Points of View: Best Teammates
In the fifth
part of an ongoing series leading up to the season, WNBA players go around
the league and call out the best in the business. From scorers to shooters to
creative passers, we get to the heart of the matter to answer some big questions.
In this edition, we look at the best pair of teammates in the WNBA. These are
the potent 1-2 punches that opposing players fear and teammates love to play with.
They are all legends and legands in the making. Tamika
Catchings, Indiana Fever
"I would say Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson."
Helen Darling, Charlotte Sting
"I do like Lauren and Sue, but I also love
Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson together. Tina is one of my favorite players.
She would be my MVP all the time because she is so versatile. She can shoot the
three-pointer, she can penetrate, she can post up and she can defend. She is the
ideal."
Becky Hammon, New York Liberty
"Sue Bird and
Lauren Jackson, they just complement each other well, and going back to that anchor,
Sue has that anchor, Lauren's one of the best in the business at the 5 spot and
the 4 spot, and they complement each other, you have to have that inside-out connection.
They have that and the have been playing together for a while so they have good
chemistry as well, both on and off the court."
Lisa Harrison, free
agent
"Obviously there are the veterans like Tina and Sheryl that
have played together for so long, know each other's games, know each other's movements.
It's just automatic, so any time you have that chemistry, even if you don't have
the talent, chemistry makes a great difference."
Kristen Mann,
Minnesota Lynx
"Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson."
Nikki McCray, Chicago Sky
"Chamique Holdsclaw and Lisa Leslie, Sue Bird
and Lauren Jackson, Nykesha Sales and Taj McWilliams-Franklin as well as Ticha
Penicheiro and Yolanda Griffith are my tandems that really standout for me."
Ruth Riley, Detroit Shock
"Probably I'd have to go with Sue (Bird) and
Lauren (Jackson), two of the top players in our league and they play tremendous
together, out in Seattle."
Katie Smith, Detroit Shock
"I
like Swoopes and Tina Thompson now that she is fully back from her pregnancy."
Tina Thompson, Houston Comets
"Ticha Penichero and Yolanda Griffin, they
do a great job of playing to each others strenghts and weaknesses and look good
while doing it, you can never concentrate on one or the other, have to equally
be awhere of them both, can't help too much on Ticha drive to the basket or she
will give a no looker to Yo, and vice versa, but if you stick to close to Yo,
Ticha has the ability to get to the basket everytime, I'm not going to even mention
the battle of trying to keep Yo off the boards, that's a whole other thing in
itself."
Lindsay Whalen, Connecticut Sun
"I think Swoopes
and Tina Thompson, that's a pretty good combination."
Brooke Wyckoff,
Chicago Sky
"Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird are two great players who
complement each other so well and bring the best out of each other and their teammates.
It's so much fun watching them because they just know how to move with and without
the ball to help the team."
*Photos: NBAE/Getty Images