Lucas Kaplan, Author at Basketball Insiders | NBA Rumors And Basketball News Fri, 10 Oct 2025 15:52:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 How The Las Vegas Aces Built A 3-0 Lead In The 2025 WNBA Finals https://www.basketballinsiders.org/news/las-vegas-aces-2025-wnba-finals-lead-championship-phoenix-mercury-aja-wilson/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 15:52:18 +0000 https://www.basketballinsiders.org/?p=363686 The Las Vegas Aces are one win away. The narrative of their season is now crystallized and oh-so-close to completion but it bears repeating: At the beginning of August, they suffered a 111-58 slaughtering at the hands of the Minnesota Lynx, dropping their record to an even 14-14. Vegas won its final 16 games to […]

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]]> 4 Takeaways From Day 1 Of The WNBA Playoffs https://www.basketballinsiders.org/news/wnba-playoffs-4-takeaways-round-1-las-vegas-aces-phoenix-mercury-minnesota-lynx-atlanta-dream-new-york-liberty/ Tue, 16 Sep 2025 15:25:31 +0000 https://www.basketballinsiders.org/?p=362412 After the first 44-game season in league history, the WNBA playoffs are finally here. All four first-round series tipped off on an action-packed Sunday. While all four favorites won Game 1 — including the No. 5 seed New York Liberty, favored as the road team — we were left with much to discuss. The WNBA […]

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]]> So, Just How Good Is Angel Reese? https://www.basketballinsiders.org/news/angel-reese-wnba-chicago-sky-star-trade-request-free-agency/ Fri, 12 Sep 2025 16:52:09 +0000 https://www.basketballinsiders.org/?p=362317 One day after conclusion of her sophomore season, it seems likely Angel Reese has played her final game for the Chicago Sky. Following a “Keystone Cops” sequence in which she publicly demanded roster improvements heading into 2026 — lightly shading some of her teammates in the process, which led to a team-imposed half-game suspension, only […]

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]]> Can The New York Liberty Find Their Championship Form? https://www.basketballinsiders.org/news/new-york-liberty-championship-repeat-injuries-wnba-breanna-stewart-sabrina-ionescu/ Thu, 28 Aug 2025 16:16:35 +0000 https://www.basketballinsiders.org/?p=361883 On August 17 of last year, following a decisive win over the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces, I wrote the New York Liberty had “the juice.” They had been talented enough from the moment Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart and Courtney Vandersloot arrived in New York prior to the 2023 season, but it was clear […]

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]]> Paige Bueckers Is The Moment. Enjoy It. https://www.basketballinsiders.org/news/paige-bueckers-superstar-rookie-dallas-wings-wnba-analysis/ Fri, 22 Aug 2025 19:13:51 +0000 https://www.basketballinsiders.org/?p=361684 At the onset of the Dallas Wings-Los Angeles Sparks contest Wednesday night, we did not immediately know an all-timer was in store. Paige Bueckers was a couple hours away from setting the WNBA rookie single-game scoring record with 44 points on a maniacal 17-of-21 shooting line. She missed two midrange jumpers, a layup and a […]

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]]> Kelsey Plum Is Leading The Surging Sparks Into The Playoff Race https://www.basketballinsiders.org/news/kelsey-plum-los-angeles-sparks-offense-playoff-race-questions-wnba/ Sat, 16 Aug 2025 18:08:11 +0000 https://www.basketballinsiders.org/?p=361402 By all reporting, Kelsey Plum did not formally request a trade from the Las Vegas Aces last offseason. She didn’t have to. They were the San Antonio Stars when she got picked first overall in 2017 and eight years later, they had been through more together than just a rebrand out West. Plum struggled, failing […]

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]]> Can The Phoenix Mercury Contend For A WNBA Title? https://www.basketballinsiders.org/news/can-phoenix-mercury-win-wnba-title-alyssa-thomas-satou-sabally-kahleah-copper/ Tue, 29 Jul 2025 13:45:17 +0000 https://www.basketballinsiders.org/?p=360684 To no great surprise, the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty sit atop the WNBA standings with the 2025 season now past the halfway point. An injury-filled campaign for the defending champion Liberty has them looking up at Minnesota from the No. 2 seed. But even though home-court advantage may flip, a rematch of the […]

