
All of these predictions are totally coming true.
The 2019 WNBA season tips off on Friday night, and it’s set up to be one of the best season ever. The best-of-the-best teams are STACKED this time around, making the champion virtually unpredictable. Four teams stand out with similar title odds — Mystics, Sparks, Aces and Mercury — and each is equipped with multiple All-Stars.
Liz Cambage, the league’s leading scorer, is a Vegas Ace now. Chiney Ogwumike, an All-Star center, joined her MVP sister Nneka AND Candace Parker in Los Angeles. The Mystics’ Elena Delle Donne is (hopefully) healthy again and can team with elite scoring big Emma Meesseman, who’s back in the league after a one-year hiatus. Once Diana Taurasi returns from a back injury, Phoenix will roll.
This is going to be FUN!
To ring in the new season, I won’t give you the usual awards prediction list, because frankly, it’s hard to guess and I’m not trying to get things wrong. Instead, here are seven moments I’m confident will happen at some point.
In no particular order:
1. There will be a new Liz Cambage meme
If you don’t know Liz Cambage, it won’t take you too long to learn how entertaining she is. The 6’8, three-point shooting, league-leading scoring center is incredible to watch on the floor, and she matches that energy off it.
Liz went viral when she fixed a nail on the bench:
lmao I broke a nail tonight :( https://t.co/4WjekOAlhA
— Elizabeth Cambage (@ecambage) July 11, 2018
And when she told a ref to open her eyes:
liz cambage getting ejected for screaming and motioning "OPEN YOUR EYES" to a ref 3 times (with some cursing) is absolutely incredible pic.twitter.com/mVuHlMkEqh
— Matt Ellentuck (@mellentuck) July 12, 2018
She danced on a bus when her technical foul got rescinded:
we dont deserve liz cambage pic.twitter.com/exhpYDQRgK
— Matt Ellentuck (@mellentuck) August 1, 2018
She twerked with hummus:
liz cambage reaaaaally likes hummus pic.twitter.com/O01SE91FqO
— Matt Ellentuck (@mellentuck) July 31, 2018
And with a speaker:
3. I'm even less sure lmfao pic.twitter.com/ZMK90qwYYL
— Matt Ellentuck (@mellentuck) July 28, 2018
And did whatever this is:
2. I'm just not even sure pic.twitter.com/iUh8dDe4rK
— Matt Ellentuck (@mellentuck) July 28, 2018
Liz, we’re ready for more!
2. Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell will cross someone up
Don’t mess with the Fever’s No. 2 pick from last season As a rookie, Kelsey shattered the ankles of anyone in her path in embarrassing fashion.
kelsey mitchell is filthyyyyyy.
— Whitney Medworth (@its_whitney) June 12, 2018
yes the fever are winless this season but this is their rookie who is literally a month out of college and i think they're gonna be fine in the future. pic.twitter.com/h79UA7v6V6
Imagine Kelsey in Year 2!
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3. Gabby Williams will make The Pass, Part 2
If you haven’t seen this pass from former UConn star and current Chicago Sky forward Gabby Williams yet, please stop reading and watch:
This Gabby Williams bounce pass is amazing! pic.twitter.com/UkRfydLak5
— SB Nation (@SBNation) June 13, 2018
Part two is coming. I promise.
4. Odyssey Sims is going to hit a buzzer-beater over the Sparks
The L.A. Sparks and Minnesota Lynx have storied beef and an addiction to playing nail-biting close games. They can’t help themselves. It’s only right that the rivalry between teams who split to back-to-back Finals in 2016 and 2017 enters a weirder chapter.
In the offseason, Minnesota traded trade for Sims, a point guard who was once their mortal enemy. Former Lynx player Lindsay Whalen flagrant fouled her and called the fine she received the best $200 she ever spent.
That was it for the buzzer-beaters, but the beef...
— Matt Ellentuck (@mellentuck) August 21, 2018
THIS IS WHERE THE BEEF TRULY REHEATS.
Lindsay Whalen is gonna be a HOFer. She's known for being tough as hell.
That's why she had no trouble flagrant fouling Odyssey Sims, her nemesis-to be. pic.twitter.com/J4IF5sb2Tr
Now, Sims is her replacement! It’s only right Odyssey becomes a Lynx legend.
5. A Diana Taurasi dagger will ruin someone’s night
Taurasi is known for landing knife-to-the-chest daggers in crunch time for wins. It’s what she does, and always has. Last year’s semifinals was no different.
Down 3 with 7.3 seconds left. Enter, Diana Taurasi. pic.twitter.com/zxwR5hNgXm
— espnW (@espnW) August 29, 2018
Taurasi will miss some time due to a back surgery, but when she returns, she’ll be back in business.
6. A’ja Wilson and Liz Cambage are going to do something hilarious on the court
Teaming two of the best talents in the world and two of the league’s most hilarious personalities off it is an absolute dream for fans. If there’s one thing other than play basketball that these two know how to do, it’s HAVE FUN.
They’ve been teammates in Las Vegas for a week, and already we have this:
You better work @_ajawilson22@ecambagepic.twitter.com/oawJgJyo09
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) May 22, 2019
7. The famous Katie Lou Samuelson meme will make a return
Real UConn fans will remember this meme that Gabby Williams used of her then-teammate, Katie Lou:
him: oh you play ball?! bet i could beat you one on one tho
— gabby williams (@gabbywilliams15) September 18, 2018
me: pic.twitter.com/XWr9j3VfbY
It’s hilarious and perfect.
I’ve tried using it, and you should too:
[dudes unpromptedly blowing up my mentions about how much they hate the wnba]
— Matt Ellentuck (@mellentuck) April 17, 2019
me: pic.twitter.com/Tpsb6hCt3W
Now that Williams and Samuelson are reunited as members of the Chicago Sky, it has to come back, or else I’ll make it.