Another Win For New York Libs!

Get it? Anyway, the Liberty won the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup on Tuesday, defeating the Aces 93-86. Stewie for the MVP as she and Sabrina combined for 51 points on the night. Stew and Sab also confirmed they’ll be giving their prize money to the Liberty’s development players, who do not recieve anything for the win.

S/o Lib fans for booing the hell outta Kathy. We see you and we hear you.

Liberty-biberty? Liberty-biberty.

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Ja Morant, You Are A Trail Blazer

In perhaps the most surprising/provocative trade to happen in NBA free agency so far, the Trail Blazers traded Jerami Grant and Kris Murray to the Grizzlies for Ja Morant and $1M cash. The news was met with mixed reactions from Blazers fans, which is understandable considering Morant has only played 79 games in the last three seasons due to multiple off-court suspensions and injuries. However, to those of us who watched the Jail Blazers documentary, hopefully we learned how detrimental hyper-negative fan and media discourse can be for a player, and a team.

New Episode of Pickup: Hello? What?

We’re talking NBA trades. We’re talking WNBA beef. We’re talking Train Dog, and we’re talking for 30 min without recording! Luckily we persHERvered! We cover Ja to the Blazers (negative?), Olivia Miles/Paige Bueckers animosity (positive), Draymond’s free agency (confusing), and more!

Leave us a review and we just might read it on the pod…

Listen on Spotify

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Support the cause

Our goal is to keep growing as the ONLY women-owned hoops mag that serves up and provides a platform for the stories of all genders and levels. As such, we need the world to know we exist, and we hope you can help us spread the word. Become a Substack subscriber, listen to our podcast, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, donate to our small business, buy a magazine subscription or merch, and most importantly, tell a friend about us. We can’t thank you enough.

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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The NBA Draft happened last night, completely out of the blue (to me), so here are the top 10 picks:

1. AJ Dybantsa (Wizards)

2. Darryn Peterson (Jazz)

3. Cameron Boozer (Grizzlies)

4. Caleb Wilson (Bulls)

5. Keaton Wagler (Clippers)

6. Mikel Brown Jr. (Nets)

7. Darius Acuff Jr (Kings)

8. Kingston Flemings (Hawks)

9. Morez Johnson Jr, (Mavericks)

10. Brayden Burries (Bucks)

Special shoutout to Yaxel Lendeborg for getting emotional when the Warriors took him at #11. We love a crybaby around here!!

What’s A Courtside Baddie Like Me Doing In A 200 Section Like This?

Get the shirt if you’re a master bitter like us. What?

Party In The City Where The Greek Is In

Giannis Antetokounmpo was traded (along with Bobby Portis (who is not a tortoise but sounds like he could be one but honestly also kinda looks like one low key???)) to the Miami Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr, Kasparas Jakučionis, three first-round picks, one pick swap and one second-rounder. That’s actually kinda crazy to me - is that what Giannis (and Bobby Portis who is not a tortoise but sounds like he could be one but honestly also kinda looks like one low key) are worth??? How the fuck should I know, I’m a tortoise.

One thing is certain; the weather in Miami is sure to make Giannis even hornier on main than he has been in years past. There are some statistics I’m sure that exist about the effect of the temperature on human behavior somewhere. I don’t have access to them. They won’t let me cite my sources. They want me dead. And remember, I’m just a tortoise.

NO New Episode of Pickup: Sorry

Tragic, isn’t it? Ashtyn was in Cans and Ciara was in Nap- Sonoma (you think I’m stupid, Ciara?), so we had to skip this week. Alex did consider doing a sort of One-Woman Show podcast where she just ranted about whatever was on her mind but she realized that would be pretty self-indulgent and opted not to.

Join us next week for a brand new and probably incredible episode!

New Head Beeotch In Town

The Trail Blazers have signed former Minnesota Timberwolves coach Micah Nori to a one-year deal, so if you’re into finding out things like that then this whole sentence was definitely meant for you.

Support the cause

Our goal is to keep growing as the ONLY women-owned hoops mag that serves up and provides a platform for the stories of all genders and levels. As such, we need the world to know we exist, and we hope you can help us spread the word. Become a Substack subscriber, listen to our podcast, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, donate to our small business, buy a magazine subscription or merch, and most importantly, tell a friend about us. We can’t thank you enough.

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It had been 19,392 days since the New York Knicks last stood atop the basketball world.

For most, those years are now preserved more in basketball lore than in living memory. Fifty-three years is long enough for memories to become stories, and stories to become inheritance. Entire generations of fans have lived and died without ever experiencing the joy this magical season would ultimately bring.

This one was for them.

Shout out to you, DOOM (and, of course, KAT’s mom).

For many of us, 1973 was before our time. It was something we were told about. We borrowed the stories from sports historians and grainy film footage, much in the same way we borrowed traditions and lessons from our parents and grandparents. Being a Knicks fan has always been less about winning than inheritance.

We inherit the joy. We inherit the heartbreak. We inherit the expectation that maybe, somehow, this season will be different. Every October becomes an act of faith.

