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International Names to Know for 2020 Draft

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After a pair of drafts with a large number of international players picked and significant attention paid to top prospects, it should no longer be a surprise that young international players are being considered for picks.  The two recent strong classes are being followed by a relatively weak class that is going to reduce the enthusiasm for international picks this year.  International players that were born in 2000 who have never enrolled in college in the United States will be the ones eligible for this draft.  Last year also saw the first two picks of foreign players who left college to turn professional since 2013 so while they are technically not considered international players, any player born in 1998 who left college early is also eligible for this draft as well as any players who left college after they could have made themselves available for the last draft.  While this year’s draft may not have the star power of recent drafts on the international side, those looking forward to 2021 should know that that one is shaping up to be one of the deepest international draft classes ever.  With that said, here are some names to be familiar with in case they are called on draft day:

Li Yuan, China, PG, Shandong
After two players from China were drafted last year, more attention is being paid to the country as new measures have been taken to improve basketball development there.  Li has had a number of chances to play for the national team from a young age and plays with an impressive degree of fearlessness as a result.  Unfortunately, with that level of confidence she still has a long way to go when it comes to decision making and cutting down on turnovers.  There will be plenty of film if national team competition as well as WNBA preseason games to review before the draft, but if she is not ready for a WNBA roster spot, questions will be asked about her development to possibly get to that point as she is not always challenged on the club level.  The potential that is apparent may be enough for someone to use a late round pick on her.

Chen Mingling, China, C, Xinjiang
Solid performances at the last U19 World Cup put Chen on the map and she has since gotten more chances on the senior level.  Unfortunately, she has ended up in club situations where there are already other post players, limiting the amount of time available for her to be properly evaluated.  She does not have the projected upside of the two young Chinese post players picked last year, but the competition she faces could help her develop in the future.  A team could be tempted to pick her late with the hope that her offensive skillset rounds out over time and that her rebounding translates at higher levels.

Park Ji-Hyun, South Korea, SG, Woori Bank
While the country continues to pour resources into the game on the professional level, development of high level talent has not always been successful.  Two years after having a player drafted, the next Korean hope will be eligible this year.  Park is a guard who can do a little bit of everything and, along with a handful of senior team appearances, she has made an impression on the world stage at a youth national team level.  Her height means that she will have to fully transition to a shooting guard outside of local league level and with that will come the need to vastly improve her shooting range and ability.  It is unlikely that any team sees enough right now, even for a late pick, but she is a player to watch down the line.

Luisa Geiselsoder, Germany, C, Donau-Ries
Already in contention for the scoring title, Luisa Geiselsoder has been very impressive in league play after a busy summer at the youth national team level and then senior team appearances in the fall.  Her post play is excellent, but she may need to demonstrate more range when she goes up against taller players and tougher competition.  The level of play in Germany has improved recently while still giving ample opportunity to young players.  While some of them have taken that exposure to grab college opportunities, Geiselsoder is one of a number of players in the near future who will be in the draft conversation.

Leonie Fiebich, Germany, PF, Wasserburg
The best international prospect in this draft may be one who has not even played a game this season.  Fiebich had an impressive season with the German powerhouse in their last campaign, but suffered an injury at the U19 World Championship.  The rules of the draft mean this is the one chance for teams to pick her before she becomes a free agent and the uncertainty will probably leave her off everyone’s boards for now.  If she comes back strong next season and continues to show a varied offensive skillset, she will certainly become a name to keep an eye on in the future.

Billie Massey, Belgium, PF, Sint-Katelijne-Waver
One half of a twin duo, Billie Massey plays with a relentlessness that makes her a rebounding machine.  She has played quite well for her local club in Belgium, but it will be a big step for her to reach an elite level in Europe or possibly the WNBA.  While the energy level will translate, her height will probably require a transition to being able to play the small forward position at least some of the time, meaning a need to increase her offensive range.  A team could take a chance late on her in the hopes that she will continue to do what it takes to improve as a player and move on to a higher level of competition.

Becky Massey, Belgium, PF, Sint-Katelijne-Waver
Like her sister, Becky Massey has shown a lot of promise in her young career.  Her offensive game is becoming more refined and she has a natural scoring instinct.  One of the difficulties in evaluating young internationals comes in situations like this when a player is one of the older players on her team, giving her more opportunity than most players her age, but also not knowing whether her accomplishments are simply due to those increased opportunities or could scale up in a different environment.  Becky is likely to be undrafted, but she should be ready for a move to a higher level soon where her long term future will be more clear.

Oceane Monpierre, France, PG, La Roche Vendee
Originally headed to Syracuse, Monpierre did not end up attending, which has allowed her the opportunity to play another season with the same team and put in some solid performances at a high level of club play.  Unlike many other young French players who have opted for college and more playing time, she has gotten the minutes to prove that she belongs, but will need to show more in the next few months to become a draft-level prospect.  If she continues to develop, she could be back on the radar, but a lot of attention in the next year will be paid to an incredible group of 2001 born players in France.

