Atlanta Dream coach Nicki Collen called it “the most unpredictable draft” she’s ever been a part of in the WNBA. By the fourth pick, everyone who’d filled out a mock draft prior to Thursday night’s virtual event was feeling the same way.

After the Dallas Wings took Charli Collier and Awak Kuier with the first and second picks, as most expected, the Dream bet big on 5-foot-6 Arizona guard and Pac-12 Player of the Year Aari McDonald at No. 3. The Indiana Fever then shocked nearly everyone by taking guard Kysre Gondrezick out of West Virginia. Most mock drafts projected Gondrezick going off the board in the mid-second or third round, so fourth overall was a downright surprise.

The excitement — and talk of disrespect — picked up from there. With plenty of first-round talent plunging down the board, it seems only appropriate that we address the biggest steals of the draft as we inch closer to the first day of competitive WNBA training camps.

Rennia Davis (No. 9, Minnesota Lynx)

As the draft moved toward Minnesota’s first pick at No. 9, with top-tier talent left on the board, you had the feeling of “here we go again.”

Just a year ago, the Lynx had the steal of the draft when they tabbed point guard Crystal Dangerfield with the 16th overall pick. The UConn product went on to average 16.2 points and 3.6 assists in her first WNBA season and win the Rookie of the Year award.

Rennia Davis has the all-around talent to give coach Cheryl Reeve another dangerous, versatile option off the bench. Davis finished her career at Tennessee as one of only four players to rank in the top 10 in points, points per game, rebounds and rebounds per game — putting her in elite company. At 6-foot-2, she has the athleticism to finish around bigger players in the paint and grab rebounds on defense. The Lynx have championship aspirations after swinging big in free agency, and Davis bolsters their case.

Rennia Davis was locked in on her highlights 😂 @Legend_Hooper pic.twitter.com/9I8wO5crk6

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) April 16, 2021

Dana Evans (No. 13, Dallas Wings)

Wings president Greg Bibb couldn’t believe Evans was still on the board as they prepared to make their fourth pick of the night (the first of the second round). The two-time ACC Player of the Year was a standout guard at Louisville who showcased her elite speed and playmaking ability this past season as a senior.

“I can’t even put into words how much it motivates me,” Evans said in her draft press conference after going 13th overall to Dallas. “I told somebody that I’m ready to just get in the gym tonight. I kind of feel disrespected, overlooked, but that’s just been my career, my path and my journey.”

I had the Wings taking Evans fifth overall in my mock draft because of her talent and ability to compete for a starting spot right away. At point guard, Evans can create offense and open up the floor for Arike Ogunbowale. She’s also a nuisance for opponents on defense and is a threat from 3-point range, where she connected on 35.3 percent of her shots in 2020-21.

The @DallasWings just keep adding more talent 😤

Dana Evans is the first pick in the second round of the WNBA draft. pic.twitter.com/CAtURL6hNR

— espnW (@espnW) April 16, 2021

Natasha Mack (No. 16, Chicago Sky)

Natasha Mack’s senior season at Oklahoma State catapulted her late into the first round of many mock drafts. Named the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year after leading the nation in blocks (4.0 per game) and ranking ninth in rebounds (12.4), Mack looked like one of the most WNBA-ready bigs.

She fell to the Sky with the fourth pick in the second round and, at first, couldn’t believe how long she’d had to wait.

“I got a little frustrated, like I guess I’m not going to be called anytime soon,” Mack said. “I have a chip on my shoulder. I’m ready. Like I’ve been saying, I’ve always been slept on, so this is nothing new to me. It’s just time to go out there and prove myself.”

The Sky are entering the 2021 season with one of their deepest rosters in years. Mack will be able to learn from one of the best post players in the game, 2020 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Candace Parker, and should provide a spark off the bench as Chicago makes a deep postseason push.

From working in a chicken plant to the @ChicagoSky 👏

What a journey to the @WNBA for Natasha Mack. pic.twitter.com/JBNW5QKJdq

— espnW (@espnW) April 16, 2021

N’dea Jones (No. 23, Seattle Storm)

N’dea Jones’ stats don’t jump off the page, which likely contributed to her drop down the board, but she makes up for it with her basketball IQ and efficiency on both ends of the floor. She also knows how to win, as a key contributor on Texas A&M teams that won over 20 games every year she was there.

“A really big part of my game is rebounding, and it’s really all effort and energy, and I hope I can bring that to Seattle,” Jones said Thursday night. “I hope that the coaches see that I’m a hard worker — I don’t like to quit on plays, I go hard on the boards… I’m a role player, and I think that’s something that’s gotten me far in life.”

