The Las Vegas Aces won the 2025 WNBA Championship in Friday's Game 4, sweeping the Phoenix Mercury to put a bow on the league's longest-ever season — while also starting the clock on its next CBA.
"We have great players," Aces guard Chelsea Gray told reporters, stressing the importance of the upcoming deal after helping secure Las Vegas's third title in four years. "You need to treat them like that."
Like many teams across the league, the Aces have just one player under contract for 2026 — rookie Aaliyah Nye — after a rash of now-free agents opted to sign one-year contracts in anticipation of salary shifts in the upcoming CBA.
With the October 31st deadline looming, negotiations are likely to extend past that mark amid mounting tensions between players and WNBA commissioner Cathy Englebert in recent weeks.
"I think they'll work it out somehow, I hope — I haven't been consulted," said Aces owner Mark Davis.
Davis also joked about making Becky Hammon the best-paid head coach in the WNBA, with the Las Vegas manager currently pulling in $1 million annually — four times the single-year supermax player contract under the league's current CBA.
Salary structure a tipping point in WNBA CBA negotiations
As for the players union, the WNBPA says they're aiming to expand revenue sharing, while the league is reportedly looking to keep salary structures mostly intact.
"It's basically the same system that we exist in right now," WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike told ESPN in August. "When you approach it from the perspective of their response to our proposal, yes, money is more, but ultimately if you look at the growth of the business, the money relative to the percentage of everything is virtually staying the same."
According to Front Office Sports, the most recent WNBA offer included an $850,000 supermax contract plus a veteran minimum near $300,000.
The WNBA will likely have until the end of 2025 to strike a deal, but with little common ground emerging thus far, the potential for a work stoppage looms large.
The No. 7 Seattle Storm came out on top on Tuesday, claiming an 86-83 Game 2 win in the first round of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs to snap the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces' 17-game winning streak — extending the best-of-three series to a winner-take-all finale.
Fueled by a combined 50 points from Skylar Diggins and Nneka Ogwumike, Seattle rallied back from a 14-point second-half deficit to keep their playoffs run alive — capping Tuesday's comeback by outscoring Las Vegas 16-4 in the last four minutes of the matchup.
"We are not unfamiliar with tight games," Ogwumike said afterwards. "We are not unfamiliar with playing from behind."
"Nobody's found the answer to this [Las Vegas] equation for, what, 16, 17 games," noted Diggins. "For us, it was coming out and showing that we weren't scared to play against them.... I thought in the first game that we played hesitant and I was proud of the way that we responded tonight."
Diggins also acknowledged the impact of Seattle's raucous fans on the game's outcome, saying "Obviously, we had a great home crowd on our back to feed off of."
Thanks to the league's new home-away-home first-round playoff structure, the shared home-court advantage is making series sweeps less likely.
Seattle will face a tougher task on Thursday, when the Storm attempts to defeat the Aces again — this time in front of a Las Vegas home crowd.
"We know this team is tough to beat one time and we have to beat them again," said Diggins. "But we bought ourselves another 40 minutes tonight."
How to watch the Seattle Storm vs. the Las Vegas Aces in Game 3
No. 7 Seattle and No. 2 Las Vegas will square off in a winner-take-all Game 3 to determine which team advances to the 2025 WNBA semifinals on Thursday.
The clash tips off at 9:30 PM ET, with live coverage on ESPN2.
The red-hot No. 2 Las Vegas Aces will hit the court in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs again on Tuesday night, facing off against the No. 7 Seattle Storm in Game 2 of the postseason's first round with an eye on scoring their 18th consecutive victory — and a trip to this year's semifinals.
"You guys celebrate this more than we do," MVP frontrunner A'ja Wilson said, brushing off the team's recent dominance. "The streak stopped in the regular season."
"It's the first to nine wins [for the championship], so that's how we want to approach it," Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon echoed, voicing a renewed focus on retaking the WNBA crown.
Following the league's new home-away-home first-round format, Seattle has the chance to extend their season on their home court on Tuesday night, as the Storm arrives back in market with few answers after suffering a 102-77 Game 1 loss.
"Our fans deserve for us to play well," said Seattle forward Nneka Ogwumike. "We have to figure out how to do it, no matter what. That's going to be the test on Tuesday."
How to watch the Las Vegas Aces vs. Seattle Storm
No. 7 Seattle will try stay alive against No. 2 Las Vegas at 9:30 PM ET on Tuesday, with live coverage of Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs airing on ESPN.
The No. 6 Indiana Fever are still in control of their playoff destiny, taking down the No. 8 Seattle Storm 95-75 behind star center Aliyah Boston's dominant 27-point performance on Tuesday night.
Also helping to offset Indiana's slate of high-profile injuries were guards Kelsey Mitchell and midseason hardship signee Odyssey Sims, who combined for 43 points in Tuesday's win.
