The WNBA came to Radio-Canada Sports

The NWBA is a solid league with 12 teams of 12 players, including the biggest stars in the world.

It’s a league full of talent. They are the best athletes and the best basketball coaches in the world. I’m not against the idea of ​​expanding the league anytime soon, but the fact that there are only 12 teams makes it very competitive. This makes things more exciting. It’s really the cream of the crop in terms of talent that goes into this league. The battles are really excitingexplained Rose-Anne Joly, who is also head coach of the Gee-Gees of the University of Ottawa and assistant of the Alliance of Montreal.

Of the 12 teams, the top eight in the standings qualify for the playoffs after a 36-game season.

The idea of ​​expansion was part of the discussions. Even just this week, Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri suggested that having the team in Toronto was part of his dreams.

Three Canadians

So far, only three Canadian players have made it to the WNBA.

Currently on the injured list for the Phoenix Mercury, the Kia Nurse of Ontario is hoping to get back in the season. The two -time maple leaf representative at the Olympic Games, in Rio in 2016 and in Tokyo in 2021, tore the cruciate ligaments of his right knee in the playoff game in October. The date of his return is unknown.

Mael Gilles of Montreal was invited to Mercury camp, but was cut off before the season began.

The other two Canadians on the circuit, Natalie Achonwa and Bridget Carleton, play for the Minnesota Lynx. Without team star Napheesa Collier, who will give birth to a baby girl in May, they could have enjoyed more playing time this season.

Nathalie was undoubtedly Canada’s best player in the last Olympic tournament. At 29, he’s no longer young, but he’s impressive. Carleton is a great shooter. It will be interesting to see what chances they have at the start of the season without Collier.commented Olivier Paradis-Lemieux.

We may have an idea of ​​what awaits them on Sunday, when they face the Washington Mystics in the first webcast of the Radio-Canada Sports game.

This will be an interesting game because the Lynx will have to deal without their star player, Collier, and the Mystics will have to adapt to the return of a key element of their formation: Elena Delle Donnesaid Olivier Paradis-Lemieux.

Delle Donne, 32, will have to stop the campaign in 2020 because she is among those at risk of having serious complications if she is contracted to COVID-19.

She is a girl who has always had health problems because she has Lyme disease. Ever since he was in college, he has always had to try to pay for Lyme disease with supplements and so on. Last year, he also missed most of the season due to various back injuries.said Olivier Paradis-Lemieux.

During the preparation of the matches, he stood out by taking 1st place in the scorer rankings with an average of 21 points.

He’s a great player, but we don’t yet know if he’ll be able to play all the battles. We need to see to what level it will return.

Star imprisoned in Russia

One of the stories that is probably most talked about this season is about Pheonix’s Mercury star Brittney Griner, who has been in Russia since last February 17th.

According to Russian tradition, the center player, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was arrested for possession of vapes and a liquid with a particular odor of cannabis. He was at an airport in the Moscow region and trying to go home after his winter in the Russian league.

The United States also announced on Tuesday that it will wrongly detained and they intended to expedite efforts to bring him home.

It’s a complex and political story, says Olivier Paradis-Lemieux. In the current climate, it’s hard to say when he’ll return and this cloud could hover all season above the WNBA, but especially Mercury. They will be discussed in every game. The subject is always on the table.

According to Radio-Canada Sports basketball specialist, Phoenix should certainly be a serious title contender this season, but without Brittney Griner, the challenge will be hard to overcome.

Does the Connecticut Sun want revenge?

Although the championship was won by Chicago Sky, last season’s favorite team was definitely the Connecticut Sun. With 14 straight wins in their last 14 games before the playoffs, many have already seen Connecticut representatives lift the cup.

Eventually, Chicago Sky stirred the water and defeated the Sun in the semi-finals to get through the final round and win against Griner’s Mercury.

This season, with a roster similar to last year and with the return of Jonquel Jones, last season’s most important player, the Sun are expected to be included in the top three teams in the standings.

Olivier Paradis-Lemieux’s attention was also turned to the Seattle Storm due to the return of Breanna Stewart, one of the athletes who impressed at the Tokyo Olympics last summer.

The main element of training was missed at the end of last season, victim of a left foot injury requiring Achilles tendon surgery.

The injury is distressing because there is always a possibility of it coming back. We don’t know if it will find the same levelsaid the descriptor.

Stewart will share the Storm field with Sue Bird, a historic Team USA player.

A Japanese rookie to watch

Although the league is primarily made up of American players, a few rare international gems have made a place for themselves. This is the case of Japanese Rui Machida, favorite of our commentator Olivier Paradis-Lemieux, who is one of the 2022 training recruits at the Minnesota Mystics.

Will he play a lot or not? Well, we don’t know yet. He’s definitely a rookie this year. But it’s a weird proposition that I can’t wait to see how he carves out a job because he’s really the real WNBA anti-player.said Olivier Paradis-Lemieux.

Usually, we see big athletic athletes. Rui, she’s a 5’4 “woman, fast turbo. She’s able to move around and rotate those big towers. It’ll be fascinating to watch her go on the pitchHe added.