2025 WNBA Opening Day Roster Breakdowns: Part Two
The new WNBA season is underways, but seven teams are yet to tip-off. We detail their opening roster situations to complete the team-by-team breakdowns.
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The 2025 WNBA season is finally underway, with the opening three games taking place last night. We broke down all six of those teams in yesterday’s article. Now it’s time for the remaining seven.
Chicago Sky
PG: Courtney Vandersloot/Moriah Jefferson/Hailey Van Lith
SG: Ariel Atkins/Rachel Banham
SF: Kia Nurse/Rebecca Allen
PF: Angel Reese/Michaela Onyenwere/Maddy Westbeld
C: Kamilla Cardoso/Elizabeth Williams
Opening day roster size: 12
Current remaining cap space: $56,903
Additions since last season: Vandersloot, Nurse (both via free agency), Atkins, Allen (both via trade), Van Lith, Westbeld (both via draft), Tyler Marsh (new head coach)
Losses since last season: Chennedy Carter (not re-signed), Lindsay Allen, Dana Evans (both traded), Isabelle Harrison, Diamond DeShields (both free agents)
Chicago were the first team down to a legal roster, and once there was no sign of a buyout for the protected deals of Banham or Jefferson there was really only one spot available to be fought over. Onyenwere has been the primary backup 4 for Reese in preseason but that spare spot had to be some kind of big, and Westbeld appeared to be the favourite from early in the process. Whether she retains the spot long-term remains to be seen. Making the opening day roster doesn't remotely confirm that players will be there all season, and if they see an upgrade available in cuts elsewhere teams often make changes very swiftly. The Sky have plenty of cap room to switch to a more veteran option if they want to, and the rest of the roster, outside of Reese and Cardoso, certainly suggests they favor experience.
2025 first round pick Ajša Sivka hasn't signed her rookie-scale contract, so does not occupy a roster spot or take up any cap space. She could sign during the season if she showed up to play (the Sky would have to cut someone to make room for her on the roster), but there's every chance that she'll simply stay overseas, with the Sky hoping they gain a more rounded player when she eventually plays in the WNBA.
Connecticut Sun
PG: Lindsay Allen/Bria Hartley
SG: Marina Mabrey/Leila Lacan/Jacy Sheldon
SF: Saniya Rivers/Robyn Parks
PF: Tina Charles/Aneesah Morrow/Haley Peters
C: Olivia Nelson-Ododa/Kariata Diaby/Rayah Marshall
Opening day roster size: 12+1
Current remaining cap space: $193,246
Additions since last season: Sheldon, Allen (both via trade), Morrow, Rivers, Marshall (all via draft), Hartley, Parks, Charles, Peters, Diaby (all via free agency), Lacan (signed after being drafted in 2024), Rachid Meziane (new head coach)
Losses since last season: Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, Brionna Jones, Tiffany Mitchell, Astou Ndour-Fall (all free agents), DiJonai Carrington (signed-and-traded), Tyasha Harris (traded), Veronica Burton (expansion draft), Caitlin Bickle (waived)
The Sun were one of a few teams with so much cap space that they could basically do whatever they wanted with their roster. Hence how they're currently carrying 13 players, despite also swallowing a protected contract due to a camp cut - and yet somehow still have nearly $200,000 remaining in space. Their final cuts were veterans, with Yvonne Anderson and Diamond DeShields being waived. Anderson's deal included $85,000 protected for this season, so she gets all of that anyway. DeShields was hurt for virtually all of camp, so never had the chance to prove herself and the Sun decided to move on. Her deal was unprotected but she received an injury settlement of $20,294, suggesting she’s expected to be healthy in about three weeks.
Connecticut can keep 13 because Lacan is still in France, where the French Finals were finally completed on Friday night (she had 21 points in a blowout win for the title). Because the Sun can fit all 13 under the salary cap, Lacan can be temporarily suspended while they wait for her to arrive (Dallas, for example, can only fit 12, so can’t keep a 13th player even though Luisa Geiselsöder is also still in France). Lacan’s salary still counts against the cap, but she doesn't get paid until she shows up. When she does arrive, Connecticut will have to cut one of the other 12 to open up a roster spot for her.
The Sun's camp seemed a little messy, which isn't a surprise when there's been such heavy turnover since last season. Veteran guard Bria Hartley was added halfway through camp, despite not having played in the WNBA since 2022 (when she tore her ACL just days after signing with the Sun). She made the team, which will hopefully look a lot more interesting when Lacan, Rivers and Morrow are involved. Morrow spent most of camp injured, while Rivers missed most of camp because her mother passed away. This is a team looking towards the future, and the key elements for them this year will be the development of their young players.