Throughout the years, there was always something to believe in. Patrick Ewing and those bruising teams of the 1990s, the near immortality of 1994, and the miracle run of 1999 kept hope alive. Yet for every memory that sustained Knicks fans, another haunted them.

Hope, Knicks fans learned, had a cruel twin.

That belief returned in the form of Carmelo Anthony and the improbable rise of Linsanity. The 54-win season of 2012-13 gave fans something they had not experienced since Patrick Ewing. But another painful loss to Indiana marked the beginning of an eight-year playoff drought.

Then came Julius Randle and Tom Thibodeau. Neither arrival was celebrated, but together they resurrected Knicks basketball and returned meaningful games to the Garden. It wasn’t a championship, but after years spent wandering through irrelevance, it felt like one.

New York still yearned for its savior, and in the summer of 2022 an improbable candidate appeared. His name was Jalen Brunson. The signing was met with far more skepticism than celebration. Critics questioned the contract, mocked the price, and one talking head famously labeled the Knicks’ pursuit of Brunson “the saddest sweepstakes ever.”

From 2000 to 2022, the Knicks had trotted out twenty-two different opening-night starting point guards. To many, Brunson was simply the latest answer to a question the franchise had been asking for two decades.

But not once did Brunson entertain the doubters. As he settled into his first season in New York, Leon Rose acquired Brunson’s best friend and Villanova teammate, Josh Hart, at the trade deadline. The move paid immediate dividends. New York celebrated its first playoff series victory in a decade before ultimately falling to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Determined to build upon that foundation, Rose reunited Brunson with another Villanova teammate in Donte DiVincenzo before adding OG Anunoby during the season. The Knicks recorded their first 50-win season since 2012-13 and returned to the playoffs with expectations beginning to replace hope. But old ghosts have a way of lingering, and waiting at the end of the road were the Indiana Pacers, who once again reminded Knicks fans that suffering rarely leaves quietly.

Yet something about this disappointment felt different. Previous heartbreaks had carried a sense of finality. This one felt like unfinished business.

The summer of 2024 brought renewed purpose. Leon Rose completed the Villanova reunion by trading for Mikal Bridges before making the difficult decision to send Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns. Expectations had changed. For the first time in generations, Knicks fans entered a season expecting to compete for a championship.

And for the first time in twenty-five years, New York reached the Eastern Conference Finals. Each year, the Knicks seemed to move one step closer to their ultimate goal. But fate intervened once again, as the Indiana Pacers denied New York a return to the NBA Finals.

Even the dismissal of Tom Thibodeau reflected that reality. For many fans, the move felt harsh. Thibodeau had resurrected Knicks basketball and restored pride to Madison Square Garden. But championship windows are unforgiving, and sometimes the men who rebuild the foundation are not the same men who finish the house.

What followed was the culmination of everything that had come before.

The Knicks dominated the Eastern Conference playoffs, though many around the league still refused to believe what they were seeing. Critics questioned the strength of the conference and even New York’s dominance despite the largest point differential through thirteen playoff games. Even after falling behind in the Conference Finals, Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson remarked that according to analytics, Cleveland was winning the series, on paper.

Josh Hart had perhaps said it best when it came to analytics.

“I’m never a huge analytics guy. At a certain point, they’re a lamppost to a drunk person. You can lean on them, but they won’t get you home.”

Then came San Antonio.

Twenty-seven years after Tim Duncan and David Robinson denied the Knicks immortality, another Spurs team stood between New York and history. On paper, the matchup favored San Antonio. Victor Wembanyama represented the future of the league. The Spurs possessed the league’s top-ranked defense and the pedigree of a franchise that had spent decades defining excellence. Many believed the Knicks’ run would finally come to an end.

The arguments sounded familiar.

And just as they had all season, the Knicks ignored the noise and let the basketball do the talking.

Five games later, fifty-three years of waiting finally came to an end.

The New York Knicks were champions once again.

Asked about the criticism that had followed him throughout his rise, Brunson remarked that he had not responded to his doubters then and certainly wasn’t about to start now.

The championship had already done what generations of fans had dreamed about for more than half a century. But the parade meant something different.

It was a celebration fifty-three years in the making. Grandparents stood beside grandchildren. Fans who remembered 1973 stood beside those who had only inherited stories of it. Complete strangers embraced because no explanation was necessary.

The parade was not simply a celebration of basketball. It was a celebration of endurance, proof that waiting itself has meaning.

Yet as I watched from Oakland, California, I found myself caught between joy and longing. There is a particular kind of grief reserved for the moments you have imagined your entire life. Not grief born from loss, but from absence.

There was joy for a city finally receiving the celebration it deserved. There was also longing for a moment I had imagined for so many years.

Some imagined futures stay with us so long that they begin to feel like memories. Missing this one will always ache a little.

But love has never required proximity. Though my relationship with the team was forged in New York, moving to the Bay made me realize it was never about geography. It was built on years of watching, hoping, defending, believing, and returning.

After 19,392 days, New York finally believed correctly.

