The last time we saw WNBA basketball played, one of the greatest Finals in history took place between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx.
It was a series that could have gone either way but the Liberty eventually prevailed to finally bring W championship hardware to the league’s flagship city and largest market.
With the preseason (and offseason) in the rear view mirror, we are set to embark on yet another WNBA journey. A 13th team in the Golden State Valkyries has been added to the mix and this season will span 44 games, a new format for the first round of the playoffs where both teams will host at least one game plus the first-ever seven-game WNBA Finals.
And there are a few teams that are returning virtually their entire franchises – then others that that will look starkly different.
So…what is our outlook on the 2025 WNBA season? Only one way to find out.
We are lovers – not haters – here at Beyond The W so one can call this the Lovers’ Guide to the 2025 WNBA season!
It may have taken 28 years but that old adage is true – every dog has its day. Or in this case every dog and elephant.
With what Clara Wu and Joe Tsai were building with this team when they first bought it some years ago, the expectation was that championships would be on its way to Brooklyn. A championship finally made its way to Brooklyn last season.
Much of New York’s core is returning. There are injury concerns surrounding Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and she will sorely be missed for as long as she is out – not only because of her on-court production but she is a fan favorite given her Rutgers days.
Sandy Brondello’s Liberty still have Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu. In addition, they still have a Leonie Fiebich who played a massive part in New York’s 2024 championship efforts. Courtney Vandersloot, though, is now back with the Chicago Sky.
The forecast outside of Barclays is also a bit cloudy – with a chance of sunshine and more wins. Natasha Cloud remarked recently that she was “saved” from the Connecticut Sun. She too is a fan favorite. Remember the reception she got a couple of years ago after that playoff game that featured the Liberty and Mystics? Cloud is tailor-made for Atlantic and Flatbush.
Oh….did we mention the return of Marine Johannès?
Oh…and did we mention the money the Tsais are putting towards a new practice facility for the Liberty? Ellie and friends will be running the WNBA landscape for a long time. Yerrrrrrrrr.
They want their lick back, back, back.
Aces teams that have A’ja Wilson as its centerpiece are typically not supposed to get bounced in a semifinals. That is what happened last season – and it happened at the hands of the very Liberty team they defeated in 2024.
Las Vegas aficionados had become used to the core four of Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray. It was likely that one of those Would not be returning to the silver, black and red in 2025. That one was Plum who was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks to reunite with another ex-Ace in Dearica Hamby.
But the Aces are another team that has invested heavily in facilities. And when a franchise does that, it rebuilds – not reloads. Las Vegas landed Jewell Loyd to serve in Plum’s stead.
The question for Las Vegas coming out of last season was their bench. Becky Hammon having a core four is great but the Aces’ lack of depth on either end of the floor caught up to them in that Liberty series.
Who makes the roster beyond that is anyone’s guess. One can assume Tiffany Mitchell will because of her experience. The same should be the case with Kiah Stokes.
Aaliyah Nye and Deja Kelly have balled out so well they also are more than worthy of making the final roster. Only time will tell if that is the case. The main thing is expecting a Wilson that will once again be in dynasty mode this season especially considering her Nike A’Ones recently dropped. The all-time greats know how to respond to unceremonious playoff exits and Wilson is certainly (a’) one of the a’ll t’ime g’reats.
Suffering defeat in a WNBA Finals practically guarantees that the following season will be a full-fledged revenge tour. This can especially be the case for Cheryl Reeve-coached teams.
The Lynx may not get the flashy headlines of a Liberty, Aces or even an Indiana Fever but Minnesota made a case throughout last season that they are the team to beat – not New York or Las Vegas.
Reeve has also made an important point that must be stressed in this era of WNBA – the Lynx have also invested money in state-of-the-art practice facilities over the years. In fact, the Lynx were investing money into facilities before facility investment became the arms race it is today.
Minnesota’s franchise sale from Glen Taylor to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez is now complete. Lore and A-Rod are flush in dollar bills so expect that big money investment to continue.
Also…remember what Napheesa Collier did at Unrivaled? All she did is win MVP in its inaugural season in a league she co-founded with Stewie. Phee is a natural born winner who is more than poised to add WNBA championship hardware to her laundry list of accomplishments.
It must be stressed that this team still has Courtney Williams. It must be stressed that this team still has Kayla McBride. It must be stressed that this team still has Alanna Smith. It must be stressed that this team still has Natisha Hiedeman.
Last season’s Lynx version was agonizingly close to delivering a ring for Coach Reeve’s thumb. That thumb we are guessing is getting impatient after last season. The vibes are definitely electric.
If media attention and fan interest were a harbinger of championships, the Fever would have had that going away in 2024.
Unfortunately for Indiana, it encountered the same growing pains other teams encounter even after drafting a generational talent like Caitlin Clark. At least – that was what the Fever resembled prior to the Olympic break last season.