Indiana Fever
PG: Caitlin Clark/Sydney Colson
SG: Kelsey Mitchell/Lexi Hull
SF: DeWanna Bonner/Sophie Cunningham
PF: Natasha Howard/Makayla Timpson
C: Aliyah Boston/Damiris Dantas/Brianna Turner
Opening day roster size: 11
Current remaining cap space: $43,006
Additions since last season: Colson, Bonner, Howard, Turner (all via free agency), Cunningham (via trade), Timpson (via draft), Stephanie White (new head coach)
Losses since last season: NaLyssa Smith (traded), Temi Fagbenle (expansion draft), Grace Berger, Victaria Saxton (both waived), Katie Lou Samuelson (bought out), Kristy Wallace (sitting out 2025 season, suspended), Erica Wheeler (free agent)
After all the offseason work setting up their roster, camp was pretty straightforward for Indiana. At least nine spots were essentially cemented before camp began, 10 if you were confident that Brianna Turner's experience would be valued over any younger options. DeWanna Bonner's flexibility to play either forward spot meant that they could've kept an extra wing if they wanted to, without creating a particularly unbalanced roster. But in the end they went with this year's No. 19 pick Makayla Timpson over Jaelyn Brown, retaining the extra post over an additional perimeter player. Brown looked good enough in her preseason appearances that she may be picked up somewhere and given another shot fairly quickly.
That $43,006 in remaining cap space means the Fever can add a 12th player on the pro-rated base minimum on June 27th, assuming they haven't cut into that space at all by utilizing hardship exceptions. Or they could continue to work with 11 and retain that space for potential trades, or 7-day contracts once those become legal at the midpoint of the season on July 14. It's enough to at least have some room to maneuver later in the year, if they need it.
Las Vegas Aces
PG: Chelsea Gray/Dana Evans
SG: Jewell Loyd/Tiffany Mitchell
SF: Jackie Young/Aaliyah Nye/Kierstan Bell
PF: A'ja Wilson/Crystal Bradford
C: Kiah Stokes/(Cheyenne Parker-Tyus)/Megan Gustafson/Elizabeth Kitley
Opening day roster size: 13 (explained below, I promise)
Current remaining cap space: -$66,079 (also explained below)
Additions since last season: Loyd, Evans (both via trade), Mitchell, Bradford, Parker-Tyus (all via free agency), Nye, Kitley (both via draft)
Losses since last season: Kelsey Plum (traded), Alysha Clark, Tiffany Hayes, Sydney Colson (all free agents)
The camp process in Las Vegas was quite straightforward, but the final result has the confusing element of the Aces appearing to have kept too many players. As I detailed in my previews before camps opened, they'd left themselves precisely enough cap room to keep two second-round picks and one veteran minimum salary on the end of their roster - and that's exactly what they did. Parker-Tyus is the veteran minimum, and Nye and Kitley are the second-rounders (they both cost this year's second-round scale because that's when they signed, despite Kitley being drafted a year earlier when she was injured).
They have an extra player because of the pregnancy/childbirth provision the league introduced a couple of years ago, which allows teams to keep an extra player on their applicable minimum salary to replace a player who's out due to pregnancy. If and when Parker-Tyus returns, they will have to release someone to open the roster spot for her. That's also why they're already $66,079 over the cap. They would be at exactly $0 if not for the 13th player, thanks to that careful math mentioned earlier.
New York Liberty
PG: Natasha Cloud/Jaylyn Sherrod
SG: Sabrina Ionescu/Marine Johannès
SF: Leonie Fiebich/Rebekah Gardner/Marquesha Davis
PF: Breanna Stewart/Kennedy Burke/Isabelle Harrison
C: Jonquel Jones/Nyara Sabally
Opening day roster size: 12
Current remaining cap space: $119,394
Additions since last season: Johannès (re-signed after skipping 2024 season), Cloud (via trade), Gardner (healthy after being traded for last year when injured), Harrison (via free agency)
Losses since last season: Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (injured playing elsewhere, suspended), Courtney Vandersloot (free agent), Kayla Thornton (expansion draft), Ivana Dojkić (didn't re-sign)
The calculations for New York were simplified in an unfortunate way when the extent of Betnijah Laney-Hamilton's injury became clear. They could've kept her on the roster and still fit 11 other players under the cap with her, but it would've been a tight fit and her projected recovery time suggests she'd barely have been back on the court in time for the playoffs (at best). Instead, they understandably chose to suspend her. The key difference between her situation and Katie Lou Samuelson's in Seattle is that Laney-Hamilton was hurt playing in a different league, which opens up the suspension option. The result is that Laney-Hamilton is removed from calculations, doesn't occupy a roster spot, and doesn't cost anything against the cap. The Liberty also get to retain her 'suspended-contract expired' exclusive negotiating rights at the end of the season (barring the new CBA changing those rules immediately). Insurance carried by Unrivaled, the league Laney-Hamilton was playing in when she got hurt, will reportedly cover her salary.
