Detroit Pistons

Joe Dumars might have been destined for this job.
He played with the Bad Boys, those Detroit Pistons teams that were physical, aggressive and intimidating. And even in those rough-and-tumble times, he wound up becoming the first recipient of the NBA&rsquo;s sportsmanship award &mdash; now called the Joe Dumars Trophy.
He&rsquo;s now tasked with ensuring that players don&rsquo;t act like his old teammates often did. Dumars became Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations for the NBA in May, making him a major decider in all things related to player discipline for on-court actions.
His first big decisions related to player discipline came earlier this week, when the NBA <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/heat-forwards-caleb-martin-nikola-jovic-suspended-one-game" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suspended Miami Heat teammates Caleb Martin and Nikola Jovic</a> for their roles in a scuffle during a game against the Toronto Raptors.
&ldquo;You want to do something where you really feel like you&rsquo;re contributing,&rdquo; Dumars said. &ldquo;Basically, this is the only place I haven&rsquo;t contributed to in this game.&rdquo;
At 59, with two championships as a player, another as an executive and a lifetime within the game, he doesn&rsquo;t have to be working. He could be spending his days playing and watching tennis, the sport he started playing as a 10-year-old and has loved ever since.
Instead, he&rsquo;s moved to New York, with office views from a high-rise not far from Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall, smack in the middle of Manhattan.
&ldquo;I tell people that we are stewards of the game,&rdquo; Dumars said. &ldquo;And people go, &lsquo;What does that mean?&rsquo; Well, we make sure that the trains are taking off on time. We make sure that the game stays clean. We make sure that there&rsquo;s any time there&rsquo;s any disruption or things that should not be, we are here to clean this up and make sure we are presenting a great product and presenting it the right way.&rdquo;
When an altercation happens like the one Saturday in Miami, the players involved are asked to consent to an interview with league officials, video is reviewed, and Dumars and other top executives decide the best course of action.
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Tensions are HIGH between the Raps and Heat! Caleb Martin and Christian Koloko get into it on the court. <a href="https://t.co/7bNwJf0sAI">pic.twitter.com/7bNwJf0sAI</a>
&mdash; TSN (@TSN_Sports) <a href="https://twitter.com/TSN_Sports/status/1583997790845161473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2022</a></blockquote>

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It&rsquo;s reasonable to think this call by Dumars and his team was easy: Martin drove Toronto&rsquo;s Christian Koloko into some baseline seats &mdash; thankfully unoccupied at the time &mdash; and Jovic, even though he didn&rsquo;t really appear to do much to add fuel to the fire, clearly left the bench area and therefore broke one of the NBA&rsquo;s absolute no-no&rsquo;s.
Martin missed Monday&rsquo;s game against the Raptors and will lose roughly $45,000 in salary.
&ldquo;I definitely don&rsquo;t disagree with it,&rdquo; a contrite Martin, who reached out to Koloko to apologize and promised him that he&rsquo;d be picking up a future dinner check.
Jovic also had to sit out Monday, meaning the Heat rookie has now been suspended for more games (one) than he has played (zero).
What happened Saturday could have been much worse, since Martin, Koloko and about a dozen other people all wound up where fans were. Martin ended up next to a woman in the second row; her halftime acquisition of a large popcorn, somehow, was not spilled.
But things didn&rsquo;t escalate, Dumars acted swiftly, and case closed.
Not everything has been that easy for the league in recent weeks &mdash; Phoenix owner Robert Sarver will likely sell his NBA and WNBA franchises before his one-year suspension for boorish behavior ends, Boston coach Ime Udoka will miss this entire season because of an inappropriate workplace relationship, Golden State had to deal with Draymond Green punching teammate Jordan Poole in practice and video of that exchange leaking, and Detroit assistant general manager Rob Murphy was placed on leave following allegations of misconduct made by a female former team employee.
Sarver was suspended by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. The other incidents have been handled at the team level. On-court matters, those rise to Dumars&rsquo; desk high above Manhattan.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m super excited to work with him, and to learn from him, and to collaborate with him,&rdquo; said Monty McCutchen, the NBA vice president overseeing referee operations. &ldquo;The best collaborations are collaborations that both people, both groups, both departments benefit from. And in this short time, Joe has really proven to be a collaborator and to be a builder of relationships. I&rsquo;m excited about what that means for the future.&rdquo;
Dumars knows what it&rsquo;s like to be on the receiving end of the player-discipline side of stories. He might not have had the full &ldquo;Bad Boy&rdquo; reputation earned by Pistons teammates like Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, Rick Mahorn, Isiah Thomas and John Salley. But he certainly wasn&rsquo;t immune to scuffles; he was fined twice in December 1990 alone for dustups with twin brothers Harvey and Horace Grant, the second of those coming in a Christmas game. And as a Pistons executive, he was once fined $500,000 for leaking memos to a reporter.
He thinks having been on all sides of the NBA will only help him in this new gig.
&ldquo;If I didn&rsquo;t have the career I had, maybe my mentality would be different,&rdquo; Dumars said. &ldquo;But when you&rsquo;ve done stuff at the highest level in this in this business, that&rsquo;s kind of where you want to live.&rdquo;

