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We&#8217;re now a week into the 2023 WNBA free agency, and there&#8217;s already been plenty of fireworks. We have former MVPs on the move, a pair of super teams formed, and a few under-the-radar moves that could pay big dividends next season.
Here is a look at the five biggest takeaways from the past seven days.
1. Breanna Stewart is NYC bound
In the two weeks leading into the official opening of WNBA free agency on Feb. 1, Breanna Stewart had WNBA fans breaking their brains trying to decipher her cryptic tweets full of emojis and find clues as to where she would decide to play in 2023.
The biggest free agent available this offseason had the entire women&#8217;s hoops community hanging on her every emoji until the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 1.
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🗽 <a href="https://t.co/6Sg28YnCPz">pic.twitter.com/6Sg28YnCPz</a>
&mdash; Stewie (@breannastewart) <a href="https://twitter.com/breannastewart/status/1620829634349928450?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The magnitude of this move can&#8217;t be overstated. This is a two-time champion, two-time Finals MVP, one-time league MVP, four-time All-WNBA First Team selection, and reigning scoring champion changing teams in her absolute prime at 28 years old.
Stewart becomes only the fourth MVP winner to sign with another team as a free agent, joining Sheryl Swoopes (2008 to Seattle), Yolanda Griffith (2008 to Seattle), and Candace Parker (2021 to Chicago, 2023 to Las Vegas – more on that shortly). Swoopes (37) and Griffith (38) were both at the tail end of their careers when they signed with the Storm. Parker (34) still had plenty left in the tank when she joined her hometown team and led them to their first title in 2021.
Three other former MVPs have changed teams via trade: Tina Charles (Connecticut to New York in 2014), Elena Delle Donne (Chicago to Washington in 2017), and Jonquel Jones (Connecticut to New York in 2023).
That&#8217;s right; the Liberty didn&#8217;t just add one former MVP this off-season. They added two, with the 2021 MVP (Jones) joining the 2018 winner (Stewart) to give the Liberty a devastating frontline. And in case that wasn&#8217;t enough, the day after Stewart announced her decision to join Liberty, so did All-Star point guard and six-time league assist leader Courtney Vandersloot.
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LFG!!!🗽🗽🗽🗽 <a href="https://t.co/bsqCZ6VsGG">https://t.co/bsqCZ6VsGG</a>
&mdash; Stewie (@breannastewart) <a href="https://twitter.com/breannastewart/status/1621237294714830850?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
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That makes three 2022 All-Stars joining the Liberty in the span of 18 days. And remember that the Liberty already have All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu getting set to begin her fourth WNBA season. With Stewart, Jones, and Ionescu, the Liberty boasts three of the ten players selected to the 2022 All-WNBA teams.
2. Candace Parker heads to Sin City
Breanna Stewart wasn&#8217;t the only former MVP to shake up the league last week. While Stewie was dropping emoji-laden tweets, Candace Parker moved more quietly until announcing on Instagram that she intended to leave her hometown Chicago Sky to join the Las Vegas Aces this summer for her 16th WNBA season.
Parker joins the defending WNBA champions Aces and gives Las Vegas a pair of two-time league MVPs on its frontline, as the 2008 and 2013 winner (Parker) joins the 2020 and 2022 winner (A’ja Wilson). Parker also reunites with former teammate Chelsea Gray, with whom she won the 2016 Los Angeles Sparks WNBA title. Gray (2022), Wilson (2020), and Parker (2016) have each won Finals MVP honors; Wilson (2022) and Parker (2020) have won two of the last three Defensive Player of the Year honors.
And don&#8217;t forget about 2022 All-Star MVP Kelsey Plum and 2022 Most Improved Player Jackie Young, all playing under the tutelage of 2022 Coach of the Year Becky Hammon. Similar to the Liberty, the Aces now have three 2022 All-WNBA selections on its roster – only Vegas&#8217; were all First Team selections in Wilson, Plum, and Parker.
Also, similar to New York, Las Vegas wasn&#8217;t done when adding a former MVP in free agency. Along with Parker, the franchise was able to add veteran wing Alysha Clark – a two-time champion and two-time All-Defensive Team selection – as well as four-time Australian league (WNBL) champion Cayla George to the roster. Las Vegas also re-signed Sydney Colson and Kiah Stokes from last year&#8217;s championship squad.
The Aces will enter 2023 looking to accomplish something that has yet to be done in the WNBA for more than two decades: successfully defend the WNBA title. The last team to do it was the 2001 and 2002 Sparks; can the Aces join them this fall?
&gt;&gt; <a href="https://www.wnba.com/news/instant-analysis-assessing-candace-parkers-fit-in-las-vegas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read more on the impact of Parker&#8217;s addition to Las Vegas</a>
3. Welcome to the WNBA super-team era
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There&#39;s a new superteam era in the WNBA 🤩<a href="https://twitter.com/LVAces?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LVAces</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/nyliberty?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nyliberty</a> <a href="https://t.co/v6lTt5f31Y">pic.twitter.com/v6lTt5f31Y</a>
&mdash; espnW (@espnW) <a href="https://twitter.com/espnW/status/1621256798920491010?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The WNBA has seen many dominant teams throughout its history:
<ul>
<li>The Houston Comets won the first four WNBA titles from 1997-2000 behind the big three of Cynthia Cooper, Swoopes, and Tina Thompson</li>
<li>The Lisa Leslie-led, Los Angeles Sparks, won back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002 before falling in the Finals to Detroit</li>
<li>The Detroit Shock won three titles in the span of six seasons with stars like Cash, Katie Smith, and Deanna Nolan</li>
<li>The Minnesota Lynx won four championships and played in six WNBA Finals in a seven-year span from 2011-2017 behind the core of Maya Moore, Seimone Augustus, Lindsay Whalen, Sylvia Fowles, and Rebekkah Brunson</li>
</ul>
The Comets and Lynx both featured two MVP winners – Cooper and Swoopes in Houston; Moore and Fowles in Minnesota – but they won those MVPs while playing for those dynasties. Swoopes was the only one of the four to play for another team after winning MVP, and as discussed earlier, she did so at the end of her career.
