The Seattle Storm shot to the top of the Western Conference standings in the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup race on Wednesday, taking the lead after handing the Minnesota Lynx their first loss of the season.

Forward Nneka Ogwumike led the Storm with a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double, with new Seattle signing Erica Wheeler adding 20 points and nine assists to help blank the 25-point, nine-rebound performance put up by Minnesota star Napheesa Collier.

"If you want to win on the road, especially a place like Seattle and a team like Seattle, you've got to play a hell of a lot better," said Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve following the 94-84 loss.

Currently sitting level with the Lynx with a 3-1 Cup record, Wednesday's victory gives Seattle the head-to-head advantage in the in-season competition.

With a $500,000 prize pool on the line — including $5,000 for each player in the July 1st title game — the annual 36-game contest raises the early-season stakes.

Even more, each game in the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup carries double the impact, counting toward both regular-season and Cup records.

Due to Minnesota's loss, the reigning champion New York Liberty now stand alone as the WNBA's only undefeated team in both regular-season and Commissioner's Cup play, holding a 3-0 Cup record alongside a steep +75 point differential.

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Bueckers scores career-high in return to Dallas

Scoring a massive individual win on Wednesday was Dallas rookie Paige Bueckers, who put up a career-high 35 points in her return to action.

However, the 2025 No. 1 draft pick's stellar night failed to lift the Wings over the Phoenix Mercury, whose 93-80 victory gave last-place Dallas a 1-10 regular-season record while falling to 0-4 in Cup play.

Bueckers will next go toe-to-toe with Aces guard Jackie Young on Friday, as the 2019 top draft pick comes off her own 34-point performance in Wednesday's 97-89 Las Vegas loss to the LA Sparks.

The LA win marked the second straight Las Vegas stumble, sending the Aces skidding to a 4-4 regular-season tally and a 1-2 Cup record.

With plenty of runway remaining, teams will look to climb the ranks before 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup play winds down on June 17th.

How to watch WNBA Commissioner's Cup games this week

With two games on tap, WNBA play returns to action on Friday, beginning with the third-place Atlanta Dream hosting a Chicago Sky team still hunting their first Commissioner's Cup win at 7:30 PM ET.

Then at 10 PM ET, Bueckers and the Dallas Wings will tip off against Young and the Aces in Las Vegas.

Both Friday WNBA games will air live on ION.

The Seattle Storm made a statement on Sunday, earning an unexpected 20-point blowout win over 2022 and 2023 WNBA champions Las Vegas.

"The effort wasn't there, the discipline wasn't there," Aces head coach Becky Hammon said of her team's struggles on defense during the 102-82 loss. "We're breaking our own rules."

Led by 23 points from forward Nneka Ogwumike and another 21 points off the bench from guard Erica Wheeler, five Storm players posted double-digit performances. Meanwhile, 2025 No. 2 overall pick Dominique Malonga put up an encouraging eight points and five rebounds in her 12 minutes of play.

The big Seattle win spoiled a homecoming of sorts for new Las Vegas guard Jewell Loyd, who requested a trade that saw her exit the Storm after a decade in the Emerald City this offseason. The three-team deal also sent former Aces guard Kelsey Plum to the LA Sparks.

"Honestly, I wanted to win for Jewell and everyone else that came out and supported us, but it's a part of the game," said 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson.

With the win, the Storm jump to fourth in the early WNBA season with a 3-1 record, while Las Vegas falls to eighth at 2-2 — the Aces' slowest start since 2021.

While the Storm is brewing, last year's finalists Minnesota and New York are still the gold standard, with the Lynx and the Liberty now the only two undefeated teams left standing in 2025 play.

New York held off an upstart Fever team 90-88 on Saturday, with new addition Natasha Cloud sealing the Liberty win with a block on Indiana star Caitlin Clark — who was later announced to be missing the next two weeks with a quad strain.

How to watch Tuesday's WNBA action

WNBA play resumes on Tuesday night, with 10 of the league's 13 teams in action.

Tipping the night off at 7 PM ET are New York, who'll host 2025 expansion side Golden State, as well as the Dallas Wings vs. the Connecticut Sun — two teams still hunting their first 2025 season win.

As for Seattle, they'll have to contend with Minnesota in a road clash with the Lynx at 8 PM ET.

All five Tuesday night games will stream live on WNBA League Pass.

Dallas rookie Paige Bueckers took charge on Monday, with the 2025 WNBA Draft's No. 1 overall pick proving her worth in the Wings' 79-71 loss to Seattle.