I’ll see you at the Garden for ring night.

It’s New York or nowhere.

Forever.

🧡💙

ANYWAY. The basketball world is pregnant with anticipation (gross) of the upcoming NBA Finals series between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs. Coming off of a game seven between OKC and the Spurs, men’s basketball kinda doesn’t get any better than this. It almost makes up for the fact that the season is so long that it is overlapping with WNBA games, making it impossible to watch both, and even more impossible to choose between the two. That beings me to a question I wanted to ask our audience:

Go Spurs. Go Knicks. Go basketball!

Speaking Of Go Spurs And Go Knicks…

Because he began the season as a Spurs player and is now on the Knicks’ roster, Jeremy Sochan is eligible to get a ring no matter who wins the NBA Championship. That’s…something! We want to be the first to say congratulations on winning the championship, Jeremy!

My "Courtside Baddie" T-shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my shirt

Get her now! If you’re real like that.

New Episode of Pickup: Knicks Is In Six

Ashtyn is dancing in the streets as NYC finally gets something good! This week, we discuss the NBA Finals matchup, the overcorrection of OKC hate, and the lack of meaning in the word “corny”. We also cover Caitlin Clark’s meltdowns, some NBA paternity drama, and more!

Leave us a review and we just might read it on the pod…

Listen on Spotify

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Fever Reporter’s Credentials Revoked

The Indiana Fever have revoked reporter Scott Agness’ media credentials following Agness’ spreading what the team believed to be “inaccurate and unsubstantiated information” regarding their management of Caitlin Clark’s back injury. Agness covers both the Indiana Pacers and the Fever via Substack. I don’t know…seems a little White House-y of the Fever, no? Side eye dot emoji dot jpg…

Support the cause

Our goal is to keep growing as the ONLY women-owned hoops mag that serves up and provides a platform for the stories of all genders and levels. As such, we need the world to know we exist, and we hope you can help us spread the word. Become a Substack subscriber, listen to our podcast, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, donate to our small business, buy a magazine subscription or merch, and most importantly, tell a friend about us. We can’t thank you enough.

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

Stay Flagrant. All writes reserved.

What’s up kitty cats? We’ve got a quick one for you this week as hoops wind down in the M and wind up in the W.

Congrats to the New York Knickerbockers for making it to the NBA finals. We can’t wait to see if they will match up against the San Antonio Spurriffics or the Oklahoma City Thunderellas.

Also, congrats to Paige Bueckers, who had her technical foul and $500 fine rescinded by the league. She was assisted by teammate Alysha Clark, who had a bet with Bueckers that she wouldn’t get a technical foul this season. Said Clark, “If I'm going to win money out of her I want it to be legit. I want to be able to sleep at night. I don't want that it's not deserving to get her money." So true, Alysha.

Rigged For Money Or Ratings Not Sure Which

While I was busy watching the sorriest excuse for basketball in recent memory (Cavs/Knicks Game 4) the rest of the flagrant group chat was losing their mind about the WNBA.

I never really know what those hens are clucking about, but it seems the reffing situation in the W has gotten so bad it is now impacting MY life, and therefore I can no longer stand for it.

There’s nothing new or fresh about the ref discourse, and yet here we are having the same conversations again. I have long been on the record that thew WNBA cannot get out of it’s own way, but even still, the referee debacle this season feels outsized. What’s the solution? I literally don’t know, they don’t pay me to write this newsletter let alone fix a problem that feels endemic to the league. But I have to assume that the cumulative history of human ingenuity has propelled us to this moment in time where a premiere sports league can have competent referees. God willing we find them.

My "Courtside Baddie" T-shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my shirt

Get her now! If you’re real like that.

Y’all Mind If I Plug Our Friend?

If you know Flagrant then you probably already know about our special girl Katie Heindl and her publication Basketball Feelings. This section serves as your reminder that she is once again blessing us with her ‘Exits’ series, chronicling every team eliminated from the playoffs. We simply cannot wax poetic about basketball without honoring the OG feeler herself.

Somethin’ About A Nun Who Loves Hoops

It just makes us happy! And it certainly makes Spurs fans happy when the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco bless their team to a win.

There’s a really fun interview with one of the sisters you can read, and hopefully it makes you smile to think about the beauty of a 100ft tall Frenchman transcending religion to hype up the holy.

No Pod This Week

BUT Alex and Ciara were guests on the very fun Iconic Sonics podcast! We did some WNBA hot takes, tunnel fit rankings, and got bleeped out for saying p***y more than once. Classic us!

Support the cause

Our goal is to keep growing as the ONLY women-owned hoops mag that serves up and provides a platform for the stories of all genders and levels. As such, we need the world to know we exist, and we hope you can help us spread the word. Become a Substack subscriber, listen to our podcast, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, donate to our small business, buy a magazine subscription or merch, and most importantly, tell a friend about us. We can’t thank you enough.

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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Stay Flagrant. All writes reserved.