What we&#8217;re seeing now is just different. With the most recent collective bargaining agreement allowing for additional player movement, the amount of change is growing yearly.
The Aces and Liberty have assembled rosters that have them considered – almost universally – as the co-title favorites entering 2023. Of course, these rosters are currently only on paper, and we&#8217;ll have to see how all the pieces fit together as well as we all think they will.
With that being said, go ahead and circle these dates on your WNBA calendars now and get your popcorn ready.
<ul>
<li>Thursday, June 29, 10 ET: New York at Las Vegas</li>
<li>Sunday, Aug. 6, 3 ET: Las Vegas at New York</li>
<li>Thursday, Aug. 17, 10 ET: New York at Las Vegas</li>
<li>Monday, Aug. 28, 7 ET: Las Vegas at New York</li>
</ul>
4. Storm, Sky, and Sun bolster rosters after losing MVPs
There were five former league MVPs on the free agent market this season: Breanna Stewart, Candace Parker, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, and Nneka Ogwumike. So far, two of those five have changed teams, with Stewart leaving Seattle for New York and Parker leaving Chicago for Las Vegas, while the other three remain unsigned. And, just prior to free agency tipping off, we saw another former MVP on the move as Jonquel Jones was traded from Connecticut to New York.
That leaves the Storm, Sky, and Sun with the unenviable task of trying to replace a former MVP.
In Chicago, the Sky not only lost Parker but also lost their starting backcourt of Courtney Vandersloot (also to NY) and Allie Quigley (taking the season off) along with forward/center Azurá Stevens &#8212; that&#8217;s four of their top six players in minutes played. The Sky have started to rebuild their roster through free agency, signing Elizabeth Williams (from Washington) and Isabelle Harrison (from Dallas) on the frontline and Courtney Williams (from Connecticut) in the backcourt. The Sky still have 2021 Finals MVP Kahleah Copper under contract, while 2019 Finals MVP Emma Meesseman remains an unrestricted free agent.
In Seattle, the Storm re-signed Ezi Magbegor, who finished second in the WNBA in blocks last season (1.8 per game) and was named to the All-Defensive Second Team following her third season in Seattle. The Storm brought Sami Whitcomb back to the Pacific Northwest; the former University of Washington star played her first four WNBA seasons in Seattle before playing the last two in New York. Whitcomb ranked 14th in 3-pointers made (59) last season. Seattle also signed former Phoenix guards Kia Nurse and Yvonne Turner. Nurse missed all of last season due to a torn ACL but ranked 10th in 3-pointers made (59) in 2021.
In Connecticut, the Sun not only lost Jones but longtime starting point guard Jasmine Thomas, who was traded to Los Angeles to join former Sun coach Curt Miller. While Thomas was out last season, Natisha Hiedeman stepped up to fill the void at the point. The Sun have re-signed Hiedeman, which has been their lone key move in free agency so far.
5. More moves to keep an eye on
Washington: The Mystics opened free agency by adding the top wing defender on the open market in Brittney Sykes, who&#8217;s led the WNBA in steals the past two seasons and is a three-time All-Defensive team selection. Washington also brings back veteran point guard Kristi Toliver, who has two WNBA titles on her resume, including one in Washington in 2019. The Mystics also made a trade with Las Vegas to acquire the negotiating rights with versatile center Amanda Zahui B, who they signed two days later to a one-year deal.
Los Angeles: This is an offseason of major change in Los Angeles, with a new coach in Curt Miller and two key additions via trade: point guard Jasmine Thomas from Connecticut and wing Dearica Hamby from Las Vegas. As mentioned above, the Sparks added versatile forward Azurá Stevens from Chicago as well as Stephanie Talbot from Seattle as free agents. Los Angeles also brought back guards Jordin Canada (who led L.A. in assists at 5.5 per game, 8th in WNBA) and Lexie Brown. With Brown (39.8%) and Talbot (39.7%), the Sparks have the ninth and 10th-ranked 3-point shooters from last season.
Dallas: The Wings opened free agency by re-signing center Teaira McCowan, who was a breakout star for Dallas in the second half of the 2022 season. In addition to locking down their center, the Wings also signed guard Crystal Dangerfield – whose reserved rights they acquired as part of the three-team trade with New York and Connecticut last month – to a multi-year deal.
Indiana: The Fever brought back guard Erica Wheeler – who played in Indiana from 2016 to 2019, winning All-Star Game MVP honors in her final season with the Fever before signing with Los Angeles in 2021 and playing last season in Atlanta. The Fever also signed Maya Caldwell, who the Fever drafted 33rd overall in 2021, but played last season in Atlanta. Keep in mind the Fever also hold the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft this April.
Phoenix: The Mercury have re-signed guards Sophie Cunningham and Jennie Simms, while guards Kia Nurse (a full-time starter for the Mercury in 2021 but missed all of 2022 due to an ACL tear) and Yvonne Turner both signed with Seattle as free agents. However, there is one legendary guard that remains an unrestricted free agent &#8212; Diana Taurasi &#8212; who has spent her entire 18-year career in Phoenix.
Atlanta: The Dream has re-signed forwards Monique Billings and Nia Coffey and guard AD Durr. Both Coffey and Durr missed more than half of last season due to injuries but worked with the Dream&#8217;s medical team on rehab this offseason. The free-agent signings come after the Dream acquired Allisha Gray and Danielle Robinson in a pair of trades last month.
Minnesota: The Lynx signed free agent guard Tiffany Mitchell, who spent the first seven seasons of her WNBA career with the Indiana Fever and brings career averages of 9.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. The Lynx also re-signed four players: forwards Bridget Carleton, Damiris Dantas, Nikolina Milic, and guard Lindsay Allen.
&gt;&gt; <a href="https://www.wnba.com/news/2023-free-agency-list/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Free Agent Tracker: Follow all the latest moves</a>
Longtime WNBA reporter Brian Martin writes articles on WNBA.com throughout the season. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs.

