Week One of the 2025 WNBA season is officially in the books, with a four-game Sunday slate concluding what was another eventful seven days of basketball.
The first full week of games opened and closed with limited drama compared to the games that took place in between — just ask the Indiana Fever, who fell to the Atlanta Dream in a one-point home loss on Tuesday, then pulled off a come-from-behind victory two days later in Atlanta before squandering a 12-point fourth-quarter lead at home in a 90-88 loss to the New York Liberty. And if that weren’t enough, the team announced Monday that superstar Caitlin Clark will be sidelined for at least a couple of weeks due to a quad injury.
Elsewhere, the Minnesota Lynx overcame double-digit deficits in consecutive games to keep pace with the Liberty as the only two undefeated teams remaining. Cold water was poured on the Washington Mystics’ hot start as they hit the West Coast and dropped all three of their games. And we can’t forget about the Chicago Sky, Dallas Wings and Connecticut Sun, who remain winless and without much positivity to take away from their slow starts to the season.
On the topic of slow starts, DeWanna Bonner was relegated to Indiana’s bench in favor of Lexie Hull a week after moving past Tina Thompson to take over the sole possession of third place on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list. Bonner’s quick demotion comes as a bit of a surprise, though it’s hard to argue against as the veteran forward is averaging a career-worst 2.5 points through the first four games while shooting just 12.5 percent from the floor. Yet, her start to the season is hardly the only underwhelming one in a league in which several teams took big offseason swings with the intent to improve their rosters.
Jewell Loyd’s opening to her Las Vegas Aces tenure has been far from ideal, likely from both her and the Aces’ perspectives, with the group’s performance hardly resembling that of a recent back-to-back champion. Courtney Vandersloot’s second stint in Chicago and Ariel Atkins’ first haven’t yet produced the Sky a win or even a single-digit defeat, nor have their arrivals delivered a sophomore-season jump for either Angel Reese or Kamilla Cardoso. And while far from the most significant concerns in Dallas, DiJonai Carrington and NaLyssa Smith haven’t offered the sort of expected production based on their previous bodies of work.
It’s still too early for what we’ve received from the slow-starters above to be considered automatically true for the rest of the season. At the same time, it’s difficult to ignore what Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas are doing for the Phoenix Mercury in their first handful of games, or how Natasha Cloud appears to have made the defending champion Liberty an even more dangerous team than it was a season ago. But again, it’s early.
As we turn the page to Week 2, here’s a look at five upcoming games to watch.
Dallas Wings @ Connecticut Sun
(Tuesday, May 27 at 7 p.m. ET on WNBA League Pass)
While this game won’t feature two heavyweights exchanging haymakers, it is a significant matchup for the Wings and Sun for several reasons. Both teams should feel they could win this game, with a loss potentially marking a new low early in this season for whichever team comes up short; being unable to collect a win against a winless opponent might cut deep. The Sun could use this win more than the Wings, though, given Connecticut follows with matchups against Indiana and New York to close Week 2. Meanwhile, Dallas has the luxury of finishing the week with two games against a winless Sky team. Perhaps the victor could use the win to re-route their season.
Seattle Storm @ Minnesota Lynx
(Tuesday, May 27 at 8 p.m. ET on WNBA League Pass)
There’s a real chance this is the game of the week. The Storm are riding a three-game winning streak after a thumping of the Aces over the holiday weekend in which they posted otherworldly 60.0/50.0/83.3 shooting splits in the blowout, while the undefeated Lynx look every bit as good as the 2024 team that fell a few possessions short of a WNBA championship. Seattle will live inside the arc, whether the offense features a Skylar Diggins pick and roll, Nneka Ogwumike post-ups, or basic pass-and-cut action. Can Minnesota continue to control the paint defensively? And will the Lynx’s Napheesa Collier and Courtney Williams-led offense present issues to a Storm defense that has yet to be tested by a potent offense? Time will tell.
Los Angeles Sparks @ Las Vegas Aces
(Friday, May 30 at 10 p.m. ET on ION)
If you’re a sucker for storylines, you’ll love this matchup. The well-documented situation between Dearica Hamby and Becky Hammon regarding the two-time Sixth Woman of the Year’s exit from the Aces is chief among the storylines. Then, there’s the fact that the Sparks somehow had the Aces’ number a season ago despite finishing with the worst record in the WNBA. Kelsey Plum’s return to Las Vegas should be must-see TV, especially given Plum’s individual success to this point in the season in a larger role. But the biggest question is this: are the Aces still the Aces? Friday’s result alone may not provide that answer, but how A’ja Wilson and Co. respond in what figures to be a highly competitive game should tell us at least a little something.
Minnesota Lynx @ Phoenix Mercury
(Friday, May 30 at 10 p.m. ET on ION)
Aces-Sparks comes on simultaneously with this matchup between the Lynx and Sun, leaving viewers with a choice to make. If the choice is to focus on Lynx-Mercury, be ready for a clash of styles. Spearheaded by Alyssa Thomas, Phoenix owns the best defense in the W, allows the fewest points per game, and forces more turnovers than any other team. Meanwhile, the Lynx’s second-rated offense has sometimes looked dominant, even with Kayla McBride yet to make her season debut. Team stats aside, this game could boil down to which team’s premier players end up willing their team to a win. Between Napheesa Collier and Thomas, each team has a recent MVP runner-up who could deliver.
Las Vegas Aces @ Seattle Storm
(Sunday, June 1 at 6 p.m. ET on WNBA League Pass)
Friday’s commencement of the 2025 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup games should add extra motivation for each team to perform well. But for the Aces, should additional motivation even be necessary after an embarrassing 20-point loss to this same Seattle team exactly one week later at the same venue? Still, a team led by Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins isn’t one that most would consider likely to be satisfied with what was accomplished against the Aces over Memorial Day weekend. Regardless, expect a more competitive game this time and for the stars to show up for both teams.
