In the past year, the Las Vegas Aces won their first WNBA championship, Brittney Griner came home after 294 days of being wrongfully detained in Russia and triple-doubles took over the league.

There was plenty to talk about in the WNBA during 2022, and with 2023 right around the corner, let’s revisit the biggest storylines of the year.

The Year of the Aces

Las Vegas entered the season with a stacked roster — led by A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum — and a first-year head coach in Becky Hammon who came with much fanfare. It was a recipe for utter dominance in 2022, as the Aces won the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup, took home multiple individual awards and claimed their first WNBA title, which was also Las Vegas’ first major pro sports championship. Behind Gray’s Finals MVP performance, the Aces topped the Connecticut Sun 3-1 in the series and embarked on a championship-level celebration.

BG comes home

Since Brittney Griner was detained in Russia in February, efforts to bring her home were at the heart of everything the WNBA did in 2022. “Free BG” was the theme of the season as players and coaches kept her name in the headlines. At the WNBA All-Star Game in July, both teams emerged from the locker rooms after halftime wearing Griner jerseys, while Phoenix Mercury teammate Skylar Diggins-Smith devoted her weekend wardrobe to making statements about Griner’s wrongful detainment. The league never stopped campaigning for her release, and finally after 294 days, Griner was released in a prisoner swap on Dec. 8. The 32-year-old is officially home with family and said she intends to return to the court in 2023.

Saying goodbye to two greats

Sue Bird and Sylvia Fowles have been household names in the WNBA since they debuted in the league in 2002 and 2008, respectively. After accumulating six WNBA championships and 21 All-Star Game appearances between them, they both headed into retirement following the 2022 season. Bird finished her career with a trip to the playoffs, as the Seattle Storm fell to the Aces in the semifinals, while Fowles left the Minnesota Lynx and the league in the same way she came in. Thirteen years after dunking in her first All-Star Game in 2009, Fowles brought the Chicago crowd to their feat in 2022 with another slam in her final appearance.

The Kelsey Plum show

Kelsey Plum made the most of her first WNBA All-Star appearance, scoring 30 points — which tied a record set by Maya Moore — and winning the All-Star MVP award. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert honored Plum at halfcourt after the game, presenting her with a trophy that was noticeably smaller than All-Star MVP trophies in recent years. The little trophy ended up being the subject of jokes for the rest of the season, including from Engelbert herself after Las Vegas’ Commissioner’s Cup win and in Plum’s recent appearance on Kevin Hart’s show.

Kelsey Plum is your #WNBAAllStar Game MVP 🏆 pic.twitter.com/WaFHv17gjz

— espnW (@espnW) July 10, 2022

Contract divorces

If WNBA fans didn’t know what a contract divorce was heading into 2022, they certainly did by the end of the season. Five players “divorced” from their respective teams during the season, including Angel McCoughtry from the Lynx after two games, Liz Cambage from the Sparks in a messy situation and Tina Charles from the Mercury to join the Storm for their playoff run.

Prioritization causes controversy

The league and WNBA Players Association agreed upon the prioritization rule as part of CBA negotiations in 2020. Before it goes into effect in 2023, many players took issue with it publicly this past year. The rule is as follows: Players with two or more years of experience in the WNBA must report to their teams by the start of training camp or by May 1, whichever comes later. If they miss the start of training camp, they will be issued a fine. The penalty for missing the start of the season is a one-year suspension. It’s controversial because it limits the income opportunities for players, who can make much higher salaries in Europe.

Expansion talks

Earlier in the year, Engelbert said the league was aiming to select two locations for expansion teams by the end of 2022. Expansion has been a hot topic in recent years as limited roster spots and salary cap restrictions have left more and more talented players without teams. In a December interview with The Athletic, Engelbert walked back the original timeline. The WNBA has narrowed its search down to 10 cities, with at least one team likely to join by 2025.

Triple-double boom

There were nine triple-doubles recorded in the WNBA in 2022. In the 25 years prior, since the league launched in 1997, there had been only 11. Alyssa Thomas led the sudden surge with two playoff triple-doubles, becoming the first player to reach the feat in the WNBA Finals and the first to register four career triple-doubles. Candace Parker and Sabrina Ionescu each recorded two triple-doubles in 2022, while Moriah Jefferson had one.