In May, Dumars was named the Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations for the NBA. He discusses his new role.

Joe Dumars was made for his new role at the NBA

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) &mdash; The Dallas Wings aren&rsquo;t picking up the team option on coach Vickie Johnson&rsquo;s contract, cutting ties after two seasons with the first coach to win a playoff game since the franchise moved to Texas.
Wings president and CEO Greg Bibb said Monday the decision was &ldquo;the best opportunity to achieve our long-term goals of advancing in the playoffs and ultimately competing for a WNBA championship.&rdquo;
Johnson was 32-36 in two seasons with a 1-3 playoff record. The postseason victory, in Game 2 of a first-round series against Connecticut, was the first for the franchise since 2009. The Sun reached the WNBA Finals, losing to Las Vegas in four games.
The Wings made the playoffs in Johnson&rsquo;s first season as well but were blown out by Chicago in a first-round game. The league expanded the opening round to a best-of-three format this season.
The 50-year-old Johnson was a two-time All-Star in the WNBA before becoming a coach. She spent seven years as an assistant with the San Antonio Silver Spurs before one season as coach.
When the San Antonio franchise moved to Las Vegas, Johnson stayed with the club as an assistant on Bill Laimbeer&rsquo;s staff.
The Wings franchise just completed its 25th season, the last seven in the Dallas area. The first 12 years were in Detroit, followed by six in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Johnson was 32-36 in two seasons with a 1-3 playoff record. The postseason victory.

