The WNBA is already full speed ahead into the second half of the season, and it is going to be a sprint to the finish. Regular-season action ends in exactly one month, with each team packing 12-14 games in the final stretch.

As players re-acclimate to following the Olympic break and make one last push for the postseason, here is a look at which teams I project will make the playoffs as well as a to-do list for each team to focus on to be in the best possible position come playoff time.

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Playoff-bound

1. New York Liberty

Stay the course

The Liberty remind me of the Aces at this point last season. New York is the best team in the league, and a couple of bad games or a bad week won’t change that, just as an August swoon for Las Vegas didn’t prevent the Aces from repeating as champs. It will be interesting to see if the Liberty choose to chase the single-season wins record of 34, set by the Aces last year. New York can also tie the best winning percentage of all-time — the Houston Comets won 90 percent of their games in 1998 — by winning out, but that might be a Pyrrhic victory if the Liberty tire themselves out and don’t cap off the season with a ring. Just ask the 2016 Golden State Warriors.

The bag was DEEP and the Libs closed the West Coast tour out the right way

PHOENIX — At halftime of Saturday’s WNBA All-Star Game, Arike Ogunbowale received a bit of a surprise. Team WNBA coach Cheryl Miller was talking about the group’s first half performance — which saw it enter the locker room trailing by two points — but paused amid her comments and pointed at the Dallas Wings star. Ogunbowale said Miller told her to “take a deep breath and play your game.”

Coming out of the locker room, Ogunbowale did. The former league scoring champion collected all of her All-Star Game-record 34 points in the second half.

“You guys saw what happened,” she said, reflecting on how she took Miller’s advice to heart.

Ogunbowale’s scoring barrage saw her claim her second All-Star MVP and will go down as the most memorable performance of the night. But there were plenty of other moments that delighted the sellout Phoenix crowd during Team WNBA’s 117-109 victory.

Here’s a breakdown and grade for every player who participated.

Team WNBA

Starters

Nneka Ogwumike: B+

Ogwumike was among the tone-setters for Team WNBA. She got off to a fast start — with 1:35 left in the first quarter, she had scored what was then a game-high 8 points. Her 14 points were the third-most of any Team WNBA participant and she missed only two shots.

DeWanna Bonner: B-

Bonner…

In the midst of the most highly touted WNBA rookie class in recent memory, or perhaps league history, I’ve been a bit negligent on spotlighting the veterans in 2024. Rather than focus on the WNBA’s newest entrants, let’s take a look at the opposite side of the coin as we head into the midseason break: the 40 players in the league who are at least 30 years old.

First, one caveat: This group excludes players who are already All-Stars or Olympians. A quick hat tip to DeWanna Bonner, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Griner, Dearica Hamby, Jonquel Jones, Jewell Loyd, Kayla McBride, Nneka Ogwumike, Diana Taurasi and Alyssa Thomas. They’ve already received recognition. With that in mind, here is my All-30-and-Older team.

At point guard, Natasha Cloud. In her first season in Phoenix, Cloud is posting the best 2-point percentage of her career, along with her highest assists, blocks and steals per game. The 32-year-old guard is the fulcrum of the Mercury’s unique defensive approach, as she guards the point of attack and the post, and she allows Phoenix to play without a traditional power forward because she can defend fours. When the Mercury missed three starters against the Sparks last week, Cloud stepped in as the No. 1 offensive option, scoring a career-high 31 points, including the…

A decade ago at the WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix, two rookies became the story. One had been drafted No. 1. The other heard her name called just inside the top 10. Sound familiar?

Ten years later, history seems poised to repeat itself when the All-Star Game tips off in Phoenix in a few weeks.

Then, it was Atlanta Dream guard Shoni Schimmel who took center stage. Schimmel scored a then-All-Star record 29 points and had 8 assists. She led her team to an overtime victory. For her efforts, she was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. “They call her Showtime Schimmel,” fellow All-Star Tamika Catchings said afterward. “She came out and put on a great show.”

Chiney Ogwumike, who was the top pick by the Connecticut Sun, was the other rookie who played in the 2014 showcase. She and her sister, Nneka Ogwumike, were both top draft picks, joining Eli and Peyton Manning as siblings to hold that distinction in the history of the four major U.S. sports leagues and the WNBA. In Phoenix, they became the first sisters to participate in the same WNBA All-Star Game.

The countdown begins…

Get ready to witness the ultimate clash of talent as #WNBAAllStar meets the USA Women’s National Team on July 20th at 8:30pm/ET on ABC pic.twitter.com/oEyJciHmEx

— WNBA (@WNBA) July 3,…

The 2024 WNBA All-Star Game rosters are set with Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese making their debuts in the annual showcase later this month.

Clark, the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever in this year’s WNBA Draft, received the most votes in the fan-voting portion of the balloting. Having already won Rookie of the Month in May, she is leading all first-year players in scoring (16.2 points per game), assists (6.9 per game), and is second league-wide in 3-pointers made (56).

On Tuesday, Reese, the No. 7 pick to the Chicago Sky, was named Rookie of the Month for June. This past weekend, she set a single-season WNBA record for consecutive double-doubles (10), and she led the WNBA in rebounding entering Tuesday night’s action. Like Clark, Reese finished in the top five of the fan vote.

The countdown begins…

Get ready to witness the ultimate clash of talent as #WNBAAllStar meets the USA Women’s National Team on July 20th at 8:30pm/ET on ABC pic.twitter.com/oEyJciHmEx

— WNBA (@WNBA) July 3, 2024

The two rookies are the only two first-time participants in the exhibition, which is set for July 20 in Phoenix.