After the break, Indiana began resembling a team that looked poised and ready to take that next step. The Fever made the playoffs for the first time since the Tamika Catchings days. They ran into the Sun which ousted the Fever in two games.
Then…Indiana made plenty of moves indicative of building a contender around Clark and Aliyah Boston. That Sun team from last season that one-and-doned Indy? It was coached by Stephanie White – who departed from Connecticut for the greener pastures of the Hoosier State. Also – in comes Amber Cox (another former Connecticut executive) to serve as general manager in the stead of Lin Dunn.
Indiana also brought in a couple of veteran players with Finals experience that will surely pay dividends to the Fever’s efforts. One of those was another ex-Sun in DeWanna Bonner. She has won two championships. The other was Natasha Howard. Her WNBA resume includes three rings.
On top of that, Indy is also set to be the host city of this season’s WNBA All-Star weekend. And the Fever are also invested in a state-of-the-art practice facility.
The re-emergence of the Fever as a franchise to be reckoned with has been widely credited to the Clark Effect. After all, teams are once again moving their games to larger venues to accommodate the demand. But No. 22 cannot do it all by herself – and thanks to Indiana’s front office, she does not have to.
The 2025 season will take some getting used to in the Valley of the Sun.
When was the last time the Mercury began a season with no Diana Taurasi and no Brittney Griner? The correct answer to that question is 2003 given 2004 was the year Phoenix drafted the White Mamba out of UConn.
Taurasi has called it a career – and BG is now with the Atlanta Dream (more on them in a bit).
Many teams go through an extended rebuilding period after losing the two cornerstones of a franchise for the better part of the last two decades. Those teams do not have Mat Ishbia as their owner.
This is the same Ishbia who just invested big money in a practice facility for the Mercury only footsteps away from PHX Arena. Also the same Ishbia who accepted accountability after a subpar season for the NBA’s Suns.
Instead of rebuilding, Phoenix opted to reload. The Mercury already had Kahleah Copper who they got in a previous trade with Chicago. Phoenix took full advantage of Satou Sabally’s desire to leave the Dallas Wings and the Sun setting in Connecticut by adding the triple-double Engine that is Alyssa Thomas.
The Mercury will begin the 2025 WNBA season with one of the most formidable backcourts in the league. Not to mention a big three that can play at either the three or four. The question is who will fill the void at the five left by Griner. Regardless, Nate Tibbetts’ Phoenix assembling had a surprisingly good season in 2024 and one can expect the X-Factor to enjoy even more victories this season.
What have we said the last several seasons regarding the Atlanta Dream? We have typically remarked that the Dream is a guard-heavy team that can be thin in the interior.
Atlanta had that interior threat last season as Tina Charles proved she can still play at a high level in today’s WNBA. But Charles proved to be a one-year rental and she is now hoping to right the ship with a Sun franchise that is in a massive state of flux.
How does Dan Padover address those concerns? By doing Dan Padover things. The Dream landed Brittney Griner in free agency. Atlanta also took advantage of the mass exodus that took place in Connecticut by adding Brionna Jones to the mix.
The Dream will also begin the season with a new coach as Karl Smesko serves in the stead of Tanisha Wright – now an assistant to Tyler Marsh with the Chicago Sky. Also…has anyone watched tape of the Dream throughout the preseason?
Griner must have been watching Jonquel Jones tape because she is becoming more and more confident with her ability to shoot 3-pointers. And we already know Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray can put up crooked numbers from deep.
Add 3-point shooting prowess from Griner and Atlanta may resemble a Walt Hopkins offense. Let us not kid ourselves – simply because the Dream may not garner the headlines of the Liberty, Aces or Fever does not mean they are not in the contender’s chat.
Atlanta is firmly in the contender’s chat. Teams do not want to see the Dream on their respective schedules because they know they will be given a massive scare.
Also…how did so many WNBA general managers allow Te-Hina Paopao to fall to 18?
Remember what we mentioned earlier regarding the Mercury and how it looks to be a backcourt-centric team that has a question mark in the interior?
The Seattle Storm appear to be the polar opposite of Phoenix. Noelle Quinn’s team seems to be more than set in its frontcourt but has question marks in its backcourt.
When one loses a franchise talent in Jewell Loyd to a more established contender in Las Vegas that will certainly raise more than a few eyebrows.
The Storm still do have Skylar Diggins and it still has Nneka Ogwumike as well as Ezi Magbegor. The issue here is Diggins is ring chasing. She went to Seattle with the idea that the Storm would be closer to being contenders that it would be to a rebuild.
That could be Seattle’s reality now that the big three that brought championships to the Emerald City in 2018 and 2020 are now either with other teams or retired from the W completely.
