WNBA roster transactions have officially revved back up, with the Washington Mystics sending two-time All-Star guard Ariel Atkins to the Chicago Sky over the weekend. In exchange, the Mystics will receive the No. 3 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft — putting Washington in control of the April 14th Draft's third, fourth, and sixth picks.
Even more, the Mystics snagged both a 2027 second-round pick and a 2027 first-round pick swap while Chicago immediately rosters the Mystic’s last-remaining 2019 title-winner.
Atkins, who has spent her entire seven-year WNBA career with Washington, exits as the Mystics all-time three-point shooter with 397 shots drained from beyond the arc. She also ranks in the franchise's Top 5 for career steals, points, assists, field goals, free throws, and minutes played.
"Ariel has made a tremendous impact on this league since her rookie year," Chicago GM Jeff Pagliocca said in a team statement.
"As one of the league’s top defensive specialists and a consistent scorer, she is a threat on both ends of the floor who will help us build a playoff-contending team in Chicago."
WNBA trades showcase veteran vs. rookie roster decisions
With headline-making trades dominating the WNBA's news cycle and a game-changing CBA on the horizon, teams across the league have been weighing the potential upside of a high draft pick with speeding up postseason ambitions via a more experienced roster.
Chicago's move to acquire Atkins lends itself toward the latter, with the Sky seemingly aiming to pair the productive guard with the return of star Angel Reese to the lineup.
Washington, on the other hand, has racked up significant power in both this year's draft and future draws from the collegiate and international talent pools, perhaps signaling a more long-term development strategy.
Some squads, however, are attempting to do both. Seattle, for example, currently owns the No. 2 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, yet the Storm still beefed up their roster by signing veteran forward Katie Lou Samuelson last week, after she mutually parted ways with the Indiana Fever.
Teams shooting for deep 2025 runs are now facing a key decision: Are they building toward the future, or is the future now?
The Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) is celebrating National Girls & Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) this week in Washington, DC
Founded by Billie Jean King in 1974, the organization held the first NGWSD 39 years ago. To "amplify the monumental moments being seen across women's sports," the WSF arranged local programming honoring the February 5th event.
This year's edition kicked off yesterday with a youth sports clinic led by the WNBA's Washington Mystics and AU student-athletes. Other activations included a panel discussion and workshops.
"For 50 years and counting, the Women's Sports Foundation's vast research has continued to prove that a powerful way to positively impact society's future is by investing in girls' and women's sports," said WSF CEO Danette Leighton.
"This National Girls & Women in Sports Day, we are back in the nation's capital to both celebrate the momentum throughout the women's sports ecosystem and to ensure progress continues, so that all girls and women have a chance to play and reap the lifelong benefits of sport."
WSF spends National Girls & Women in Sports Day on Capitol Hill
Today, WSF leadership, athletes, coaches, and industry pros met with members of Congress on Capitol Hill. They discussed the issues impacting women's sports athletes, proposed legislation to level the playing field, and the economic benefits of sports equity.
Participants across the week's events include: WSF president and Paralympian Scout Bassett; WNBA legend and Mystics Hall of Famer Alana Beard; Women's College World Series champion Rachel Garcia; Hall of Fame NCAA women's basketball head coach Muffet McGraw; and two-time NWSL champion Mana Shim, among others.
"As a Paralympian, I know more must be done to get additional girls and women in the game and advocate for policies that bolster inclusion and eliminate barriers, especially for those with disabilities," said Bassett. "It is my hope that National Girls & Women in Sports Day encourages positive conversations that will lead to lasting change so all girls and women can play, compete and lead — in sports and beyond."
Promoting inclusion for all women's sports athletes
WSF sets itself apart from recent political initiatives focused on prohibiting trans athletes from participating in sports in accordance with their gender identity. Instead, the foundation outspokenly advocates for the inclusion of trans and intersex women's sports athletes.
Accordingly, in a 2016 position statement, the foundation said that it "supports the right of all athletes, including transgender athletes, to participate in athletic competition that is fair, equitable, and respectful to all."
The WSF doubled down in 2022. They subsequently penned a letter to the NCAA imploring them to revise their exclusionary Transgender Athlete Participation Policy.
25 additional organizations endorsed the pro-inclusion letter. Together, they echoed the WSF motto "All girls. All women. All sports."
The WNBA coaching carousel has come to a standstill, with the Dallas Wings and Washington Mystics both finalizing head coaching hires earlier this week.
