After winning the 2022 WNBA title, drinking champagne and celebrating with a championship parade, four Aces players – A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Iliana Rupert – boarded flights to Sydney, Australia.

The quartet made the long trek across the Pacific Ocean to compete for their national teams in the FIBA World Cup: Wilson, Gray and Plum for Team USA, Rupert for France.

Brionna Jones and Alyssa Thomas of the WNBA runner-up Connecticut Sun also are playing for the U.S., while teammate Jonquel Jones appeared for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The turnaround for all seven players was swift. The WNBA Finals ended Sept. 18 in Connecticut; Brionna Jones and Thomas departed the following day and were playing in Team USA’s tournament opener two days after that.

The journey also came with a major time difference, as Sydney is 14 hours ahead of Connecticut and 17 hours ahead of Las Vegas.

Fresh off the Aces’ parade, Wilson arrived just 18 hours before her team took on China on Saturday. After scoring 20 points in the 77-63 group stage victory, Wilson admitted to reporters that she was tired.

“I don’t know how I’m doing it,” Wilson said. I am exhausted, I’m not going to lie about it.”

Wilson isn’t the only one experiencing fatigue.

Jonquel Jones, who wrapped up her time in the FIBA World Cup with a loss to the United States on Tuesday, expressed a desire for FIBA and the WNBA to work together to change the schedules in the future.

“Praise God for keeping me healthy during this crazy time,” she tweeted. “Man I’m so thankful for this break. Your girl didn’t have anymore gas left in the tank. @FIBA @WNBA for the sake of the players please try to find some common ground. These last two weeks were craaazyyy!”

Praise God for keeping me healthy during this crazy time. Man I’m so thankful for this break. Your girl didn’t have anymore gas left in the tank. @Fiba @WNBA for the sake of the players please try to find some common ground. These last two weeks were craaazyyy!

— Jonquel Jones (@jus242) September 29, 2022

Even without the WNBA playoffs bumping up against the FIBA World Cup, the FIBA schedule is demanding. Jones and her squad played five games in six days, and Team USA did the same.

Team USA received a rest day before facing Serbia in Thursday’s quarterfinals, then advanced to a semifinal contest Friday against Canada. The U.S. won, 83-43, but players barely get to catch their breath before the championship game against China on Saturday.

Serbia coach Marina Maljković, who also coaches Fenerbahçe, a Turkish club with a roster that typically features multiple WNBA players, expressed similar concerns to Jones after her team’s loss in the quarterfinals.

“Talking to players, they really suffered this season, everywhere,” Maljković said. “Players around the world suffered this season because of tight schedules everywhere.”

Other WNBA players also agreed with Jones. Brittney Sykes retweeted the Sun forward’s statement, then offered her own thoughts.

“Man it’s really sad and frustrating to see players getting hurt … especially when you know it’s because of the lack of rest and so much toll put on our bodies,” she wrote. “Pulled my hamstring for the first time ever just a week ago… and I know it came from overuse.

“We have to find a better way to preserve our bodies… between WNBA and FIBA… There is literally no days off UNLESS you become injured… think about it.”

Man it’s really sad and frustrating to see players getting hurt ….especially when you know it’s because of the lack of rest and so much toll put on our bodies …

Pulled my hamstring for the first time ever just a week ago … and I know it came from over use …

— Brittney Sykes (@BrittBundlez) September 29, 2022

Team USA’s Kahleah Copper and Betnijah Laney both left Thursday’s game against Serbia with injuries.

After the game, coach Cheryl Reeve told reporters she suspected Laney had gotten the wind knocked out of her. As for Copper, Reeve said she was awaiting an evaluation before commenting on her status going forward.

No updates had been provided as of Thursday afternoon.

The first Nike Player Edition sneakers designed by WNBA star Caitlin Clark sold out almost immediately on Monday morning, with fans snapping up the limited run of the Fever guard's Kobe 5 Protros within minutes of the 10 AM ET online drop.

Inspired by the Indiana Fever's colors, Clark's high-gloss Kobe shoes come in Midnight Blue with a tongue and additional accents in Bright Crimson, as well as "vibrant hits of University Gold."

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Though Nike did not disclose actual stock numbers, multiple sneaker insiders estimated that Monday's release included just 13,000 pairs of Clark's edition.

Originally on sale for $190 through Nike's website, the Kobe 5 Protro PE is already topping $350 on the resale market.

Clark has been a Nike athlete since inking an NIL deal with the sportswear giant just before her junior NCAA season at the University of Iowa in October 2022, with the WNBA sophomore later signing a reported eight-year, $28 million endorsement contract just after finishing her collegiate career.

That current deal, inked just after the Indiana Fever selected Clark as the 2024 WNBA Draft's overall No. 1 pick, includes the release of a signature shoe.

While Nike still plans to add Clark to its signature shoe roster, the brand appears to be testing the market's waters using the guard's preferred on-court Kobe sneakers — to a sellout success.

How to buy the Caitlin Clark x Nike Kobe 5 Protro PE

Plans looking to pay retail prices for Clark's latest sneaker design will have to wait for Nike to restock, with online resellers like StockX, GOAT, and Flight Club currently selling the shoes at a significant markup.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming later this month, teams across the league aren't waiting for the August 7th deadline to pull the trigger on trades and waivers, significantly shaking up league rosters.

