With EuroBasket set to tip off on Wednesday and injuries mounting league-wide, WNBA teams are filling out dwindling rosters with more short-term contracts — and calling back some familiar faces along the way.
While some European standouts withdrew from EuroBasket consideration — including Phoenix's Satou Sabally and Seattle's Gabby Williams — others, like New York's Leonie Fiebich and Golden State's Temi Fagbenle, will join their national teams for the regional FIBA tournament through the end of June.
Due to these planned absences, WNBA teams temporarily suspend their EuroBasket players' contracts, allowing squads to add others to their rosters.
Players signed due to temporary absences are technically on rest-of-season deals, though the agreements can end whenever the missing athletes return.
In contrast, the league requires that teams release any hardship signings due to injury once squads tally enough healthy original players to satisfy the WNBA's 10-athlete roster minimum.
Featuring a lineup stacked with international talent, Golden State made the most transactions this week, temporarily suspending four regular contracts as 2025 EuroBasket stars departed for the annual competition.
To bolster their depleted bench, the Valkyries brought back 2025 WNBA Draft Cinderella pick Kaitlyn Chen and recent training camp participant Laeticia Amihere on short-term contracts, in addition to guard Aerial Powers and forward Chloe Bibby.
Elsewhere, after losing forward Maddy Siegrist to injury and temporarily suspending the contracts of centers Teaira McCowan and Luisa Geiselsöder, Dallas acquired center Li Yueru from Seattle — with the Wings possibly needing additional hardship signings in the coming days.
The Storm snagged two future draft picks in the Saturday deal — a second-round selection in 2026 and a third-round pick in 2027.
Ultimately, teams are striving to find a balance between stocking up and maintaining consistency, all while operating under the WNBA's roster constraints — with further league expansion fast approaching.
After an injury-filled opening month, more than one WNBA team is hoping for star athletes to return to play this week, bolstering squads as they chase each other in the 2025 league standings.
After a quad strain sidelined her for 14 days, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark is eyeing a possible return later this week.
Though the 2024 Rookie of the Year will not compete in Tuesday's matchup against the Atlanta Dream, she is aiming to suit up as soon as Saturday, when the Fever will host reigning champions New York.
Meanwhile, 2025 No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers should also be back on the Dallas Wings' court soon. Despite clearing concussion protocol, the star rookie missed one extra game, sitting out Sunday's loss to the Minnesota Lynx due to illness.
WNBA athletes' impending recoveries aren't good news for everyone, however, as returning from injury has also impacted hardship signings: In anticipation of forward Alyssa Thomas's rejoining the team, as well as the eventual return of guard Kahleah Copper, the Phoenix Mercury waived guard Haley Jones on Sunday.
While some teams were celebrating their stars bouncing back from injury, others are now scrambling from new setbacks.
Two-time WNBA champion Courtney Vandersloot suffered an ACL tear just five minutes into Chicago's loss to Indiana on Saturday, leaving the Sky facing the rest of the season without their starting point guard.
"Whatever is in store in the future for this team, I trust that we will find a way to make this moment mean something in the end," Sky rookie guard Hailey Van Lith said of Chicago's ability to regroup.
The WNBA has struggled with a wave of high-profile absences to start the 2025 season, but small roster boosts could see teams overcome that adversity to bounce back even stronger.
With injuries mounting across the WNBA, several teams have started stocking up on recently waived free agents, bolstering their depleted rosters with hardship signings as they head into a busy stretch of the 2025 regular season.
With both guard Kahleah Copper and forward Alyssa Thomas sidelined, the Phoenix Mercury signed former Atlanta Dream guard and 2023 first-round draft pick Haley Jones to a rest-of-season hardship contract on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Fever picked up ex-LA Sparks guard and 2021 first-rounder Aari McDonald on Sunday, with Indiana looking to boost their backcourt depth in light of injuries to guards Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, and Sydney Colson.
These hardship signings come in clutch to keep benches stocked and WNBA teams in action.
However, the longevity of these early-season additions remains uncertain as teams attempt to balance league-maximum 12-player lineups with restrictive salary caps.
Hardship contracts allow teams to temporarily expand the salary cap, but when injured players return, so do tough roster calls — much to the dismay of front office decision-makers.
"More bodies would be good," Fever president Kelly Krauskopf told reporters with a wry laugh ahead of McDonald's signing.
Roster limitations will likely be a key issue when CBA negotiations rev up, with this week's emergency signings only adding fuel to the fire.