The 2025 WNBA season tipped off with a bang this weekend, with blockbuster rookie debuts, early MVP candidates, and a high-energy team launch driving headlines.
The league's sharpshooters wasted no time in establishing their dominance, as high-scoring performances erupted from coast to coast.
Saturday saw Las Vegas's 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson drop 31 points and 16 rebounds against reigning champs New York, but a breakout 22-point, nine-assist performance from Liberty newcomer Natasha Cloud secured the Brooklyn squad a 92-78 win.
Also on Saturday, Caitlin Clark notched her first triple-double of the season, racking up 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists to boost the Indiana Fever 93-58 over the Chicago Sky.
Meanwhile, with seven points of her own, Indiana's DeWanna Bonner passed Houston legend Tina Thompson on the WNBA's all-time scoring list to sit at No. 3 behind only retired Phoenix superstar Diana Taurasi and current Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles.
Across Minnesota's two weekend games, 2024 MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier tallied an impressive 57 points, fueling an undefeated Lynx run that left both Dallas and LA in the dust.
Making franchise history this weekend were Phoenix's Satou Sabally and LA's Kelsey Plum, whose 27- and 37-point debuts were the highest scoring performances ever recorded by a roster newcomer on each respective team.
2025 WNBA Draft class hits the court
Speaking of debuts, the new kids in the league also made a splash, with several 2025 draftees making their first professional minutes count.
Dallas rookie and 2025's overall No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers held her own in Friday's physical 99-84 loss to Minnesota, scoring the Wings' first basket en route to a 10-point performance.
Elsewhere, new Washington recruits Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen each dropped a pair of double-digit showings for a combined 65 points across their first two pro games, leading the Mystics to a surprise 2-0 start with opening weekend wins over Atlanta and Connecticut.
With the 2025 WNBA season officially in full swing, expect these early results to build as heavy-hitters continue to excel while new additions strive to meet — and exceed — expectations.
The 2025 WNBA season is finally here, with Friday's official tip-off leading an opening weekend full of tough competition and simmering storylines.
The reigning champion New York Liberty enter as odds-on favorites, but results are nearly impossible to predict after a very active offseason across the league.
This weekend's slate features new builds, regional rivalries, and plenty of fresh faces as top 2025 draft picks log their first pro minutes.
- Minnesota Lynx vs. Dallas Wings, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): This year's No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers makes her official WNBA debut as revamped Dallas tests itself against a Minnesota team still stinging over last year's title loss.
- Los Angeles Sparks vs. Golden State Valkyries, Friday at 10 PM ET (ION): The Valkyries play their first-ever regular-season game, looking to form an identity against downstate rivals LA, led by new Sparks addition Kelsey Plum.
- Las Vegas Aces vs. New York Liberty, Saturday at 1 PM ET (ABC): The 2023 champs meet the 2024 title-winners in a heavyweight clash that sees 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson take on a confident New York team led by guard Sabrina Ionescu.
- Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever, Saturday at 3 PM ET (ABC): Last year's rookie headliners Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese meet again in Indiana, with the regional rivals relying on both incoming vets and young cores to write their next chapters.
Packed with great matchups, this weekend is the ideal tip-off for a 2025 season that promises to be a wild ride — no matter which WNBA team you follow.
Two-time WNBA champion Kelsey Plum dropped her 12-player 2025 Dawg Class roster on Wednesday, inviting another generation of college talent to join her at an Under Armour training camp designed to help NCAA athletes transition to the pros.
The new LA Sparks guard experienced her own growing pains in making the professional leap. In response, Plum launched the camp in 2023, aiming to specifically address those struggles and aid future pros.
Each year, Plum invites both graduating and returning NCAA stars to the training camp, hoping to help them overcome or even bypass some of the hurdles she encountered when entering the WNBA.
"Dawg Class is all about changing the game for the next generation of women's basketball players," explained Plum before the 2024 edition.
"All of these athletes have extraordinary talent and skill, and it is my mission to help them with that transition to the next level by cultivating that 'dawg' mentality — the grit, self-confidence and work ethic — to continue to succeed and evolve in their careers."
2025 Dawg Camp taps NCAA champions, star freshmen
Now entering its third iteration, newly crowned Final Four Most Outstanding Player Azzi Fudd and her UConn teammate and fellow 2025 NCAA champ KK Arnold are both making Dawg Class returns — Fudd took part in the 2023 edition while Arnold capped her freshman season at Plum's 2024 camp.