Dallas GM Curt Miller brought on former Sun, Sparks, and USC assistant coach Chris Koclanes as head coach of the Wings.
"We are thrilled to welcome Chris Koclanes as the new head coach of the Dallas Wings," said Miller in a team statement. "Throughout our extensive search and interview process, Chris continued to rise to the top and check the boxes of our important pillars. He is a servant leader who places a high value on connection, collaboration, and a positive and consistent communication style with all those he coaches."
Mystics fill leadership vacancies
The Washington Mystics also made two key hires this week. The team appointed Jamila Wideman to GM and ex-Sky assistant Sydney Johnson to head coach.
"I have strong roots in the WNBA and have had the privilege of playing with, working alongside, and witnessing the incredible people who are the athletes at the center of the game," said Wideman afterwards. "The very best I have seen share some core qualities — curiosity, humility, and imagination. I look forward to building a Mystics team in partnership with the players, coaches, and staff that reflects this core."
WNBA teams enter 2025 with full staffs
Barring any unexpected twists, all 13 teams will now have head coaches in place going into the 2025 WNBA Draft and preseason.
Eight teams — including expansion side Golden State — enter 2025 armed with new bosses. Subsequently, seven of those candidates will be making their WNBA head coaching debuts.
Furthermore, Koclanes and Johnson are the third and fourth ex-assistants to get a shot at head coaching next season. The pair follows Natalie Nakase (Golden State) and Tyler Marsh (Chicago).
"Being named the head coach of the Golden State Valkyries is a lifelong dream come true," said Nakase. "We will strive to improve, compete, and ultimately bring home a championship for our fans and this organization."
Three more WNBA teams dropped their head coaches in the last week, leaving more than half of the league's 12 current squads without a sideline manager.
On Monday, the Connecticut Sun announced a reportedly mutual parting of ways with head coach Stephanie White, one day after the Indiana Fever announced the ousting of head coach Christie Sides. The news comes after the Washington Mystics dropped both head coach Eric Thibault and head coach-turned-GM Mike Thibault last Wednesday.
White took Sun to two straight WNBA semifinals
In just two seasons at Connecticut's helm, White led the Sun to two straight WNBA semifinals before ultimately falling to New York in 2023 and Minnesota in 2024.
The 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year departs Connecticut with an impressive 55-25 regular-season record, and is rumored to be the top candidate for Indiana's now-vacant head coach job.
If White does sign on to lead the Fever, it will be a homecoming. The Purdue alum played for the WNBA team from 2000 to 2004, and later spent six years on Indiana's sideline, first as an assistant coach before taking the reins for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
Sides led Fever to first WNBA postseason in eight years
In her two seasons at the helm, Sides led the Fever to a 33-47 record, including a impressive 20-20 record this year.
After a 1-8 start through the league's toughest pre-Olympic break schedule, Indiana found its stride, finishing the regular season in sixth place. With a roster that boasts the last two Rookies of the Year, Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark, Sides took her 2024 team to the franchise's first WNBA playoffs since 2016.
Fever president of basketball operations Kelly Krauskopf, who called Sides "a resilient leader" and "a culture builder" in a seeming vote of confidence just a few weeks ago, said in a statement on Sunday that it's "imperative that we remain bold and assertive in the pursuit of our goals, which includes maximizing our talent and bringing another WNBA championship back to Indiana."
As for Sides, she addressed her ousting with a simple post on X, saying "Leave it better than you found it."
Between Krauskopf's September hiring, the addition of GM/COO Amber Cox earlier this month, and now the release of Sides, Indiana faces a 2025 season under entirely new leadership.
Washington Mystics show Thibaults the door
Washington's Thibault era has officially come to an end. With the ousting of the father-son leadership pair, the Mystics will face its 2025 campaign without a Thibault pacing the sideline for the first time since 2012.
After 10 years backing his father, Mike, as an assistant, Eric Thibault led the Mystics to a 33-47 record over two seasons as head coach. Washington advanced to the postseason in 2023, falling to New York in the first round. After a 0-12 start this year, the Mystics finished just below the postseason cutoff line in ninth place.
Before handing his head coaching role to his son, Mike Thibault led Washington as a dual coach and GM for 10 seasons. The 2013 WNBA Coach of the Year took the Mystics to eight postseasons and helped earn the franchise's first championship in 2019. He exits as the winningest coach in WNBA history with a 379-289 record over 20 seasons — 10 with Washington and 10 leading Connecticut.
