Olivia Miles Draft Profile: bit.ly/4rsWQFN

I did a deep dive on Olivia Miles, including clips & data on her drive tendencies and common coverage counters, defensive pros and cons, and WNBA projection/fit for all six 2026 lottery picks. For @herhoopstats.com: herhoopstats.substack.com/p/olivia-mil...

Got another scouting report dropping tomorrow, this time on Olivia Miles, which breaks down her drive tendencies and common coverage counters, defensive pros/cons, and WNBA projection. In the meantime, here's the updated EuroLeague Women advanced team stats table:

Not much change in lottery luck this year, but Dallas picks up its second lottery win in two years. Since 2010, the Aces have been one of the luckiest lotto teams, winning 2 of 5, while the Dream have dropped more spots on average than anyone (and the Sky are 0-fer).

Before tonight's WNBA draft lottery, a look back at which teams have fared best in the lottery since 2011. The Aces have been one of the luckiest lotto teams, winning 2 of 5, while the Dream have dropped more spots on average than anyone. Data via @acrossthetimeline.com

Examining the UCLA star's game and how it projects to the WNBA level. Newsletter by Josiah Cohen: bit.ly/44cK0By

This is very well done and absolutely worth your time to read.

For @herhoopstats.com, I did a deep dive on Lauren Betts' draft profile: where her game stands on both sides of the ball, its statistical comparisons to previous highly drafted 6-foot-7 players, and how she projects to the WNBA. herhoopstats.substack.com/p/lauren-bet...

Serious basketball content (some might even call it scouting lite) coming tomorrow morning.

Great stuff by Josiah! Great follow for WBB Analytics!

EuroLeague Women four factors and team ratings through regular season round five.

EuroLeague Women advanced team stats, including Team/Opponent 4 Factors and ratings/100, and looked at a few early team storylines. Then, a breakdown of the conceptual and practical execution of Galatasaray's offense against a Schio defensive coverage. riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/how-many-v...

Clever from Maria Conde/Schio. They show the Spain action early (backscreen roll, pop), and Jess Shepard gets fouled. Then, off a BLOB, they show the same action, but Conde slips the back screen. If Shepard fades wing, she might be able to hold Kuier and negate the recovery to the paint/contest.

OK then, Serena Sundell! Nail tag w/ice coverage, recovers on the blind pig handoff, uses length to get the block from behind, drives the play in transition off the rebound and kicks it to Steph Talbot for three.

Geelong (WNBL) - SLOB - Box Zipper Ricky Exit (strong) Jaz Shelley inbounds and gets an exit screen to the corner, creating a good look from three. Sequenced after wheel concepts that flow into empty pick-and-roll with Mackenzie Holmes finishing in the paint.

EuroLeague Women offensive and defensive ratings through October 27. Fenerbahçe leads the pack offensively, while Girona has impressed in a group with Praha, Bourges, and Gdynia. Using a simple possession estimator and data from EuroBasket.

The offense of Iliana Rupert and Fenerbahce, the defense of Leïla Lacan (with a heuristic of defensive evaluations), and wrapping up the 2025 shot selection discussion, with a note on what it could mean for teams with new head coach hires. riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/individual...

Quick Leïla Lacan defense thread from Landes-Venezia. Her effortlessness (a useful heuristic) while guarding in isolation and executing basic, important defensive concepts (X out in the third clip) really stands out in conjunction with her length. She does the basic things AND the advanced things.

Fenerbahce, the Euroleague Women title favorite, is just so smooth. Doing all the small things right—everyone runs the right lane in transition (corner, corner, paint); Rupert fills fully down to the block and then lifts to take away the low help while Fener flows into empty PnR and a free layup.

Thread: Venezia 72 - 62 Mersin (October 9) Mersin failed to score for the final 5:30 and Kaila Charles led the victors with a 15-point, 11-rebound outing. Her three-point rate jumped in 2025, which she finished with the Valkyries, and she shot 2-4 from deep here.

The on-season begins! Ramping up the international scouting, a Valkyries showdown (Euroleague: Girona vs. Praha) highlighting Kaitlyn Chen and Maria Conde, and then a look back at Golden State's historic three-point shooting from 2025. riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/the-on-sea...

A little Valkyries foreign legion action: Justė Jocytė isolates against Janelle Salaün, drives and kicks, Coulibaly hits the three to open things up for Girona in #EuroLeagueWomen earlier. (Praha was not in zone to start the possession, just helped aggressively against the drive.)

