Adidas. And people are gonna think I’m saying this with shade, but I’m just saying this as a point of fact is that rarely do you see someone whose career average is 8 points per game receive this level of attention,” Hill said on Wednesday’s episode of their Flagrant and Funny podcast.
“There’s a lot of reasons for it. One, I think she’s fiery, outspoken. She’s attractive, straight, white, and she has gotten this brand now of being Caitlin Clark’s fiercest protector… I want people to understand. I’m saying it’s a factor. I’m not saying it’s the number one reason.”
Cunningham had nothing like this level of visibility before her move to the Indiana Fever. Specifically, her popularity began soaring in 2025 after she aggressively defended Clark and was ejected after an altercation involving Jacy Sheldon. Since then, fans have looked at Cunningham as the ‘enforcer’ for Clark.
In fact, this season, it was while stepping in to defend Clark that she produced the now-iconic 22-second finger-pointing gesture against DeWanna Bonner. It landed her appearances on a show with James Corden. And it eventually earned her the UFC ring girl cameo.
Hill also said that Cunningham has tapped into her rising popularity to benefit from it.
“She’s very aware of being a media darling right now and looking to capitalize on this and understands that entertainment is part of her game.”
And Sophie Cunningham herself confirmed it while speaking on the Sons and Daughters podcast about a week ago. Cunningham explained why she has taken advantage of the opportunities that come after going viral.
“I am not ignorant. I know that if you use this platform, once the ball stops bouncing, you’re setting yourself up for success. And the players need to start doing that because we don’t make enough money.”
The WNBA guard has built a strong social media presence and is actively trying to develop a presence outside of basketball. At 29, the Indiana Fever player is already preparing for the time when she has to step away from pro basketball.
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That matchup, originally set for Thursday night at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, was rescheduled to Monday night. Tipoff will be 7 p.m. CT; broadcast details are still being finalized.
Liberty coaches and players detailed their travel delay on social media Wednesday, with assistant coach Kristen Mann sharing on Instagram that the team spent nine hours on the plane and went “nowhere.” The Liberty remained in New York on Thursday and were scheduled to fly to Indiana on Friday ahead of Saturday’s game vs. the Fever.
Liberty rookie Pauline Astier also took to her Instagram story at around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday to share that after 10 hours, the team’s plane was still on the tarmac: “10h après toujours sur le tamarac,” she wrote, accompanied by a picture of her sitting alongside Liberty developmental player Marine Fauthoux.
The Liberty did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
Dallas became aware shortly before midnight that the Liberty were having plane issues and the game could be affected. But the switch on the Wings’ side was clearly less dramatic: A gameday shootaround became a practice, and the focus turned to prep for an upcoming game with the Los Angeles Sparks.
“It was definitely a weird wakeup,” Dallas guard Azzi Fudd said. “But I think we did a great job pivoting.”
Heavy rain and thunderstorms in north Texas led to hundreds of flight delays as the Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field on Wednesday.
Thunderstorms also swept across the greater New York City area late Wednesday afternoon, triggering delays at the city’s three major airports.
The WNBA attributed the postponement to travel delays as a result of mechanical issues with the Liberty’s charter flight, not weather.
The Wings, meanwhile, will now play a back-to-back, hosting the Sparks on Sunday before playing the rescheduled game against the Liberty.
“We saw this type of stuff in college,” said Dallas coach Jose Fernandez, who’s in his first season after 25 years at South Florida. “I’m a firm believer that you control what you can control. Sometimes chaos is good (to test) how you respond to it. I thought these guys really responded.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
New York Liberty, Dallas Wings, WNBA
2026 The Athletic Media Company
Paige Bueckers would rather not need to channel fourth-quarter Paige as much as she has already this season for the Dallas Wings.
The two-time All-Star paces the league with 138 points scored in the fourth quarter of 19 games, more than the 126 of Breanna Stewart (22 games) and Kahleah Copper (29 games) through Wednesday. Her clutch play creates appointment viewing late into the night, but it's not a point of pride she wants to keep up for a championship-contending roster.
