The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - GOOD FOLLOW - Does Angel Deserve an Apology?, Caitlin Clark Returns + Bonner’s Impact on the Mercury & More

Episode Date: July 15, 2025

This Week on Good Follow: Ros & Logan discuss Angel Reese’s 8-game double-double streak and if she deserves an apology, breakdown where the Indiana Fever stand ahead of the All-Star break with Caitlin Clark back in the lineup, and highlight Dewanna Bonner’s immediate impact on the Phoenix Mercury. Finally, Logan shares her Women’s Euro pick of the week presented by DraftKings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

No Frills delivers. Get groceries delivered to your door from No Frills with PC Express. Shop online and get $15 in PC Optimum Points on your first five orders. Shop now at NoFrills.ca. You're listening to DraftKings Network. Hey, what's up, y'all? Welcome to Good Follow, presented by DraftKings. I'm Roz Goldilnore. That's my girl and co-host, Logan Hackett.

And y'all, we are back from vacation. We are here in studio. I don't know about you, Logan. I'm feeling refreshed. I got a tan, okay? And I'm ready to go. How are you feeling? I feel rejuvenated.

I don't know if it's the weather or what, but everything just feels so bright and happy and sunny. I love it, especially with All-Star Weekend coming up. Absolutely. I feel like we're at the halfway point of the W season, not the summer though. I feel like we've got a good strong chunk of summer left, right? I hope so. I too am hanging on to the concept of a lot of summer left.

Okay. I'm hanging, I too am hanging on to the concept of a lot of summer left, okay. But guys, we have a lot of show and women's basketball and women's sports here to bring to you. So let me give you today's menu for the show. Does Angel Reese deserve an apology? Caitlin Clark, she returned from injury. D'Wanna Bonner, sheWana some immediate impact for And don't forget y'all, yo episodes, not once but tw Tuesday and one on thursd you so much for subscribi following our socials, se

to people. We love to see y'all for the love. But r to get into it? Absolutely I'm ready to go let's do this. Let's do it so we have got to talk about Angel Reese because she has been on a heater on absolutely hot fire flames and you know when you look at the box score of her games it is obvious that something has changed and that the sky little made little tweaks on how she's being used but But she's been on an eight game double double streak with absolutely no signs of slowing down.

And at the beginning of the season, there were huge eyes on her really underperforming and everyone had takes. But now quiet ain't no bad talk. Nobody's talking about it. I open my feet and it is so peaceful. I love to see it. But that brings me to the question, does Angel Reese deserve an apology? You know what?

Angel does deserve. Well, she deserves flowers, right? Because the commotion was loud when she started the season out poorly. And so the the noise should be loud for how well she's responded and now consistently played over a long period of time. We're talking about a month plus now. So, you know, I'm sure, I would like to imagine that Angel don't care about nobody's apology.

Like she's just handling her business on the court. But for all the people who are clout chasers around Angel's name, people who dismissed her, people who don't even watch Angel play, they were just happy to hear that she started the season off poorly. And they were just happy that that could confirm all of their assumptions and guesses about her.

Those people need to pay attention because her game is doing the talking right now and the numbers are not lying. Like Logan, you showcased all those numbers. And right now Angel Reese is playing like a top 10 player in the WNBA. She has how many now? 41 double doubles. She's played a total of 55 games. The math on that is about 74% of her total career games over a year and a half of her

baby little WNBA career. Almost 75% of that she's pulled up with a double double. Like wrap your mind around that, the consistency of that, the toughness of that, the physicality. Yes. I also want to point out 14 games this year. She's had a double double. There's one triple double. She's only played 21 games, but I think you're on the way to also mentioning her improvement. And that is the biggest thing that has stood out to me. And it's so crazy to watch Angel Hooping right now because it's nowhere close to the ceiling that I think she possesses. She's shooting about 44.5% from the field and it's still up 5% from last year, but it can 100% get higher.

And then when it comes to the assist, she has 16 more assists in 21 games than she did in 34 last year. That is crazy work. It's crazy work, and I love you talking about Angel's ceiling. Like, talk about how much of a jump we saw just within one half of a season. And there absolutely is a strategic adjustment, I think, that has a lot to do with the growth we're seeing from Angel. First of all, you know, it seems like where the point of action is that she is catching and starting with the ball is higher up.