If you ask me, the former of the two — this warm period of basketball bliss we find ourselves in — is superior to its fall counterpart. This has a LOT to do with the fact that the WNBA is fun right away while the beginning of the NBA season doesn’t actually exist. (If you ask our EIC Ashtyn, the boy’s don’t really start playing until the new year).

But also, there is an undeniable magic of cosmic alignment between the warming weather, increased sunlight, the promise of a fresh WNBA action, and the high level NBA play we wait all season to see. The buzz is palpable, and I hope you feel it too.

Sometimes the basketball is really good, and we’re savoring it while it is.

Can I Cry For A Sec?

In the year 2000, I attended my first Portland Fire game with my 7th grade basketball team. As a 12 year old, it didn’t really hit me that just by being there, we were supporting a struggling team and league made up of countless talented women who weren’t taken seriously as athletes. I wish I could say that as a young, impressionable girl, I saw myself in them, and wanted to be like them.

But I didn’t.

I saw myself in Damon Stoudamire, Jason Kidd (RIP), and Steve Nash, because we were all point guards. I compared my tallest teammate to Tim Duncan. When someone got mad in a game, they were acting like Rasheed Wallace. When someone got a block, they “pulled a Dikembe”. I wanted to be like Vince Carter. I saw myself and my team in the NBA, because that’s who was on TV. That’s the basketball that networks told us we should watch.

At the Portland Fire home opener on May 9th, I attended as a member of the media ahead of the game along with Flagrant co-founder, Ashtyn Butuso. We listened as former Fire players talked about eating pre-game dinners at the Lloyd Center Mall in their first year, and handing out tickets to people just hoping to fill seats. We went down to the court to watch players warm up, and I looked around at an arena that, an hour before tip off, was already more well-attended than any Fire game I went to as a kid. I watched the player introductions and cried as every single player got a hearty cheer from the crowd. I cried at tip off. I cried at the crowd’s reaction at the first big play made by the Fire. I cried when every line for every food stand was too long for me to wait in, and I realized I should have eaten dinner beforehand.

Twenty six years later, as a woman, I see myself in the WNBA. I know what this league and these women have been through over the last 30 years, and I know why. I know the ways they have been ignored, dismissed, and buried under the NBA, under a patriarchal society. I know that despite their talent, their hard work, and their success over the years, they were playing a game in a world that did not want to see them win, and wasn’t watching when they did. And I know what it took, not just from the players, but from the league, the fans, and the media, to be where they are today.

I see them now, and so does everyone else.

<3 alex

My "Courtside Baddie" T-shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my shirt

Get her now! If you’re real like that.

Kicking Our Feet & Giggling

At Spurs/OKC in the Western Conference Finals. Game 1 was an instant classic of beautiful basketball that we were blessed to see go to 2OT. Watching Wemby play basketball against a team he hates feels like being rewarded by the basketball gods. If not a reward, perhaps the Western Conference matchup is a re-balancing of the scales…

From Cursed to Blessed?

You may have heard about WWE superstar, Danhausen, cursing the Knicks on live TV during an argument with Stephen A. Smith. Oh, you haven’t heard about this? Well, please watch:

Danhausen demanded a Stephen A. apology or “human money” before he would lift the curse. Well, some guy bought a Cameo from Danhausen as a means to give him said “human money”, and he lifted the curse.

Since then, the Knicks are 7-0.

We’re not saying shit. We’re just observing.

New Episode of Pickup: WNBA

We called this ep WNBA despite it only kinda being about the WNBA because that’s what gets you clicks these days.

Anyways, Ciara, Ashtyn, and Alex say goodbye to some NBA playoff teams, check in on W standings, discuss the reasoning behind SGA’s trench coats, and more!

Leave us a review and we just might read it on the pod…

Listen on Spotify

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The Viral Hoodie Everyone Is Talking About

Because you’re our homie, and me and my homies watch lions women’s basketball. And now, we’re wearing a hoodie about it thanks to isthatarden’s collab with Columbia University’s women’s team.

That’s gonna be an immediate yes from us! Check out the hoodie here and while you’re on the site, take a stroll through the rest of Arden’s website. You’re gonna like what you see, we guarantee it.

Support the cause

Our goal is to keep growing as the ONLY women-owned hoops mag that serves up and provides a platform for the stories of all genders and levels. As such, we need the world to know we exist, and we hope you can help us spread the word. Become a Substack subscriber, listen to our podcast, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, donate to our small business, buy a magazine subscription or merch, and most importantly, tell a friend about us. We can’t thank you enough.

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The Grizzlies posted a statement on Clarke’s passing, and if you would like to read more about it, you can do so here.

So much has been written about Jason Collins (who was the first active openly gay player in the league, aka the bravest man to ever lace ‘em up) throughout the years, and so much written by Collins himself. I recommend taking some time to read his essay on his cancer diagnosis, which he wrote in December 2025. He was 47.

The rest of this newsletter is going to progressively return to our normal sillies, but we would be remiss to ignore these losses.

Born To Sit Courtside But Forced To Sit Rafterside?

We can’t all be part of the hardwood elite, but we can look like it wherever we sit. People are getting theirs already, will you have yours? Get her now!

