2025 WNBA Pre-Season Thread

[Dillon77]

I know. Sad, but not surprised - she was a second string point guard/forward at best and that was before Smesko and his live by the trey, die by the trey offense came to town. She was already not an amazing fit before and I was really uncertain how she'd have a spot now.

That said, it's weird to see other less prominent alums like Carrington, Smith, and Samuelson be starters in the W while Jones didn't even stay on a roster into her third season as a pro. She's super likeable, but she really hasn't developed much as a player since her sophomore year, so I'm not sure I can see an obvious road ahead for her.

Regarding Stanford's less prominent alums, I think they fell into two categories:

• They fell into the right situation, regarding style of play and/or a stable environment. Carrington was drafted and nurtured initially by Curt Miller who thought so much of her, he reacquired her for the Wings. Carrington offers what Miller wants.
• They bounced around to find the right place at the right time, all while working on their game. That certainly applies to Samuelson and Smith who kept working it here, there and everywhere before finding the right spots, Smith got her shot in Chicago, then joined Minnesota while Karlie got a break with the Mystics before also joining the Lynx.
• So, if Haley Jones wants to keep hoopin', work on that game (shooting, in particular) and go where there are opportunities. And, if my logic flow holds, she, too, may find her way to Minnesota.

p.s. Players like Jones, Amihere, Mckenzie Holmes, etc. are seemingly all getting close(r) to holding those slots. If they can really work it next year, there could be lots of new opportunities following the 2025 season, with so much of the rosters blowing up and two new teams coming into the league.

 

[Dillon77]

Just saw this over on the WNBA Transaction Page:

- Betnijah Laney-Hamilton of the New York Liberty is out for the 2025 season due to a Non-WNBA Injury.

Since the "non-WNBA" aspect of the injury was brought up, assuming that was done because Laney-Hamilton's salary won't count against the Liberty this year? (Or am I wrong?). That said, this is a loss now that Thornton is now longer on the team as a back-up.

 

[Geew1992]

Just saw this over on the WNBA Transaction Page:

- Betnijah Laney-Hamilton of the New York Liberty is out for the 2025 season due to a Non-WNBA Injury.

Since the "non-WNBA" aspect of the injury was brought up, assuming that was done because Laney-Hamilton's salary won't count against the Liberty this year? (Or am I wrong?). That said, this is a loss now that Thornton is now longer on the team as a back-up.

I don’t think it will. Pretty sure unrivaled is covering her salary

 

[BigTenGuy]

. . . She's super likeable, but she really hasn't developed much as a player since her sophomore year, so I'm not sure I can see an obvious road ahead for her.

She regressed big time after her sophomore year. Her efficiency stats were quite poor both her junior and senior years, after being quite good (90th+ percentile) her first two years. I first watched her during the championship year and thought she was great, but thought she was decidedly mediocre after that. Hard pressed to think of a similar career path for a # 1 high school recruit.

 

[YKCornelius]

Random thought: If the Indiana Fever take a leap up to contender status (30+ wins, semifinals at worst), it will largely be because of Aliyah Boston's progression, not Caitlin's. Caitlin's already a strong MVP candidate. For the Fever to be legit title contenders, Aliyah will need to be as well.

That would be the basis of my argument in favor of Aliyah Boston for 2025 WNBA MVP (assuming Caitlin doesn't put up crazy stats like averaging a 22-10-10 triple double or A'ja doesn't average 30 points and 13 rebounds a game for a Top 2 team).

Interesting thoughts. IMO if Indiana somehow make it to the semifinals, it will be largely due to the impact of Dewanna Bonner and her added scoring dimension. Four strong scorers will keep any team in every game.

Hard to give a league MVP award to a player who is not the best on her team, regardless of how much they improve. Finishing in the Top Ten in MVP votes would be a laudable indicator of her impact and value.

 

[cancontent]

Regarding Stanford's less prominent alums, I think they fell into two categories:

• They fell into the right situation, regarding style of play and/or a stable environment. Carrington was drafted and nurtured initially by Curt Miller who thought so much of her, he reacquired her for the Wings. Carrington offers what Miller wants.
• They bounced around to find the right place at the right time, all while working on their game. That certainly applies to Samuelson and Smith who kept working it here, there and everywhere before finding the right spots, Smith got her shot in Chicago, then joined Minnesota while Karlie got a break with the Mystics before also joining the Lynx.
• So, if Haley Jones wants to keep hoopin', work on that game (shooting, in particular) and go where there are opportunities. And, if my logic flow holds, she, too, may find her way to Minnesota.

p.s. Players like Jones, Amihere, Mckenzie Holmes, etc. are seemingly all getting close(r) to holding those slots. If they can really work it next year, there could be lots of new opportunities following the 2025 season, with so much of the rosters blowing up and two new teams coming into the league.

Holmes had the disadvantage of being out due to injury. Don't recall if she played overseas at all before the start of the WNBA. She gets some time playing professionally overseas, it will help her catch up.

Amihere has improved this off-season, but it seems more is needed from her (e.g. consistent outside shooting?). More time overseas and challenging herself with Canada Basketball during AmeriCup will help.

Haley Jones, perplexes me because of how quickly things changed for her after being drafted. Initially it seemed the Dream wanted to get her ready to take on a starter role. Last season, not so much and this pre-season her minutes were non-existent. Someone please correct me, but I don't know if she did much during the last couple off-seasons (Athletes Unlimited maybe)? Like Holmes and Amihere more time overseas could help.