Travel issues

Commercial flights to and from games continued to plague the league in 2022. Nneka Ogwumike was one of several players to call out the travel policy after the Sparks were forced to sleep in the airport due to flight cancellations in early August. The league chartered flights for the Commissioner’s Cup Championship and the WNBA Finals, but players continue to ask for more. The issue got more complicated in March when a report in Sports Illustrated revealed the New York Liberty had been fined a WNBA-record $500,000 for chartering team flights in the second half of the 2021 season, a move that violated the league’s CBA.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

With the 2025 NCAA gymnastics season in full swing, top collegiate athletes are already eyeing mid-April's national championship in Fort Worth, Texas.

Unlike elite gymnastics, where difficulty can outweigh execution, the college level values precision over big tricks, so Division I athletes all aim for perfect 10s in their competition performances.

Despite this difference, many of the world's most decorated elite gymnasts also compete in the NCAA. Two-time Olympian Jade Carey is back for her senior season with No. 14 Oregon State while her US teammate in both Tokyo and Paris, Jordan Chiles, is entering her junior year at No. 11 UCLA.

The Bruin, who took the 2024 NCAA season off to prepare for last summer's Olympics, will attempt to reclaim the national titles on uneven bars and floor exercise that she earned in 2023.

Top teams poised for the podium

After earning their first national title last spring, No. 2 LSU is hitting the 2025 mat armed with a stacked roster, headlined by 2024 all-around champion Haleigh Bryant and social media star Livvy Dunne.

Add in last year's freshman phenom Konnor McClain, whose prowess on the balance beam ultimately clinched LSU the NCAA trophy, and 2024 Olympic alternate Kaliya Lincoln, who opened her NCAA career with a 9.825 vault two weeks ago, and the Tigers are more than capable of a back-to-back run.

LSU isn't the only SEC team predicted to make a deep run this season, as the conference is once again flush with perennial contenders.

Elite US stars Kayla DiCello and early Freshman of the Year frontrunner Skye Blakely will join two-time US Olympic alternate Leanne Wong in trying to return No. 7 Florida to the NCAA championship meet. At the same time, new SEC team No. 1 Oklahoma, winner of seven of the last 10 NCAA trophies, could see senior Jordan Bowers de-throne Bryant for the 2025 all-around title.

Also causing early national championship chatter are 2024 finalists No. 5 Cal, who return two of the country's best all-arounders in senior Mya Lauzon and junior eMjae Frazier, and Big Ten champs No. 6 Michigan State, whose veteran-heavy lineup boasts stars Skyla Schulte and Sage Kellerman.

How to watch NCAA gymnastics this weekend

Some of the country's top NCAA gymnasts will take the mat when No. 7 Florida visits No. 2 LSU at 7:30 PM ET on Friday. Live coverage will air on ESPN2.

The NCAA unanimously approved implementing a women's March Madness revenue-sharing plan on Wednesday, aligning the women's side with the compensation program the men’s edition has enjoyed since 1991.

"This is a historic day for women's sports, women's basketball, and the NCAA," said NCAA president Charlie Baker in the college sports governing body's statement. "Today's vote means our members have the opportunity to do even more on campus to promote and support female athletes. I can't wait to see all the incredible things they do."

Sparked by 2021's landmark NCAA gender equity review, the decision ultimately actualized after years of pressure from administrators and coaches.

"The long-awaited, hard fought for, and well-earned day is here," said UNC coach and Women's Basketball Coaches Association president Courtney Banghart. "I am so grateful for the effort of so many to bring this reality to our sport."

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Deep March Madness runs earn more revenue

Beginning this year, each team competing in the Division I tournament will now receive performance-based units of revenue, with deeper runs earning more units.

With plans to grow the prize pool to $25 million by 2028, this year's inaugural $15 million purse represents 26% of the competition's $65 million media rights valuation — putting it proportionally on par with the percentage allocated to the men's fund.