Also returning to the elite roster are 2024 alums Shyanne Sellers (Maryland) and Georgia Amoore (Kentucky), with Amoore having featured on all three Dawg Class rosters so far.
Both Amoore and Sellers, as well as first-time invitee and Harvard senior Harmoni Turner — the 2024/25 Beck Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year — are turning pro this year, with the trio hoping to hear their names called during Monday's 2025 WNBA Draft.
Like Turner, eight other top college athletes are also making their Dawg Class debuts this year, including a quartet of the NCAA's most impressive freshmen: Michigan's Syla Swords, Ohio State's Jaloni Cambridge, USC's Kayleigh Heckel, and Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes.
Kelsey Plum's 2025 Under Armour Dawg Class
- Georgia Amoore*, Kentucky
- KK Arnold, UConn
- Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt
- Zoe Brooks, NC State
- Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State
- Azzi Fudd, UConn
- Kayleigh Heckel, USC
- Ashlon Jackson, Duke
- Tessa Johnson, South Carolina
- Shyanne Sellers*, Maryland
- Syla Swords, Michigan
- Harmoni Turner*, Harvard
*denotes players who have declared for the 2025 WNBA Draft
The WNBA is all shook up, as the league's February 1st free agency signing day radically reshaped rosters from coast to coast.
In the largest offseason trade so far, the Phoenix Mercury and Dallas Wings took the buyer's market by storm while the Connecticut Sun sent starters packing in preparation for a major rebuild. Along with the Indiana Fever, these four teams moved a total of 13 players and 18 assets, making it the most prolific single trade in WNBA history.
Alyssa Thomas (Connecticut) and Satou Sabally (Dallas) headlined the deal, joining Phoenix alongside Dallas's Kalani Brown and Sevgi Uzun.
Connecticut took Phoenix's Natasha Cloud and Rebecca Allen (who's reportedly moving on to Chicago), plus Dallas's Jacy Sheldon and a first-round draft pick.
Indiana picked up Sophie Cunningham (Phoenix), Jaelyn Brown (Dallas), and a second-round draft pick.
To close it out, Dallas's haul included DiJonai Carrington (Connecticut), Ty Harris (Connecticut), and NaLyssa Smith (Indiana) as well as additional player considerations and draft futures.
That blockbuster four-team transaction comes on the heels of last week's history-making trade between the LA Sparks, Las Vegas Aces, and Seattle Storm, which became official over the weekend. The league's first-ever trade involving multiple former No. 1 draft picks sent Las Vegas's Kelsey Plum to the Sparks and Seattle's Jewell Loyd to the Aces, with the Storm grabbing the 2025 WNBA Draft's No. 2 pick.
More WNBA teams flex free agency muscles
Phoenix and Dallas weren't the only teams profiting off of Connecticut's reshuffling, as 2025 postseason hopefuls Indiana and Atlanta jumped into the market.
Sun standout DeWanna Bonner and three-time WNBA champion Natasha Howard (Dallas) both inked one-year deals with the Fever, joining recently re-signed All-Star Kelsey Mitchell in Indiana.
The Atlanta Dream complemented last week's game-changing Brittney Griner pick-up by netting Connecticut forward Brionna Jones.
Other teams have also kept their names in the mix, with Chicago officially bringing back two-time WNBA champion Courtney Vandersloot, who spent 12 seasons with the Sky before her title-winning stint with the Liberty.
The Sky are also reportedly courting Sparks free agent Kia Nurse after sending guard Lindsay Allen and the rights to forward Nikolina Milic to the Sun in exchange for Australia Opals star Rebecca Allen.
In another key free agency signing, Connecticut is bringing eight-time All-Star Tina Charles back after drafting the 36-year-old first overall in 2010.
With the free agency floodgates fully open and a highly anticipated new CBA prompting a wave of one-year deals, even more big-name signings are likely ahead of April's WNBA Draft.
WNBA stars and two-time league champions Jewell Loyd and Kelsey Plum are on the move, with ESPN reporting Sunday that the Storm, Aces, and Sparks have finalized a huge three-team trade.
According to the report, Seattle is honoring Loyd's trade request by sending the six-time All-Star to Las Vegas. Plum is subsequently LA-bound on a one-year deal after the Aces cored her for a sign-and-trade.
The Aces also receive LA's No. 13 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft in the deal. Meanwhile, Seattle's No. 9 pick in 2025 plus their second-round pick in the 2026 draft now belong to the Sparks.
