Hoops Happening: The Seattle Storm will celebrate their third WNBA Championship on Sunday!

With surgical precision, the Seattle Storm did it — claimed the No. 1 seed in the WNBA, clung to it (with the No. 2 Atlanta Dream never getting closer than two games behind), sent three players to the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game (Sue Bird, Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart), claimed important season awards (Most Valuable Player — Breanna Stewart; Most Improved Player — Natasha Howard), and put on a show in the postseason that culminated in a 3-0 sweep of the Washington Mystics in the Finals to bring the championship trophy back to Seattle.

It is the Storm’s third WNBA Championship and all of them were won in the Sue Bird era.

To honor their achievement in one of the most exciting seasons in WNBA history, a Storm victory parade will be happening this weekend, and here’s what we know so far:

Seattle Storm Victory Parade

When: Sunday, Sept. 16 at 1 p.m. PT

Parade route: To be determined

Destination point: KeyArena, with fans asked to enter through the West Doors, located on the West Plaza of KeyArena.

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Speaking of surgical precision ...

Sue Bird is in a mood.

Bird’s partner, soccer star Megan Rapinoe, is ready for the parade and party.

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2018 All-WNBA team selections

The All-WNBA Teams were announced this week and, as expected, the rosters are populated with some of the WNBA’s biggest stars, in a star-packed league. Noticeably missing, however, is Sue Bird, who just won her third WNBA Championship. Her Storm teammate, Breanna Stewart, was a unanimous selection. Meanwhile, it is Diana Taurasi’s 13th First Team selection, and first-time appearances for Liz Cambage and Tiffany Hayes.

First Team

Second Team

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Team USA

The USA Women’s National Team began practice on Sept. 5, and went on to compete in an intrasquad scrimmage and exhibition games against Canada and Japan. Team USA won both exhibitions. The Team USA roster was whittled along the way and the 16 finalists for the 2018 FIBA World Cup team are:

WNBA.com

In continued preparation for the World Cup, the USA Women’s National Team will take their talents to France to compete in an exhibition tournament against Canada, Senegal and France.

The 2018 FIBA World Cup is Sept. 22-30 in Tenerife, Spain.

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Drink up, link lush!

• The numbers are in: Game 3 of the WNBA Finals on ESPN2 was the most watched Finals contest since 2010. Hopefully, the continued numbers-based evidence will inspire ESPN to cover the WNBA as it does other sports, including pregame and postgame shows in the playoffs and showing WNBA replays on SportsCenter throughout the season.
• Natasha Howard was a big part of the Storm’s success in the 2018 WNBA season. Here’s a great review of what she contributes to this team that helped them to get over the championship hump.
• ICYMI: Natasha Cloud of the Washington Mystics blasted a Virginia bar and grill that would not air Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, allegedly reserving all 30 screens for NFL games. Ahead of Game 3, I spoke with NPR’s Audie Cornish on All Things Considered about the incident that happened with Cloud’s family and the state of the league 22 years into its existence.
• NBA players celebrate the WNBA champion Seattle Storm.
• And Eric Gordon made some bold predictions about Breanna Stewart.
• Tiffany Mitchell of the Indiana Fever and Team USA is a cover girl.
• Nneka Ogwumike was awarded the WNBA Cares Community Assist Award, for the season! Her charitable and philanthropic efforts are extensive and inspiring, and you should read about them here.
• ICYMI: Sue Bird penned a funny piece in The Players’ Tribune about breaking her nose.

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How to #WatchThemWork during the 2018 WNBA Playoffs

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Shine brighter. * flicker flicker *