Yahoo Sports AM: The year of the WNBA draft opt-out

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🚨 Headlines

🏀 Suns of anarchy: For the third time in 23 months, the Suns have fired their head coach. Whoever replaces Mike Budenholzer will be Devin Booker’s eighth head coach in 11 seasons.

🏈 NFL draft buzz: The Giants (No. 3 pick) scheduled a private workout with Shedeur Sanders, who will not be one of the 17 players in attendance on draft night.

⛳️ The Rory effect: The final round of the Masters averaged 12.7 million viewers on CBS, a 33% jump from last year and the biggest rating for any golf telecast since 2018.

🏆 Fumble at the White House: Vice President JD Vance dropped the CFP national championship trophy during Ohio State’s visit to the White House. Thankfully for the Buckeyes, TreVeyon Henderson’s adept hands saved it from tumbling to the ground.

⚾️ First time for everything: Pirates teammates Paul Skenes (top pick in 2023) and Henry Davis (top pick in 2021) made MLB history on Monday when they became the first pitcher/catcher battery comprised of No. 1 overall picks.

🏀 WNBA draft: The year of the opt-out

Paige Bueckers poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected with the first overall pick on Monday night in Manhattan. (Elsa/Getty Images)

The 2025 WNBA draft was headlined by two of college basketball’s biggest names: Paige Bueckers (No. 1 pick by Dallas) and Hailey Van Lith (No. 11 pick by Chicago). But the story of the night was as much about the NCAA stars who weren’t there as the ones who were.

Staying in school: Before the dawn of NIL, it was extremely rare for top eligible WNBA prospects to stay in school because there was no financial incentive to do so. That has changed in a big way — to the point where turning pro could mean taking a pay cut. Is it any surprise, then, that some of this year’s top WNBA prospects opted to stay on campus?

Monday night's first-round selections. (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports) — Monday night’s first-round selections. (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports)

The year of the opt-out:

Olivia Miles was the projected No. 2 pick after a standout career at Notre Dame, but she transferred to TCU instead. Fellow first-round prospect Ta’Niya Latson made a similar decision and transferred from FSU to South Carolina.

LSU’s Flau’Jae Johnson, the sport’s top NIL earner last season, also passed on the WNBA draft. So did UCLA’s Lauren Betts (DPOY) and UConn’s Azzi Fudd (Final Four MOP), who will return for their senior seasons.

By the numbers: The top four picks in Monday’s WNBA draft will each make $78,831 in salary this upcoming season, while the top four NIL earners in women’s college hoops earned an average of $1.1 million this past season.

Now, obviously NIL earnings and salary compensation are completely different things, and it’s not like WNBA players are forfeiting their off-court earnings (NIL) when they turn pro. They are simply adding on-court earnings (salary) to the mix.

For some, that combination means that more money awaits in the WNBA. But for others, especially stars at powerhouse programs that are often in the national spotlight, the NIL environment at the college level (as it’s currently structured) remains more lucrative overall.

Bueckers is an interesting case: Her off-court earnings are set to explode now that she’s the WNBA’s “next big thing,” but what if she had opted out herself and returned to UConn for her final year of eligibility? One could argue that she would have had just as much earning potential chasing back-to-back titles with the Huskies, whose brand dwarfs the Wings (more fans, more viewers, more cultural currency, etc).

What to watch: WNBA salaries could increase significantly next year when the league’s new $2.2 billion media rights deal (4x the previous agreement) kicks in alongside a potentially groundbreaking new CBA. That was likely a factor in Miles, Latson and others deciding to delay their professional debuts until 2026.

Draft recap: First, second, third round results

⛳️ What does the Masters champion get?

In addition to the iconic green jacket, Masters champions also leave Augusta with numerous other keepsakes, honors and awards. The champions haul includes:

Lots of points: Winners receive 100 OWGR points (same as the other three majors) and 750 FedEx Cup points (same as the other three majors and The Players).

Replica trophy: The official trophy stays on the grounds, but since 1993 winners get to take home a sterling silver replica.

Gold medal: The tournament’s oldest award, dating back to the inaugural 1934 event, is a gold medal featuring an embossed image of the clubhouse.

Champions Dinner: Winners are invited to the Champions Dinner, held annually since Ben Hogan started the tradition in 1952. The reigning champion sets the menu.

Gold locket: Each year at that dinner, the reigning champion is presented with a gold locket. McIlroy will receive his next spring from two-time champion Ben Crenshaw, who’s hosted the dinner since 2005.

Lifetime exemption: Winners are invited back to the Masters for life. They also receive five-year exemptions to the other three majors and all PGA Tour events.

