What to watch in sports this week: NBA and NHL drafts, Caitlin Clark and USWNT – The New York Times

Sports Betting
To evoke two foremost public intellectuals, we here at The Athletic like sports, and we do not care who knows. Though this forthcoming week is a bit lighter on national intrigue, there’s still enough happening to start conversations. Some things cannot be argued in good faith — Cooper Flagg will indeed be the No. 1 pick in Wednesday’s NBA Draft — but there’s a lot of other debate-worthy action going down in the days to come.
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Is Dylan Harper going to be the long-term running mate for Victor Wembanyama? Are the Indiana Fever ready to flip the switch now that Caitlin Clark is back? Will any of USWNT’s recent call-ups earn a spot come World Cup time? Can anyone stop the roaring Detroit Tigers? Here’s our bird’s-eye view of everything below.
Games on ESPN and ABC are available on ESPN+. ABC and Fox are also free over the air with TV broadcast antenna. The USWNT friendlies can be streamed on Max and Peacock.
When: Tuesday
It’s a relief and a delight to see Clark balling out again, after a late-May quad injury sidelined her for five games. Her immediate return was brain-scrambling in the very best way — 32 points, nine assists, eight boards and seven made 3s — as she and the Fever dealt the defending champion New York Liberty their first L of 2025. It hasn’t been nearly as clean since then, though. The Fever hit Tuesday’s game with two consecutive losses, while Clark is 1 for her last 17 behind the arc. Indy wraps up its bummer of a Pacific road trip against the red-hot, emerald-lit Seattle Storm. Behind a starry duo of Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins, the Storm have won three straight and six of their last seven. Better still, Seattle has convincingly beaten two juggernauts, the Liberty and Minnesota Lynx, by a combined 20 points in that span. The Storm now get a chance to shine on national TV, while Clark and the Fever look to bounce back.
Expert dig-in: The latest WNBA controversy makes it clear that officiating has to be better
When: Wednesday and Thursday
The Oklahoma City Thunder just won their maiden title off the strength of god-tier draft scoping and talent development. Which unrealized NBA dynasty begins on Wednesday? Dallas improbably holds the No. 1 pick, which the Mavericks will use to select prodigal Duke freshman Cooper Flagg. San Antonio is up second, and the Spurs are expected to pair Dylan Harper with their extraterrestrial cornerstone Victor Wembanyama. Beyond that is anyone’s guess. Let the chaos rip. The all-time superstars traded on draft night include Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, Ray Allen and Kawhi Leonard. If nothing else, we get to see some bespoke suits — pour one out for what we’ve lost as a society.
Expert dig-in: After Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper, the intrigue begins
When: Thursday and Sunday
The world’s top-ranked women’s soccer national team gets some well-earned adulation this week. The Americans have two home friendlies against the Republic of Ireland, with Thursday’s opener in Commerce City, Colo., followed by a Sunday finale in Cincinnati. The USWNT is a perfect 15-0 against the Irish. Team captain Lindsey Heaps makes a triumphant Colorado homecoming, while four players are in line for their first international caps — midfielder Sam Meza and a trio of defenders in Jordyn Bugg, Lilly Reale and Izzy Rodriguez.
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Expert dig-in: The USWNT basks in the return of Naomi Girma – their ‘security blanket’
When: Thursday through Sunday
Time to lose our minds in Detroit Golf City. That’s a thing, right? Better than a hair metal rock tour, the 2025 PGA Tour continues onward with this weekend’s tournament. The purse totals $9.6 million, with the top finisher getting a cool $1,728,000. Some of the sport’s headliners are sitting this one out, but the field still includes world No. 5 Collin Morikawa, plus domestic standouts Keegan Bradley and Patrick Cantlay. Since its inception in 2019, the tourney has been claimed by four Americans (Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau, Bryson DeChambeau and Nate Lashley) and twice by Australian Cameron Davis (2021 and 2024).
Expert dig-in: Brian Rolapp is in; Jay Monahan will be phased out
When: Friday and Saturday
The Florida Panthers just lifted a second consecutive Stanley Cup, but the hockey world quickly recalibrates toward Los Angeles, where the NHL’s future stars begin as 2025 draftees. The New York Islanders are on the clock, having bottomed out from their 2021 semifinal finish. New York is expected to take Matthew Schaefer, a 17-year-old prodigal defenseman from Ontario. The San Jose Sharks have pick No. 2, followed by the Chicago Blackhawks and then Utah (oh, right, the Utah Mammoth has arrived). It’s a strong draft class for the center position, including young skaters like Caleb Desnoyers, Anton Frondell, James Hagens and Michael Misa.
Expert dig-in: Which NHL players do top prospects resemble?
When: Friday through Sunday
Less than one year ago, Detroit looked thoroughly unremarkable as sub-.500 trade deadline sellers. Last year’s exhilarating playoff push was an all-out stunner, yet it may be remembered as the prelude to this current stretch of Tigers dominance. Under A.J. Hinch, Detroit is in line for its best record of the 21st century and on pace for 100 wins — the high-water mark of the Miguel Cabrera era was 95-67. Tarik Skubal is possessed by some flame-throwing baseball aeon, whittling his ERA down to 2.06 in 15 starts. Javier Báez has magically fought back from the brink of career extinction. Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene are young hitters with big barrels. The vibes are spectacular in a place we long ago called “Detroit Golf City,” but now know as “Skubaltown.”
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Expert dig-in: History says one of these five teams should win the World Series
When: Saturday and Sunday
Mexico and the USMNT have combined to win 16 of the 17 Concacaf Gold Cup stagings, so it’s no surprise to see both neighboring nations in this weekend’s knockout round. The American side plays Costa Rica in Minneapolis, coming off a clean sweep of its Group D matches. It survived a scare from Haiti on Sunday, winning 2-1 off Patrick Agyemang’s tiebreaker in the 75th minute. Mexico faces new tournament entrant Saudi Arabia. El Tri went to a 0-0 draw with Costa Rica on Sunday. César Montes had two goals in the previous victory over Suriname.
Expert dig-in: Winning fosters USMNT belief at a time when fans need a team they can trust
When: Sunday
The checkered flag waves from Spielberg. Last year’s race was won by British driver George Russell, with Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz Jr. rounding out the podium. Max Verstappen has won this event a record four times, and he needs a victory here to improve his third-place standing. Piastri currently tops all racers with 198 points, followed by McLaren teammate Lando Norris (176), Red Bull’s Verstappen (155) and Mercedes’ Russell (136). The track looks like some kind of inverted high-heeled shoe, and the laps promise more fun from a thoroughly chaotic F1 campaign.
Expert dig-in: Why hasn’t George Russell got a Mercedes F1 contract extension yet? It’s overdue
2005: Tim Duncan led his San Antonio Spurs past the defending champion Detroit Pistons in Game 7. From Liz Robbins in the New York Times:
“The Pistons drove to as much as a 9-point lead early in the third quarter. But Tony Parker hit a jumper and Duncan broke a string of 14 scoreless minutes, igniting his night. Although the Pistons entered the fourth quarter tied at 57-57, Duncan opened the final quarter with a jumper that foreshadowed the ending.
“The Pistons walked off the court wordlessly, dazed that after a season of fighting back, there would be no game left to validate their one championship. ‘Everyone feels like we let one slip away,’ Ben Wallace said. ‘Any time you come this close to winning a championship, it’s going to be tough.’”
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(Photo of Caitlin Clark: Darren Yamashita / Imagn Images)
Steven Louis Goldstein is a Staff Writer for The Athletic. He lives in Los Angeles and graduated from Northwestern University.

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