maitreyi anantharaman

21 July 2025

interesting weekend! anyway! I’m really excited to work on this book about all the ways women’s basketball players are valued and devalued

19h

I do cover the WNBA but I probably rank among the top 50 people in the world in caring about regular season NBA games in October and this is totally insane to me!

19h

anyone see ron lock up jaylen brown last night 👀

Game's about a steal...At the half, Golden State leads 42-26. They have 6 steals and have taken 21 (!!!) more shots than the Dream. Atlanta has 1 steal and zero fast break points.

maitreyi anantharaman@maitreyiaa.bsky.social

Five players in the Finals were top-10 on the WNBA steals leaderboard this year! I wrote a bit about what steals have meant in this series and talked to all five about their approach to steals:

Ceci is not quoted in this blog but I did talk to her because she was lowk a steals demon in the Aces series. She already has 3 today.

defector.comThese WNBA Finals Are Made Of Steal | DefectorATLANTA — The shooting gods may be weeping, but these WNBA Finals are a steal lover’s delight. Jordin Canada, at 5-foot-6, shoots the gap and sneaks behind the unsuspecting. Angel Reese, who can time…

Five players in the Finals were top-10 on the WNBA steals leaderboard this year! I wrote a bit about what steals have meant in this series and talked to all five about their approach to steals:

Defector@defector.com

These WNBA Finals are made of steal: defector.com/these-wnba-f...

Going to have to watch the Pistons opener on the plane to Atlanta. I should probably do the thing parents of crying babies do where they give out earplugs and apology notes to the other passengers in advance

if ausar hits a 3 our flight WILL be diverted to omaha

crying in my ginger ale, detroit basketball

maitreyi anantharaman reposted

defector.comAngel Reese Has Genius In Her Fingertips | DefectorReese can scrape the basketball back to herself with what seems like a sliver of her nail. Her best boards find her bending backward mid-air, like a wide receiver hauling in a touchdown pass at its hi...

digging up my Angel Reese feature from 2024 “She understands that basketball, at its core, is a 40-minute series of tiny opportunities, each of which can be seized by the person who wants it more.”

maitreyi anantharaman reposted

Marisa Ingemi

@mingemi.bsky.social

daily reminder pls subscribe to Valkyries Beat before the WNBA Finals starts! there is so so so much coming. www.valkyriesbeat.com/upgrade

valkyriesbeat.comUpgrade | Valkyries BeatInside the Golden State Valkyries from the perspective of a women's sports journalist.

solid first half 👍

maitreyi anantharaman reposted

CJ Fogler

@cjzero.bsky.social

Kiah Stokes blocks A'ja

defector.comEight Teams, Eight Qualms: A Guide To The 2026 WNBA Playoffs | DefectorThe 2026 WNBA playoffs begin on Sunday, following the league’s longest-ever regular season, one in which it felt like any team could win on any given night. (Except the Connecticut Sun.) As an…

I’m trying to start my own version of Gone Fishin’

Defector@defector.com

Here's Maitreyi Anantharaman's WNBA playoff preview: defector.com/eight-teams-...

Valks are sending the Wings to The Range on a high speed golf cart rn

I think my playoff preview thoughts are 2 for 2 so far: the Lynx are very gettable (ok tbf I didn’t think NY was going to be in any shape to get them) and Stewie is so so so so insanely great, you only have to show up a little bit around her

13 Sept

No, this guy is right. Indian-Americans should not watch football. Watching football has ruined my entire life.

Anthony Michael Kreis@anthonymkreis.bsky.social

Hi. I’d like to report a racist who is running for statewide office in Texas.