Everything Is Coming Up Washington

DC, that is. Congrats to the Wizards on seemingly escaping the pox placed upon them by a member of their namesake years ago. The last time Washington had the first overall pick, John Wall Dougied his way into millions of fan’s hearts. We’re wishing you a similar amount of luck this time, as well as an additional amount of luck on the latter end of this pick’s career, for good measure.

Across the pond, is there a team more fun than the Washington Mystics?? We’d be hard pressed to find one. They’re young, they’re turnt, they’re dropping Ws in the chat. Yep, it’s a good time to be in the swamp.

New Episode of Pickup: We’re On Fire

We’re so happy the WNBA is back! Ashtyn and Alex recap their experience at the Portland Fire home opener, and we cover the rest of opening weekend in the W. We also chat about Wemby’s foul, the Pacers’ draft lottery disaster, and more! Ciara was there, too. She just didn’t add a whole lot. Ha ha, just kidding, I am razzing her. She wrote the first part, but I had to add that part. Who am I, you ask? That’s for me to know and you to

Leave us a review and we just might read it on the pod…

Listen on Spotify

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Meet Your Next Hoodie

Because you’re our homie, and me and my homies watch lions women’s basketball. And now, we’re wearing a hoodie about it thanks to isthatarden’s collab with Columbia University’s women’s team.

That’s gonna be an immediate yes from us! Check out the hoodie here and while you’re on the site, take a stroll through the rest of Adren’s website. You’re gonna like what you see.

Yum, Delicious Haterade

Dillon Brooks, the hater that you are.

If you like good writing, take a peak at our fave Katie’s recent essay about Brooks as part of her Exits series. Spoiler alert: it rocks. Anyway, go Beavs.

Support the cause

Our goal is to keep growing as the ONLY women-owned hoops mag that serves up and provides a platform for the stories of all genders and levels. As such, we need the world to know we exist, and we hope you can help us spread the word. Become a Substack subscriber, listen to our podcast, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, donate to our small business, buy a magazine subscription or merch, and most importantly, tell a friend about us. We can’t thank you enough.

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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This past Sunday, while walking to the Moda Center to watch the Trail Blazers get blasted up the butt by the San Antonio Spurs, again, I ran into a lost woman wearing Spurs gear in the Park Blocks. She asked if she could follow our group to the arena, and I replied, “Sure! But uh, were they all out of Blazers gear?”

That lost Spurs fan turned out to be Jackie Olynyk, San Antonio’s Kelly Olynyk’s wife. And it didn’t take long for his now-infamous ankle socks to come up in conversation.

“He wears them all the time, I’m not sure how everyone just noticed this.”

If you were watching the broadcast of the Trail Blazers v. Spurs game on Friday, (and you stayed to the extremely bitter end), you probably saw the socks, and heard Reggie Miller and Mike Tirico laughing about how absurd they looked on the court. ICYMI:

@bleacherreport“He might go play a quick 9” 😂 #nba #basketball #spurs #nbabasketball

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Jackie (who was an absolute delight) went on to say that the ankle socks aren’t her main concern when it comes to Kelly’s on (and off) court aesthetic.

“Right now, I’m working on that disheveled facial hair situation. We need to fix that.”

We have no idea what you’re talking about, Jackie…

Regarding Your Mag Subscription

Hello devoted and gorgeous subscribers,

We’re nearing the end of our Spring Subscription Drive (not a real thing), and we want to make sure all of our subscribers get their magazines!

Please log in to your Shopify account on flagrantmag.com and ensure your address is updated - shoot us an email or DM if it isn’t and you’re having trouble editing on your end. Here’s a how-to on that:

Keep an eye out - Issue 09 is dropping very soon…

Born To Sit Courtside But Forced To Sit Rafterside?

We can’t all be part of the hardwood elite, but we can look like it wherever we sit. Get her now!

New Episode of Pickup: Love Might Be Dead

Ciara, Alex, and Ashtyn have to talk about the worst thing to ever happen ever (re: Klay/Megan). We also cover the NBA playoffs, WNBA excitement, and more!!

Leave us a review and we just might read it on the pod…

Listen on Spotify

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PORTLAND! International Women’s Sports Film Festival Is THIS WEEKEND

You’ve cheered from the stands and repped their jerseys.

Now, step into the stories of women and nonbinary athletes by joining us at the first-ever International Women’s Sports Film Festival.

May 1–3, the festival will take over The Judy with screenings including “Reggae Girlz” from Oscar-winning director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Trish Dalton, the Billie Jean King documentary “Give Me The Ball”, and “The Britney Griner Story” (both produced by ESPN Films), plus live conversations with the athletes, coaches, and filmmakers behind the stories. We also have a live taping of the U.S. Soccer podcast hosted by former Thorns captain Meghan Klingenberg and her guests, Morgan Weaver, Bella Bixby and Becky Sauerbrunn!

Explore the full lineup and buy your tickets today!

Choose from single screenings, day passes, or full festival access.

