With the WNBA regular season set to tip off Friday night, teams were required to pare down their final rosters to the league maximum of 12 players by 5 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Which moves were the most notable or surprising on cutdown day? JWS evaluates each team.

Atlanta Dream

Shatori Walker-Kimbrough was one of Atlanta’s final cuts Thursday. She played in 21 games last season for the Phoenix Mercury, averaging 19 minutes and 7.3 points per game. She also shot 43.1 percent from beyond the arc and was the seventh player in WNBA history to record at least 20 points, five steals and five 3-pointers in a game, on Aug. 14 against Atlanta. She also is one of only three players in WNBA history to hold a career free-throw percentage of at least 90 percent (minimum 100 attempts). Drafted sixth overall by the Washington Mystics, Walker-Kimbrough was named to the All-Rookie Team in 2017 and won a championship with the Mystics before being traded to the New York Liberty.

Honorable mention: Kaela Davis didn’t make the Dream’s opening night roster. Drafted 10th overall by the Dallas Wings in 2017, she was waived after three seasons in which she averaged 5.7 points across 93 games. She was picked up by the Dream during the 2020 season and saw minimal game action.

Chicago Sky

Lexie Brown is a proven starter, having appeared in 72 games with 13 starts for the Minnesota Lynx. Over that time, she averaged seven points per game. The ninth overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft, she signed with the Sky in the offseason. She had a solid showing in preseason against Indiana, scoring 10 points in 10 minutes played, but it wasn’t enough to make Chicago’s opening night roster.

HM: Natasha Mack, the 16th pick of the 2021 draft, was considered an intriguing prospect heading into training camp. Her time with the Sky might not be over just yet: She reportedly could rejoin the team for their game against Atlanta on May 19.

Sky waived Alexis Prince, Lexie Brown, Kobi Thornton and Natasha Mack.

I was told there is the potential for Mack to rejoin the team for Sky's game against Atlanta on the 19th.

— Annie Costabile (@AnnieCostabile) May 13, 2021

Connecticut Sun

Jasmine Thomas has been temporarily suspended by the Sun while she works her way back from overseas play. Thomas wrapped up her Turkish league season on Tuesday and, because she is not fully vaccinated, must have six consecutive days of negative tests prior to joining the team. The Sun announced Friday morning that they’ve signed Aleah Goodman to a hardship roster spot after previously waiving her. She will join the Sun for the season opener against Atlanta on Friday and likely remain with them until Thomas is eligible to return.

Dallas Wings

Megan Gustafson was one of Dallas’ final cap casualties, two years after being drafted 17th overall. A college basketball standout at Iowa, the 2019 AP Player of the Year and Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year was waived by the Wings prior to her rookie season but picked up again after they started the season 0-5. From there, she appeared in 34 games for Dallas, averaging 2.6 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.

Indiana Fever

Julie Allemand has been placed on the suspended list for the 2021 WNBA season due to overseas commitments. Currently, Allemand is playing in France for Basket Lattes Montpellier Agglomeration (BLMA) and will join the Belgian national team once the season is over. Rather than having her return after the Olympic break in mid-August, the two sides believed it better for her to rejoin the team next season. As one of JWS’ five players with the most breakout potential, she will be missed in Indiana this season.

Las Vegas Aces

Shakayla Thomas was invited to Aces training camp as a free agent. While coach Bill Laimbeer liked the way she competed while adjusting to a position change (from post to wing), ultimately it wasn’t enough for her to stick around. Emma Cannon, who played 14.3 minutes per game in the playoffs last season after signing with the team in the final month of the regular season, earned the last roster spot.

Los Angeles Sparks

Seimone Augustus is retiring after 15 seasons in the WNBA. She spent 14 seasons with the Minnesota Lynx, who drafted her with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 draft. There, she won championships in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 and was named Finals MVP in 2011. She joined the Sparks as a free agent in 2020 for her final season. Augustus will retire with career averages of 15.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and a 48 field-goal and 36.4 3-point percentage. She currently ranks 10th on the all-time WNBA scoring list with 6,005 career points. The eight-time WNBA All-Star and four-time WNBA champion will remain with the Sparks as an assistant coach.

