The enthralling 2024 WNBA season came to a halt on July 17, first for All-Star Weekend and then for the Paris Olympics. Now that Team USA has returned with an eighth consecutive gold medal in tow, it's time for the 28th season in league history to resume.
Play will begin again Thursday with three games:
- Phoenix Mercury at Chicago Sky, 8 p.m. ET
- Washington Mystics at Minnesota Lynx, 8 p.m. ET
- New York Liberty at Los Angeles Sparks, 9 p.m. ET
Ahead of what figures to be a dramatic final month of the regular season, here are the five biggest storylines to watch.
Rookies chasing history
This star-studded rookie class has been the primary storyline all season, and that won't change as the action restarts following the Olympics. While the depth of this group has been one of its most impressive qualities, two rookies have stood out from the pack: Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. Both will be chasing history over the final month of the regular season.
Clark, the No. 1 overall pick, is the Rookie of the Year favorite. She's averaging 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and a league-best 8.2 assists per game, became the first rookie in league history to record a triple-double and set the single-game assist record with 19.
With 14 games remaining, Clark needs just 13 assists to break Ticha Penicheiro's rookie assist record of 225, and 104 assists to surpass Alyssa Thomas' all-time single-season mark of 316. At her current pace, she should get both records as long as she doesn't miss any games.
Reese, meanwhile, fell to No. 7 in the draft and was not expected to be this impactful this soon. She's putting up 13.5 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, leads the league in offensive rebounding and recorded 15 double-doubles in a row to set the longest streak in league history.
The Sky have 16 games remaining, and Reese has some major rebounding records in sight. She's 113 rebounds away from Tina Charles' rookie record of 398 and 119 shy of Sylvia Fowles' all-time single-season mark of 404. At her current pace, she should have no trouble breaking those marks. When looking specifically at offensive rebounds, she needs 51 to break Yolanda Griffith's single-season mark of 162.
Wilson's quest for single-season scoring record
The rookies aren't the only players putting together historic campaigns. After narrowly missing out on her third MVP award last season, A'ja Wilson is leaving the voters no doubt this summer. She has been dominant on both sides of the ball, but her scoring has been particularly impressive.
Prior to the Olympic break, Wilson averaged 27.2 points per game on 52.2% shooting. She is not only on pace to win the first scoring title of her career, but to destroy the long-standing single-season scoring average record of 25.3 set by Diana Taurasi in 2006. Wilson should also surpass Jewell Loyd's single-season total points record of 939 and become the first player with a 1,000-point season.
As long as Wilson keeps playing 34 minutes a night and taking nearly 20 shots a game, she will have no problem recording the greatest scoring season in WNBA history. The only question on that front is whether the Aces will try and ease her workload over the next few weeks after a grueling Olympic campaign. After all, Wilson will care more about completing a three-peat than her individual accolades.
Playoff races
When the action begins again Thursday, only 35 days will be remaining in the regular season, and each team has between 14 and 16 games to play. The playoff push will start immediately, and nearly everyone will have a role to play.
The New York Liberty have opened up what is essentially a 3.5-game advantage -- they're 2.5 games ahead of the second-place Connecticut Sun and own the tiebreaker between the teams -- on the rest of the league for the No. 1 seed, and it's hard to see anyone chasing them down.
Rather, the most interesting race to watch will be seeds Nos. 2-5. Just two games separate the second-place Sun from the fifth-place Las Vegas Aces, and there will be plenty of jockeying over the next month. In particular, teams will be eager to get up to third place, as finishing in fourth or fifth would invite the hardest first-round playoff series and worst overall postseason path.
Lower down in the standings, the Phoenix Mercury are comfortable for the moment in sixth place, but their 2.5-game lead on the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky is not insurmountable, especially for the Fever, who own the tiebreaker over the Mercury. As for the Fever and Sky, the former is currently in seventh by percentage points over the Sky.
All of the current lottery teams are at least three games out of a playoff spot as it stands.
How much does Mabrey boost the Sun's offense?
Shortly before the Olympic break, the Chicago Sky sent Marina Mabrey and a 2025 second-round pick to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Rachel Banham, Moriah Jefferson, a 2025 first-round pick and a 2026 first-round pick swap.
The Sun's blockbuster acquisition is by far the most significant move by any team this season and could potentially alter the title race. While there's no question Mabrey will improve the Sun's offense, just how much is the big question coming out of the break.
While the Sun are an incredible defensive team and boast an 18-6 record, they haven't been considered a serious title threat due to their offensive issues. Their poor 3-point shooting, stagnant halfcourt offense and over-reliance on transition points and free throws made it too hard for them to reliably beat other top teams.
Mabrey should address all of those issues. Even in a somewhat down season, she's shooting 35% on 6.7 3-point attempts per game, can create her own shot and offers some secondary playmaking.
Will she be enough to get the Sun, who have five semifinals appearances and two Finals appearances in the last five seasons with no title to show for it, over the hump? We'll soon find out.
Trade deadline approaching
The annual trade deadline, and the weeks leading up to it, is one of the most exciting stretches of the NBA calendar. In the WNBA, though, that period often passes without even a mention. Why is that?
A major reason is simply fewer teams and fewer players. Not every franchise fills the maximum number of spots in either league, of course, but the NBA has 18 more teams and roughly 400 more players than the WNBA. Furthermore, 53.3% of NBA teams make the playoffs, while 75% of the WNBA's teams do, so there are only a few sellers at the deadline. And, finally, the WNBA has a hard salary cap, which limits in-season flexibility.
Meaningful in-season trades are so rare that when the Chicago Sky shipped Marina Mabrey to the Connecticut Sun last month, it was the first one of note since 2015. Was that a one-off? Or was it the beginning to a surprisingly busy trade season? We'll soon find out, with the trade deadline set for Aug. 20, less than a week after play resumes.
