June is coming to a close, which means it’s time for Just Women’s Sports‘ NWSL Best XI of the month.

The league released its Best XI on Monday, featuring players voted on by members of the NWSL Media Association. There is slight overlap in the JWS lineup, with four players earning the double spotlight and seven new players getting recognized.

Seven teams are represented in JWS’ lineup, including the top five in the league standings. Portland leads the way with three players, while San Diego and Houston each have two. The Wave, in fact, have two players making their second consecutive JWS Best XI appearance. (You can read our Best XI for May here.)

Forwards

Sophia Smith, Portland Thorns FC

The NWSL’s Player of the Month, Sophia Smith contributed a goal or an assist in each of Portland’s four games in June as her speed continues to be a nightmare for defenders. Most notably, she had two goals and one assist in a 4-0 win over the Houston Dash on June 12.

Nichelle Prince, Houston Dash

The Houston Dash forward scored four goals in June to move into fourth place in the Golden Boot race. Her biggest performance came on June 3, when she scored the first-ever hat trick in Dash history during a 5-0 win over the Orlando Pride. She also scored the game-winner in Houston’s thrilling 4-3 victory over the North Carolina Courage.

Alex Morgan, San Diego Wave FC

Alex Morgan added five goals in June, bringing her season tally to 11 and surpassing last year’s Golden Boot total in less than half the number of games. She was a menace in San Diego’s 3-0 win over NJ/NY Gotham FC on June 19, recording a brace and an assist.

Midfielders

Maria Sánchez, Houston Dash

Maria Sánchez has been an integral part of the Houston Dash’s attack, especially in their 4-3 win over the Courage when she contributed a goal and two assists. On June 3 against the Orlando Pride, she had arguably the best play of the month, connecting with Rachel Daly on a perfect long-ball assist from the middle of the park to the top of the box.

RACHEL DALY HEADER ⚡

A beautiful assist by Maria Sánchez 🤩 pic.twitter.com/7fN5VwiNiv

— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) June 4, 2022

Lo’eau LaBonta, Kansas City Current

Lo’eau LaBonta played a key role as the Kansas City Current regained momentum in June. After going winless through May 30, the Current have been unbeaten since then, recording a win and two draws. LaBonta held the team steady with a 76 percent passing success rate and 60 percent tackle success rate.

Denise O’Sullivan, North Carolina Courage

Flying under the radar at times next to Debinha, Denise O’Sullivan has been a dominant presence in the Courage midfield with an 83.8 percent passing success rate and 60.7 percent success rate in tackles. On June 19 against the Dash, the Irish national team player scored a bullet of a goal from the top of Houston’s defense to open the scoring just five minutes into the match.

Goal of the weekend and definitely a Goal of the Season contender here by Denise O'Sullivan #NCvHOU (🎥 @NWSL)pic.twitter.com/c424MiJ2gD

— AllForXI (@AllForXI) June 19, 2022

Defenders

Lauren Barnes, OL Reign

New teammate Tobin Heath describes Lu Barnes as the smoothest outside back in the league, and Barnes has certainly been showing it both on and off the ball. Hitting her targets 70 percent of the time and winning over half of her tackles, Barnes consistently creates big scoring chances and pushes up the field to make overlapping runs and give the Reign a dangerous passing option from the left fullback position. 

Naomi Girma, San Diego Wave FC

Making her second consecutive JWS Best XI appearance, the May Rookie of the Month has developed further into one of the most reliable players in the league. Playing every minute in June, she connected on her passes 84 percent of the time and won 70.8 percent of her duels.

Kelli Hubly, Portland Thorns FC

The most exciting part of Kelli Hubly’s month is that she scored her first NWSL career goal — a perfect header off of a Sophia Smith corner kick. Goals aside, Hubly’s composure and distribution have helped steady Portland’s backline as they’ve gone 3-0-1 in the month of June. With an 81 percent passing success rate, she is the only one on the team who’s played every minute of every game so far.

HAVE YOURSELF A DANCE, @kellihubly!
Kelli Hubly with her FIRST career NWSL Goal!#BAONPDX | @ThornsFC pic.twitter.com/tOSC2l9ljU

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 4, 2022

Natalia Kuikka, Portland Thorns FC

An NWSL June Best XI honoree as well, Natalia Kuikka has been one of the strongest defenders in the league this month. She played every minute for the Thorns in June, connecting on 77 percent of her passes while helping create chances and contributing to Portlands’ three shutouts. In a 6-0 win over the Orlando Pride, she also recorded her first goal of the season.

Goalkeeper

Alyssa Naeher, Chicago Red Stars

Coming into June without a shutout in 2022, Alyssa Naeher recorded three consecutive clean sheets to kick off the month. The only two goals the USWNT keeper conceded came in the fourth match, a 2-2 draw with the Current. 

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

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.