Removing Laney-Hamilton's $185,400 from their books meant New York could easily fit 12 players with plenty of room to spare. Without her involved the 12 seemed fairly obvious from the start of camp, especially once Kennedy Burke was being used almost exclusively as a 4 in their preseason games. That made Esmery Martinez an unnecessary luxury in the post, and Leaonna Odom was always a longshot after barely playing basketball for three years. Leonie Fiebich may not be ready for their first game after only recently finishing her season in Spain, but should be available soon. Keep an eye on all that cap space that the Liberty now have left over. With most of the league out of contract at the end of the season there could be a lot of options near the trade deadline, or Emma Meesseman is still out there if she fancies returning to the WNBA once EuroBasket Women is finished in June. This roster could be even stronger by the time the playoffs roll around.
Phoenix Mercury
PG: Sevgi Uzun/Monique Akoa Makani
SG: Kahleah Copper/Sami Whitcomb/Lexi Held
SF: Satou Sabally/Kitija Laksa/Alexis Prince
PF: Alyssa Thomas/Kathryn Westbeld
C: Natasha Mack/Kalani Brown(/Murjanatu Musa)
Opening day roster size: 12+1
Current remaining cap space: $19,911
Additions since last season: Sabally, Thomas, Uzun, Brown (all via trade), Makani, Whitcomb, Held, Laksa, Prince, Westbeld, Musa (all via free agency)
Losses since last season: Diana Taurasi (retirement), Brittney Griner (free agent), Natasha Cloud, Rebecca Allen, Sophie Cunningham, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan (all traded), Monique Billings (expansion draft, then free agent), Celeste Taylor, Amy Atwell (waived)
Once again, Phoenix have a strange roster with a few stars at the top, a very limited middle-class, and then an enormous number of players who are unknowns at the WNBA level. It made for a strangely open training camp where there appeared to be an awful lot of spots up for grabs. It remains to be seen how much this bench can actually help in real WNBA games, or if their stars will have to shoulder a very heavy load.
The final cuts were Megan McConnell, Temira Poindexter and Celeste Taylor, with Taylor probably the most surprising of the group. She made a pretty positive impression in her run with the Mercury late last season, so most people expected her to survive through such a wide open camp. Instead they kept options like Lexi Held and Alexis Prince on the perimeter and Kathryn Westbeld inside (one of two Westbeld sisters to battle their way through a WNBA camp and onto a roster this year). Also making it was Kitija Laksa, who got a protected contract without having played a minute of WNBA basketball (which is virtually unprecedented), and missed all of camp while still playing in Italy. She should be in Phoenix soon, because the Italian season finished on Tuesday, while Murjanatu Musa finished last night in France. The Mercury temporarily suspended Musa, so are currently carrying 13 on the salary cap. When she arrives, they'll need to cut someone to open up a roster spot for Musa to be activated.
Seattle Storm
PG: Skylar Diggins/Erica Wheeler
SG: Gabby Williams/Lexie Brown/Zia Cooke
SF: Alysha Clark(/Katie Lou Samuelson)
PF: Nneka Ogwumike
C: Ezi Magbegor/Dominique Malonga/Li Yueru
Opening day roster size: 11 (but actually 10)
Current remaining cap space: $25,406
Additions since last season: Malonga (pick acquired via a trade, then drafted), Brown, Li (both via trade), Clark, Wheeler, Samuelson, Cooke (all via free agency)
Losses since last season: Jewell Loyd (traded), Jordan Horston, Nika Mühl (both injured, then suspended), Sami Whitcomb, Mercedes Russell, Victoria Vivians, Joyner Holmes (all free agents)
Camp for the Storm was not the smoothest process in the world. Malonga was late arriving due to her season in France, and for a while the team didn't seem to know when she was coming. Samuelson tore her ACL, and because she was on more than a training camp contract has to be paid out until she would be healthy to play basketball again. In her case, that's obviously all year, hence all $90,000 on her Storm deal (she's also getting $106,419 from her buyout in Indiana). If Seattle were to cut her, that $90,000 stays on their cap, and they wouldn't have the space to return to a legal roster. So unless they were going to trade her to a team like Golden State which could swallow the cap hit (likely costing Seattle a draft pick to get it done), they had to keep her.
That leaves the Storm with only ten healthy players to start the season. They do have $25,406 remaining in cap space, which would be enough to add a 12th rostered player on a pro-rated minimum salary around the end of July. However, when you start with 10, you're already on the brink of being eligible for a hardship exception (the simplest of which allows teams to go beyond the cap to add an extra player when they drop below 10 healthy and available on their main roster). If the Storm were to need and utilise that option, the cost of the hardship player eats into that remaining cap space and pushes the possibility of a 12th player further into the future. This is why a Samuelson trade made a lot of sense if the Storm really consider themselves contenders this year (I even suggested some possibilities). It could be the difference between 12 players or 10 for most of the season, which seems like it might be worth next year's Aces first-rounder, for example. But for now they'll go with 10, and desperately hope that their remaining players can stay healthy.
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