Today, NBA 2K25 announced back-to-back WNBA Champion, two-time WNBA MVP, and six-time WNBA All-Star A’ja Wilson as its latest cover athlete.

Las Vegas's newly minted all-time leading scorer, Wilson will grace the cover of the GameStop exclusive NBA 2K25 WNBA Edition. She will also be featured on the dual-league All-Star Edition alongside 2024 NBA Champion Jayson Tatum.

"Being featured on the NBA 2K25 cover is a big moment for me and a testament to the ever-growing fandom of the WNBA," said A’ja Wilson in Wednesday's press release. "Seeing more and more WNBA athletes scanned into NBA 2K25 to best capture the style and confidence of the league has been empowering, and I can't wait for fans to experience it in-game."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Wilson has had a standout season so far. The back-to-back reigning Defensive Player of the Year not only topped the Aces' all-time scoring list, but also leads the league in points per game with an average of 27 and sits second in average rebounds per game with 10.9. In May, she announced a signature shoe deal with Nike, and later this month, she'll be heading to Paris as a part of Team USA's 12-player Olympic 5×5 roster. It will be the 27-year-old's second time competing in the Summer Games.

"In a year that showcases competition at the highest level — and in a play style that is uniquely one’s own, we’re thrilled to share Jayson, A’ja, and Vince as the NBA 2K25 cover athletes" said Greg Thomas, president at 2K studio Visual Concepts. "The development team has delivered another innovative experience for basketball lovers, setting up NBA 2K25 to be the next icon in this long-standing dynasty."

The New-Gen version of the video game is available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Powered by enhanced ProPLAYTM technology, the release delivers the franchise’s most true-to-life basketball experience yet, offering players the ultimate control in how they dominate the competition in modes such as MyNBA, The W, and in The City.

According to the press release, the WNBA Edition will be available for $69.99 while the All-Star Edition will run $99.99. NBA 2K25 will be available on September 6th on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

In this week's episode of The Late Sub, Claire welcomes back the WNBA, as teams battle for postseason positioning in the final month of regular season play.

The New York Liberty look like the team to beat, but how are other teams progressing — and are there teams that should be worried about slipping in the standings?

Then, Claire looks at her wishlist for the rest of the 2024 NWSL season, as teams gear up for their first regular season matchups since before the Olympics.

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.

Subscribe to The Late Sub to never miss an episode.

With the Grand Slam calendar nearing its close, stars flocked to this week's Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati to prepare for this year's US Open. Reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka earned the win at the WTA 1000 event, taking down US player Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-5 on Monday.

Fatigue impacts returning Olympic tennis players

With a uniquely crowded schedule this summer, partially due to the Paris Olympics, players entered this week with varying levels of fitness and fatigue.

China's newly crowned Olympic gold medalist Qinwen Zheng fell in the Round of 16 and Croatian silver medalist Donna Vekic failed to advance out of the Round of 64. Bronze medalist Iga Świątek reached the semifinals before losing to Sabalenka, while Pegula made this week's final match after competing for the US in Paris.

Fellow Team USA Olympians Coco Gauff and Emma Navarro fell in Cincinnati's Round of 32 and Round of 64, respectively.

Rest aided Sabalenka's Cincinnati Open win

On the other hand, Sabalenka missed Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury and, as a Belarusian athlete, did not participate in the Olympics. The world No. 3-ranked player returned to the hardcourt looking as sharp as she did at the beginning of the year, ultimately earning Monday's victory.

"This trophy means a lot, it is a really big achievement, especially coming after injury, with this fear of getting injured again," Sabalenka told press in Cincinnati. "My team did everything they could to make sure I felt as good as I can and I am proud of myself I was able to handle all of those emotions."

Tennis stars shift focus to US Open

The 26-year-old, who hit her first No. 1 ranking in September 2023 before relinquishing the title back to Świątek, will be hunting her third Grand Slam title and first at the US Open when play begins at the New York tournament next week. Sabalenka finished the 2023 US Open as the runner-up to Gauff, who earned her first major tournament title in three sets last September.

With a short turnaround and major surface change from the Paris Games, form and fitness could play a major role at this year's US Open. A number of athletes declined to participate in the Olympics in order to focus on the year's final Slam, and all eyes will be on Queens next week to see if those decisions paid off.

Decorated defender Tierna Davidson might be both the youngest and wisest veteran on the USWNT. 

