Which WNBA offseason moves are making the biggest impact -- and who still has work to do?

The 2025 WNBA season has been 1 of the astir anticipated successful league history, successful portion owed to a flurry of offseason subordinate question and arguably the astir breathtaking escaped bureau play the W has seen.

A grounds 4 No. 1 draught picks switched teams, including Kelsey Plum and Jewell Loyd, who headlined the archetypal commercialized successful league past involving aggregate No. 1 selections. Plum, Loyd, Brittney Griner and Alyssa Thomas are among the stars playing for caller franchises for the archetypal clip successful their careers, a reshuffling that has changed the scenery of the WNBA successful the process.

There's a batch of hoops near to beryllium played. But 2 weeks into the season, and with each teams already playing betwixt 4 and six games, we marque immoderate aboriginal assessments connected however these blockbuster moves are panning out. ESPN ranks the astir impactful escaped bureau moves to day and 4 different players who switched teams but person yet to interruption done successful 2025.

Ranking the 5 best

1. Kelsey Plum, Los Angeles Sparks: Plum's accomplishment successful Los Angeles promised to revitalize the storied franchise. It hasn't yet translated to wins, but she has brought backmost prima powerfulness to the organization. Plum has been each spot the dynamic defender the Sparks needed: Her 25.2 points per crippled ranks 2nd successful the league (on a 60.3 existent shooting percentage, nary less), portion her 151 points are the astir done six games of a play successful Sparks history.

As soon arsenic she was traded to L.A., Plum said she was anxious to beryllium a playmaker, and she has besides shined there, boasting a career-best 5.5 assists per game.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, she has scored oregon assisted connected 233 of the Spark's points, tied for the astir points scored oregon assisted connected by a subordinate done their archetypal six games of a season. It's typically hard for a subordinate to triumph MVP connected a squad with a losing record, but Plum has managed to asseverate herself into the aboriginal conversation.

2. Natasha Cloud, New York Liberty: It took immoderate clip for the Liberty to execute the commercialized that brought Cloud to New York -- the woody was announced successful March connected Selection Sunday -- but she's already showing wherefore she was worthy the wait. Cloud was sensational successful her archetypal crippled for the defending champs, finishing with 22 points, 9 assists, 6 boards and 5 stocks (steals and blocks) against rival Las Vegas, and she has lone continued to radiance with her playmaking and defense. Her emergence arsenic different go-to scoring enactment -- she's New York's third-leading scorer -- takes immoderate unit disconnected the Liberty's different stars, and Cloud's toughness and dependable marque the squad each the much threatening successful its bid to repeat.

3. Alyssa Thomas, Phoenix Mercury: Thomas is shining successful Phoenix and successful Nate Tibbetts' system. She's caller disconnected her 2nd vocation 15-assist crippled (tying a franchise record) and is delivering arsenic a reliable scorer, each the much important with Copper sidelined: Thomas' 15.2 points per crippled are 2nd astir connected the team; alongside Satou Sabally they are the lone Mercury players averaging much than 11 points per game. Thomas' combat and toughness person carried implicit to her caller team, peculiarly connected defense, an extremity of the level Phoenix has leaned connected to triumph games. Tibbetts has indicated that determination are adjacent much ways helium is hoping to unlock Thomas arsenic a playmaker and that she'll proceed to flourish arsenic she builds spot with the Mercury's younger players.

4. Satou Sabally, Phoenix Mercury: At 4-1, the Mercury are disconnected to their champion commencement since 2014 -- erstwhile they won their past WNBA rubric -- and it's successful nary tiny portion a merchandise of Sabally thriving successful her caller city. She's No. 6 successful the league successful scoring astatine 19.8 points per game, which the Mercury person needed each spot of with Kahleah Copper sidelined for the archetypal portion of the season. Phoenix's absorption connected spacing, 3-point shooting and playing positionless hoops has been a boon for Sabally, who has agelong been labeled a hoops unicorn. And she adjacent has country to improve: Her 3-point percent is down from past year's 45.2% (albeit successful 15 games) to 27.3%.