The Storm did have the second overall pick in this year’s draft. Many mock drafts were expecting that pick to be Olivia Miles but she decided not only to stay in college but transfer from Notre Dame to TCU. Instead, Seattle selected Dominique Malonga out of France with that pick.
Malonga has drawn plenty of Victor Wembanyama comparisons by many a WNBA pundit. Look out WNBA world if she actually does turn out to be the W’s version of Wemby.
Also – what does it say for the state of the WNBA that Quinn is the only Black woman head coach left? In short – it does not say a lot good.
One of the more maligned franchises across WNBA circles, the way this franchise unceremoniously showed Teresa Weatherspoon the door after one season had to leave a sour taste in many mouths – including Sky players.
After all, it was not Coach Spoon’s fault why Chicago did not make the playoffs. When a team suffers as many injuries as the Sky did in the latter portions of the season, early vacation plans will be in order.
Michael Alter and Jeff Pagliocca knew that they had make their next coaching hire count. It appears Chicago did that by hiring Tyler Marsh from the Aces to continue Chicago’s ascent.
The Sky are similar to the Storm in a sense that they are set in the frontcourt with Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. Reese and Cardoso may not have the experience of an Ogwumike but they are two marquee names.
Bringing back Courtney Vandersloot is a move that will certainly please many a Skytown resident who still has fond memories of Sloot’s time in the Windy City that included that 2021 championship. It also helps in terms of taking a young Hailey Van Lith under her wing.
Chicago was one of the teams that was on the outside looking in on the WNBA’s postseason picture from 2024. Playoffs are definitely the expectation for the Sky in 2025.
We have mentioned so much about teams that have either built or are building practice facilities. The Sky are one of those franchises building a practice facility. Bedford Park is set to be the site of said facility. Chicago may be slowly, but surely getting it because one has to go big if it wants to ensure Reese and Cardoso are wearing Sky colors long-term.
Also…there is no reason why a team in the WNBA’s third-biggest market should be getting outspent by teams in smaller markets.
One can expect that the jockeying for that eighth and final postseason berth will be taking place between three teams. Chicago is one. Los Angeles is another.
The Sparks were one of several teams that departed last season’s draft having landed marquee names. One of those was Cameron Brink and the other was Rickea Jackson.
Brink’s play on the defensive end of the floor for the Sparks was so imposing that a few WNBA pundits were even having her as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Unfortunately, those DPOY aspirations came to a screeching halt because of an ACL injury that sidelined her for the remainder of the season.
Los Angeles coach Lynne Roberts understands that the Sparks may not be a team of the present but with Jackson and Brink as part of its core it is a team of the future. The transition to being faces of a franchise – especially in a large market like Los Angeles – can be imposing. So…general manager Raegan Pebley brought in the veteran presence of Kelsey Plum to help in said transition.
The move reunited Plum with Dearica Hamby who, of course, were teammates with the Las Vegas Aces. The Sparks made four draft picks last month. Arguably, the highest profile of said picks were Sania Feagin from South Carolina and Sarah Ashlee Barker out of Alabama.
Let us also not forget Los Angeles has another noteworthy veteran on its team in Azurá Stevens. If the Sparks manage to get the better of the Sky and Dallas Wings in their respective contests, then the purple, gold and teal may be that final team in the 2025 postseason.
Texas’ lone WNBA team (for now) could be one of the more interesting teams to watch this season and not only because of who it drafted with the No. 1 overall pick.
Yes, the drafting of Paige Bueckers will provide a much-needed lift to a team that took a step back in 2024 following qualifying for the semifinals two seasons ago. But how the 2025 season unfolds for Dallas could be a sign of what the team’s future will look like following this season.
The 2025-26 offseason is sure to set a record for player movement given the abnormally high number of free agents there is. Arike Ogunbowale is one of those free agents.
Dallas did undergo change as well within its front office. Assuming the role of Latricia Trammell as head coach is Chris Koclanes and assuming the role as general manager is Curt Miller – former coach of the Sparks and Sun.
How this season goes could tell us a lot about if Ogunbowale decides to test the free agent waters or if she decides to sign with the Wings long-term. Dallas has not exactly been the best team at keeping star players. Ask Natasha Howard and Satou Sabally this past offseason and even Skylar Diggins and Liz Cambage before that.
Even if that is the case with Ogunbowale, the Wings can fully embrace Bueckers as the face of its franchise especially considering the team is relocating from Arlington to a downtown Dallas venue beginning with the 2026 season.
Dallas’ draft class also included Aziaha James and JJ Quinerly. Seatbelt season is preparing to be in full effect in North Texas as DiJonai Carrington also was part of the exodus from the Sun. The Wings also brought in Ty Harris and NaLyssa Smith and are returning Teaira McCowan.