As a friend of Flagrant Magazine, enjoy 50% off tickets using code PARTNERS at checkout!

Follow @iwsff_pdx on Instagram to keep up with news!

I Guess We Are Just Doing Whatever Now

Like putting 76 teams in the Women’s and Men’s NCAA tournaments. As if the imbalance between the top seeds and bottom seeds wasn’t enough already! Obviously they are doing this for money, because that’s all anyone does anything for anymore. Except me, I do it for the fame.

It’s going to be a total drag watching South Carolina beat a college you’ve never heard of 117-12. NCAA, you are on the thinnest ice imaginable right now.

Support the cause

Our goal is to keep growing as the ONLY women-owned hoops mag that serves up and provides a platform for the stories of all genders and levels. As such, we need the world to know we exist, and we hope you can help us spread the word. Become a Substack subscriber, listen to our podcast, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, donate to our small business, buy a magazine subscription or merch, and most importantly, tell a friend about us. We can’t thank you enough.

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

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Regarding Your Mag Subscription

Hello devoted and gorgeous subscribers,

We have been trying to reach you about your extended car warranty. We have recently been informed of a bug in our subscription system, so if you could do us a favor to ensure your next issue arrives safe and sound, we promise to love you forever.

There are a few of you who have flagged that your subscription is inexplicably no longer active, and we want to make sure everyone is good to go.

All you have to do is log in and check that your subscription is active (even if you think in that beautiful mind of yours that it is — pls double check). If it isn’t, you will need to update that, asap no rocky.

We will spare you further details because we barely understand them.

Love and light!!!

Management

Uh, I Think We Just Made The Shirt Of The Summer

Let ‘em know exactly who you are in our new Courtside Baddie Cropped Tee. Get her now!

New Episode of Pickup: NBA Tier List

All five of the Starting 5 are together to rank some moments from the NBA season! We sort the best and the worst of the season into our very own tier list. We recorded this pod with a live audience, and if you want to join the next one, make sure you’re a paid Substack subscriber!

Leave us a review and we just might read it on the pod…

Listen on Spotify

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NBA Playoffs, They Are Happening

And we are watching! Here’s some quick thoughts about the first games of the first round:

• Congrats to the Wolves on evening the series with the Nuggets. Congrats to all of us for getting to revel in how much these teams don’t like each other.

• There have been too many blowouts so far in the playoffs. Adam Silver please do something about this. Thanks in advance.

• No offense to the Eastern Conference, but I don’t think any of those teams have the it factor this year.

• I just watched Wemby smack his face on the floor, and he so clearly was not all right. I’ve had 2 concussions and let me tell you, that man’s world was spinning. As of now, he’s been ruled out for the rest of game 2. Prayers up to one of our most special little guys.

  

• Is it possible for both the Lakers and Rockets to lose in the first round? Someone please let me know.

I’m Going On A Work Strike Until Natasha Cloud Has A Team

This will be easy for me as I am famously unemployed. But the principle of the protest remains. We want to see Tash on our screens this summer. Until then, I will not contribute my labor to society. Unless someone wants to give me a job, in which case I am an extremely hard worker.

Support the cause

Our goal is to keep growing as the ONLY women-owned hoops mag that serves up and provides a platform for the stories of all genders and levels. As such, we need the world to know we exist, and we hope you can help us spread the word. Become a Substack subscriber, listen to our podcast, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, donate to our small business, buy a magazine subscription or merch, and most importantly, tell a friend about us. We can’t thank you enough.

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Stay Flagrant. All writes reserved.

We have been trying to reach you about your extended car warranty. We have recently been informed of a bug in our subscription system, so if you could do us a favor to ensure your next issue arrives safe and sound, we promise to love you forever.

There are a few of you who have flagged that your subscription is inex…

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After months of the only WNBA news being evil evil CBA non-updates, this free agency period has been a total whirlwind. At this point, all news is good news, even the news that your favorite team traded the draft pick you were excited about…..

Here’s some of the stuff that’s gone down since we last chatted:

We Were At The Draft

At least, Brazilia was! Those NYC binches get everything…..

Her thoughts on the experience:

We went to the W draft last night! And of course for the 5th year in a row, we didn’t get orange carpet access. When I got there, I refused to go to the press room so I was just roaming around in the fan section (where they were giving out tampons and m&m’s..hell yeah) and around the stage. And then I said “i’m just going to walk to the orange carpet and see what they tell me” and to my damn surprise they said “go right on in sis” and so I saw a bunch of industry peeps and we were all hanging and taking pics and chatting.

And then the players were coming to the orange carpet after being drafted but since my ass didn’t think I would get this access, I didn’t come prepared with a Mic so... couldn’t even ask any Q’s AND I missed Azzi’s carpet moment because at that point I was still debating if I should go to the carpet or not. but anyway I did get a lot of video content. Everyone looked stunninggg and my fav look I think was Flau’Jae .Moral of the story - walk into any room confidently and they can’t tell you no.

Thanks Brazilia! Now let’s send things back to the newsletter.