Jones averaged a double-double as a senior for the Aggies and was a big reason they lost just one game during the regular season while playing a tough SEC game slate. Developing under players like Breanna Stewart and Katie Lou Samuelson with the Storm will serve Jones well in her WNBA future.

Chelsey Perry (No. 26, Indiana Fever)

The only third-round selection on this list, Chelsey Perry is probably the most accustomed to being overlooked.

A four-year starter at UT Martin in the Ohio Valley Conference, Perry was destroying opposing defenses by her junior and senior seasons. She averaged 22.9 points per game as a senior, 11th in the nation, as well as 7.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. She also improved her 3-point shooting every year (averaging 42.2 percent from beyond the arc in 2020-21), a skill WNBA teams covet in their bigs. With her well-rounded offensive repertoire, Perry ranked seventh in offensive win shares per 40 minutes this past season.

The 6-2 forward will have to prove herself in training camp — the Fever have 20 players competing for 11 or 12 spots based on salary cap totals — but she has the potential to carry the mid-major torch into the WNBA.

Full draft results

First round

1. Dallas Wings — Charli Collier, F/C, Texas

2. Dallas Wings — Awak Kuier, F, Finland

3. Atlanta Dream — Aari McDonald, PG, Arizona

4. Indiana Fever — Kysre Gondrezick, G, West Virginia

5. Dallas Wings — Chelsea Dungee, SG, Arkansas

6. New York Liberty — Michaela Onyenwere, SF, UCLA

7. Los Angeles Sparks — Jasmine Walker, F, Alabama

8. Chicago Sky — Shyla Heal, PG, Australia

9. Minnesota Lynx — Rennia Davis, SF, Tennessee

10. Los Angeles Sparks — Stephanie Watts, G, North Carolina

11. Indiana Fever (from Seattle) — Aaliyah Wilson, SF, Texas A&M

12. Las Vegas Aces — Iliana Rupert, C, France

Second round

13. Dallas Wings — Dana Evans, G, Louisville

14. Las Vegas Aces — Destiny Slocum, G, Arkansas

15. Atlanta Dream — Raquel Carrera, F, Spain

16. Chicago Sky — Natasha Mack, C, Oklahoma State

17. New York Liberty — DiDi Richards, G, Baylor

18. Seattle Storm — Kiana Williams, G, Stanford

19. Indiana Fever — Unique Thompson, F, Auburn

20. Connecticut Sun — DiJonai Carrington, G, Baylor

21. Connecticut Sun — Micaela Kelly, G, Central Michigan

22. Los Angeles Sparks — Arella Guirantes, G, Rutgers

23. Seattle Storm — N’dea Jones, F, Texas A&M

24. Indiana Fever — Trinity Baptiste, F, Arizona

Third round

25. New York Liberty — Valerie Higgins, F, USC

26. Indiana Fever — Chelsey Perry, G/F, UT Martin

27. Atlanta Dream — Lindsey Pulliam, G, Northwestern

28. Los Angeles Sparks — Ivana Raca, F, Wake Forest

29. New York Liberty — Marine Fathoux, G, France

30. Connecticut Sun — Aleah Goodman, G, Oregon State

31. Indiana Fever — Florencia Chagas, G, Argentina

32. Phoenix Mercury — Ciera Johnson, C, Texas A&M

33. Indiana Fever — Maya Caldwell, G, Georgia

34. Los Angeles Sparks — Aina Ayuso, G, Spain

35. Seattle Storm — Natalie Kucowski, F, Lafayette

36. Las Vegas Aces — Kionna Jeter, G, Towson

The Women's Super League (WSL) is growing, with the UK league's top two flights deciding in a Monday expansion vote to enlarge its top tier from 12 to 14 teams ahead of the 2026/27 season.

The number of matches played each season will also balloon from 22 to 26 games to accommodate the incoming clubs, as will established cup competitions.

Monday also saw the WSL vote down a prior proposal to temporarily suspend the relegation and promotion process to accommodate this expansion, deciding instead to adopt a "two up, one down" model for the second-tier WSL2 next season.

As such, the top two finishers of the 2025/26 WSL2 season will automatically join the higher-tier WSL, while the WSL's last-place team will battle the WSL2's third-place club in "a high-profile, high stakes match" for the final spot in the top flight.

After reaching 14 teams, both leagues will return to relegating the last-place WSL finisher while promoting the WSL2's top team for the following season.

