It's time for another edition of the WNBA Wraparound, as one of the WNBA's young stars returns to a place she dominated for years, and the W's preeminent powers continue to dominate.
3 WNBA highlights from the past week
Paige Bueckers wins her first WNBA game: Bueckers isn't used to losing basketball games, having lost few in her collegiate days at UConn. As the No. 1 draft prospect, it's just the way it works to head to a team that needs you, and that means a few more losses for Paige. Still, Bueckers has played phenomenally in her short rookie campaign so far.
She is the first rookie in league history to score 60 points and make 30 assists in her first five WNBA games, an impressive feat. Still, the Wings went into Paige's first professional game in the state of Connecticut without a win, and left the state with their first of the season. Bueckers continues to be undefeated at Mohegan Sun Arena, the Wings finally end up in the win column, and they can sigh a little breath of relief.
Seattle Storm breeze past the Aces: In a thrilling offensive and defensive performance for the Seattle Storm, they beat the Las Vegas Aces 102-82 this past weekend. Not only did they prove they are the third-best team in the league so far this season, but they exposed a lot of the Aces' faults. The Aces will need to tighten up their defense and get back to their dominating brand of offense if they are going to re-climb the WNBA power rankings.
New York and Minnesota remain undefeated: Through two weeks and five-ish games per team, only two teams remain undefeated on the season. Fitting that it is the two teams that battled it out in the 2024 WNBA Finals — Minnesota and New York. The Lynx are 5-0 as of Thursday, with the New York Liberty at 4-0 so far. They have both looked somehow better than they did in the Finals series, which is already getting fans excited about a potential rematch. As for regular season contests, these two teams don't meet until July 30 and while it would be super fun if they were both still undefeated at that point, it does not seem likely. They could also meet earlier if they end up being the two best teams in the Commissioner's Cup tournament, so we could get another extra matchup between these two great teams. For now, it's just fun to follow which team can keep the streak alive longest.
2 WNBA games to watch this weekend:
Connecticut Sun vs. Indiana Fever: Friday, May 30, 7:30 p.m.
The Indiana Fever are currently operating without their star player, as Caitlin Clark will be out for the next two weeks with a quadriceps strain. The timing of her rest worked out for Indiana, given they have a less challenged schedule for the next few weeks. Yet, in their first Clark-less game against the Washington Mystics on Wednesday, a lack of defensive strength and a poor night of shooting and creation from the Fever had them drop the game. It will be interesting to see how they can re-calibrate and recover to play another non-championship contending team in Connecticut. The panic may start to rise in Fever fans if they struggle in a very win-able game yet again.
Minnesota Lynx vs. Phoenix Mercury: Friday, May 30, 10 p.m.
The Minnesota Lynx are currently undefeated in 2025, winning their first five games and now heading on the road. Napheesa Collier was great to start the year, but getting back Kayla McBride for the first time this season in their Tuesday night game proved how strong this Lynx team is. Obviously the goal is to win, but a winning streak is even more fun, and an undefeated streak to start the season is the most fun. The Phoenix Mercury have been wishy-washy to start their season, but Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally could be really big in this game. It is setting up to be a thrilling and exciting match up.
1 WNBA story to follow: Caitlin Clark sidelined for two weeks with injury
As mentioned above, Caitlin Clark has been sidelined for at least two weeks as she rests a quad strain. Not the most serious injury, but quads can be tricky and take weeks to fully heal. More than that, they can be re-aggravated pretty easily. The choice to sit her is best, ensuring she is not struggling with nagging pain all season long, while also keeping her long-term health in mind. Her compensating for a sore quad could lead to other, more serious injuries, and the Fever making sure this strain heals early is the right course of action.
It is also a good time to rest Clark, given Indiana's schedule. They played Washington (and lost, unfortunately), but now play Connecticut, Washington again, and Chicago during this two week timeline. All winnable games for the Fever, and they will likely have a winning record in their Clark-less stretch when she returns. Their game on June 10 against Atlanta is on the cusp of Clark's return to play timeline, and if the team decides she needs more rest or even reconditioning time, she could miss that one.
Indiana then has a long stretch between Tuesday, June 10 and Saturday, June 14, without any games. Keeping Clark out of the Atlanta game and letting her rest until the Saturday game against the Liberty may even be the right course of action, giving her nearly three weeks total of rest from game play.
Regardless, this injury is not the end of the Fever's hopes this season. It's still so early, and hopefully, if this strain is able to heal fully, Clark will be able to play the rest of the season healthy. It's also not the end of women's basketball as we know it, given how entertaining it is to watch every single other team play as well. Surely the WNBA won't go bankrupt either, given regularly sold out games in places like New York, Seattle, Las Vegas and more. As with Clark herself, the best we can all do during this time is simply chill.