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.

Two key upsets headlined Thursday's WNBA bill, sending the Phoenix Mercury soaring into third place in the league standings while the No. 6 Golden State Valkyries continued to outwit opponents.

The red-hot Mercury snagged their fourth straight win by taking down the No. 2 New York Liberty 89-81 on Thursday night, overcoming an 35-point performance from two-time MVP Breanna Stewart with five double-digit Phoenix scorers.

Meanwhile out West, the Valkyries stifled a surging No. 7 Fever, downing Indiana 88-77 in part by holding star guard Caitlin Clark to just 3-for-14 from the field — and 0-for-7 from behind the arc.

"We were being disruptive, we know that she doesn't like physicality, we know that she wants to get to that left step-back," Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase said about the Valkyries' strategy to effectively contain Clark.

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Though the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx and 2024 WNBA champions New York still hold court atop the table, Thursday's actions proves that other squads are making some unexpected in-roads.

Putting together an impressive road record are the Mercury, who will ride a 4-2 away record into their Saturday matchup against the No. 11 Chicago Sky — the last stop on a four-game road trip that's been perfect for Phoenix thus far.

Already flipping the script on expectations is Golden State, with the 2025 expansion team rising despite relying on a hodgepodge roster as several players compete at EuroBasket 2025. The Valkyries will aim to keep their winning momentum in their Sunday clash with the No. 12 Connecticut Sun.

How to watch the Mercury, Valkyries this weekend

Both of Thursday's victors will be back in action this weekend, with Phoenix facing Chicago at 1 PM ET on Saturday, airing live on ABC.

Then on Sunday, Golden State will host Connecticut at 8:30 PM ET, with live coverage on WNBA League Pass.

In another weekend full of WNBA action, all eyes are on Las Vegas, as the No. 8 Aces will try to curb a two-game losing streak against two formidable opponents.

A successful weekend for Las Vegas could hinge on three-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson's potential return from injury, with the star forward recently upgraded to "questionable" after landing in concussion protocol last week.

Overall, the margin for error has narrowed in the middle of the WNBA pack, as talented teams continue to translate quality performances into consistency.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 8 Las Vegas Aces, Friday at 10 PM ET (ION): The Aces will try to end their free fall in Friday's head-to-head battle with a Seattle side that can beat anybody at their best.

• No. 7 Indiana Fever vs. No. 8 Las Vegas Aces, Sunday at 3 PM ET (ESPN): Las Vegas next faces a Fever team still smarting from Thursday's away loss to the Golden State Valkyries, with both teams narrowly clinging to positions above the playoff line.

• No. 2 New York Liberty vs. No. 5 Seattle Storm, Sunday at 7 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The Liberty have a comfortable hold on second place, but with two losses in their last three games, New York is flirting with danger entering their Sunday game with Seattle — particularly if star big Jonquel Jones is out after suffering a knock to the ankle on Thursday.

Ultimately, there's no rest for the weary in the WNBA, as a series of difficult matchups can see a single error quickly slide into a losing streak.

The final NWSL weekend heading into the league's six-week summer break has arrived, giving teams one more chance to prove themselves before regular-season play pauses to make way for major international tournaments.

With a five-point gap separating No. 1 Kansas City from No. 2 Orlando in the NWSL standings, the Current will enter the break as the 2025 Shield frontrunners regardless of this weekend's results.

Despite Kansas City's grip atop the table, there's still plenty of room for movement both above and below the postseason cutoff line, as clubs across the NWSL look to wrap their midseason finales on a high note:

• No. 1 Kansas City Current vs. No. 10 Angel City FC, Friday at 8 PM ET (Prime): Angel City has a shot at launching themselves above the cutoff line on Friday, but they'll have to snap the Current's five-game winning streak to make it happen.

• No. 8 Gotham FC vs. No. 9 Bay FC, Saturday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): Gotham and Bay FC enter the weekend tied on points while staring at each other from on opposite sides of the playoff line — meaning a Saturday win for either club could set the tone for the rest of the 2025 season.

• No. 3 San Diego Wave FC vs. No. 4 Washington Spirit, Sunday at 10 PM ET (CBS Sports): The weekend's only top-table clash could see San Diego sprint back into second place — unless Washington leapfrogs the upstart Wave to claim the third-place spot.

The LPGA Tour has turned its attention to Texas, with the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship — the third major of the pro golf season — teeing off in Frisco to a flurry of first-round action on Thursday.

All of the sport's Top 100 athletes are participating in this week's event, including No. 1 Nelly Korda, who sits in a 14th-place tie with an even-par first-round performance, and surging US dark horse No. 50 Lexi Thompson, who tied for 10th in her Thursday return from a brief retirement.

However, leading the pack heading into Friday's second round is Thailand's world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul, who finished the first day of competition atop the leaderboard with a score of 4-under-par.

Australia's No. 24 Minjee Lee also posted a strong start, capping Thursday at 3-under to sit in second place.

While the sport's best chase victory on the links, the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship is already making history off the green.

Not only is it the first-ever women's major to tee off at Frisco's Fields Ranch East, the tournament also increased its purse to $12 million on Tuesday — nearly tripling the $4.5 million prize pool from just four years ago and tying the US Women's Open for the LPGA Tour's highest payout in the process.

How to watch the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

The third LPGA Grand Slam of 2025 continues through Sunday.

Friday's second round will air live on the Golf Channel, while coverage of Saturday and Sunday's final rounds will air across NBC and Peacock.