2019 New Player Data

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In the past few years, the WNBA has made more statistics available to the public on its website.  While these statistics have been available in the past and some of them have been released, the ability for anyone to access it and use it for their own work allows for new levels of insight.  This season, several new options are available.  In addition to some of the individual statistics made available in the past few years, statistics can be searched for on specific two, three, four, and five player lineups.  Also widely released for the first time are teams’ on/off ratings, which are a quick way of measuring how teams perform when certain players are on or off the court.

On/Off Rating:

With on/off rating, it is possible to see a team’s efficiency when a player is on or off the court, making it possible to tell the difference in efficiency when a player is off the court.  It is not a perfect measure of a player’s impact because it is reliant on many other factors, including the other players on the court, but it can provide unexpected observations.  The 107 players who played at least 340 minutes with a single team are included in this sample with stints with different teams not combined in these statistics.

Offense:

25 players had their team score 6 or more points per 100 possessions more when they were on the court than when they were not on the court and they are shown in the image above in order of the size of the difference in offensive efficiency.  It is no surprise that Chicago’s offense was much better with Courtney Vandersloot on the floor as both a facilitator and scorer as they tried many solutions to deal with the minutes that she was not on the court, but she was not the top player on the list.  That honor goes to Natasha Howard as Seattle’s offense was absolutely dreadful when she was off the court, but 22.4 points per 100 possessions better when she was on the court.  This type of statistic is also useful for trying to figure out whether a player might deserve more playing time.  Some of the players with lower minutes percentages played less due to working their way back from injury, but one name that stands out on this list is Marine Johannes, an offensive spark for New York in a number of games.  After joining the team late, it took her a little bit of time to settle in her role, but in 45% of available minutes, the Liberty’s offensive was scoring over 8 points more per 100 possessions.

The first measure penalizes players on teams with strong offenses overall so here are the top 25 players in terms of how efficiently the offense was with them on the court without comparing it to the offense without them.  Washington’s dominance is clear here as they hold the top eight places and Courtney Vandersloot prevented them from being the top nine.  The Los Angeles Sparks should be excited about having Candace Parker available for full minutes in the playoff as they have played well with her on the court.

Defense:

The 20 players above were the ones whose teams played better defense by the most with them on the court than with them off the court.  The surprise players at the top of the list did not play that many minutes overall, but New York’s defense was better with them playing, giving up 12.6 points per 100 possessions less with Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe on the court.  Right behind Rebecca Allen was a more expected name in Natasha Howard as Seattle would have been the league’s best defense by several points if they played the way they did while she was on the court, but played like the worst defense in the the league when she was not on the floor.  Right behind her was Ariel Atkins as she helped Washington defense and their offense when she was playing.

The 23 players above had their teams give up less than 94 points per possession when they were on the court.  Many of the players at the top of the list were not playing starters’ minutes over the course of the season.  Las Vegas had the league’s toughest defense and they were particularly stingy during the minutes that Sydney Colson played as she beat the next player on the list by three and a half points per 100 possessions.  Not surprisingly, she was not the only player from the team on the list with four teammates joining her.  While their teams played poor defense overall, Camille Little, Maite Cazorla, and Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe all made the overall list and it may be worth trying to figure out what those teams did differently with them on the court for the future.

Net:

20 players had their teams have higher net ratings by at least 10 points per 100 possessions with them on the court.  No player had a higher difference than Natasha Howard as Seattle outscored their opponents by 7.4 points per 100 possessions when she was on the court, but were outscored by 26.6 points per 100 possessions with her off the court, a total swing of 34 points per 100 possessions.  While the players on the top half of this list played heavy minutes, there are a number of players below them with lower minutes totals, especially on struggling teams that could merit additional study for additional playing time.

24 players had their teams outscore their opponents by at least 6 points per 100 possessions while they were on the court.  Washington dominated this category with the top seven places.  Connecticut was the next team to get on the list as they played well with the players in their starting lineup.  30 players had their teams play better both on offense and defense when they were on the court.

Lineups:

Not only is it now possible to easily find out how a team performs with a particular player on the court, detailed lineup data is also available.  The information is only one tool in the process of evaluating player performance, but it can be useful, especially in finding combinations that teams should try more often.

