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2023 WNBA season: One key storyline for all 12 teams as training camps open – CBS Sports
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Training camps have opened around the league and the 2023 WNBA season is now just weeks away. Most of the focus in the lead up to the season will center on the defending champion Las Vegas Aces and new-look New York Liberty, who have ushered in a new superteam era and are by far the two clear title favorites.
But this is still a 12-team league, and the other 10 squads shouldn’t be swept aside. As the preseason starts to ramp up, here’s a look at one key storyline for every team:
Where does the offense come from?
The Dream finished last season with the fifth-best defense in the league at 99.8 points allowed per 100 possessions; for comparison, the other three lottery teams had defensive ratings of at least 104.4 and finished 10-12th in the league. So how did the Dream miss out on the postseason? The offense was a disaster. They shot 42 percent from the field, turned the ball over on 19.8 percent of their possessions and ranked 11th in offensive rating at 96.4.
With the majority of last season’s team back and the additions of Allisha Gray in a trade and Haley Jones and Laeticia Amihere in the draft, there’s little doubt the Dream will again be a solid defensive team. But where does the offense come from? Gray averaged 13.3 points and shot 40.8 percent from 3-point land last season, so she will certainly help, but Jones and Amihere aren’t known for their offensive abilities. The Dream will have to rely on internal development, particularly from reigning Rookie of the Year Rhyne Howard, and do a better job taking care of the ball if they want to avoid a repeat of last season.
Reload, not rebuild?
Fresh starts and revamped rosters are a theme across the league entering this season, but no team dealt with as much change as the Sky, who lost five of their top six scorers from last season. It’s not just production that’s gone, but experience and leadership as well. Candace Parker, Courtney Vandersloot, Allie Quigley and Azura Stevens, who were all core members of the 2021 title team, departed in the offseason.
Most assumed that the Sky would become a rebuilding team in the aftermath of that exodus, but head coach and GM James Wade had other ideas. He traded two first-round picks in2023 and 2024 and a first-round pick swap in 2025 to acquire Marina Mabrey, and signed Isabelle Harrison, Courtney Williams and Elizabeth Williams in free agency. The Sky aren’t going to compete for a title, but they may have enough to be a playoff team. Whether that’s the right long-term plan, though, is up for debate.
No replacing Jonquel Jones
The Sun made it back to the Finals last season for the second time in four years, but that wasn’t enough to keep Jonquel Jones around. And not only did the 2021 MVP request a trade, but she made it clear she would only play for the New York Liberty, which left the Sun in a really tough spot; all they got back was the No. 6 pick (later traded for Tiffany Hayes), Rebecca Allen and Tyasha Harris.
Those are three solid players, but none of them can replace Jones’ impact. Even in a somewhat down season by her standards, Jones put up 14.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, and had a plus-9.8 net rating differential in 2022. The only time since Jones’ rookie year that the Sun have failed to win at least 20 games was also the only season she didn’t play — the 2020 bubble.
It would be stunning if the Sun finished under .500 again this season, but they are going to take a major step back without Jones.
Defense, defense, defense
The last time the Wings franchise finished in the top half of the league in defensive rating was 2008, when they were still the Detroit Shock — two moves ago. In the ensuing years they’ve finished: 8th, 11th, 12th, 11th, 11th, 12th, 11th, 12th, 11th, eighth, 10th, 11th, eighth, and ninth. It should come as little surprise, then, that they’ve had limited playoff success in that time; since 2009 they have won one postseason game.
In order to turn their playoff fortunes around, they’ll need to start playing better defense, which is a big reason why Latricia Trammell was hired as their new head coach in the winter and they traded for former Defensive Player of the Year Natasha Howard. Teaching defense is Trammell’s speciality, and if she can get them playing even competently on that side of the ball this should be a solid playoff team.
Boston makes her debut
There is always pressure on a No. 1 overall pick, but Aliyah Boston will face more than usual given her pedigree and the state of the Indiana Fever. No team in the league is as desperate for a franchise player as the Fever, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2016 and have nearly as many 20-point losses (34) as wins (45) over the past six seasons.
Boston has the talent, the physical gifts and the intangibles to be that foundational piece. She was the Naismith Player of the Year in 2022, when she led South Carolina to a national title, and a two-time Naismith Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 and 2023. Last summer, she was one of the final cuts for Team USA’s World Cup squad despite still being in college.
Getting the Fever back to the playoffs this season will be a tall task given the state of the roster, but Boston has all the tools to make an immediate impact in Indianapolis.
Here comes Candace
Teams usually don’t make major changes after winning a title, but most defending champions don’t have the opportunity to add Candace Parker. And when one of the best players in the league history wants to sign with you in free agency, you just say yes and figure out the rest later.
