WNBA Player News

The Dream remain without injured point guard Jordin Canada, who went down during the preseason with a knee injury. However, while Shatori Walker-Kimbrough was her replacement in the starting lineup for Atlanta’s final preseason game, first-year head coach Karl Smesko has decided to hand the keys to Paopao for the regular season opener. Paopao’s an excellent perimeter shooter, and her ability to run a team will be on full display Friday night. Playing alongside Atlanta’s veterans should help the rookie in her WNBA debut.

The Sun made two moves on Monday, signing Brown to a rest-of-season contract and waiving veteran guard Robyn Parks. Brown spent the 2024 season with the Wings, averaging 10.1 minutes per game in 14 appearances. The second-year wing was in training camp with the Fever last month but was one of the team’s final cuts.

After not playing in the WNBA last season, Parks made her return as a member of the Sun. The guard/forward appeared in six games, averaging 10.5 minutes per contest. Parks will play for Greece in this month’s FIBA Women’s EuroBasket, and the Sun’s decision to waive her coincided with the signing of Jaelyn Brown.

Colson injured her left leg during the first half of Friday’s loss to the Sun and did not return. Fortunately, the veteran guard is not on the initial injury report for Tuesday’s game, meaning she’ll be available unless something were to change. Colson will continue to start for Caitlin Clark, who’s recovering from a strained quad.

Cunningham sprained her right ankle during Friday’s loss to the Sun, the second time she’s done so since joining the Fever during the offseason. How long she’ll be out has not been determined, but the reserve guard will miss at least one game. The good news for Indiana is that Sydney Colson is not on the injury report after injuring her leg during Friday’s defeat. She and Lexie Hull have added importance for a team that is also without Caitlin Clark.

Already playing without Caitlin Clark (quad), the Fever lost Sydney Colson (leg) and Sophie Cunningham (ankle) to injuries during their May 30 loss to the Sun. As a result, the team has signed McDonald to a hardship contract to add depth at the point guard position. A first-round pick in the 2021 draft, McDonald was waived by the Sparks toward the end of training camp last month.

After starting 19 of the 40 games she appeared in with the Dallas Wings last season, Uzun joined the Mercury this offseason as part of a 10-team trade. While the 27-year-old guard played rotation minutes off the bench in each of her seven appearances, Uzun averaged just 1.6 points and 2.0 assists in 14.6 minutes. Phoenix’s decision to waive Uzun comes one day after the team signed Haley Jones to a contract.

Thornton finished Sunday’s defeat one blocked shot shy of a complete stat line. Like teammate Veronica Burton, the veteran forward is trending in the right direction after being overlooked by many fantasy managers during drafts. According to ESPN, Thornton has been a top-50 player over the past weeks and is now rostered in nearly 60 percent of ESPN leagues. The only negative in the short term is Golden State’s upcoming schedule, as the Valkyries only play twice next week.

Limited to two points on 1-of-7 shooting in Thursday’s loss to the Liberty, Burton bounced back nicely on Sunday. The 21 points were one shy of her season-high, and the point guard also provided value in the rebound, assist and steals categories. Burton may not have been on many fantasy managers’ radars at draft time, but she has emerged as a player who should be rostered in standard leagues. A top-50 player over the last seven days, she’s rostered in just over 55 percent of ESPN leagues.

For the first time in her WNBA career, Martin has reached double figures in consecutive appearances. Despite scoring 10 points on Tuesday, the second-year guard was a DNP-CD for Thursday’s loss to the Liberty. Martin played rotation minutes on Sunday and gave the Valkyries a much-needed boost. She scored all of her 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 shooting from the foul line in the second quarter, one reason why Golden State took a one-point lead into the halftime break. Unfortunately, she was unable to sustain that production in the second half. With Tiffany Hayes re-injuring her nose during the fourth quarter, there may be additional opportunities for Martin soon.

After scoring nine points or less in each of her first six appearances, Carleton hit double figures for the first time this season on Sunday. While the accuracy wasn’t great, the veteran forward provided solid contributions in her 34 minutes. Carleton is only rostered in 30.8 percent of ESPN leagues, a byproduct of Minnesota’s loaded lineup and her essentially being the fifth option among the starters. While she isn’t a must-have in standard leagues currently, there will be times when Carleton is worth the risk, especially if the Lynx are shorthanded.