Despite an 0-5 record and injury scare to begin her WNBA career, Caitlin Clark is not losing hope as the Indiana Fever go through early growing pains. The team finished dead last in the Eastern Conference last season and Clark has not singlehandedly turned things around like some hoped she would.

“You’re never happy to lose,” Clark said after an 85-83 loss to the Seattle Storm. “It’s not fun, but at the same time there’s just a lot of things to build on. I’m just trying to be as positive as possible, continue to learn, continue to stack days. I know that first win will be right around the corner.”

Like any college athlete making the transition to the pros, Clark is struggling in her early days in the WNBA. She is still scoring 17.8 points per game, far from a disastrous result through five games, but the team has not yet benefitted from her efforts.

Visually, she has oscillated between brilliant flashes of talent and simple rookie mistakes. She also suffered a minor injury against the Connecticut Sun on Monday but returned in the second half to finish the game, scoring 17 points.

As she tries to step up to this next level of basketball, Clark has received significant criticism from people who resent the level of attention she has received. Those people have not been as forgiving of her age, nor do they seem to be aware of the state of the Fever before her arrival.

Not only is Clark an extremely inexperienced rookie finding her way, but for those somewhat new to the WNBA, it’s easy to forget that Indiana had the first-overall pick for a reason. Even with young star Aliyah Boston on the roster, the team wasn’t even close to contention last year. She and Clark have the potential to lead this team in time, but there is still much to learn.

“We’re, what, six points away from being 2-3 instead of 0-5?” Clark said Wednesday. “It’s that close. There’s so many instances of going back and watching the film of like little things that you can easily fix and clean up … I think you have to find confidence in that, especially at this point, being 0-5. If you just get upset by it, I don’t think that’s going to be too beneficial for us.”

WNBA legend Sue Bird stepped off the court for the final time Tuesday night following the Seattle Storm’s loss to the Las Vegas Aces in Game 4 of their playoff semifinal series. Bird’s tenure in Seattle is unrivaled as the greatest career in women’s basketball history, and fans made sure to send her off in raucous fashion as she left the floor of the Climate Pledge Arena for the last time.

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Despite Breanna Stewart’s 42-point performance, Bird and the Storm were unable to avoid a series sweep against the Aces, who entered the postseason with the best record in the Western Conference. Seattle led 47-44 at the half but played poorly in the third quarter and went on to lose 97-92.

In an interview with ESPN after the game, Bird admitted that she wasn’t satisfied with the result but was instead focusing on appreciating her career as a whole.

“Obviously I am so thankful for 20 years here. I’m going to miss it so much. I’m not going anywhere but I’m going to miss it,” Bird said. “I wish we could have done a little bit more to get to the finals, but I’m so proud of this team this year.”

As the game came to a close, a packed crowd in the Climate Pledge Arena began chanting for Bird and didn’t stop until long after the game ended. In 20 years with the organization, Bird led Seattle to four WNBA championships in 2004, 2010, 2018 and 2020. She also made 12 All-Star Game appearances and ranks near the top in every significant statistical career category. Her retirement announcement and subsequent farewell processions have drawn adoring comments from local Seattle figures as well as national sports icons like Dwyane Wade.

In addition to looking back on her contributions to the team, Bird also expressed hope in the Storm’s future and gave advice to whoever would go on to replace her.

“I guess I just hope the next person that comes in and plays point guard here, just keep the tradition going. Keep the winning going. Keep that championship level going, keep these fans happy.”

With Bird’s Storm out of the way, the Las Vegas Aces will play the winner of the other semifinal series between the Connecticut Sun and Chicago Sky. The Aces are currently favored to win the championship.

For Seattle Storm star Sue Bird, a special ring ceremony before her final regular season home game Sunday afternoon only told part of the story. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell‘s announcement declaring Aug. 7 “Sue Bird Day” surely meant something as well, but it too served as a tangential detail. As the WNBA legend faces the end of her 17-year career, a sold-out crowd in the Climate Pledge Arena and a single flower from a young fan make her impact clear.

The Mariners cruised to a 6-3 victory over the Angels and the Seahawks and Kraken haven’t played in months, but Sunday was nevertheless an important day for sports in Seattle. For the first time in the history of the Seattle Storm, the team’s arena earned a capacity crowd of 13,500 for Bird’s final home game in the regular season. After 19 seasons with the team between 2002 and 2022, the four-time WNBA champion received a thunderous ovation.