The Menlo Park, California native has been a fixture on the senior squad since 2018, picking up accolades during the team’s 2019 World Cup, 2021 Olympic bronze, and 2024 Olympic gold medal runs. Throughout her tenure, Davidson's played under three different USWNT coaches — four counting two-time interim manager Twila Kilgore — underwent multiple roster and tactical shifts, fought her way back from serious injury, and witnessed a generation of her teammates pass the baton to a young and hungry new class. 

Given all that, it’s almost impossible to believe she’s only 25.

"[It] was so exciting to see all of these young players grow into themselves in this tournament and really express themselves on the field — to see the personalities, to see the styles of play, to see the chemistry building — when I was first on this team, I was just so focused on playing," Davidson told reporters last week during a promotional appearance at Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers in New York. "Being a little bit myopic about it, you don't really see those growth patterns — perhaps I was the one doing that growth — but to see some of the younger players have such a fantastic tournament experience, I think it bodes really well for the future of the team."  

Davidson’s former myopathy is more than understandable. Six years ago, the then 20-year-old was the youngest player on former coach Jill Ellis’s 23-player World Cup roster. And with an average age of 28, more than half of that 2019 squad arrived in France with prior World Cup experience. Yet it was Davidson’s first major tournament at the senior level — and, ultimately, her first major tournament win.

Now closer in age to more recent additions like Trinity Rodman (22), Croix Bethune (23), and fellow Stanford Cardinal Naomi Girma (24) but with the same national team experience as players five to 10 years her senior, Davidson is able to serve as a bridge between the USWNTs of the past and today’s iteration. And it’s something she’s tapped into as she’s evolved her own style of play over the years.

"I've tried to take everything that I've learned from some of the older players and then also from myself over the past few years and commit that to my game," she said. "Playing with different players brings out new and exciting things in your game, and as I've made connections with some of the players on the field that I haven't gotten a chance to play with as much, different parts of my game come out."  

Ushering in the USWNT's Emma Hayes Era

One person Davidson hadn’t played with much prior to the Olympics wasn’t exactly on the field, or at least not over the touch line. Current USWNT head coach Emma Hayes joined the USWNT in May from London’s Chelsea FC, bringing with her a shining record and high expectations, both from within US Soccer and from the greater public. As a player, Davidson approached the personnel shift with the same open-minded optimism she harnesses on the pitch.

"We all knew that she was a great coach — we'd seen what she had done with Chelsea and knew that she was going to be really great for our group," she said of Hayes. "But we weren't exactly sure, even just the basic things of how she wanted to run a training session or how she coached on the sideline. Those are the things that we had to build into and learn." 

The fact that Hayes landed in the States some two months shy of the USWNT kicking off in France wasn’t lost on the team — or on their incoming manager. "Coming into the Olympics, it was something we all recognized and acknowledged, herself included," Davidson added. "I think that was so powerful to just get the elephant out of the room and say, ‘This is weird, it's not normal that you have a brand new coach coming in right before a major tournament, but we're going to commit to each other and we're going to commit to the process.’" 

The commitment obviously paid off. The US walked away with the gold medal after going 6-0 on the tournament, greatly improving upon their mercurial  3-1-2 bronze medal performance in Tokyo. The Olympic success also worked to right the ship after the team’s Round of 16 exit from the 2023 World Cup — the USWNT’s earliest departure since the Cup’s introduction in 1991.

Even at the Olympics, Davidson says injury is part of the game

But the team’s Olympic victory didn’t come without setbacks, especially for Davidson. The center-back tore her ACL while training with her then-club team the Chicago Red Stars in 2022, failing to make the Australia-bound World Cup roster in 2023 before working her way back into the lineup over the past year. In France, Davidson left the USWNT’s second group stage match in the 44th minute after suffering a knee-to-knee collision with German player Jule Brand. The knock sidelined the regular starter for the following two games, with fellow defender Emily Sonnet taking over her position while she recovered.

"You wouldn't wish it upon anyone to get injured during a tournament, especially a tournament that you blink and it's over," the Gotham FC defender reflected. "It's just part of the game and it is what it is, [and] people are ready to step in and fill the role that needs to be filled."

As Davidson explained, her previous season-ending injury helped her maintain such a measured mindset under the Olympic lights, one that carried her through all the way to the finish line. "Unfortunately it's something that you agree to when you sign up to be a professional athlete: You agree to the uncertainty, you agree to the possibility of injury," she said matter of factly. "My story is not unique in that sense — people get injured, people get traded, choose to go to a new team, or get left off a roster. I think that that's what makes the moments of triumph so much sweeter." 