The Storm walk away with Sparks center Li Yueru, plus two massive draft selections. Seattle now owns valuable assets in the form of LA's No. 2 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft and Las Vegas' first-round pick in 2026.
However, should they hang onto their chips, Seattle now has a shot at righting a disappointing 2024 run by snagging a top NCAA select like No. 3 Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles or No. 4 USC forward Kiki Iriafen.
Loyd, Plum trade makes WNBA history
Though the news won't be official until the free agency signing window opens on February 1st, the deal is the first in WNBA history to include multiple No. 1 overall draft picks.
Top-picks Loyd (2015) and Plum (2017) have only played for the franchises that originally drafted them. Plum relocated to Las Vegas as part of the San Antonio team that originally selected her out of the University of Washington.
Plum has reportedly indicated her intention to remain with the Sparks past the 2025 season, despite inking a one-year contract.
While the terms of Loyd's agreement remain unclear, both athletes will likely become free agents in 2026. They'll join the majority of WNBA players in doing so, as athletes hope to take advantage of a new CBA that's expected to significantly impact salary caps and other contract stipulations.
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.
Caitlin Clark is nearing Kelsey Plum’s NCAA scoring record, and Plum has some advice for the Iowa star.
“I understand the importance of it, but let’s just say when she breaks it, I’ll be very, very happy,” Plum, a former guard at the University of Washington and now a two-time WNBA champion with the Las Vegas Aces, told the Associated Press.
First, Clark has one milestone to pass: the 3,000-point marker. She has a chance to do so on Wednesday against Iowa State, as she enters the game with 2,954 points. If she does, she’d be the fastest to reach 3,000 points in 109 games, four more than current record-holder Elena Delle Donne.
Plum holds the all-time NCAA Division I scoring mark with 3,527 career points, and Clark is on pace to surpass it by the end of February. She’s also within reach of Pete Maravich’s all-time Division I scoring record of 3,667 points.
Plum has said the attention surrounding her pursuit of the record in 2016 took a toll on her mental health and followed her into the WNBA, where she was the No. 1 draft pick. She advised Clark to keep the milestones in perspective.
“I feel like people started caring less about the game and more about just the individual points,” Plum said. “You can play really well and score 15, 20 points and have a great game and people will be like, ‘Aw, it was only a 20-point game.’
“It was tough for me because I felt like I lost a little bit of my identity and it ultimately led to a tough transition into the (WNBA) because the expectations were so high. So, if anything, I’d try to send her as much compassion and love as I can and I hope the people around her are checking in with her … because it’s going to be tough to feel like you’re just playing basketball.”
Clark is also on pace to become the first player in D-I history — men’s or women’s — to register 3,000 points and 1,000 assists for her career.
As she chases multiple records, Clark’s popularity has already reached astronomical heights.
“The way people have on our jerseys, the way people have on Iowa clothes, it’s just not the same for every other program,” Clark said. “So, I think for me, it’s ‘just don’t let it overwhelm you. Don’t let the moment pass you by.’ Living in the now is super important. It’s really special.
“These are going to be some of the best moments of my life that I get to share with my best friends, as a kid who’s 21 years old in college. I play this game because I love it. I play because it’s fun. And when I play that way, that’s what allows me to be as good as I am.”
At this point in Caitlin Clark’s career, it’s not a matter of if she broke an NCAA record – it’s which record she broke.
The Iowa guard’s 35-point performance in the Hawkeyes’ 113-90 win against Drake on Sunday marked her 39th career game with at least 30 points. That number breaks Kelsey Plum’s record for the most in Division I women’s college hoops history. She also had 10 assists, 6 rebounds and 7 steals – an all-around performance from the reigning national player of the year.
With just one more 30-plus point game, Clark will match the overall NCAA record, set by Detroit’s Antoine Davis last season. With her pace so far (31.0 points per game through five games), she seems likely to break the record.
Perhaps more important to Clark, though, was the rebounding performance from the Hawkeyes, as well as teammate Kate Martin posting a career high in points after going scoreless in the previous game, a 68-58 loss to Kansas State.
“I thought everyone responded really well,” Clark said. “People want to beat you. You’re the Iowa Hawkeyes. You were in the Final Four last year. You have a target on your back, but this group just worries about what’s in our locker room. We knew Thursday wasn’t who we are.
“Tonight, we got back to who we are.”
Another impressive note about Clark’s record is that many of her 30-plus point performances have come against top-tier opponents. The senior has averaged 29.6 points per game against AP top-10 opponents in her career, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Most recently, she hung 44 points on then-No. 8 Virginia Tech on Nov. 9.
