2025 WNBA Regular Season

[WBBTakeover]

Y'all...I'm officially SCARED OF the Washington Mystics! I know it's only been two games, but they weren't really supposed to win either one (keep in mind that I am also a Dream fan, and I did think that we had that game won). They have way too much potential (Citron, Iriafen, Edwards, and Melbourne) and way too many trade assets! We may be looking at the birth of a new dynasty in the WNBA.

Let me get this out now. I was wrong about their FO. I was wrong about coaching. The vision is there, and EDD was right to join the party. This is the team of the future!

Now, please send Vegas a big! No, I don't care which one!

 

[Jumper33]

Who anticipated the most clutch player in the WNBA this weekend being Sonia Citron?

She looked like a 5 year veteran in the 4th quarters of two wins, hitting big shots and making game icing free throws in both games. Not afraid of the moment whatsoever. Iriafen looks really good as well.

If I’m a ND fan I’m questioning Niele Ivey even more now. This player was a 3rd option on a team that got eliminated in the sweet sixteen? I feel as though she should have been more the focal point of the offense!

 

[GoChips20]

Kiki Iriafen looks significantly better to me than she ever did at USC. I like Gottlieb but I really think she mismanaged her roster this year.

Either way, I see flashes of A’ja Wilson in Iriafen’s game. Her ability to move with the ball and elevate into her mid-range looks really good to me.

 

[Dillon77]

Who anticipated the most clutch player in the WNBA this weekend being Sonia Citron?

She looked like a 5 year veteran in the 4th quarters of two wins, hitting big shots and making game icing free throws in both games. Not afraid of the moment whatsoever. Iriafen looks really good as well.

If I’m a ND fan I’m questioning Niele Ivey even more now. This player was a 3rd option on a team that got eliminated in the sweet sixteen? I feel as though she should have been more the focal point of the offense!

You're not the only one to voice that thought....

Ivey likes to have her guards have a "read and react" approach in half-court sets. The trouble was the ball would, therefore, stay in the hands of the guards having the ball.
Many felt that some more Princeton-based elements might've/should've come into play, given that there were two ball-dominant guards.
Citron worked best when she was the 2nd option; perhaps with Hidalgo her junior year.

In any case, that won't be an issue going forward, knock on hardwood.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Kiki Iriafen looks significantly better to me than she ever did at USC. I like Gottlieb but I really think she mismanaged her roster this year.

Oh man let me to go find the half dozen posts of mine since November of last year saying exactly that. She felt like she regressed from Stanford, where her smoothness and finesse under the basket kind of disappeared. Honestly, she just never looked as confident in a Toejam uniform, and she also didn't get the kind of touches Tara ensured she got to build her confidence.

I've always been a huge Citron Stan. She's the kind of glue player who will have a long career as a pro, because she can and will do whatever is necessary, and she has just about a complete game already as a rookie.

 

[TerpWomenFan]

Yes. Go Aaliyah!

Hopefully, her lower back injury will get better.

 

[azfan]

Another entertaining game in LA

I've got to say Kelsey got her money's worth on each of the fouls she administered with the exception of the last one. The first fourth quarter foul on Samuelson was reminiscent of the 90s Pistons. The second was I thought kind of ticky tac....

After her record 37 against Golden State the dawg found Cheryl Reeves D a challenge (4-13 to get her 16 points). Plum played 74 of the first 80 minutes of the season. I know she's in great shape but I'm not sure that's sustainable.

The road is always tough. Minnesota showed the talent and depth of their bench as they put the game away in the second half.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Welp. I guess I will watch this Fever/Sky game later. I saw the box score and some of the comments/video clips of the foul by Caitlin Clark on Angel Reese. I am looking forward to watching that and drama. Right now, Seattle/Phoenix. Let's see what Seattle does.

It was a nothing burger, blown out of proportion by Ms. Reese. Clark suffered dozen of harder fouls than that last year, without the histrionic response. Glad to see Boston get in the middle of it right away.

 

[JellyBean]

Hartley looks quite good: 11/3/1/1 in the first half.

She looked real good out there.