The only Wing to log more than 29 minutes in Monday night's home-opener, Bueckers spent 37 minutes on the Dallas court, tallying a team-leading 19 points, eight assists, five rebounds, and two steals in just her second pro game.

She also joined Mystics newcomer Sonia Citron as the only 2025 rookies to score more than 18 points in a single game so far this season.

On the flip side, 2025's No. 2 pick Dominique Malonga did not feature in the Storm's starting lineup, finishing her night with just one minute of playing time.

The 19-year-old French phenom made the most of her brief appearance with a speedy two points, despite Seattle head coach Noelle Quinn taking a conservative approach to integrating the WNBA's youngest player into the league.

While rookies make headlines, veterans still run the WNBA, with Quinn relying heavily on her experienced starting core to notch Seattle's first victory of 2025.

Leading the Storm was 2016 MVP Nneka Ogwumike with a 23-point, 18-rebound performance — her 110th career double-double — while Skylar Diggins (21 points, nine assists) and Gabby Williams (17 points, five assists, five rebounds) followed closely behind.

"I love how our vets showed up and willed us through possessions," Quinn said after the win. "I think that there's a lot to build and grow from this game."

How to watch WNBA games on Tuesday

The 2025 WNBA season continues at 7 PM ET on Tuesday, when the Atlanta Dream take on the Indiana Fever while the Las Vegas Aces visit the Connecticut Sun.

Both game will stream live on WNBA League Pass.

Insurance giant Aflac is renewing their 2024 partnership with the WNBPA, raising the stakes at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend by boosting prize payouts for individual competitions.

When WNBA standouts will take the Indianapolis court for the July 18th competitions, $60,000 will be on the line for this year's 3-Point Contest winner and $55,000 for the 2025 Skills Challenge champion.

Those figures reflect Aflac's overall purse increase from $110,000 to $115,000 — a move that aligns the two events' payouts with their NBA All-Star equivalents.

"Aflac's investment in us isn't a one-off. It's year two," said WNBPA president and nine-time All-Star Nneka Ogwumike. "We're excited about what's ahead as we grow this together. It's not just about the rewards; it's about building a future where our value is undeniable."

Caitlin Clark lines up a free throw during an Indiana Fever game.
Clark declined an NBA All-Star invite in order to make her individual competitions debut at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend. (Kate Frese/NBAE via Getty Images)

Gray, Clark are early favorites for All-Star contest payday

While the increase achieves gender pay equity with their NBA counterparts, Aflac's initial 2024 WNBA All-Star investment already dwarfed the mere $2,575 allocated to each contest's victor in the league's current CBA.

Cashing in on that significant pay increase was Atlanta Dream forward Allisha Gray, who cleaned up at the 2024 All-Star Game by winning both solo events.

As the first-ever player to dominate both contests in a single night, Gray collected roughly 62% of her annual $185,000 WNBA salary with the dual wins.

This year, however, the champ will have some new competition to her title defense, as 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year and notable sharpshooter Caitlin Clark plans to make her WNBA All-Star 3-Point Contest debut this summer.

How to attend the 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend

Hosted at the Indiana Fever's home of Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game will tip off on July 19th, one day after both the 3-Point Contest and Skills Challenge.

Tickets for all three events will go on sale online at 2 PM ET on April 29th.

Charter flights are on the horizon for the WNBA, with commissioner Cathy Engelbert saying on Tuesday that the league will provide teams with full-time private travel services beginning as soon as this season. 

The move is set to address years of player safety concerns, among other issues. Engelbert told AP Sports Editors that the league aims to launch the program "as soon as we can logistically get planes in place."

The initiative is projected to cost around $25 million per year over the next two seasons.

The WNBA has previously provided charter flights on a limited basis, including during the postseason and when teams were scheduled to play back-to-back regular season games. Individual owners seeking to independently provide their teams with private travel — such as the New York Liberty’s Joe and Clara Wu Tsai back in 2022 — faced significant fines for using unauthorized charters.

While players and team staff have been calling for league-wide charters even before Caitlin Clark and other high profile rookies joined the league, Engelbert has routinely cited steep year-to-year costs as the reasoning behind sticking to commercial flights. 

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However, the WNBA's surging popularity means increased visibility, and a subsequent uptick in security concerns — especially when it comes to big name newcomers like Clark — has Englebert reconsidering her previous decision. 

WNBA Players Association president Nneka Ogwumike called the move "transformational," and credited the WNBPA as well as the league for its implementation. 

"Our league is growing, the demand for women's basketball is growing," Ogwumike told ESPN. "That means more eyes on us, which is what we want, but that means more protection from the organization that we play for, the whole W that we play for.