On Monday, Dallas abruptly traded forward NaLyssa Smith to the Las Vegas Aces in exchange for a 2027 first-round draft pick, surprising Smith and her Wings teammates — including girlfriend DiJonai Carrington.

"Sick to my stomach dawg, never seen this coming," Smith posted to X after the WNBA announced the trades, adding "if I could've chose anywhere to go it would've been Vegas, so hella excited [for] this new opportunity."

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WNBA trades target future prospects

The recent WNBA trades both reflect the depth of options Dallas has in their frontcourt — most recently boosted by the Wings acquiring center Li Yueru from Seattle last month — and indicates the team's early play at a talented WNBA Draft class, with NCAA stars like USC's JuJu Watkins and Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo going pro in 2027.

At the same time, Smith's trade extends Las Vegas's first-round draft drought, with the Aces — who last added a first-round selection in 2022 — currently without an early draft pick until 2028.

As the Las Vegas focuses on leveling up this season, hoping Smith helps boost their current seventh-place league standing, the Aces also added roster cuts to their Monday trade.

Las Vegas handed out waivers to guard Tiffany Mitchell and second-year forward Elizabeth Kitley, who was selected 24th overall by the Aces in the 2024 WNBA Draft despite tearing her ACL at the end of her NCAA career.

Golden State waives 2025 EuroBasket champ Vanloo

Making their own controversial Monday move was 2025 expansion side Golden State, as the Valkyries cut Belgian guard Julie Vanloo shortly after the 2025 EuroBasket champion rushed to return to California, skipping her national team's title-winning celebrations.

"Literally just touched down in the bay," Vanloo wrote on an Instagram story littered with broken heart emojis. "I need some time to process all of this man and put my feels into words. I can't right now."

While Golden State faces backlash for the timing of the cut, waiving Vanloo ultimately opens up a contract for the Valkyries, with rumors swirling that either guard Kaitlyn Chen or forward Laeticia Amihere will earn the roster spot after impressing as replacement players during European absences.

All in all, with WNBA roster space remaining at a premium, teams are making big swings in an effort to shore up their ranks as they push toward the 2025 season's halfway point.

The 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup final tips off on Tuesday night, when first-time finalist Indiana will look to upset reigning Cup champs Minnesota in a winner-take-all showdown for both bragging rights and the lion's share of the in-season tournament's prize pool.

With the total purse set at $500,000, athletes on the winning team will earn around $30,000 each — plus an additional $5,000 for the Commissioner's Cup final MVP — while losing players will take home $10,000.

While Tuesday's final won't count toward the regular-season WNBA standings, the battle will be the first meeting between the Lynx and Fever this year, adding first-clash drama to the already-high stakes.

"I think it's going to feel like a playoff game. It's going to be really fun," Lynx star Napheesa Collier told reporters, noting Minnesota's home-court advantage in the matchup. "Our fans show up for us every game, but especially in that environment ... it's going to be electrifying."

Despite the excitement, player availability could tip the scales in Tuesday's outcome, as both Collier and Fever guard Caitlin Clark contend with recent injuries.

While Collier returned from a lingering back issue without missing a beat last weekend, Clark missed Indiana's last two games due to a groin issue and is currently "questionable" to play for the Commissioner's Cup.

"I'm going to be day-to-day," Clark said on Sunday. "Doing everything I can to put myself in position to play the next game. That's always my goal."

How to watch tonight's WNBA Commissioner's Cup final

The Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever will take the court for the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup final at 8 PM ET on Tuesday.

Live coverage of the in-season tournament's championship game will air on Prime.

The WNBA dropped its All-Star Game starters list on Monday, with just one rookie earning enough votes to feature on the star-studded 10-player lineup.

In addition to being the lone rookie, Dallas's No. 1 overall draft pick Paige Bueckers will be the only All-Star debutant playing in the game's first minutes, as the Wings guard joins nine previous All-Stars to tip off the July 19th matchup — giving her a presumptive edge in this year's Rookie of the Year race.

Joining Bueckers as WNBA All-Star starters will be team captains Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx) and Caitlin Clark (Indiana Fever), as well as Aliyah Boston (Indiana Fever), Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream), Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty), Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle Storm), Satou Sabally (Phoenix Mercury), Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty), and A'ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces).

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A mix of 50% fan voting, 25% player voting, and 25% media voting determined the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game starting lineup — though the three groups did not necessarily come to a consensus.

For example, players ranked Clark ninth among guards, while the media put her in third. A record-setting 1.29 million fan votes boosted the Fever star into a captain's role.

As for players who fell just short of a starting position, like Indiana guard Kelsey Mitchell and Chicago forward Angel Reese fell just short of starting at their positions, their All-Star dreams aren't over yet.

Head coaches across the league will now vote to select 12 reserve players, likely adding both fan favorites and stat-sheet stars to the July 6th final All-Star player pool, with Collier and Clark building their teams from that list on July 8th.

Though reputation, skill, and popularity all factor into All-Star nods, this year's group is also underlining the depth of the WNBA's talent base.