Latest / The Daily Play With Joy Taylor / A’ja Wilson’s Historic 5th MVP, Quarter-Season NFL Awards, and the Fever’s Fan Fallout

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A’ja Wilson’s Historic 5th MVP, Quarter-Season NFL Awards, and the Fever’s Fan Fallout · The Daily Play With Joy Taylor

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Hey guys, welcome to The Daily Play with Joy Taylor.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for joining me.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: Make sure that you hit.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Subscribe and follow us at The Daily Play Joy Taylor
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: on social. Congrats to Asia Wilson.
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: In rare air. Crazy.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: Entering into really rare air among the greatest, she has
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: won her fifth WNBA MVP and her third straight time
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: being voted the league's top player. Her third straight league MVP.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Not really surprising when you look at her numbers this year.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: She became the first WNBA player to average 25 points, 50% shooting,
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: and 40% on three-pointers. And her points per game this
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: season rank second best in WNBA history, second only to
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: herself when she began this MVP three-peat two years ago.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: She's the first to win three MVPs in a row.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: Last season, she became the first four-time winner in the WNBA.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: Cheryl Sloops, Lisa Leslie, and Lauren Jackson each have three.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: So she is in the conversation with people like Wayne Gretzky,
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Barry Bonds.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: They have more MVP awards than her now.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: She said it's incredible to be listed amongst those names.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: That's basketball royalty, but also this is the journey. I
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: have to thank everybody just being a part of it.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: It's not been easy, but to just be in that list,
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  Speaker 1: it speaks for itself. She has had an incredible year.
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: She is, as Sophie Cunningham kind of shadily referred to
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: her as the LeBron James of this league. She absolutely
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: is the face of the league. She is the best
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: player in the league. And the run that she has
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: been on there, there isn't a close second. When you
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: look at the success that her as an MVP has
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: translated for her team as well as They've been in
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: four of the last six finals, winning three of them,
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: including last season. Now they are on the brink of
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: elimination with a must-win game in Las Vegas tonight.
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: But regardless of how.
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: This particular postseason goes, she is absolutely dominating. She is
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: the best player on the planet. And she just continues to...
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: to set the bar higher for herself because she is
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: the one that is setting the bar and raising it.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely incredible work out of her this year. Her coach,
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  Speaker 1: Becky Hammond said, like I've said, take her off Mount Rushmore.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: She's Everest.
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  Speaker 1: Now I'm taking her on Everest and I have to
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: put her on another planet. You can be really talented
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: and skilled basketball player, not win as much as she
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: has and not become individually.
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: As great as she has.
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: She's the most coachable player I've ever been around. There's
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: a reason why she keeps coming back better and better
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: each year.
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  Speaker 2: She's only 30. She is going to be dominant for
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: a long time to come.
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  Speaker 1: She may end up setting records that could potentially never
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: be broken.
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: It's really impressive. So congrats to Asia.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: Sticking with awards, NFL writer Bill Barnwell put out his
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: quarter season awards Thursday and his picks are very interesting,
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: but there is a common thread with all of them.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: So he's not predicting who will be the MVP who
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: will be coach of the year.
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: He's just saying if the season ended now, quarter of.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: The way through, who would be these particular accolades? So
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: right now would be MVP is Brock Purdy, Trevor Lawrence second,
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: Dak third. You know, I think Brock Purdy has gone
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: pretty much unmentioned so far this season. And I discussed
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: a lot before the season that I didn't think this
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: was going to be a big year for Brock. The Niners,
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: it has seemed that I've been quite wrong about that
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: so far. Obviously, they're dealing with a ton of injury issues,
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: as they always are. And it does seem like injury
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: issues seem to be the thing that always trips them up.
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: But he's been tremendous. He's taken excellent care of the ball.
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: And as he runs that Kyle Shanahan offense so perfectly
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  Speaker 1: when he is available and has his weapons, he's done
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  Speaker 1: an incredible job.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: Dijon Robinson, Offensive Player of the Year, he.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: Bill Barmore put a bunch of running backs in this,
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  Speaker 1: Kenneth Walker II, JSN III, and also acknowledge that those
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: guys are in the MVP conversation as well. We never
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: give the MVP to anything but a quarterback. So every
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: single year we run into the same conversation. I think
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: that there should be a quarterback award so that we
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: don't feel obligated to give it to a quarterback every
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: single year. But Bijan's been amazing. And has played a
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: massive role in what Atlanta has been able to do
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: coming into the season. They looked like they were going
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: to be a disaster and they've really steadied the ship.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: Clint Kubiak is his coach of the year. Ben Johnson
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: second and Shanahan third. I think you could also add
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: Kevin O'Connell into this. The Vikings are who knows what's.
