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Top Plays of the Day, 07/16/2026

Top Plays 2026

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Top 10 Plays of the Week

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Top Plays of the Day, 07/12/2026

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Nice dish from Michaela Onyenwere

5 Things I Like

We’re headed into the Commissioner’s Cup championship game between the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty. Still, the two teams met up before this contest for a fun preview ahead of their clash at Barclays Center on June 30th. 
These two squads are pretty clear contenders, but the Aces seem to be flying a lot higher than the Liberty at the moment. Despite that, New York managed to beat Las Vegas in their Cup championship preview. 
Another contentious game between the Dallas Wings and Minnesota Lynx, a quadruple overtime game between the Washington Mystics and Portland Fire, a surge from an unlikely source in Chicago, and Cheryl Reeve on the brink of history were all things I liked from this past week in the WNBA.
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<h2>First Taste of Commissioner’s Cup Championship</h2>
<div id="attachment_264985" style="width: 2010px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-264985" class="wp-image-264985 size-full" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/06/Thumbnail-2026-06-30T085635.274.png" alt="" width="2000" height="1125" srcset="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/06/Thumbnail-2026-06-30T085635.274.png 2000w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/06/Thumbnail-2026-06-30T085635.274-300x169.png 300w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/06/Thumbnail-2026-06-30T085635.274-1024x576.png 1024w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/06/Thumbnail-2026-06-30T085635.274-768x432.png 768w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/06/Thumbnail-2026-06-30T085635.274-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" />Han Xu #21 of the New York Liberty</div>
Who would’ve thought that the Liberty’s X-factor against the Aces wouldn’t be winning the guard battle, or Breanna Stewart edging out perennial MVP candidate A’ja Wilson, but Han Xu providing 12 points in 13 minutes off the bench en route to a New York win?
Xu went a perfect 6-6 from the field in her limited minutes off the bench for the Liberty, hitting both of her three-point attempts. Her bench contributions were key for New York in the 2nd half, as she helped match the scoring from Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu to get New York over the hump necessary to take Las Vegas down. 
Since this contest, though, New York has lost their only two contests prior to the Cup championship &#8211; one game against the Seattle Storm, when they were shorthanded, and one against the Golden State Valkyries, where they simply couldn’t stop their paint penetration or match their shooting from the field. 
Las Vegas, on the other hand, took down the Wings and Sky as they head to New York for the Cup. They’re still looking like the team to beat this season, with Wilson somehow looking so good this year that it isn’t getting enough hype &#8211; her unbelievably performances are actually just becoming routine for us all to witness.
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<h2>Wings-Lynx Rivalry Continues to Brew</h2>
Hand clapping, technicals, and “too little” celebrations were sprinkled throughout the Wings’ loss to the Lynx at home over the weekend. Things were a bit heated between Wings star Paige Bueckers and current ROTY frontrunner Olivia Miles, specifically, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to fans with how competitive those two players are. 
It was a physical matchup that nearly became a down-to-the-wire battle thanks to some clutch Azzi Fudd buckets in the second half, but Dallas continues to struggle to get stops at the rim with a lack of a protector in the front court. Minnesota, and specifically Miles and Natasha Howard, took full advantage of this by posting 38 paint points to Dallas’ 28. 
These two young backcourt stars could very well meet in the postseason, so their games against one another have been a fun potential preview of a new playoff rivalry brewing.
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<h2>Quadruple OT Game Makes WNBA History</h2>
Yes, you’re reading that subheading right &#8211; there were four extra quarters played to determine a winner of a Mystics-Fire game over the weekend. Exhausted watching the players doesn’t even begin to describe what it felt like watching this contest, which ended in a win for Washington. 
The game, which ended 124-123, ties a 2001 game between Washington and Seattle as the longest in WNBA history. The 247 points scored in this game were also the second-most scored in WNBA history. And, to add even more history, the eight players who logged 45 or more minutes on the court were the most players to go for that long in WNBA history. 
This was, aside from the obvious barn-burner feel of it all, also a great showcase of young talent in Portland and Washington. Carla Leite and Sarah Ashlee Barker did their best to lead the Fire to the win in this one, with Leite hitting the three-pointer that carried Portland into the first overtime period that kicked off the mayhem. But, Washington’s young core &#8211; Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron &#8211; in addition to veteran Michaela Onyenwere, carried them to a win. 
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<h2>Sydney Taylor Turning Heads in Chicago</h2>
<div id="attachment_264986" style="width: 2010px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-264986" class="wp-image-264986 size-full" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/06/Thumbnail-2026-06-30T090117.879.png" alt="" width="2000" height="1125" srcset="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/06/Thumbnail-2026-06-30T090117.879.png 2000w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/06/Thumbnail-2026-06-30T090117.879-300x169.png 300w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/06/Thumbnail-2026-06-30T090117.879-1024x576.png 1024w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/06/Thumbnail-2026-06-30T090117.879-768x432.png 768w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/06/Thumbnail-2026-06-30T090117.879-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" />Sydney Taylor #12 of the Chicago Sky</div>
“She’s from New York, and she plays like she’s from New York, and sometimes you can just tell. We were kind of surprised that she had gone under the radar as much as she has.”
That <a href="https://www.theixsports.com/the-ix-basketball-newsroom/wnba/chicago-sky/sydney-taylor-chicago-sky/">was Tyler Marsh speaking to reporters</a> about Sky guard Sydney Taylor, an undrafted free agent who has gone from an end-of-bench piece to one of Chicago’s biggest spark plugs amid a down season. 
The Long Island native has put together some sensational performances in June, including a 30-point game in a loss against the Indiana Fever, a 29-point game in a win against the Fire on Friday, and a solid 6-13 shooting performance in a loss to the Aces. Chicago had been sorely missing that floor-spacing shooting from its lineup to aid its front-court-heavy roster, and Taylor seems to be the answer to those problems as of now.
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<h2>Reeve One Win Away from History</h2>
As I wrote about last week, Reeve is <a href="https://www.wnba.com/news/cheryl-reeve-nears-wnba-history">on the brink of history</a>. She’s now just one win away from surpassing Mike Thibault as the all-time WNBA regular-season wins holder, and that could come as soon as this coming Friday against the Liberty. It’s a 2024 Finals rematch, so that’s already an exciting factor involved in the game, but it could also get Reeve over that 380-win hump necessary to become the sole regular-season wins record holder. 
With the way these two teams are playing &#8211; Minnesota acting as a bulldozer led by Miles, and New York still seemingly working out the kinks related to a new coach and a re-tooled bench &#8211; it feels likely that the Lynx can secure that record-sealing win with Reeve this weekend. 
This will be the two teams’ first meeting with one another this season &#8211; what a way to kick off their remaining three contests against one another for the year.