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Satou Sabally drains the dime from Alyssa Thomas for the Mercury

Satou Sabally drains the dime from Alyssa Thomas for the Mercury.

5. Brionna Jones, Atlanta Dream: Jones mightiness person amazed fans by signing with Atlanta aft Brittney Griner already decided to play there, but she has acclimated good to Karl Smesko's system, playing alongside Griner oregon arsenic the sole big. Jones is 1 of 5 players crossed the league averaging a double-double and is registering what would beryllium vocation highs successful tract extremity attempts per crippled (11.0), rebounds (10.0) and assists (2.8). She's not yet sinking them astatine a regular clip, but she has attempted astir arsenic galore 3-pointers this twelvemonth (12) arsenic she tried the entirety of 2024 (14).

It's a tiny sample, but the Dream's discourtesy is simply a team-best 26.5 points per 100 possessions amended erstwhile Jones is connected the tribunal versus disconnected it. Jones starts alongside different halfway successful Griner erstwhile the second is steadfast (Griner missed the past 2 games due to the fact that of a genu injury), with the brace sharing the tribunal for 87 minutes crossed 4 games. We gave Jones the motion successful this ranking for her other reps, but she and Griner (14.8 PPG) person complemented each different good truthful far, and they stay integral to Atlanta's contention hopes.

Four much to watch

Jewell Loyd, Las Vegas Aces: Heading into the season, manager Becky Hammon raved astir Loyd and said she thought the Aces' caller acquisition was poised to spell connected a teardrop this season. A 20-piece against the winless Connecticut Sun notwithstanding, that mentation of Loyd hasn't materialized, arsenic her 12.0 points per crippled connected 31.3% shooting would beryllium among her career-low marks. Hammon has continued to reiterate her religion successful Loyd, and the Aces volition request her to prime up her accumulation if they privation to found themselves arsenic contenders. Keep an oculus connected her usage wrong the Las Vegas offense: Historically known for her midrange game, Loyd's 3-point complaint this play sits astatine a whopping 60%, treble what it was past twelvemonth with the Storm.

DeWanna Bonner, Indiana Fever: Bonner was 1 of the Fever's prized escaped bureau acquisitions this offseason. While her enactment has impressed -- anterior to her 21-point outburst connected Wednesday -- she had yet to marque a splash connected the court, averaging 2.5 points and 4.0 tract extremity attempts successful those contests (compared to 15.0 and 12.8 past year, respectively). Bonner's relation was ever bound to beryllium antithetic successful Indiana, wherever she's appearing alongside a ascendant large 3 with preexisting chemistry, than it was with the Connecticut Sun, wherever getting her looks was a precedence of the offense. Coach Stephanie White has said Bonner is getting accustomed to playing successful a faster-paced system, and that with truthful overmuch of Indiana's discourtesy predicated connected playing with state and disconnected instinct, Bonner and her teammates are inactive learning 1 another.

Courtney Vandersloot and Ariel Atkins, Chicago Sky: After retooling their roster successful the offseason, the Sky person fallen abbreviated of expectations and are 1 of 2 teams remaining without a win. The aboriginal going for Vandersloot and Atkins has been tough: Vandersloot, who returned to the franchise with which she won the 2021 title, sports 1 of the lowest assist-to-turnover ratios (2.10) and 3-point clips (17.6%) of her career. Atkins, the subordinate for whom Chicago traded the No. 3 prime and a 2027 pick-swap, hadn't managed much than 11 points successful a crippled anterior to Tuesday, erstwhile she scored 21 connected a season-high 15 changeable attempts.

The issues successful Chicago spell beyond immoderate 1 oregon 2 players, but for the Sky to retrieve from their dreadful start, they'll request much from their 2 seasoned guards with title experience. The squad managed to people a season-best 89 points with assists connected 25 of 33 baskets successful its astir caller nonaccomplishment to Phoenix, a show Atkins, Vandersloot and the remainder of the Sky tin look to physique on.