3 hot takes from the first 3 days of the 2025 WNBA season
The 29th season of the WNBA tipped off this weekend, and things are already getting spicy on the court.
The WNBA’s 29th season started this weekend, leading to a packed slate of exciting games. While these initial wins and losses aren’t anything to overreact to, especially now that the W has expanded to a 44-game season, there are still a few takeaways to be had.
Let’s dive into three of the hottest takes after opening weekend:
Paige Bueckers has some serious ROTY competition
Paige Bueckers entered her rookie WNBA season as a newly minted NCAA champion and the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. As she headed to Dallas to start her season with the Wings, the Rookie of the Year speculation was already at a fever pitch.
On paper, it seems like Bueckers has (and will continue to have) a solid case: She is an incredible shooter, passer, and basketball mind on a team where she will make an immediate impact. She was the best talent in the draft, given her unanimous projection as the No. 1 prospect before ultimately being selected. But is she a Rookie of the Year lock? Maybe, but some of the other newbies proved this weekend that it may not be a cut-and-dry vote at the end of the season.
All eyes were on Washington this weekend as the Mystics went 2-0 in their first two games. Widely projected as one of the league’s lottery teams this season, it was surprising to some that they were able to win not one, but both of their games to open the season. The first was against Atlanta, when they got the best of the new-look Dream in a tight game. Then, they were able to beat the Connecticut Sun in their more likely victory of the weekend. What stood out in both games, though, was the play from the Mystics’ rookies.
Washington drafted Sonia Citron No. 3, Kiki Iriafen No. 4, and Georgia Amoore No. 6 in the first round of the draft last month. Unfortunately, Amoore suffered an ACL injury just days into training camp and won’t play this season, but Citron and Iriafen are already making an impact. In their game against the Dream, Citron scored 19 points and grabbed 2 rebounds to go with 2 assists while only coughing up 1 turnover. She shot 2-2 from distance and 6-7 (85.7%) from the field. She followed that up in Sunday’s game with a 15-point performance, adding 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 rebound and 1 block.
While Iriafen only scored 4 points in her WNBA debut against Atlanta, fouling out of the game (as is common among front-court players adjusting to the officiating of the WNBA), she followed it up with a great game against the Sun. On Sunday, Iriafen had 17 points 14, rebounds, and 1 block while shooting 70% from the field. And with the amount of minutes these Mystics rookies will be able to play this season, given the state of Washington’s roster, either player could earn a serious place in the ROTY conversation.
Now, it’s not like Bueckers didn’t have a good debut. She scored 10 points along with adding 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block against Minnesota on Friday. She only shot 3-10 from the field, but it’s hard to judge harshly in the first game. She has yet to play a second game like the Mystics, but the Wings’ team makeup is also a little different. Hopefully, their new coach Chris Koclanes is merely testing things out for now, but ultimately, the offense should be running more through Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale and Maddy Siegrist instead of how things went against Minnesota.
It’s early, but guessing that Citron, Iriafen and Bueckers will all be in the ROTY conversation this season doesn’t seem like much of a stretch.
Napheesa Collier could win MVP
Another race that could be tight this season is the one for the MVP award. Last season, A’ja Wilson ran away with it by June or July, but in a year where she wasn’t playing legendary, league-historic hoops, Collier would have been right up there with her. Now, Wilson could certainly continue to play to the same level she played last year when she averaged a league-record 26.9 points per game. Yet, Napheesa Collier could just rise to that level as well, and give Wilson some competition for the top player in the WNBA.
In Minnesota’s first game against Dallas, Collier scored 34 points on 10-18 shooting from the field, and added 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Minnesota won that game 99-84 in pretty dominant fashion. In their second game against LA, Collier scored 23 points on 12-21 shooting with 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 block, helping the Lynx win 89-75 over the Sparks. Las Vegas has only had one game so far this season, but Wilson scored 31 points on 11-22 shooting, along with 16 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. Yet, the Aces lost that game against New York, 92-78.
If Collier and Wilson are this close when it comes time to vote for MVP, their teams’ records may come into play. Voters tend to turn to wins and losses as tiebreakers when deciding who to cast a vote for, which could give Collier an edge if she and the Lynx continue their revenge-season run.
The New York Liberty are somehow even better than last season
Speaking of the New York Liberty beating the Aces... the Liberty look GOOD. Like, maybe even better than last season, good. In 2024, the Liberty spent most of the season atop the league standings, made it to the Commissioner’s Cup Final, and of course won the WNBA Championship. In the offseason, they traded for Natasha Cloud and brought Marine Johannes back after she missed the 2024 season (among some other moves).
Unfortunately, the Liberty are missing a piece of their core this season as Betnijah Laney-Hamilton is out with an injury, but they have still built an incredibly strong team ready to defend their trophy.
"I came into the next huddle, and Stewie was like 'how do you like this crowd?,' and was like 'I thought they had called a charge the way everybody started screaming.'"
— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) May 17, 2025
- Natasha Cloud https://t.co/bJ9SaU3KXp
Cloud seems to be a big part of this push for back-to-back rings, and brings a TON of energy to the Liberty on and off the court. We know that players tend to play a bit more freely when they are in an environment they are enjoying, and boy, is Cloud enjoying being in Brooklyn. The fans love her as well, and were extremely loud for her in her debut with the Liberty. She scored 22 points to go with 6 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks in the Liberty’s win over the Aces.
Breanna Stewart seems to be in good form after she underwent a scope of her knee in March, and it’s nice to see her being able to play without pain. Stewart scored 25 points on 10-14 shooting from the field, and grabbed 8 rebounds to go with her 3 assists in Saturday’s win.
Natasha Cloud calls the Liberty home crowd "electrifying" and credits the fans as a sixth player on the court.
— New York Liberty Videos (@SNYLiberty) May 17, 2025
Cloud was also asked her reaction securing a three-point play that ignited the crowd:
"I thought I got a charge the way they started screaming" pic.twitter.com/Mkny2aLlTZ
The overwhelming takeaway from Saturday’s statement win against the Aces is that the Liberty look rejuvenated. The energy was high on the team, and it showed. Their defence was great as well, and their approach seemed to be something along the lines of “well, we may not be able to stop a Wilson 30-piece, so let’s stop everyone else.” It worked pretty well, given the next highest scorer after Wilson was Jackie Young with 16, and the only other Aces in double figures were Chelsea Gray with 12 and Dana Evans off the bench with 10.
If this is how the Liberty are playing against a team like the Aces, they may be on track to rule the WNBA again this season.