‘It’s Really Not … Fair’: Shyanne Sellers’ Rollercoaster WNBA Journey

From a standout NCAA Tournament, to getting engaged, to fighting for her job

Plus: The Red Sox answer at 1B, Pope-themed names, more

It’s been a whirlwind of a month for Shyanne Sellers.

Here’s a little bit of what has transpired since the beginning of April for her:

• She put on a damn show in a Round of 32 game against Alabama to take Maryland to the Sweet 16
• She got engaged to her partner

• She was a projected first-round pick
• She fell to the second round to Golden State

• She was cut by Golden State before their first preseason game
• She was signed by the Atlanta Dream

And now, she’s fighting to show that she belongs.

“I thankfully have a good support system around me,” Sellers said about the rollercoaster journey so far. “I’m super excited for this opportunity, and you have to keep a positive mindset.”

That’s what Sellers has done so far. She arrived in Atlanta the day after the team’s first preseason game against the Washington Mystics. It was a scheduled off-day for the team, and the same day that they waived Emani Jefferson and rookie Maria Gakdeng.

Sellers took to the court Friday for her first practice, only to turn around and play in a preseason game the next day against the Indiana Fever.

That’s exactly two days to show what she has to offer to the Dream before their season kicks of.

The WNBA can be brutal.

“It’s tough to only get a few days to show what she can do,” new head coach Karl Smesko told me before the game. “I was really impressed with her practice. Great energy. Was really locked in to what we are doing. She picked things up quickly, and she had a great practice.”

Atlanta was one of the teams that Sellers spoke to before the draft, and while there were concerns around her knee—some people felt that was why she slipped in the draft—she passed her physicals with Golden State and Atlanta, and said that she’s good to go.

“I know there are a lot of questions about my knee,” Sellers said. “Hopefully, I can give some answers today.”

The “today” that Sellers was referring to was the Dream’s game against the Fever.

She did play. She did look healthy. But she also struggled.

On her first chance on offense, she attempted a behind-the-back dribble and had the ball stolen from her. Then, a few possessions later, she was wide open at the top of the key, had the ball, and hesitated for five seconds. Smesko’s offense is one that prioritizes the three-point shot and getting the shot off.

Sellers didn’t do either, as she passed to a teammate instead of taking the wide open shot.

Sellers was put in a tough position of not knowing the complicated offense with one day of practice. It’s something that’s different for even the veterans on the team.

“It’s definitely different from any coach I’ve played for,” all-star Brionna Jones said prior to the game. “I think the hardest part is the terminology as it’s different from anything I’ve been used to.”

Jones, who also went to the University of Maryland, has been big for Sellers in her short time in Atlanta, as she shouted out both Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough as taking her under their wings and helping her out.

“Being a mentor for the rookies is an important thing,” Jones told me before the game. “I had great vets as a rookie, so being able to turn around and do that for our rookies is something that I want to do—Terp or not.”

Even with the support of her Terps, Sellers faces an uphill battle to make the team out of camp.

The Dream can carry 11 players this season, and 10 of those are locked in at this point. That leaves three players—Ashley Joens was cut immediately after the preseason game—competing for one spot: Sellers, Haley Jones, and Taylor Thierry.

That’s a rookie, a former first-round pick who makes business and PR sense, and another rookie that the team has praised in training camp.

“It’s not really … fair to have one practice and then in the game to show what you can do. But this is the W,” Smesko said to me before the game. “These decisions have to be made relatively quickly. We’re going to get everyone in. Hopefully, they’ll get a chance to play extended minutes. We’ll use that as part of our evaluation. We won’t put it all into one preseason game, but it does have importance.”

Sellers is the latest example of why roster expansion and team expansion is so important for the league. There are too many talented players who won’t be on a roster this year.

The WNBA remains the hardest league to make. That’s what makes it so great … and so heartbreaking at the same time.

Top 10 Pope-themed Athletes

I left Twitter in November after the election. Cold turkey. If a Nazi salute from Elon Musk isn’t enough for you, I don’t know what is.

Bluesky has been fun. It feels like old Twitter in a way, but it’s still missing that feel.

When the new Pope was elected last Thursday, it was the first time in a long time that Bluesky felt like Twitter.

And I mean that in the best way possible.

The jokes. The memes. The speculation. It was the chef’s kiss.

I was chatting with my friends Emily and Ally in a group text, and I asked them the question: Which WNBA and NWSL player would make the best Pope? They gave their answers, and then I did what I do best—put way too much effort into a thoughtless exercise.

I put together a list of Pope-themed names from the WNBA and NWSL.

This is fun. Please don’t get mad at me. I have a dog and a cat. They love me.

Here they are, in no particular order:

• Natasha Cloud (cloud of smoke)
• Hailey Van Lith (she was a Louisville CARDINAL)
• Chelsea Poppens (more like POPEns, amirite?)
• Kelsey Plum (all the SMOKE)
• Kelsey Plum again (Plum is kind of like Plume of smoke)
• Alyssa Thomas (her nickname is The Engine and engines always have smoke making them go and shit)
• Cori Chambers (they discuss shit in chambers I think?)
• Allisha Gray (Gray smoke)
• Chelsea Gray (point GAWD)
• Stephanie White (white smoke)
• Whitney Church (c’mon. Church, people)
• Hope Solo (one letter change and you have Pope Solo)

Nathaniel Lowe to Boston is a Perfect Fit

I don’t blame Rafael Devers at all for refusing to play first base. Learning a new position on the fly is hard, and Boston did, in fact, tell him that he’s their full-time DH after he said that he wanted to play third base still.

I don’t blame Boston for signing Alex Bergman. Devers was not a good third baseman. Like, at all.

But when Triston Casas went down, the first thought that I had was “they can move Devers to first base.”

Would I have asked him about moving there? Absolutely I would. Would I understand if he gave me a big middle finger (he didn’t do this) and say no? I’d like to think that I would.

The good news for the Red Sox is that there are first basemen on the market who can be had.

If they are desperate, desperate, they can get Anthony Rizzo who is old and isn’t very good, but is better than their current options.

The better move, though, would be to try to trade for Nathaniel Lowe of the Washington Nationals.

Yes, as someone on Bluesky told me, the Nationals just traded Robert Garcia, a reliever, to the Rangers for Lowe this offseason. And yes, he has two years of control left.

But even with the young pieces that the Nats have, assuming that they are true competitors in two years is a stretch.

There are few teams that have the young players to get Lowe from the Nationals, and he would be by far the most costly first baseman on the market.

Would a Franklin Arias and Davis Sandlin get it done? Would they need to include Wilyer Abreu or Ceddanne Rafaela?

I don’t know what the ultimate price would be. I do know that Lowe is a really good player, but shouldn’t command an elite-level package.

Which WNBA Team Should You Support?

I thought about doing something fun around this, but then Robocoko on Bluesky knocked it out of the park.

Check out this fun thread if you’re looking for which team you should support this year if you’re a new fan.

Just vibes, man. Just vibes.

Until Next Time

We have our ultimate WNBA preview edition coming up on Friday. Awards. Hot takes. Players to watch. Power rankings. Predictions. All things WNBA (like it’s really any different from any other newsletter lol).

I do have some fun things on the horizon. I’m locking down a time to chat with one of my favorite up-and-coming musicians for a fun conversation.

Keep your eyes out on your inbox.

Until then, I love you awesome nerds.