Dallas Wings decline team option with head coach Vickie Johnson

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Chelsea Gray scored 20 points to lead the Las Vegas Aces to their first WNBA title in a 78-71 road win over the Connecticut Sun in Game 4 on Sunday.
Gray went 9 of 13 from the floor, and was named MVP after averaging 18 points over the run. The Aces improved to 4-0 in this year&rsquo;s playoffs with two days rest.
Riquna Williams added 17 points Kelsey Plum added 16 points for the Aces, Jackie Young had 13 and league MVP A&rsquo;ja Wilson added 11 points to go with 14 rebounds.
Vegas finished on an 8-0 run. As the buzzer sounded Wilson grabbed the ball and stomped the floor before being mobbed by her teammates.
We champs! We champs! We champs!&rdquo; Wilson screamed at teammates as they pulled on their championship hats and T-shirts before the trophy ceremony.
It&rsquo;s the first major pro sports title for a team from Las Vegas, and Wilson surely hopes this is just the beginning.
&ldquo;You see it. You see it,&rdquo; Wilson said in the on-court celebration. &ldquo;This is what we&rsquo;re building. This is what we&rsquo;re doing. This is it. I&rsquo;m so happy right now.&rdquo;
Courtney Williams had 17 points to lead Connecticut and Alyssa Thomas had her second straight triple-double with 11 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Jonquel Jones added 13 points and DeWanna Bonner had 12.
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Las Vegas led by two points at the half and four points after three quarters.
For Aces coach Becky Hammon, who didn&rsquo;t get a title in her standout WNBA career, the ring completed a decades-long quest. She left an assistant coach position with Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs to take over in Las Vegas, and the move paid off.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re unbelievable on the court but they&rsquo;re unbelievable humans, first and foremost,&rdquo; Hammon said. &ldquo;They care about each other. They invest in each other. It&rsquo;s been an absolute honor to be their coach. I saw excellence and I wanted to be a part of it.&rdquo;
Hammon also paid tribute to former Aces coach Bill Laimbeer, who was on the floor for the ceremony. &ldquo;He put this team together and saw the pieces,&rdquo; Hammon said.
Aces owner Mark Davis, who also owns the NFL&rsquo;s Las Vegas Raiders, wasn&rsquo;t with his football team Sunday. He was in Connecticut to get a trophy. He hoisted it, then turned it over to gleeful players who did the same.
&ldquo;Las Vegas, we are world champions,&rdquo; Davis said.
It was a six-point lead in the fourth when Kelsey Plum was called for a flagrant foul after running into Bonner while the Sun guard was attempting a 3-pointer and sending her to the floor holding her right ankle. Bonner hit all three free throws before Jonquel Jones short jumper cut the lead to a point. The Sun then tied the game at 67 on free throw by Courtney Williams and took a 71-70 lead on two fouls shots from Brionna Jones.
But Las Vegas had the answers.
Riquna Williams 3-pointer put the Aces back on top and Chelsea Gray&rsquo;s step-back jumper extended the lead back to 75-71 with under a minute left A&rsquo;Ja Wilson then stole a pass and Plum hit a short jump shot to secure the win.
Bonner opened the scoring with a leaner from the left wing. But Kelsey Plum&rsquo;s 3-pointer from the left baseline sparked an early 12-0 run for Vegas that shot them out to a 16-6 lead. The Aces, who gave up 34 points to the Sun in in first quarter of Game 3, led 16-12 after 10 minutes on Sunday.
Gray &mdash; who overcame some serious injuries that threatened to sidetrack her career in the past &mdash; was WNBA Finals MVP, to no one&rsquo;s surprise after averaging 18.3 points and 6 assists in the series.
&ldquo;My teammates are awesome,&rdquo; Gray said as she broke into tears. &ldquo;I worked so hard for this.&rdquo;
She wasn&rsquo;t a WNBA All-Star this season, nor was she a first-team all-league pick, and voiced her displeasure about that.
In the end, she also got the last word.
&ldquo;They can keep that All-Star and first team,&rdquo; Gray said. &ldquo;I got the ring.&rdquo;
SCRAPPY GAME
As expected, it was a physical game appropriately played on an NFL Sunday. The Sun got a scare when Bonner took an inadvertent elbow to the gut from Gray late in the first quarter and and was on the floor for a few minutes before being helped to the bench. She came back into the game later in the half, apparently suffering no ill effects. Natisha Hiedeman and Plum got into a short pushing match in the second quarter, eliciting technical fouls on both players. That was all before Plum&rsquo;s flagrant in the fourth.
INCLUSIVE ORGANIZATIONS
Before the game, both coaches reflected on the makeup of organizations in the Final. The Aces are led by Hammon and two Black women executives in general manager Nikki Williams and Nikki Fargas, president of business operations. The Sun are owned by the Mohegan Tribe, have a woman president in Jen Rizzotti and are coached by Curt Miller, a gay man.
&ldquo;Women&rsquo;s basketball is such a story in terms of diversity and inclusion. I mean, our our league defines it and I&rsquo;m so proud to be a part of it, Miller said, adding that he hopes to be an inspiration to any gay child &ldquo;wondering if they can chase a career in sports.&rdquo;
Hammon said she believes the diversity in her team&rsquo;s front office has made it stronger.
&ldquo;You can make a lot better picture with a box full of crayons than just a pencil,&rdquo; she said.
RAIDERS&rsquo; SUPPORT
The start of the celebration was shown on the video screens at the Raiders&rsquo; stadium during the NFL game against Arizona on Sunday, with fans breaking into loud cheers. They can cheer more in a few days: a parade on the Las Vegas Strip is planned for Thursday evening.
&ldquo;What a team, what talent, what a victory! You have made Las Vegas so proud!&rdquo; Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman said in a statement. &ldquo;Thank you for your effort, discipline &amp; focus. We can&rsquo;t wait for the celebrations &amp; a great parade!&rdquo;
TIP-INS
The Aces are the fourth WNBA team to win a title with both a league MVP and coach of the year ... The Sun have been among the last four WNBA teams standing for each of the last four seasons, making it back to the Finals for the first time since 2019.

