Who Ran The WNBA This Week: Marina Mabrey Made History, The Valkyries Are For Real & The Commissioner’s Cup Final Is Here
WNBA's week of records, expansion team success, and upcoming championship rematch.
Black News 
The WNBA just gave us one of those weeks where the recap almost writes itself. We got a 53-point explosion, a quadruple-overtime classic, multiple league records, an all-time milestone, a suspension controversy and an expansion team that keeps making everybody take it seriously.
The official Week 7 Power Rankings sum it up perfectly: Minnesota is still No. 1, Las Vegas is holding at No. 2, and Golden State jumped to No. 3 after winning three straight against quality competition. The Valkyries beat Atlanta twice, then knocked off the 2024 champion New York Liberty, which means we are past the “fun expansion story” stage. Golden State is just good, very good.
And now the league gets a perfect bridge into the next week: the Commissioner’s Cup Championship. The Liberty will host the Aces on Tuesday, June 30, at Barclays Center, giving us a rematch between the last two WNBA champions and two franchises trying to win their second Commissioner’s Cup title.
TEAMS & PLAYERS TO HIGHLIGHT THIS WEEK
Golden State Valyries
Golden State might be the biggest story in the league right now. The Valkyries went 3-0 last week with two wins over the Dream and a win over the Liberty, which pushed them up to No. 3 in the WNBA’s official Power Ranking. Their depth has been one of their biggest strengths, with the team leading the league in bench scoring at 34.3 points per game. For an expansion team to already be defending, closing and beating top-tier opponents like this is wild.
Marina Mabrey
Marina Mabrey had the loudest individual performance of the week and one of the loudest nights in WNBA history. She dropped 53 points for the Toronto Temp against the Los Angeles Sparks, tying the league’s single-game scoring record shared by Liz Cambage and A’ja Wilson. Mabrey shot 17-for-28 from the field, hit nine threes and helped Toronto cruise to a 125-97 win. That is not just a hot night. That is “stop the whole league and talk about it” stuff.
Kamilla Cardoso
Kamilla Cardoso was perfect. Literally, Cardoso scored a career-high 30 points on 13-for-13 shooting in Chicago’s 124-94 win over the Portland Fire, setting a WNBA record for the most made field goals without a miss in a game. She also grabbed eight rebounds, while the Sky set a franchise scoring record and shot 66% as a team. For a Chicago team that has been searching for something to feel good about, Cardoso gave them a historic night.
Brittney Griner
Brittney Griner added another historic line to a résumé that already had plenty of them. Griner became the WNBA’s all-time leader in blocked shots, passing Margo Dydek with the 878th block of her career. For one of the dominant defensive players the league has ever seen, this one feels fitting. BG has been a walking paint deterrent for more than a decade, and the record shows it.
Olivia Miles
Olivia Miles keeps doing things that do not feel very rookie-like. Miles became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 300 points and 100 assists, getting there in just 18 games. That is the kind of record that shows how complete her impact has been: she is not just scoring, not just passing, not just running Minnesota’s offense. She is doing it all while the Lynx sit atop the league.
Sonia Citron
Sonia Citron has been hooping, and the 4OT win over Portland put another stamp on it. She scored a career-high 32 points in Washington’s 124-123 quadruple-overtime win over the Fire and logged 53 minutes, tied for the fifth-most minutes played in a WNBA game. That came after she was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the previous stretch, so this is turning into more than a nice run. Citron is becoming one of the Mystics’ main engines.
STORYLINES OF THE WEEK
1. The Valkyries are not waiting their turn.
Expansion teams are usually supposed to be patient, take their lumps and build slowly. Golden State apparently skipped that chapter. The Valkyries beat Atlanta twice in three days, then handled New York to close the week, and now they own the league’s longest active winning streak. Their defense is real, their bench is deep, and “Ballhalla” has already become one of the toughest road environments in the league.
2. This was a record-book week.
Mabrey tied the single-game scoring record. Cardoso set the perfect-shooting record. Griner became the all-time blocks leader. Olivia Miles became the fastest player ever to reach 300 points and 100 assists. The Mystics and Fire played only the second 4OT game in WNBA history. Some weeks are about standings. This one was about history happening every other night.
3. Alyssa Thomas’ suspension added more fuel to the Caitlin Clark conversation.
The Mercury-Fever game did not just matter because Phoenix won a wild 111-109 shootout. It also became another flashpoint in the nonstop Caitlin Clark discourse after Alyssa Thomas was suspended one game for a play the league later upgraded to a Flagrant 2 for contact to Clark’s throat. Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts publicly criticized the WNBA’s handling of the suspension, while Indiana’s side was frustrated that nothing was called live. At this point, every hard foul involving Clark turns into a league-wide debate about officiating, protecting, physicality and whether the conversation around her has swallowed the actual basketball.
