The 29th WNBA season has arrived and gone with the Las Vegas Aces re-establishing its dynasty status with its third championship in four years.
The 29th WNBA season was also another season where its press corps delivered championship-level coverage of the W. It has been a yearly tradition here at Beyond The W for us to give huge bouquets of flowers to those that did excellent work within the WNBA space.
And this year is no different. It is still amazing to think about how a few years ago, we were lamenting why the WNBA does not garner the same respect from media that it peer leagues receive. The W is no longer at that point – and with more teams and markets joining the WNBA, the level of coverage will continue to go in an upward direction.
One name among many we need to shout out is Aya Abdeen. We had the opportunity to meet her at All-Star 2024 when it was in Phoenix. She has been a rising star within the WNBA’s creator space for many years and is now doing stellar work with Ball Is Life and The 9450 Podcast Network.
Abdeen is also continuing to do excellent work in covering Arizona State Athletics. This year, she was front and center for every step of the Phoenix Mercury’s run to the WNBA Finals – the team’s first trip to the Finals since 2021.
This was a season where there was plenty of uncertainty around the Mercury after moving on from the era of Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner. Thanks to a cast of characters that included Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper, Phoenix displayed its resiliency and established it can be a contender for many years to come.
And Abdeen chronicled the 2025 Mercury season every step of the way – from training camp to Game 4 of the Finals. Abdeen will continue to be a name whose presence will stay on the rise among WNBA content creators.
Speaking of WNBA journalists, Khristina Williams is one who, at this point, needs no introduction.
At the beginning of the year, we mentioned several podcasts that will have WNBA fans covered from the start of the season to the conclusion of the Finals. “In Case You Missed It…” was one of those many podcasts.
The list of WNBA luminaries that were on said pod throughout the season reads like a who’s who of well-known personalities that have become household names throughout the W. She even did an episode with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert where the two talked about where things stand in collective bargaining talks with the WNBPA.
Williams, with her award-winning track record as a reporter and host is one of those names that is not new to this but true this – and “In Case You Missed It…” has certainly been a worthwhile addition to iHeartMedia’s podcast network. It has invested heavily in the growing realm of women’s sports coverage (as evidenced by her pod and “Levels To This” with Terrika Foster-Brasby and Sheryl Swoopes) and betting on Williams to deliver top-notch content is one of the safest bets one could make.
She is an established star with many years of WNBA coverage under her belt. Meghan Hall is continuing to experience a meteoric rise as a WNBA writer at USA Today.
The year 2025 proved to be a banner year for Hall. In addition to the superb work she is continuing to do covering the Atlanta Dream – and the W as a whole – she had her first WNBA All-Star experience as she was on site covering the league’s midseason festivities in Indianapolis.
Also, she had an opportunity to cover the Finals – the first time the Finals were contested under the best-of-seven format. The number of interviews she is continuing to land is also a testament to how hard she works and the respect she has garnered.
Hall also has her own platform – “Hall About Sports.”
The excellent work we have seen from Hall is only the beginning for. Given what she has already done, we are more than excited as to what is to come next.
Another name more than deserving of his flowers is Nekias Duncan. A few years ago, Ben Dull was a huge name among women’s basketball content creators in large part because of his ability to break down game film. This was what landed Dull a job with the New York Liberty.
One of the great attributes regarding Duncan is how he comes from that Dull cloth of being able to analyze WNBA – and NBA for that matter – game film with almost surgical precision. There are actual individuals who have coaching jobs who are not able to analyze game film with the accuracy of a Duncan.
He consistently – and deservedly – gains praise at press conferences for asking the best basketball-related question. In addition, his podcast – The Dunker Spot – was recently picked up by Yahoo Sports and can be seen on Yahoo Sports’ FAST channel.
Between his WNBA and NBA work, Duncan remains a busy man. NBA TV recently underwent a relaunch now that it is fully managed by the league as opposed to having Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT) manage content for it as well as League Pass, NBA.com and the NBA App. It would do its viewers a great service by reaching out to Duncan and having him be part of that fresh coat of paint it is being given.
The media names who had themselves excellent 2025s is many – Quita Loves Sports is one of them. We at Beyond The W actually had a chance to interview Quita recently on the success she has had with her women’s basketball-centric YouTube channel.
A great deal of the success she has encountered happened this year. In 2025, Quita partnered with All City Network for production of her morning show Quita in The Morning. It is fitting given Chicago – where Quita is based – is one of the markets that All City has placed plenty of emphasis on with CHGO.
Also, Quita had the opportunity – as did Hall – to cover her first-ever WNBA All-Star weekend. Indianapolis being only a short distance from Chicago certainly helped. With the WNBA recently announcing that Chicago will be the host city for 2026 All-Star weekend, one can expect Quita to be deep in the mix that July weekend in Summertime Chi.
Some media members emphasize the collegiate game. Others emphasize the professional game. Alford Corriette is one that has placed plenty of emphasis on the international game as of late. In similar fashion to how Duncan does with his breakdowns, Corriette has particularly put a great deal of work with international highlights – something that many fans will especially be in search of over the next several months.
He stays locked in to international women’s basketball. Anyone looking for someone to fill an opening pertaining to the international women’s game – one that is becoming more competitive with the domestic game – ought to give Corriette a contact.
More than deserving of kudos this season were those who had the privilege of covering the Golden State Valkyries. The expansion Valkyries turned out to be one of the biggest stories of the 2025 WNBA season.
