Rumors

Chase Hughes: WNBA legend Elena Delle Donne announced her retirement today and will now serve as a special advisor to Monumental Basketball. From Michael Winger via team release:

x.com

Julia Poe: Angel Reese is a WNBA All-Star. Reese is the first Chicago Sky rookie to be named an All-Star since Elena Delle Donne in 2013. She joins Caitlin Clark as the only rookies on this year’s All-Star roster.

Twitter

Thompson will join a list of several NBA/WNBA players who are also Global Ambassadors for the Special Olympics ... including Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker and Elena Delle Donne of the Washington Mystics.

TMZ.com

Nick DePaula: Elena Delle Donne is in the “Be True” Air Deldon today 🔥 pic.twitter.com/VUvUYnKU7U

Twitter

The White House has long relied on the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition to help spread its message. President Biden's council is led by renowned Chef José Andrés and professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics Elena Delle Donne. On Friday Biden added a star-studded list of people, including basketball player Steph Curry and his wife, cookbook author Ayesha Curry, and Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim. Andrés applauded the Currys for their work supporting restaurants and feeding people in need during the pandemic, "in the middle of a very dark hour for America." "They are powerful because they are boots on the ground," Andrés said.

wfdd.org

Elena Delle Donne says Russell Westbrook was “one of her biggest helps” during her rehab from injury: “Russ would come in, way too early on a game day even, and he would come in and rebound for me”

Twitter

An offshoot of the longstanding voter registration organization Rock The Vote, Hoopers Vote took part in this week’s National Voter Registration Week by having ambassadors from the NBA and WNBA communities, including media that cover the league, publicly push people to make sure they’re registered to vote on multiple social media sites beginning on Thursday. A new website, hoopersvote.org, links to Rock The Vote and its various initiatives. Emmy Award-winning actress and producer Kerry Washington is taking part in the campaign. Current NBA players including Jackson, Duncan Robinson, Collin Sexton and Langston Galloway are taking part; WNBA stars Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart, Nneka Ogwumike, Elena Delle Donne and Renee Montgomery are on board, along with Hall of Famers Lisa Leslie and Rebecca Lobo. NBA Hall of Famers taking part include James Worthy and Alex English, along with media members such as Kenny Smith and Steve Smith of Turner Sports and Jalen Rose of ESPN. Warriors assistant coach Jarron Collins and his twin brother Jason, the former NBA big man, are also ambassadors.

The Athletic

Gina Mizell: Special Olympics International has named Devin Booker a global ambassador alongside teammate Ricky Rubio, Damian Lillard, Andre Drummond, Elena Delle Donne, Dikembe Mutombo, Sam Perkins and Yao Ming. #Suns pic.twitter.com/RttUdxUypE

Twitter

Former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant said he believes that there are three WNBA players who could play in the NBA right now. "I think there are a couple of players who could play in the NBA right now, honestly," Bryant told CNN when asked whether there might be a day when his daughter could play in the same league in which he was a five-time champion and 18-time All-Star selection during his 20 seasons with the Lakers. "There's a lot of players with a lot of skill that could do it. "Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Elena Delle Donne. There's a lot of great players out there, so they could certainly keep up with them."

ESPN

Bryant went on to name three WNBA ( Women's National Basketball Association) stars who he believes could make the jump into the men's league. "Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Elena Della Donne. There's a lot of great players out there so they could certainly keep up with them," he said.

CNN.com

In a recent video released by the National Basketball Players Association, LeBron named one of the Washington Mystics' as an inspiration and a player he admires. "Some of my favorites [in the WNBA] are Elena Delle Donne," James said. He also listed Candace Parker and Diana Taurasi as his two other favorites.

NBC Sports

Then came the pay question, and suddenly it all turned complicated. Because Toliver is a player with the Mystics, owned by Ted Leonsis, under the same corporate umbrella as the Wizards, the league determined that any pay Toliver was to get from the gig would have to come out of the $50,000 total each team has allocated to pay W.N.B.A. players for off-season work. Moreover, much of that had already been promised to Toliver’s teammate, Elena Delle Donne, who typically stays home in the off-season and promotes the Mystics. N.B.A. assistants routinely make $100,000 or more, with some earning over $1 million, so how much would the job pay Toliver? The answer was $10,000. Or, to put it in perspective, $5,000 less than the fine the N.B.A. recently handed down to Coach Nurse of the Toronto Raptors for “public criticism of the officiating.”

New York Times

Because Toliver is a player with the Mystics, owned by Ted Leonsis, under the same corporate umbrella as the Wizards, the league determined that any pay Toliver was to get from the gig would have to come out of the $50,000 total each team has allocated to pay W.N.B.A. players for off-season work. Moreover, much of that had already been promised to Toliver’s teammate, Elena Delle Donne, who typically stays home in the off-season and promotes the Mystics. N.B.A. assistants routinely make $100,000 or more, with some earning over $1 million, so how much would the job pay Toliver? The answer was $10,000. Or, to put it in perspective, $5,000 less than the fine the N.B.A. recently handed down to Coach Nick Nurse of the Toronto Raptors for “public criticism of the officiating.”

New York Times

Because Kristy Toliver is a player with the Mystics, owned by Ted Leonsis, under the same corporate umbrella as the Wizards, the league determined that any pay Toliver was to get from the gig would have to come out of the $50,000 total each team has allocated to pay W.N.B.A. players for off-season work. Moreover, much of that had already been promised to Toliver’s teammate, Elena Delle Donne, who typically stays home in the off-season and promotes the Mystics.

New York Times