Sources inform @Winsidr that WNBA legend & 4x Champion Seimone Augustus is retiring from the WNBA and will be named a Sparks Assistant Coach.

— Rachel Galligan (@RachGall) May 13, 2021

HM: Kristine Anigwe played in 17 of the Sparks’ regular season games last year, averaging 4.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. She was expected to provide post depth this season but had some unpromising preseason performances. The Sparks also acquired Gabby Williams from the Sky. Williams won’t play this season after being placed on the season-long suspended list while playing for the French national team, but the Sparks ensured she stays with the team beyond 2021, signing her to a contract extension Friday.

Minnesota Lynx

Mikayla Pivec is a free agent after the Lynx waived her Thursday. Drafted 25th overall by Atlanta in the 2020 draft, the guard opted out of the season for personal reasons. She then signed overseas with CD Promete in Spain, appearing in 15 games and averaging 14.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 14.9 minutes per game. Prior to that, Pivec scored over 1,500 career points and had over 1,000 career rebounds with Oregon State. She was picked up by the Lynx in April.

New York Liberty

Asia Taylor was drafted 36th overall by Minnesota in the 2014 draft and had spent time with four different teams before making her way to New York. Signed to a training camp contract, she didn’t make the cut as spots on the Liberty’s regular season roster were limited. Additionally, Asia Durr was assigned to New York’s full season suspension list as she continues to battle with COVID-19 long-hauler symptoms.

Phoenix Mercury

Tiana Mangakahia signed a training camp contract with Phoenix shortly after going undrafted this spring, but her roster bid came up short. In her three seasons with Syracuse, the point guard averaged 15.3 points, 8.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds in 85 games, leading the nation in assists and assists per game in two of those seasons. She missed 2019-20 after being diagnosed with breast cancer but returned to play this past season. Mangakahia didn’t have to wait very long for her next opportunity — she signed a contract to play with the North OJ Pippin Homes Northside Wizards in her native Australia.

Seattle Storm

Kitija Laksa is on the market two years after the Storm selected her with the 11th overall pick. The Latvian remained overseas last season, averaging 8.0 points and 2.6 rebounds per game for TTT Riga. Before that, she had a standout carer at South Florida, averaging 17.8 points per game. There was hope she would be a part of the Storm’s future, but the roster competition proved to be too strong.

HM: N’dea Jones was looking to make the Storm’s roster after they drafted her 23rd overall last month. The forward finished her career at Texas A&M with the most rebounds and double-doubles. She was also a consistent player, ending her career on a 92-game starting streak.

Washington Mystics

The Mystics added on Thursday, acquiring Sydney Wiese from the Sparks in exchange for a 2022 second-round pick. Afterward, Wiese tweeted the following:

Noted.

— Sydney Wiese (@swiesebaby24) May 13, 2021

In 2020 with the Sparks, the guard averaged 6.8 points per game and made 47.2 percent of her shots from the 3-point line. Over four seasons in Los Angeles, Wiese shot 39.5 percent from beyond the arc. Wiese gives the Mystic depth and experience in the backcourt.

Ticket prices are skyrocketing across the WNBA, with commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressing the surge after several New York Liberty fans wore T-shirts in protest of the increase.

Donning orange shirts emblazoned with the phrase "We've been priced out," New York fans came together to express their frustrations at a recent game.

The WNBA fans' custom shirts referred to season ticket price jumps of more than 250%, saying the Liberty is asking upwards of $30,000 for 2026 renewals.

Some New York season ticket holders noted that their 2026 renewal more than triples the cost they paid for the team's 2024 championship-winning campaign.

The exponential increase isn't just occurring in the New York market, however — it points to an overall rise in ticket prices across the WNBA.

The WNBA's recent ticket surge has seen seats across the league jumping by an average cost increase of 43% in the last year alone.

"In order to fund all these investments that owners are making, and obviously paying the players more which we will do in this next CBA cycle…that's the reality," Engelbert said on Thursday's episode of In Case You Missed It with Khristina Williams. "That's our responsibility as a league and team owners."