wnba-free-agency-2023-five-early-takeaways

WNBA Free Agency 2023: Five Early Takeaways

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The WNBA has always been a trailblazer for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport. The league continues to be one of the most consistently inclusive and progressive leagues in the causes it supports, the fans it attracts, and the willingness of its players to live their lives with PRIDE.
The league celebrates its annual #WNBAPRIDE month with activities and recognitions across the WNBA’s 12 markets and beyond. Let’s look at some of the seminal moments in league history that have shown commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 
June 2001 &#8211; The Los Angeles Sparks, in their first season playing at Staples Center, became the first team in any professional sport to acknowledge Pride Month. Sparks players boarded a team bus and participated in a rally and party at a Los Angeles lesbian bar called “Girl Bar.”
May 2002 &#8211; New York Liberty veteran center Sue Wicks interviewed with “Time Out New York” and became the league’s first active player to come out publicly. Wicks said she never viewed it as a momentous announcement.
“I was already 35 years old and had lived around the world and had some ideas about who I was as a person and what made me happy,” Wicks told Outsports in 2019 about that interview. “Just being myself, being true to myself, made me happy.”
October 2005 &#8211; Sheryl Swoopes, a three-time WNBA MVP and the first women’s player to have a shoe named for her, becomes the first high-profile African-American basketball player to come out as gay in a story reported by the New York Times.
“I was at a point in my life where I am just tired of having to pretend to be somebody I am not,” Swoopes said in a telephone interview with the New York Times at the time. “I was basically living a lie. For the last seven, eight years, I was waiting to exhale.”
October 2012 &#8211; Minnesota Lynx star guard Seimone Augustus speaks out publicly during the WNBA Finals against a proposed anti-LGBTQ marriage amendment in Minnesota. Minnesotans defeated the measure in the November 2012 election, the ban on gay marriage falling short by just three percentage points.
“I felt like it was the perfect time for me, being on a platform where I can make a change with my voice and my situation,” Augustus told The Associated Press. “Maybe inspire someone else to come out and be comfortable with themselves. Or maybe someone else’s parents will see my parents saying that it’s OK to be with your child and love your child unconditionally regardless of your sexual preference.”
June 2014 &#8211; The WNBA becomes the first professional sports league to establish a dedicated Pride campaign. “WNBA Pride” included participation by all 12 teams, though some other teams had been recognizing Pride month individually for several years. Teams and players participated in Pride events, and there was a nationally televised Pride-themed game.
Then-WNBA President Laurel Richie told ESPN, “We are building on something that previously existed.” 
June 2016 &#8211; WNBA teams organize to express solidarity and raise money for the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting. Players wore warmup shorts and made donations to local funds. Breanna Stewart auctioned off her game-worn shoes, with proceeds benefiting the victims, and Shavonte Zellous, an Orlando native, shared her connection to the tragedy with the shooting. Her sister was in the nightclub when the shooting happened but was uninjured.
June 2016 &#8211; The NBA and the WNBA joined together to participate with a float in the New York City Pride March and parade, becoming the first professional sports leagues to do so. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and then WNBA President Lisa Borders rode on the float.
June 2017 &#8211; The New York Liberty became the first New York sports team to have a float in the Pride parade, having marched alongside the NBA/WNBA float the previous year.
December 2018 &#8211; Chicago Sky backcourt mates Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley become the league’s first married teammates. They would go on to win a WNBA title together in 2021.
“I’m lucky enough to play and travel with my wife. &#8230; We compete. We get at it. We make each other better,” Vandersloot said. “I credit a lot of my individual success to her.”
September 2019 &#8211; The entire first-team All-WNBA group were women who identify as LGBTQ+ – Brittney Griner, Elena Delle Donne, Courtney Vandersloot, Chelsea Gray, and Natasha Howard.
February 2021 &#8211; Guard Layshia Clarendon, who most recently played for the Minnesota Lynx, is the league’s first openly trans and non-binary player, having already shared during the 2020 season their use of all pronouns (he/she/they). During the 2021 offseason, they shared that they had undergone top surgery.
“[My activism has] gone from more of an individual perspective to how I can empower the people around me,” Clarendon said. “That has been the fun part. I realized I’ve always freed people with my truth.”
Longtime WNBA reporter Michelle Smith writes a column on WNBA.com throughout the season. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs.

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Inside the W with Michelle Smith: The W and PRIDE Through the Years

