Burning questions for every WNBA team: Can Sky’s Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso take a second-year leap?

After a long, but eventful winter, WNBA training camps opened Sunday, which means the 2025 season is now only a few weeks away. All of the action will tip off on opening night, which is set for May 16. Each team will play 44 games this season, up from the previous high of 40 last season.  

The New York Liberty enter as the reigning champions after claiming the first title in franchise history last season, and will be among the favorites to win it all again. Out West, the Golden State Valkyries will begin play as the first expansion team to join the league since the Atlanta Dream in 2008. Meanwhile, down South, Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 Draft, will make her long-awaited WNBA debut with the Dallas Wings. 

Paige Bueckers shares ‘wow’ differences between UConn and WNBA during her first Wings training camp

Isabel Gonzalez

Ahead of training camps and what should be another fascinating season, let’s go around the league and look at one big question facing each team. 

Atlanta Dream

Can Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones play together in Smesko’s system?

The Dream were the worst offensive team in the league last season, and were swept in the first-round of the playoffs for the second year in a row, which prompted them to make a major change in the coaching department. Out went Tanisha Wright and her hard-nosed defensive approach, and in came Karl Smesko, who built Florida Gulf Coast into a mid-major powerhouse over the past two decades by spacing the floor and launching as many 3-pointers as possible.

While the Dream’s philosophical switch made sense, especially with some of the players already on the roster, their free agent approach was more suited to Wright’s style than Smesko’s. They signed Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones to solidify their frontcourt, and from a pure talent perspective, those were two of the best signings in franchise history. But real questions remain about their fit – both in terms of whether they can play together, and how they’ll fare in Smesko’s system. Last season, Jones and Griner combined for 787 field goal attempts; only 183 of them came outside of the paint. 

How much of a leap will Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese make?

For all of the excitement around Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese’s rookie campaigns, the Sky were somewhat dysfunctional last season. Everything the front office did this winter was to try and rectify that and make the team competitive. They hired Tyler Marsh as their new coach, jettisoned Chennedy Carter, swapped the No. 3 pick for Ariel Atkins, added a number of veterans and targeted players in the draft who can pass and shoot.

All of the Sky’s moves should make life easier for Cardoso and Reese, and now the big question is whether they can make a leap. Can Cardoso become more of an offensive focal point? Can Reese become more efficient as a finisher? Can either of them develop any sort of a jumper? The answers will not only determine whether the Sky can compete for a playoff spot this season, but whether they can build around both of them long term. 

What will be the Sun’s new identity?

No team had a worse offseason than the Sun, who lost their coach, Stephanie White, and seven of their top-eight scorers, including All-Stars Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones, and Most Improved Player DiJonai Carrington. After eight consecutive playoff appearances, and six trips in a row to at least the semifinals, the Sun are staring down a complete rebuild. 

The Sun have a new general manager in Morgan Tuck, a new coach in Rachid Meziane and nearly a completely new roster. It’s going to be a while until the Sun are a playoff team again, but they do have some intriguing young talent, including two first-round picks in this year’s draft, Aneesah Morrow and Saniya Rivers. In addition, highly-regarded French guard Leïla Lacan, their first-round pick from last year’s draft, is coming over this season. The big challenge for Meziane in his first season in the league will be to build a culture and identity that not only makes those pieces fit together, but reestablished Connecticut as somewhere players want to be. 

Dallas WIngs

How quickly will Paige Bueckers adjust to the WNBA?

Bueckers, who closed out her historic college career by leading UConn to a national championship earlier this month, is a generational offensive talent. She was a few missed free throws away from a 50/40/90 campaign this season and was second in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.52. Bueckers is a true three-level scorer and comfortable operating on or off the ball. 

There was no surprise when the Wings made Bueckers the No. 1 overall pick, and there’s little doubt that she’s a future All-Star. Historically, though, the WNBA has not been an easy transition for young guards. Caitlin Clark bucked the trend last season, but it’s unfair to hold Bueckers to that standard. Just how quickly Bueckers adjusts to the professional level is going to be a big factor in how successful the Wings are this season. 