Went back into the clip archives to come up with the Most Valkyrie Play of the season, and then looked at some interesting lineup data on Janelle Salaün and Golden State’s French Connection as a whole. riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/most-valky...

One thing the Valkyries did with All-WNBA Rookie Team member Janelle Salaün was move her around, starting her at three different positions on the season. Only Ceci Zandalasini (10 starts vs. Salaün's 33) also started for GSV at three positions. (You'll probably want to expand this image)

The first season is over | @sfchronicle.com www.sfchronicle.com/sports/artic...

"These moments don’t come around too often. More and more WNBA teams will join the league in the next few years, but there’s only one Valkyries inaugural season, only one Ballhalla, only one deeply personal connection for every fan." Thanks, y'all. riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/the-valkyr...

Salaün on Phee. Rupert for the added spacing. It’s happening.

Quite. Very much so, in a year of good coaching.

The Golden State Valkyries have lost 5 straight games to the Minnesota Lynx. Needing to make defensive adjustments for a win-or-stay home game 2, should they do the unthinkable against Napheesa Collier? riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/win-or-sta...

Wrote about what happened in Valkyries-Lynx game one, from GSV’s paint deficit, turnover issues, and thumb down action, to MIN’s execution, guard wins defensively, and Natasha Hiedeman sparking the Lynx (to the left): riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/lynx-out-e...

Quite. Very good.

Wrote about what happened in Valkyries-Lynx game one, from GSV’s paint deficit, turnover issues, and thumb down action, to MIN’s execution, guard wins defensively, and Natasha Hiedeman sparking the Lynx (to the left): riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/lynx-out-e...

Ok, finally getting a chance to watch GSV-MIN game one. Will try not to be too self-referential to the pre-game post in this thread, but it will sometimes be inevitable. riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/how-the-va... Zoom empty with Carleton—would love to shrink the floor more at the nail here.

Oh lord

Much to my chagrin, I won't be able to watch this game live in depth (I'll be following along). But I'll be able to watch it back later today, and I'll have the post-game up by tomorrow morning. Prediction: Iliana Rupert from three early. Playoffs!

Went deep on some adjustments GSV might make to beat MIN. How do they exploit MIN's pick-and-roll coverages? How do they stop Napheesa Collier and MIN's balanced offense? From high screens and "attack 15" to delaying Delay, your pre-game Xs and Os: riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/how-the-va...

Some end-of-season graphs. WNBA final 2025 challenge rankings, with the Lynx (perhaps unsurprisingly) claiming the top spot:

Is this thing on?

The Valkyries, Risen. riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/x-golden-s...

The Valkyries are going places.

Looking forward to a special night in Valkyries history, not least because it’s better than hate-watching Eagles-Cowboys (which I will continue to do as well).

10pm tip-off. 8am work. Sabrina Ionescu out. Monique Billings in. Valks are getting a dub tonight.

Even a broken clock struck three, time and time again, as the Valkyries exploited Indiana’s 3-2 zone to build an early lead and move up the standings. Also, LeBron himself shows you that the Fever defense wasn’t firing on all cylinders (final clip). riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/clock-in-c...

Miraculously, I will be able to watch this game live. Haven’t really talked about this lineup much but it’s been a neat way to blend what GSV wants to do without sacrificing size. Enabled by hot shooting from Burton and Charles (and the French Connection)

Added a bit of context for the challenge rankings: WNBA teams have been slightly less successful (58.5% overturn rate) than 24-25 NBA teams (62.7%). NBA success rates have risen over time since the league introduced challenges in 2019; WNBA is likely to follow suit (challenges added 2023).

The Valkyries dominated the Mystics, picking up another win, a season series sweep, and another step along the path to the playoffs. Quick look at the vibes, the magic number, the path forward, and more (with updated challenge rankings): riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/the-final-...

Wholly unsurprising effort from the Valkyries in this blowout performance.

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Probably my favorite newsletter yet! Love the Shaqtin interludes and the call back to Theseus at the end of was perfect.

How the Mercury out-executed the Valkyries offensively, from flare screens and Twirl counters to delay action and other heavy doses of Alyssa Thomas' passing. Then, a quick look at Paige Bueckers' recent three-level scoring profile: riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/valkyries-...