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The following was issued by Turner Sports PR:
WNBA Legends, Coaches, Executives and Current Players Provide an In-Depth Look at the 
25-Year History of the Longest Running Women&#8217;s Professional League in the United States 
NBA TV will premiere its latest documentary – As We Rise: 25 Years of the WNBA presented by Nike – covering the evolution of the league, progress on and off the court, and the top moments which helped shape the WNBA on Saturday, May 14, at 7 p.m. ET.
The hour-long special – produced in association with Bleacher Report and HighlightHER – features more than 30 interviews, from pioneers that helped blaze the trail during the early days of professional women&#8217;s basketball, such as Ann Meyers, Carol Blazejowski, Nancy Lieberman and Cheryl Miller, to the WNBA&#8217;s first headliners, including Lisa Leslie, Rebecca Lobo and Sheryl Swoopes, and modern day stars Candace Parker, A&#8217;Ja Wilson, Sylvia Fowles, Nneka Ogwumike and Breanna Stewart.
The piece opens with a look back at how David Stern, Val Ackerman and Russ Granik, among others, helped build the foundation of the WNBA before capitalizing on the momentum of the 1996 Women&#8217;s National Team to launch the league in June 1997. The story later advances through the years to today&#8217;s game and how Cathy Engelbert and others continue to advance the WNBA and help empower the league and its players to lead the way in social advocacy.
Interview subjects for the documentary include:
<table width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<table width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="299">
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Val Ackerman 
Sue Bird 
Carol Blazejowksi 
DeWanna Bonner 
Gary Cavalli 
Van Chancellor 
Tina Charles 
Oscar Dixon 
Cathy Engelbert 
Sylvia Fowles 
Russ Granik 
Yolanda Griffith 
Brittney Griner 
Becky Hammon 
Lisa Leslie 
Nancy Lieberman 
Rebecca Lobo 
Nikki McCray</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td width="299">
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Ann Meyers 
Cheryl Miller 
Reggie Miller 
Renee Montgomery 
Arike Ogunbowale 
Nneka Ogwumike 
Candace Parker 
Ticha Penicheiro 
Cappie Pondexter 
LaChina Robinson 
Adam Silver 
Dawn Staley 
Breanna Stewart 
Sheryl Swoopes 
Diana Taurasi 
Tina Thompson 
A’ja Wilson</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;
Following Saturday&#8217;s premiere of As We Rise, the Chicago Sky’s Parker and the Minnesota Lynx’s Fowles, a pair of former Kia WNBA MVPs and two-time league champions, will meet on NBA TV at 8 p.m., 14 years after they were the No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks, respectively, in the 2008 Draft. An encore presentation of As We Rise will follow the game telecast.
NBA TV is home to more regular season live games than any other network (46 games), including 33 late season game telecasts as teams make a push for the playoffs following the 2022 AT&amp;T WNBA All-Star Game on July 10.
Additionally, WNBA Weekly has returned for its third season on NBA TV. The 30-minute show features host Renee Montgomery and Ari Chambers, along with regular contributions from the network&#8217;s talented roster of hosts, analysts and reporters. The show is available on demand via the NBA app.
About NBA TV 
NBA TV is a part of NBA Digital, the NBA&#8217;s extensive cross-platform portfolio of digital assets jointly-managed by the NBA and Turner Sports including NBA TV, NBA App, <a href="http://NBA.com">http://NBA.com</a>, NBA League Pass and <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/NBAGLEAGUE.com__;!!PMETyfE!IAMslgtvOSopR7OhC8tTOsz-IdpDIojmPVlFZGAJHyNqzTnwLNLxZ6uRE0ySLKlxBWYr9vSaL4e6_I5jfOUiQkM$">NBAGLEAGUE.com</a>.

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NBA TV to Premiere As We Rise: 25 Years of the WNBA Presented by Nike One-Hour Documentary, Saturday, May 14, at 7 p.m. ET

