A WNBA update: What’s hot and what’s not

The GIST: We’re not US Weekly, but we are about to spill the tea on what’s hot and what’s not in the WNBA. On-court action and off-court chatter? You came to the right place.

🔥 Golden State Valkyries win back-to-back games: Don’t look now, but the expansion squad is absolutely balling. The Valkyries had dropped four straight heading into Saturday’s game against A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces, but they’ve been scorching since, crushing the Aces by 27 points on Saturday before beating the LA Sparks 89–81 in overtime on Monday.

• Speaking of LA, Kelsey Plum also falls into the “hot” category, but it’s not because of her on-court performance (though she did net 24 points against Golden State). The Sparks star was incensed after Monday’s game, ripping the officiating during the physical affair.

❄️ Injuries take center stage: No squad has escaped unscathed — just ask any WNBA fantasy manager. And while Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers is back, 20 players are sidelined with injuries, including Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark, reigning finals MVP and NY Liberty juggernaut Jonquel Jones, and Chicago Sky legend Courtney Vandersloot, who’ll miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.

• A potential culprit? Scheduling — and the Phoenix Mercury’s Satou Sabally isn’t happy about it. The Mercury recently had nine games in 18 days, while some squads, like the Washington Mystics and Connecticut Sun, are off all week. The math just isn’t mathing.