The WNBA season is almost upon us, and it’s time to review the major offseason moves. We will break down each roster and note any important additions and subtractions, along with how those moves may affect the fantasy situations of any relevant players.
Atlanta Dream
The Dream lost their frontcourt rotation of Tina Charles and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, but they are going to preserve their back-to-the-basket style by replacing those two with All-Stars Brittney Griner and Bri Jones. It is unclear how much overlap we will see between those two, but given that they are the two highest-paid players on the roster, we will likely see them starting and closing together on many nights. The Dream ran plenty of possessions through Charles last season, but given the high usage of both Griner and Jones, it would not be surprising if we saw a decline in usage for a fourth consecutive season for incumbent star Rhyne Howard. Last year, we saw Haley Jones, Naz Hillmon, and Nia Coffey rotate as the fourth and fifth starters (point guard Jordin Canada also missed significant time). With everyone healthy, we should expect the frontcourt additions to push all three into bench roles.
Note: Canada left the most recent preseason game with a right knee injury. The severity and diagnosis is still currently unknown. If she were to miss significant time, Haley Jones would likely stand to benefit the most.
Winners: Maybe Brionna Jones
Losers: Rhyne Howard, Haley Jones, Naz Hillmon, Nia Coffey
Chicago Sky
The Sky were far and away the lowest-volume 3-point shooting team in the league last season, which only got worse after Marina Mabrey demanded a trade midway through the year. They have tried to address that this offseason by adding Ariel Atkins, Rebecca Allen, and Kia Nurse. In a surprising development, leading scorer Chennedy Carter did not receive any interest from the Sky or any other teams, and elected to sign with the Mexican League. The Sky have replaced her point guard duties with veteran Courtney Vandersloot and rookie Hailey Van Lith. It remains to be seen how hard they will push 36-year-old Vandersloot in what may be a non-contending season, but she will likely see a larger role than what she had in New York last season. There aren’t a ton of high-usage players on the Sky, which could push up rates for second-year bigs Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, but the added depth could push the minutes down, especially with a new head coach. Center Elizabeth Williams also returns from a torn meniscus, which could really put pressure on Cardoso’s minutes.
Winners: Courtney Vandersloot, Angel Reese
Losers: Kamilla Cardoso
Connecticut Sun
The Sun are totally resetting their roster after many years of deep playoff runs. Their entire starting lineup from last season is gone — no more Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, Dijonai Carrington, Bri Jones, or Ty Harris. This opens up a massive role for Marina Mabrey, a do-it-all guard/forward that will step into more on-ball duties. Mabrey stands to be one of the biggest winners of the entire offseason from a fantasy standpoint. The Sun also added Diamond DeShields and Tina Charles, both of whom should start with a pretty secure role. We still do not know who the other two starters will be, although veteran Lindsay Allen is probably the favorite to take one of those backcourt spots on Opening Night. If the Sun fall out of playoff contention, expect 2025 top-10 picks Aneesah Morrow and Saniya Rivers to get heavily emphasized in the second half of the season.
Winners: Marina Mabrey, Diamond DeShields
Losers: No one, except Tina Charles if CON decides to ride with youth down the stretch
Dallas Wings
After a disappointing 2024, the Wings elected to trade superstar Satou Sabally and let veteran Natasha Howard walk in free agency. They won the Paige Bueckers lottery sweepstakes and drafted the future face of the franchise with the No. 1 overall pick. The Wings still have high-volume scorer Arike Ogunbowale, who should continue to leech shots from every other player, thus putting a cap on Bueckers’ fantasy ceiling in Year 1. They also added Dijonai Carrington, Ty Harris, and NaLyssa Smith in trades. Carrington and Harris are added guard depth, and with four capable guards, it could limit the fantasy ceilings of all four unless they lean into more three-guard lineups. Dallas should continue to develop forward Maddy Siegrist as well. Smith stands as a potential big winner here after putting up big numbers early on in her Fever tenure, but falling out of favor last season with former Indiana coach Christie Sides. Temperamental big Teaira McCowan could also stand to profit if Dallas elects to use Smith exclusively at the power forward spot.