Just another day at the office.
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) November 20, 2023
35 PTS
10 AST
7 STL
6 REB@CaitlinClark22 x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/vRjCxROeV5
No. 3 Iowa’s basketball phenom Caitlin Clark stunned No. 8 Virginia Tech, dropping 44 points en route to a 80-76 win Thursday night for the Hawkeyes.
Clark clocked her ninth career 40-point game, which moved her into a tie with former Missouri State star Jackie Stiles for the most in Division I basketball, women’s and men’s, over the last 25 seasons.
Clark was borderline unguardable for the Hokies, sinking 3-pointers, hooking layups and drawing fouls to collect her 44 points.
“Sometimes you’re playing checkers and she’s playing chess,” Virginia Tech coach Kenny Brooks said. “She’s that good.”
Clark shot 13-31 from the field and 13-17 from the free-throw line. Clark also pulled down eight rebounds and assisted on six buckets.
Her play even garnered praise from a fellow guard, Virginia Tech’s Georgia Amoore. Clark and Amoore traded 3-pointers back and forth during the fourth quarter of the close game.
“She’s literally been gifted by every God you can imagine. She’s insane… She’s a generational talent,” Amoore told WUNC’s Mitchell Northam.
Even at away games, Clark draws an unprecedented audience. According to the Associated Press, more than 15,000 people attended the matchup between the Hawkeyes and the Hokies, and other away teams have seen their attendance spike when Clark is in town. She’s already driving up ticket sales for Iowa games this season.
And on Thursday, the audience drawn in by Clark got the show they wanted to see.
“It seems like there are a lot of people that are just fans of our game, whether it is Iowa fans or Virginia Tech fans or just people that are here to support women’s basketball,” Clark told AP. “And that is why this game was put on is because they understand how great women’s basketball is and how much it is growing.”
For two years in a row, the Las Vegas Aces have ended the WNBA season as champions. Yet only after the Aces’ second title did Kelsey Plum finally allow herself to reflect on the accomplishment.
“I feel like for the first time in my career, I really have allowed it to soak in,” Plum told Just Women’s Sports.
That catharsis showed in the raucous celebrations after Las Vegas became the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001 and 2002. From a parade down the Strip to a personalized concert invitation from Usher, the Aces did not hold back in sharing their joy.
“We have a lot of fun together,” Plum said. “And I think that’s why people really love watching us play, because that kind of permeates onto the court.
“I’m not going to lie, it was a long year for everyone, not just collectively but individually. And so I think that people let loose a little bit when we finally won, which, to me, I wasn’t mad at. I thought it was awesome.”
To reach that point, the Aces first had to do battle with the New York Liberty in the WNBA Finals. And while both teams sniped at each other after the series, Plum called the attention and the rivalry “great for the game.” In particular, she pointed to the buy-in from both franchises, which paid off on the court.
“The incredible investment that both franchises have made have just put the W in a different place,” she said. “And I think that it’s really just elevated the league overall. And that’s the biggest win out of all of it.”
After the WNBA Finals and ensuing celebrations, Plum faced a quick turnaround for USA Basketball’s fall training camp, which is being held from Nov. 7-9 in Atlanta. The 40-game WNBA season and deep playoff run presented what she called a “brutal” challenge.
“So I think it’s done a number on my body,” she said. “At the same time, USA Basketball is very important to me. We’ve been training for this since — shoot, I mean, forever, it feels like.”
Plum won Olympic gold as part of Team USA’s 3×3 team at the 2021 Summer Games in Tokyo. Now, she is primed to compete for a roster spot on the traditional 5×5 team for the 2024 Games in Paris.
After the USA Basketball camp, Plum will turn her attention to the rest of the offseason. And her competitive streak will come in handy as she partners with DICK’S Sporting Goods for their Holiday Shopping Sprint.
One lucky winner will team up with Plum for a frantic three-minute, $5,000 shopping spree. Plum remembers trips to DICK’S with her father for Spalding TF-1000 basketballs, but she’ll let her teammate lay out the shopping list this holiday season.
“I’m just a soldier in this fight, so whatever they tell me, whether that’s socks, shoes — now I will say, I’m not going to grab anything but Under Armour shoes,” said Plum, who inked a deal with that brand in 2022. “So if they want something else, I can’t help them with that. But everything else, I got them.
“I’m going to wear the best shoes I’ve got, I’m going to be hydrated. I’m taking this very, very, very seriously. … We’re not leaving anything on the table.”