The 2025 WNBA season is nearly underway. Over the offseason, the league's landscape was shaken with stars changing teams, new coaches galore and an exciting rookie class. Expansion is fully underway, too, with the Golden State Valkyries—the WNBA's 13th franchise—officially beginning play this season.
Another element that led to drastic change is a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) on the horizon. The league's current deal expires after the 2025 season, which was determined when the players opted out of the current CBA this past October. A majority of the league will play on one-year contracts or previous deals that are set to expire after this season, opening the door for even more change (and almost certainly bigger contracts) once a new CBA is agreed upon and takes effect.
This season, though, brings incredible storylines marked by many of the league's top stars in new situations.
Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally are on the Phoenix Mercury—who don't have Diana Taurasi or Brittney Griner anymore, by the way. Jewell Loyd joined the Las Vegas Aces in the mega-deal which sent Kelsey Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks and netted the Seattle Storm a lottery pick, which they used on French phenom Dominique Malonga. Griner signed with the Atlanta Dream in free agency after 11 seasons in Phoenix.
Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston hope to bring the Indiana Fever to another new level with an improved roster and new head coach in Stephanie White. And the Dallas Wings reshaped their roster and landed No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers after losing Sabally with new leadership of their own in head coach Chris Koclanes and general manager Curt Miller.
With an offseason summarized by massive change, here's one thing to know about each WNBA team before the 2025 season tips off on Friday, May 16.
Atlanta Dream
While each WNBA team will look different to a degree this season, the Atlanta Dream took their overhaul to another level. They signed Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones to one-year deals in free agency to create a dominant frontcourt pair alongside star guards Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray. Plus, they hired a new coach in Karl Smesko who will usher in a new, fast-paced offense.
Chicago Sky
After setting the WNBA's single-season rebounding record in her rookie year, Chicago Sky star Angel Reese went on to win Unrivaled's Defensive Player of the Year award. Her Rose BC squad in Unrivaled—the upstart 3v3 women's basketball league—won the inaugural title, too.
Now, back on the WNBA floor, Reese's Sky got some reinforcements with the signings of Courtney Vandersloot to run the offense and Kia Nurse to help space the floor. They traded for Rebecca Allen, too, who will provide more spacing. No move was bigger than the trade for do-it-all guard Ariel Atkins, though. The Sky gave up the No. 3 pick in the 2025 draft plus additional draft capital for Atkins. She will sure up Chicago's backcourt alongside their dominant, young frontcourt in Reese and Kamilla Cardoso.
Oh, and they drafted Hailey Van Lith—Reese's former teammate for a season at LSU.
Connecticut Sun
The Connecticut Sun pressed the rebuild button over the offseason, trading superstar Alyssa Thomas to the Phoenix Mercury. DeWanna Bonner left for the Indiana Fever and Brionna Jones for the Atlanta Dream, leaving Marina Mabrey the only member of the Sun's core still in Connecticut. They added Tina Charles, the WNBA's all-time leading rebounder, in free agency and drafted LSU star Aneesah Morrow with the No. 7 pick . Leïla Lacan, a 2024 draftee and highly-touted guard from France, is slated to make her WNBA debut this season, although her contract was temporarily suspended to start the season due to overseas obligations.
In the long term, though, the franchise's owners are weighing a sale that could lead to relocation. For the 2025 season, new coach Rachid Meziane will guide the team through their rebuild.
Dallas Wings
Can I interest you in the WNBA debut of Paige Bueckers, anyone?
Well, outside of the obvious and Bueckers aside, the Dallas Wings are one of the most exciting teams across the W this season. You already have Arike Ogunbowale, who scored the most points amongst guards last season. Then you add last season's Most Improved Player DiJonai Carrington, NaLyssa Smith and Myisha Hines-Allen? Sign me up. Once you get Bueckers into the equation, you see a high-powered backcourt with Ogunbowale and even Carrington, one of the best perimeter defenders in the league.
Golden State Valkyries
Well, they're new—duh. The WNBA's 13th franchise, the Golden State Valkyries, tips off their inaugural season in 2025. The Valkyries will play home games at the Chase Center, the home of the NBA's Golden State Warriors. Their roster was built through an offseason expansion draft, free agency as well as the traditional WNBA draft. Assigned the fifth pick in each round of the WNBA draft, the Valkyries went with Lithuanian guard Justé Jocyté with their first-round selection. Although she's unlikely to make her WNBA debut this season, Golden State has their potential guard of the future in their first year of existence. In the meantime, Tiffany Hayes—who they signed as a free agent—isn't a bad lead guard.
