Rivals Week in the WNBA has already produced plenty of spicy viral moments. But the matchups on the schedule also highlight the rivalries and friendships that have come and gone throughout the league's 30 years – some rooted in half-court buzzer-beaters, others in baseline jumper buzzer-beaters. If there's a buzzer-beater involved, it'll likely turn into a team rivalry.
While there are tense rivalries, there are also fierce friendships – the ones that make you giggle when they guard each other during a game or show off a special celebration as teammates. Both are what make the W worth watching.
The OG Rivalry: Comets v Liberty
The Houston Comets were everyone's rivals for the first four seasons of the WNBA. They won four straight championships and swept the MVP awards. But one team especially didn't like their red-white-blue color scheme: the New York Liberty. Three of the four championship trophies hoisted by the Comets came at the Liberty's expense.
Comets legend Sheryl Swoopes, co-host of a podcast, says the two teams did not like each other because “the Liberty were always the bridesmaids. They wanted to be the brides, but it just wasn’t their time.”
The rivalry re-emerged between Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon during WNBA All-Star weekend 26 years later. When Cooper poked fun at the Comets winning four straight titles on the Orange Carpet, Weatherspoon responded: “This is why I’m so thankful that four championships don’t define me. Coop, I’m still salty about this, chill out!”
The Liberty finally got their first championship in 2024. The only thing that would've made it sweeter? If they'd beaten the Comets to earn it.
Besties for the Resties: A'ja Wilson and Allisha Gray
When A'ja Wilson and Allisha Gray are on the same court, you know it's going to be comedy afterwards. But while the game is going on, those two battle. Their friendship goes back to playing together and being roommates at South Carolina, when they won the national championship in 2017.
Since then, fans have had a courtside seat to their best friendship and careers blossom. They've been each other's biggest supporters, and Gray even has her special PE of Wilson's A'Two signature sneaker.
The Last Dynasty: Lynx v Sparks
The Minnesota Lynx defined the decade by reaching dynasty status in the 2010s. With a lineup of Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles and Rebekkah Brunson, they were built to win. Out of the 10 finals that made up the decade, the Lynx appeared in seven and won four.
But the rivalry with Candace Parker's LA Sparks was must-watch TV. At its peak, there were four MVPs and 12 gold medals across the two rosters. In the 2015 Western Conference semi-finals, the Lynx beat the Sparks 2-1 en route to their third championship. In 2016, they met in the finals, and a fallaway jumper by the Sparks' Nneka Ogwumike with 3.7 seconds left decided their fate. The next year, they met in the finals again, and it went the five-game distance. This time it was Moore who hit a game-winning jumper with seconds left to give Minnesota their fourth championship in seven years.
You're the Bud to my Stud: Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman
There aren't too many friendships where names morph into a world-renowned moniker synonymous with joy, laughter and 72-hour streams. The StudBudz duo of Williams and Hiedeman stems from the two being teammates in Connecticut starting in 2019.
Since then, they've played together on the Minnesota Lynx with matching pink hair, had Vogue photoshoots and countless livestreams, and have become key figures of the WNBA's culture.
This is an extract from WNBA 30, where Jordan Robinson covers the biggest stories in the league on and off the court each week.