Along with the increased investment in club infrastructure, a 14-team WSL keeps pace with the global women's game — most notably, the NWSL, which will become a 16-team league in 2026.

"Our priority was to find a route that would benefit the whole women's game pyramid, and we believe this next evolution of women's professional football will raise minimum standards, create distinction, and incentivize investment across the board," said WSL Football CEO Nikki Doucet.

With EuroBasket set to tip off on Wednesday and injuries mounting league-wide, WNBA teams are filling out dwindling rosters with more short-term contracts — and calling back some familiar faces along the way.

While some European standouts withdrew from EuroBasket consideration — including Phoenix's Satou Sabally and Seattle's Gabby Williams — others, like New York's Leonie Fiebich and Golden State's Temi Fagbenle, will join their national teams for the regional FIBA tournament through the end of June.

Due to these planned absences, WNBA teams temporarily suspend their EuroBasket players' contracts, allowing squads to add others to their rosters.

Players signed due to temporary absences are technically on rest-of-season deals, though the agreements can end whenever the missing athletes return.

In contrast, the league requires that teams release any hardship signings due to injury once squads tally enough healthy original players to satisfy the WNBA's 10-athlete roster minimum.

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Featuring a lineup stacked with international talent, Golden State made the most transactions this week, temporarily suspending four regular contracts as 2025 EuroBasket stars departed for the annual competition.

To bolster their depleted bench, the Valkyries brought back 2025 WNBA Draft Cinderella pick Kaitlyn Chen and recent training camp participant Laeticia Amihere on short-term contracts, in addition to guard Aerial Powers and forward Chloe Bibby.

Elsewhere, after losing forward Maddy Siegrist to injury and temporarily suspending the contracts of centers Teaira McCowan and Luisa Geiselsöder, Dallas acquired center Li Yueru from Seattle — with the Wings possibly needing additional hardship signings in the coming days.

The Storm snagged two future draft picks in the Saturday deal — a second-round selection in 2026 and a third-round pick in 2027.

Ultimately, teams are striving to find a balance between stocking up and maintaining consistency, all while operating under the WNBA's roster constraints — with further league expansion fast approaching.

The 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup will wrap up its conference play on Tuesday, as both Eastern and Western teams battle for a ticket to the in-season competition's championship game — and a cut of the $500,000 prize pool.

With 12 of the league's 13 teams facing off across Tuesday's WNBA courts, the results will set the stage by minting the two squads who will battle in the July 1st final showdown.

Reigning Commissioner's Cup champs Minnesota have the West's easiest path, as a win over the Las Vegas Aces will send the Lynx to a second straight final.

Should the Lynx fall to the Aces, however, Seattle can grab the Western Conference berth by beating the Los Angeles Sparks.

Meanwhile in the East, a surging Atlanta could land a trip to the final by topping New York, while the Liberty need both a win over the Dream plus a loss by the Indiana Fever to clinch their own return ticket to the Cup's grand finale.

If New York does take down Atlanta, the Fever could advance to the team's first-ever Commissioner's Cup final by beating the struggling Connecticut Sun.

How to watch Tuesday's 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup games

All of Tuesday's six WNBA games count toward the 2025 Commissioner's Cup tally.

The action begins with the Atlanta Dream tipping off against the New York Liberty while the Indiana Fever battles the Connecticut Sun at 7 PM ET, live on WNBA League Pass.

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese made headlines this week, with the second-year WNBA forward announcing that she has trademarked word "mebounds" — a slang term opposing fans use to describe Reese rebounding her own missed shots.

"Whoever came up with the 'mebounds' thing, y’all ate that up, because mebounds, rebounds, keybounds...anything that comes off that board, it's mine," Reese said in a TikTok video on Saturday.

"And a brand? That's six figures right there," she continued, referencing her trademark application. "The trolling — I love when y'all do it because the ideas be good!"

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Currently averaging 11.9 boards per matchup, Reese is leading the WNBA in rebounds for the second straight season.

Her rookie campaign saw Reese average 13.1 boards per game, a rate that set a single-season league record. She also blasted through the WNBA's consecutive double-double record last season, claiming it with 10 straight before extending it to an impressive 15 games.

Along with the average rebounds record, Reese also broke the single-season total rebounds record previously held by retired Minnesota Lynx legend Sylvia Fowles — a mark that was later surpassed by 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson following Reese's season-ending wrist injury.

"Statistically, all the rebounds that I get aren't always just mine," Reese added in her Saturday social media post. "They're the defense's, too, or somebody else on my team."