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  Speaker 2: Going on with them.
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  Speaker 1: And they're also 4-0 miraculously. But Clint Kubiak has done
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  Speaker 1: a great job. obviously coming in with a very high
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: degree of difficulty managing that organization, which has struggled for years.
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: And he has been able to create a bit of
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: an offense with Kirk cousins that has been not only
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: a little impressive, but it's kind of like winning the
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: hearts and minds of NFL fans.
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: Comeback player of the year, Patrick Mahomes. That's an easy one.
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  Speaker 2: Fred Warner, second, George Kittle, third.
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  Speaker 1: I think Patrick Mahomes has, uh, probably put fear in
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  Speaker 1: the hearts of all NFL fans who thought that they
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: were able to quickly write off the Chiefs.
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: Not so. Protector of the Year, Trent Williams.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: But the common theme with all of these picks is
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: that the Niners have a guy as the winner or
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: runner up for almost every award that we discussed, which
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: I find very interesting because while we often focus on
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: the Niners as a whole, and have them in the
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: Super Bowl conversation, have them in Super Bowl expectations, we've
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: sort of, myself included, kind of pressed pause on that.
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  Speaker 1: And the injury bug is always there nibbling at them.
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  Speaker 1: So maybe this is the year that they can push
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: through those injury issues. And because they are on this
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: streak right now, they have a little wiggle room if
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: they do start to have issues later in the season.
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: But it's been a very impressive start. And I think
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: for once, we're all kind of like, great, impressive start.
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  Speaker 1: Keep it going and see what actually comes out of
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  Speaker 1: this rather than getting ahead of ourselves with the Niners.
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  Speaker 1: And listen, the Niners have been an incredible team. They
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: have had success. They have, you know, been in Super Bowls.
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  Speaker 1: They just haven't finished what they started. And that conversation,
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: when you talk about the Rams, when you talk about
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: the Eagles, when you talk about teams that have completed that,
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: the Seahawks, it's like we want to put them in
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: those conversations because they are always competitive and they're well-coached
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  Speaker 1: and they have stars, but they haven't won yet. And
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: maybe this is the year that they push through that. Finally,
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: let's head back to the WNBA. The Fever are out
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: of the postseason, but Indiana guard Kelsey Mitchell spoke about
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: how great and how difficult.
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: It can be playing for the Fever.
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: Since Caitlin Clark and her immense star power joined the team,
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: she said showing up every day to compete for fans
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  Speaker 1: that may or may not like you is hard.
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  Speaker 2: She said this during her season-ending media session.
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  Speaker 1: Her comments weren't a slight at her teammate, just an
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  Speaker 1: acknowledgement of the mob of casual fans that support Caitlin
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  Speaker 1: Clark by hating on other players in the league overall.
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  Speaker 1: And that angry fan behavior has been an issue, though
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: it is not... a calling of caitlyn clark to bring
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  Speaker 1: that she also adjusted and defended her teammates in her
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: final media sessions she said she described kelsey mitchell as
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  Speaker 1: a good soul as far as people that have used
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  Speaker 1: me to demonstrate racist rhetoric or hate or discrimination that's
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: not something i stand for that's never been something i
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: stood for for those of you that know me you
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: know that's not what i'm about it's not how i
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  Speaker 1: was raised that's really disappointing when people do that i
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: think it kind of gets into this larger discussion in
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  Speaker 1: mainstream sports of what people go through I think I
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: just recently saw Coco Gauff come out and kind of
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: talked about her experience as well. So anytime I see
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: something like that, it makes me upset, makes me sad.
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: It makes me really disappointed because that's not who I
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: am and that's not what I'm about. I think she
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: spoke very clearly and she spoke very highly of Kelsey
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  Speaker 1: Mitchell and wanting to continue to play with her. I
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: think that when you're talking about what's happened with the fever,
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: with the casual fans, the new fans of the WNBA,
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: the fans who are fans just of Caitlin Clark, and
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: just how that sort of wave of coverage has moved
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: throughout the sports world where, you know, coming into the league,
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: she was being touted as the best player on the
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: planet before ever even playing in the league. Then her
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: rookie season, everyone's saying that they're like targeting her and
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: that the WNBA needs.