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With the 2021 regular season nearly over, most of the playoffs spots secured and <a href="https://www.wnba.com/news/wnba-continues-celebration-of-landmark-25th-season-names-greatest-players-in-league-history-the-w25/">The W25</a> team revealed, the big question of the moment &#8211; which will soon give way to title talk &#8211; is the question of “The GOAT”.
Who is the Greatest of All Time in the WNBA?
It’s a question that begs more questions. What makes a player the GOAT? Is it scoring? Championships? Longevity? All-around play? MVP Awards?
My answer: yes.
The WNBA’s GOAT conversation, in my mind, is one about a body of work. And let’s make no mistake, the players who occupy this short list, have incredible bodies of work. And the margins between them will be slim. And some bodies of work might be left out entirely.
But let’s start this conversation with a list of names, accolades, and the pros and cons arguments.
In alphabetical order:
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Sue Bird
The Resume: The only player who played in the league with or against every player on the WNBA 25 list.
<ul>
<li>4 time WNBA Champion with Seattle.</li>
<li>12-time WNBA All-Star (league record).</li>
<li>5-time All-WNBA First-Team.</li>
<li>WNBA All-Time Assists Leader.</li>
</ul>
The Pros: In her 18th season, no one in league history has played at such a high level over a sustained period of time, and having played her entire career with one team &#8211; Seattle &#8211; Bird will go down as the league’s all-time most accomplished and respected floor general with a mix of steadiness and flair that is unmatched. The only player in league history to win a title in three different decades, Bird is a shoo-in Hall of Famer.
The Cons: Bird’s scoring numbers, a career average of 12.0, isn’t eye-popping compared to the other players in the conversation.
Is she the GOAT?: Bird will be known as the greatest point guard in league history and one of its most influential players. It’s hard to imagine a season starting without her. But just short of GOAT status.
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Tamika Catchings
The resume:
<ul>
<li>WNBA All-Time leader in steals</li>
<li>WNBA Champion: 2011</li>
<li>Third All-Time leading scorer</li>
<li>5-time Defensive Player of the Year</li>
<li>10-time All-Star</li>
<li>Naismith Hall of Fame</li>
</ul>
The Pros: Catchings is the essence of across-the-board impact, the most well-rounded talent in this bunch when you consider that she ranks among the league’s top 10 in games, minutes, field goals, free throws, rebounds, assists, and points and that the Indiana Fever made the playoffs in each of her last 12 seasons in the league. When she retired, she ranked 1st all-time in career playoff scoring, and 1st all-time in career playoff rebounds. She will go down in history as perhaps the most tenacious defensive player in the game’s history.
The Cons: One championship in a 15-year career is the lowest on this short list even if it doesn’t diminish a Hall of Fame career.
Is she the GOAT? She is the most complete player on this list and her presence in the league is still missed. She has to be considered.
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Cynthia Cooper
The resume:
<ul>
<li>4-time WNBA Champion</li>
<li>3-time league scoring champion</li>
<li>Only 4-time Finals MVP in league history</li>
<li>Only Back-to-Back MVP in league history</li>
<li>Naismith Hall of Fame</li>
</ul>
The Pros: Cooper came to the WNBA a bit unknown to the majority of fans and five years later, she left a legend and a champion. She led Houston to four titles as their thrilling heart-and-soul player, she put together a 92-game double-figure scoring streak from 1997 to 2000 and when she retired in 2000, Cooper became the first player in WNBA history to score 500, 1,000, 2,000 and 2,500 career points.
The Cons: She came into the league at 34 years old and used her five years incredibly well to make her mark on WNBA history, but her shortened career limited her impact over a longer stretch. Additionally, Coop was never known as a lockdown defender. She was a scorer.
Is she the GOAT? Cooper was literally and figuratively a Comet in the WNBA. Longevity is the deciding factor here.
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Lisa Leslie
The resume: 
<ul>
<li>2-time WNBA Champion</li>
<li>2-time WNBA Finals MVP</li>
<li>8-time WNBA All-Star</li>
<li>3-time WNBA MVP</li>
<li>2-time Defensive POY</li>
<li>Naismith Hall of Fame</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
The Pros: A pioneer in every way, Lisa Leslie set the standard for play in the WNBA that would model the way for players such as Candace Parker, Breanna Stewart, and Elena Delle Donne. She was the league’s first dominant post player, and widely regarded as the best player in the world because of her versatility and toughness. Leslie was a nightmare of a matchup for players at both ends of the floor because of her length and athleticism. She ended her 12-year career as the league’s leading scorer and rebounder.
The Cons: Both Leslie’s scoring and rebounding records ended up in other hands in the years after her retirement and her two titles come up a bit short when compared to some of her compatriots with more championship rings.
Is she the GOAT? If you asked this question 10 years ago, the answer would have been a definite yes.
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Maya Moore
The resume:
<ul>
<li>4-time WNBA Champion</li>
<li>6-time All-Star</li>
<li>3-time All-Star Game MVP</li>
<li>WNBA MVP: 2014</li>
</ul>
The Pros: A player who leads her team to four WNBA Championships in eight years as a pro has to be considered on this list. Moore’s career average of 18.4 points per game, matched with her big-game moments in Minnesota and her versatility and leadership comprises one of the greatest individual runs in league history.
The Cons: Moore’s decision to halt her career &#8211; albeit for noble, world-changing reasons &#8211; leaves a lot of ‘what-if’ wonderings about how much more she could have added to her basketball resume.
Is she the GOAT? She might have been. Without a return to the court to add to her legacy, Moore leaves us all wanting more.
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Sheryl Swoopes
The resume:
<ul>
<li>4-time WNBA champion with Houston</li>
<li>3-time MVP</li>
<li>3-time Defensive POY</li>
<li>Naismith Hall of Fame</li>
<li>6-time All-Star</li>
</ul>
The Pros: Swoopes is one of the league’s founding players, the first women’s player to have her own shoe, and one of the most recognizable names in the history of the game. And she backed up all of that hype with an extraordinary WNBA career that included four titles with the Houston Comets in the league’s first four seasons. Swoopes twice won the league’s scoring title, averaging 15.0 points a game over her career, and was the first player to post a triple-double in both the regular season and the playoffs. Her multi-dimensional game &#8211; as both an offensive and defensive standout &#8211; elevates her GOAT candidacy.
The Cons: Swoopes played nine WNBA seasons and didn’t win another title after Cooper was out of the league.
Is she the GOAT? Swoopes moves on to the final list
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Diana Taurasi
The resume:
<ul>
<li>WNBA All-Time Leading Scorer</li>
<li>3-time WNBA Champion</li>
<li>10-time All-Star</li>
<li>10-time All WNBA First Team (most in league history)</li>
<li>1-time WNBA MVP</li>
<li>2-time WNBA Finals MVP</li>
<li>5-time WNBA scoring champion</li>
</ul>
The Pros: Taurasi already has plenty of people’s GOAT vote heading into this competition as the league’s all-time leading scorer, a record she will hold by a wide margin by the time her career comes to an end. She leads the league in playoff scoring (in 61 postseason games), 3-point field goals, and is the only player in league history ​​with at least 8,000 career points, 1,500 rebounds, 1,500 assists, 1,000 3-pointers, and 300 blocks. And beyond all of Taurasi’s accolades, she brings a heavy load of intangibles, the toughness, the swagger, the innate ability to meet a big moment.
The Cons: It seems nearly impossible to process that Taurasi has only won the WNBA MVP once, and while her offensive accolades are never in question, she’s never been considered a standout defensive player. Her five Olympic gold medals and her international success make her a definitive front-runner for the sport’s greatest player ever, but does she have the best WNBA body of work?
Is she the GOAT? It’s pretty hard to argue that she’s not.
<h3>THE VERDICT</h3>
Final Three: Swoopes, Catchings, and Taurasi
My GOAT vote: Taurasi by a hair over Catchings because she is the league’s most feared and admired player to this day.
<hr />
Longtime WNBA reporter Michelle Smith writes a weekly column on WNBA.com throughout the season. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs.

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Inside the W with Michelle Smith: Who's My GOAT?