@lizzieohreally.bsky.social

13 Sept

playing for the goal line stand was actually kind of a sick aura gamble. ryan day earned my respect tonight

maitreyi anantharaman reposted

Lizzie O'Leary

1 Sept

Really great @maitreyiaa.bsky.social conversation with my bud @maryharris.bsky.social about the WNBA and l’affaire Cunningham. share.google/Vhrp573YRM12...

share.googleThe WNBA’s Caught in the Culture WarsMAGA’s gender obsession infects the WNBA.

maitreyi anantharaman reposted

Lauren Theisen

@laurentheisen.bsky.social

24 Aug

this whole thing has only gotten more abstract and far-removed from actual trans people since I wrote this blog: defector.com/the-right-ha...

defector.comThe Right Has Created Its Perfect Trans Athlete | DefectorA lot of people in and around the WNBA are talking about trans women. In the aftermath of Indiana Fever role player Sophie Cunningham’s negative comments about trans people playing sports in an ESPN p...

maitreyi anantharaman reposted

defector.comOlivia Miles Is The Throwback Point Guard Of The Future | DefectorVertical video makes Olivia Miles look good. Horizontal video makes her look better. Her gift shines in context, on the unadorned and unsoundtracked platform that is the next day’s full-game replay.…

17 June

“Man, I love that kid,” Lindsay Whalen said when I asked her about Olivia Miles. Had some fun writing about the Lynx rookie and the exciting state of PG play in the WNBA rn:

Defector@defector.com

Olivia Miles is the throwback point guard of the future: defector.com/olivia-miles...

2 Aug

funny to know something that the people calling the ongoing tigers game do not...they are just showing wholesome pics of the broadcast booth's trip to the sacramento train museum

2 Aug

we're going to throw kyle finnegan in the deal...for free

maitreyi anantharaman reposted

31 July

It does feel like whenever I am most discouraged by WNBA discourse, the basketball gods intervene to bring me some incredible, life-affirming game

31 July

It does feel like whenever I am most discouraged by WNBA discourse, the basketball gods intervene to bring me some incredible, life-affirming game

defector.comMy Basketball GOAT Is 5-Foot-4 | DefectorOne problem with women’s basketball’s recent forays into the mainstream is that I, proud sports iconoclast, must develop increasingly eclectic basketball tastes in response. In the same way a slang ph...

18 July

ok this is huge for me

Sabreena Merchant@sabreenajm.bsky.social

Can report that the Las Vegas Aces are signing Japanese guard Mai Yamamoto with their final roster spot. She was most recently in training camp for the Dallas Wings in 2025.

maitreyi anantharaman reposted

Seerat Sohi

@seeratsohi.bsky.social

3 July

New pod! @maitreyiaa.bsky.social and I did a deep dive on all things Olivia Miles: her basketball background, her all-time rookie season, and how the new generation is changing the point guard position. open.spotify.com/episode/6cmF...

open.spotify.comA Deep Dive on Olivia Miles’s All-Time Rookie Season with Maitreyi AnantharamanThe Ringer WNBA Show · Episode

maitreyi anantharaman reposted

Lauren Theisen

@laurentheisen.bsky.social

22 June

I co-wrote a book of essays about the movie It's A Wonderful Life with @emilystjams.bsky.social! It's out in September. Pre-order it here! www.harpercollins.com/products/eve...

harpercollins.comEvery Time a Bell RingsA fond and nostalgic cultural history of It's a Wonderful Life, celebrating the beloved holiday film's actors and creators, its unexpected journey f...

defector.comJustin Ellis TELLS ALL About Minneapolis Life In This EXCLUSIVE Interview | DefectorIn late 2020, months after the murder of George Floyd, our colleague Justin Ellis moved back to his hometown of Minneapolis to begin work on a book about black life in the city, where promises of raci...