Winners: NaLyssa Smith, Arike Ogunbowale, Maddy Siegrist, maybe Teaira McCowan
Losers: Dijonai Carrington, Ty Harris
Golden State Valkyries
This is the Valkyries’ inaugural season, and most of their players were bench players for their previous teams, so there is quite a bit of uncertainty with regards to both the starting lineup and playing-time allocations in general. In their first preseason game, Golden State started Tiffany Hayes, Veronica Burton, Kayla Thornton, Monique Billings, and Temi Fagbenle. Others that could vie for significant playing time include Julie Vanloo, Kate Martin, Cecilia Zandalasini, and Steph Talbot. Rookie Juste Jocyte is unlikely to play for Golden State this season, as she will continue to play overseas. There isn’t much center depth behind Fagbenle. Unless they play smaller lineups with Billings at the 5, Fagbenle could have a pretty intriguing fantasy ceiling and stands to be one of the bigger offseason winners in the league.
Winners: Temi Fagbenle, Tiffany Hayes, and basically everyone else
Losers: No one
Indiana Fever
The Fever return the same core but with strong wing depth added in Sophie Cunningham, DeWanna Bonner, and Natasha Howard, while losing backup guard Erica Wheeler and backcourt players NaLyssa Smith and Temi Fagbenle. They will look to surround Caitlin Clark with single-big lineups, and have very little in the way of backup big depth behind starting center Aliyah Boston. To that end, Boston has the runway now for huge minutes. There are both foul trouble and conditioning risks with Boston, but she has the potential to lead all centers in minutes this season. Two of Cunningham/Bonner/Howard will start (though all three should see considerable rotation minutes) alongside Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, and Boston. Wing Lexie Hull rounds out the rotation, which could be just an eight-player rotation for much of the season when everyone is healthy.
Winners: Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell
Losers: Lexie Hull, DeWanna Bonner
Las Vegas Aces
The Aces replaced star Kelsey Plum with another star in Jewell Loyd this offseason. Plum is both a more willing passer and a lower-volume, more efficient option than Loyd, so this swap could cut into the usage of the rest of the lineup to some degree. The Las Vegas bench will also look much different. Gone are Alysha Clark, Tiff Hayes, and Kate Martin, replaced by Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, Dana Evans, and Tiffany Mitchell. Parker-Tyus is the biggest name of that group, but she will miss the start of the season due to maternity leave. It is unclear how much overlap that coach Becky Hammon will play between reigning MVP A’ja Wilson and Parker-Tyus. The Aces’ main attack will continue to be their Big 4, just replacing Plum with Loyd. After a down season in 2024, point guard Chelsea Gray has looked excellent in Unrivaled and in the preseason, and she may be poised for a bounce-back season.
Winners: No one (maybe Cheyenne Parker-Tyus when she returns, if she gets consistent run at PF)
Losers: Jewell Loyd, Jackie Young, A’ja Wilson, and Kiah Stokes once Parker-Tyus returns
Los Angeles Sparks
The Sparks had a busy offseason, swapping out head coaches and landing a prized acquisition in star Kelsey Plum. Their wing depth from last season is also mostly gone in the form of Lexie Brown, Kia Nurse, and Steph Talbot. We don’t yet know if Plum will start at SG alongside Odyssey Sims, or if they will let Plum run the offense and start Rae Burrell alongside her in the backcourt. Rickea Jackson and Dearica Hamby seem to be locked into the starting forward spots, while Azura Stevens will start at center, at least until Cameron Brink returns from last season’s ACL tear. Stevens and Brink are both starting-caliber centers, and the presence of both could really limit each of their fantasy ceilings. After years of playing third or fourth fiddle with Las Vegas, Plum once again has the opportunity to showcase her skills as a primary option and stands to be one of the biggest winners of the offseason.
