The sale saga of the Connecticut Sun added a new chapter this week, as the state of Connecticut submitted a bid proposal on Thursday that would see the WNBA team remain in-state.
Owned by the Mohegan Tribe since 2003, the state is just the latest entrant into an ongoing bidding war for the franchise, with Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca, ex-Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, and the WNBA itself all making offers ranging from $250 to $325 million in recent weeks.
Unlike previous relocation bids, the state's proposed sale plan sees the Connecticut Sun splitting home games between their current Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville and Hartford's larger PeoplesBank Arena, while also promising a new practice facility in the state capital.
Despite winding down 2025 in 12th place, the Sun have amassed a loyal local following, selling out their 10,000-capacity arena four times this year in a state buoyed by NCAA basketball powerhouse and current national champion UConn located less than an hour away.
"The best place for the Connecticut Sun is Connecticut because we have this very fierce fan base for women's basketball," Connecticut Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz told ESPN. "We love the [UConn] Huskies. We love watching the Sun… and we've seen that the Connecticut Sun players have been great community leaders and role models."
The Chicago Sky reportedly held a team meeting to address the explosive Chicago Tribune interview of Angel Reese this week, after the star forward put the already-eliminated WNBA team on blast.
"We are aware of [Reese's comments]," Sky head coach Tyler Marsh said on Wednesday. "We're addressing it in-house as currently speaking. That's where we'll stay right now."
"Angel has shown a commitment to wanting to be here," he continued. "We as an organization continue to show a commitment that we want people that want to be here."
Reese focused much of her critique on the team's leadership and roster construction, expressing disappointment as the Chicago Sky closes in on back-to-back losing seasons.
"We can't rely on Courtney to come back at the age that she's at," the 23-year-old Reese said of veteran Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot, following the 36-year-old's season-ending ACL tear in early June. "I know she'll be a great asset for us, but we can't rely on that."
"We need someone probably a little younger with some experience, somebody who's been playing the game and is willing to compete for a championship and has done it before," Reese added.
Notably, Vandersloot helped the Chicago Sky snag the 2021 WNBA title before taking the New York Liberty to a franchise-first championship last season.
The No. 6 Golden State Valkyries made WNBA history this week, becoming the first-ever expansion team to clinch a playoffs berth in their debut year with Thursday's 84-80 win over the already-eliminated No. 13 Dallas Wings.
The Valkyries overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to top the Wings, with forward Janelle Salaün scoring nine of her team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter to seal to deal.
"This is awesome," said guard Veronica Burton, who added 15 points to Thursday's victory. "It's a testament to all the work that we put in…to the belief that our coaching staff had in us."
"I told the girls, I intentionally picked you guys for this reason, to do things for the first [time]," Golden State boss Natalie Nakase said afterwards.
In addition to their newly claimed postseason history, Golden State set the WNBA record for most wins by an expansion team with 23 on the season so far, while also leading the league in three-pointers as well as attendance marks — all under first-year head coach Nakase.
"What's kind of cool is we like to be uncomfortable," continued Nakase. "I have 13 players that love to be pushed."
Golden State will literally be out of their comfort zone during the 2025 WNBA Playoffs, with the Valkyries forced to relocate their first-round home game from San Francisco's Chase Center to the SAP Center in nearby San Jose due to a pre-existing scheduling conflict.
"While we would have loved to host our first playoff game at Chase Center and sought every opportunity to try and make that happen, Ballhalla has never been about just one building — it's about the incredible community our fans have created," said team president Jess Smith in a statement.
Time has run out for Caitlin Clark to return from her lingering groin injury, with the Indiana Fever guard announcing via social media this week that she will officially sit out the rest of the 2025 WNBA season in hopes of making a healthy start in 2026.
"I spent hours in the gym every day with the singular goal of getting back out there, disappointed isn't a big enough word to describe how I am feeling," Clark said in her Thursday post.
"Caitlin has worked so hard throughout this time, doing everything possible to recover and return to the court but, ultimately, time is not on our side," Fever COO and GM Amber Cox said in a team statement. "Her long-term health and well-being remains our top priority."
Clark featured in just 13 games for the Indiana Fever this year, averaging 16.5 points, 8.8 assists, and five rebounds per game on the season while also earning a nod as a 2025 WNBA All-Star Game captain.
Following a season of shooting slumps and soft tissue knocks, the Indiana standout has watched the No. 8 Fever's championship hopes dwindle under the weight of additional roster shifts.
Veteran offseason signing DeWanna Bonner jumped ship midseason to join the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury, while guards Sydney Colson, Aari McDonald, and Sophie Cunningham all went down with season-ending injuries alongside forward Chloe Bibby.
"This has been incredibly frustrating, but even in the bad, there is good. The way the fans continued to show up for me, and for the Fever, brought me so much joy and important perspective," Clark wrote. "I am so proud of how this team has only gotten stronger through adversity this year."
