#uswbnt

[female-buckets]

🎄Christmas with the Griners 🎄

#are you kidding me they are so fucking cute oh my god #brittney griner #relle griner #wnba #phoenix mercury #wospo #usa basketball #usawbb #uswbnt #uswnt #usbwnt #ummc ekaterinburg

[p1tstop]

FOR BESTIES DIANA & SUE, VICTORY IS SWEET, BUT SO IS THE GOLD & CHAMPAGNE! CONGRATS CHAMPS! 🍾

#they are sIsters #stanD togethEr #we all stIck toGeth- #ok i’m done #bed time #sue bird #diana taurasi #usa basketball #team usa #tokyo olympics #tokyo 2020 #wnba #uswbb #uswbnt

[sportscouples]

we all knew stewie was gay from the beginning but her publicly announcing her relationship with marta then surprising everyone with a baby not a year later is 🐐 level

source // source

breanna stewart (basketball): uswnt & seattle storm

marta xargay (basketball): spain wnt & uni girona cb

#breanna stewart #marta xargay #seattle storm #lgbtqia #wnba #uswbnt #spain wbnt #uni girona cb #women’s basketball #women’s sports #sports couples #lgbtq #queer #lesbian #bisexual #wlw

[youstartedoutrandom]

#WNBA #Minnesota Lynx #USWBNT #Lindsay Whalen #Yoooooo Gentry can fly!

[carmillasleatherpants]

US US US US US

#rio olympics #uswbnt #FUCKING KILLED IT #MY GIRLS

[female-buckets]

Which EDD games do you suggest for a beginner like me?

I’m planning to watch 2018 final games because EDDs in them and I’m little bit obsessed with the masked bird (sue with mask, to me, is like: time to kill some people)

The Bird Mask is so Powerful!!!

Oh EDD... she's like if Lauren Jackson were more deadly with an even shorter career. If all of Lauren's talent was condensed into half as many seasons, that would be Elena.

In 2008, Elena famously ran away from UConn after 2 days on campus. She was much happier playing close to home at the University of Delaware.

In 2013, Phoenix drafted BG and Chicago drafted EDD. And a year later, they met in the finals. Phoenix was deadly that year. But it's still worth it to watch Elena getting through the playoffs to the finals.

Quarterfinal: Dream vs. Sky Semifinal: Sky vs. Fever game 1, game 2 Final: Mercury vs. Sky

Elena came back from that brutal finals loss with a lot of fire. A few weeks into the 2015 season, everyone already knew she'd be the 2015 MVP. She was killing teams in record-breaking style... like in this game where she drops 45 on Atlanta. But her incredible 2015 season ended in a quarterfinals loss to Indiana.

In 2016, Elena achieves her lifelong dream of joining the US national team. And what better way to celebrate that than an exhibition at her alma mater University of Delaware? And of course, watching Elena win her gold medal is essential.

Back in Chicago, she makes it to the semifinals but loses to LA.

Elena wants a ring and Chicago can't get her one. In 2017, she leaves for Washington DC to play with Coach Thibault, Kristi Toliver, and Emma Meesseman. A whole new team, a whole new flavor, and Elena doing what she does best. They have a dramatic road to the semifinals... but Minnesota sweeps them because Sylvia Fowles is having that kind of year.

round 1: Mystics vs. Wings round 2: Mystics vs. Liberty Semifinals: Mystics vs. Lynx game 1, game 2, game 3

2018... the hunt for a ring continues. Elena is incredible as always in the regular season. But it's all about the playoffs...

round 2: Mystics vs. Sparks Semifinals: Mystics vs. Dream game 1, game 2, game 3, game 4, game 5 Finals: Mystics vs. Storm game 1, game 2, game 3

After that brutal sweep, it's time to put aside her finals woes, put on the USA jersey, and win FIBA world championship gold. Quarterfinal, Semifinal, Final

Now EDD's been swept twice in the finals. Her back is injured. She has a choice to make: play in 2019 and recover later, or recover in 2019 and play later. She knows the Mystics are a championship team. She knows she can get the franchise their first championship. If she waits, the roster will change and the chemistry will be gone. So she plays. She dominates. Her 2018 tormenters Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart are sitting out the season with injuries of their own. EDD keeps her injury status quiet, steps onto the court, and makes an MVP statement.