Golden State Valkyries

What is it all going to look like?

The Valkyries are the first expansion team to join the WNBA since the Dream in 2008. Justė Jocytė, the Valkyries’ first-round pick in this year’s draft at No. 5 overall, was only two years old when that happened. Natalie Nakase, the team’s coach, was at the tail end of her playing career overseas. In the Finals that season, the Detroit Shock defeated the San Antonio Silver Stars; both franchises have since relocated. 

All of which is a long-winded way of saying it’s been a long time since anyone has seen an expansion team in action. This is a brand new organization, a brand new coaching staff and a brand new roster. All of it, the entire experience both on and off the court, is something of a mystery — for the Valkyries and the teams preparing to compete against them. Expectations aren’t high just based on their lack of star power, but this still should be a fun season in the Bay Area. The Valkyries’ experience will also help inform the league and fans about what to expect from the additional expansion teams on the horizon. 

Can they actually compete for a title?

Caitlin Clark’s arrival put the Fever back on the map, and the organization had no interest in slow-playing their rebuild. They went for it in every way possible this winter: new front office, new coach, new players, even plans for a new practice facility. Before last season, the Fever had not made the playoffs since 2016. Now they are in win-now mode. 

Stephanie White is a major upgrade on the sidelines, they re-signed Kelsey Mitchell and have added some solid veteran talent in DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard, Sophie Cunningham. But just how far can the Fever go? It’s worth remembering that they went 9-5 after the Olympic break last season and had the best offense in the league in that span by a wide margin. That would suggest that they can be a real threat, but it’s one thing to be a serious playoff team again and it’s another to actually contend for a title. Clark is so good, though, that they shouldn’t be dismissed. 

Can a change of scenery get Jewell Loyd back to her best?

Jewell Loyd may have put up 19.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game last season, but she did not play well. She shot a career-worst 36% from the field, and her 49.7% true shooting percentage (also a career-low) ranked 65th out of the 73 players who averaged at least 20 minutes a game. Her 622 field goals were tied for the eighth-most in a season in WNBA history, and of the 16 instances in league history of a player taking at least 600 field goals in a season, she had the worst field goal %. 

As Loyd prepares for her first season with the Aces following a blockbuster offseason trade — one she requested — it’s fair to wonder if her 2024 performance was a weird one-off influenced by off-court factors, or the start of a downward trend. While Loyd isn’t “old,” this will be her 11th season and she’ll turn 32 in October. It’s certainly possible she’s at a different point of her career. It’s also possible that she may have just needed a change of scenery, and is about to flourish alongside A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray. The Aces will certainly hope it’s the latter, as they’ll need Loyd at her best as they try to win a third title in four years. 

How much of a difference can Kelsey Plum make?

The Sparks were one of many teams that made a big splash during the offseason. In addition to hiring Lynne Roberts as their new coach, they traded the No. 2 overall pick (Dominique Malonga) in the draft to the Storm as part of a huge three-team trade that brought back Kelsey Plum from the Aces. Plum’s arrival gives the Sparks a true star to build and market the franchise around. 

There’s no question Plum makes the Sparks better, but how much so? As talented as she is, she’s had the benefit of playing next to A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young in recent years. Can she make the same impact as the No. 1 option this season when defenses are geared toward slowing her down? The Sparks, who are coming off the worst season in franchise history, will certainly hope so. They have no incentive to tank because the Storm own their 2026 first-round pick. 

Can Napheesa Collier win MVP?

Collier has been a very good player ever since she won Rookie of the Year in 2019, but she took her game to a new level last season when she was named Defensive Player of the Year and finished second in MVP voting. Her leap was one of the biggest reasons why the Lynx turned into a surprise contender, won a franchise-record 30 games and made it to the Finals for the first time since 2017. 

