The Seattle Storm and forward Gabby Williams agreed to a rest-of-season contract, the team announced Tuesday. The deal comes after Williams led the French national team in points (15.5) and assists (2.3) en route to earning a silver medal at the Paris Olympics and nearly defeating the Americans.

Williams, 27, played a career-low 10 games for the Storm last season, but her 8.4 points and 3.8 assists are career bests. The UConn product was selected by the Chicago Sky as the No. 4 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, where she spent the first three seasons of her career.

“I’m so excited to be joining the Storm for the rest of the season,” Williams said in a statement. “I feel more than ready to finally return to Seattle. I’ve missed the organization, my teammates and the fans so much. I absolutely can’t wait to come back and finish the season strong.”

GUESS WHO’S BACK

Welcome home, @gabbywilliams15!

https://t.co/AexknHfEZI pic.twitter.com/CJrlm8bqnb

— Seattle Storm (@seattlestorm) August 20, 2024

Seattle coach Noelle Quinn appears to be equally excited to have Williams back with the Storm.

“We’re thrilled to have Gabby back with the Storm,” Quinn said. “Gabby is a dynamic player who brings tremendous versatility. She’s a two-way player…

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…

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…

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…

Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark, her teammates and coach are frustrated by the team’s 1-8 start, which continued Thursday with a 103-88 loss to the Seattle Storm. And that frustration extends to the officiating.

Fever coach Christie Sides received a technical foul in the third quarter for protesting a non-call on one of Clark’s drives to the basket Thursday.

“We’ve just got to get better with the officiating,” Sides said. “We’ve got to get some of those calls. I feel like they’re getting some calls that’s happening on our end as well and I just don’t feel like we’re getting some of those.”

Clark, who scored 20 points, said she appreciated Sides picking up a technical while answering a question about her own competitiveness.

“I feel like I’m getting hammered,” said Clark, who finished 6-of-17 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.

Indiana’s postgame frustration also centered on its defense, which is allowing a league-worst 91.2 points per game. Seattle scored 34 points in the third quarter Thursday, turning a six-point game at the half into a 22-point rout.

“The third quarter was when we lost the game,” Clark said. “I just thought our defensive rotations were bad. … It’s not really about our offense. It was our defense….

Following a historic playing career with the Seattle Storm, Sue Bird is re-joining the franchise, this time as a member of the organization’s ownership group.

The Storm announced the news Wednesday but did not disclose Bird’s stake in the franchise.

“As a player, I poured my heart into every game for the Seattle Storm, and now, as part of the ownership group, I am thrilled to continue contributing to the growth of the game,” Bird said in a statement. “Investing in women’s sports isn’t just about passion; it’s smart business. It’s about recognizing the immense talent, dedication, and market potential our league has always had. Force 10 Hoops and the Storm have been at the forefront of this for decades. Together, we’re not just shaping the future of basketball, but also paving the way for a more equitable and inclusive society.”

The Storm’s ownership group, Force 10 Hoops, has been led by Lisa Brummel, Ginny Gilder and Dawn Trudeau. Brummel said in a statement that the franchise was “thrilled” to welcome Bird into the ownership ranks. Brummel added: “Her knowledge of the game and the league, her ever-expanding business acumen, and her dedication to the Storm organization, make her a superb addition to the ownership group.”

The Storm were one of the…

As the WNBA heads into its most anticipated season in recent memory, half of the league’s teams are getting a new look.

Six franchises — Chicago, Connecticut, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Seattle — are adding new “Rebel” jerseys for the 2024 season. When Nike took over jersey production for the WNBA in 2021, it instituted three rotation jerseys: the Heroine (home), Explorer (away), and Rebel (alternate). In 2023, the league unveiled new Rebel uniforms for five teams: Dallas, Indiana, New York, Minnesota, and Washington, which leaves Atlanta as the lone organization not to get an update since the original release.

The new uniforms play off of the characteristics of each city and region. For instance, the Sparks’ new jersey is the team’s first gold jersey in the Nike era, as its current rotation includes a white home and purple away uniform. It gives the effect that the sun is shining on the team, especially when paired with the iconic palm tree logo. Meanwhile, the Storm have played up the weather aspect of their name with lightning-shaped indents in the jersey’s lettering.

Several elements of the Sun’s Rebel jerseys serve as symbols and homages to the Mohegan Tribe’s culture and history. Among them, the purple and white neck is modeled after the…