Five:

57 different lineups have been on the court together for at least 40 minutes.  Given their play as a team, it is no surprise that a Washington lineup had the best net rating as the combination of Ariel Atkins, Aerial Powers, Natasha Cloud, Elena Delle Donne, and LaToya Sanders played 91 minutes together in 9 different games and outscored their opponents by 35.6 points per 100 possessions during that time.  The same Mystics lineup with Emma Meesseman instead of Powers played 82 minutes together in 7 games and also bettered their opponents by over 30 points per 100 possessions.  The only other lineup to reach that mark was a fairly surprising Las Vegas lineup that plays very few minutes together, but has been played in many games as Dearica Hamby, Sugar Rodgers, Sydney Colson, Liz Cambage, and Tamera Young have been very strong in 60 minutes of play over 20 games.  In terms of continuity, no lineup can beat Connecticut’s starters, appearing in all but one game and playing 558 minutes, 225 minutes more than the next lineup.  Courtney Williams, Jonquel Jones, Alyssa Thomas, Shekinna Stricklen, and Jasmine Thomas have outscored their opponents by 8.7 points per possession during that time.

On the offensive end, the lineup that has had the best efficiency is a Chicago group that could see more time together in a playoff setting as Diamond DeShields, Cheyenne Parker, Astou Ndour, Courtney Vandersloot, and Allie Quigley had an efficiency of 132.7 points per 100 possessions in 65 minutes together in 10 games.  The Mystics had four of the next five most potent offensive combinations.  On defense, the Aces lineup mentioned above was the stingiest, allowing only 73.8 points per 100 possessions.  Seattle’s lineup of Mercedes Russell, Jewell Loyd, Natasha Howard, Alysha Clark, and Shavonte Zellous was next at 78.4 points given up per 100 possessions in 51 minutes over 10 games.

Four:

195 different 4 player groupings have spent at least 80 minutes on the court together.  Again, with Washington’s overall statistical domination, it is no surprise that nine of the top ten combinations are from their team.  Ariel Atkins, Emma Meesseman, Elena Delle Donne, and Latoya Sanders have been on the court at the same time for 90 minutes in 8 games, outscoring their opponents by a whopping 42.8 points per 100 possessions during that time.  The only non-Mystics groupings that broke the 120 points per 100 possessions barrier were Chicago’s Diamond DeShields, Cheyenne Parker, Astou Ndour, and Courtney Vandersloot, who only played 80 minute together over 13 games, and Phoenix’s Brianna Turner, Brittney Griner, Yvonne Turner, and Leilani Mitchell, who featured in 12 games for 96 minutes.  The Las Vegas combination of Dearica Hamby, Sydney Colson, Liz Cambage, and Tamera Young was the only group to allow less than 80 points per 100 possessions, doing so in 86 minutes over 23 games.  They were followed by Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier, Lexie Brown, Danielle Robinson, and Sylvia Fowles, a group that played 115 minutes together in 26 games.  Odyssey Sims replacing Brown in that lineup was the only combination that appeared in all 34 games with Chicago’s most frequent starters playing 33 games and five different Connecticut combinations also played all but one game, being the top five sets in minutes played.

Three:

Team building these days often revolves around star trios.  194 different trios played at least 200 minutes together this season.  Washington again had the strongest combinations, boasting ten of the top eleven groupings in overall efficiency, led by Ariel Atkins, Elena Delle Donne, and LaToya Sanders, who outscored opponents by 31.3 points per 100 possessions in 496 minutes over 30 games.  The only trio to break up the Mystics party was Sydney Wiese, Chelsea Gray, and Candace Parker, who played 206 minutes together in 19 games for Los Angeles.  Washington’s lineups were particularly potent on offense, but Chicago groupings featuring Astou Ndour and two of Diamond DeShields, Courtney Vandersloot, and Allie Quigley were also quite efficient.  There was much more variety on defense with different teams occupying the top three spots.  Dearica Hamby, Sydney Colson, and Tamera Young were on the court for 211 minutes together over 29 games and gave up fewer points than any other trio per possession.  The Sparks had the next entry with a trio of Tierra Ruffin-Pratt and the Ogwumike sisters and the Phoenix’s trio of DeWanna Bonner, Leilani Mitchell, and Camille Little also gave up very few points when they were on the court together.  No trio played more together than Napheesa Collier, Odyssey Sims, and Sylvia Fowles of Minnesota, featuring in every game for a total of 754 minutes.  Connecticut’s starting lineup showed their continuity again, being ten of the next fourteen most played groupings in various combinations.  Chicago’s starting backcourt played 712 minutes together in 33 minutes while Seattle’s starting frontcourt played 663 minutes together in 31 games.