The Lynx, of course, did not lift the trophy last season. That was in part because Collier was not at her best in the winner-take-all Game 5, when she missed a chance to seal the game in regulation, then fouled out in overtime. As incredible as Collier was last season, it still feels like there’s room for her to grow. She flat-out dominated Unrivaled, and will carry that momentum into the WNBA. If she can establish herself as the best player in the league, that might be the slight edge the Lynx need to get over the hump and win a record-setting fifth title. 

New York Liberty

Can they repeat?

The Liberty are one of the league’s original franchises, and prior to last season had been to the Finals five times without winning a championship. They almost fell to 0-6 in the Finals, but somehow managed to escape with a dramatic victory over the Minnesota Lynx in a winner-take-all Game 5 to earn their first title. Now, they’re out to do it again and solidify themselves as a true superteam. 

But can they? The biggest question will be about their supporting cast. While the core of the team remains in place, there has been a lot of change around it. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton is set to miss the majority, if not all, of the season, while Kayla Thornton and Courtney Vandersloot have been replaced by Rebekah Gardner, Natasha Cloud and Marine Johannes. They still have more than enough talent, but their wing depth will be tested and they’ll have to work in some new pieces. 

Do they have enough depth?

For the second consecutive season, the Mercury will look completely different after a series of stunning moves. Most notably, of course, Diana Taurasi retired and Brittney Griner left in free agency, while Sophie Cunningham, Natasha Cloud, Rebecca Allen and Monique Billings also departed. To fill the void, they added Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally to form a big three alongside Kahleah Copper, as well as Kalani Brown and Sami Whitcomb. 

Pop quiz: Can you name anyone else on the roster off the top of your head? The Mercury’s top-tier talent is up there with any other team in the league, but you need at least some semblance of depth to win a championship. How are the Mercury going to do that when there’s no one on the roster outside of Thomas, Sabally and Copper that you’d trust in a big moment? And that doesn’t even take into account the fact that Sabally has played more than 17 games just once in her career. This could be a fun experiment in the desert, but there are a lot of ways it could go sideways, too. 

Seattle Storm

Did they fix their offensive issues?

The Storm’s attempt to build a contender on the fly last season was unsuccessful, in large part because the offense wasn’t good enough. For all of the individual talent, the team never clicked on that side of the ball. Jewell Loyd had a very tough year, there was no spacing or outside shooting to speak of (they were the first team to shoot under 30% from behind the arc for a season since the 2021 Fever) and the bench was a complete question mark. 

After some serious drama to start the offseason, including a blockbuster trade that sent Loyd to the Aces and ultimately netted Dominique Malonga as the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, the Storm quietly made a number of interesting additions. Alysha Clark, Lexie Brown and Katie Lou Samuelson can all really shoot the ball, but also have concerns. Clark will turn 38 this season, Brown hasn’t been able to stay healthy and Samuelson was so bad last season the Fever bought out her contract. If the Storm can get something from those three this season, it will go a long way toward solving their offensive issues. If not, they’re likely looking at a repeat of last summer. 

How will their array of rookies fare?

The Mystics cleaned house this winter, and when this season begins it will be the first one without a Thibault — Mike or Eric — in charge since 2012. Jamila Wideman is in as general manager and Sydney Johnson as coach, and they’ll be tasked with leading the team’s rebuild, which got underway in earnest a few weeks ago with the 2025 WNBA Draft. Through a series of trades, including sending Ariel Atkins to the Sky, the Mystics had three of the top-six picks, including two lottery selections. 

There’s no question that the Mystics were hurt by so many top prospects opting to forgo the draft, but they still added an array of talent: Sonia Citron at No. 3, Kiki Iriafen at No. 4 and Georgia Amoore at No. 6 — a do-it-all wing, a versatile, athletic forward and a dynamic point guard, respectively. This summer in D.C. will be all about developing that trio. If even just two of the three are hits, this is the type of draft class that could jumpstart the Mystics’ future.