"Now it's time to close out the season and claim our spot in the Playoffs," Clark added.
How to watch the Indiana Fever this weekend
Despite the setback, No. 8 Indiana still has a clear path to punching a postseason ticket, starting with a Friday matchup against the No. 11 Chicago Sky. The game will tip off at 7:30 PM ET, with live coverage on ION.
Then on Sunday, the Fever will take on the No. 10 Washington Mystics in their penultimate game of the 2025 season, airing live at 3 PM ET on NBA TV.
The No. 1 Minnesota Lynx and No. 3 Las Vegas Aces have spots in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs on lock, but the league's top-tier teams still have plenty to play for as MVP frontrunners Napheesa Collier and A'ja Wilson gear up for their final regular-season clash.
Collier's 23.5 points per game this season is nearly identical to Wilson's 23.4 average, plus the Lynx standout ranks third in steals per game and fourth in block rate on the year.
Wilson, however, has the edge as the WNBA's blocks leader and the league's second-best rebounder on the season.
This is far from the first time the two titans have squared off in a WNBA awards race, with 2024 voters splitting honors by naming Collier the Defensive Player of the Year while Wilson earned a third MVP title.
History will be made should either emerge as the 2025 MVP, as Collier is still hunting her first title as the league's top player while a Wilson win would mint the Las Vegas star as the WNBA's first-ever four-time honoree.
MVP race aside, Collier's Lynx and Wilson's Aces have a lot on the line in their Thursday matchup, with Minnesota aiming to snap Las Vegas's 12-game winning streak — a stretch dating back to the Aces's 53-point blowout loss to the Lynx on August 2nd.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas will be looking to dish out some revenge and claim their first win of the season over Minnesota, all while continuing to fight their way up the WNBA table in order to snag the postseason's coveted No. 2 seed.
How to watch Minnesota Lynx vs. Las Vegas Aces in Thursday's WNBA lineup
Coming off an eight-day rest, No. 3 Las Vegas will host No. 1 Minnesota on Thursday.
The top-tier matchup will tip off live at 10 PM ET on Prime.
Chicago star Angel Reese is speaking her mind, making waves after detailing improvements she'd like to see from the already-eliminated Sky in a Chicago Tribune tell-all on Wednesday.
"I'm not settling for the same s—t we did this year," Reese told basketball reporter Julia Poe, calling out Chicago's back-to-back losing seasons. "We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That's a non-negotiable for me."
"I'd like to be here for my career, but if things don't pan out, obviously I might have to move in a different direction and do what's best for me," she added.
One of five WNBA teams operating under independent ownership unaffiliated with an NBA team, the Sky have struggled to keep up with free agency demands in recent years, falling to No. 11 in the WNBA standings on a 10-30 record this season under new head coach Tyler Marsh.
"I'm willing and wanting to play with the best," Reese said. "So it's going to be very, very important this offseason to make sure we attract the best of the best because we can't settle for what we have this year."
"Honestly, it would be a leap of faith for a great, great player to come here and show that this is something that they want to be a part of."
Chicago managed to drown out the noise on Wednesday, dominating the No. 12 Connecticut Sun 88-64 to better the team's complicated lottery odds — and prompt Reese to walk back some of her earlier criticisms.
"I probably am frustrated [with] myself right now," Reese said after registering 18 points and 13 rebounds in the win — her 23rd double-double this year. "I really didn't intentionally mean to put down my teammates, because they've been through this with me throughout the whole year."
How to watch the Chicago Sky in this weekend's WNBA slate
The Sky will hit the road this weekend, first taking on the No. 8 Indiana Fever on Friday — though Chicago will be without their points and rebounds leader, as Reese will miss the matchup due to technical foul accumulation. The matchup tips off at 7:30 PM ET with live coverage on ION.
Chicago will then close out the weekend against the No. 3 Las Vegas Aces at 9 PM ET on Sunday, airing live on NBA TV.
Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball is doubling down on NIL, spotlighting the offseason league's deep roster of NCAA talent in its "Future Is Unrivaled" (FIU) collection drop on Tuesday.
The new merch line features FIU-branded sports apparel and accessories alongside one-offs like pleated skirts, button-ups, and jackets, all backed by a social media campaign starring college stars Lauren Betts (UCLA), Sienna Betts (UCLA), Madison Booker (Texas), Audi Crooks (Iowa State), Azzi Fudd (UConn), MiLaysia Fulwiley (LSU), Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame), Flau'Jae Johnson (LSU), Ta'Niya Latson (South Carolina), Olivia Miles (TCU), Kiki Rice (UCLA), Sarah Strong (UConn), Syla Swords (Michigan), and JuJu Watkins (USC).
After first signing NCAA stars Paige Bueckers and Flau'Jae Johnson in late 2024, Unrivaled added more than a dozen of college basketball's biggest names to its "Future is Unrivaled" Class of 2025 earlier this summer.