Two:

Lineup data can also be stretched out to duos as 166 pairings played at least 340 minutes together this season.  Washington pairs made up the entire top ten in net rating, led by Elena Delle Donne and Ariel Atkins, who outscored opponents by 28.7 points per 100 possessions on the court together in 622 minutes over 30 games.  A number of Connecticut pairings were efficient, led by Shekinna Stricklen and Jonquel Jones, but after them were two surprises as completely different Sparks lineups, Nneka Ogwumike and Riquna Williams and then Tierra Ruffin-Pratt and Sydney Wiese, featured.  Delle Donne and Atkins topped the charts when it came to offensive efficiency, followed by eleven other combinations of Mystics players before the Chicago couple of Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley checked in with 829 minutes played together in 33 games.  The Ogwumike sisters were reunited this season and played on the court together for 363 minutes in 29 games, outscoring opponents by more than 10 points per 100 possessions during that time, which was fueled by their defensive rating being the strongest of any pairing.  They were followed by the Delle Donne-Atkins duo and then the Minnesota newcomers Napheesa Collier and Lexie Brown.  The other new duo that was considered worth watching before the season was the twin towers in Las Vegas and they ended up playing 429 minutes together in 25 games, outscoring opponents by nearly 3 points per 100 possessions during that time behind solid defense.  The Minnesota combinations revolving around Napheessa Collier, Odyssey Sims, and Sylvia Fowles played in all the games with the one featuring Collier and Sims averaging over 27 minutes a game together for a leading total of 934 minutes.

2019 Career Stats Update

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A number of big name absences from the league this year led to fewer milestones being reached than was expected at this time last year.  Nevertheless, new players have found their way on these lists and others have climbed since last last year.  Highlighted players were in at least one game in 2019.

Points:

This is a list that was strongly affected by player absences.  Diana Taurasi was expected to extend her lead and approach the 9,000 point mark, but only ended up adding a handful of points from the total that she finished at last season.  Cappie Pondexter ended up retiring earlier than she planned and Sue Bird, Angel McCoughtry, and Maya Moore also did not add any points to their career totals.  Candice Dupree did manage to climb into the top 5 and Tina Charles jumped past a number of players into the top 10.  Sylvia Fowles is the newest player in the 5,000 point club, racing past her teammate to do so.  There are two new players on the list as DeWanna Bonner will again be in position to surge past a number of players next season and Crystal Langhorne also makes an appearance.

Rebounds:

There was almost a second consecutive season with a new rebounding leader, but Sylvia Fowles will have to wait until next season to pass Rebekkah Brunson.  She will need to continue to crash the boards as Tina Charles could follow her right into second place soon too.  There is one new player on this list as Nneka Ogwumike will approach 2,000 rebounds soon.

Assists:

Unfortunately, Sue Bird was not able to add to her total and chase the 3,000 assist mark, but there was plenty of movement on the rest of the list.  Courtney Vandersloot continued her impressive pace from recent seasons and could be chasing 2,000 assists by the end of next season.  Tanisha Wright retires in the top 10.  The two newest players on the list are Jasmine Thomas, who is already challenging the top 20, and Leilani Mitchell, who just made it to the 1,000 assist club.

Steals:

Nobody is in position to catch Tamika Catchings in this category and this is the list with the fewest number of players active this season on it.  Tanisha Wright managed to make the list before retirement.  The other new player is Candace Parker, making her the only player to be in the top 30 in all 5 of the main counting stats.

Blocks:

Brittney Griner continued her quest for the all-time record with another strong season, but she is still a number of seasons away.  The newest players on the list are DeWanna Bonner and Sancho Lyttle.

2019 Advanced Player Stats

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With the regular season done, let’s take a look at how players fared in some of the less traditional statistical categories.  Players included averaged at least 10 minutes per game and appeared in at least 17 games, a total of 112 players.  Teams listed are the current team for players who played for more than one team this season.

Usage:

Usage measures what percentage of offensive possessions a player terminates while she is on the court.  It has many uses, including helping understand the impact of bench players or those who play fewer minutes who carry a big offensive load when they are on the court as a few players on this list would not be considered immediate guesses in this category.  15 players terminated more than 24% of their team’s possessions this season.  Tina Charles was the main focus on offense again for New York, ending up with the highest usage of any player.  The Rookie of the Year award race has been revealing how people feel about different factors for the award.  Arike Ogunbowale is in the conversation because of her scoring and having the second highest usage helps show the scale of scoring opportunities available to her when she was on the court.  Natasha Howard was given a much larger role than last year due to injuries and she ended up third on this list.  The two highest usage players from last season ended up being teammates and it was unclear how that would impact each player.  While both saw declines in usage, especially A’ja Wilson, they did both continue to have big roles in the offense.  There were several cases of high usage trios last season becoming high usage duos to injury as Brittney Griner and DeWanna Bonner for Phoenix and Tiffany Hayes and Alex Bentley for Atlanta saw their percentages climb.

Effective Field Goal Percentage:

Effective field goal percentage gives players more credit for three point field goals than the traditional percentage, which counts all field goals as the same, regardless of location.  14 players hit the 55% threshold in this category.  It is no surprise that a known long range bomber like Allie Quigley benefits from this measure, being the only player to exceed 60% this season.  Washington’s powerful offense is explained quite clearly with this list as they had four players in the top nine.  The way that this measure still accommodates players with different approaches to scoring is shown by teammates Brittney Griner and Leilani Mitchell being next to each other on the list.

