What We Learned From Week 3 In The WNBA: The Storm Are Unstoppble

The 2020 WNBA regular season is in full flow, with games every day and plenty of action. This week, the Seattle Storm stayed atop the league standings with some utterly dominant performances, the Connecticut Sun showed signs of life and Minnesota got hit with the injury bug while Phoenix got Diana Taurasi back healthy.

Here’s everything we learned from week three in the WNBA:

1. The Seattle Storm are absolutely unstoppable

The Seattle Storm proved that they are far and away the greatest team in this league right now, with eight straight wins — making it the longest regular-season streak for Seattle since they won 13 straight in 2010, when they won the championship. They are sitting pretty atop the league standings with a 10-1 record — their best season start in franchise history — and have shown no signs of slowing down.

Sue Bird returned in a rout of the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday, finishing with nine points and seven assists in the 100-63 win. In that game, the Storm reached 100 points for the first time since 2018 and in doing so, they tied the WNBA record of 18 three-pointers in a game — set last year by the Washington Mystics. Breanna Stewart continues to play like an MVP (reminder: this is her first WNBA season back from an Achilles injury) and Sami Whitcomb has been electric from beyond the arc.

2. How will the Minnesota Lynx fare without Sylvia Fowles?

When Sylvia Fowles limped off with a calf injury during Thursday’s game against the Las Vegas Aces, the biggest question was how the Lynx would fare without their leader. Well, if Saturday night’s game against the New York Liberty was any indication, they’ll do just fine with Napheesa Collier in the kind of form she showed this weekend.

The 6’1 forward has quickly grown into such an important figure for the Lynx, and that was evident in how she took control of what could’ve been a shaky game for the team. In the win, she earned her second consecutive double-double, exploding for 26 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists. Rookie guard Crystal Dangerfield had another strong performance as well, scoring 22 points on 75% shooting. If the two Minnesota youngsters keep putting up strong numbers, the Lynx should be able to stay in the top half of the standings — they’re currently fourth with a 7-3 overall record.

3. DeWanna Bonner is shining for the Sun

As previously noted, DeWanna Bonner has really hit the ground running in her first season with the Connecticut Sun. She is the fifth-highest scorer in the league this season, averaging 18.7 points per game along with 7.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.6 steals. This season, she’s also leading on both ends of the floor, shooting 41% from the field while maintaining a strong presence in the paint with her rebounding and blocks.

The Sun, though, have had a bumpy road so far in Florida. On Sunday, the team went 3-of-20 from beyond the arc in a 95-72 loss to the Seattle Storm. The Sun looked to be finding some rhythm with three consecutive wins this week against Atlanta, Dallas and Chicago before falling to the Storm. Connecticut currently sits in eight place, occupying the last playoff spot, but there’s no guarantee they’ll keep their spot unless they start being more consistent. The good news, though, is they seem to have a clear top star to rally around in Bonner.

4. The Washington Mystics have officially hit reality

At the beginning of the 2020 season, the Washington Mystics defied everyone’s expectations by winning their three straight opening games and becoming the only undefeated team in the league. Misha Hines-Allen, Aerial Powers, Emma Meesseman and Ariel Atkins had put the team on their backs in the absences of Elena Delle Donne, Natasha Cloud and Kristi Toliver, who left for Los Angeles in the offseason.

But the honeymoon phase is over for the reigning champions, who have lost their last seven games. Powers is out with a hamstring injury, and the team brought in Stella Johnson to replace her. But this season is likely lost for the team, and head coach Mike Thibault seems to be eagerly looking to next year. It was always difficult to imagine this team, without so many key players, maintaining its hot start to the season — especially in such a tightly packed season.

5. Give us all the Wubble kids content

WNBA players were allowed to bring their children to Bradenton, Florida for the 2020 regular season, and the content that we have gotten from the kids’ time in the Wubble has been absolutely precious. Phoenix Mercury guard Bria Hartley’s three-year-old son, Bryson, seems to have taken up photography in his spare time and the results are glorious. The Mercury’s social media accounts are laden with Bryson photos and it’s too cute to handle.

Dearica Hamby of the Las Vegas Aces brought her daughter, Amaya, to the Wubble, with the young Hamby eating Fruit Loops on the sidelines, enjoying some time in the swimming pool and even taking part in postgame interviews. Over with the Connecticut Sun, Bria Holmes’ “Baby D,” has stolen all the attention with her adorable outfits and infectious smile. All of the Wubble kids are too cute, and they deserve the world.