She has more space to work with now, and she can get downhill and then allow her to utilize her mobility to make a play for herself or to make a play for someone else. She's a nice passer. There's been a couple of mistakes and turnovers now that she's handling the ball a little bit more. That comes with the territory.

But what we're seeing from Angel, she is mobile. She is a playmaker. Her assists are up. Her pace actually, remember when Tina Charles spoke with her about slowing down in the paint? That was last season, her rookie year. And it seems like something's clicked,

like she's not as in a rush in there. And now she's she's utilizing her strength. She's very strong. But like finishing through contact, there is a bump and she keeps going through or she's stepping through defense and contact and all the things. So we're seeing that that growth from her. And then I think it's better than us catching her when she was on the low block, you know, or getting the ball closer to the rim or catching stagnant.

And that really didn't showcase all the different ways she could impact the game. It also says a ton to be doing everything that she's doing off of the court while also still being able to improve and us even just having this conversation. We absolutely love to see. I mean, I cannot wait to see her and maybe like five years and the progress that she's had. I always want to compare her to 80. And I really think that she'll get there if not sooner than where 80 is right now. Wow. I love that. I love that comparison. A little take. I don't know. I don't even think it's hot. I think it's like lukewarm, maybe on the cold side.

A hot take that she could be like Alyssa Thomas. Yeah. I think just the concept of her being a post that could play both sides of the ball and facilitate and quarterback for her team. I absolutely think Angel's capable of that. I like the comparison. I mean, Angel's much bigger, right? Than A.T. in some ways. Well, maybe not as strong and you know, but I like, I think one thing that stands out to me about Angel Reese, she's captivating.

You know, what did I say? She gets the people going. You know, so anyone that's close to Angel Reese, whether it's her teammates or friends or people that work with her, you ever notice they rally behind her? They stand up for her. They got positive things to say. It's the folks that are looking at her from a distance and often are having a hard time

putting her in their simple one or two boxes and have a hard time making sense of all the things that she is at once and that she represents and therefore often want to make her smaller or diminish her or point out when she should be humbled. And you know, I've said this before, especially during Unrivaled, where I noticed like that whole team, the Rose, like they they followed her. Angel's just a young player, but look at all these grown people following Angel. There's just something about her. She's got a big heart. You know, she transcends. And with everything that you just said, I do want to reel it back just a tiny bit, only because there was a clip that I saw and following this guy's win over the links,

Angel said in the postgame, quote, somebody said we weren't the best young core in the league. I think we are the best young core in the league for sure. Hands down. I have to say, I think that's a bit debatable for us. What do you think? Yeah, no, she was feeling good after the game. They did a little post game interview and she and first of all,

that's Angel's nature too. Like she wants to immediately big up the team, right? Like she's very good about sharing her moment. Do I think that they're the best young core in the W right now, the Chicago Sky? I think it's debatable for sure, Skye. Oh, it's definitely debatable. Props to the Sky, like any team that has Camila Cardoso

and Angel Reese as part of your core, your youthful core, that's a strong group, right? Plus you can throw in Hailey Van Lyth. I'll throw in Michaela Onyewere because she's 25. I'm gonna say 25 and under. So Sky, like it's not outlandish. It's just debatable because for me, Logan, and I'm sure there's a number of teams we could mention,

I think the Mystics would like to have a word. The Mystics literally have two rookies in the All-Star game. You got Kiki Irvin, Sonja Citron, also Shakira Austin. If I'm not mistaken, they're the youngest team in the All-Star game. You got Kiki, Kiki Irithin, Sonja Citron, also Shakira Austin. If I'm not mistaken, they're the youngest team in the league. Yeah, they're super young as a team, but also Aliyah Edwards. I'll still throw her in there, even though I know there was talk about getting, you know, having her move out, out of that team. And then The Fever, Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, that alone is an incredible young core that could dominate the league for years to come.

