-
André Snellings
Multiple Authors
It’s been a busy spring for the WNBA, from the new CBA to the busiest free agency period in league history. The league also expanded from 12 teams as of the end of 2024 to 15 teams now, with the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire joining this season after the Golden State Valkyries came on board last season. Then, the WNBA draft brought another infusion of talent into the league, including the Dallas Wings adding a No. 1 overall pick from UConn for the second straight year.
With all of that in mind, there are many WNBA mainstays who are fitting into their new squads around the league. With change comes opportunity, so let’s examine some of the most significant of that player movement with an eye on which ones will have the biggest impacts on the fantasy hoops landscape.
Other resources: Sign up! | Projections | Rankings | Average draft position | Schedule
Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream (trade)
Reese was traded from the Chicago Sky to the Dream in a blockbuster move. Reese has led the WNBA in rebounding in each of the past two seasons and, with the Dream having moved on from Brittney Griner this offseason, Reese looks poised to crash the glass again this season. Reese has also shown that she is developing into a plus scorer, and that process is helped when she plays on teams with strong backcourts that can draw defensive attention and set Reese up with good looks. She’ll be playing next to an elite backcourt of Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray in Atlanta, and all signs point to Reese putting up major numbers in Year 3. She is a top-10 fantasy prospect with top-five upside.
1:57
McNutt: Angel Reese trade benefits all parties involved
Monica McNutt joins “SportsCenter” to break down what the Sky trading Angel Reese to the Dream means for both teams.
Satou Sabally to the New York Liberty
Sabally was the leading scorer for the Phoenix Mercury last season at 16.3 PPG, and that’s after she averaged 18.3 PPG over her two previous seasons with the Wings. Sabally will be joining a stacked lineup with the Liberty featuring Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones, so her scoring average may be further depressed this season. But Sabally is an excellent all-around player, so I expect her to settle in as a key producer for the Liberty. While she might have been a top-10 fantasy prospect on a team that required more of her, Sabally is still firmly a top-20 prospect for the Liberty as long as she stays healthy.
Practice makes perfect with the ESPN Mock Draft Lobby.
Nneka Ogwumike to the Los Angeles Sparks
Ogwumike returned to the Sparks this offseason after two seasons with the Seattle Storm. The Sparks drafted Ogwumike and she played the first 12 seasons of her career there, winning an MVP and leading the team to a championship in 2016. Ogwumike joins Dearica Hamby and 2024 No. 2 overall pick Cameron Brink in a strong frontcourt. It remains to be seen how the minutes and responsibilities will be distributed among them, but Ogwumike comes in as a top-20 fantasy prospect with top-10 upside.
Skylar Diggins to the Chicago Sky
Diggins signed a two-year deal with the Sky this offseason, her fifth franchise in her 12th WNBA season. Diggins has been a perennial All-Star at every stop in her career, including last season with the Storm. The Sky struggled in the backcourt last season, and Diggins should be featured as the primary offense creator for the team this season. I consider her a top-20 fantasy prospect with top-10 upside.
Rickea Jackson to the Chicago Sky
Jackson was traded from the Sparks to the Sky this offseason in exchange for Ariel Atkins. Jackson has been a plus scorer in her first two WNBA seasons, and has a good chance to improve her production in her third season on a team that will rely on her scoring. In addition, Jackson will be playing next to Diggins, who can help create good looks for her in the offense. Jackson increased her scoring as last season went along, averaging 16.7 PPG over the last 21 games of the season, and has a good chance to match or exceed that average this season.
Download the ESPN Fantasy app on the Apple Store and Google Play.
Ariel Atkins to Los Angeles Sparks (trade)
Atkins was traded to the Sparks in the deal that sent Jackson to the Sky. Atkins is a plus shooter-scorer that has the all-around ability to contribute on the glass and with assists as well. On the Sparks, she’ll be playing next to dynamic playmaker Kelsey Plum on a team with playoffs aspirations. Atkins may not post huge numbers, but she has scored in the low-mid double digits in all eight of her seasons, and should be expected to do so again this season.
Brittney Griner to the Connecticut Sun
Griner signed with the rebuilding Sun and seems likely to become their starting center. Griner was a perennial All-Star with the Mercury for most of her career before joining the Dream last season. Griner lost her starting role for the Dream down the stretch, bringing her averages down to 8.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 1.4 BPG in 16.1 MPG in her last 14 games. This season, on a Sun team that may feature her, Griner’s numbers could more resemble those from 2024, her last season with the Mercury, where she was a high-mid-teens scorer grabbing between six and seven boards and blocking about a shot-and-a-half per game.
Create your own league, draft your team and play against your friends!
Natasha Howard to Minnesota Lynx
Howard signed on for her second stint with the Lynx after a season that represented her second stint with the Indiana Fever. She is an elite defender and plus rebounder from the forward position that had averaged 16.4 PPG and 7.3 RPG in her three seasons prior to rejoining the Fever last season. On a Fever team featuring several All-Stars, Howard’s scoring production dipped to 11.4 PPG. In the long term the Lynx will feature last season’s MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier, but Collier is injured and not expecting to resume on-court basketball activities until June. Thus, Howard could have a larger role than usual to start the season, perhaps approaching her stats from before joining the Fever.
Brittney Sykes, Marina Mabrey to the Toronto Tempo
This is a two-for-one for the expansion Tempo, who added both Sykes and Mabrey to form a strong backcourt. Sykes averaged 15.0 PPG, 4.3 APG and 3.8 RPG in two and a half seasons with the Washington Mystics before being traded to the Storm to end last season. Mabrey has been a consistent 14.6 PPG scorer in her past three seasons playing for both the Sky and the Sun. Between them, they should lead the expansion Tempo with numbers at the upper end of their expected averages from recent seasons.
Bridget Carleton to the Portland Fire
Carleton was brought to the expansion Fire after playing with the Lynx last season. Carleton was a role player on the Lynx but projects to a more featured profile on the Fire. Carleton set career highs of 9.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 2.3 3PG in 29.9 MPG in her first full season as a starter for the Lynx in 2024. She is likely to surpass all of those numbers this season as a primary scorer for the Fire.
Made it this far? Time to play! Sign up for free and draft your team today.
Leave a Reply