Basketball Week in Review, Oct. 19-25: Who Sat, Who Started and 76 Players a Court Let Play

Photo: ESPN. Cecilia Zandalasini headshot, Golden State Valkyries.

Saturday night in Atlanta, Kayla Thornton and Cecilia Zandalasini watched the opening tip of WNBA Finals Game 4 from the Golden State bench. Natalie Nakase had started Tiffany Hayes and Kaila Charles in their place, Zandalasini came in and finished plus-20, the best mark on either roster, and the Valkyries won 67-62 to tie the series 2-2.

That lineup card is the best way into this week. The biggest results from Oct. 19 to 25 were decided by choices about who sat, who started and who was allowed to play at all.

The stars still filled the box scores. Angel Reese had three straight Finals double-doubles before Saturday. Victor Wembanyama blocked four shots in Dallas. Florida and South Carolina opened at No. 1. But the swing in each story came from a decision made before the ball went up, or from the minutes when the best player was on the bench.

The Valkyries won Game 4 with the lineup change

Golden State had lost Game 2 by 14 and Game 3 by 26, and it had turned the ball over at least 17 times in each of the first three games, per the Valkyries' team recap. Nakase's answer was a new starting group. Hayes is a 14th-year veteran. Charles had not started a playoff game.

The result showed up on both ends. Charles finished plus-14 in under 29 minutes. Zandalasini, moved to the bench, scored 10 in the first half and led everyone in plus-minus. Golden State cut its turnovers to nine, and Reese finished with eight points on 2-of-12 shooting with six turnovers in 34 minutes, per WNBA.com's box score. The Dyme's Game 4 Take has the full box score.

Reese owned the night afterward. "I think it was me, I think I rushed a lot on my shots," she told reporters, per the Associated Press.

That matters for Game 5 on Monday at 8 p.m. ET at Chase Center. Reese went for 30 and 16 in the Game 2 win, and Rhyne Howard had five steals in the Game 3 rout.

Spurs and Heat games turned on the bench minutes

Wembanyama finished plus-32 in 29 minutes in Saturday's 122-106 win at Dallas, per ESPN's box score. San Antonio lost the other 19 minutes by 16 (Dyme calculation). Over three games, The Dyme's count from ESPN box scores has the Spurs at plus-33 in 95 minutes with him and minus-33 in 49 minutes without him. The Wembanyama Take has the stint-by-stint numbers.

The backup center minutes show it. Luke Kornet is minus-35 in 43 minutes across the three games, by The Dyme's count from ESPN box scores.

Miami showed the same thing from the other side on Saturday in Charlotte. The Hornets led 92-70 late in the third quarter, per the AP. ESPN's play-by-play has Giannis Antetokounmpo subbed out with 1:17 left in the third and back at the 5:00 mark of the fourth, with the score tied 102-102. Miami won the fourth quarter 35-19 on the line score. Antetokounmpo then fouled out with 1:57 left, finished with 14 points in 25 minutes and a minus-20, and the Heat lost 115-110 to fall to 0-3. The Giannis Take covers how the comeback group looked.

Then there is the No. 1 pick who has not played at all. AJ Dybantsa has logged 0 minutes in 3 games with a left ankle sprain, and Washington went 2-1 without him. ESPN's injury page lists his estimated return as Monday, Oct. 26, at Charlotte.

College basketball's biggest result this week came from a courtroom

On Oct. 20, a judge granted a preliminary injunction in Glancey v. NCAA that gives 76 players, most from the 2022 recruiting class, eligibility for the 2026-27 season, per On3. Donovan Dent and Jaxon Kohler are on the list. On3 also reports the NCAA is expected to appeal, so treat the ruling as a preliminary order, with the final answer still to come. The Dyme's Glancey Take has the names.

The men's preseason poll already reflects the courts. Florida opened No. 1 with 47 of 59 first-place votes, per the AP. Kansas came in at No. 17 with 504 points after Trey Kaufman-Renn signed once a judge cleared his sixth year. Some of the rosters being ranked in October depend on rulings that can still change.

The women's poll also reflected who is back and who left

South Carolina opened No. 1 in the women's AP poll with 23 of 31 first-place votes and 764 points, per CBS Sports and the AP. UConn sits second at 746 with six first-place votes, an 18-point gap (Dyme calculation). USC is No. 3 with JuJu Watkins back from the ACL tear that cost her all of last season.

The two other notable numbers are both about absence. Defending champion UCLA is No. 11 after losing its entire starting five to the WNBA. Minnesota sits at No. 17 and lost Tori McKinney's 12.7 points a game to a season-ending knee injury two weeks before tipoff. The season starts Nov. 1 in Rome and Nov. 2 in Paris, per CBS Sports.

Indiana's front office emptied out after a 28-win season

The WNBA's other big week happened in Indianapolis. Kelly Krauskopf stepped down on Oct. 23, and Amber Cox is out as general manager after a franchise-record 28 wins and a first-round exit. A day later, two Fever guards made the All-WNBA First Team while the Finals-bound Valkyries placed nobody.

Those two facts belong together. The Fever have two First Team guards, with both its president and GM gone. The Valkyries have no All-WNBA player and are two wins from a title.

What to watch this week

Start with Monday. Nakase's starting five in Game 5, Dybantsa's possible first NBA minutes in Charlotte and Spoelstra's fourth-quarter group when the Heat host Dallas, per ESPN's schedule, are all lineup decisions, and each one tests the argument above.

Then watch the court docket. If the NCAA files its appeal in Glancey, the 76 players on that list are playing with a question mark until a higher court rules.

Sources

• WNBA.com: Game Recap, Golden State vs. Atlanta (Finals, Game 4)
• AP: Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 67-62 to even the WNBA Finals at 2-2
• AP: Angel Reese struggles through Dream's Game 4 loss in WNBA Finals
• AP: Lineup switch by coach Natalie Nakase works out as Valkyries even WNBA Finals series
• ESPN box score and play-by-play: Spurs 122, Mavericks 106 (Oct. 24, 2026)
• AP: Spurs beat Mavericks 122-106 for their first win
• ESPN box score and play-by-play: Hornets 115, Heat 110 (Oct. 24, 2026)
• NBA.com: No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa (ankle) to remain sidelined
• ESPN: NBA injuries
• ESPN: Miami Heat schedule
• ESPN: Charlotte Hornets schedule
• On3: Judge grants preliminary injunction giving Jaxon Kohler, Donovan Dent, others eligibility
• ESPN / AP: Florida an overwhelming No. 1 in preseason AP Top 25 men's basketball poll
• CBS Sports: JuJu Watkins has USC at No. 3 in AP Top 25, South Carolina begins on top
• AP: South Carolina ranked No. 1 in preseason AP Top 25 women's basketball poll