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5 Things I Like: Week Seven 2026

Fantastic Finishes

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WILD ENDING Washington Mystics vs. Minnesota Lynx 06/24/2026

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Top Plays of the Day, 06/17/2026

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WILD ENDING: Connecticut Sun vs. Washington Mystics (06/17/2026)

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WILD ENDING: Washington Mystics vs. Indiana Fever 06/08/2026

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Top Plays of the Day, 06/02/2026

Latest

Michaela Onyenwere

PROFESSIONAL
<ul>
<li>Has appeared in 182 games (97 starts) in stints with the New York Liberty (2021-22), Phoenix Mercury (2023) and Chicago Sky (2024-25)</li>
<li>Owns averages of 6.9 points, and 2.4 rebounds per game</li>
<li>2021 WNBA Rookie of the Year</li>
</ul>
2025
<ul>
<li>Made 42 appearances (22 starts) for the Chicago Sky
<ul>
<li>Averaged 5.8 points on a career record .422 shooting from the field, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 16.9 minutes per game</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
2024
<ul>
<li>Appeared in 34 contests (18 starts) for the Chicago Sky
<ul>
<li>In 18.7 minutes per game, averaged 6.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
2023
<ul>
<li>Played in all 40 regular season games (27 starts) for the Phoenix Mercury
<ul>
<li>Averaged 8.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, and a career-best 1.3 assists in 23.8 minutes per game</li>
<li>In the June 11 road win over the Indiana Fever, scored 11 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
2022
<ul>
<li>Appeared in 34 contests</li>
<li>Averaged 4.7 points and 2.1 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game</li>
</ul>
2021
<ul>
<li>Selected with the sixth overall pick by the New York Liberty</li>
<li>Appeared in 32 games (29 starts) and averaged 8.6 points on .401 shooting from the floor and 2.9 rebounds per game</li>
<li>Scored a career-high 29 points on 10-of-22 shooting, including six makes from deep, along with five rebounds, and two assists on May 29 vs. the Atlanta Dream</li>
<li>Named 2021 WNBA Rookie of the Year</li>
</ul>
COLLEGE
<ul>
<li>Played four seasons at UCLA
<ul>
<li>Finished with 1,888 points, fourth-most in school history
<ul>
<li>Made 123 appearances for the Bruins (89 starts) and averaged 15.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game</li>
<li>In her finals season (2020-21), scored 10+ points in 22 out of 23 showings…3x All-Pac-12 (2019-2021)</li>
<li>Pac-12 All-Freshman Team (2018)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
INTERNATIONAL
<ul>
<li>Represented America in the 2019 Pan American Games as she helped Team USA to a 4-1 record and a silver medal finish with her 10.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per game</li>
</ul>
OVERSEAS
<ul>
<li>Played for Perfumerias Avenida (Spain) in the 2023 EuroLeague season and averaged 9.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game</li>
</ul>
COACHING
<ul>
<li>Joined her alma mater’s, UCLA, coaching staff ahead of the 2025-26 collegiate season as an assistant coach where they went on to win the university’s first NCAA championship</li>
</ul>
TRANSACTIONS
<ul>
<li>Selected by the New York Liberty with the sixth overall pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft</li>
<li>Traded to the Phoenix Mercury in a four-team trade on Feb. 11, 2023</li>
<li>Traded to the Chicago Sky on Feb. 6, 2024
<ul>
<li>Signed with Chicago on Feb. 2, 2025</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Signed with Washington on April 12, 2026</li>
</ul>
PERSONAL
<ul>
<li>Helped Grandview secure the 2017 Colorado 5A State Championship</li>
<li>2017 McDonald’s All-American</li>
</ul>

Michaela Onyenwere signed a Contract with the Washington Mystics.

Productive in win over Tempo

Quiet in 28 minutes

Scores career-high 30 points

Modest output in win

Drops season-high 22 points

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