"Chartering flights not only is a safety measure, the biggest thing, and then obviously what it means to be able to play a game and go home and rest and recover and be the elite athletes that we try to be every single night when we step out onto this court."

Aces coach Becky Hammon called the immediate response to the charter announcement "great" but noted that there are still kinks to be worked out. 

"What it all looks like, we’re still gathering information, we don’t know," she said Tuesday.

Several players emphasized the importance of safety, highlighting how last season the Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner was harassed in an airport while traveling commercial.

"All these players and these faces are becoming so popular that it really is about that as much as it as about recovery," Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier said.

"Above everything else, I think it's the safety of our players," Mercury player Natasha Cloud added. "We have a prime example with BG on our team that needs to be safe. At airports, it's like a madhouse. You see Caitlin Clark walking through airports, people following her, people trying to touch her, get pictures with her. It's just a safety measure, through and through. You would never have an NBA team walk through an airport."

Prior to Tuesday's announcement, the league had said it would charter flights for the playoffs and back-to-back games via a program introduced last year. The latest news, however, promises that teams will also be provided charters to and from all regular season games.

"Our safety is being taken seriously now, finally. In no world should our security not be a priority," Griner told ESPN. "If we want to be the league that we want to be and have the respect that we have, it comes with some risks. Sometimes people want to get close to you and it's not people you want, so I'm just glad that we don't have to deal with that anymore."

Nneka Ogwumike is leaving the Los Angeles Sparks in free agency, the team told ESPN on Wednesday.

The former WNBA MVP informed the team of her decision earlier the same day.

“I want to thank Nneka Ogwumike for 12 incredible seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks. Nneka has been a leader and changemaker for the Sparks, the city of Los Angeles, the WNBA, and women’s sports,” Sparks managing partner and governor Eric Holoman told ESPN in a statement. “From drafting her No. 1 in 2012, to her game-winning shot in the 2016 WNBA Finals, her 2016 MVP trophy, and so many special memories, her legacy is cemented as one of the greatest to ever wear Purple & Gold.”

Ogwumike was drafted No. 1 overall by the Sparks in 2012. She was named Rookie of the Year that year. Since then, she’s spent the entirety of her 12-year career in Los Angeles. In that time, Ogwumike won a title with the Sparks in 2016, when she was named league MVP.

She’s also been named a WNBA All-Star eight times and WNBA All-Defensive First Team four times. In 2021, she was named to the WNBA’s 25th Anniversary Team, highlighting the 25 best and most influential players in league history.

In a post on social media, Ogwumike expressed the love that she has for the city, noting that she hopes “it’s not goodbye, but ‘see you later.’”

“I have SO much. So much love for this city that unconditionally embraced this Stanford kid 12 years ago,” Ogwumike posted on social media. “So much pride in being only a small piece of the legacy that is Championship City.”

According to league sources, Ogwumike has taken meetings with the Sparks, Atlanta Dream, Phoenix Mercury and Chicago Sky. She still intends to meet with the Seattle Storm and New York Liberty before deciding on her free agency destination.

The polls are closed for 2023 WNBA All-Star voting, and the game’s starters will be announced Sunday. From there, the WNBA’s 12 head coaches will select the 12 reserves, and the two top vote-getters will serve as captains and draft their respective All-Star teams on July 8.

For the first part of the process, media members were tasked with selecting four guards and four forwards/centers on their ballots. Whoever receives the most votes will start in the All-Star Game on July 15 in Las Vegas.

Here’s how I voted.

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Jackie Young has been one of the best players on a star-studded Aces team. (Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images)

Guards

Jackie Young, Las Vegas Aces

Young took home the Most Improved Player award last season, and so far this year, she’s been even better. Las Vegas is bursting with talent, but Young has often been the best player on the court for her team and has turned herself into one of the best guards in the league. The Notre Dame product is averaging 21 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game. She’s shooting 50% from beyond the arc, making 2.3 3-pointers per contest, and has also been aggressive on the attack and in transition.

Young has been consistent in her play since she opened the season with 23 points in a win over Seattle. Of all the guards, she was the easiest All-Star selection for me.

Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm

The Storm may be struggling, but Loyd certainly isn’t. She’s leading the WNBA with 26.2 points per game and leading Seattle with 3.7 assists per game. The 29-year-old guard is a prolific shot creator, and without Breanna Stewart in Seattle this season, she’s taken on a bigger scoring role. Last year, Loyd was one of the league’s top guards, averaging 16.3 points per game. This year, she’s increased that number by 10 points. So far, Loyd has recorded four 30-plus point games, including a career-high 39 in a 109-103 win over Dallas on June 17.