4. The Commissioner’s Cup Final arrives at the perfect time.
Liberty-Aces already comes with rivalry weight, but this year’s Cup Final has extra juice because both teams enter with something to prove. New York went undefeated in Cup play, but the Liberty are coming off back-to-back losses and still trying to find consistency. Vegas bounced back from its loss to New York with wins over Dallas and Chicago, and A’ja Wilson is still doing A’ja things. Tuesday should feel bigger than a regular-season trophy game.
5. The Liberty needs to tighten up fast.
Piggybacking off of that…New York still has championship talent, but the Liberty enter the Cup Final with some real questions. They beat Las Vegas earlier in the week, then lost to Seattle and Golden State. The loss to the Valkyries was especially rough because Golden State controlled the glass, won the effort areas and made New York look flat before a trophy game. That is not ideal timing.
6. Angel Reese’s double-double pace is still ridiculous.
Reese recorded her 57th double-double within her first 75 WNBA games, the most through 75 games in WNBA history. Even with Atlanta dropping both games to Golden State, Reese still had 15 points, 12 rebounds and five steals in the second matchup. Her rebounding consistency remains one of the most bankable things in the league.
BEST GAMES OF THE LAST WEEK
Phoenix Mercury 111, Indiana Fever 109 — June 24
This one had a little bit of everything: scoring, pace, controversy and a scary Caitlin Clark injury moment. Kahleah Copper led Phoenix with 28 points and went 15-for-16 from the free-throw line, helping the Mercury survive a wild 111-109 win. Kelsey Mitchell had 30 for Indiana, but the Fever could not quite close it after Clark left in the third quarter with a back injury. Beyond the final score, the game also fed into the larger Caitlin Clark conversation after Alyssa Thomas was later suspended for a foul on Clark that the league upgraded after review.
Minnesota Lynx 78, Washington Mystics 76 — June 24
Minnesota keeps finding ways to win, even when it gets uncomfortable. The Lynx trailed Washington by 12 in the fourth quarter before Olivia Miles and Natasha Howard powered the comeback. Howard finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds, while Miles scored 10 of her 21 in the fourth and helped Minnesota steal a tough road win.
Golden State Valkyries 78, Atlanta Dream 75 — June 26
This was a serious statement win for Golden State because Atlanta came in as one of the league’s top teams and still could not split the two-game set. Gabby Williams scored 13 straight Valkyries points in the fourth quarter and finished with 16, while Kiah Stokes added 13 points and seven blocks. Atlanta got 23 from Jordin Canada and another Angel Reese double-double, but Golden State closed like the better team.
Washington Mystics 124, Portland Fire 123 — 4OT — June 28
You cannot have a game-of-the-week section and leave out a quadruple-overtime game. Washington outlasted Portland 124-123 in only the second 4OT game in WNBA history, with Sonia Citron scoring a career-high 32 points and Michaela Onyenwere adding 30. Portland kept extending the game with clutch shots, but the Mystics survived after nearly everybody on both sides looked exhausted—instant classic.
Toronto Tempo 125, Los Angeles Sparks 97 — June 25
The game itself became a blowout, but Mabrey’s 53 made it a must-include. She tied the WNBA single-game scoring record, hit nine threes and gave Toronto one of the biggest moments of its inaugural season. Sometimes the best game is really the best performance, and this was absolutely that.
GAMES TO LOOK FORWARD TO THIS UPCOMING WEEK
Commissioner’s Cup Championship: Las Vegas Aces at New York Liberty — June 30
This is the big one. Liberty-Aces already feels like a rivalry built for trophy games, and now they meet again with the Commissioner’s Cup on the line. New York is trying to turn its perfect Cup run into hardware, while Vegas is trying to add another trophy to the A’ja Wilson era.
Atlanta Dream at Washington Mystics — July 2
This is a sneaky good East matchup. Atlanta is trying to bounce back after getting swept by Golden State, while Washington just came through one of the wildest wins in league history. Angel Reese, Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard against Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen and the Mystics’ young core should be fun.
Minnesota Lynx at New York Liberty — July 3
Minnesota is still the league’s No. 1 team, and Cheryle Reeve could have history on the line after tying the WNBA record for regular-season coaching wins. New York, meanwhile, will be coming off the Cup Final and trying to prove it can regain control against elite competition. This is one of the best measuring-stick games on the schedule.
Golden State Valkyries at Atlanta Dream — July 4
After Golden State beat Atlanta twice at home, the rematch in Atlanta should have a real edge to it. The Dream wants payback, and the Valkyries will be trying to prove their rise is not just about home-court energy. If Golden State wins this one too, the “are they a real contender?” conversation gets even louder.
SEE ALSO:
Why Choosing A’ja Wilson As The WNBA Logo Should Be A No-Brainer