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When the Minnesota Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks tip off on Sunday at 3:30 P.M. ET on ABC, it will be just the second time in WNBA history that two teams will meet in consecutive WNBA Finals.
The last, and only other time it happened was in 1999 and 2000 when the Houston Comets and the New York Liberty faced off in a matchup that the Comets had won two seasons prior, during the inaugural WNBA Finals. Let’s press the rewind button and look back to those memorable meetings.
1999 Season
After winning the first two WNBA Finals in league history, the Houston Comets, led by two-time defending league and WNBA Finals MVP, Cynthia Cooper, were poised for a run at a three-peat. But months before the WNBA season tipped off, Houston received devastating news. Point guard Kim Perrot, who played a key role in the Comets&#8217; two championships, was diagnosed with lung cancer in February of 1999. The cancer spread quickly and on August 19, just a few weeks before the WNBA Playoffs were set to begin, Perrot passed away at the age of 32. Perrot&#8217;s fight through her final days was considered to be a source of inspiration for the team during the season, as they finished 26-6. Cooper and teammate Sheryl Swoopes would be named to the All-WNBA First Team, while Tina Thompson earned All-WNBA Second Team honors. Coach Van Chancellor also won his third WNBA Coach of the Year Award, but the goal for the season was simple: win title #3 for #10.
The Comets would go on to face the Los Angeles Sparks in the Western Conference Finals after earning a bye in the single-elimination first round. In Game 1, the Comets lost to Los Angeles on the road 75-60, but once the series shifted back to Houston, the Comets regained control, winning the next two games for their third WNBA Finals berth in a row.
In New York, the Liberty looked to bounce back from a heartbreaking 1998 season where they missed the playoffs after losing a tiebreaker to the Charlotte Sting. Led by Vickie Johnson&#8217;s team-leading 13.7 PPG and Teresa Weatherspoon&#8217;s (1999 All-WNBA Second Team) 6.4 APG, the Liberty found themselves back in the postseason and ready to exact revenge on Charlotte for the way 1998 ended.
Having also earned a bye in the first round, the Liberty dropped Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Charlotte, but took the next two games in New York to set up the rematch of the 1997 Finals.
Cynthia Cooper showed that the WNBA Finals was still her stage as she opened Game 1 with 29 points, six assists and four steals, to go along with a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw stripe in a 73-60 victory over New York. The Liberty had strong bench play from Sophia Witherspoon, who scored a team-high 18 points off the bench, but it wasn&#8217;t enough to give New York the edge at Madison Square Garden.
The only goal on New York&#8217;s mind heading into Game 2 was to force a Game 3 in this best-of-three series. After finding themselves down 37-23 at halftime, the Liberty stormed back after the break. Led by Crystal Robinson, who finished the game with a game high 21 points, coupled along with a 10-point off-the-bench performance by a rookie named Becky Hammon, New York found themselves down 67-65 with 2.4 seconds remaining. The Comets had strong team play, with five players scoring 10 or more points, and Houston was ready to celebrate its third straight title.
Weatherspoon had other ideas.
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In what would be known today as &#8220;The Shot&#8221;, Weatherspoon converted a half-court shot to force Game 3 for the 1999 WNBA Finals. To this day, &#8220;The Shot&#8221; is considered one of the greatest plays in WNBA history.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="September 4, 1999: Teresa Weatherspoon Drains &quot;The Shot&quot;" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/X7RbYxYw3hw?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
However, despite Weatherspoon&#8217;s heroics, the magic would run out on the Liberty&#8217;s season as Houston took the title and won Game 3 by a score of 59-47. Cynthia Cooper earned herself a hat trick, winning series MVP honors with a 24 point, six rebound, three steal performance in the clincher. With the win, Houston officially cemented its WNBA dominance by earning a hat trick of its own, the first three Finals in WNBA history.
2000 Season
The Comets would be led by an MVP performance yet again in 2000, as they sought the Finals four-peat. However, this time the MVP wasn&#8217;t Cynthia Cooper. The outstanding player for the Comets in the 2000 season was Sheryl Swoopes, who led the way with a league high 20.7 PPG, 50.6% FG, 37.4% 3P and 2.8 SPG, on the way both the MVP, as well as Defensive Player of the Year honors. Cooper&#8217;s reign as MVP wasn&#8217;t the only thing to come to an end as Houston&#8217;s run of three straight best conference regular season records was halted as they finished a game behind the Los Angeles Sparks.
The second place finish didn&#8217;t stop the Comets from coming alive in the playoffs, sweeping the first two rounds with 2-0 series victories over both the Sacramento Monarchs in the Conference Semifinals, as well as the Sparks in the Conference Finals to seal their return.
Meanwhile in the East, the Liberty improved on their 1999 season and finished the season at 20-12 for another first seed finish in the Eastern Conference. Tari Phillips led the way for the Liberty on the season, as she put up a team-high 13.8 PPG and 8.0 RPG on 46.7% FG.
New York had a similarly strong playoff run, sweeping Washington Mystics in the Conference Semifinals and defeating the Cleveland Rockers two games to one in the Conference Finals.
Despite New York&#8217;s strong season, it would be more of the same Houston dominance that shaped the league&#8217;s early history.
In Game 1, Phillips finished with a game-high 24 points, but Houston&#8217;s &#8220;big three&#8221; of Swoopes (12 PTS, 8 REB), Cooper (20 PTS, 5 AST), and Thompson (15 PTS, 8 REB) led the way for Houston in a win at Madison Square Garden.
Looking to finish off a perfect 6-0 playoff run, the Comets wrapped up the 2000 WNBA Finals in Game 2, winning 79-73 in overtime. Cooper had another strong series-clinching performance, putting up 25 points, seven rebounds, and three steals en route to being named WNBA Finals MVP for the fourth year in a row. Swoopes also came up big, scoring a game-high 31 points.
The Comets&#8217; four straight championships set an watermark for the league, one that has not yet been matched. Looking ahead to the second ever consecutive Finals rematch, this may be just the beginning of a new age of dominance. The Sparks and Lynx sure hope so.