"Coach Mike elevated the Mystics program to its proud status as a league leader in innovation, the standard bearer in player care, and a model franchise," Monumental Basketball president Michael Winger said in a team statement. "His fingerprints are all over this franchise and will be for years to come."
The WNBA's current flood of firings
Of the WNBA's 12 teams, seven have now parted ways with their head coaches. The LA Sparks and Chicago Sky bid adieu to Curt Miller and Teresa Weatherspoon, respectively, in September, with the Atlanta Dream and Dallas Wings following suit earlier this month, handing pink slips to Tanisha Wright and Latricia Trammell.
Personnel changes haven't been limited to the sidelines, either. Like Washington, the Las Vegas Aces and Dallas Wings also let their GMs go.
Between head coaches and GMs, only the Phoenix Mercury, Seattle Storm, 2024 runners-up Minnesota Lynx, and reigning champions New York Liberty have maintained their 2024 leadership.
Atlanta clinched the eighth and final 2024 WNBA playoff spot on Thursday by handing league-leaders New York a 78-67 home loss on the last night of regular-season play.
In the second of three simultaneous battles for playoff contention, a WNBA-record 20,711 fans showed up in DC to watch the Mystics narrowly defeat Indiana 92-91.
Unfortunately, Washington's season turn-around was too little, too late. The postseason help they needed from Chicago fell through with the Sky's 87-54 blowout loss to Connecticut.
Tina Charles claims two WNBA career records
As if a postseason ticket wasn't enough, Dream center Tina Charles also earned two league records in the win.
Just one month after becoming the WNBA's second all-time leading scorer, Charles surpassed Lynx legend Sylvia Fowles's 4,006 rebounds in Thursday's first quarter to ink herself as the league's all-time rebounds leader. She now has 4,014 career boards and counting.
After putting up 10 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday's win, Charles was also crowned the WNBA's career double-double leader. That 194th double-double lifted Charles just above Fowles on the stat sheet.
Reaching those milestones in New York is especially appropriate for Charles, who grew up in Queens and later played six seasons for the Liberty.
"It's special... [and] befitting that she got to break [those] record[s] here in front of friends and family," Dream coach Tanisha Wright noted.
How to watch the 2024 WNBA playoffs
The WNBA postseason tips off on Sunday, when the entire slate of first-round matchups will start their best-of-three series:
- No. 1 New York Liberty hosts No. 8 Atlanta (1 PM ET, ESPN).
- No. 2 Minnesota hosts No. 7 Phoenix (5 PM, ESPN).
- No. 3 Connecticut hosts No. 6 Indiana (3 PM, ABC).
- No. 4 Las Vegas hosts No. 5 Seattle (10 PM, ESPN).
Each series will follow a home-home-away structure. That means higher seeds could sweep at home, avoiding the risk of a decider away. Even so, lower seeds need just one road win for a shot at a major upset.
In this week's episode of The Late Sub, Claire takes a snapshot look at the NWSL, where sometimes single games can tell you a whole lot more about a team than just the final score.
She goes on to chat about unbeaten streak-masters Orlando and Kansas City’s special success, Portland’s ongoing troubles, and which NWSL players — like the Washington Spirit's Trinity Rodman — lit up this week's highlight reel.
Pivoting to the basketball court, Claire talks through remarkable WNBA performances, why the expanded season is a good thing, and the Washington Mystics' late-season upswing.
Claire then rounds things out by responding to a few listener comments about volleyball, before sharing how she was hoodwinked by the U-20 USWNT last Tuesday.
The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.
Subscribe to The Late Sub to never miss an episode.
This year's WNBA MVP favorite A'ja Wilson reached yet another milestone on Sunday, becoming the first player to ever record 1000+ points in a single season.
The superstar's latest feat — achieved in her 29-point performance in the Aces' 84-71 win over Connecticut — comes just days after she shattered the league's single-season scoring record.
All-but-guaranteed to finish 2024 as the WNBA's single-season points leader, Wilson has put together one of the most impressive statistical campaigns in league history. As of today, she's only three rebounds away from breaking Angel Reese's new single-season rebounds record, set before the Chicago rookie's season-ending injury.
Rookie Caitlin Clark captures two more WNBA records
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark added two more records to her historic rookie season this weekend, breaking the league's single-season assist record on Friday night before setting the single-season rookie scoring record on Sunday.
The Rookie of the Year frontrunner surpassed Alyssa Thomas's 2023 record of 316 assists in Friday's 78-74 loss to the Aces. Clark extended her hold on the league's new record on Sunday, now boasting 329 dimes on the season with one game left.