The Aces took down the Connecticut Sun in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday.

Las Vegas Aces win first WNBA title, Chelsea Gray named MVP

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) &mdash; A historic effort from Alyssa Thomas helped the Connecticut Sun stave off elimination again.
Thomas had the first triple-double in WNBA Finals history, and the Sun beat the Las Vegas Aces 105-76 in Game 3 on Thursday night.
She finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists for the Sun, who have now won all four of their elimination games in these playoffs, topping Dallas on the road in the first round and beating Chicago in Games 4 and 5 to close out that series.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been struggling offensively and we finally got a game back at home and my teammates were hitting shots,&rdquo; Thomas said. &ldquo;None of this would have been possible without them.&rdquo;
Las Vegas leads the best-of-five series 2-1 with Game 4 on Sunday in Connecticut.
The Aces got off to a fast start, scoring nine of the first 11 points and forcing Connecticut to call a timeout. That settled the Sun down and they took over, outscoring the Aces 32-10 the rest of the quarter, including 25 of the final 29 points. Connecticut made 14 of its 17 shots in the period and DeWanna Bonner was a big reason why.
Bonner struggled in the first two games of the series, scoring five points total while missing 16 of her 18 shots. She had seven points in the opening 8 minutes on Thursday night and finished with 18.&nbsp;
&ldquo;She was huge. She&rsquo;s been here before. She&rsquo;s won it. So, we lean on her,&rdquo; Thomas said. &ldquo;And she&rsquo;s been struggling offensively, but we had nothing but faith in her and she came out and did her thing tonight.&rdquo;
Jonquel Jones led the Sun with 20 points.
Jones, Bonner and Thomas helped Connecticut dominate inside as the Sun set a Finals record with 64 points in the paint while holding Las Vegas to 26.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s been the M.O. of the playoffs,&rdquo; Jones said. &ldquo;Even the Chicago series, the team that won the paint, won the game. That&rsquo;s where it&rsquo;s done. A long time ago, I talked to Lisa Leslie and she said to win a championship you have to win the paint. I see it now and feel it now. I can go back to that and see she was right.&rdquo;
Connecticut used that advantage to lead 53-34 with 1:44 left in the second quarter before the Aces closed the period by scoring the final nine points, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Kelsey Plum from just inside half-court.
The Sun seized momentum back to start the third quarter, scoring the first five points. Las Vegas couldn&rsquo;t get closer than six the rest of the game.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a team that is very resilient. If you could encapsulate Connecticut it&rsquo;s physical and very resilient,&rdquo; Aces coach Becky Hammon said. &ldquo;They are physical and resilient and we didn&rsquo;t match that tonight in any category.&rdquo;
Jackie Young scored 22 points and A&rsquo;ja Wilson added 19 for the Aces.
Las Vegas was thwarted in its first attempt at winning the franchise&rsquo;s inaugural WNBA championship. The team had been in the Finals twice before and got swept in 2008 and 2020.
SHE SAID IT
&ldquo;I went to a UFC fight the other night. ... I would not want to get in the cage with her.&rdquo; &mdash; Hammon on Thomas&rsquo; toughness.
TRIPLE THREAT
Thomas now has three triple-doubles in her career &mdash; all this season. This was the third in WNBA playoff history. Chicago&rsquo;s Courtney Vandersloot and Houston&rsquo;s Sheryl Swoopes had the others.
TIP-INS
Former Aces president and coach Bill Laimbeer sat courtside. He took over the franchise when it moved to Las Vegas in 2018 before retiring at the end of last season. Laimbeer was instrumental in assembling the championship roster by drafting Wilson first in 2018 and getting Gray to come to the team last season as a free agent. ... Aces owner Mark Davis sat on the baseline. ... Had the Aces been able to complete the comeback, they would have broken the mark for biggest rally in WNBA Finals history. The New York Liberty came back from 18 down in 1999 against Houston when Teresa Weatherspoon hit a game-winning shot from half-court. Hammon played for the Liberty in that game.
HONORED
Wilson and Seattle&rsquo;s Breanna Stewart were unanimous choices for the All-WNBA first team that was announced Thursday. Plum also was on the first team as well as Phoenix&rsquo;s Skylar Diggins-Smith and Chicago&rsquo;s Candace Parker. Thomas and Jones were on the second team along with New York&rsquo;s Sabrina Ionescu, Los Angeles&rsquo;s Nneka Ogwumike and Minnesota&rsquo;s Sylvia Fowles.