FREE AGENCY STUFF

The Chicago Sky…You Are One Interesting Chica

Since trading Angel Reese, the Sky have gone looney tunes in free agency, snagging Azuré Stephens, Skylar Diggins, DiJonai Carrington, Jacy Sheldon, and Rickea Jackson. Hell yeah! If literally nothing else, this team will be a blast.

Another fun addition is Gabriela Jaquez, one of our top sweeties from March Madness. In classic Sky fashion, the team took her over a couple of other players that fans and analysts considered more league ready. These guys are immune to doing anything normal style.

I just wrote a whole thing about the Sky being confusing for Basketball Feelings, which will be live sometime this morning. Maybe if you’re lucky, it already is…..

New Episode of Pickup: Free Agencychella

Ciara and Babes Sports Bar owner Nora McConnell-Johnson have a LOT to say about WNBA free agency! We run through all the player and team moves, give our unofficial reviews of signings, and preview the WNBA draft!

Leave us a review and we just might read it on the pod…

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Apple

The Dallas Wings, HELLO!

Anyone else totally delighted by the Wings’ pickups in free agency? IDK, maybe they haven’t made the BIGGEST moves, but they’ve been making me smile. And that’s priceless.

They snagged our fave kangaroo Alanna Smith as well as Jessica Shepard, Rayah Marshall, Awak Kuier, Lindsey Allen, and Alysha Clark. Dallas also did exactly what it was supposed to do by drafting Azzi Fudd 1st overall.

They just feel fun! Do you get it? You get it.

Other Stuff Happened Too

You’ll just have to take my word for it. Kidding! But really guys, i’m now burnt out on discourse about it all. You already know what happened if you’re reading this newsletter, lets be real. Just in case though, heres some quickies for ya:

• Some (but not all) stars staying with their teams: Stewie, Sabrina, A’ja, Allisha, Arike, KP, Phee, Jackie Young, AT, Jewell, Kelsey Mitchell, Chelsea Gray, JJ, Rhyne, Kah, KMac.

• Some (but not all) stars on the move: Angel to Atlanta, Nneka to LA, Satou to NYC, BC to Connecticut, Gabby Williams to Golden State, Izzy to Toronto, aforementioned players to the Sky.

  

  ---

NOT FREE AGENCY STUFF

The NBA Regular Season Died Badly.

They really limped across the finish line this year, even more than usual. I was watching ESPN on mute on the treadmill yesterday, and they spent the entirety of my brisk walk talking about end of season awards being affected by the game limit!

Everyone was sitting, everyone was tanking, it was a mess. Thank goodness we have the play-in tournament; players still have a chance to get hurt before the playoffs.

What The HELL Is This?

Speaking of the NBA, check out this absolute monstrosity they concocted with Amazon for the play-in.

They Can’t Keep Getting Away With This!

The Toronto Tempo revealed their inaugural home court, and surprise surprise, it rules. How are they so good at everything? Deep state very likely involved…

Support the cause

Our goal is to keep growing as the ONLY women-owned hoops mag that serves up and provides a platform for the stories of all genders and levels. As such, we need the world to know we exist, and we hope you can help us spread the word. Become a Substack subscriber, listen to our podcast, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, donate to our small business, buy a magazine subscription or merch, and most importantly, tell a friend about us. We can’t thank you enough.

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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Stay Flagrant. All writes reserved.

Lots to cover this week, from the Expansion Draft to the first trade of free agency. Lets get to it

Call her ATL Barbie

The Angel Reese era is official over in Chicago. In the first major move of free agency, the Sky sent Reese to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for the Dream’s first-round picks in 2027 and 2028.

…Totally.

The trade ends Reese’s tumultuous time with the team that drafted her. Her career with the Sky included 2 All-Star selections, league-leading double-double production, a half game suspension, and a 23-61 record.

Reese and the Sky butted heads on a few occasions, and yet according to reports, she did not request a trade from the team. It’s certainly not the first time a player has had issues in Chicago. In fact, its not even the only time we’ve heard about it this week!

It’s a rough time to be a Chicago Sky fan. At least the practice facility is coming soon! Right?

The Expansion Draft Was Certainly Televised

But perhaps it shouldn’t have been? We could have saved ourselves 30 dud minutes, and the WNBA could have saved themselves from putting up this graphic of the Fire roster with the Laker’s logo in the background

You can check out a full roster breakdown for both teams here, but if you want our one line summaries here they are:

Toronto - Got Marina Mabrey with the third pick.

Portland - White girl central station.

Are you a budding Tempo or Fire fan? Let us know what you think of your team’s draft in the comments!

New Episode of Pickup: Soooo True

We’re podding in the morning! Ciara, Alex, and Ashtyn chat about the end of Women’s March Madness, the beginning of WNBA free agency (including finding out about Angel mid-record), the expansion draft, and more!

Leave us a review and we just might read it on the pod…

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Apple

Two Blue and Yellow Teams Won March Madness

Crime or conspiracy?

Congrats to the UCLA Women and Michigan Men for capturing their respective NCAA tournament championships! Double congrats to both teams for taking down two powerhouses.