Two more teams next season will help for sure, but they need to be ready. The talent pool coming out for the 2026 draft are also waiting in the wings to compete for roster spots.

 

[FormerCTrez]

Whoa.

I am so disappointed about this!!!

 

[bballnut90]

She regressed big time after her sophomore year. Her efficiency stats were quite poor both her junior and senior years, after being quite good (90th+ percentile) her first two years. I first watched her during the championship year and thought she was great, but thought she was decidedly mediocre after that. Hard pressed to think of a similar career path for a # 1 high school recruit.

Interestingly, none of the #1 recruits from 2016-2019 panned out for solid pro careers (Lauren Cox, Megan Walker, Christyn Williams and Haley Jones).

Extend it to #2 recruits and include 2015, and no one has lit it up:
-2015 #1 was Katie Lou Samuelson, #2 was Asia (AD) Durr
-2016 #2- Joyner Holmes
-2017 #2-Evina Westbrook
-2018 #2-Charli Collier
-2019 #2-Jordan Horston

 

[BRS24]

Interestingly, none of the #1 recruits from 2016-2019 panned out for solid pro careers (Lauren Cox, Megan Walker, Christyn Williams and Haley Jones).

Extend it to #2 recruits and include 2015, and no one has lit it up:
-2015 #1 was Katie Lou Samuelson, #2 was Asia (AD) Durr
-2016 #2- Joyner Holmes
-2017 #2-Evina Westbrook
-2018 #2-Charli Collier
-2019 #2-Jordan Horston

Just gave me an idea for an off season topic

 

[cancontent]

Interestingly, none of the #1 recruits from 2016-2019 panned out for solid pro careers (Lauren Cox, Megan Walker, Christyn Williams and Haley Jones).

Extend it to #2 recruits and include 2015, and no one has lit it up:
-2015 #1 was Katie Lou Samuelson, #2 was Asia (AD) Durr
-2016 #2- Joyner Holmes
-2017 #2-Evina Westbrook
-2018 #2-Charli Collier
-2019 #2-Jordan Horston

Think it's a little early to put Horston on this list. She's played decent if not significant minutes since being drafted in comparison to Jones. Thought she made the all rookie team in her first year too.

Unfortunately her ACL injury has her out this season. Would have been interesting to see how she fits in with this new roster.

 

[darrell]

Just saw this over on the WNBA Transaction Page:

- Betnijah Laney-Hamilton of the New York Liberty is out for the 2025 season due to a Non-WNBA Injury.

Since the "non-WNBA" aspect of the injury was brought up, assuming that was done because Laney-Hamilton's salary won't count against the Liberty this year? (Or am I wrong?). That said, this is a loss now that Thornton is now longer on the team as a back-up.

Having Rebekah Gardner healthy should help a lot. Plus, Fiebich will almost certainly take on a bigger role.

You are correct in that her salary won’t count against the team since they technically “suspended” her as opposed to, say, Katie Lou Samuelson whose injury occurred in Camp. That gives the Liberty enough money to add yet another impact player (some are speculating Emma Meesseman).

 

[cancontent]

 

[cancontent]

Having Rebekah Gardner healthy should help a lot. Plus, Fiebich will almost certainly take on a bigger role.

You are correct in that her salary won’t count against the team since they technically “suspended” her as opposed to, say, Katie Lou Samuelson whose injury occurred in Camp. That gives the Liberty enough money to add yet another impact player (some are speculating Emma Meesseman).

Define "some" . The last time you posted about Messeman, she went to Twitter to quash the rumour.

 

[Stagnant]

Here is something interesting about the 2023 draft. A draft that looks like a poor one in retrospect.



I think Cooke has been waived a couple of times already in her career too.

 

[darrell]

Define "some" . The last time you posted about Messeman, she went to Twitter to quash the rumour.

By “some”, I should have instead said “eager Liberty fans”. $185k is a lot of wiggle room and I’m assuming they want the best of the best.

 

[cancontent]

An intriguing roster with Coach Semesko at the helm. Looking forward to their season as their offence should be different from what we saw with their previous coach.

 

[Rb335]

She regressed big time after her sophomore year. Her efficiency stats were quite poor both her junior and senior years, after being quite good (90th+ percentile) her first two years. I first watched her during the championship year and thought she was great, but thought she was decidedly mediocre after that. Hard pressed to think of a similar career path for a # 1 high school recruit.

Others mentioned but very similar for Christyn Williams. Her big game performances seemed to peak in her freshman year, as did her efficiency. Got better in some areas through college. The injury killed her WNBA start, but hasn’t been able to stick on a roster after attempting for multiple seasons.

 

[Geew1992]

 

[Geew1992]

 

[Geew1992]

 

[cancontent]

Unfortunate situation especially because she was injured. Apparently her contract was unprotected per this poster's comments.

 

[cancontent]

 

[Stagnant]

Options exercised for Dorka, Diamond, Aliyah Boston, Maddy Siegrist, and Jordan Horston. This might be a reason Berger was waived. And I think those are the only ones from that 2023 class that were picked up. Dorka being the only non-first rounder.

 

[cancontent]

Nice write up on Quinerly. Another late round pick who made a roster this year.

 

[Jonathan14]

Is anyone as surprised as I am that Lucy Olsen ended up making the Mystics' roster? Here are her preseason stats over 36 minutes in two games: 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 of 14 shooting for 14.3%. I like watching Lucy play, but with all the cuts we've seen among rookies and returning players who had far more impressive preseasons, I wasn't expecting her to make the team.