"Every game at this point in the season is huge, and this one was a big one for us," said Fever head coach Stephanie White afterwards. "We knew that we had to come out and show some urgency."
"Going into this game, we talked about how this is a big game for us and an important game for us considering the standings," echoed Boston. "This is a great win for us before we head on the road."
After losing multiple guards to season-ending injuries this month, Indiana entered Tuesday's matchup having lost six of their last eight games as they await the return of sidelined superstar Caitlin Clark.
"[Boston] has been the one that's been most affected by all of our injuries, all of the point guards who can get her the ball," White continued. "She set the tone for us on both ends."
As for Seattle, Tuesday's loss dropped the Storm to eighth in the WNBA standings, sitting just above the postseason cutoff line with the No. 9 LA Sparks hot on their heels.
"There's no excuse for what happened today other than not matching the energy of the other team," said Seattle forward Nneka Ogwumike, who led her squad's scoring with 17 points on Tuesday.
How to watch the Indiana Fever, Seattle Storm this week
No. 6 Indiana hits the road this weekend, taking on No. 9 LA at 10 PM ET on Friday on ION before facing the No. 7 Golden State Valkyries at 8:30 PM ET on Sunday, with live coverage airing on NBA TV.
An uphill battle is on deck for No. 8 Seattle as the Storm gear up for an 8 PM ET clash against the league-leading Minnesota Lynx on Thursday, airing live on WNBA League Pass.
The WNBA's first-ever regular-season Canada Game was a hit, as the No. 8 Seattle Storm upset the No. 2 Atlanta Dream 80-78 in front of a sold-out crowd inside Vancouver's Rogers Arena on Friday.
Storm star Skylar Diggins registered 21 points and 11 assists in the matchup, combining with Nneka Ogwumike's 16 points to help end Seattle's six-game losing streak — and snap the Dream's six-game winning streak.
Seattle's 2025 No. 2 overall draft pick Dominique Malonga also showed out, with the 19-year-old tallying 12 points and eight rebounds over her 19 minutes of play.
"It was an incredible crowd tonight," Diggins said afterwards. "First time in Vancouver, they showed a lot of love. We just love coming out here, playing in front of this electric [crowd]... We really leaned on them tonight to help us lock in that victory."
As for Atlanta, the Dream's offense stuttered after losing guard Jordin Canada to a hamstring injury last week, with the team netting just two of 13 three-point shots despite entering the clash averaging 9.6 shots from behind the arc per game.
Canada will miss at least two weeks of action, with newly healthy Atlanta heavy-hitters Rhyne Howard and Brittney Griner expected to pick up the slack in her absence — and it appears they're already righting the ship: The Dream overcame the No. 7 Golden State Valkyries 79-63 on Sunday with a team victory that saw five players reach double-digit scoring.
How to watch the WNBA this week
After falling 85-82 to the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury on Sunday night, the No. 8 Seattle Storm will look to bounce back against the No. 12 Chicago Sky on Tuesday. The game will tip off at 8 PM ET, with live coverage on WNBA League Pass.
Later on Tuesday night, the No. 2 Atlanta Dream will battle the No. 5 Las Vegas Aces at 10 PM ET, airing live on NBA TV.
As injured guard Caitlin Clark looked on from the bench, the Indiana Fever refused to quit, silencing Las Vegas 80-70 on Thursday night to overtake the Aces at No. 6 in the WNBA standings.
Indiana guard Kelsey Mitchell led the team with 21 points, helping the Fever secure back-to-back wins over the now-No. 7 Aces for the first time since the franchise landed in Las Vegas in 2018.
"It started out with our defense," Indiana forward Natasha Howard said after the game. "We don't rely on our offense a lot…. When our defense is going, our offense is going."
The rest of Thursday's slate saw standout individual performances give way to blowout victories, with the No. 4 Seattle Storm and No. 10 LA Sparks both earning results.
Sparks guard Kelsey Plum tied LA-turned-Seattle star Nneka Ogwumike for the most 30-point games in franchise history during LA's 101-86 Thursday win over the last-place Connecticut Sun, hitting the milestone in just 24 matchups.
Elsewhere, 19-year-old Seattle rookie Dominique Malonga also made waves, becoming the youngest-ever WNBA player to record a double-double with her 14-point, 10-rebound showing in the Storm's 95-57 drubbing of the No. 11 Chicago Sky.
All in all, as some teams heat up, others are out in the cold as the race to the 2025 WNBA postseason grows fiercer by the day.
This year's All-Star action extends beyond the court, as more than 40 players — including All-Stars, executive committee members, and WNBPA representatives — met with the WNBA in Indianapolis on Thursday for the second CBA negotiations of 2025.
"I'm encouraged. I'm just so inspired by the amount of players that showed up, the engagement that was there," WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike said after Thursday's session, which drew the largest turnout in union history.