 

[nwhoopfan]

After her record 37 against Golden State

She had at least one 40 point game w/ the Aces, so that wasn't a record for her. Maybe a record for most points scored against Golden State, but since it was their first game ever...

 

[nwhoopfan]

My internet conked out on Saturday, so this is really late. I heard otherwise during the preseason, but that looked like the same Reese to me. Lots of missed bunnies. Indiana missed a bunch of layups too, but obviously it didn't matter.

Fever are just so fun to watch. Clark is always looking to push tempo. If you run the floor and keep your eyes open, she is going to get you easy scoring opportunities.

Agreed w/ a previous poster about them adding Howard. Rough game for Bonner, but I'm sure she'll be fine. Like I said they do need to get Hull on the floor. Not sure how the rotation will be when Cunningham is available (I never heard why she wasn't playing).

Sloot didn't look great. Maybe she's about done. I don't think NY will regret moving on from her at all, especially with the way Cloud played in their first game. The rest of the guards didn't look very good either. Van Lith did as much as she could with very limited playing time at the end of the game.

 

[JellyBean]

YES!

This is how a winning culture emerges.

Citron is just built differently. Never been a Notre Dame fan but once I saw Citron in her freshmen year at Notre Dame, I knew that she had game and each year she did not disappoint. Sonia Citron is just a joy to watch out there. The Mystics got something special brewing with these two rookies (Kiki is going to be nice as well)...and they don't have Georgia Amoore.

 

[WBBTakeover]

Courtney Williams, through two games: 19 assists, 0 turnovers.

Yes, the schedule has been weak so far, but that is an outstanding floor game!

As for Kelsey Plum, she looked exactly how I thought she'd look against a top team--mediocre. Have fun, Sparks fans!

 

[nwhoopfan]

Let's all say it again...the Storm could still have Jade Melbourne. If they didn't decide to give her away for nothing. Well that's not quite true, they acquired a 3rd round pick this year. Which turned into Madison Conner, who they cut. So basically they got nothing.

 

[Dillon77]

Another entertaining game in LA

I've got to say Kelsey got her money's worth on each of the fouls she administered with the exception of the last one. The first fourth quarter foul on Samuelson was reminiscent of the 90s Pistons. The second was I thought kind of ticky tac....

After her record 37 against Golden State the dawg found Cheryl Reeves D a challenge (4-13 to get her 16 points). Plum played 74 of the first 80 minutes of the season. I know she's in great shape but I'm not sure that's sustainable.

The road is always tough. Minnesota showed the talent and depth of their bench as they put the game away in the second half.

So, Alanna Smith comes back to play her first game of the year and goes 7-10 in scoring 18 points in a mere 17 minutes. And Jess Shepard comes off the bench, plays 30 minutes and racks up a double double: 10 rebounds and 11 points (5-6 shooting). And, of course, Collier went for 23 points on 10-18 shooting. If Minnesota gets that kind of production from Coller, Smith and Shepard night-in, night-out, watch out.

 

[jdote33]

I was impressed with Minnesota even though these are two games they should win. They just kinda run there offense, and generate good looks. Phee did hit some special shots but for the most part they just cut hard and played harder. Jess Shephard, Alanna Smith and Phee on the court together was fun. As others have mentioned they are a bit short with the bench, didn't play diamond much. Playing Bridget Carleton 40 is kinda crazy to me. They also didn't play Pili at all since Smith was back in. LA was a bit snake bitten by injuries. Rickea going down really hurt them.

 

[cancontent]

Let's all say it again...the Storm could still have Jade Melbourne. If they didn't decide to give her away for nothing. Well that's not quite true, they acquired a 3rd round pick this year. Which turned into Madison Conner, who they cut. So basically they got nothing.

Yes, but would they have utilized the way Washington does? Not sure if she would have had the playing time she did last year, let alone this season had the Storm kept her.

 

[aceboon]

I was equally shocked at how bad Seattle looked in their first game also shocked at how good Phoenix's role players looked next to Satou and AT. If that wasn't an abnormal #1 game performance and Phx's front office hit on their pick-ups then Phx mmight be better than I anticipated them to be because on paper I thought they were very thin outside of their Big 3 coming into the season.

