The U.S. women’s national team (USWNT) had a couple of familiar faces present during a recent training session.

With the team training in Los Angeles ahead of the Concacaf W Gold Cup, both Christen Press and Tobin Heath took the opportunity to stop by and visit some old teammates.

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Both Heath and Press have been absent from the team due to injuries. Press is still making her way back from a June 2022 ACL tear, while Heath suffered a knee injury with OL Reign in late 2022 that required surgery.

Press has since had four surgeries, but is hoping to make it back for this NWSL season with Angel City. Neither player has officially announced a retirement.

“I am doing everything in my power to get back on the field as soon as possible,” Press said last September. “Looking forward to my return on the pitch.”

With the regular season all wrapped up, the WNBA Rookie of the Year race is coming down to the wire as the best of the league's Class of 2025 — Paige Bueckers and Sonia Citron — steps into the spotlight.

Dallas Wings guard and 2025 No. 1 draft pick Bueckers leads her class in points per game, with her 19.2 average ranking fifth league-wide.

Bueckers is also responsible for the WNBA's only 40+ point performance this season, tallying a rookie-record 44 points against the LA Sparks last month.

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Despite her dominance, Bueckers is not without peer competition, with Washington Mystics guard Citron giving the former UConn standout a run for her money this year.

Citron is one of just three first-years — including Bueckers — to score at least 650 points with a true shooting percentage above 55%, with the Notre Dame alum also breaking rookie team records in both points and three-pointers.

"I wouldn't say there's an award or milestone I'm most proud of," Citron said last week. "I'm just proud of the team, the program, and how we've continued to fight and just grow together."

Bueckers's grip on the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year title is likely undeniable, but the rest of the cohort's proven ability to push the young star only bodes well for the future of the class — and the league.

The WNBA Playoffs have officially arrived, as Thursday's regular-season finale locked in the eight teams battling in this year's postseason bracket — paving the path to the 2025 championship.

The first round tips off on Sunday afternoon, when the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx faces the No. 8 Golden State Valkyries, the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces match up against the No. 7 Seattle Storm, the No. 3 Atlanta Dream take on the No. 6 Indiana Fever, and the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury battles the No. 5 New York Liberty.

"We have that year of experience, and experience always makes better teams. We know what it takes to get there," Lynx star Napheesa Collier said of her team's mindset as 2024 runners-up Minnesota enter the postseason looking to close the deal this year.

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All four first-round series promise stiff competition, though one team's momentum is looking difficult to beat.

Las Vegas is riding into the playoffs on 16 straight wins — the longest season-ending streak in WNBA history — with star guard Jewell Loyd's former Seattle team now standing between the Aces and a 17th victory.

As for 2025 expansion team Golden State, the Valkyries already made WNBA history, but they'll need to reset from their Thursday night 72-53 loss to Minnesota before Sunday's first-round rematch.

Elsewhere, reigning champs New York will open their title defense without home-court advantage, though the injury-plagued Liberty will face Phoenix with what seems to be a healthy lineup.

Sunday will also see Indiana aiming to offset their own season of injuries, with the Fever taking on a revamped Atlanta team that more than doubled their 2024 win total this year.

How to watch the 2025 WNBA Playoffs

The best-of-three first round of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs tips off with all eight postseason teams in action on Sunday, beginning with No. 8 Golden State against No. 1 Minnesota at 1 PM ET.

No. 6 Indiana will visit No. 3 Atlanta at 3 PM ET before No. 5 New York contends with No. 4 Phoenix at 5 PM ET.

No. 2 Las Vegas will host No. 7 Seattle in Sunday's nightcap at 10 PM ET.

All of Sunday's matchups will air live across ESPN platforms.

The 2025 WNBA season ended on a high note for Connecticut Sun star Tina Charles on Wednesday night, as the veteran center took home this year's Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award, an annual honor recognizing the WNBA player "who best exemplifies the characteristics of a leader in the community where they work or live."

Known for her career-long consistency on the court — where Charles leads the WNBA in all-time rebounds and sits second only to retired legend Diana Taurasi in career points — the 36-year-old standout is also deeply active with her nonprofit organization, the Hopey's Heart Foundation.

Founded in memory of Charles's late aunt Maureen "Hopey" Vaz in 2013, the family-run organization works to provide life-saving Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to schools and rec centers. Hopey's Heart celebrated their 500th AED distribution this year.

Due to these efforts — as well as her other team- and community-based initiative work — the WNBA chose to recognize Charles for "her extraordinary commitment to service, social justice, and creating lasting impact in the communities she serves."

Notably, this isn't Charles's first time earning the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award, with the WNBA star first receiving the honor for personally funding the building of a school for hundreds of children in Mali in 2012.

"Through my mother at a young age, I learned the importance of being a servant unto others, and receiving the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award is truly special for me — especially for Hopey's Heart Foundation to receive this honor through its work in raising awareness for sudden cardiac arrest," Charles said in her acceptance speech on Wednesday night.

Along with her award, the WNBA is donating $10,000 to Charles's foundation alongside $20,000 from Connecticut's Yale New Haven Health.

Congress members are speaking up for the WNBPA amid the union's ongoing collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations, with 85 lawmakers from the Democratic Women's Caucus and the House Democratic Caucus sending an open letter to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert on Tuesday demanding that the league "bargain in good faith to reach a fair CBA in a timely manner before the October 31 deadline."

Citing concerns "about the WNBA's delayed response, the differing accounts on the status of negotiations, and.. the needs of players," the letter vehemently voices support for the Players Association as temperatures rise in the tense CBA negotiations.

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The league and the WNBPA have struggled to find common ground, with both parties forced to consider filing an extension in the coming weeks.

"WNBA players receive no shared revenue under the current CBA," the Congress members explained in their letter. "This is drastic in comparison with other major professional sports leagues: National Basketball Association players receive 49 to 51%, National Football League players receive at least 48.8%, and National Hockey League players receive 50% of their respective shared revenues."

Players are also speaking out, with Seattle Storm star Gabby Williams recently telling CBS Sports, "The WNBA isn't enticing enough as far as money goes in order to keep us out of the other leagues."