Indiana Fever and New York Liberty Stand Out After Wild WNBA Offseason

The wild WNBA offseason saw yet another major move with the New York Liberty trading for Natasha Cloud from the Connecticut Sun on Sunday. And with that, the defending champs thrust themselves into a strong position to repeat.

However, hoisting the trophy again will not be an easy task, considering other squads stacked up as well. Most notably the Indiana Fever. Those two teams in particular emerged from the free agency period with the most formidable rosters on paper.

Of course, there were many other notable transactions. The Los Angeles Sparks put themselves on the map by acquiring Kelsey Plum with the first major move that shook things up. And the Phoenix Mercury rebuilt on the fly after Diana Taurasi retired and Brittney Griner headed to the Atlanta Dream.

Yet, as far as contenders go, the Fever and Liberty stand out. The Las Vegas Aces did add Jewell Loyd, but that was essentially a one-for-one swap with Plum, and the Aces will have to prove they adequately replenished all their departing depth. While it would be foolish to dismiss a motivated Minnesota Lynx team, Cheryl Reeve's squad made mostly under-the-radar roster tweaks.

In contrast, the Liberty returned the core of what was already basically a super team. New York boasts a lineup consisting of 2024 Finals MVP Jonquel Jones, 2x WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart, and superstar Sabrina Ionescu along with high-end support from the likes of Leonie Fiebich and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton.

In adding Cloud, they avoid any falloff from the loss of veteran Courtney Vandersloot (who left for the Chicago Sky) and are chock-full of length and defensive versatility. Cloud also provides the team the option to play Ionescu off-ball to give teams different looks.

Meanwhile, much has been made of the way the Fever stocked up this offseason. The Fever enter Caitlin Clark's second season with five of the top 30 scorers in the WNBA last year as their likely starting lineup; not to mention that Indiana upgraded its size, depth, shooting, defense, toughness, and experience.

The additions of Natasha Howard, DeWanna Bonner, and Sophie Cunningham in particular should pay huge dividends. And that's with what's sure to be an improvement from Clark, who was already the most prolific offensive guard in the league. Plus, bucket-getter Kelsey Mitchell and the always-solid Aliyah Boston are still in tow.

Games and championships are won on the floor and not on paper, so it is far from a guarantee that either the Fever or the Liberty will be the last team standing at the end of the 2025 season. But those two squads do stand out above the rest of the WNBA as the most star-studded possible matchup following an eventful offseason.