"It was something that was very informative for me. First time being able to see and hear the wording from both sides," Chicago Sky star Angel Reese added. "I was really eager to know and understand what was going on."
With revenues booming, both players and the league are struggling to settle issues surrounding payouts, revenue sharing, and the salary caps ahead of the current CBA's October 31st expiration date.
"This business is booming — media rights, ratings, revenue, team valuations, expansion fees, attendance, and ticket sales — are all up in historic fashion," the WNBPA wrote in a statement following Thursday's meeting. "But short-changing the working women who make this business possible stalls growth. The only thing more unsustainable than the current system is pretending it can go on forever."
While CBA negotiations continue, the union indicated that players are open to a work stoppage should they fail to reach a new deal by the end of this WNBA season.
Team Collier is looking locked and loaded for Saturday's 2025 WNBA All-Star Game, with captain Napheesa Collier heading up a roster stocked with talent from the league-leading Minnesota lineup.
The Lynx star will start the game alongside 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty), Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream), Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle Storm), and rookie phenom Paige Bueckers (Dallas Wings).
Team Collier's bench showcases a balanced group of Courtney Williams (Minnesota Lynx), Skylar Diggins (Seattle Storm), Angel Reese (Chicago Sky), Alyssa Thomas (Phoenix Mercury), and Kelsey Plum (LA Sparks).
Kayla McBride (Minnesota Lynx) will also join the squad, replacing the injured Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream), boosting the team's Minnesota contingent to three players.
Adding to the Lynx representatives is Minnesota manager Cheryl Reeve, who will serve as the squad's head coach following a first-of-its-kind draft-day swap between the Collier and fellow All-Star captain Caitlin Clark.
"I'm just glad people are understanding Phee's greatness," Reeve said about Collier before the 2025 WNBA All-Star weekend. "There's nothing else you can say at this point."
With a steady front and backcourt presence, Team Collier has experience on their side as they take on a youth-heavy Team Clark on Saturday.
How to watch Team Collier at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game
Team Collier and Team Clark will square off in the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis at 8:30 PM ET on Saturday.
Live coverage of the game will air on ABC.
Basketball's biggest stars aren't holding back on criticizing the league's CBA proposal after the WNBA Player's Association (WNBPA) rejected last week's opening offer.
With the parties set to engage in CBA negotiations during next week's 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend, Phoenix Mercury forward and WNBPA representative Satou Sabally called the league's initial offer "a slap in the face."
Also weighing in was WNBPA vice president and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, who echoed Sabally's sentiment by confirming her frustration with the league to reporters.
"Anytime you go back-and-forth, you're not expecting to hear that 'yes' on the first [proposal], but you're expecting to have a conversation," she added. "They kind of just ignored everything we said."
The WNBA's current CBA expires at the end of this season, with players upping their demands in light of the league's recent popularity boom and planned expansion.
"It's been made clear that [there's] this perception that the players don't understand the business," WNBPA president and Seattle forward Nneka Ogwumike told reporters on Saturday. "We want to have a growing portion of the revenue share. We want this league to be exactly what it is today and more. So I'm hoping that something positive [and] progressive yields from this meeting that we'll have in Indy."
The WNBPA will enter face-to-face CBA negotiations with the WNBA in Indianapolis later this month, with the union tapping Nobel Prize-winning economist Claudia Goldin to assist in what Stewart predicts will be a "spicy" meeting.
The WNBA dropped its All-Star Game starters list on Monday, with just one rookie earning enough votes to feature on the star-studded 10-player lineup.
In addition to being the lone rookie, Dallas's No. 1 overall draft pick Paige Bueckers will be the only All-Star debutant playing in the game's first minutes, as the Wings guard joins nine previous All-Stars to tip off the July 19th matchup — giving her a presumptive edge in this year's Rookie of the Year race.
Joining Bueckers as WNBA All-Star starters will be team captains Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx) and Caitlin Clark (Indiana Fever), as well as Aliyah Boston (Indiana Fever), Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream), Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty), Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle Storm), Satou Sabally (Phoenix Mercury), Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty), and A'ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces).
A mix of 50% fan voting, 25% player voting, and 25% media voting determined the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game starting lineup — though the three groups did not necessarily come to a consensus.
For example, players ranked Clark ninth among guards, while the media put her in third. A record-setting 1.29 million fan votes boosted the Fever star into a captain's role.
As for players who fell just short of a starting position, like Indiana guard Kelsey Mitchell and Chicago forward Angel Reese fell just short of starting at their positions, their All-Star dreams aren't over yet.
Head coaches across the league will now vote to select 12 reserve players, likely adding both fan favorites and stat-sheet stars to the July 6th final All-Star player pool, with Collier and Clark building their teams from that list on July 8th.
Though reputation, skill, and popularity all factor into All-Star nods, this year's group is also underlining the depth of the WNBA's talent base.