“Right now, I just want to say from the bottom of my heart how thankful I am, not only for today and all of you showing up and supporting us, but for 21 years. You all supported me from the start,” Bird said during the pre-game ceremony.

In the first quarter of the Storm’s game against the Las Vegas Aces, a young girl handed Bird a flower while the guard waited for the ball before an inbound pass. Though Bird had to ask the fan to hold on to the flower, as she quickly had to return to the game, she recognized the gesture as a special one after the game.

“That was the sweetest. She was so cute. I understood that she was like showing me the flower and that it was for me,” Bird said. “And then I was like, ‘Oh, can you just hold this just for a second until I’m done?’”

In spite of the emotional farewell going into the game, the Aces went on to defeat the Storm 89-81, a loss Bird was disappointed by but nevertheless accepted philosophically. With the Storm certain to make the playoffs this year, it’s likely that she has not played her final game in the arena, and the opportunity for a more redemptive farewell is well within reach.

After 19 seasons in the WNBA, Bird has appeared in the All-Star Game 12 times and leads the league in career assists, minutes played and games played. As a member of the U.S. national team, she has won five gold medals at the Olympics.

Seattle Storm superstar Breanna Stewart has signed a multi-year shoe deal with Puma.

The deal will guarantee Stewart the creation and release of her own signature shoe. Stewart will become the first WNBA player with her own signature shoe in the last decade, and only the 10th WNBA player to have her own signature shoe. The deal was announced early Wednesday.

Stewart’s shoe deal comes as the star is experiencing immense success in her career. Stewart has played in four seasons so far and already has several accolades. Stewart won the Rookie of The Year award and was named to the All-WNBA Second Team and All-WNBA Second Defensive Team. In her third season, she won her first WNBA title and WNBA Finals MVP with Seattle. Unfortunately, the power forward missed the 2019 season because of an Achilles injury. Last season, the power forward came back and won her second WNBA Title and second WNBA Finals MVP.

Regarding her new shoe deal with Puma, Stewart was excited about it. “Anytime you hear signature, I think that’s jaw-dropping, eye-opening, especially on the women’s side,” Stewart told ESPN. “There haven’t been many. … For Puma to be able to put the signature element out there, [and] respect me enough where they think that I deserve a signature shoe, is super exciting.”

The reigning WNBA champion spoke more about it with Boardroom host Nick DePaula.

“Obviously, I was honored that they would offer that, and now I’m just excited for what’s to come,” Stewart said. “Hopefully, we can make a really dope shoe that a lot of people will like — male, female  young, old, basketball, non-basketball type of thing.”

Puma hopes that the deal with the WNBA star will have other companies make deals with other WNBA stars and elevate the league and recognition for the players.

“Having me on their team was a big priority for them, and for me to be a part of the family, I’m just really excited,” the WNBA star said. “I’m excited to get the respect that women’s basketball deserves and bring that to a whole other level and ballgame.”

Stewart’s signature deal is currently in development and will be expected to be developed in about 12-18 months. It’s currently in the development phase where the All-Star has to come up with a design, but Stewart already has an idea of her shoe. “[It is] definitely going to be a low top,” she outlined. “Going to have a cushion for the Achilles, and all the people in the Achilles family. Then, I was thinking, ‘Oh, maybe I can make it eco-friendly.’ … It’s going to be exciting. I think that cool colorways are definitely going to come. Something where you can rock it on and off the court.”

Seattle Storm star Breanna Stewart proposed to her girlfriend, former Phoenix Mercury guard Marta Xargay, at Papago Park in Phoenix on Sunday.

The moment was captured and shared by the Storm on Twitter. “Ring season continues!” the tweet read.

The tweet’s caption is a reference to the team’s recent WNBA Championship victory. Stewart led the team to a WNBA championship win by sweeping the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA finals last season. It was Stewart’s second championship, and she was named the WNBA Finals MVP for the second time in her career.

Xargay is a Spanish guard who has played in Europe since 2016. Xargay had spent two seasons playing with the Mercury in 2015-2016 before opting to not return to the WNBA. Since then, she has played in Europe with different teams and has achieved success. Xargay won the Spanish Cup Championship three times with CB Avenida and two Spanish League championships as well. Furthermore, Xargay helped USK Praha win three Czech league championships from 2016-2018.

Stewart’s Storm is scheduled to take on the Mercury in a preseason game on Saturday, a week ahead of their May 15 regular-season tipoff. After three seasons away from the Mercury, Xargay is on the preseason roster for Phoenix. The Spaniard has a chance to make it to the main roster and return to the WNBA again.