Alyssa Thomas had the first triple-double in WNBA Finals history, and the Sun beat the Aces 105-76 in Game 3.

Sun stay alive, beat Aces 105-76 in Game 3 of WNBA Finals

"We need a three!"
As head coach Becky Hammon calls out instructions for her players during a timeout, the desire for a three-pointer is repeated. The Las Vegas Aces, who have controlled things for most of the afternoon, find themselves down 89-85 with 11.3 seconds left in the game.&nbsp;
It would be easy to get lost in the "how" of the current situation. How a 15-point lead through the second quarter was suddenly a deficit in third. How Breanna Stewart, cold for most of the game, had hit three bleep-you shots in the past minute in a half to give the Seattle Storm a late-game edge.
There was no time for those thoughts though. The Aces needed a three, which means they needed to rely on Kelsey Plum.
Well, sort of.&nbsp;
You'd think the play was being called for Plum. She's one of the best shooters in the world, fresh off a season where she led the WNBA in three-pointers made (3.1 on average, 113 total) and doubled as one of five players to convert at least 40% of their threes while taking 5 or more attempts per game.
Hammon had different plans.
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Instead of using her shooting ability, Hammon leveraged Plum's gravity and toughness to help pry open Riquna Williams &mdash; an unabashed gunner off the bench who'd made several big shots in the quarter.&nbsp;
"You're screening for A'ja [Wilson]," Hammon tells Plum before the players break the huddle.
"Jackie [Young] is ripping through. KP screens [for] A'ja; A'ja, come around and screen for Bay (Riquna Williams)."
Sure enough, the Aces execute the play perfectly.
Young cuts through the middle of the floor and relocates to the right corner. Plum sets a solid screen on Ezi Magbegor. Stephanie Talbot, Plum's defender, is caught in a bind. She doesn't want to switch onto Wilson for obvious size and skill reasons, leaving a gap. Thanks to the Wilson screen on Sue Bird, Williams is able to run into that gap and fire up an uncontested three-pointer.
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From that point on, madness ensued.&nbsp;
Tina Charles missed a pair of free throws. Wilson gave the Aces a lead with a tough drive, though it's hard to look past the missed travel call. Bird nearly rendered the discussion moot by draining a go-ahead three with 0.8 seconds remaining. The Aces countered by drawing up a play for Young, who converted a layup over the outstretched &mdash; well, the not-stretched &mdash; arms of Magbegor to send the game into overtime.&nbsp;
The Aces would outscore the Storm by 12 in the overtime period to snag a 2-1 series lead.
If I can re-center the conversation on Plum, it's worth putting more spotlight on her. She's fallen by the wayside in a sense, though it's somewhat understandable due to the historic performances that Wilson and Gray are in the midst of.&nbsp;
Plum hasn't been at her regular season level; her per-game and efficiency numbers are slightly down. It's important to note that it hasn't shifted the way she's been defended. She's carefully watched off the ball, and occasionally trapped when she has it.
Despite her shot not falling at an elite clip right now, she's remained impactful because of her gravity. And as the play above showed, she hasn't been afraid to get her hands dirty when necessary.
The fun part? The rugged screening we saw from Plum in this game isn't a new development. It's been an under-the-radar staple of the Aces' half-court offense. I don't think it's hyperbole to call Plum one of The W's best screeners, regardless of position.
It would appear that Plum agrees.
"I feel like you see me," Plum told Basketball News with a laugh when asked about her screening after practice on Saturday.
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Ask basketball questions and good things usually follow lol <a href="https://t.co/sUwQxFn3he">https://t.co/sUwQxFn3he</a> <a href="https://t.co/CotaVrj90J">pic.twitter.com/CotaVrj90J</a>
&mdash; Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1566176708528570368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2022</a></blockquote>