Rebound Percentage:

Rebound percentage measures the percent of available rebounds a player grabs when she is on the court.  It can also be separated into offensive and defensive rebounding, which helps considering different rebounding strategies that different teams employ.  25 players grabbed at least 7% of their own team’s misses when they were on the court and 25 players grabbed at least 16.0% of the other team’s misses when they were on the court.  Even with the separation of the two categories, fourteen players appear on both lists.

Separating the lists did not change one fact.  When Teaira McCowan was on the court, she was a force on the glass, grabbing a quarter of her opponents’ misses and grabbing more than two percentage points more of her team’s misses than any other player.  Having two lists does showcase Jessica Breland, the second best defensive rebounder, but a player who is not as active on the other end of the floor.  Atlanta had the worst defensive rebounding percentage overall, but Breland and Monique Billings certainly should not be blamed as they did their part.  Rebounding at the top end is certainly a team effort though Liz Cambage and Dearica Hamby did help Las Vegas have the best mark on the defensive end.  Connecticut’s combination of Jonquel Jones and Alyssa Thomas helped them on both ends and the addition of Theresa Plaisance late in the season could help them corral their opponents’ misses when either is off the court.

2019 Team Stats Recap

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With the regular season over, let’s take a look at how teams rank in some statistical categories.

Net Rating:

The blue bar represents the points a team averaged per 100 possessions and the red bar represents the points given up per 100 possessions.  The difference between them is the net rating and teams were placed in order of offensive rating.

The Washington Mystics finished the regular season with three more wins than any other team and it is easy to see why as their offense was more than 11 points better per 100 possessions than any other team in the league, only around half a point less than the gap between the second best offense and the worst offense.  While their defense is only in the middle of the pack, that offense will give the other teams in the playoffs plenty to worry about, especially over the course of a series.  The top five seeds in the playoffs also have the league’s five most efficient offenses.  Chicago had the second best offense, but defense could be a concern in a one game playoff situation as they were the only playoff team to have a worse defense than one of the non-playoff teams though Atlanta finds no comfort in that fact after scoring more than 4 points less than any other team per 100 possessions.  The strong defenses are all very close together in efficiency, but it is no surprise to see Bill Laimbeer and Las Vegas at the top of the list while his former team New York languished at the bottom of the rankings.

Changes from 2018:

A lot has been made of the decrease in offense all year around and with the regular season done, the final numbers continue to show that trend.  The blue bars are the change in offensive rating with a positive number meaning an improvement from last year.  The red bars show the change in defensive rating with a negative number meaning an improvement from last year.  The green bar is the change in net rating with a positive number meaning an overall improvement from last year and teams are ranked in order of their improvement in that category.

Only two teams ending up improving on their offensive efficiency from a year ago as Washington did so impressively and Indiana went from the league’s worst offense to one in the middle of the pack while tying for the biggest improvement in wins this year.  Unsurprisingly, that led to every team except for Atlanta improving on defense and the Dream’s decline in both categories gave them the largest overall decline as they also had the biggest drop in wins from last season.  The other two teams to also win seven more games than last season had the two biggest improvements on defense.  Las Vegas improved to be the best defense overall, but Chicago’s improvement is also big news as they were coming off a season of having the worst defense, but no longer have to rely completely on their offense to win games.

Rebounding:

Separating rebounding into two categories is more useful for examining how teams rebound, especially given that different teams have different strategies for offensive rebounding.  The x-axis represents the percentage of its own misses that a team rebounds and the y-axis represents the amount of the other team’s misses that a team rebounds.

Connecticut is one of the elite rebounding teams regardless of what end being looked at, ranking first on the offensive end narrowly second on the defensive end.  Las Vegas is also a solid offensive rebounding team, but their prowess on the other end in limiting second chances for their opponents likely contributes to their stingy defense.  Phoenix is the second worst team at securing defensive rebounds, but are even less effective on the other end, grabbing the lowest percentage of their own misses by a bigger margin compared to the next worst team than the gap between the second worst team and the best.  Chicago is that next team, but their lack of second chance opportunities did not slow down the league’s second most efficient offense.

Phoenix already had a lowest offensive rebounding percentage last season, but managed to drop nearly 2 percentage points in that category for this year.  Atlanta and Dallas also experienced declines in both categories while Washington and Las Vegas were the only teams to improve at both ends.  Los Angeles had the biggest improvement in offensive rebounding, which could be the result of their coaching change creating new philosophies at that end.  Chicago’s improvement in defensive rebounding was the biggest, no longer making them the worst in the league, and likely helped their overall defensive improvement by reducing the number of second chances available to their opponents.

