TheWitcher wrote:I’m trying to be objective here, because I’ve become such a huge fan of hers.
She’s like a 6’1 prime Hakeem Olajuwon. 
It doesn’t make sense right?
She anchors her defense AND offense masterfully.
Contrary to popular belief Hakeem is NOT 7 ft tall. But he made you feel like you were playing a generational 7 ft player. Stifling guys like prime Shaq who were substantially larger than him.
Their footwork is very similar. An absolutely dazzling display in the post where they just freeze the defense and make it look so easy.
There is no counter to them, too crafty, too smart. Just double and triple team as soon as they get the ball.
Phee is so much more dope than any current male basketball player. Seems like a great person too. I’m such a fan.
I love these sort of analyses because I think they really let us learn quickly.
I like the Hakeem mention, but I'll pair that with a Dwayne Wade comparison.
Phee's someone who moves off-ball with the intent of getting the ball and then trying to get as close to the basket as possible to shoot. This is not the same thing as getting position and then waiting for the ball to come to her as a post-up big would do, and more resembles an off-ball perimeter player along the lines of what Wade did at some times in his career.
As with Wade, Phee's not a great outside shooter which is the thing she's lacking compared to her mentor and precursor Maya Moore, and surely part of why she wasn't seen as a #1 overall type of prospect like Moore was. The lack of outside shooting has led her to really double-down on her interior skills so it's not just the off-ball cuts (like a guard) but also involves a lot of pivot work.
Phee's been a huge hit in the WNBA from the jump, but because of how she plays, she needs floor stretchers are there with her - whereas Moore WAS the floor stretcher for her team in addition to being the most athletic player on the team - and so now that the Lynx have committed to surrounding Phee with spacers, she has more ability to cook on the interior.
Over on defense, she's of that mold with Wade and Jerry West where they get stocks like crazy because of their long arm.
And of course the thing I associate so much with Wade is the motor. Extremely fast twitch, always on, and good decision making.
Incidentally, the reason I think of Wade more so than West or Michael Jordan is the shooting. It's possible that Phee will end up growing as a long-distance shooter as she ages - she's excellent from the stripe - but just fundamentally West & Jordan were really, really good at shooting, and I basically wouldn't credit any modern player with that level of shooting who wasn't great from 3.
Last note: It's honestly weird to me the fact that at 6'1" Phee didn't develop more of a perimeter shooting tendency. As with the scouts of the time, I'm surprised that any player can be this good at this size without taking direct advantage of 3>2.