As for the jacket itself: The garment Rory wore on Sunday was merely an existing member’s jacket that was deemed likely to fit his frame. His own will soon be made by the mysterious, Cincinnati-based Hamilton Tailoring Company. He’ll be permitted to wear it outside of Augusta National for one year. After that, the jacket must remain at the club.

🏀 By the numbers: NBA rewind

54 double-digit wins

The Thunder had 54 wins by 10+ points this season, breaking the record of 50 that had stood for over 50 years (1971-72 Lakers). To put into context just how impressive that is: OKC had more double-digit wins than any other Western Conference team had total wins.

176 blocks

Despite playing in just 46 games, Victor Wembanyama led the league with 176 blocks (Brook Lopez was second with 148). His average of 3.8 per game would have been the highest since Alonzo Mourning in 1998-99 if he’d played enough games to qualify.

37.6 attempts per game

NBA teams made (13.5 per game) and attempted (37.6 per game) a record-shattering number of 3-pointers. The result of all that long-range heaving? For the first time in NBA history, missed 3s are now more common than missed 2s.

11 Iron Men

11 players took the court in all 82 games, including Mikal Bridges, who played six seconds on Sunday to keep his Iron Man streak alive (556 straight games). The other 10: Jarrett Allen, Harrison Barnes, Malik Beasley, Bub Carrington, Julian Champagnie, Buddy Hield, Jalen Green, Jaden McDaniels, Chris Paul and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

20 years

LeBron James (24.4 ppg) failed to average at least 25 points per game for the first time since his rookie season, ending his streak at 20 years. Kevin Durant (16 straight years) has the next-longest such streak.

📸 In photos: The Boat Race

The women's teams pass by Hammersmith Bridge. (Alex Davidson/Getty Images) — The women’s teams pass by Hammersmith Bridge. (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

Cambridge and Oxford competed in one of the world’s oldest and most famous amateur sporting events on Sunday, when their crew teams took part in the annual event known simply as The Boat Race.

The Cambridge men celebrate their win on Sunday. (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

Cambridge swept Oxford in the men’s and women’s races, continuing a recent trend of dominance by the “Light Blues” over the “Dark Blues.” The Cambridge men (three straight wins) lead the all-time series 88-81-1, while the women (eight straight wins) lead 49-30.

The Oxford crew trains for the 1954 race. (J.A. Hampton/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

The first race between the United Kingdom’s oldest universities was held in 1829, when old friends studying at the rival schools challenged each other’s crews to a race. The women’s race debuted a century later in 1927.

Spectators line the banks of the Thames to watch the inaugural 1927 women's race. (Fox Photos/Getty Images) — Spectators line the banks of the Thames to watch the inaugural 1927 women’s race. (Fox Photos/Getty Images)

The four-mile long “Championship Course” stretches between Putney Bridge and Mortlake Church along the Thames, where roughly a quarter-million spectators line the banks to watch the race each year.

🎥 Watch: “Turning the Tide,” a four-part documentary on the 2025 race

📺 Watchlist: Play-in games

The NBA play-in tournament begins tonight with Hawks at Magic (7:30pm ET, TNT) followed by Grizzlies at Warriors (10pm, TNT).

What’s at stake: The winners earn their conference’s No. 7 seed (and the right to face either the Celtics or Rockets), while the losers will get another shot on Friday to earn the No. 8 seed.

More to watch:

⚽️ Champions League: Dortmund (0-4) vs. Barcelona (3pm, Paramount+); Aston Villa (1-3) vs. PSG (3pm, Paramount+) … Quarterfinal, second leg.

🏒 NHL: Panthers at Lightning* (7:30pm, ESPN); Kings at Kraken (10:30pm, ESPN)

⚾️ MLB: Guardians at Orioles (7:05pm, TBS)

⚽️ U.S. Open Cup: Third round (6-10:30pm, Paramount+) … Eight games.

*Battle of the Sunshine State: Tampa Bay (100 points) and Florida (98) will likely play each other in the first round (their fourth postseason meeting since 2021), but home ice is still up for grabs.

🏀 NBA trivia

Luka Dončić had the NBA’s best-selling jersey this season, making him the first player not named LeBron James or Stephen Curry to top the league since the 2012-2013 season.

Question: Who had the best-selling jersey in 2012-13?

Hint: Eastern Conference.

Answer at the bottom.

💬 Prophetic tweet: Gary knows ball

On Sept. 24, 2013, a Minneapolis journalist named Gary Knox tweeted about “the best 6th grade [guard]” he’d ever seen. “Remember the name,” he wrote in the now-famous post. “Paige Bueckers.”

Trivia answer: Carmelo Anthony (Knicks)

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