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]]> Can Collin Murray-Boyles Thrive In The NBA? https://www.basketballinsiders.org/news/collin-murray-boyles-nba-draft-scouting-report-toronto-raptors/ Wed, 09 Jul 2025 15:10:43 +0000 https://www.basketballinsiders.org/?p=359943 Courtesy of Bart Torvik’s NCAA database, here is every individual season by a teenager (since 2008) with a 25 percent usage rate, 60 percent true shooting, 20 percent assist rate and a six percent stock (block + steal) rate: Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina, 2024-25. That’s the whole list. Collin Murray-Boyles is 6 feet 6 inches […]

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]]> The Thunder Big 3 Have Them 1 Win From An NBA Title https://www.basketballinsiders.org/news/oklahoma-city-thunder-big-3-stars-nba-finals-shai-gilgeous-alexander-chet-holmgren-jalen-williams/ Tue, 17 Jun 2025 22:30:18 +0000 https://www.basketballinsiders.org/?p=358518 Much was made of the Jalen Williams/Shai Gilgeous-Alexander screening action the Oklahoma City Thunder used to close out Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Down the stretch of that soon-to-be immortal victory over the Indiana Pacers, Williams simply received ball-screens from Gilgeous-Alexander, who then had a much easier time scoring (or drawing fouls) on Aaron […]

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]]> NBA Finals 2025: 3 Takeaways From Game 3 https://www.basketballinsiders.org/news/nba-finals-2025-3-takeaways-from-game-3-indiana-pacers-oklahoma-city-thunder/ Thu, 12 Jun 2025 17:03:53 +0000 https://www.basketballinsiders.org/?p=358312 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, MVP of the NBA, hunched over with the edge of his shorts clamped between his palms and tightly gripping fingers, pressing down into his knees. If the Indiana Pacers do go onto to win the 2025 NBA Finals, that should be the defining image of their Game 3, 116-107 victory over the Oklahoma […]

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]]> NBA Finals 2025: 4 Takeaways from Game 1 https://www.basketballinsiders.org/news/nba-finals-takeaways-game-1-oklahoma-city-thunder-indiana-pacers/ Fri, 06 Jun 2025 20:11:39 +0000 https://www.basketballinsiders.org/?p=358078 The Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers shook a Mentos-filled Coca Cola bottle for 42 minutes, and at last, in the final six, it exploded all over Paycom Center to give Indiana a 1-0 series lead in the NBA Finals. I’ll break down some of what we saw in that weird, rollicking Game 1, and […]

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]]> Is The Timberwolves’ Offense Ready For Oklahoma City’s Elite Defense? https://www.basketballinsiders.org/news/minnesota-timberwolves-offense-growth-oklahoma-city-thunder-defense-anthony-edwards/ Mon, 19 May 2025 17:38:27 +0000 https://www.basketballinsiders.org/?p=357085 The Minnesota Timberwolves did not have a cakewalk to their second consecutive Western Conference Finals appearance, the first time they’ve accomplished such a feat in franchise history. But to make their first NBA Finals appearance, they’ll have to defeat a tougher opponent than a Golden State Warriors team missing Stephen Curry and deploying a hobbled […]

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]]> How Denver Has Slowed The Thunder Offense And What They Must Do To Get On Track https://www.basketballinsiders.org/news/denver-nuggets-nba-playoff-defense-oklahoma-city-thunder-adjustments-shai-gilgeous-alexander/ Tue, 13 May 2025 14:19:50 +0000 https://www.basketballinsiders.org/?p=356851 This statement could prove far too reactive, but Monday night felt like the dawn of a new era in the NBA. Three teams made significant, franchise-altering jumps in the NBA Draft Lottery, teams with ample All-Stars and Hall of Famers among them. It reminded the next five teams racing to the bottom, season after season, […]

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]]> How The Timberwolves’ Offense is Slowly Growing Against The Warriors https://www.basketballinsiders.org/news/minnesota-timberwolves-offensive-adjustments-nba-playoffs-golden-state-warriors-anthony-edwards-rudy-gobert/ Sat, 10 May 2025 17:12:22 +0000 https://www.basketballinsiders.org/?p=356718 There’s nothing sportswriters love more than when a game is encapsulated by a single sequence, introductory paragraphs appearing on a silver platter. Enter the 33rd minute of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ aggravating, 99-88 Game 1 loss to the Golden State Warriors Tuesday night. Anthony Edwards had just cut Minnesota’s deficit to 13, roasting a Kevon Looney […]

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