 

[WBBTakeover]

Playing Bridget Carleton 40 is kinda crazy to me.

I don't think it is. Bridget Carleton's mere presence makes it difficult for opposing teams to double Phee (which is why she hardly ever sees a double--especially a double down from the 3 spot). If you take Carleton off the floor for Diamond Miller for any extended period of time, then those doubles will come frequently (and that's going to be a problem against teams that have size/length at the 3 and at the 4/5).

Having said that, there is some thought that last year may have been a fluke for Minnesota's system and BC (especially compared to 2023), but we'd actually have to see proof of that. Two games isn't enough to make that call. There may be teams that can play her off the court this season, but it's not going to come from the LAs and Dallases of the WNBA.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Yes, but would they have utilized the way Washington does? Not sure if she would have had the playing time she did last year, let alone this season had the Storm kept her.

Well that's true. She had a few moments as a rookie. Of course they barely played Muhl at all last year, no way to know if they would've used Melbourne more if they had kept her.

 

[azfan]

Tulin's Treasures: WNBA Opening Weekend Overreactions

Sample size, shmample size, it’s the perfect time for snap judgments

open.substack.com

This is a well presented observer of the WNBA and an articulate one at that. A portion of the newsletter can be viewed although most of it's behind a paywall. This morning I awoke to the following

"It’s only been a weekend, but the 2025 WNBA season is off and running with every team having taken the floor and three having already played twice. With two more teams set to play game two tonight, what better time to make some sweeping declarations? A full 38.5% of the league will have played 4.5% of their schedules by night’s end — the clock is ticking, people!"

The roster of the Minnesota lynx really looks impressive. They're doing this all without McBride and I've got a suspicion that we haven't seen a full game that highlights the defensive intensity of this team. Defense wins championships - if they stay healthy I think Cheryl Reeve is in line for her fifth title.

 

[azfan]

She had at least one 40 point game w/ the Aces, so that wasn't a record for her. Maybe a record for most points scored against Golden State, but since it was their first game ever...

I believe it was a record for most points scored in a WNBA opener

Edit - at halftime of the Storm versus Wing contest they clarified the record that Plum broke. pheesa had previously scored 32 to open the season to hold the record which the dawg broke

 

[cancontent]

I was equally shocked at how bad Seattle looked in their first game also shocked at how good Phoenix's role players looked next to Satou and AT. If that wasn't an abnormal #1 game performance and Phx's front office hit on their pick-ups then Phx mmight be better than I anticipated them to be because on paper I thought they were very thin outside of their Big 3 coming into the season.

Plus Phoenix are missing Copper and Mack for several weeks. If they're this good now, I'm looking forward to seeing what they look like when they return.

 

[cancontent]

Well that's true. She had a few moments as a rookie. Of course they barely played Muhl at all last year, no way to know if they would've used Melbourne more if they had kept her.

That's the tricky part with hindsight. It may or may not have worked out. Unfortunately we'll never know.

 

[EricLA]

Tulin's Treasures: WNBA Opening Weekend Overreactions

Sample size, shmample size, it’s the perfect time for snap judgments

open.substack.com

This is a well presented observer of the WNBA and an articulate one at that. A portion of the newsletter can be viewed although most of it's behind a paywall. This morning I awoke to the following

"It’s only been a weekend, but the 2025 WNBA season is off and running with every team having taken the floor and three having already played twice. With two more teams set to play game two tonight, what better time to make some sweeping declarations? A full 38.5% of the league will have played 4.5% of their schedules by night’s end — the clock is ticking, people!"

The roster of the Minnesota lynx really looks impressive. They're doing this all without McBride and I've got a suspicion that we haven't seen a full game that highlights the defensive intensity of this team. Defense wins championships - if they stay healthy I think Cheryl Reeve is in line for her fifth title.

Washington Mystics (2-0) — the Mystics have the league’s two best rookies...

I'm guessing the writer means that's an over reaction? TBH, hard to argue with that. Paige is in such a bad situation in Dallas with a selfish ball dominant guard (Arike) that I think Paige's stats will suffer as a result. I don't think Sonia or Kiki are better than Paige, but I would not be surprised to see them both with significantly better year-long stats...