6 hours Ago By Eric Smithling, Yardbarker
This 2025 WNBA offseason has been arguably the wildest in league history. With things calming down after a flurry of transactions, here are the five most impactful moves. 5.
Fever forward NaLyssa Smith, Sun guard DiJonai Carrington get a fresh start with Wings Smith's role diminished in Indiana last season upon the arrival of 2024 Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark. The No. 2 overall pick of the 2022 WNBA Draft, Smith averaged 15.
5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game in 2023. Her 19.
6 total rebound rate ranked third among players who appeared in at least 30 games. ( h/t Basketball Reference ) Smith, 24, was acquired in a four-team trade that sent All-Star guard Satou Sabally to Phoenix (more on that later) and Sun guard DiJonai Carrington to Dallas. Smith and Carrington have dated since they were teammates at Baylor in 2020-21 and will be teammates for the first time in the WNBA, only an hour and a half north of where they first linked up in college.
On the court, Carrington, who turned 27 on Jan. 8, established herself as one of the league's best perimeter defenders last season. She averaged 1.
6 steals per game en route to her first first-team All-Defensive honor and being named Most Improved Player. The Sun, which went 28-12 last season and lost to the Lynx in five games in the WNBA playoffs semifinals, overhauled their roster. They also parted with 2023 MVP runner-up Alyssa Thomas and forwards DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones.
Instead of being around for the rebuild, Carrington joins a roster that could soon welcome UConn star Paige Bueckers, which might lead to a quick turnaround following an ugly 9-31 season. 4. Brittney Griner leaving the Mercury wasn't a dream It will take time to get accustomed to seeing Griner in a jersey other than the Mercury.
The nine-time All-Star has played all 11 of her WNBA seasons in Phoenix, leading the franchise to the 2014 title. In 2021, she was named one of the top 25 players in WNBA history. Griner signed a one-year contract with the Dream as part of a frontcourt remodel in Atlanta.
The Dream also added Jones, the eight-year Sun veteran and 2022 Sixth Woman of the Year Year, while parting with the league's all-time rebounds leader Tina Charles. Returning playmakers Jordin Canada, Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray give Atlanta three talented scorers. Jones and Griner round out one of the league's most potent five-woman lineups.
3. Aces acquire Storm guard Jewell Loyd After requesting a trade earlier this offseason, Loyd got her wish with arguably the best destination imaginable. In Las Vegas, Loyd will take over lead ball-handling duties from Kelsey Plum, who was traded to the Sparks as part of the three-team trade that sent Loyd to the Aces.
Everything for Las Vegas runs through three-time MVP center A'ja Wilson. The two-time WNBA champion is coming off the best individual season in league history after setting single-season records in points (1,021) and rebounds (451). Loyd, who was instrumental in Seattle's 3-0 WNBA Finals sweep of the Aces in 2020 — Wilson's second season — will return to a secondary scoring role she had when teammates with Breanna Stewart.
That could allow her to regain efficiency after a few subpar shooting seasons. 2. Phoenix Mercury acquire Sun forward Alyssa Thomas and Wings guard Satou Sabally in a four-team trade Adding Thomas, one of the game's best players, and Sabally, 2023's Most Improved Player, is one way to compensate for losing Griner in free agency and potentially Diana Taurasi to retirement.
Sabally missed the first half of the 2024 season due to off-season shoulder surgery but returned after the Olympics break and shot a career-best 45.2% from three-point range while averaging 17.9 points, 6.
4 rebounds, five assists and 1.3 steals per game. 1.
Indiana Fever sign DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard The Fever are ready to contend. Guard Caitlin Clark set numerous rookie records last season and should only be better with an entire offseason to prepare. So, too, should 2023 No.
1 overall pick Aliyah Boston. Bonner and Howard are excellent defenders who should provide immediate relief to the Fever, who allowed 87.7 points per game last season, the league's second-most.
The two free-agent additions have also won five WNBA titles combined, giving Indiana's two young stars a pair of championship-caliber teammates to assist in the team's evolution into a playoff threat..