“I’m just so happy. I know the work I put in,” Reese said. “Coming into this league, so many people doubted me, didn’t think my game would translate and I…

The Athletic has launched a new series of sports debates in which two writers break down a specific topic. In this WNBA edition, Sabreena Merchant and Ben Pickman consider the candidates for their All-Star ballots.

Ben Pickman: It’s that time of the year again when we think about who should make the WNBA All-Star Game. The annual exhibition is scheduled for July 20, with fan voting set to end Saturday. Sabreena, we both have official media ballots, which are due Friday. So let’s inevitably upset some people about where our heads are at for who should be in Phoenix. How’s that sound?

Sabreena Merchant: I’m more of a Commissioner’s Cup gal myself, but during Olympic years, the All-Star Game does take on a different level of intrigue because Team USA plays a roster of the *other* All-Stars in the WNBA. When I was putting together my initial ballot of who should make Team WNBA, I found myself drawn to which players create the best storylines competing against the national team.

Pickman: Already we have a difference of opinion as that didn’t cross my mind at all, though I guess maybe it should have considering this is an exhibition for the fans. When I was putting together my ballot, I tended not to think about Team USA at all, frankly. The exercise we’re tasked with…

NEW YORK — With less than a second to play in the fourth quarter and the result of Tuesday’s Commissioner’s Cup final all but officially decided, Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams began walking around the UBS Arena floor flashing the money sign.

Her teammate, guard Kayla McBride, was at the free throw line about to put the final two points on the Lynx’s 94-89 win over the New York Liberty. The result, as Williams’ gesture alluded, not only marked the organization’s first-ever Commissioner’s Cup championship but also came with a significant payday for the franchise’s players.

With a $500,000 payout to the winning team, each player’s bonus for winning the cup (around $40,000) is significantly more than winning the WNBA Finals (around $11,000). Presenting sponsor Coinbase has committed another $120,000 in cryptocurrency with $5,000 guaranteed for each player participating in the final, and there is a significant charity component, too.

Five Minnesota players scored in double figures, but it was guard Bridget Carleton who played her best game of the season. She scored 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting and added five assists. Forward Napheesa Collier had 21 points and six rebounds and took home MVP honors.

Make that 23 points for Bridget Carleton as she nails her…

The Athletic has launched a new series of sports debates in which two writers break down a specific topic. In this WNBA edition, Sabreena Merchant and Ben Pickman discuss the league’s rivalries.

Ben Pickman: Sabreena, did you know it was rivalry weekend last weekend in the WNBA? A stretch in which the league scheduled matchups, or at least markets, that are actual rivalries. Let’s use that as a jumping off point for this week’s conversation. Was there a rivalry game last week that caught your attention?

Sabreena Merchant: If you’re referring to Skylar Diggins-Smith’s first return to Phoenix, absolutely. I’d argue that prior to 2023, when Sue Bird retired, the Storm-Mercury games had a good run as the best rivalry in the WNBA. The 2018 semifinals: What a time!

Pickman: I think the recent Storm-Aces playoff series rivaled (no pun intended) that, too. I guess we’ll see what happens now, though, with Seattle and Phoenix.

Let’s really jump in, though, with another rivalry that some key participants —notably Indiana Fever coach Christie Sides — say has been around for a few years: Fever-Sky.

Merchant: Enlighten me, Ben. Prior to the arrival of this rookie class, when have Chicago-Indiana games been hotly contested?

Pickman: Well, I assume geography plays into it, and…

Julia Koch has an agreement to buy a 15 percent stake in BSE Global, the parent company of the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty and the Barclays Center, said a source briefed on the deal. The deal puts the valuation of the company at near $6 billion.

This is Koch’s first foray into sports ownership. She is the widow of David Koch, a billionaire who ran Koch Industries. David Koch became one of the richest men in the United States and was a prominent donor to the Republican Party.

Julia Koch will invest into BSE herself but intends to include her three children into the endeavor. She is the 23rd wealthiest person in the world, according to Forbes, with personal holdings valued at $64.3 billion. She inherited a 42 percent stake in Koch Industries when David died in 2019, according to Forbes. She sits on the board of directors for Koch Industries but her public profile has been muted.

Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai will maintain control of BSE and will still run both teams, but the transaction will also give Koch a right to make a first offer if there is a sale of control of the franchises.

Tsai bought control of the Nets from Mikhail Prokhorov, the franchise’s erstwhile owner, in 2019 in the second half of a two-stage sale. That transaction valued the franchise at $2.35 billion. He…

The sun has set on Connecticut’s undefeated start to the 2024 season.

In a rematch of last year’s WNBA semifinals, the New York Liberty won their fourth consecutive matchup against the Sun, this one an 82-75 win on the road at Mohegan Sun Arena. It was the Sun’s first loss of the year after starting the season 9-0, the seventh team in WNBA history to do so.

Now the Liberty are winners of six in a row and claimed a key victory over the rival Sun for the Commissioner’s Cup qualifying.

New York was led by Jonquel Jones, the former Connecticut MVP, who had 22 points, including nine in the fourth quarter as the Liberty outscored the Sun by 10 in the final period to earn the victory. Jones had a game-high four 3-pointers, clearing the paint for the New York guards, in particular Sabrina Ionescu.

Jones continued to torment her former team and was the best player on both ends of the floor. She had a versatile offensive attack, sprinkling in four 3-pointers and five buckets in the restricted area to go along with five assists. Her ability to space the floor allowed her to face up and find cutters, and that extra bit of playmaking was key for a Liberty offense missing starting point guard Courtney Vandersloot.

COAST 2️⃣ COAST @jus242 pic.twitter.com/xl0oXYSDfy

— New York…