Exploring the Intense MVP Race in Women's Basketball

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00:00We're going to get a look at the MVP conversation, if we can get into that a little bit later.

00:03Obviously, Caelan Clark is the favorite as of now.

00:06It is a little close, but looking to someone like Kelsey Plum to continuously put up big performances,

00:11I'm not going to say that she's going to win the MVP, but we were talking about pre-show.

00:15There's really no one else on that roster.

00:17Yeah, certainly.

00:18Until Cameron Brinkham's bracket, it's like, what is their offense going to look like?

00:21If she can score 30 a game, that's at least a conversation to be had when her odds are,

00:26what is it, plus 5,500 or plus 5,000?

00:28They dropped, I think, off of the opening game because of how prolific it was.

00:33But if the volume's going to be there, granted, the Sparks aren't going to be a good team overall,

00:37but there's a conversation to be had about, hey, she can score 30 a game.

00:41We can at least talk about it.

00:42It's a gutsy move, I think, to challenge any one of the top three,

00:48which is Clark, Nafisha Collier, and Aja Wilson.

00:51I will say, Nafisha Collier's opening game, as fantastic as it was, one game,

01:01putting her in front of the reigning MVP consensus best player in the world is a lot.

01:08I want to – so let's do the MVP thing then for a second.

01:11Do you think Nafisha's winning it?

01:15You're in on the Lynx this year, right?

01:17I'm in on the Lynx this year.

01:18I mean, I think it's going to be a rematch between the Liberty and the Lynx,

01:21and I think the Lynx calls it out.

01:22The thing that, really quick, that struck me,

01:25because I literally just pulled up the MVP market because I wanted to wait until today,

01:28and it's – arguably the second best player in the world, top three player in the world,

01:35is Brianna Stewart, and she's 19-1.

01:36Now, obviously, she won it – was it last year?

01:41Two years ago.

01:42And you could argue it could have went to Asia, but, like, to me,

01:45that's a wild number for someone that I think is one of the top two or three players in the world.

01:51So, okay, there are certain aspects of this season that, like,

01:56I know that you and I are on opposite sides.

01:57I'm not, like, violent disagreements, obviously, but, like,

02:00if you were to predict the finals right, you said you would be Liberty-Lynx.

02:05I don't think New York's the best team in the league.

02:07I don't think the Lynx are one of the three best teams in the league.

02:10That's me.

02:10That's how I view – that's how I view these teams entering the season.

02:13And we can get it all into the why for both of them.

02:17But Stewie's MVP odds, I don't think are wrong.

02:23Last year, they were the best team in the league all season,

02:26and she was never in the race for MVP.

02:29That wasn't because they were like, oh, no, no, no.

02:32Stewie had a really down season.

02:35And I think that in order for the Liberty to get back to the level,

02:39because, you know, Laney Hamilton's injured

02:41and it's incredibly difficult to repeat,

02:43I think Breonna Stewart needs to get back to being one of the three best

02:46players in the world.

02:47I don't think she is.

02:48I think the three women that we have booked in front of her

02:51are better than her now at this point.

02:53And I think the worry a little bit on the Liberty is, could it keep going down?

03:00Maybe.

03:01We'll find out, right?

03:02I think that's one of the really important things to watch as it pertains

03:05to the New York Liberty.

03:07Here's my thing on the Nefisha Collier side of it.

03:10I think if you're in on the Lynx, you have to believe that she's the best

03:14player in the world.

03:15And there is a difference between being the best player in the world

03:18and winning MVP.

03:20Jokic is the best player in the world.

03:21Shea's going to win MVP.

03:23Asha's the best player in the world.

03:25Collier winning MVP to me is not enough.

03:27Because the Lynx, J.Y., this is something that we talked about a lot last year,

03:30was the Minnesota three-point shooting, right?

03:32That trio that they had of McBride, Carlton, and Smith, on just rounding, okay?

03:40They were a 32% trio in 2023 and a 42% trio last year.

03:47On uptick volume, the Lynx will always be good defensively,

03:53especially because you have the reigning defensive player of the year.

03:56I don't think the offense holds up as much because those were just,

04:00it was a once-in-a-lifetime type of all of our best players had their best

04:08three-point shooting season.

04:09All at the same time.

04:10Like, it is so, it would be as if next round, OG, McCall Bridges,

04:18and Jalen Brunson all shoot like 50% from three.

04:21Like, watch his hat.

04:22Like, it's just, it was an avalanche.

04:23And good and incredible for them.

04:25I think that's hard to hold up where I just think there's room.

04:29And why I'm in on, we're kind of doing it all at once here,

04:32but I enjoy talking.

04:33That's why I'm in on Vegas.

04:35I think there's room for improvement across the card

04:38for everyone who surrounds Aja Wilson.

04:41I think it's going to be tough to take the MVP off of her.

04:44I think Kaitlin has a better chance, but this is, I know, right?

04:47I'm not betting Kaitlin Clark at 2-1.

04:49It's like, it's way too short.

04:51You have a little more.

04:59I think it's going to be tough to maintain it.

05:02But then, it's going to be tough to take the MVP off of myself.

05:06The focus is the difference.

05:08It's going to be tough to take the MVP off of myself.

05:10Yeah, why is it stepping into you?

05:12Yeah.

05:13Here's the one.

05:15Okay.

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