Top EDD games from the 2019 regular season: Mystics @ Aces Mystics @ Dream Mystics @ Sky Mystics @ Fever Mercury @ Mystics Mystics @ Storm Fever @ Mystics Mystics @ Wings Mystics @ Liberty Sky @ Mystics

2019 Playoffs: Semifinals: Aces vs. Mystics game 1, game 2, game 3, game 4 Finals: Sun vs. Mystics game 1, game 2, game 3, game 4, game 5

Also, I highly recommend this podcast about Elena's journey

#this turned into an EDD masterpost #elena delle donne #wnba #washington mystics #seattle storm #phoenix mercury #connecticut sun #wnba finals #usa basketball #uswnt #rio 2016 #uswbnt #kristi toliver #wospo #woso #women's sports #usawbb

[female-buckets]

_🐐_

#this is why she's the GOAT imo #she's got an uncanny talent for captivating people #diana taurasi #chelsea gray #aja wilson #brittney griner #breanna stewart #usawbb #uswnt #phoenix mercury #seattle storm #las vegas aces #wospo #uswbnt #usa basketball #woso

[female-buckets]

🌛Syl🌜

#she's so dreamy... #this is a bit of a skater look and she pulls it off well #i feel like she could pull anything off #wnba #sylvia fowles #minnesota lynx #usa basketball #uswbnt #uswnt #usawbb #wospo #woso

[female-buckets]

CP's baby is apparently a boy so unfortunately we won't get CP and DT fighting in the crowd while their kids play against each other.

Hmm... But Leo Taurasi-Taylor is a goddamn giant. He looks like a 6 year old but he's 3. So the Taurasi-Taylors and Parker-Petrakovas can continue their feud at the NBA level 😂

#also DT's more likely to send CP and Anya courtside cocktails than to fight them #she leaves all the fighting on the court. but off the court she tries to be everyone's friend no matter how much they hate her lol #the one you really gotta watch out for is Penny... don't cross Penny lol. if CP ever pissed off Penny in any way there's no fixing that #also DT's known Anya longer than she's known CP. they played like 5 Russian seasons together. that's more than DT and CP played together #according to Sue the DT-Anya dynamic was the same as the DT-Svet dynamic lol. just WWE when they'd get matched up in practice #diana taurasi #penny taylor #candace parker #anna petrakova #wnba #wospo #usa basketball #usawbb #usawbnt #uswnt #uswbnt

[female-buckets]

_❤️🏀💙_

#everything happening in this image is perfect #this is the winning vibe #brittney griner #breanna stewart #jewell loyd #diana taurasi #sue bird #wnba #wospo #seattle storm #uswnt #phoenix mercury #usawbb #usa basketball #uswbnt #woso #megan rapinoe

[female-buckets]

Make new friends but keep the old One is silver and the other's gold

#RIP australian national team #i keep coming back to the 2008 olympics for the drama of it all #poor Lauren... but this dream of hers was impossible #if she didn't have to carry that country on her back i feel like she'd have enjoyed her career more #also i just realized LJ's wearing that necklace! DT had the same one in some other pictures #Lauren has it like deliberately poking out of her jacket as she looks over at the gold medalists #interesting because DT fouled out of the gold medal match immediately. like she didn't want to compete. #dramatic wierdos #lauren jackson #katie smith #sue bird #cappie pondexter #delisha milton jones #diana taurasi #wnba #wospo #usa basketball #uswnt #uswbnt #usawbb #seattle storm #phoenix mercury #detroit shock #la sparks #woso

[female-buckets]

Sues always been like that though. So much of her game is the intangibles - people just can't be bothered to see that while she might not be bumping up the stats her game is still vital. I remember last year in the finals she had the storm shooting like 75% on her passes - but that's not looked at much. Not to mention things like win shares etc. Theres a reason shes one of the best PGs in the game. Its not just her stats

The most annoying basketball fans are the stat-obsessed fans.

Some of the most important things in basketball don't show up on the stat sheet. Court leadership, floor vision, and communication are the big ones. But also effecting shots, winning 50/50 possessions, saving possessions from going out of bounds, screening, blocking out, clean outlet passing. There's a lot of ways to be great on the court and stats only tell 10% of the story.

But if we want to talk stats, Sue's stats are elite and intimidating for a point guard. She has the best assist/turnover ratio. Her scoring is incredibly consistent. She's averaged 12-16 pts/game for 18 seasons. She averaged 15 points her rookie season and 15 points in 2020. She's an offensive threat, but she's not just chucking shit up there. She shot 50% in 2020 which is insane. On a WNBA team, she's always the third scoring option on the roster. On the national team, she's more like the 7th scoring option. Her role is very different on an all-star team like that.

Sue was the national team's floor coach. Her knowledge of international basketball is probably only matched by DT. But Sue's entire career at the 1 gives her that point guard perspective on it. DT plays a very different role as a 1/2/3/4 or whatever her position is she made up for herself lol.