Winners: Kelsey Plum, Rickea Jackson
Losers: Azura Stevens, Cameron Brink
Minnesota Lynx
The Lynx return essentially the same roster that made it to the WNBA Finals last year. The only player that was in their full-season rotation who is gone is wing Cecilia Zandalasini, who was taken in the expansion draft. Minnesota added Karlie Samuelson to replace her, but the rotation should otherwise look extremely similar to what it did last season. Diamond Miller is another player to keep an eye on. She missed significant time due to injury in 2024, but she is a young, developing player that could ascend if any of the starters were to get hurt in 2025.
Winners: No one
Losers: No one
New York Liberty
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton underwent offseason meniscus surgery to repair a knee that gave her trouble for much of the 2024 season. She is expected to miss all of 2025, and the Liberty did not backfill her spot with any obvious replacement. That should serve as confirmation that they are fully committing to Leonie Fiebich, who ascended to a starting spot midway through 2024. New York swaps out Courtney Vandersloot for a defensive upgrade in Natasha Cloud. Sabrina Ionescu took on more ball-handling duties as Vandersloot slid to a bench role, but Ionescu should return to more of a combo guard role with Cloud at the helm. Backup guard Marine Johannes is back on the roster after spending a season overseas. Backup big Nyara Sabally should see a slightly increased role, and stands as an immediate pickup if Breanna Stewart or Jonquel Jones were to miss significant time.
Winners: Leonie Fiebich
Losers: Natasha Cloud
Phoenix Mercury
The Mercury have a totally different roster from last season. Star Kahleah Copper is the only starter returning, and she joins Celeste Taylor and Natasha Mack as the only rotation members returning. Owner Mat Ishbia loves his Big Threes, as he devoted all of the team’s resources to assemble arguably the league’s most formidable trio in Copper, Satou Sabally, and Alyssa Thomas. It is still unclear who the other two starters alongside those three will be. Mack appears to be the early favorite to start at center, though it could be a revolving door there. Whether or not shooter Sami Whitcomb starts, she is the favorite to close, especially if the Sun prioritize spacing with plenty of ball handling among their stars. Thomas is a bit of a risk to lose value this season — if only because her minutes and role were so huge with Connecticut — that the uncertainty has more room down than up.
Winners: Natasha Mack, Sami Whitcomb
Losers: Alyssa Thomas
Seattle Storm
The Storm traded Jewell Loyd this offseason, one of the most prolific shot-takers in the league. She will be replaced by much lower-usage options, so this should open up plenty of usage for the incumbents. Point guard Skylar Diggins-Smith stands to be a clear winner from this departure, as she should see more scoring and playmaking opportunities. Nneka Ogwumike saw a big decrease in usage from her last season in Los Angeles to her first season in Seattle. Look for Ogwumike to see a big boost in fantasy value as well. Gabby Williams had an unremarkable career with the Storm, and then went to play in Europe, where she took a major step forward. After an impressive Olympic run, the Storm brought her back to the States, and she stands to be a major breakout player in 2025. We don’t know yet who will be the fifth starter, but my bet would be on Lexie Brown. She has struggled with getting on the court since being diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, but she is the most talented option and the best fit alongside Diggins-Smith, Williams, Ogwumike, and Ezi Magbegor.
Winners: Gabby Williams, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Nneka Ogwumike
Losers: Li Yueru
Washington Mystics
The Mystics are amidst a rebuild and are being led by first-time head coach Sydney Johnson, so there is a ton of uncertainty on lineups and rotations here. If healthy, Brittney Sykes and Shakira Austin are virtual locks to start, although Austin was heavily load-managed last season and has started the preseason with restrictions as well. If you do draft her, be aware that this could continue for an unknown period of time. The other frontcourt spot will go to either Stefanie Dolson or Aaliyah Edwards. Edwards is a future building block and would be the favorite, but she will start the season sidelined with a back injury. The Mystics had the third and fourth overall picks in the most recent draft, and whether or not rookies Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen start on Opening Night, they will likely see prominent playing time that should increase as the season wears on. Sykes is the clear star here and has an obvious path to a massive role, but her minutes were heavily limited last season due to minor injuries and tanking. Sykes could be a make-or-break draft pick in fantasy leagues, with both massive ceiling and floor outcomes.
Winners: Brittney Sykes, Aaliyah Edwards, Shakira Austin
Losers: No one