"It's a bad habit for me and the team," Bueckers said on the Yahoo Sports Hoops 360 podcast this week. "If you watch a lot of our games, we're trailing at the end of the third and we're starting off slow in the second half. And we have to find a will to win in the fourth. And I hate that about us."
The Wings (16-8) are clinging to a No. 4 playoff seed at the midway point of the season, trailing league-leading Minnesota by a mere 2.5 games. In half of their wins, they've come back from a fourth-quarter deficit — a stat tied with the Washington Mystics (12-10) for most in the league.
The fourth-quarter theatrics were required in a 96-91 win over the Chicago Sky on Sunday that extended their winning streak to five. All three wins over Chicago arrived via double-digit comebacks, tying the mark for most double-digit comeback wins over a single opponent in a single season in WNBA history.
Dallas won the fourth, 30-18, with a balanced scoresheet from Bueckers (8 points, 3 of 6), Arike Ogunbowale (8 points, 3 of 5), Jessica Shepard (8, 4 of 4), Azzi Fudd (6 points, 2 of 3 from 3). Bueckers scored a game-high 22, including the first six points of the fourth to pull within five. Five of her 11 assists were in the fourth.
"As a team collectively, I wish and I hope that we're going to start not waiting until the fourth to really lock in and hone in on the details and show that level of competition," Bueckers said. "We want to embrace that for the entire 40 minutes. There's something about the Wings in the fourth quarter, we just, I don't know, ultra lock in."
The Wings successfully will their way in the fourth, averaging 22.4 ppg, a mark that ranks fourth in the league, but it's the third quarter where they're the most productive at a third-best 24.1 ppg. The first halves require it, with a 10th-best 20.8 ppg in the first and a bump to 21.5 (sixth) in the second. Bueckers scored 106 points in the first quarter of games, an output far outpaced by tone-setting four-time MVP A'ja Wilson (164).
There is an upside. Dallas is learning early in the campaign how to win late, an asset that will only boost their prospects in October. The Wings are building chemistry and relationship equity with a roster featuring Bueckers and Ogunbowale as the only returning starters.
Fudd, the No. 1 overall WNBA Draft pick out of UConn, slotted in after a few games coming off the bench. She leads all rookies in steals (40) and ranks fourth in the league at 1.7 per game. Shepard, the offseason acquisition from Minnesota, is a runaway choice for Most Improved with three triple-doubles and a regularly deep stat line. She was named an All-Star for the first time in her career, joining Bueckers as a starter. Center Awak Kuier is averaging career-highs upon entering the regular starting lineup for the first time in her four years.
"It's a we over me mentality," Bueckers said of first-year head coach Jose Fernandez's system. "And I think part of that, too, is having a really deep team and a really competitive team and people that, so many people that can contribute to winning basketball."
Dallas, fresh off winning the No. 1 draft pick in back-to-back seasons, is looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2023. The Wings reached the semifinals in the old single-elimination first-round format, and were swiftly knocked out by the Aces in three games of the best-of-five. The franchise last played in the Finals in 2008, its third championship in six years as the Detroit Shock. It moved to Tulsa in 2010 and Dallas in 2016.
The Wings eclipsed their 2025 win total of 10 by the 16th game of the season. More than half of their losses are to the Dream (0-2) and Lynx (0-3), with one each left to play against them. They've already notched series wins over the powerhouse Aces (2-1) and Liberty (2-0). Dallas' Thursday game against the sliding Liberty (13-11) was postponed due to mechanical issues with New York's plane. They'll play Monday at 8 p.m. ET instead.
Rosters for this month’s WNBA All-Star Game were revealed on Wednesday, as legends Teresa Weatherspoon and Cynthia Cooper each drafted teams for the game on July 25.
Cooper and Weatherspoon were named special general managers for the game as part of the league’s 30th season celebration.