Home vs. Road:

The blue bars show the difference between home offensive efficiency and road offensive efficiency and a positive number means that the team plays better offensively at home.  The red bars show the difference between home defensive efficiency and road defensive efficiency and a negative number means that the team plays better defense at home.  The green bar shows the difference in net rating with a positive number meaning better overall efficiency at home.  Teams are in order of the largest improvement in net rating when playing at home.

Teams are generally expected to perform better at home than on the road and that proved to be the case as every team other than New York won more games at home.  In net rating, they were only marginally better on the road as they played better offensively at home, but worse defensively.  Only Phoenix also played worse at home defensively, but that was offset by having the third largest improvement in offense on their own court.  Atlanta was the only team to play worse offensively at home, but their defense was better at home by the third largest margin so they still played better overall there, but they and the Liberty were the only teams with negative net ratings on their own courts.  Washington outscored teams by nearly 22 points per 100 possessions at home and had a much lower margin on the road, but still managed to be one of two teams with a positive net rating on the road.  The other team was Las Vegas, something that could make them a tough opponent in a playoff series.  A potential Storm-Sparks matchup in the playoffs would be intriguing as Seattle played the best road defense in the league while Los Angeles played the best home defense by a substantial margin.

2019 All Star Break Team Stats Comparison

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As the season has gone past the midway point, let’s take a look at home teams are stacking up in various statistical categories.

Net Rating:

The blue bar represents points scored per 100 possessions and the red bar represents points given up per 100 possessions.  The difference is the team’s net rating.  While three teams enter the break tied in the loss column at the top of the standings, there is a clear winner in offense so far this season.  The Washington Mystics are scoring nearly 9 points more per 100 possessions than any other team.  Connecticut is the next best offensive team and also tied with them in the standings while having the second best defense.  Las Vegas, on the other hand, joins these teams in the standings with a different focus, having the toughest defense by more than 3.5 points per 100 possessions.

Overall, the teams currently in playoff places are the ones with positive net ratings.  Indiana may be tied for last place in the loss column, but they have the least negative net rating among teams currently on the outside looking in as their third best offense is offset by their worst defense.  The other teams in their predicament struggle in both categories with the next three worst defenses and the three worst offenses.

Change from 2018:

The blue bar represents the change in offensive rating between the whole season last year and this season to date with a positive number meaning an improvement this season.  The red bar represents the change in defensive rating between the whole season last year and this season to date with a negative number meaning an improvement this season. The green bar represents the change in net rating between the whole season last year and this season to date with a positive number meaning an improvement this season.

Much has been made about the decrease in scoring this season and this chart clearly shows the difference as Indiana made a solid improvement to their offense and Washington is seeing an incremental improvement, but the rest of the league has seen drops of more than 2.5 points per 100 possessions.  Attlanta is the only team with a worse defense, compounding their issues in a season where their offensive output has declined by more than 11 points per 100 possessions, giving them the worst decrease in net rating among all teams.  Star absences may also help to explain some of the other teams that had precipitous drops in offensive output.  Chicago still has a below average defense, but their improvement in that category from the worst in the league last season helps explain their rise in the standings.  Like the Sky, Las Vegas did not have an increase in offense, but their defensive improvement by more than 15 points per 100 possessions to the best in the league gave them the best net rating improvement.  Indiana improved in both categories like Washington, but they are still outside the playoff picture and New York’s overall improvement still leaves them short of their postseason aspirations for now.

Rebounding:

The y-axis represents the percentage of opponent misses that a team grabs and the x-axis represents percentage of a team’s own misses that it grabs.  Teams further to the right are proficient at offensive rebounding and teams higher up are proficient at defensive rebounding.  Using rebounding percentage as a measure of rebounding is more useful because it is independent of the number of missed shots.  Separating offensive and defensive rebounding helps as well because while defensive rebounding is important for all teams, offensive rebounding is often based on strategic choices by a team.

Connecticut takes care of the boards on both ends of the floor, grabbing the highest percentage of their own misses, a category they were league leaders in last year, and having the second best defensive rebounding percentage.  Las Vegas makes it easier on their defense by corralling their opponents’ misses better than any other team.  Dallas may grab the second highest percentage of offensive rebounds, but all the extra opportunities have not helped their offensive efficiency.  Phoenix rebounds the lowest percentage of their own misses by more than three percentage points, two percentage points lower than their league low from last year.  Atlanta is struggling with defensive rebounding despite being above average on the other end of the floor.

Home vs. Road:

Homecourt advantage has been a known effect in basketball for a long time so it should come as no surprise that every team has a better net rating at home than on the road so far this season.  The blue bars represent the difference in points per 100 possessions scored at home.  The red bars represent the difference in points per 100 possessions give up at home with a negative number meaning a better defense at home.  The green bar is the difference in net rating at home and teams are listed in order of how much more efficient they are overall at home.  Atlanta is the only team with worse offense at home, but only by a slim margin while Phoenix is the only team to play worse defense at home.  The disparity is so strong that only Washington and Las Vegas have positive net ratings on the road.  Given the teams different performances depending on venue, there could be insights to be gained in the playoff chase by how many games teams have left at home.