While they cannot play in the upstart league prior to turning pro, the NIL signees did participate in July's Unrivaled Summit, a multi-day event in Miami that focused on skill development, content creation, brand building, social media strategy, and community service.
Unrivaled basketball's investment in the next generation of superstars underlines the 3×3 venture's growing influence in the sport, as it becomes a wedge issue in the WNBA's ongoing CBA negotiations while prepping to tip off a second season in January.
How to purchase from the "Future Is Unrivaled" collection
The full merch collection is available now online at Unrivaled.
The No. 5 New York Liberty finally punched their ticket to the 2025 WNBA Playoffs, as the 2024 champs secured a postseason berth thanks to a Tuesday night loss by the No. 8 Indiana Fever — despite their own 66-58 defeat at the hands of the surging No. 6 Golden State Valkyries.
With star guard Sabrina Ionescu still sidelined with injury, the Liberty only scored 26 first-half points in the matchup, becoming just the second reigning title-holders to fall to a first-year expansion team in WNBA history.
"We just lost a game," New York head coach Sandy Brondello said afterwards. "Obviously, we're in the playoffs, but we still lost a game. Liked the second half, didn't like the first half that much."
With the Fever falling 85-79 to the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury, tension in the WNBA standings has hit a new high as four teams — No. 6 Golden State, No. 7 Seattle, No. 8 Indiana, and No. 9 Los Angeles — battle for the last three playoff spots.
Golden State is hot on the heels of New York, shooting to become the first-ever expansion team to make the playoffs in their debut year as their magic number dwindles down to two — with four games left on the Valkyries' regular-season docket.
"We're in playoff mode right now!" Golden State center Temi Fagbenle, who put up a team-leading 16 points in Tuesday's win, told the Valkyries' crowd.
How to watch Golden State, New York in action this week
The No. 6 Valkyries have a chance to close in on history during their Thursday date with the last-place Dallas Wings, which tips off at 10 PM ET on WNBA League Pass.
Meanwhile, the No. 5 Liberty will look to regroup during their Friday visit to the No. 7 Seattle Storm, which airs live at 10 PM ET on ION.
The 2025 season is nearly over for the No. 13 Dallas Wings, but they're banking on the future as the struggling WNBA team locked in the best odds to grab the 2026 overall No. 1 draft pick earlier this week.
After Monday's loss to the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Dallas — who drafted UConn superstar Paige Bueckers No. 1 overall at the 2025 WNBA Draft — now have a 40% chance of winning first dibs via the 2026 lottery, as well as a near-30% shot at snagging the No. 2 or No. 3 pick.
In an attempt to deter single-season tanking, the lottery uses combined two-year records to determine which team has a shot at a high draft pick.
This year's trades will complicate next season's lottery order, with No. 12 Chicago's natural first-round pick belonging to top-seed Minnesota, while the early selection owned by the No. 11 Connecticut Sun — heavily weighted due to the team's 2024 success — will likely go to Chicago by way of a pick swap involving the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury.
Even more, as the league expands, so must the lottery: The 2026 edition will feature the first five-team lineup in WNBA history, with next season's incoming franchises — the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire — projected to claim picks No. 5 and No. 6.
As for Dallas, after successfully transitioning Bueckers to the pros, the Wings are going all in on NCAA talent as next year’s projected top picks prep for their final college tour.
Leading the 2026 WNBA Draft class is UCLA center Lauren Betts, followed closely by Bueckers's former UConn teammate (and current girlfriend) Azzi Fudd as well as offseason TCU transfer Olivia Miles.
Every lottery is a gamble by definition, but back-to-back losing records in Dallas could spell a silver lining in 2026.
The reigning champion No. 5 New York Liberty blew their first shot at clinching a spot in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs on Saturday, falling 80-63 to the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury without star guard Sabrina Ionescu and center Nyara Sabally, who watched from the sidelines due to injuries.
The Mercury took aim at the Liberty's spotty defense, scoring 26 points off of 19 turnovers while registering 17 of the game's final 20 points.
"This is obviously a learning opportunity, but we're kind of running out of opportunities for growth at this point," star forward Breanna Stewart said after the loss. "We need to just actually be better."
The next chance for New York to secure their 2025 destiny will come during their Tuesday night visit to the No. 6 Golden State Valkyries, as the injury-plagued Liberty look to climb the WNBA standings and claim home-court advantage for their first playoff series.
"This is not championship-level basketball," Stewart added. "We need to get there, and that starts with the mindset and then putting it onto the court."
However, the Liberty face a Valkyries side on an upswing, as Golden State looks to extend their three-game winning streak and further their history-making campaign to clinch an inaugural postseason berth.
"The trust level that we have right now is pretty much unmatched," said Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase. "I can only go based on my first year, so it's pretty f—ing cool."
How to watch the New York Liberty vs. the Golden State Valkyries
The No. 5 Libs will tip off against the No. 6 Valks at 10 PM ET on Tuesday, with live coverage airing on WNBA League Pass.