Calling the price hikes a result of "simple economics" and "high demand," Engelbert acknowledged the effect on fans, though did not address potential solutions.

"I realize there's some concern out there, certainly that we don't price out our kind of core fan base," she noted.

Chelsea FC is playing it close to the chest, with big-name new signing Alyssa Thompson and previously injured superstar Sam Kerr waiting in the wings as manager Sonia Bompastor teases a 2025/26 WSL season debut for the pair.

Kerr joined the 18-player game-day roster for Chelsea FC's opening-day victory over Manchester City last Friday, but saw her season debut delayed as the Australian remained an unused sub while Thompson greeted fans from the stands.

This Sunday's matchup against Aston Villa provides another chance for the standouts to take the pitch, as the six-time reigning WSL champs hunt another result.

"With Alyssa, we are looking for her to be able to play. We don't have the confirmation yet, but we are hoping for her to be able to play in this game," Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor said earlier today. "I think she has already shown some good things this week in training, and we can see what she can bring to the team."

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Bompastor went on to call last week's decision to keep Kerr on the bench "my choice," saying "She's doing everything she can to be available for the squad and available to start…. The next step for her is to be involved in a short game in the league, and maybe we'll see that on Sunday."

USWNT fans will not get a glimpse of defender Naomi Girma, however, as the January 2025 Chelsea addition sat out last Friday's clash with a calf injury and remains unavailable.

How to watch Aston Villa vs. Chelsea FC this weekend

With the possibility of Thompson and Kerr taking the WSL pitch, Chelsea will visit Aston Villa at 7 AM ET on Sunday, with live coverage of the match streaming on ESPN+.

Splashy new Gotham FC addition Jaedyn Shaw is returning West, as the No. 6 NY/NJ club preps for a Friday night clash against the No. 3 San Diego Wave — Shaw's original NWSL team — days after signing the USWNT prospect from the No. 11 North Carolina Courage.

"I'm so excited to be a part of this incredible club and community," the 20-year-old said after her NWSL-record $1.25 million transfer to Gotham. "I'm looking forward to playing alongside world class players and giving my all to help the team win another championship."

After finding immediate success with the Wave in 2023, Shaw requested a trade to the Courage in January 2025, initiating what turned out to be a short stint in Cary, NC.

"I've grown so much just over the past few months, being at the Courage," Shaw told ESPN on Thursday. "I feel like I've matured a lot. I've had to experience things that I haven't necessarily experienced in my career and having to deal with those things."

Gotham and Shaw are currently "working toward an updated and extended contract," per a team release on Thursday, with the young attacker looking to boost Gotham's offense while adding to her 16-goal and five-assist NWSL career tally.

How to watch the San Diego Wave vs. Gotham on Friday

Shaw could take the pitch for No. 6 Gotham in her new club's Friday night visit to the No. 3 San Diego Wave.

The match kicks off at 10 PM ET, with live coverage airing on Prime.

The No. 1 Kansas City Current are closing in on the 2025 NWSL Shield, gearing up for a Saturday night showdown against the No. 2 Washington Spirit that could inject insurmountable distance between the Current and the rest of the league.

With a 14-point lead at the top of the NWSL standings, Kansas City has already clinched a postseason berth, and the Current only need only a few more results to secure a franchise-first league trophy.

Even more, KC enters Saturday's match on an 11-game unbeaten streak, with the Current hosting the Spirit at their home CPKC Stadium — a pitch where Kansas City has yet to drop a match this year.

Despite that dominance, it may not be smooth sailing for the Current, as Washington's future is beginning to take shape behind recently returned star Trinity Rodman, whose brace lifted the Spirit over the No. 7 Seattle Reign last Sunday.

"She's not back, because she's a different player," Washington head coach Adrián González told reporters about Rodman's level of play. "After her injury, she's more prepared mentally. She's having enough time to get the minutes, the training, and the exposures that she needs with no pressure."

How to watch the Kansas City Current vs. Washington Spirit

The No. 1 Kansas City Current will host the No. 2 Washington Spirit on Saturday, with the top-tier match kicking off live at 7:30 PM ET on ION.