To UCLA, we can’t wait to see your entire roster in the WNBA draft next week.

To Michigan, anyone who hands Dan Hurley an L is a hero to us.

We will NOT be congratulating UCLA on being the second Big Ten team to win it all, because that is FAKE NEWS. Long live the Pac-12!

Support the cause

Our goal is to keep growing as the ONLY women-owned hoops mag that serves up and provides a platform for the stories of all genders and levels. As such, we need the world to know we exist, and we hope you can help us spread the word. Become a Substack subscriber, listen to our podcast, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, donate to our small business, buy a magazine subscription or merch, and most importantly, tell a friend about us. We can’t thank you enough.

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

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WNBA Expansion Draft

Listen up 10s, a 5 is talking. And she’s confused. Could someone please explain how we can have an expansion draft on April 3, given that we currently have more than 100 free agents? If a free agent is drafted, can't said free agent go “ew? no? I want to go back to my old team??” and then Portland or Toronto is left without that player?? How come I can never understand this? How come it feels like none of you will take the time to explain it to me? Please comment the answer to this question below to save a life. Then watch the WNBA expansion draft on April 3rd at 3:30 ET. The women’s Final Four is also that day so hold on to your butts!!

UPDATE: shout out to Chelsea Leite who DID explain this. We are now all smarter for having DMd Chelsea.

NBA Expansion? It’s More Likely Than You Think

The NBA board of governors (whatever that means) voted to explore bids for expansion teams exclusively in Las Vegas and Seattle, targeting the 2028-29 season. Bids are likely to come in somewhere between $7-10B (which we do have but we don’t want an NBA team), and will bring the league to 32 total teams. That’s like, so many teams. That will put the NBA on the same tier as the NFL and NHL as far as the number of teams they have, leaving the MLB in the freaking dust with only 30 (pathetic). We are working on a league that has 50 teams that play 500 games per year. Every player will get paid $1m per game (following the salaries of the cast of Friends), but the games vary. Sometimes it will be basketball, sometimes it will be Cranium. And we never replace the clay so that’s an added obstacle because there is often a lot of carpet fuzz and hair in that stuff. But that’s the way it goes, we don’t make the rules.

Anyway,

New Episode of Pickup: Oh, Big Deal!

We are BACK and PUMPED about the WNBA CBA! Ciara, Alex, and Ashtyn cover the New Deal, how the WNBA is(n’t) preparing for the season, some March Madness Madness, and much more.

Leave us a review and we just might read it on the pod…

Listen here

The Soft Launch Heard ‘Round The World

In her old age, my great grandma had a best friend, Ellie, who often came on vacations with us. Her voice raspy as a dial up internet, eyebrows thin as a Hollywood actress in 2026. Anyway, I didn’t think anything of this friendship until I saw Jackie Young and Dijonai Carrington post photos from the same Miami hotel room. The internet lost its mind and figured out they were dating. Then, all of the times Jackie and Dijonai sat together at Unrivaled or were spotted at the club flashed before my eyes. My great grandma was maybe gay…for a while. And so are Jackie and Dijonai. And that is beautiful. By the way, Nalyssa Smith, Jackie’s teammate and Dijonai’s ex, tweeted a laughing crying face and then deleted it. :(

Time for Docs to Stop Being Polite and Start Getting Real

You think you know, but you have no idea. The UNTOLD: Jail Blazers documentary is coming, and I wanted to thank the 342 people who sent it to me. I watched it every time. See you April 14.

NCAA Pupdate

There are lowkey no updates from March Madness because the Sweet Sixteens are lowkey this weekend, but lowkey I don’t even think there will be any upsets. Except for Alexis Ohanian’s Virginia girlies, who are proving money can buy happiness. Basically, Mr. Serena Williams went to Virginia’s AD and said: “How much for us to buy an upset over #2 Iowa?” Speaking of Iowa, the men upset Florida, and I picked Florida, so that sucks. Luckily, I hedged my bets by putting $1,000,000 that Jaylen Brown wins MVP on Kalshi.

Support the cause

Our goal is to keep growing as the ONLY women-owned hoops mag that serves up and provides a platform for the stories of all genders and levels. As such, we need the world to know we exist, and we hope you can help us spread the word. Become a Substack subscriber, listen to our podcast, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, donate to our small business, buy a magazine subscription or merch, and most importantly, tell a friend about us. We can’t thank you enough.

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

Stay Flagrant. All writes reserved.

UNLESS the WNBA and WNBPA finally got their sh*t together and came to an agreement. And guess tf what, fam?! They did.

Suddenly, the sun is shining (metaphoricall…

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Its 2am ET on March 11th. As I write this, there is no WNBA CBA. I’m left with nothing but questions. Will there be a WNBA season? Will players strike? Why did they wait until 5pm to start this meeting? Well, the last one is a common negotiation tactic to break people down and make them more likely to compromise.

I guess we will talk about so…

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1. Otherwise We Will Die

Many of us have season tickets, some to brand new franchise…

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