Indiana Fever
Outside of star guard Caitlin Clark making a leap in year two and potentially competing for the MVP award, the Indiana Fever have a well-rounded roster that could help them make a deep postseason run. They re-signed Kelsey Mitchell, which was priority No. 1 in the offseason. Then they went out and signed DeWanna Bonner and Natasha Howard. The Fever also traded for Sophie Cunningham, who helps with three-point shooting. And they hired Stephanie White as coach after parting ways with Christie Sides. Following a playoff appearance in Clark's rookie season, another year of growth with costar Aliyah Boston, Indiana's new roster additions and White's experienced leadership could mean another leap for Indiana.
Las Vegas Aces
A'ja Wilson, the WNBA's three-time MVP, is on a redemption tour. After back-to-back titles, the Las Vegas Aces were eliminated by the New York Liberty in the WNBA semifinals last year. The Aces will look a little different this season, notably without Kelsey Plum. They dealt Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks in the league-altering deal which netted the Aces star guard Jewell Loyd. With a new core four of Wilson, Loyd, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young, the Aces have the firepower to get back to their championship expectations.
Los Angeles Sparks
The Sparks gave up their lottery pick in the 2025 WNBA draft to acquire Kelsey Plum, but that's quite alright because L.A. already has an exciting young core of Rickea Jackson and Cameron Brink. Plum, a three-time All-Star, headlines the Sparks' offseason acquisitions and forms a strong top-five group alongside Dearica Hamby, Azurá Stevens, Jackson and Brink. Brink is coming off a torn ACL, so her season debut will be delayed. L.A. hasn't made the playoffs in four seasons, so the franchise hopes the addition of Plum and their budding young core helps the team make a potential postseason push.
Minnesota Lynx
The Minnesota Lynx came so close to winning it all last season, losing a title-deciding Game 5 in overtime. The good news for Minnesota, though, is they didn't really lose a whole lot from their 2024 roster which made a run to the WNBA finals. Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride, Bridget Carleton, Courtney Williams and Alanna Smith are all still under contract for 2025. Of course, everything runs through Minnesota's superstar MVP candidate and four-time All-Star in Collier. Myisha Hines-Allen, who the Lynx traded for at last season's trade deadline, signed with the Dallas Wings in free agency. But overall, Minnesota has the squad in place to make a run back to the finals and this time win it all. The Lynx will go as far as Collier takes them.
New York Liberty
The New York Liberty aim to defend their title with their big three of Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu. But fans should be excited that Marine Johannès is back after she sat out the 2024 season as she focused on international play. She has played for the Liberty in three seasons (2019, 2022 and 2023) and helped led the French national team to a silver medal finish in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Her one-legged shots, smooth handles and playmaking skills are a big add for the defending champs. And she's already showing out in the preseason.
It's just what @MarineJ5 doesss ✨🪄
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) May 13, 2025
Can confirm we'll never get over the 1-legged 👌's pic.twitter.com/6wQzbv2TVS
Phoenix Mercury
You won't see Diana Taurasi or Brittney Griner in a Mercury uniform this season, but Phoenix already reloaded. Before the 2024 season, the Mercury traded for Kahleah Copper and now this offseason, they somehow topped that by acquiring two stars—Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally—in offseason trades. They also added Kalani Brown and Sami Whitcomb to round out their first five. While this season begins a new era in Phoenix, they remain a contender with debatably the best "big three" across the W in Thomas, Copper and Sabally.
Seattle Storm
The Seattle Storm moved all the way up to the No. 2 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft when they dealt star guard Jewell Loyd to the Las Vegas Aces. With the second pick, Seattle snagged French phenom Dominique Malonga. Malonga, a 6'6" big, is a building block for the Storm and may have been the top pick in plenty of other draft classes. Both Malonga and Storm wing Gabby Williams will not play for the French national team during this summer's EuroBasket tournament, according to a report Monday from ESPN. That means Malonga, 19, is poised to make her WNBA debut immediately, unlike other international players who are often considered "draft-and-stash" prospects out of the gate. She's an elite rim protector who can score near the hoop and has the ability to step out to the perimeter, too. And she reportedly dunked in her first practice with the Storm.
Washington Mystics
It's a whole new era in Washington—from the front office, to the coaching staff and everywhere in between. This season marks a first since 2013 where a Thibault won't be on the sideline. Mike Thibault coached the Mystics from 2013 to '22 before his son, Eric, took over for two seasons while Mike remained in charge of the front office. The Mystics cleaned house over the offseason and brought in Sydney Johnson as their new head coach and Jamila Wideman as general manager. The Mystics had three of the first six picks in the new regime's first WNBA draft, which they used to select Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen and Georgia Amoore. Unfortunately, Amoore suffered an ACL injury during training camp, sidelining her indefinitely. But Washington continues to shape its young core alongside last year's first-round pick, Aaliyah Edwards.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as One Thing to Know About All 13 WNBA Teams Ahead of the 2025 Season.