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The First Finals Rematch

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SPRINGFIELD, MASS. – “When I stand up here,” a now 45-year-old Sheryl Swoopes said upon taking the Basketball Hall of Fame stage, “my first thought is: ‘Look at me.’”
Nearly 20 years to the day she became the first player to sign to the new Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) – October 23, 1996 – Swoopes could call herself a Hall of Famer. She fittingly entered the Hall during the league’s landmark 20th season – a milestone made possible the day Swoopes and fellow stars Lisa Leslie and Rebecca Lobo declared “We Got Next.”
MORE: <a href="http://www.wnba.com/news/sheryl-swoopes-hall-fame-social-recap/">Social Recap from Springfield</a> | <a href="http://www.wnba.com/photos/photos-swoopes-hall-fame-enshrinement/">Hall of Fame Photos</a>
“It still seems very surreal to me that this is actually happening,” Swoopes told WNBA.com hours before the Enshrinement Ceremony in Springfield, Mass.
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But it wasn’t just the pioneering she did on the court that brought out the emotion in the four-time Houston Comets champion. In fact, her enshrinement represented a rare occasion in which she didn’t blaze a trail; Comets teammate Cynthia Cooper (Class of 2010), Dawn Staley (2013) and Leslie (2015) were all eligible for induction before Swoopes, who retired in 2011.
Instead, as Swoopes reflected on the journey that brought her from the small town of Brownfield, Texas, to Springfield, she thought of those around her who made the improbable possible. “I think about all of the people who were there for me, to allow me to do me,” she told WNBA.com.
During a poignant, 12-minute speech, she quoted John Wooden: “The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.” She thanked the two women’s basketball legends who joined her on stage – former WNBA player and coach Nancy Lieberman, “my first basketball role model,” and former Comets coach Van Chancellor, a.k.a. “Van the Man.”
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She recognized her coaches at little-known South Plains College in Texas, where she played her first two seasons, and Texas Tech, where she grew into a phenom. She recalled the transformative 1996 U.S. Women’s National Team and the prophetic words of the then soon-to-be first WNBA president, Val Ackerman: “The NBA is working on something special, so sit tight.”
She retold the story of that first whirlwind season – the debut of the “Air Swoopes,” the first-ever signature shoe for a female basketball player; the birth of her son, Jordan, from which she returned to the court six weeks later; and the Comets’ subsequent run to the inaugural WNBA title.
SWOOPES: <a href="http://wnba.com/news/sheryl-swoopes-basketball-hall-of-fame-pioneer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Career Retrospective</a> | <a href="http://wnba.com/news/sheryl-swoopes-career-timeline/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Career Timeline</a>
But most meaningful to Swoopes was the phone call that came on March 30 at around 1 PM. She heard about her Hall of Fame induction while sitting in the waiting room of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston alongside her mother, Louise, who had just recently been diagnosed with colon cancer.
“Tears immediately started to flow down my face and I wasn’t sure if it was because I had just become a Hall of Famer or the unknown of whether my mom would be able to share this special moment with me,” Swoopes said, looking at her mom in the crowd at Springfield’s Symphony Hall. “Mom, we made it.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Sheryl Swoopes is now officially enshrined a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/16HoopClass?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#16HoopClass</a>
? <a href="https://twitter.com/WNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WNBA</a> <a href="https://t.co/osbwB12NJq">pic.twitter.com/osbwB12NJq</a>
&mdash; Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) <a href="https://twitter.com/Hoophall/status/774424063045427200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
She made it alongside perhaps the most iconic class in the Hall&#8217;s history, which she said made the honor &#8220;that much more special.&#8221; That was fitting, too, given Swoopes&#8217; status in the women&#8217;s game &#8212; an athletic force like Shaq, an influential personality like Iverson, and a trail blazer like Yao. Just as A.I. said he wanted to be like Mike, Maya Moore looked up to Swoopes &#8212; renowned as the &#8220;female Michael Jordan&#8221; &#8212; and wore the Air Swoopes as a child.
&#8220;I think that says how special each of us is and was in our own right,&#8221; Swoopes told WNBA.com of the Hall of Fame Class of 2016. &#8220;Each one of us in our own rights changed the game in sort sort of way.&#8221;
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"Dreams Do Come True": Swoopes Blazes Trail to Springfield

Sheryl Swoopes delivers her acceptance speech at the 2016 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony.

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Sheryl Swoopes' Hall of Fame Speech

Take a look back at the career of Sheryl Swoopes as she is inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

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Sheryl Swoopes Hall of Fame Career Retrospective

Sheryl Swoopes reflects on her basketball career on the red carpet with Steve Smith.

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Swoopes Red Carpet Interview

