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No one wants to see one of the league's top players miss an entire season. But sitting out 2013 -- even if it leaves Seattle scrambling right now for what appears to be a very competitive Western Conference race -- just might be exactly what Lauren Jackson needs.

In the immediate aftermath of falling surprisingly flat to open the Western Conference finals Thursday, the Los Angeles Sparks had different ideas about what had gone wrong in a 94-77 loss to Minnesota. Candace Parker was irritated by her team's ind...

The Sparks are well-rested. The Lynx, meanwhile, had to gut out a three-game series with Seattle. Will it impact Thursday's Game 1 of the Western Conference finals?

Fatigue. Injured point guard. Loss of momentum. Minnesota could have bought into a big list of excuses and flopped Thursday. Instead, Lindsay Whalen set the tone from the opening tip.

With the league's best record and a pair of MVP candidates, defending champion Minnesota is the favorite when the 2012 WNBA playoffs open Thursday.

The first few weeks of this WNBA season, it appeared Minnesota undoubtedly was on its way to a second championship. Then the Lynx had a hiccup in early July, losing three in a row. Well ... maybe not so fast on that repeat thing. But, now, it aga...

After battling back from a chronically injured left ankle that forced her to miss two seasons, Alana Beard's WNBA journey isn't over yet.

It was supposed to be the night Tulsa welcomed back its 6-foot-8 center. Instead, 5-6 Ivory Latta was the star of the night, helping the Shock win back-to-back games for the first time this season and snap L.A.'s nine-game win streak.

The WNBA just had a month-long break, but the playoff push will be intense from the get-go when games resume Thursday.

Silver Spurs are the surprise 'buzz' team as the Olympics brings a month-long halt to the WNBA. Will the time off help or hurt?

Defending WNBA champion Minnesota is expected to rule again. But where do the rest of the West teams fall behind the Lynx?

The start of any WNBA season hinges on how quickly teams jell with new combinations and how players perform after their overseas experiences. But which teams deal best after the monthlong break for the Olympics might have the biggest impact this season.

From the big winners (Tulsa) to head-scratching picks (New York), Mechelle Voepel takes a team-by-team look at Monday's WNBA draft.

The sure thing in this year's WNBA draft -- Stanford senior Nneka Ogwumike -- wasn't sure until recently that she was headed toward a pro career. But she's ready now, and was Monday's No. 1 overall pick.

After going 9-59 in two seasons in Oklahoma, Tulsa is trying to turn into a competitive franchise. Monday, the Shock picked up some players looking for a little redemption, as well.

Monday, Miami's Shenise Johnson might go among the top five picks in the WNBA draft. But it wasn't that long ago that there was actually some question the 5-foot-11 guard would even make it through high school.