Chelsea Gray, Las Vegas Aces

Last season’s Finals MVP is picking up right where she left off. The Aces rank first in the league in scoring, and their offense starts with Gray. She leads the team and is third among all WNBA players with 6.3 assists per game. Gray can also create shots for herself, averaging 13.6 points per game. Of all those qualities, it’s the veteran’s efficient scoring that makes her stand out to me. Gray is making 51.8% of her 2-point shots, 51.2% of her 3-point shots and 92.3% of her free-throw attempts.

Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream

After playing her first six seasons with the Dallas Wings, Gray is wasting no time establishing herself with the Dream. The guard is averaging 17.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, all of which are career-high marks. Gray is also an excellent on-ball defender, meaning she impacts nearly every aspect of the game for Atlanta.

Gray is aggressive when both driving to the rim and attacking the glass. She’s the third-best rebounder among guards in the WNBA and has recorded two double-doubles this season. This is the best season of Gray’s career, and she is certainly worthy of making her first All-Star appearance.

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Brittney Griner was playing at an All-Star level until she got hurt on June 13. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Forwards/centers

Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury

I expected Griner to take some time getting reacclimated to the WNBA after she returned home in December from wrongful detainment in Russia, but that was not the case. She opened the season with 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the field and four blocked shots. Since then, the Mercury center has been consistent on both ends of the floor. She’s averaging 20.1 points per game, which is sixth in the league, and 2.5 blocks per game, which is first.

Until getting injured in an 83-69 loss to Seattle on June 13, when she played just nine minutes and scored two points, Griner had scored at least 18 points in every appearance.

Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun

Connecticut coach Stepahnie White calls Thomas the “most underrated superstar in the WNBA.” While Thomas may fly under the radar, her impact on the court cannot be overstated.

Thomas does everything for the Sun. She averages 14.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 2.1 steals per contest, leaving her just two assists shy of averaging a triple-double for the season. She recorded the fifth triple-double of her career on June 20, with 15 rebounds, 13 points and 12 assists in an 85-79 win over the Storm. Thomas is also efficient with her decision-making, averaging just three turnovers per contest.

Satou Sabally, Dallas Wings

Injuries plagued Sabally in the first few seasons of her career, but now the Oregon product is healthy and playing her best basketball. Sabally is a versatile scorer who, at 6-foot-4, can get points from inside or outside, off a post-up or off the dribble. She’s averaging 20 points (up from 11.3 last season), 10.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Sabally is one of just three players in the WNBA averaging a double-double on the season. The forward should be a shoe-in All-Star selection.

Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles Sparks

The Sparks have battled injuries so far this season, but with different lineups nearly every night, Ogwumike has been the consistent bright spot. In her 12th season in the WNBA, Ogwumike is averaging a career-best 19.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, nearing a double-double. She is also averaging a career-high 3.6 assists per game, showing off her ability to read defenses and find open shooters. Ogwumike also has six double-doubles so far this season.

A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

The reigning WNBA MVP has continued her dominance for the Aces, leading her team to a league leading 11-1 record so far. Wilson has led her team in either points or rebounds in 10 of those 12 games. She’s averaging 18.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest, while also making a difference on the defensive end with 2.2 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.

Wilson has been held to single-digit scoring just once this season, with eight in a win over Minnesota on June 18. But in that game, she proved her ability to impact the Aces in multiple ways, recording season-highs in rebounds (14) and blocks (four).

Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty

It’s taking the WNBA’s newest superteam time to develop chemistry, but through the growing pains, Stewart has been one of the league’s best players. In her first home game for the Liberty, Stewart recorded a double-double with 45 points and 12 rebounds, setting a new franchise record. She’s averaging a team-high 23.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.7 steals per game, while also dishing out four assists per game. Stewart is second in the WNBA in scoring and first in rebounding.

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

Former No. 1 pick Charli Collier joined the long list of WNBA roster cuts Wednesday morning, as the Dallas Wings waived the top pick from 2021 draft.

Many players have found themselves on the wrong side of the league’s roster squeeze, include DiDi Richards, Monika Czinano, Brea Beal and Destanni Henderson — too many, if you ask WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike.

“A whole league is training at home…” she wrote on Twitter.

In the aftermath of the recent cuts, Ogwumike was far from the only player calling for WNBA expansion to increase the number of available roster spots. The 12-team league has a maximum of 144 spots available.