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On Friday night in Springfield, Massachusetts, Sheryl Swoopes &#8212; the first player to sign with the WNBA in 1996 &#8212; will be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
While she won’t be the first WNBA legend to enter the Hall – former Houston Comets teammates Cynthia Cooper (Class of 2010) and Dawn Staley (2013) as well as opponent Lisa Leslie (2015) were eligible for induction before her – when it comes to Sheryl’s impact on the game – the word “first” comes up quite often in Swoopes&#8217; career timeline:
<ul>
<li>First player to sign into the WNBA</li>
<li>First women’s player to have a signature shoe – the Nike &#8220;Air Swoopes&#8221;</li>
<li>First three-time <a href="http://www.wnba.com/history_mvp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WNBA Most Valuable Player</a> (2000, 2002, 2005)
<ul>
<li>Leslie and Lauren Jackson would later match the mark; no one has surpassed it</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>First three-time <a href="http://www.wnba.com/history_defensive-player-of-the-year/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WNBA Defensive Player of the Year</a> (2000, 2002, 2003)
<ul>
<li>Tamika Catchings would later surpass the mark with five</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>First player to record a triple-double in the WNBA (<a href="http://www.wnba.com/video/sheryl-swoopes-triple-double/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">July 27, 1999</a>)</li>
<li>First (and only) to record a playoff triple-double in the WNBA (<a href="http://www.wnba.com/game/20050903/HOUSEA/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2005</a>)</li>
<li>First (along with Cooper in 1997) to have won an NCAA title, WNBA title and Olympic gold medal</li>
</ul>
Swoopes first rose to fame in 1993 when she led the Texas Tech Lady Raiders to their first and only NCAA title after scoring an NCAA championship game record 47 points in the 84-82 win over Ohio State. Three years later, Swoopes was a prominent member of the U.S. Olympic team that won the gold medal in Atlanta and help fuel the fire for women’s basketball in this country.
Once the WNBA tipped off a year later, <a href="http://www.wnba.com/all-time-wnba-champions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Swoopes was a part of the league’s first dynasty</a> as one of the Big Three in Houston with Cooper and Tina Thompson. Together they would lead the Comets to the WNBA’s first four championships, a run that has yet to be matched in the league’s first two decades.
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“I actually talked to her right after the announcement and I think that it’s incredible,” said Thompson, Swoopes’ teammate from 1997-2007 and the <a href="http://www.wnba.com/stats/alltime-leaders/#?stattype=points&amp;stype=02&amp;sort=pts&amp;permode=tot&amp;dir=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WNBA’s all-time leading scorer</a>. “I think that it’s very deserving; she is absolutely a first ballot Hall of Famer. She has done so much for this game in her career. I mean, she kind of changed the game in a sense, playing the guard position at her size and just so many of the things that she did on the defensive as well as the offensive side of the floor.”
Swoopes possessed a unique set of skills that allowed her to affect nearly every aspect of the game. It’s no wonder she has often been called the Michael Jordan of the women’s game.
On offense, she could shoot from the outside, drive past a defender and either pull up from mid-range or get all the way to the basket and finish. She could cross you up with her handle or just pull up and shoot over smaller defenders that were used on her to try to counter her speed.
On defense, she was simply the best perimeter defender in the game, constantly frustrating her opponents with her quick hands, fast feet and great lateral quickness. She had fantastic instincts for coming up with steals and blocking shots. She could play the passing lanes and get deflections or simply take the ball from the offensive player she was locking down. Her outstanding defense led directly to some of her best offense as she was a one-woman fast break, getting a steal and taking the ball coast-to-coast for a layup.
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Perhaps the best comparison to Swoopes in today’s game is Catchings, the Fever forward who is set to wrap up what will surely be a Hall of Fame career this season. She is the only player to garner more Defensive Player of the Year awards than Swoopes and plays with a similar intensity and tenacity each and every night.
“I always joke around with her, cause I&#8217;m like, &#8216;You know the first time I played with you with the USA team, you were really mean to me,&#8217;” said Catchings. “But we got to know each other, and our relationship changed, and our friendship grew, and the mutual respect we have for each other is really, really high. Sheryl is definitely one of the players who has helped shape me as a person and a player.”
Swoopes’ impact on today’s game is profound because the players entering the league over the past few seasons were able to watch her year after year as the WNBA debuted in their early childhoods. Having role models like Swoopes and fellow Hall of Famers Cooper, Staley and Leslie on television playing the game they loved was a source of inspiration for so many.
“She was great; she was a player who was a star as far as her talent and her ability to help her team win a championship,” said Minnesota’s Maya Moore. “She was a pro, someone who I could look up to, who had a shoe. I had her shoe.”
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Just as Swoopes was the first women’s basketball player with her own shoe, Moore is the first women’s player to sign on with Jordan Brand as she constantly wears Lynx colorways of the latest Jordan model &#8212; just as her NBA counterparts Russell Westbrook and Blake Griffin do for the Thunder and Clippers, respectively.
“I can tell you when Nike first approached me about doing a women’s basketball shoe and saying we’re going to call it the Air Swoopes, I honestly didn’t think things could get any better than that,” Swoopes said. “To me I always felt like I just happened to be in the right place at the right time and God has blessed me tremendously throughout my life, through the good, the bad.”
The <a href="http://news.nike.com/news/nike-air-swoopes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nike Air Swoopes</a> was a hit with women’s basketball players and sneakerheads alike. Nike would release seven signature models for Swoopes during her career and <a href="http://solecollector.com/news/2015/09/sheryl-swoopes-nike-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">she thinks it’s about time for Nike to release a retro</a> version so today’s sneakerheads can rock on the court.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignright size-full wp-image-40816" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2016/09/air-swoopes-nike-300-160908.jpg" alt="air-swoopes-nike-300-160908" width="300" height="350" />“But 1997’s Nike Air Swoopes Zoom, a toothy sibling to Jason Kidd’s Zoom Flight Five, wasn’t just a great women’s basketball sneaker design — it was a great basketball sneaker design, period,” <a href="http://www.complex.com/sneakers/2014/03/an-ode-to-sheryl-swoopes-signature-nike-sneakers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said noted sneaker writer Russ Bengston of Complex in his An Ode to the Nike Air Swoopes Zoom feature from 2014</a>. “Not only did it look great, but its construction predated conceptually similar designs like the Fly By U Uptempo and even the Air Jordan XX8 SE. It became one of the first women’s specific sneakers to get national ads — and that guys made a point to chase down.”
Earlier this season, Nike released a Skylar Diggins player edition of the Zoom HyperRev 2016 in unisex sizing so both guys and girls alike could wear the same shoe they saw their favorite player wear each night for the Dallas Wings. Does that happen without the foundation laid by Swoopes?
“I think there were so many greats that came before me and this is on the women’s side,” <a href="http://www.nba.com/video/channels/hall_of_fame/2016/04/04/20160404-hof-enshrinee-swoopes.nba/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Swoopes told Turner’s Craig Sager following the announcement of her induction</a>. “And a lot of them, that unfortunately at the time, didn’t have a WNBA, didn’t have a Nike, didn’t have a shoe contract, so I do feel like those women opened a lot of doors for players such as myself. When I look at it I say because of what happened to me and the ones I played with, we’re now opening so many more doors for all of the players that are coming up after us.”
Swoopes’ basketball resume is filled to the top with accolades from the college, professional and international ranks. She’s a six-time WNBA All-Star, five-time All-WNBA First Team selection, three-time MVP, three-time DPOY, three-time Olympic gold medalist, four-time WNBA champion, a member of all three WNBA anniversary teams (All-Decade in 2006, Top 15 in 2011 and Top 20@20 in 2016) and now she is an inductee in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
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“Growing up, I had so many goals and dreams and things I wanted to accomplish with my life and, to be honest with you, I don’t think &#8216;Hall of Famer&#8217; was ever on that list,” said Swoopes. “Because that’s the best of the best and I’ve had a privilege and an honor to have played with some of the best, against some of the best, watched some of the best, and for me to now be considered one of the best, it’s a remarkable accomplishment.”
On top of all of those honors, she is an inspiration to a new generation of basketball players and a pioneer that helped blaze the trail that today’s players can follow.
“Just someone that when you thought of women’s basketball or the WNBA, she was definitely one of the main players you thought of,” said Moore. “Just her story of being a mother, and being in the WNBA, she just represented so many things of just being a female basketball pro. So, I definitely enjoyed watching her and the Comets, they were one of my favorite teams growing up. Definitely followed her and cheered for her a lot.”
Note: Nike Air Swoopes image courtesy of <a href="http://news.nike.com/news/nike-air-swoopes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nike News</a>

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Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes: A True Pioneer

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Sheryl Swoopes

Sheryl Swoopes (born March 25, 1971) is a forward for the Tulsa Shock. She played college basketball at Texas Tech.