Also in Sunday's 110-109 Fever victory over the Wings, Clark put up a career-high 35 points, including one that officially broke Seimone Augustus's single-season rookie scoring record of 744 set in 2006. Clark now has 761 points across Indiana's 39 completed games.
Notably, the WNBA's expanded 40-game schedule means that four-time WNBA champion Augustus still holds the rookie record for points per game, as her fallen record was in a 34-game season.
Three-way team tie adds to WNBA playoff race drama
With the Sky's two weekend losses plus the Mystics and Dream splitting their two weekend contests with one win apiece, Chicago, Washington, and Atlanta all sit with 13-25 season records. All three are still in postseason contention with the final WNBA Playoff spot up for grabs.
League tiebreakers give Washington, who currently sits in the coveted eighth-place position, the postseason edge. The Mystics will try to maintain their tenuous hold on that spot when they face the league-leading Liberty tomorrow before closing out their season against a tough Indiana team on Thursday.
The ninth-place Sky and 10th-place Dream face equal uphill battles to usurp the Mystics this week. After playing each other on Tuesday, Chicago will close out their 2024 regular season against the third-place Sun while Atlanta does the same against the Liberty on Thursday.
The Washington Mystics snapped a team-record 12-game losing streak on Tuesday, taking home their first win of the season over the Atlanta Dream.
Brittney Sykes returned from injury and made an immediate impact with game-high 18 points, four assists, and three rebounds. As a team, Washington shot over 50% from behind the arc.
"The feel is it's been coming," coach Eric Thibault said after the game. "I said the other night that we're turning into a good basketball team and we just haven't had the wins to show for it yet. We've been playing better basketball now for a while.
"We're obviously shooting well, but I think the quality of the shots we're getting is really good."
Still, the team’s slow start isn't exactly in the rearview mirror. With star forward Elena Delle Donne sitting this season out, the Mystics were always predicted to face an uphill climb in what has been described as a rebuilding year.
But with a franchise-worst 0-12 record to kick off the 2024 season, the Mystics are likely on track for a lottery pick. However, Washington can point to positive performances from star draft pick Aaliyah Edwards and league newcomer Julie Vanloo.
Elsewhere in the WNBA, the Las Vegas Aces continued their skid with a surprising 100-86 upset courtesy of the Minnesota Lynx. The reigning WNBA champions were shorthanded this week, falling to 5-5 on the season despite MVP-level play from A'ja Wilson, who scored 28 points in Tuesday's loss.
Minnesota shot over 55% as a team, with Alanna Smith leading the team with 18 points. The game marked the Aces' first three-game losing streak since 2019.
"This is a long, long, long season," Wilson said in her postgame remarks. "I'm not going to press the panic button. I'm still going to bet on us. I know exactly what's in that locker room."
Aces stalwart Chelsea Gray has been out with injury since last year's WNBA Finals run. And while she told reporters on Tuesday that she's set to return before the Olympic break, the team can’t get her back soon enough as they continue to struggle with depth.
"I don't want them thinking too much; then you get paralysis [by] analysis," coach Becky Hammon said. "We're just not being solid in our base. Just be solid defensively. We're not a very good team right now, that's just reality. But we know we can get better. I still have a lot of belief in this ball club."
Aaliyah Edwards made rookie history on Thursday as her Washington Mystics made some WNBA history of their own — and not the good kind.
With 23 points and 14 rebounds, Edwards became the first rookie this season with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in a single game. She also had four blocks, becoming only the fourth rookie in WNBA history to record a game with at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks within her first 10 career games, per ESPN.
The former UConn star has now led the Mystics in points and rebounds in consecutive games, joining Chamique Holdsclaw as the only two rookies in franchise history to do so.
"I just need everyone to know when everyone’s talking about the rookie class, don’t forget her name," Shatori Walker-Kimbrough said of her teammate after the game. "She made a statement today. She makes a statement every day. She comes in, she works. She puts her head down and works. She needs a little bit more talk, and she doesn’t let that affect her."
While Edwards has been finding her groove, the Mystics have been unable to mirror the No. 6 overall draft pick's performance. Despite a halftime lead, they lost 79-71 to Chicago to fall to 0-10 on the season. It marks the worst start in franchise history.
"Extremely frustrated," coach Eric Thibault said postgame.
The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.
With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."
The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.
"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.
The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.
For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.
Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.