Los Angeles could be poised for a strong rest of the season, having battled through a schedule with more road games than anyone else.  With twice as many home games left as road games, they should be in good shape even though their homecourt advantage is only about average and they will continue to not have their full roster for a number of games.  Chicago has the most road games left of any team and while their offense has been about the same everywhere, their defense is worse on the road by a wider margin than any team.  Unlike the other two top teams so far, Connecticut plays poorly on the road, sitting in the middle of the pack in net rating away from home.  At home, they have the second best offensive and defensive ratings, only behind Washington on offense and Las Vegas on defense, thus giving them the biggest overall homecourt advantage.  While they look to be outside of the playoffs, Dallas will still be on the hunt for their first road win, but their struggles are clear as they have a positive net rating at home, which explains their 5-5 record there, but the play worse on the road by the second biggest margin.

WNBA Free Agent List 2019!

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January 12, 2019

WNBA Free Agency is just around the corner! Teams can officially begin to contact players and their representatives beginning the 15th of January. In the past it’s been difficult to gather a list of who is available but we’ve exclusively obtained this year’s free agency list. There are four different types of free agents. Below is an explanation of the different designations in free agency.

CORE PLAYERS – The Core designation gives that team exclusive negotiating rights with the player. Players can receive a Core designation only four times in their career.

RESERVED PLAYERS – Players with three or fewer years of service are considered to be Reserved Players. The player’s prior team has exclusive negotiating rights.

RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS – Players with four or five years of service are considered to be Restricted Free Agents. Restricted free agency gives the player’s prior team the right to keep the player by matching a contract offer the player signs with another team (Right of First Refusal). If the player signs a contract offer with another team, the player’s prior team has four days from the date it receives the offer to determine whether it wishes to match. If the offer is matched, the player will remain with her team. If the offer is not matched within the four-day period, the player will be under contract with the offering team.

UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS – An unrestricted free agent is free to sign with any team provided that she is not designated as a Core Player by her prior team.

See the list of free agents below and head over to our facebook page to discuss who you want your team to sign…

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International Names to Know for the 2019 WNBA Draft

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Last year’s draft tied the 12 team era mark for most legal international draft picks.  The strength of that draft class internationally was known for a number of years, but the 1999-born group has been steadily gaining momentum as the players have gotten older.  Could last year’s total be in danger after this draft?  Here are some of players who could hear their name called next year and some lesser known players who could be surprise picks (name, potential position, national team, club team with country listed if not the same as national team):

Ezi Magbegor, PF, Australia, Melbourne Boomers

Generally considered the safest international prospect in this draft, Magbegor enters it having decided against heading to the United States for college, instead playing professionally.  Economic realities for almost all Australian players mean that she will be looking to come over as soon as possible and is more likely to be available whenever possible than internationals from other countries.  That means that a team might need to be willing to use a roster spot on her before she can produce as her skill level catches up to her athleticism, but for a team with a set rotation drafting later, her value could be hard to pass.  An injury has limited her club minutes this season, but executives will be hoping that they get more of a chance to see her for the rest of the season before they pull the trigger.

Monique Conti, PG, Australia, Melbourne Boomers

Having played national league minutes for several seasons, Conti is no stranger to tough competition and a well known name from youth national team exploits.  A particularly young prospect in this draft class, she most certainly would not back down from a challenge.  Australia is historically a reliable place to find WNBA talent as financial realities mean that coming here is the best option, but that has changed somewhat in recent years.  In the case of Conti, teams will wonder about her long term commitment to basketball as she also plays Australian Rules Football, but she will have been on the radar for longer than most of the players on this list.

Li Yueru, C, China, Guangdong

Having consistently put up numbers since her professional debut, Li has fallen behind some of the other names in attention, but her production has not slowed this season with Guangdong.  While there is no doubting her ability locally, the questions about her long term potential due to athleticism and motor do persist.  Her extensive experience playing with and against WNBA players should make her ready to contribute on the offensive end very quickly even if she needs to expand her skills long term.  Her club’s reliance on her now over more established veterans will mean that there will be plenty to evaluate before the draft.

Han Xu, C, China, Xinjiang

A big game against the United States at the World Cup moved Han from a player that everyone was looking forward to seeing to a player who could have the tools to be considered the top international prospect in the draft.  In that game, the flashes of offensive ability that she showed in other settings came together for an impressive scoring outburst.  While she may not be quick, her height and defensive instincts should make her an imposing figure in the paint in the near future.  Paired with the league’s most lethal scoring threat for most of the season, her club numbers are not spectacular, but show that she continues to play her role as she adjusts to this level of play for the first time and her recent increase in production is noteworthy.

