Good Follow - WNBA Season Preview: Are the Fever as scary as they seem? Plus Deja Kelly joins the show & more!

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The Dan Le Batard Show 51 min 5 speakers 9 chapters transcribed
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Who are the hosts and guest on this WNBA season preview episode?

Roz Gold-Onwude 0:23
Hey, what's up, everyone? Welcome to Good Follow, presented by DraftKings. I'm Roz Golden-Witte, and that's my co-host, Logan Hackett. And returning to the show, we got a big one and a good one, our girl, WNBA vet, Monique Billings of the Golden State Valkyries. What's up, y'all? What's up, Moe? Hey, how y'all doing? You're in the Bay settling in for the season, aren't you?
I'm in the Bay. I've been growing my roots out here for a couple weeks now. First game of the season is this week. I'm excited.
Roz Gold-Onwude 0:52
I know. I can't believe the WNBA season is officially about to begin. So I'm gonna take you through what we're serving up on our good follow menu for this show. We have a WNBA season preview. We are going team by team, Eastern and Western Conference. Then we're gonna tap back in for the 2025 draft class. And then please stay with us for an exclusive interview with former Oregon guard Deja Kelly joins the show fresh off of her experience and time with the Las Vegas Aces. She shares about training camp and her experience and then what's next for her. So it's a really nice interview with Deja Kelly. I can't wait to get to it.
Logan Hackett 1:32
And as always, y'all, thank you for subscribing, commenting, liking, pressing all the buttons, following our socials, and don't forget, new episodes drop every Wednesday at 7 p.m. Eastern time. So let's dive into a season preview with key players, X-Factors, and then our thoughts on each team. And we're going to start with the Eastern Conference.

Can the New York Liberty repeat as WNBA champions this season?

Logan Hackett 1:49
So we have the reigning champions, the New York Liberty, and they're a top-caliber team that seemed to just get better in the offseason. Though we have Maneja, Laney, Hamilton out for the season, their roster still looks pretty good. Their stars are Sabrina Ionescu, Brianna Stewart, and Jonkel Jones. And their X Factor comes with Natasha Cloud's integration into the backcourt. So Roz, you are the Liberty Analyst. Give us the tea on the defending champs and do you think they can repeat?
Roz Gold-Onwude 2:17
I do think the Liberty can repeat. I don't think it's going to be easy at all by no means. You know, this isn't a team that's just picking up where they left off. They have a lot of new, I mean, they have a lot of returners too, but even those returners, some of them are in new roles. And then for those new faces, there's going to be a period of meshing that they need to do this season. So I've, I've got, a ton of thoughts, of course, on this team and the Liberty. But if I could run through notes, I mean, Brianna Stewart, that's your MVP candidate from last season. And I wonder, is she going to have a more efficient shooting year? You know, Stewie didn't shoot that ball that well from three. In fact, probably her career worse, 29%.
Roz Gold-Onwude 2:57
So, hey, in the last preseason game, she shot seven for nine from the field. We're hoping for more efficiency from her. And of course, the Liberty bring back in Maureen Johannes. You know, she's an exciting player to watch. And she you know, has a lot of explosive scoring, especially from three to add. You mentioned Natasha Cloud. I'm wondering how her and Sabrina Ionescu either play with each other or in tandem for each other. You know, Natasha said, I'm bringing a dog to New York City. I think the Liberty are going to need that dog. Um, and Sabrina added all that dribble penetration last season. I'm wondering what the next step forward is for her. Um, but mention, I mentioned like dog grit, like without Benigelini Hamilton, Kayla Thornton is now playing with you, Mo.
Yeah.
Roz Gold-Onwude 3:41
The golden state Valkyries. You got a dog over there. Right. Um, You also miss players who are willing to play defense, who were versatile. And so I'm looking at somebody like Rebecca Gardner as maybe an X factor. She's coming off of injury. The Liberty played the long game with her. But when she was healthiest and at her best in Chicago, she was versatile, long, active, energetic, defensive, and maybe can help fill that gap. The last things I'll say about the Liberty is this. Jonathan Cole, the GM, he's got it tight. Like, the Liberty are deep with these, like, five 10-and-up wings who are versatile, stretch the court, can defend, are long, are competitive.

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