ARLINGTON, Texas — Nineteen days away from the WNBA season start, but now ZERO days away from the start of training camp with some new faces and a familiar one we didn’t expect to see just yet, Skylar Diggins-Smith.
On October 17, 2018 Skylar Diggins-Smith revealed to the world on her Instagram that she was pregnant with her first child with her husband, Daniel Smith. One thing we did not know at that time was how far along in the pregnancy she was at the time. One thing I did not know, because for one I am not a parent and I also just didn’t think to google it. A woman’s first ultrasound will typically be done between 18 and 20 weeks, but you may have one before 12 weeks to confirm your due date. That math indicates that Skylar was most likely pregnant prior to the playoffs and maybe even her birthday in early August and that would be with her going at the earliest time for an ultrasound at just before twelve weeks. Let’s put on our detective hats for a second and assume she was just eleven weeks along during this ultrasound. That puts the birth of her child at about mid-April at the latest.
“I don’t believe that to be the case”, said CEO Greg Bibb on Skylar potentially sitting out in 2019. “I think Skylar will play at some point this year. I think Skylar is focused on her family right now as she should be, but knowing Skylar Diggis-Smith, she’s a competitor. I think once she gets herself settled and her family situation settled and everything is good on that front, I think she will return her focus to basketball. I would expect to see Skylar Diggins-Smith wearing a Wings jersey at some point this year.”
With Skylar in the fold, it makes a substantial difference. Especially with the absence of multiple stars most of this season if not all, including Maya Moore (personal), Diana Taurasi (injury) and reigning MVP Breanna Stewart (injury). Along with multiple other players who retired, leaving that title open more up for grabs than usual. Many of last seasons playoff teams got worse going into this season for various reasons. Connecticut Sun, who made it to the conference semi-finals last year, traded away two-time all-star Chiney Ogwumike just eight days ago to the LA Sparks. The Phoenix Mercury will be without Diana Taurasi for 10-12 weeks as she had a procedure on a disc protrusion in her back to alleviate symptoms of pain and muscle weakness. The Seattle Storm will be without reigning MVP Breanna Stewart due to an unfortunate injury in her overseas basketball championship game where she ruptured her right achilles tendon. The Minnesota Lynx will be without two of its stars this year as point guard Lindsay Whalen retired at the conclusion of last season and Maya Moore has chosen to sit out the season for personal reasons. The Atlanta Dream will possibly still be without Angel McCoughtry for some time to start to the season.
“I’m not gonna say that I’m gonna be ready. I’m not gonna say that. I’m not,” McCoughtry told High Post Hoops in a phone interview. “I’m just gonna play it by ear and just see how my body feels.”
Even with all those losses for teams, one team came back even better and that is the LA Sparks. Resigning Alana Beard and Chelsea Gray in the offseason, adding Kalani Brown, Marina Mabrey and Angela Salvadores in the draft, trading away Odyssey Sims for Lynx guard Alexis Jones and trading for Chiney Ogwumike eight days ago. The only slight curve ball they have is they have a new head coach in Derek Fisher and have also signed on former wings coach, Fred Williams, as an assistant coach.
If Dallas plays their cards right and Agler fits like a glove as the head coach, you could see this young Dallas Wings team in a conference final THIS season. Yes, I know that is big talk and almost sounds absurd, but you should believe the hype. If this season is drama and injury free, there’s no reason this team shouldn’t be able to surprise everyone. A good season this year following the aftermath of last season would mean the world to the organization and fanbase going forward with this young core. We’ll have to just wait and see how it plays out and when exactly Dallas will get their all-star back. With the depth this team could have on offense, it could set the stage for Skylar Diggins-Smith to have a career year. Regardless of what happens with the Cambage situation, the team is still poised to give viewers hope and surprise fans with what they can do this season.
