“I’m not going to lie: Emotionally, I’m shocked,” the Mystics’ Elena Delle Donne said. “You try to do the whole thing where you want to rally for [Toliver], but we were sick. Just sick. What she’s been through with her foot, how much she’s worked to get back — and she’s feeling good. She’s talking about even next year and all those things. To see something like that happen at this point in her career, it just sucks. … She’s such a great person. So it’s brutal.”
As the 2023 WNBA playoffs begin, teams are still dealing with a number of injuries. Take the Washington Mystics, who will be without Shakira Austin for the first two games of their first-round series against the New York Liberty.
Just Women’s Sports is keeping tabs on the most notable WNBA injuries and, where possible, providing the timetable for the player’s return. This report also includes athletes who are missing the 2023 WNBA season due to pregnancy or maternity leave.
Injured WNBA players who could return this season
Shakira Austin, Washington Mystics
Second-year center Shakira Austin went down on June 25 with a hip strain. An MRI revealed that the injury doesn’t require surgery, but she missed nearly two months as a result.
Austin returned in mid-August in a win over Chicago but has remained limited in her minutes. Weeks later against the Aces, she re-injured the hip that had kept her out nearly two months. She will miss at least the first two games of the Mystics’ first-round series against the New York Liberty.
Candace Parker, Las Vegas Aces
The two-time WNBA MVP will be out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to repair a left foot fracture, the Las Vegas Aces announced in July.
Parker has been playing on the fracture all season, according to the team, but a recent consultation with doctors revealed that surgery was the best option to return to health and to avoid further injury.
After signing with Las Vegas in the offseason, Parker started the first 18 games of the season for the Aces, averaging 9.0 points per game.
WNBA players who have returned to the court
Elena Delle Donne, Washington Mystics
The two-time WNBA MVP injured her left ankle on July 9, but she returned on Aug. 18. The 33-year-old started this season fully healthy for the first time in almost three years after dealing with back issues that kept her sidelined for a significant amount of time.
NaLyssa Smith, Indiana Fever
A stress fracture in her left foot was expected to keep the 22-year-old forward out for at least two weeks, the Fever announced on July 11.
Smith made her returned on Aug. 8 and has been instrumental for Indiana since then, including a career-high 30 points in the team’s overtime win over Dallas on Sunday.
Layshia Clarendon, Los Angeles Sparks
Clarendon returned on July 22, appearing for the first time since June 9. A partial tear of the right plantar fascia ligament in their foot had kept Clarendon off the floor.
Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury
Brittney Griner had been out since June 13 with a hip injury but made her return against the Storm on June 24, putting up 11 points and 6 rebounds through 20 minutes.
Ruthy Hebard, Chicago Sky
Hebard gave birth to her son, Xzavier Reid, in April. The Chicago Sky forward returned just 12 weeks later.
“All this has just shown me how much I love the game,” Hebard said one week before making her return on July 9. “I love being around my teammates. I just love everything about basketball. More than anything, I just want to be back.”
Aari McDonald, Atlanta Dream
The 24-year-old guard tore her labrum against the Las Vegas Aces on June 2, the Dream announced on June 6. She returned to action on July 20.
Diamond Miller, Minnesota Lynx
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft sprained her right ankle during Minnesota’s loss to the Dallas Wings on May 30. In a statement, the Lynx said Miller will “be reevaluated in the following weeks and further updates will be issued when available.” Miller scored a career-high 18 points in her return on June 27.
Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury
The Mercury also went without Diana Taurasi (hamstring) through three games (all double-digit losses). Taurasi returned on June 24, playing 19 minutes and putting up 13 points and 4 rebounds against Seattle.
Injured WNBA players out for the season
Brionna Jones, Connecticut Sun
The Connecticut Sun announced on June 24 that Brionna Jones suffered a ruptured right Achilles tendon in a game against the Seattle Storm on June 20 and underwent a successful surgery on June 23.
“While this is not how I envisioned this season ending for me, I am determined and ready to head into the next stage of recovery and rehab. I know I have an amazing support system behind me, and I will return on the other side of this stronger than ever,” Jones said in a statement.
Prior to the injury, Jones was first in the league in offensive rebounds (3.2/game), fifth in steals (1.8), and ninth in field goal percentage (57.1).
“We are heartbroken for Breezy. Anyone who knows her, knows she’s an amazing person, teammate and leader for our group,” said Connecticut Sun head coach Stephanie White.
“On the court, she has worked so hard to position herself as a cornerstone of our franchise and was playing terrific basketball. … As a team, we know we have a job to do, and we will dedicate our work toward the ultimate goal of winning a championship in a way that honors Breezy.”
Diamond DeShields, Dallas Wings
DeShields missed the regular season with a knee injury, and she remain out for the postseason.
While the 28-year-old guard appeared in a May 5 preseason game against Chicago, she did not travel for the team’s second preseason game out of precaution due to knee soreness. It’s unclear when she could make a return this season.
Rebekah Gardner, Chicago Sky
Gardner will miss the playoffs for Chicago. She missed most of the season after undergoing foot surgery for the break she sustained during a loss to the Washington Mystics on May 26.