It is not out of the realm of possibility that the Wings make the playoffs in Bueckers’ first season.
This is so unusual. Typically when we have previewed the Connecticut Sun, they are usually one of the first teams we look at.
Those Sun teams had aspirations of winning a championship – and came close to doing so on a couple of occasions in 2019 and 2022. A franchise can only endure so many years of playoff heartbreak before begrudgingly deciding to blow it all up.
That is exactly what happened. Darius Taylor was reassigned. Stephanie White left for greener pastures in Indiana. Morgan Tuck was promoted to general manager and Rachid Meziane was brought in as head coach.
Also – the player departures – Alyssa Thomas to Phoenix. DiJonai Carrington to Dallas. Brionna Jones to Atlanta. DeWanna Bonner to Indiana.
This will be in many ways a new-look Connecticut Sun team. To the Sun’s credit, the team did manage a somewhat surprising 94-86 win over the Liberty on the Liberty’s home floor at Barclays Center. Even though New York was without Stewie in that game.
Perhaps the return of Tina Charles to the team that first drafted her could be a positive sign for the Sun. Another positive sign could be what Diamond DeShields (who has championship experience from her days in Chicago) could bring to this team. Lindsay Allen and Marina Mabrey also have plenty of years under their belt and one could expect Aneesah Morrow and Saniya Rivers to find plenty of playing time with this team.
The question for Connecticut is clear – could this be a team that may surprise people or is it an organization that has JuJu Watkins or UConn’s very own Sarah Strong on the brains?
Last season made it brutally apparent that the Mystics were in a state of rebuild.
The Thibault era in Washington has come to a close as following last season, Eric stepped down from his perch as coach and Mike (who coached the 2019 Mystics to a championship) left his post as general manager.
In addition, Elena Delle Donne – who willed the ‘Stics to that 2019 championship despite playing with three herniated discs in her back – called it a career.
Let the rebuild commence in the nation’s capital. Washington did land one of the marquee names from last season’s star-studded draft class in Aaliyah Edwards out of UConn. She will be key to Washington’s efforts going forward.
Shakira Austin will also be an integral piece to that Mystics puzzle. Hopefully she can stay healthy and put together a full season of big numbers for Washington.
When a team struggles as much as the Mystics did, that usually puts them in position to make plenty of noise in the draft. Washington did just that when it landed Notre Dame’s Sonia Citron, USC’s Kiki Iriafen and Kentucky’s Georgia Amoore with three of the first six overall selections. Unfortunately for Washington, the injury bug continued to bite and Amoore will be sidelined for the entire 2025 season with an ACL injury.
With father and son Thibault out the door, this meant Ted Leonsis had to spearhead a find for a new coach and general manager. That new coach is Sydney Johnson and the new general manager is Jamila Wideman. In fact even the name of the Mystics’ arena in Congress Heights even underwent a change as CareFirst (Blue Cross and Blue Shield) acquired the naming rights.
If Washington can somehow stay healthy and reel off 20 wins that can be considered a successful season. As for now, the Mystics, on paper, appear to be another squad on Watkins watch.
It is always an exciting time when we welcome a new kid to the class. Welcome to the WNBA, Golden State Valkyries.
Landing an expansion franchise may be the easier part. The hard part is building said team into a winner.
The first step was putting together a front office. The first move was to hire Jess Smith as the team’s president and the next was to tap Ohemaa Nyanin, former assistant general manager at the Liberty, to the main GM job with Golden State. In addition, Vanja Černivec was named Vice President of Basketball Operations.
And in a similar move to what the Sky did, the Valkyries also decided to pluck away at that Aces coaching tree by bringing in Natalie Nakase as the first-ever head coach in Golden State history.
The next step was putting together a roster – and that occurred at Golden State’s expansion draft in December. Notables included Cecilia Zandalasini from Minnesota, Kayla Thornton from New York, Kate Martin from Las Vegas, Laeticia Amihere from Atlanta and Temi Fagbenle from Indiana.
Then came the draft – and the Valkyries would select Justė Jocytė from Lithuania as the first-ever draft selection in the team’s history. Golden State also originally selected Shyanne Sellers out of Maryland but she was cut from the team midway through camp.
The Valkyries did play an intra-California exhibition contest against the Sparks a few days ago at Chase Center. Even though Golden State suffered a loss, it held its own against a Los Angeles team that has aspirations on returning to the postseason. The Valkyries defeat was only one point – 83-82 – and over 17,000 fans were on hand to watch that preseason game.
A reality is that wanting an expansion franchise may be exciting but the reality of what many expansion teams resemble once they actually set foot in the court is another. The franchise is doing the right things – including having a practice facility and its team headquarters in Oakland. The reality is Golden State is likely going to encounter plenty of struggles in 2025 but those struggles are sure to set them up for success in the future.