Cooper went to college at USC, but she seemed to have an affinity for UConn players in her draft selections, as all three Husky All-Stars ended up on her team. Cooper won a pre-draft coin flip that landed her the top All-Star vote-getter, which was former Huskies star Paige Bueckers, now with the Dallas Wings.
Bueckers led all players with 1,045,051 votes from fans. Weatherspoon landed Caitlin Clark, the No. 2 vote getter, who received 1,023,321 votes.
She then selected the Liberty’s Breanna Stewart with her first pick, and took Valkyries forward Gabby Williams with her fifth pick. All three will go up against Team Weatherspoon in the All-Star Game in Chicago (July 25, 8:30 p.m., ABC).
Paige Bueckers named WNBA All-Star starter for second straight season; to join two other Huskies
Team CoopPaige Bueckers (Dallas Wings)
Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty)
Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana Fever)
Natasha Howard (Minnesota Lynx)
Gabby Williams (Golden State Valkyries)
Angel Reese (Atlanta Dream)
Marina Mabrey (Toronto Tempo)
Dominique Malonga (Seattle Storm)
Kelsey Plum (Los Angeles Sparks)
Jackie Young (Las Vegas Aces)
Sonia Citron (Washington Mystics)
Caitlin Clark (Indiana Fever)
A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces)
Olivia Miles (Minnesota Lynx)
Aliyah Boston (Indiana Fever)
Jessica Shepard (Dallas Wings)
Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream)
Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream)
Jonquel Jones (New York Liberty)
Courtney Williams (Minnesota Lynx)
Kiki Iriafen (Washington Mystics)
Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles Sparks)
Planes, trains and automobiles were incapable of getting the New York Liberty to Texas on time.
The Liberty were scheduled to play the Dallas Wings at 9 p.m. ET Thursday, but the game was postponed. The WNBA said the game was postponed due to travel delays caused by mechanical issues with the Liberty's charter flight.
The game is being rescheduled for Monday, July 20, 2025, at 8 p.m. ET, and the WNBA said the Wings will honor all tickets purchased for the original game.
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Liberty player Pauline Astier aired her frustrations about the plane to her Instagram story Wednesday night.
"10h après toujours sur le tamarac," she wrote, which translates to, "10 hours later, still on the tarmac."
According to the New York Post, the Liberty switched planes once before eventually deplaning around 12:30 a.m. ET.
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New York City dealt with thunderstorms throughout Wednesday afternoon. With the travel delays, the Liberty canceled its shootaround Thursday.
The Liberty are fourth in the Eastern Conference at 13-11. However, they have struggled of late, having lost seven of their last 10 games, including each of their last three.
With the schedule change due to the plane issues, the Liberty will be playing three games in a span of five days in three different cities. They play the Indiana Fever on Saturday on the road, the Wings on the road on Monday and the Chicago Sky back in New York on Wednesday.
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New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu fights for control of the ball with Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd during the first half of a WNBA game in New York.The Wings are 16-8 on the season and have won five straight. The schedule change for them means they are playing three games in a span of four days.
The Wings play the Los Angeles Sparks at home on Sunday before hosting the Liberty on Monday. They then travel to play the Portland Fire on Wednesday.
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Original article source:WNBA postpones game between Wings and Liberty due to mechanical issues with plane
Caitlin Clark was infamously left off the last U.S. Olympic women's basketball team in Paris in 2024.
Two years later, the controversy surrounding the WNBA's handling of Clark has reached many corners of the sports world, and caught the attention of Olympians from multiple countries.
After weeks of controversy, ignited by a punch to Clark's throat by another player and has since featured Clark screaming in the face of referees on Wednesday night, eight Olympians across three countries have come forward to Fox News Digital to speak out against the WNBA in defense of Clark.
"The WNBA needs the courage to act decisively for athlete safety. Caitlin Clark is a generational superstar, but she deserves the same protection as every player," Hogshead told Fox News Digital.
