Basketball On The Internet.

BOB'S CORNER: This season is the 25th for the WNBA reports our man in the US, Bob Craven. The Seattle Times put together a Seattle Storm All-25th Anniversary team, which included several Aussies and other players who have played in Australia in the past for WNBL teams.

THERE has been quite the connection between the WNBA's Seattle Storm, Australia and the WNBL. Check out these WNBA-WNBL players.

#2—Lauren Jackson. The 198cm big is generally regarded as the best women's basketball player ever.  She played 12 seasons for the Storm before injuries ended her playing days as one of the most dominant players in WNBA history.  She was the #1 overall pick in the 2001 draft and is one of two players to win three WNBA MVP awards.  She captured two WNBA titles, was a Finals MVP in 2010 and won a Defensive POTY in 2007. Her #15 jersey was the first jersey ever retired by the Storm.  The Times also recognised that she would have been the #1 player overall on this list if her career had not been shortened by injury.  As a result, the #1 spot was given to Sue Bird.

Bird played 19 seasons for the Storm and was a 13-time WNBA All-Star.  She was the #1 pick in the 2002 draft and is the WNBA's all-time leader in assists and games played.  She also ranks first in Storm history in points and steals, and her #10 jersey has also been retired.  All this despite having missed two entire seasons due to injuries.

#11—Ezi Magbeg​or. A star F-C for both the Storm and the Opals, she has played for the Storm for five seasons and helped win one WNBA title.  She's also an All-Star and a two-time All-WNBA defensive team honoree.  She'll be in the Storm top ten by the end of this year.

#15—Sami Whitcomb. The Aussie American has played six seasons for the Storm (2017-20, and 2023-present, and has helped them win two WNBA titles. The veteran sharpshooter has played several seasons in the WNBL, mainly with Perth Lynx but also Townsville Fire, and has also made a name for herself in NBL-1.  A four-time All-WNBA First Team selection, she has also represented the Opals in international competitions on several occasions.

#16—Jordin Canada. The very quick and fast PG played four seasons for the Storm (2018-21) and won two titles with them (2018 and 2020).  She played last WNBL season for the Melbourne Boomers.  She was the WNBL's MVP that season and a member of the All-WNBL First Team.

#21—Mercedes Russell. The 198cm big has played the past seven seasons with the Storm and has helped them win two WNBA titles (2019 and 2021).  She was also the MVP of last season's WNBL Final series for Melbourne's Southside Flyers.

THIS WNBA season has been relatively quiet, in my view, despite the addition of last year's college superstars, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. 

The third superstar from last year, Cameron Brink suffered a season-ending torn ACL injury after only playing in nine games.  Clark and Reese have been sensational, but their teams are just mediocre so far — to be expected since they were drafted by ​last year's teams with the worst league records.

The "super teams", with one partial exception, are running away with things, particularly in the Eastern Conference, where the NY Liberty are 15-3, and are led by Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones. 

The Connecticut Sun are right behind them at 14-4.  They are led by DeWanna Bonner, DiJonai Carrington, Brionna Jones and Alyssa Thomas.  All other teams in the East have lost more games than they've won and will have no chance to play for the title at season's end. 

In the West, it's the Minnesota Lynx leading the parade, led by Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride.  However, the Seattle Storm are right behind them, led by their four all-stars:  Jewell Loyd, Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Ezi Magbegor. 

Those four leaders should be enough to see the Storm make a deep run in the playoffs.  The surprise in the West is that the defending league champion Las Vegas Aces are not running away with things. 

They are trailing the Storm at this point, and their six losses at this point is about 4-5 more than most people would have thought.  However, their superstar A'Ja Wilson is far and away the league's leading scorer and rebounder, so it would be hard to write them off right now at about the midway point of the season.

THE NBA held its 2024 draft this past week and, unlike last year when Victor Wembanyama, the towering young Frenchman was the unanimous choice for the #1 choice, there was no big favourite in what was seen as a less talented draft field overall. 

One thing stayed the same, however.  The top position went to a young Frenchman.  In fact, France landed three of the first six players drafted.

The #1 pick was Zaccarie Risacher, a 206cm forward.  The #2 pick was another Frenchman, 213cm post player Alex Sarr, who played last season in Australia's NBL with Perth Wildcats.

France also landed the #6 pick, Tidjane Salaun, another 206cm forward, and the #25 pick was also a Frenchman, Pacome Dadiet, a 204cm forward who played last season in Germany. 

France looks like being one of the top teams this year's Olympic Games to be held in Paris.  With NBA Defensive POTY Rudy Gobert clogging up the middle and enough younger guys from this draft, and the rest of the French contingent playing in the US and elsewhere, they will be a tough match for any team, the US included. 

Indeed, they could be challenge for many years to come.

I found it interesting that Bronny James was drafted by the Lakers with the 25th pick of the second round, the overall 55th pick. 

After the Lakers were bounced out of the playoffs, there was a lot of talk about whether or not LeBron James would stay with the Lakers or go somewhere else in search of another title. 

The short-term answer is he will stay home in LA.  I'm sure he had a fair bit of say in them taking Bronny, and I'm sure — if Bronny somehow makes the team — LBJ would be delighted to finish up his career playing with his son, something that's never happened before in the NBA.

However, Bronny making the team is another matter.  I don't think he's ready for the NBA, needing more time and maturity at the top levels of the game. 

It was unfortunate for his development that he suffered from the congenital heart issue before he ever really got started at Southern Cal, a big negative to overcome on the fly.​  My guess is that he won't be considered for the big team and that he'll go to the D-League if he shows enough promise that he could make the NBA club in a relatively short amount of time. 

His dad isn't going to be able to wait forever for him to join the Lakers, unless they do it just to have the two play together for a short period of time just to say they did that for his dad's sake.

Don't rule that out.