Can Nneka Ogwumike keep her hot streak going?
Liz Loza breaks down the fantasy implications for Nneka Ogwumike’s incredible start to her season so far. This video should be embedded at the top of this week’s WNBA Fantasy round table. Video by Liz Loza (0:44)
Nneka Ogwumike is putting up career-high numbers this season in her 12th year in the WNBA. Her 39.4 fantasy points per game ranks third in the league.
Can the 32-year-old Ogwumike maintain this level of production during the whole season?
Andre Snellings, Jenni LaCroix and Liz Loza break it all down in this week’s fantasy women’s basketball roundtable.
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Snellings: I think Ogwumike can sustain this level of production as long as she stays healthy. She has put up numbers like this in the past, and many of her disappointing years came while she was battling injury or during the COVID-19 bubble season. The biggest areas where Ogwumike has improved are on the glass and as a distributor. Her production as a playmaker suggests the Sparks continue to feel comfortable running their offense through her but the rebounding jump is a bit more unusual. Ogwumike averaged more than 8 RPG for four straight seasons from 2016-2019 while playing power forward. This season, Ogwumike has been playing center full time and is pilling on the boards as a result. If she stays healthy, I expect her to maintain her career high numbers for the rest of the season.
LaCroix: Ogwumike has shown before that she can be consistently one of league’s the top scorers and rebounders over the course of a season (ranked top 15 in PPG and RPG last year). She also has a little more help on her team to relieve the pressure, which allows her to play fewer minutes, but more efficiently. Ogwumike did not have that kind of help over the past two years and has been forced to be primary option for everything which made it easier for teams to game plan against her defensively.
Loza: Who cares? Fantasy is all about living in the moment and Ogwumike is cruising! If Tuesday night’s battle against the Lynx is any indication, she figures to keep rolling. Ogwumike has now managed at least 18 points in eight of her past nine games. But maybe we shouldn’t be surprised? Ogwumike’s frontcourt shots have increased from 25.1% in 2020 to over 35% this season. The increase is partially because of her offensive rebounding efforts (2.3 per game), but her veteran savvy also deserves some snaps. Ogwumike is adapting her current skill set to today’s game and, in turn, evolving her status as a must-start fantasy star.