I love when smart people write about the places they're from. So I'm very glad that one of my favorite people wrote such a book and that I got to interview @justinellis.bsky.social about his new razor-sharp interrogation of Minnesota nice: defector.com/justin-ellis...

our interview unfortunately got kind of contentious at the end, but I promise the rest of it was enlightening

17 June

“Man, I love that kid,” Lindsay Whalen said when I asked her about Olivia Miles. Had some fun writing about the Lynx rookie and the exciting state of PG play in the WNBA rn:

Defector@defector.com

Olivia Miles is the throwback point guard of the future: defector.com/olivia-miles...

fieldhousefiles.comAn update for subscribers and Fever fansAfter the Indiana Fever revoked my credentialed access, I want readers to understand what happened, why I stand by the reporting, and what it means for future coverage.

you know she's truly elite because she did not immediately get injured/start sucking in the first game after I wrote about her but instead defeated the Maitreyi Curse and put up 31 on 80% shooting

maitreyi anantharaman reposted

Scott Agness

@scottagness.bsky.social

2 June

An update for subscribers and Fever fans: www.fieldhousefiles.com/p/an-update-...

maitreyi anantharaman reposted

3 May

14 May

Dan was a truly singular person bc I have also been wishing I could text him this week, but about Paul Reed playoff minutes.

Kalyn Kahler@kalynkahler.bsky.social

Watching Eurovision … wish I could text @dhm.bsky.social Dan McQuade about how weird it is that Romania woman is singing “I want you to choke me” in operatic tones but also extremely goth heavy metal

13 May

🏀💕 excited to talk sports romance tomorrow! new yorkers, come hang! rsvp/tickets here: www.mcnallyjackson.com/event/allure...

defector.comRole Players, Ring Chasers, And A Shadow GM: Your Guide To The 2026 WNBA Season | DefectorThe WNBA season begins tonight. Rather than preview each team, I’ve decided to look at some storylines I’ll be following through some of the league’s best characters. This has nothing to do with the…

8 May

prev time!!!!! for freaks only!

Defector@defector.com

Role players, ring chasers, and a shadow GM: Your guide to the 2026 WNBA season defector.com/wnba-season-...

maitreyi anantharaman reposted

Jasper Wang

@jaspercwang.bsky.social

5 May

The WNBA is back, and so is @defector.com's TEN MINUTE QUARTERS at Littlefield in Brooklyn on Monday May 18. We’ll have giveaways, games, goofs, and as always a lineup of hilarious comics. Go to defector.com/wnbashow for tickets, use code LETSGOLIBS for 10% off

5 May

by all means, sign three starting PGs in their mid 30s, you know how that thrills me

Seerat Sohi@seeratsohi.bsky.social

The W wears Prada: A WNBA season preview with @maitreyiaa.bsky.social We listen, we judge, we pitch, we predict, we trend forecast: on the refs, Cathy, A'ja Caitlin, Natasha Cloud, scouting trends, and more, including the debut of the Chicago Sky swear jar open.spotify.com/episode/5VuI...

3 May

3 May

that was a tough matchup for us: Duren, Tobias and Cade are really handsome and you could tell they were rattled by having to look at this insanely chopped Magic roster so much

apply.workable.comDirector of Revenue - Defector MediaDefector Media is a 100-percent worker-owned and -operated media company that launched in 2020. You can read about our origin story in the New York Times, the recent state of our business in our 2025 ...

2 May

that’s how the pistons won 60 games btw

maitreyi anantharaman reposted

Jasper Wang

@jaspercwang.bsky.social

28 Apr

Somehow a professional sports front office is poaching from @defector.com's business team, so I need to hire a new Director of Revenue. Apply here: apply.workable.com/defector-med...

15 Apr

a pistons-hornets 1st round series will FEED FAMILIES….specifically, jalen duren’s family. all other families will have extra time to eat together because it will be over in four games

maitreyi anantharaman reposted

Marisa Ingemi

@mingemi.bsky.social

13 Apr

Friends, I am thrilled to introduce you to Valkyries Beat. This is where I will be writing about the Golden State Valkyries this season, running a full beat and -- with your help as subscribers -- back on the road. www.valkyriesbeat.com

maitreyi anantharaman reposted

22 Apr 2025

my gorgeous perfect beautiful sons the detroit pistons

maitreyi anantharaman reposted