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When asked if there was a coach that pushed her to grow as a screener, she pinpointed former Aces head coach &mdash; and Detroit Pistons Bad Boy &mdash; Bill Laimbeer as an influence.
"Honestly, I learned that from Bill," Plum said. "We did a lot of block-to-block screens, so I was setting more Flex screens. Becky has me setting more back screens and cross screens."&nbsp;
We'll take a brief pause here to showcase some examples. Plum has done a tremendous job of prying her teammates open, from a variety of angles.&nbsp;
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Plum doesn't go half-speed when she's asked to screen someone open. She relishes the contact, and manages to toe that line without committing fouls that often.
"I definitely try to stick 'em," Plum says.
"I know, especially with Seattle, they're gonna stay on me. If I can give A'ja just a second, I really try to [make contact]. My family played football, so I feel like I have a little of that in me."
Plum likened herself to a linebacker trying to thump a ball carrier; I may lean more towards a fullback with the duality of lead blocking or slipping out and becoming a threat herself.
The Aces now find themselves in the red zone, if we want to carry the cross-sport comparison forward. With a 2-1 lead heading into Tuesday night's Game 4, they now have a pair of shots to punch their ticket to the WNBA Finals.
Following their overtime thriller, the momentum is certainly on the Aces' side right now.

Nekias Duncan breaks down the impact Aces guard Kelsey Plum is having beyond her scoring.