This was a team that was playing with the most house money of any WNBA franchise given their expansion status. Not only did Golden State not resemble an expansion franchise, the Valks made the playoffs and created at atmosphere at Ballhalla that has become one of the premier home court advantages throughout the W.
The Valkyries nearly pulled off an upset win in Game 2 of the WNBA playoffs’ opening round against the Minnesota Lynx before Minnesota came back in said Game 2. But Golden State had a successful season by all accounts. Natalie Nakase was Coach of the Year, Veronica Burton was named Most Improved Player. Kayla Thornton represented the Valkyries at All-Star this past season.
With all of the success the Valkyries experienced in 2025, there was more than enough reason for positive coverage of this team. Established WNBA franchises like the Dallas Wings, Chicago Sky and Connecticut Sun wished they had the number of glowing articles written about them that were penned about the Valks over the last several months.
The ascent of Golden State is real and we know that those who are part of the beat for this team will continue to have many a story to write as it appears the Valkyries are building a consistent winner out in the Bay Area.
We mentioned Williams and Duncan a bit earlier. In fact, congratulations were also in order for the aforementioned Williams and Duncan – as well as Myles Ehrlich, Terrika Foster-Brasby, Mark Schindler and Jordan Robinson for being featured as WNBA media voices for NBA2K26. In fact, Schindler was recently hired by the Toronto Tempo as its Manager of Scouting and Basketball Strategy.
It is fitting that at this point we mention the Tempo because we are certainly excited to see how the coverage of this team will be north of the border. After all, Toronto chose Tempo for its name because of how it translates into English and French. The Tempo have already announced its intention to play home games in other Canadian cities – including Montréal and Vancouver and one can expect the press corps that will cover the team to include Francophone media.
In addition, there is the Portland Fire, which recently announced who it has hired for its head coaching position. That honor was bestowed upon Alex Sarama, a former assistant with the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers.
There is definitely a discourse to be had about why women – specifically Black women – continue to be passed over for these coaching jobs especially on the heels of Noelle Quinn being let go by the Seattle Storm. Coverage-wise, we are certain that the coverage of this team and the new Portland franchise will certainly be top-notch and will include Brenden Potts of World Exposure Report.
Many of the names that deserve recognition are those that have received kudos in our previous season-end shout outs to media. These include Kareem Copeland who covers the Washington Mystics at the Washington Post. They include Annie Costabile who now is at Front Office Sports.
They include Ari Chambers who continues to display via her work at ESPN and Andscape why she is so important. They include Dorothy Gentry in Dallas who was front and center for every step of what appears to be the start of a transition to Paige Bueckers with the Wings.
They include names such as Monica McNutt, Chiney Ogwumike and Elle Duncan. They include Ben Pickman at The Athletic. They also include established names like Doug Feinberg, Michael Voepel and, of course, Howard Megdal.
It includes Aryeh Schwartz and Rachel Galligan at Bleacher Report and Winsidr. It includes Kevin “KDot” Lewis. It includes The Best Damn W Show with LoLo, Jay Holloway and Nick Andre. It includes Rob Knox – who has to be over the moon about Philadelphia landing an expansion franchise in 2028. It includes Tyler DeLuca of the No Cap Space podcast. It includes Charles Hallman of the Minnesota Spokesman Recorder.
It also includes Chris Williamson and Erica Ayala at CBS Sports and CBS Sports HQ. Ayala is also continuing to do great work with her Black Rosie Media platform. It includes Karli Bell who now has the Courtside with Karli Bell podcast that covers the W from a Sky-centric perspective. And it includes Philadelphia 76ers voice Kate Scott who will be calling WNBA games next year for USA Network.
And it includes Callie Fin at the Las Vegas Review Journal who has had a front row seat to a dynasty.
And we at Beyond The W also have to give ourselves flowers as well. After all, this site has been running strong for 10 years in large part thanks to our photographer extraordinaire Lamar Carter who continues to put up A’ja Wilson-esque numbers with his lens. But every Wilson needs a Becky Hammon and the Hammon of this Little Engine That Is is our Editor-In-Chief Laureen Edwards.
We may not have been in the mix at All-Star per usual, but we are already planning on being back on the scene in Chicago in July of 2026. We were on scene at the draft, at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Knoxville and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Springfield. Not to mention, we always have plans for offseason content – so keep it locked.
And keep it locked to the platforms of our fellow media sisters and brothers. After all, the season may be over – but there is never an offseason in terms of women’s sports content. Us and our fellow press sisters and brothers will be closely following how the collective bargaining struggle unfolds. In addition, there is the college game that goes into full gear starting next month. Plus, we have Athletes Unlimited and Unrivaled on the brains.
There is more than enough to keep us occupied. But, to our brothers and sisters in the W’s press corps – there is excellent work being done by all of us and all of us occupy a specific niche which tell the complete story of a WNBA that will soon celebrate its 30th anniversary in existence.
Keep on being you and keep on elevating yourselves, these women and this league to even greater and greater heights. After all, we are the link between the W and the fan – that link, as evidenced by coverage that is becoming more and more in depth, has never been stronger.
Headline: WNBA MEDIA ROCKS IT FOR 29TH CONSECUTIVE SEASON
Subhead – Talented, young, vibrant and diverse collection of hoops enthusiasts earn flowers for MVP-level coverage