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: To protect her.
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: Then you have Congress getting involved this year. You've had
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: multiple incidents where players and coaches have talked about the
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: environment in Indiana with the fans there. Obviously, these players
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: are getting a ton of hate online, which Kelsey Mitchell
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: also spoke about. And it coming from fever fans only
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: adds to the experience there. My hope is, and I'm
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: constantly having this conversation about the WNBA. People ask me
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: about it every time sports comes up in a conversation,
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: every time I mention the WNBA. every time Caitlin Clark
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: comes up, it's like, what's the WNBA going to do?
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: Where's it going to go from here? You know, how
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: are they going to get things on track? I think
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: things are on track. The numbers are up. The revenue
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: is up. The new CBA is signed. Things are moving
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: in a very positive direction. You have the best player
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: on the planet playing at the highest level still in
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: the postseason with Asia Wilson winning her fifth MVP. Kaitlyn
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: Clark and Kelsey Mitchell healthy in the postseason. You know,
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: Angel Reese is winning Defensive Player of the Year. I
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: think good things are happening in the league. This is
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: still a young league. It's only in its 30th season.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: There are still new fans coming. We are living in
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: incredibly divisive times where racists feel wildly empowered and motivated
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: to divide people and to continue to push that rhetoric,
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: even if it is something that Caitlin Clarke is not
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: standing for. Look, do I think that she could be
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: louder in denouncing these things?
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: Of course. Do I think that she benefits.
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: In ways from these casual fans supporting her and putting
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: other players down?
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, she obviously does. It's not through any doing.
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: Of her own, but that's the way it goes. Like,
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: this is the world that we're living in. And... it's
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: her choice how she wants to address those things and
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: how she wants to deal with it. And the reality
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: is you're playing alongside Black players. You're playing alongside some
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: Black queer players. And they're going to get hate that
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: she does not get. And it's going to be vicious.
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: And it has been vicious. And I think that she,
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: if they are going to have success, the mental fortitude
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: that the players around her are going to have to have,
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: if she is going to continue to deal with it
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: the way that she has, that's going to be a
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: lot to overcome. That's the reality of it. We live
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: in times where people feel empowered to be absolutely insane, racist, violence, threatening, homophobic, misogynistic, demeaning, degrading.
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: They feel empowered to do these things. They feel empowered
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: to say them at arenas. They feel empowered to say
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: it online. They feel empowered to say it on talk shows.
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: They feel empowered to show up at arenas and throw,
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: you know, sex toys and show up in wigs talking
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: about protecting women's sports. Idiots and terrible people are empowered
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: right now. And I really believe that if Caitlin Clark
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: is going to have success in this league, it's going
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: to take a coming together of her and her teammates,
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: in a way that is going to have to be
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: very special because they are going to have to overcome that.
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: And if she is not going to loudly and constantly
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: denounce the way that her teammates are treated, that's going
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: to continue to be a problem. And look, you can
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: say it's not her fault. It isn't her fault. Life
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: is not fair. With great power comes great responsibility. That's
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: how this works. Yeah, I think it's going to be
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: very interesting to see how they work out the deal
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: with Kelsey Mitchell.
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: They play excellent together.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: And other than these off-the-court issues, they seem to be
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: great teammates. They combine for 47 points per game this season.
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: It's the highest scoring teammates in WNBA history. Mitchell set
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: WNBA records for the most points scored and most three-pointers
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: made in a season. She also averaged a fever franchise, 24,
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: seven points per game this year, alongside Caitlin. And they
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: were both in the MVP consideration and both were all-star selections.
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: That is that alongside the other players that they have
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: on this team, obviously they didn't get done this year,
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: but moving forward there, if they can keep this together,
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: they're in a good spot, but that's only part of it.
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: The talent is only, is only part of it.
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: The, the team camaraderie, the team mentality is, that sort
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: of fortitude as you.
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: Go through a season matters as well.
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: And I'm glad that Caitlin said that, but racists are loud.
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: They're louder. And misogynists are loud. They're louder.
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: If you're going to combat that, and if there's going
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: to be a change in how they are treated, I
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: think that would go a long way. And I do
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: think that that's going to play a role in her
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: team success. not just her individual success.
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: In this league. So thanks for joining me.
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: Make sure you hit subscribe, follow us on social at
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: the Daily Play Joy Taylor, and we'll catch you next time.