Screen time: Highlighting Kelsey Plum's not-so-hidden talent

The WNBA will begin its 26th season this weekend with several intriguing storylines, including the potential retirement of Sue Bird and Sylvia Fowles, the return of Becky Hammon as a coach and the absence of Brittney Griner.
There is no bigger headline engulfing the league than Griner.
The Mercury&rsquo;s All-Star center remains in Russia after being detained following her arrival at a Moscow airport on Feb. 17. Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges that allegedly contained oil derived from cannabis, which could carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Griner&rsquo;s status has been changed to &ldquo;wrongfully detained&rdquo; and she has a hearing scheduled for May 19.
But Griner&rsquo;s presence will be felt even in her absence.
The league plans to honor Griner and keep her ongoing situation front and center with a floor decal that will feature her initials along with her number 42. It will appear on the home court of all 12 teams starting with Friday&rsquo;s season openers. The regular season ends Aug. 14.
Teams will play a record 36 games this year.
&ldquo;The 36-game schedule will provide fans greater opportunities to see the best players in the world compete at the highest level,&rdquo; WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said when the schedule was announced in December.
Before Griner&rsquo;s arrest the Mercury made many moves in the offseason to put the team in contention to win another championship after losing to Chicago last season in the Finals. Phoenix added Tina Charles and Diamond DeShields to the roster to complement Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins-Smith.
DeShields joins the Mercury from the Sky, who will try and become the first team to repeat as champions since the Los Angeles Sparks did it in 2001-02. Chicago added Emma Meesseman &mdash; the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP &mdash; to its roster.
Then there is the looming retirement of All-Stars Bird and Fowles.
Bird, the league&rsquo;s all-time assist leader, has said all signs are pointing toward this year being her last with the Seattle Storm, but she does not want the upcoming season to be a farewell tour.
Fowles has stated she will retire after this season. The WNBA&rsquo;s all-time leading rebounder said it was a tough decision whether to come back for a 15th season or not.
With Fowles and Bird having a foot out the door, the league welcomes back Hammon this season.
Hammon took over as coach of the Las Vegas Aces, replacing Bill Laimbeer, after serving as an NBA assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs since 2014. She&rsquo;s one of six former players who are now head coaches in the league.
A few other storylines to follow this season:
HEALTHY MYSTICS
No team went through more injury problems the last two seasons then the Washington Mystics. Coach Mike Thibault hopes his team has finally put all that bad luck in the rearview mirror and is looking forward to having Elena Delle Donne and Alysha Clark in the lineup.
Delle Donne has only played in three games the last two seasons because of COVID-19 concerns and back issues. The former league MVP last was on the court fulltime in 2019 when the Mystics won their first championship. Clark missed last season, which would have been her first in Washington, due to a Lisfranc injury in her right foot.
REBUILDING FEVER
Indiana used four first-round picks in the draft to try and rebuild its roster, taking NaLyssa Smith (2nd), Emily Engster (4th), Lexie Hull (6th) and Queen Egbo (10th). The Fever also drafted Destanni Henderson (20th). Draft choices haven&rsquo;t worked out so well for Indiana the last few years as the Fever selected Lauren Cox third in 2020 and she was cut last season. Last year Indiana took Kysre Gondrezick fourth. She is also no longer with the franchise.
RETURN OF THE COMMISSIONER&rsquo;S CUP
The league is bringing back the Commissioner&rsquo;s Cup for the second year. The in-season tournament was won by Seattle last year. The Storm beat the Connecticut Sun in the championship game, which was played in Phoenix. There are 10 designated &ldquo;Cup games&rdquo; per team &ndash; the first home game and first road game each team plays against its five conference rivals.
FRESH STARTS
Meesseeman, Charles and DeShields aren&rsquo;t the only players in new places this season. Liz Cambage now calls Los Angeles home after leaving Las Vegas. The 6-foot-8 Australian center will try and get the Sparks back into being championship contenders. Courtney Williams returned to Connecticut after spending two seasons with the Atlanta Dream. The Dream picked up former WNBA All-Star MVP Erica Wheeler.&nbsp;

The WNBA will begin its 26th season this weekend with several intriguing storylines

Griner, Hammon’s return, Phoenix additions headline WNBA’s new season

Becky Hammon is closing in on a landmark deal to become the next head coach of the Las Vegas Aces, sources told The Athletic. Hammon's deal will be a record-setting contract for a WNBA head coach, sources said.
Source: <a href="https://theathletic.com/news/las-vegas-aces-closing-in-on-deal-to-hire-spurs-assistant-becky-hammon-as-new-head-coach-sources/7rUCiF7z4AsZ/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chantel Jennings and Shams Charania/The Athletic</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;This is a massive addition for the Aces, who will pry Hammon away from the San Antonio Spurs, where she was a longtime assistant under Greg Popovich. The six-time WNBA All-Star has been interviewed multiple times for NBA head coaching gigs. According to the story, current Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer could move into a front office or advisory role.