Plus Lexi Hull. Dallas, I think that they are certainly a very feisty young group there. And Paige Becker's and JJ Quinterley and Aziah James. You know, I'll even throw the Lee Yeroux in there. She's been doing great since joining them. And then I also want to give an honorable mention. Like you got to shout out, when healthy, the Sparks Youth Full Core, Young Core,

Rekia Jackson, Cameron Brinks coming back, and Ray Burrell has just gotten healthy. Like imagine when they're really healthy. That's a squad. And I'm gonna just shout out the international young players for the Valkyries, Janelle Salon, Carla Lay. So like there's some really good young. Coors and talent on some teams here of all those Logan,

which one do you think is the best? Oh, my gosh, I might go with Washington at the moment. Yeah, me too. Yeah, especially given their potential and the fact that you have two all stars mixed in there. But even Jade Melbourne, I think she's 22, 23. I thought she was so much older. Yeah. Yeah. No, I look all these groups are good. It's it's interesting, like who will stay together the longest, who doesn't get broken up? You know, do the sky even keep that that core group of, you know, Carmilla Cadoso,

Angel Reese together? They were they were at first pointed to as the cornerstones of the franchise. But over time, like, do they think that this works or do they split them up a little bit? Like, who knows? So we'll see. All this just goes to show how much great young talent there is in this league. Like, we are set up for years to come with new talent coming in but big news out of the big easy usc318 is about to go down in new orleans and this card is absolutely stacked we got dustin porier versus max holloway three as the headliner and it's dustin porier's last walk to the octagon the final chapter with his legacy on the line and you know draft king

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see dkng.co.slash.audio. Speaking of that, Caitlin Clark returned against the wings on Sunday. And it's so crazy to think that people were calling this a low scoring game. And it was. She put it 14 points, shooting just 33% from the field.

But despite this, she still had a huge on-c court presence with the 14 points, 13 assists and five steals. All of that happening in 25 minutes. And then the fever had five players in double digits shooting 50% from the field to beat the wings by 19. There's been a lot going on with this team, of course, in headlines every single week. But basketball wise, how do you think they their position heading into the All-Star break?

Yeah, you know, let's call a spade a spade. The fever have had a bumpy tumultuous first half of the season. I mean, literally, the girls were fighting. They were in fights on the court. They had a key acquisition free agent player up and leave them like DeWanna Bonner dipped, okay. They had injuries to guards. Obviously the biggest is your superstar player,

Caitlin Clark, hasn't really been healthy this season and also has not had an efficient or super great season as far as the numbers. And your coach even has missed time, you know, for personal reasons, absolutely respectable, but it's just been a lot for the fever. And so I think right now heading into the All-Star break, they can say, Woosa. Like they know at least now who they got. They know who's on their team.

They know who wants to be there. And they actually won some really good games without Caitlin Clark. I think that's a positive. And the commissioner's cup win is something tangible in the midst of this crazy season that they can put a feather in their cap and hold onto. This is a tangible big thing. They, they beat the number one team in the league right now in the Minnesota league and the Minnesota links.

I think this period of craziness and also the time without CC and and the injuries, it allowed us to see the growth of playmaking out of Aliyah Boston, her being a cerebral post, you could play through all of the passing like her game really growed, grew and expanded. Kelsey Mitchell, we have continued to see her find her stride at playing at a high level. She's balling right now. Like she's just fast, a scorer, and can get a bucket in a million ways. It allowed the Fever to reestablish just how important Lexi Hull is to this team. For us, you know, coming into the season, maybe some people might have not remembered

the energy and effort and motor she brings, but like she's just, she's just so important to the fabric of the squad. It allowed newcomers like Natasha Howard and Sophie Cunningham to establish their roles with this team. And I also think it led to finally, like with all of the movement and injuries, something cool came in with Aerie McDonald in that, you know, now they've got this other ball handler that they can utilize to change pace to bring energy to up the defensive intensity and they're figuring out how to use her alongside with Caitlin Clark at times. So I think, look, this is all happening into

the break. Last year out of the All-Star and Olympic break, Caitlin Clark took it to another level. This is clearly a different type of situation. Like the all-star break this year, she won't be sitting at home while everybody's at the Olympics and resting and working on her game. It's literally an Indy. She's they're going to be at the center of a circus. It's going to be crazy. There won't be as much rest and break, but at minimum if Caitlin Clark comes