As of Wednesday morning, 18 of the 36 picks from the 2023 draft appear on WNBA rosters. Last season, just 17 of the 36 picks from the 2022 WNBA draft made opening day rosters. And many teams still have cuts left to make to fit under the 12-player maximum by Thursday’s roster deadline.

While much attention has been given to possible expansion teams, former All-Star MVP Erica Wheeler suggested a quicker fix to the roster crunch.

“We pushing get more teams in the W! NO,” wrote Erica Wheeler. “EXTEND the roster to 14 players! That’s just a quick signature!! Adding a new teams gotta go thru 500000 layers! Adding 2 more spots to 12 teams is 24 more spots in the league! This is a easy change!

“And thennnnnn talk about adding teams! Of course we want more teams but extending the roster spots are easier right now!”

Former No. 1 overall pick and 2022 rookie of the year Rhyne Howard called the cuts – and the surrounding discussions – “stressful.”

Connecticut Sun guard Natisha Hiedeman provided encouragement to any player who finds herself suddenly without a team.

“Being a player who has been cut from a WNBA roster in the past I just want ppl to know your value as a person or basketball player does not decrease,” she wrote. “There WILL be another opportunity & when it comes be ready for it. But expansion… WE NEED YOU!!”

Yet despite the criticism of the league, Phoenix Mercury forward Brianna Turner encouraged fans to follow the WNBA and to help the league grow.

“I know there’s upset fans at WNBA roster cuts & I see many people saying how they won’t support the league bc their fave got cut,” she wrote. “I would actually encourage the opposite! Please continue to support the league so it can grow & create more opportunities to support future players!!”

The Los Angeles Sparks enter the 2023 season as a transformed team, with a new coach, a new general manager and a new philosophy.

Nneka Ogwumike has noticed the difference.

The 32-year-old forward has spent her entire career with the Sparks, from her 2012 Rookie of the Year campaign to the 2016 WNBA championship season. While she has seen ups and downs in her tenure, she has never seen the organization at this level, she said at the start of training camp.

“This is the first time I’ve really experienced what I believe to be a professional organization,” Ogwumike said.

Head coach Curt Miller and general manager Karen Bryant, who both came to Los Angeles in the offseason, immediately put their stamp on the team.

“That leaves space for me to not have to step into a manager role, which doesn’t leave me a lot of time to do the things that I really want to do, which is play basketball and hang out with my teammates,” Ogwumike said. “I really feel like I’ve relinquished a lot of that because we have some truly phenomenal people that have turned this organization into what it deserves to be.”

In another change, the Sparks parted ways with team president Vanessa Shay earlier this week. She had joined the team last May from the NWSL’s San Diego Wave. Sparks managing partner Eric Holman thanked Shay for guiding the team “through an important transition.”

With the reins now in the hands of Bryant and Miller, the team is prepared to start fresh. And while Ogwumike rejoined the Sparks on a one-year deal, Miller does not feel any pressure for the upcoming season, which tips off on May 19.

Miller cautioned against looking too far into the future. Instead, he wants to work day by day to build toward success, a journey “we think could be very special — and more importantly, sustainable,” he said.

“There’s going to be no more pressure than what we believe in our own locker room,” Miller said.

Nneka Ogwumike is back with the Los Angeles Sparks. The 2016 WNBA MVP re-signed with the team on a one-year deal.

The 32-year-old forward was drafted No. 1 overall by the Sparks in 2012, and she has spent the entirety of her 11-season career in Los Angeles. The one-year deal is worth $165,000, ESPN reported.

Ogwumike had been vocal about wanting to return, and she has been working with new coach Curt Miller and new general manager Karen Bryant on setting the direction for the team.

“I feel like I’m reaching a pivotal point my career and understanding what I want it to mean,” Ogwumike told ESPN. “I’m excited to see a lot of the enhancements that we’re making. I’m grateful to be surrounded by both players, coaches and staff that have a greater vision for the organization.

“I feel really good with where I’m at and how I’m progressing as an athlete. I want to be able to win and do that with some great people. I really do believe in this organization.”

Miller and Bryant both said that re-signing Ogwumike and getting her input on their offseason moves were top priorities. 

“She’s had a front-row seat in the franchise for many years for many years, and has seen the things that have worked and things that have not been as successful,” Bryant said. “Her global view, playing experience and credibility were hugely valuable to us.”

Ogwumike’s sister Chiney also has re-signed with the Sparks.

“We’re really two entities that are stronger together,” Nneka Ogwumike said. “It’s always something to be celebrated. And I really want to take that to another level in winning with my sister.”