Distributions will begin in 2026 and, like the men’s program, they will be paid directly to conferences, whose member schools will collectively decide how to best invest the unrestricted funds.

For the 2025 edition, a unit will reportedly be worth $113,636. According to ESPN's calculations, a Final Four team could amass approximately $1.26 million for its conference over the next three years.

With conferences and schools set for an influx of funds should their teams flourish at the national tournament, the revenue plan becomes a significant incentive for institutions to further invest in women's basketball.

Ultimately, the NCAA's move not only addresses the sport's equity disparity, it could also bolster the annual tournament's level of competition.

Unrivaled basketball hits the court for the first time on Friday and, according to ESPN, the debut league's style of play will look a little different from the 3×3 Olympic game's rules.

Unlike the half-court version currently played in major international 3x3 basketball competitions, Unrivaled's full-court edition uses slightly smaller court dimensions from a traditional 5×5 setup.

Similarly, the inaugural league's format follows a four-quarter setup, but opts for seven-minute periods rather than the WNBA's 10-minute quarters. The shot clock will also be a speedier 18 seconds versus the professional 5×5 game's 24 seconds.

Unrivaled victories, however, rest solely in fourth-quarter play. This "winning score" quarter denotes that the win goes to the first team to score 11 more points than the highest final third-quarter score. For example, if a game's third quarter ends with a 45-43 scoreline, the first team to post the target score of 56 points in the final period walks away with the victory.

This system essentially eliminates the possibility of overtime. League organizers also hope it deters the late-game fouls used strategically and prolifically in 5×5 contests.

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Unrivaled 3×3 format revamps fouls

Speaking of fouls, Unrivaled is also condensing the free throw system to keep the game moving. Each player has six fouls to give, but each shooting foul will earn a single free throw at the line.

Those awarded free throws, however, will contain different point opportunities depending on the foul incurred. Fouled two-point shots grant a single free throw worth two points, while a free throw awarded from a three-point attempt will be worth three. All and-ones are worth one point.

With six players rostered on each of Unrivaled's six teams, the league also tweaked the traditional rule of fouling out to ensure games can be completed should they become especially chippy. If an athlete fouls out with only three available players left on their team, that player can continue competing. She will instead incur a technical foul — resulting in one opponent free throw — for each additional foul.

The new league's rules all point to Unrivaled's efforts to put an engaging, fast product on the court.

"This game is rooted in how you would play basketball as a kid on a black top," Unrivaled president of basketball operations Luke Cooper told ESPN's Kendra Andrews on Tuesday. "There's flow, there's pace. When you are watching, it feels like you are watching basketball... it's not a gimmick."

The WNBA free agency carousel started spinning this week, with teams evaluating rosters and coring athletes to either retain talent or trade players for a return.

Thus far, cored players include Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum, New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally, and Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams.

Squads employ single-use coring on WNBA stars

Each of the WNBA's teams can core one unrestricted free agent on their roster, ensuring them exclusive rights to that cored athlete. Cored players receive an offer for a one-year, supermax salary contract, along with the option to negotiate different terms.

Cored athletes are unable to directly sign with another franchise, but they can be part of a trade offer by their coring team.

New York cored Stewart after she expressed interest in remaining with her 2024 WNBA Championship-winning squad. Sabally, on the other hand, will likely be part of a sign-and-trade deal after telling media late last week that she is looking to leave Dallas in 2025.

Plum's situation with the Aces is less clear-cut: The two-time WNBA champion could re-sign with her team, though Las Vegas could be exploring opportunities to cash in should she want to compete elsewhere.

Other offers spark WNBA free agent negotiations

In addition to coring, WNBA teams have also begun sending qualifying offers to certain restricted free agents, allowing them to initiate negotiations with those players.

Most notably, despite making Monday offers to three players — guard Dana Evans, forward Michaela Onyenwere, and forward Nikolina Milić — Chicago has yet to extend a qualifying offer to the Sky's 2024 points-leader Chennedy Carter.

Ultimately, while negotiations kick off next week, WNBA contracts cannot be finalized until free agency revs up in February, meaning more shuffling is on deck as teams gear up for the longest and most competitive roster-building season in recent memory.