out of the all-star break and is at least healthy and being more efficient. I think the fever can stabilize. They can gain chemistry and they can keep cooking. Okay, I know it was a crazy first half, but they still in this thing. They just got to stabilize, gain chemistry, and you know, for Caitlin Clark, I think her health is key. Also, flowers to Erin McDonald because that turnaround is insane. And it goes to show that when you find a team that fits your system and that you can play

around, it brings out the best in you. And some people just need that like the one of Bonner who went to the Mercury and it became such a big thing. I mean, segue, you have people painting her online. She quit the team. She did this. Okay, whatever. Anyways, she made, she's making a huge impact on Phoenix and you could just tell how happy she is. And Monday's one point win over the Falqueries, she led with 22 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. Now she's playing with Alyssa Thomas and you could just tell that their chemistry is undeniable.

Every time they play together, it seems like the best thing happens. They either end up in the semis, the finals, and I think this is exactly what she needed, and it's exactly what Phoenix needed, and low-key Indiana in a sense, because Yaga are because of it. Yeah, maybe. I mean, I think, look, for the Indiana Fever fans that are You know annoyed and up in arms that DeWanna Bonner left like in any sports fandom league Gentler regardless of anything like You should you should be upset like this

This was a huge shake-up to the plans of the team every time DeWanna Bonner comes back to that arena She should expect to get handedly booed And that's part of that's part of sports, that's normal. That comes with the territory. But as far as her fit with the Mercury, look, y'all better not sleep on the Phoenix Mercury. Do not sleep on the Phoenix Mercury. Do not sleep on the Phoenix Mercury.

Pay attention y'all, because the fit is fitting, all right? D'Wanabana playing with the Mercury, one of the first things I noticed when I watched them against the Valkyries is just how in sync she and Alyssa Thomas are. There was so much great two-player game. The way especially AT found D'Wanabana for buckets. And it makes sense.

They've been teammates for years in Connecticut. They're also fiancés. Like there's a lot of, right? Like there's a lot of comfort there. But I even think beyond that, culturally, you know, what they've been building there in this new era for Phoenix, the team is physical, they're tough, they're disruptive.

And I think that Dawaana Bonner fits that perfectly as well. And I think it's probably just more peaceful for her. You know, when you're an indie, it's just, there's so much circus there and you come to Phoenix and it's just less spotlight. It's just hoops. And I'm sure like that's something that's more comfortable right now

for what D'Juana is looking for. And I think also like this role so far, she's been coming off the bench. That's a role she's already excelled in. She's done that for the Phoenix Mercury when she was there in the past. She had three six player of the year awards. Like this is a familiar world role. And then don't forget the Mercury are already deep.

They got the number one bench in the league. If you continue to add to want to monitor that that's crazy. Plus all the injuries they've had, Kali a copper, missing a lot of the game. Satu Sabli has been out. So they need Duana. But let me tell you right now, if all of them get healthy and then all of those international players in that deep bench, then you got a big four of Alyssa Thomas, Duana Bonner, Kalia Copper, and Satu Sabli. That's a very dangerous team.

That team is a crazy team to see in the playoffs. And it'd be hard to bet against them. Absolutely. I remember if in post, if this is true in post production producers, no, can y'all just put in the little receipts there? I feel like when we went through the teams with Moe, I was saying Phoenix is a sleeper on paper. I don't know why more people aren't talking about them, but the fact that they have now added Duana to this, I can definitely see them going on a finals run and then everybody being like,

Whoa, how did this happen? If you watch them, you will 100% understand. A few weeks ago, I watched them play the sky and my job was genuinely on the floor. If one player was on the bench of a started with on the bench, another one was coming out, absolutely hitting deep threes. The way that they play as a team is amazing. Coming up, I make my draft Kings pick of the week. We'll be right back. listening to and hit play on your next adventure. Stay three nights this summer at Best Western and get $50 off a future stay. Life's the trip.