Livia Gereben, SF, Hungary, Szekszard

The commitment to developing young players by Hungary in recent years has been commendable with plenty of domestic league time devoted to giving minutes and experience to new players.  They are still looking to have an elite talent from this generation that can make it on a European if not global scale and Gereben is the hope of their 1999 birth year players.  Playing key minutes for Szekszard for several seasons now, her continued development will be focused on rounding out her skillset to be a more complete small forward.  There will be no shortage of tape for evaluators to watch before they decide on whether to risk a late round pick.

Tima Pouye, PG, France, Tarbes

The trend among French prospects has moved towards coming to the United States for college with minutes hard to come by in a very deep professional league, but there has tended to be at least one draft-caliber prospect staying and being eligible for the international route each season.  This birth year’s talent is Pouye, a young point guard who helped Tarbes make a surprise run to the finals last season.  The team has opted to give her a bigger role this season, with somewhat inconsistent results, but the talent is clearly there.  The question will be whether teams feel that it is at a level where the pick needs to be made now or if she will be a possible free agent target in the future.

Zala Friskovec, SG, Slovenia, Celje

Few young players have been putting up numbers like Friskovec at both the club and youth national team levels.  She has been playing for local powerhouse Celje and has now gotten her chance to play on a bigger club stage.  The youth friendly region has had a history of producing draft picks, but her team is filled with young players and it will be difficult to determine whether her production is due to being a bigger talent than her teammates and how much of her game will transfer at higher levels.  If her shooting ability at this age is any indication, she could one day be considered one of Europe’s best in that category.

Melisa Brcaninovic, SF, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Gyor (Hungary)

Having left her homeland at a very young age to pursue better economic opportunities, Brcaninovic has certainly been highlighted as a prospect for this draft for a while.  She spent a year off the radar in Lebanon before Schio astutely snapped her up on a long term deal, loaning her out to the second division in Italy, where she carried on the Bosnian tradition of players that can do a little bit of everything.  The next step was supposed to be this season in Hungary, but it has been radio silence since a productive preseason with only spot minutes of national team play.  She is certainly a player who could work her way back into the draft picture in the upcoming months.

Ilayda Guner, C, Turkey, Istanbul University

Already a productive member of the full national team, Guner will be putting up impressive stats this season in the deepest league outside the WNBA.  She is getting this opportunity because her club has backed away from being one of the top teams in the league, playing their youth instead of signing big name foreign players.  That does mean that her stats are inflated, but it also gives teams the chance to compare her better directly with the top players that she is facing regularly.

Inci Guclu, C, Turkey, Galatasaray

Is there a height at which a player should automatically be considered a prospect? Guclu was last measured standing at 6’9″.  Her lack of youth national team play last summer and few minutes at the club level last season left her as a bit of mystery coming into this season, but she has gotten spot minutes this season.  As might be expected with her youth, she is still raw, but teams will certainly be trying to figure out what she could become given a few more years of development.  With picks at the end of the draft often wasted, could a team find long term value late?

Klara Lundquist, PG, Sweden, Sodertalje

After producing several eye-catching scoring outputs in Sodertalje’s foray into continental play, Lundquist has certainly increased her notoriety in Europe after solid youth national team play and an introduction to the full national team.  Her team will only have the domestic league to worry about now, which makes it harder to compare her accomplishments, but it will also give her the chance to demonstrate some of her playmaking abilities.  While she is an accomplished scorer, the current uptick in her shooting percentages will have to be watched to see if she has made the genuine strides in that area which will make the difference when she hits the next level.

*VIDEO* ADIDAS ‘When Creators Unite, She Breaks Barriers’

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December 11, 2018

On Monday during the NFL’s weekly Monday Night Football game, Adidas released their latest ad to empower women and girls in sport. It’s core message is that sports brings confidence and with confidence brings tomorrow’s leaders. All women should be given the opportunity to participate and break barriers in sport. WNBA champion Candace Parker who is one of Adidas’ most famous athletes is featured in the ad. To show their commitment, Adidas released an open letter to its employees and to communities around the country. The letter called on everyone to join the effort and together, level the playing field and co-create the future of women’s sport. Follow the brand’s initiative with the hashtag #creatorsunite. She Breaks Barriers film below.

Las Vegas Aces Ji-su Park Named WKBL Round 1 MVP

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Ji-su Park is currently 10th in scoring and 3rd in rebounding this season.

October 26, 2018

WNBA rookie Ji-su Park is off to a great start in her home country being named MVP of the first round of play in the Korean League. Park led her team to a 5-1 start while averaging a double double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. KB Stars currently sit in second place just behind defending champions Woori Bank. Her time spent in the WNBA looks to be paying off as she has been more physical and a more all around player. She averages almost 5 assists as a center. Her work this season will pay dividends when she returns to the Aces this summer more prepared for play in the W.