"The WNBA cannot continue to allow any dangerous conduct to go unchecked. A fist pressed against a player's throat is never 'just part of the game.' It's wildly unacceptable. WNBA: Enforce your rules, hold offenders accountable, and put athlete safety first."
"As an Olympian, I’ve always believed sports has never been about what you look like or where you come from. It’s always been finding the answer to the one pressing question: can the champion stay on top, or can the next contender rise up and take their place? The athletes who prepare the hardest, perform when the pressure is the hardest, and deliver in the biggest moments are the ones who earn respect. Caitlin Clark has done exactly that. Yet instead of celebrating her elite competition, too much of the conversation has shifted to who she is rather than what she’s accomplished," Watson told Fox News Digital.
"She has faced repeated hard fouls and relentless criticism, that if roles were reversed people would now use race as an excuse and the league always looks like it’s reacting instead of leading.The reality is that Caitlin Clark brought unprecedented attention back to the WNBA.
"The league had passionate fans before she arrived, but her impact expanded the audience in a way that’s hard to ignore. That’s what transcendent athletes do for their generation, they elevate the sport. Every era has someone willing to push the standard higher, and that’s how sports grow.
"Her legacy is already taking shape. The challenge now isn’t proving if she belongs because she has already shown that. It’s continuing to perform at an elite level while the league does its part to protect its players and let the competition, not the controversy, be the headline story.
President Ronald Reagan with Donna de Varona as they address the Women's Sports Foundation."For those of us pioneers who had no college or professional sports opportunities and have worked tirelessly to elevate all women in sports, the abuse behavior directed at Caitlin Clark is disrespectful and shortsighted. A talented performer in any sport lifts up everyone. Players who do not understand this are undermining the WNBA," de Varona told Fox News Digital.
"Holy Cow! That’s what I thought when seeing a fist on Caitlin’s throat. Then to hear Sophie [Cunningham] say she feels they are targeting her? What’s being done about this?" Uhlaender told Fox News Digital.
"Safety is not a political issue. All players deserve fair play, safety, and sports are at their best when the focus is on the game, not on whether the integrity of the officials are up to standard. If athletes are questioning the officials, what is the WNBA doing to address that? I want to see the integrity of the rules upheld consistently, so should the WNBA."
Steffen Gebhardt of Germany rides Vito during modern pentathlon riding at the Olympic Summer Games in London."The goal of every functional sports league should be to promote the sport and the athletes in the sport. The goal of all of the athletes in the league should be to showcase their athleticism to the fans. When the public focus of the league becomes peripheral drama having nothing to do with the fundamental sport, the league will always suffer," Gebhardt told Fox News Digital.
Eli Bremer of the United States celebrates in the men's modern pentathlon fencing epee one touch at the Olympic Games on Aug. 21, 2008, in Beijing, China."The WNBA never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Having spent years falling all over themselves seemingly trying to build a social movement rather than an actual sports league, they are now botching a once in a generation opportunity with an athlete like Caitlin Clark," Bremer told Fox News Digital.
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"If the WNBA wants to become a truly relevant sports league that offers women a high-paid professional opportunity, they will need to clear out the petty drama and focus on building a world-class sporting operation that supports their star athletes."
"I noticed that after the letter was sent by members of Congress, news media called out the 11th best player vote by fellow players, criticism of the officiating. The last game changed from gutter/thug ball to professional ball. I hope Caitlin is finally going to be recognized as a passionate athlete and a generational player. Celebrate her, her awesome teammates, and the WNBA. All should thrive, instead of this ripping apart everything to its demise," Thompson told Fox News Digital.
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"The WNBA has not been aggressive enough in protecting Caitlin Clark. Every player in the league deserves the same safeguards when they step on the court. The WNBA’s responsibility is to enforce its rules consistently and make it clear that talent should be challenged by great basketball, not by unchecked cheap shots," Zimmerman told Fox News Digital.
Original article source:Olympians speak out against WNBA for handling of Caitlin Clark