Make the most of it at Best Western. Visit bestwestern.com for complete terms and conditions. ["The Crown Is Yours"] Welcome back to Good Follow. Today's episode is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings, the crown is yours. It is now time for the DraftKings Pick of the Week presented by DraftKings. This Thursday, England and Sweden face off in what might be one of the best quarterfinal matches of the Euros. After a shaky 2-1 loss to France, England went on a tear scoring 10

goals in their next two matches versus Wales and Netherlands, ultimately finishing second in their group. Their ball movement has been fantastic and depth has shown boasting eight different goal scorers so far. My player to watch here is Lauren James who loves coming clutch in big moments. She netted two goals in the Lioness must-win game against Netherlands and I have no doubt that she'll be one of the go-to players against Sweden. As for Sweden, they boasted a of talent as well, but were flying under the radar until their huge 4-1 win against the eight-time winner Germany to finish first in their group. One player I definitely look out for is Stina Blaxtinius who propels the Swedes with their goalscoring abilities. She has the experience scoring eight goals in three Euro tournaments

and tends to kick off the momentum with the first goal of the match. Sweden is out for revenge after losing 4-0 to England in the last Euro semifinals, but England are the reigning champions and look like they can go the distance, so I'm going with them to get the win. This segment is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings, the crown is yours. The crown is yours, brahs! Oh no, Logan, the crown is yours.

My girl. I tried to beat you to it today. I know you really moved fast. I was like, oh, the crown, the crown. But this is the time of the show where we're running down for the headlines and the quick hits. What do you got for us? Yes. So first up, Alia Boston joins Boston Legacy FC as an investor. And that just makes so much sense in and of itself.

The girls are moguls, Logan. There were the money resides. We absolutely love to see it. And of yourself, Boston's making big moves already too. So absolutely love to see it through and through. What we don't love to see is Tobin Heath announcing her retirement. What a legend. So sad to see. I feel like we kind of knew it was coming, but the fact that it's official is heartbreaking. Yeah, she hadn't played in like three years. I think this is actually, you know, just nice closure at the end of a legendary career. So congratulations. I also love how she did the announcement and it was just so perfect and she had her wife, Kristin Press, and it was beautiful. But on the weekend, we also saw the Wimbledon final

where number eight, Igor Schwantek, defeated number 13, Amanda Nisimova. And this was crazy. It was the first time since 1911 that a double bagel was in the Wimbledon final. For those who don't know what a double bagel is, it's when you win. It's when you win 6-0, 6-0.

So the other player pretty much didn't get a point on the board. And that's crazy. The level of domination, right? Even after the match, she was like, I did not expect that. Like when she's on fire, she is like absolutely lights out. And at just 24 years old, she's one win away from a career grand slam, which is crazy to think even how long it took Serena to do it. Yeah, well, shout out to shout out to Eega, you know, representing for Poland.

But also on our American side, Amanda, you represented even being in the final was crazy and coming back from, you know, time away for mental health and all the things. We're proud. We're proud. And, you know, it's tough to get up there in the final and do what you can. 100 percent. I truly hope Amanda is proud of herself and last that we have Portland revealing their team name Which is the Portland fire which also means the Portland fire is back because they were in the W I believe I want to say I know 2002 is one of the dates maybe 2000 2002 Yes, it's a return to earlier roots. And honestly, we're just happy to see that the

Portland Fire have some momentum and are making some moves right now towards coming into the WNBA next season and they're getting on track. They exist now. Yes, they exist. I like the logo, has a little rose with it too. It's cool. Yeah, it also plays off of the end of your salt team because they have their roses. It's really big with like Thor Nation because they're Portland thorns, but everything just goes with the Rose. You see all of the synergy there. Logan, this is why I said the crown is yours. The crown is ours.

We'll share it. We'll share it and the crown is also yours to everyone who's watching or listening our show today. Thank you for pulling up and watching this episode of Good Follow Show. We are back from vacation. We're headed into the WNBA All-Star Break. We're following all the summer sports and news and headlines and updates. And that's why you got to stick with us. Subscribe if you haven't.

Follow us on socials. Share it with a friend. Do all the things. We love to kick it with you and we'll see you later this week. We've got another episode coming up. Good follows presented by DraftKings. We'll see you there. So so Thanks for watching!