"There are bits of it that only I will know and only my family will know, and that's why we have to celebrate these moments and appreciate these moments," she added. "Because for us as athletes, they're very fleeting, and there are a lot of darker moments that lead to these ones — [it’s] important for our growth as players and as people. So I wouldn't change it."

To overcome Olympic uncertainty, the USWNT turned to joy

From the first time they took the pitch in the South of France, any onlooker could tell there was something different about this US Women’s National Team. The tensions, miscommunications, and grimaces that hung over the last two major tournaments appeared to have dulled, passes looked more fluid, and goals were celebrated with more unbridled gusto.

While the pressure to take home the title and reclaim their previous spot at the top of the FIFA rankings was definitely there — the USWNT dropped to fifth place after the 2023 World Cup, the lowest they’ve sat since FIFA started ranking women’s teams — it didn’t seem to burden the players for the first time in years.

Perhaps all the recent change helped to simplify the team’s outlook heading into the Games. After all, for Davidson, change has been a constant. 

"We had a relatively different roster and a lot of uncertainty with a new coaching staff coming in, so it's really a testament to our commitment to each other [that] we just all walked in and decided we were gonna do it whether it was perfect or not," she explained. "Understanding there were going to be bumps in the road and not expecting perfection from ourselves, not putting ourselves under that kind of unrealistic pressure… to just be okay with that and to be able to turn to each other if we needed. Everyone really bought into that."

After the final whistle blew at the gold medal game in Paris, NBC asked a visibly emotional Emma Hayes how she managed to get the USWNT, after all they’ve been through, to buy into a new coach’s philosophy so quickly and wholeheartedly. 

"Just love," she responded. "I come from a place of wanting players to enjoy themselves."

The word "joy" permeated every interview that followed, from striker Mal Swanson’s postgame comments to captain Lindsey Horan, who, when asked when joy had returned to the squad, told reporters "To be perfectly honest, the past two months."

Davidson echoed their sentiment. "Each game that we play is a 90-minute game — in some cases 120 — but we have the same objective that we always do," she said of the team’s mentality under Hayes. "That really released us and allowed us to play with joy and play with each other as teammates but also as friends… This group got a taste of what it's like to win at the international level on a big stage, and I think everybody wants to be back there again."

Throughout the tournament, that joy spilled over into the team’s off-pitch endeavors. Social media posts of players putting the finishing touches on lego sculptures and jigsaw puzzles permeated the internet, while videos of them leading a particularly passionate singalong in the Team USA bus took on a life of their own.

"I mean I'm not one of the avid Cheetah Girls fans on the team but we do have a few," said Davidson when asked how "Strut" by the fictional Disney Channel teen pop group became the team’s Olympic anthem. "We were trying to decide what our new walkout song would be — like the last song we play before we leave the locker room for warm-ups — and a few different options were thrown out and that’s the one that raised the locker room to new levels."

For the USWNT, leveling up has never before looked so fun.

While the NWSL doesn't officially return to regular season play until Friday, clubs were nonetheless in full swing this weekend as international matchups took centerstage.

On Saturday, the Current lifted The Women's Cup trophy in Kansas City after beating Atletico Madrid 1-0 behind Debinha's first-half goal.

Then in Sunday's friendly action, the Spirit fell 2-1 to the WSL's Arsenal behind Alessia Russo's brace, which one-upped a close-range strike by Washington's Ouleymata Sarr. Meanwhile, Angel City notched a massive friendly win of their own, taking down Liga MX Femenil's FC Juárez 7–0 thanks to a hat trick from Messiah Bright.

Concacaf W Champions Cup adds to international NWSL action

Perhaps the most intriguing moments of the NWSL's internationally tinged Olympic break will come courtesy of the Concacaf W Champions Cup's group stage openers. Similar to the UEFA Champions League, the budding competition's eventual victor will represent the region at FIFA's recently unveiled Club World Cup in 2026.

With Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps already beating Alianza Women FC in the tournament's preliminary round, this week's group stage slate includes Panama club Santa Fe hosting the San Diego Wave, Alajuelense taking on Frazsiers, Club América facing Vancouver, and a intracity clash between Monterey's Rayadas and UANL Tigres.

Other NWSL teams set for next month's Champions Cup group stage action are Portland and Gotham FC, who will face Club América and Alajuelense, respectively.

NWSL schedules more international club play

In another friendly meeting between the NWSL and WSL, Gotham will take on Chelsea in New York tonight at 7 PM ET (streaming on FuboTV) before Arsenal and Chelsea square off next week in Washington, DC.

NWSL newcomer Bay FC is also jumping into European friendly play with a match against UEFA Champions League victors FC Barcelona scheduled for August 27th.