#sue bird #diana taurasi #fiba #wnba #seattle storm #wospo #uswnt #usa basketball #uswbnt #usawbb

[female-buckets]

Miss Taurasi at the 2004 Seattle vs. Connecticut WNBA finals

#DEE!!!!! WITH THE PONYTAIL!!!! #omg she's wearing Sue's signature ponytail look to support her buddy in the finals #but also she is way too powerful with her hair out of a bun omg... that must be why she keeps it in a bun 24/7 #we simply don't deserve her full vibe. she's like 'you guys are too crazy about me. so you're getting the bun 24/7. behave yourselves.' #diana taurasi #phoenix mercury #wnba #women's basketball #usa basketball #seattle storm #uswnt #usawbb #wospo #uswbnt #usawbnt #sue bird #megan rapinoe #ashlyn harris

[female-buckets]

Someone in this image is under 6 feet tall 😂

#listen... everyone 5'11 says they're 6 feet lol #breanna stewart #tamika catchings #elena delle donne #diana taurasi #sylvia fowles #tina charles #uswnt #wnba #usa basketball #phoenix mercury #seattle storm #wospo #woso #indiana fever #uswbnt

[female-buckets]

@daddydysfunctional dude. these are fucking amazing.

#i'm still processing the j.lo lapdance and chris paul ass slap #sue bird #wnba #wospo #seattle storm #woso #uswnt #usa basketball #uswbnt #usawbb #Youtube

[female-buckets]

I’m listening to the 30 for 30 podcast episode on Sue and Diana’s time at Spartak and… holy shit… how do more people not know about this? It’s just the craziest story I’ve heard. Also, just chills when Diana was talking about playing that euroleague finals game after the murder

That 30 for 30 is what got me digging into 2006-2011. Everything they share in that episode seems incredible and unreal. But that's only the 10% that they're comfortable with sharing.

Diana and Lauren's relationship lived and died with Spartak, or vice versa. Lauren signed a three year contract with a Korean team for the 2006-07 season. Then, a few months later, she announced she'd be playing a month in Spartak after the Korean season ended. Then Shabtai bought her out of the Korean contract and signed her to Spartak for two more years.

So Lauren was there with them from the start.

2009 was one of the most competitive seasons in WNBA history. Every team was championship-ready. Every star was in their prime. And at the top of that fierce competition was Diana Taurasi. She earned a DUI, league MVP, WNBA championship, and finals MVP. Her relationship with Lauren was getting impossible. Her scoring twin Cappie Pondexter didn't want to carry on the Phoenix dynasty they built together. Everything was falling apart. After winning the championship and serving her jail sentence, Diana arrived in Moscow alone. Shabtai was paying Sue and Lauren to stay home and recover from injuries. They were going to join Diana in Moscow in December.

But even through all that, she was still Diana. She still brought that positive bright energy to her Spartak teammates. This was how Spartak welcomed her the second she was in town. This was about three weeks before Shabtai's assassination.

Shabtai was planning to buy the Phoenix Mercury out from under Robert Sarver. That would've changed the landscape of women's basketball forever. We'd be watching the WNBA play in the winter with million dollar contracts, national TV deals, and charter jets.

It still freaks me out that Shabtai was on the way to pick them up for a concert. He was like 20 minutes away from where they were. If traffic wasn't so bad in Moscow that day, Diana might've been in the car with him.

After Shabtai's funeral, Sue returned to the states. She couldn't make a commitment to the dying Spartak club surrounded by violence. Lauren stayed for a few weeks before signing with an Australian team. The three of them had lived together in that Moscow house for years. Now, Diana was alone. Her father figure had just been assassinated in the car she rode in every day. She saw the crime scene and everything. Her first long-term relationship was over. And her ride-or-die best friend got spooked by how literal the "or die" part was.

And somehow Diana led the team through that shit storm. Eventually, she was able to convince Sue to return to Moscow, and they finished that traumatic season together. They won Euroleague and then lost the Russian league championships to UMMC. Russian league games restrict the number of foreign players on the court. Spartak had the best foreign players but UMMC always had the better Russians. They gave out silver medals to the Russian league runner-ups which was a bit cruel. Diana had a few words for the Russian league commissioner @3:00

The Russian league were making their rules about foreign players even stricter for the 2010-11 season. They used to allow six non-Russians on rosters. They changed it to only allow 2 non-Russians. Lauren Jackson had already committed to return to Spartak the next season. Even if Lauren and Dee could somehow mend things, it wouldn't matter. Lauren, Dee, and Sue could no longer play together at Spartak.

#diana taurasi #sue bird #lauren jackson #phoenix mercury #sparta&k #seattle storm #wnba #wospo #woso #uswnt #usa basketball #usawbb #uswbnt