I Went Back to the WNBA… This Time Was VERY Different | Riley’s Vlog
Riley Gaines and Louis Barker recap their courtside experience at the Indiana Fever game, from Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell’s standout performance to the very different atmosphere compared with Riley’s previous WNBA trip in Minneapolis. Riley also responds to the public conversation surrounding Simone Biles, Sophie Cunningham, Michael Buckley, and the ongoing debate over protecting women’s sports. She explains why she still wants to reach out to Simone, why Sophie Cunningham’s stance matters, and what the WNBA’s handling of these cultural flashpoints reveals about the league’s balancing act. Plus: Riley and Louis talk travel with an 11-month-old, seeing Brittney Griner in person, the power of sports to bridge political divides, and why Friday’s episode will be an Ask Me Anything. New episodes of The Riley Gaines Show every Tuesday and Friday at 10 a.m. ET.
We have reached the final day of the WNBA season.
Regardless of if you follow it or not, the season has come and gone, and if you consume sports, you’ve probably heard about many of the main stories from the season. We’ve had Enes Kanter talk about wanting to declare himself eligible for the draft, more Caitlin Clark drama, injury storylines, and of course, the league seemingly shooting themselves in the foot. However, I want to focus on the good for this final day as the Fever take on the Lynx.
The good for the Indiana Fever: Kelsey Mitchell. This has been a decent season for the Fever, but this team isn’t trying to win the regular season; they are trying to win in the playoffs. We routinely see the Fever getting the best effort from their opponent because of the attention that comes when playing against Indiana. Part of the reason the Fever are so dangerous is that they have elite scorers at three positions. We all know how good Clark is, and the attention she commands. Even Aliyah Boston is recognized as a great talent as a former No. 1 pick.
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Kelsey Mitchell #0 of the Indiana Fever drives to the basket against the Minnesota Lynx on Aug. 2, 2026, at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. (NBAE via Getty Images)
However, Kelsey Mitchell is the player who stands out the most to me with her scoring. She has increased her scoring each year for the past four seasons and is over 1,000 points for the year. As of tonight’s game, she is at 1,076 points, setting the single-season record for most points in a season. This is just the third 1,000-point season in league history, and the first by someone other than A’ja Wilson. Mitchell doesn’t even need to do most of the damage shooting from deep; she can score from all three levels. To her credit, she can shoot from three and has increased her made threes each year since 2020.
CAITLIN CLARK RETURNS AFTER FIBA TITLE AS KELSEY MITCHELL SETS WNBA SCORING MARK IN FEVER VICTORY OVER TEMPO
Over on the other side of the court, they have the Minnesota Lynx, with their good being Olivia Miles. The Lynx are already locked up with the #1 seed in the postseason, and normally you’d attribute that to Napheesa Collier. Last year, Collier was the MVP of the league and dominated for the Lynx. She got injured in the playoffs and only came back 15 games ago. Collier has been up to her old tricks, scoring in bunches and contributing a ton of rebounds. In 15 games this season, she is averaging 17.5 points and 6.9 rebounds.
Olivia Miles No. 5 of the Minnesota Lynx drives to the basket during a game against the Indiana Fever on Aug. 2, 2026, at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. (NBAE via Getty Images)
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The real story of this team is not Collier. Everyone expected the Lynx to step back because of Collier’s injury. Instead, they drafted Olivia Miles, and, as the saying goes, the rich got richer. Miles has been simply fantastic for the Lynx. She is averaging almost 20 points per game for Minnesota in her first season and broke Clark’s rookie points record. She is also averaging 4.7 rebounds and six assists. She is very efficient, too, shooting almost 50-40-90 from the key areas.
Caitlin Clark No. 22 of the Indiana Fever shoots during a game against the Minnesota Lynx on Aug. 2, 2026, at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. (NBAE via Getty Images)
CAITLIN CLARK, INDIANA FEVER DROP STATEMENT WIN ON TOP-SEEDED LYNX IN FINAL HOME GAME
The only issue with this game is that we are not going to see Miles, and I’d doubt we’ll see much of Collier either. The Fever are listing Caitlin Clark as probably to play.
A win can give the Fever the 5th seed in the postseason, but a loss might put them at the sixth seed. Indiana can face the Dream or the Aces depending on where they land with their seeding, and I personally would rather face the Dream if I were them. I expect the Fever to go all out for this win and cover the -3.5 spread. There just isn’t anything to gain for Minnesota.
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