Isabelle Harrison, Chicago Sky
The 29-year-old forward missed the season with a knee injury. The Sky revealed in May that Harrison would be out indefinitely after having surgery to repair a torn left meniscus. Harrison, who signed as a free agent with Chicago in February, has played six seasons in the WNBA.
Li Yueru, Chicago Sky
Li will miss the season with a non-WNBA injury, the Sky announced on May 18. She played for Chicago last season but missed the postseason to prepare for the 2022 World Cup with the Chinese national team.
Lou Lopez Sénéchal, Dallas Wings
The former UConn star underwent knee surgery during the first week of the season and missed the season as a result. The 25-year-old wing was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2023 draft.
Stephanie Talbot, Los Angeles Sparks
The 28-year-old forward signed with the Sparks in the offseason but tore her Achilles while playing for the Adelaide Lightning in Australia in February.
Kristi Toliver, Washington Mystics
The 36-year-old guard suffered a torn ACL in early September, which will sideline for the 2023 playoffs.
WNBA players out due to pregnancy or childbirth
Natalie Achonwa, Minnesota Lynx
Achonwa gave birth to her first child, son Maverick, in April and missed the WNBA season on maternity leave.
Achonwa, a member of the WNBA players’ union executive committee, helped negotiate for many of the pregnancy protections and maternity benefits that were included in the league’s 2020 collective bargaining agreement.
“Previously if you were out on maternity leave you’d get fifty per cent of your base salary,” Achonwa told SportsNet.
“I will receive my full salary this year whether I’m able to make it back or not — so pending clearance from doctors and trainers and stuff like that to see if I will make it back by the end of the year — but knowing that my family will be taken care of financially while I’m out on maternity leave was huge.”
Skylar Diggins-Smith, Phoenix Mercury
Diggins-Smith is out on maternity leave after giving birth to her second child during the WNBA offseason and her return timeline is unclear.
“I’m not really worried about snapping back,” she recently told Essence. “I just want to enjoy this time with my daughter.”
Katie Lou Samuelson, Los Angeles Sparks
Samuelson welcomed a baby girl in August, and her pregnancy kept out of the 2023 season. The 25-year-old forward averaged 9.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 29.5 minutes per game in 2022.
“Life is full of surprises and 2023 surprised us in the best way possible!” she wrote in a social media announcement of her pregnancy. “We can’t wait to welcome the newest member of our family!”
Emma Hruby and Alex Azzi contributed to this report.
Nike has signed seven WNBA rookies ahead of the league’s 25th season.
Charli Collier, Rennia Davis, Awak Kuier, Aari McDonald, Michaela Onyenwere, DiDi Richards and Iliana Rupert are all now Nike athletes. All seven were selected in April’s WNBA Draft, with Collier, Kuier and McDonald going Nos. 1-3.
🚨👟BREAKING: Nike Basketball welcomes seven WNBA rookies to the family: Charli Collier, Rennia Davis, Awak Kuier, Aari McDonald, Michaela Onyenwere, DiDi Richards, and Iliana Rupert.
— MADE for the W (@madeforthew) May 5, 2021
Congrats ladies 👏 pic.twitter.com/8UNNc1r3Xy
Nike’s partnership with the WNBA has spanned from apparel collections to various initiatives for girls and women in sport.
Nike has produced the WNBA uniforms since 2018.
Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe are entering the wide world of NFTs.
Per Sportico, the duo will be joined by other top female athletes, including No. 1 WNBA draft pick Charli Collier and No. 3 pick Aari McDonald, all of whom are represented by Wasserman sports agency.
The series of one-of-a-kind digital trading cards will be designed in collaboration with Los Angeles- based artist Lauren Nipper and released to the public on May 10.
Rapinoe tells Sportico that the project is an opportunity for female athletes to exercise “true ownership” and “authentic creativity.”
Rapinoe and co. are not alone. USWNT teammates Christen Press and Tobin Heath jumped on the NFT game early, releasing their own digitized tokens through re–inc earlier this month.
I’m an NFT 🤓https://t.co/BgrhnaB0xx pic.twitter.com/ealOQDC2M3
— Christen Press (@ChristenPress) April 15, 2021
This latest group of athlete NFTs will be sold as individual digital collectibles, available for purchase online next month.
Other athletes involved in the series include Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, skateboarder Mariah Duran and Paralympian Scout Bassett, with additional female athletes to be announced prior to the May release.
Aari McDonald has officially declared for the WNBA draft after a scintillating run through the NCAA tournament. (Though already a senior, McDonald could have technically come back given the NCAA’s blanket waiver.)
- Stanford’s Kiana Williams is likewise taking her talents to the pros.
- UConn’s Evina Westbrook, however, is coming back for another run despite being considered a top-5 pick.
Coaching changes:
- Vanderbilt has fired Stephanie White after five seasons.
- Washington has hired Tina Langley from Rice University.
- Jim Jabir is coming back to Siena, 31 years after he previously led the women’s basketball team.
Looking ahead: WNBA draft is next Thursday.
- McDonald is now a likely first-rounder (No. 5) according to Mechelle Voepel, whose latest mock draft still has Charli Collier going first to Dallas.