While there’s going to be an adjustment period when you add a player of Parker’s magnitude, she’s one of the most malleable superstars ever and makes an impact on every facet of the game. Plus, she’s already played with starting point guard Chelsea Gray for a number of seasons. It shouldn’t take long for Parker and the Aces to figure each other out, and once they do we should see an even better team than we did last season.
Can they end their playoff drought?
The Sparks have not made the playoffs since 2020, which really isn’t that long of a drought in the grand scheme of things, but given their franchise history might as well be an eternity. The only other time they’ve missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons was 1997 and 1998, their first two years of existence. From 1999 until 2020, they made the playoffs in 20 of 22 seasons, went to the Finals five times and won three titles.
New head coach Curt Miller’s mandate, then, is clear: get the Sparks back where they belong. They added a number of veterans, including Jasmine Thomas, Azura Stevens, Dearica Hamby (who is pregnant and plans to play at some point in the season) and Layshia Clarendon. After narrowly missing out on a playoff spot last season, the Sparks should be able to return this summer.
Napheesa Collier takes center stage
The Lynx’s dynastic run of the 2010s came to an end a few years ago, but the spirit of those teams lived on through the presence of Sylvia Fowles. Her retirement after last season ends not only her legendary, Hall of Fame career, but an era of basketball in Minnesota.
This summer will be a fresh start for the Lynx, and Napheesa Collier will take center stage as the new face of the franchise. The 2019 Rookie of the Year has shown tremendous promise, but her 2021 campaign was a bit disappointing and she barely played last season after returning from her pregnancy. Watching Collier try to regain her All-WNBA form and grow into a team leader will be the most interesting story in Minneapolis this summer.
A brand-new superteam
We’ve seen teams with incredible collections of talent before in the WNBA, but we’ve never seen a superteam assembled in this manner. In the span of a few weeks this winter, the Liberty traded for Jonquel Jones, then signed Breanna Stewart and Courtney Vandersloot in free agency. With those moves they added two MVPs (Jones and Stewart) and the league’s active all-time assists leader (Vandersloot) to a team that already featured Sabrina Ionescu.
The talent they’ve amassed will be too much for opponents on most nights, but it will be interesting to see how quickly this team can gel, especially considering the core of the Las Vegas Aces, their main rival for the title, has been playing together for years. Ionescu, Jones, Stewart and Vandersloot were all the stars of their own show and used to having the ball all the time. That won’t be the case anymore, and even though they’re all unselfish players it will take some time to make that adjustment. It may be a while before we see this team reach its peak.
Brittney Griner returns
One of the biggest stories, not only of this WNBA season but in all of sports this year, is Brittney Griner’s return to the league after missing all of last season while she was wrongfully detained by the Russian government on drug charges. Griner was in Russian custody for nearly 10 months until she was finally released as part of a prisoner swap in December.
Griner signed a one-year deal with the Mercury in February during free agency and spoke to reporters last week for the first time since her release.
The most important thing is that she’s free and able to do what she loves again; whatever she does on the court this season will be a bonus. But to that point, if she’s able to pick up where she left off, it will make the Mercury, who also brought back Diana Taurasi, a much more dangerous team.
A new era begins
The 2022 season was something of a “Last Dance” for the Storm, who knew Sue Bird would be retiring and Breanna Stewart was likely to depart in free agency. They came up short of a title, losing in four games to the eventual champion Las Vegas Aces in a thrilling semi-final series. Now, they’ll have to chart a new path forward without the league’s best-ever point guard in Bird and another potential all-time great in Stewart.
Which direction they choose will be fascinating to see. Their free agent signings suggest they want to compete for a playoff spot with Jewell Loyd leading the way, but there are a number of interesting young players on the roster, which will give them the flexibility to pivot to a rebuild if so desired. Regardless, it will be strange to watch the Storm without Bird or Stewart.
Eric Thibault takes over
One of the biggest advantages the Mystics had over the past decade was head coach and general manager Mike Thibault. While Thibault will still be running the show in the front office, he stepped down as head coach during the offseason, and did so as the WNBA’s all-time winningest coach with 379 victories to his name.
His son, Eric Thibault, has taken over and is now the youngest head coach in the league at 35. He comes with vast experience, having served as an assistant with the Mystics for the last decade, but it’s a lot different when you’re the one running the show. Adding to the intrigue is that the Mystics are not a young, rebuilding squad; they have the third-best title odds entering the season, and have the best shot of anyone to knock off the Las Vegas Aces or New York Liberty.
That is a high stakes situation to step into as a first-time head coach. It will be interesting to see how he and the Mystics adapt.
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