Buzzer-beaters and best friends: Rivalries and friendships take centre stage in WNBA Rivals Week
Rivals Week in the W drew attention to long-running feuds and friendships across the WNBA on Aug. 11, 2026, as the league’s 30-year history was revisited in a feature reflecting on the moments that have defined it.
The piece argues that dramatic late shots often spark enduring team rivalries while off-court bonds create another layer of interest, noting examples that range from half-court buzzer-beaters to baseline game-winners and celebratory routines. The author frames both antagonism and camaraderie as central elements that make the league compelling and says the aim is to highlight each across different eras.
The article singles out the Houston Comets and New York Liberty as the league’s original adversaries, noting the Comets dominated the first four seasons by winning four straight championships and sweeping the MVP awards. It states that three of those four championship trophies were won at the Liberty’s expense and includes Sheryl Swoopes saying, “the Liberty were always the bridesmaids. They wanted to be the brides, but it just wasn’t their time.”
A personal anecdote recounts a resurfaced exchange between Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon during WNBA All-Star weekend 26 years later, when Cooper teased the Comets’ four straight titles on the Orange Carpet and T-Spoon replied: “This is why I’m so thankful that four championships don’t define me. Coop, I’m still salty about this, chill out!” The article also notes the Liberty secured their first championship in 2024.
On player friendships, the feature highlights A’ja Wilson and Allisha Gray, whose relationship dates to being roommates at South Carolina and winning the 2017 national championship together; it adds that while they compete on the floor, their off-court chemistry produces comedy afterwards. The text reports Gray possesses a special PE of Wilson’s A’Two signature sneaker as a tangible sign of their friendship.
The Minnesota Lynx–Los Angeles Sparks rivalry is profiled as the defining matchup of the 2010s, with the Lynx built around Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles and Rebekkah Brunson. The article states the Lynx appeared in seven of the decade’s 10 finals and won four, while their clashes with Candace Parker’s Sparks featured “four MVPs and 12 gold medals across the two rosters.” It recounts the Lynx defeating the Sparks 2-1 in the 2015 Western Conference semi-finals en route to their third title, Nneka Ogwumike’s fallaway jumper with 3.7 seconds left deciding the 2016 final, and Maya Moore hitting a last-second jumper in the 2017 five-game final to secure Minnesota’s fourth championship in seven years.
The piece also profiles the StudBudz — Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman — who became teammates in Connecticut beginning in 2019 and have since reunited on the Minnesota Lynx, adopting matching pink hair, participating in Vogue photoshoots and livestreams, and emerging as prominent cultural figures within the league.
This article is an extract from WNBA 30, where Jordan Robinson covers the biggest stories in the league on and off the court each week; readers are invited to subscribe for free to receive the newsletter.