The much-anticipated 2025 WNBA season tips off on Friday night, and you can feel the anticipation.
Thanks to the stardom of Caitlin Clark, and frankly, one of the best basketball products in the world, the WNBA has reached new levels of popularity.
That’s been reflected in some notable changes. There are four more games in the 2025 season (44), and the WNBA Finals will change from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven format.
With Paige Bueckers joining the league, Clark’s continued ascension and the New York Liberty in the early stages of a dynasty, there are plenty of storylines to follow heading into the season.
Here are five bold predictions.
Liberty will go back-to-back
After re-signing superstar Breanna Stewart, New York returns three All-WNBA players (first or second team). Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones joined Stewart as top-10 vote getters in the MVP race, too.
It was a quiet offseason for the Liberty, but they added Natasha Cloud, a Second-Team All-WNBA Defensive Team selection last season. That gives the Liberty two All-WNBA defenders to complement their elite offensive attack.
The Minnesota Lynx and Las Vegas Aces should be contenders again, plus the Indiana Fever is a team to watch. Regardless, knocking off the defending champs in 2025 will be difficult.
Caitlin Clark wins the MVP award
Talk about bold predictions. Clark did finish fourth in the MVP voting as a rookie. She was seventh in scoring average (19.2) and first in assists (8.4).
The one thing that held back Clark last season was the turnovers (5.6 per game). Clark shot 34 percent from 3-point range, 41.7 percent overall and an impressive 55 percent on 2-point attempts.
Clark took a high volume of 3-pointers last season. That’s her game. But she’s proven she can be just as effective attacking the basket, and she’s already the best playmaker in the WNBA.
The Fever aren’t ready to win a WNBA championship. They still feel like they are a year away, but Clark will have an even bigger impact than A’ja Wilson, or at least close enough to win the award.
The top four vote-getters could be the same, but the order of finish will be different.
Paige Bueckers wins Rookie of the Year
This is probably the least bold prediction of these five. Paige Bueckers was incredible for UConn on the way to winning the national championship.
Clark gets more attention, but Bueckers is on the rise, too. It won’t take long for her to make an impact, similar to Clark’s in her first WNBA season.
Chicago Sky make the WNBA playoffs
Despite solid rookie seasons from Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, the Sky weren’t ready to be a playoff team in 2025, winning just 13 games. However, the trade for Courtney Vandersloot and the drafting of Hailey Van Lith should solve some backcourt issues.
Ariel Atkins, a two-time WNBA All-Star, was also acquired via trade, which should be enough to make Chicago a top-eight team.
Aces bounce back to WNBA Finals
Wilson might not win MVP, but that doesn’t mean she won’t be the best player in the WNBA or close.
Despite the trade of Kelsey Plum, just one season removed from back-to-back titles, the trade for Jewell Lloyd adds the league’s leading scorer from the 2023 season.
Additionally, Becky Hammon’s bench has been rebuilt. Clark will get the Fever to the semifinals. The Minnesota Lynx will get back to the WNBA’s Final Four, too, but in the end, we’ll see a 2023 WNBA Finals rematch.