Hammon has been a longtime assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs.

Las Vegas Aces to hire Becky Hammon as next head coach

The&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/isiah-thomas-on-mj-magic-and-bird-my-teams-beat-all-them/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/giannis-antetokounmpo-shares-why-he-doesnt-associate-or-practice-with-other-nba-players-in-the-offseason/" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">following article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="http://basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://BasketballNetwork.net" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">BasketballNetwork.net</a>:
There is a good reason the 1980s are called the golden era of NBA basketball. There were so many great teams and players entrenched in historic rivalries that it&rsquo;s impossible to look past that time. From Larry Bird&rsquo;s Celtics and Magic Johnson's Lakers, to Isiah Thomas' Pistons and the rising Bulls with Michael Jordan, the NBA didn&rsquo;t lack star power.
While we often hear stories about MJ, Larry and Magic as arguably the best three players ever, one Hall-of-Famer that's typically (and surprisingly) left out of that tier is Thomas. Recently, Zeke made a point to remind everyone how he fared against the best players in the toughest era ever.
His Detroit Pistons are one of the best teams in NBA history, and their reputation preceded thems. The nickname &ldquo;Bad Boys&rdquo; was rightfully earned, as their rugged, physical and defensive-minded style of play frustrated opponents all over the league. Of course, the occasional cheap shot from bruisers like Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn or Dennis Rodman didn&rsquo;t help either.
But you had to give it to them. Near the end of the &rsquo;80s, those Pistons teams entered their prime and dominated the NBA, bouncing out Jordan&rsquo;s Bulls numerous times, and even Bird&rsquo;s Celtics. After a dramatic seven-game series loss in the 1988 Finals to Magic&rsquo;s Lakers, the Pistons would come back with a vengeance, sweeping them the following year to win an NBA championship in 1989.
The year after that, in 1990, they dominated the Blazers to win their second one. If not for that dramatic loss to the Lakers that was majorly influenced by Thomas' ankle injury, the Pistons may have three-peated in 1991.
At the end of that year, Jordan and Pippen finally overcame the Pistons and became the king of the East, as Detroit slowly faded away.
The Bad Boys will be remembered in history as one of the most unique and fun teams in history, and everyone knew them for their defense and hacking style of play. But this team was much more than that. On the other side of the floor, they could light you up if needed; after all, Thomas was a part of the 1983 team that scored 186 points in a game.
Recently, Thomas spoke with Channing Frye and explained to people how good he and his Piston teams were by simply reminding him how he beat everyone&rsquo;s favorite players in the &rsquo;80s:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
&ldquo;All them people that they say are the best to ever do it, my teams beat all them.&rdquo;<a href="https://twitter.com/IsiahThomas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IsiahThomas</a> talked about his &lsquo;Bad Boy&rsquo; Pistons teams with <a href="https://twitter.com/channingfrye?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@channingfrye</a> on an all-new &lsquo;Full-Bodied&rsquo; 👀 <a href="https://t.co/N0wzkgGfw6">https://t.co/N0wzkgGfw6</a> (<a href="https://twitter.com/Porsche?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@porsche</a>) <a href="https://t.co/BmEXw3E2cD">pic.twitter.com/BmEXw3E2cD</a>
&mdash; Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1473755187571347456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Zeke is right on point. Detroit's defense was its forte, but the Pistons wouldn&rsquo;t have been so good for years if they didn&rsquo;t have a talented, complete team.
When you talk about the 80&rsquo;s Pistons and Isiah Thomas, you have to take a deeper look at their legacy and give them respect.
Check out more articles from BasketballNetwork.net&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

On "Full Bodied" with Channing Frye, Pistons legend Isiah Thomas spoke highly of his teams that defeated legends.