WNBA

An already busy WNBA offseason keeps getting juicier.

Connecticut Sun guard Marina Mabrey has reportedly requested a trade, according to ESPN's Alexa Philippou, after just half a season with the franchise.

Mabrey was a midseason acquisition in the 2024 trade that sent Moriah Jefferson, Rachel Banham, Connecticut's 2025 first-round pick and 2026 first-round swap rights to the Chicago Sky.

Mabrey, 28, appeared in 16 games for the Sun (three starts), averaging 14.9 points and 3.9 assists while shooting 42.4 percent from three. She was even more impactful in seven postseason games, putting up 15.9 points and 2.6, though she shot just 33.9 from deep.

But the Sun appear to be rebuilding, trading away Alyssa Thompson, DiJonai Carrington and Tyasha Harris while losing Brionna Jones and DeWanna Bonner in free agency. The organization also parted ways with head coach Stephanie White, who has since landed the same gig with the Indiana Fever.

Mabrey would have been returning to a much-less accomplished roster that is likely to embark on a significant rebuilding phase. It would appear she would prefer to play for a contending team.

She's also no stranger to trade requests, having asked out of Chicago last season before she was dealt to the Sun.

"After a while, it's hard when you came for one thing, and it didn't really end up panning out to be the role, position, everything that you were originally planning on being in with [former Chicago head coach James Wade]," Mabrey told Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Times last July after her trade to the Sun. "That's OK. Things change, and maybe it doesn't work out like you saw it working out. But [in Chicago], I learned not to create expectations anymore because it just leads to a letdown. It's hard."

It remains to be seen what her expectations will be for her next team if the Sun grant her the trade she's requested.

Cam Brink is fired up to play alongside Kelsey Plum on the Los Angeles Sparks.

"She's a real one," Brink said during a conversation with Sydel Curry-Lee on Tuesday's episode of the Wave Original Straight to Cam (39-minute mark). "She's so fun, too. … I got a PG. Thank goodness because we needed that."

Brink explained that she already knows Plum because they trained together even before she entered the league.

"She's probably one of the hardest workers I know," she added.

Plum came to the Sparks this offseason in a blockbuster trade that also sent Jewell Loyd to the Las Vegas Aces. The addition of Loyd will help the Aces account for the loss of Plum and should keep them in the championship picture with A'ja Wilson leading the way.

As for the Sparks, they now have a veteran leader for a team that is filled with young talent.

The future was already bright with Brink (No. 2 overall pick of the 2024 WNBA draft) and Rickea Jackson (No. 4 overall pick of the 2024 WNBA draft) as foundational cornerstones, but Plum is a championship-winning player with a resume that includes two WNBA titles, an All-WNBA selection and three All-Star Game nods.

She can work in pick-and-rolls with Brink and is accustomed to playing alongside a star forward considering she worked with Wilson when they were together on the Aces.

Plum is the type of point guard who can help Brink reach her own potential, which will set the Sparks up for even more success down the line.

This year's Met Gala host committee will feature a handful of high-profile athletes.

Per TMZ Sports, Angel Reese, Simone Biles and Sha'Carri Richardson are among the names on this year's Costume Institute Benefit host committee. As members of the host committee, Reese, Biles and Richardson will help plan the star-studded event, which will take place on May 5.

Joining Reese, Biles and Richardson on the host committee are names like André 3000, Spike Lee, Ayo Edebiri and more. This year's Met Gala theme is "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style."

Reese, Biles and Richardson aren't the only athletes who will play a part in this year's Met Gala, as LeBron James is this year's honorary chair and Lewis Hamilton is a co-chair.

Reese, who attended last year's Met Gala, is coming off a big year. After finishing her collegiate basketball career with LSU in the spring, she had an outstanding rookie season for the Chicago Sky, putting up 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game.

Biles also had a year to remember, winning three gold medals and a silver medal at the Paris Olympics. Biles' husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, is also on the host committee.

Richardson had a successful stint at the Olympics as well, winning gold with the 4x100 meter relay team and silver in the 100 meter.

A'ja Wilson's first signature shoe has been unveiled by Nike ahead of its release this spring.

Nike released images of the A'One sneaker with the "Pink Aura" colorway that will drop in May.

Wilson added there will be different colorways coming soon, as well as different sizes, slides and an apparel collection.

Wilson first announced she was getting a signature shoe in May 2024:

"It's been incredible working with Nike toward a dream of having my collection, and it really is an honor to take this next step and become a Nike signature athlete. From my logo to the look of the shoe and the pieces throughout the collection, we've worked to make sure every detail is perfectly tuned to my game and style."

The three-time WNBA MVP originally signed a sponsorship deal with Nike in 2018. She signed a six-year extension with the apparel giant in December that was one of the richest shoe deals for a women's basketball player, per ESPN's Shams Charania and Alexa Phillippou.

Wilson will become the third active WNBA player with a signature shoe with the A'One releases, joining Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart. Caitlin Clark will also have her own signature shoe with Nike, but details about a release date have not been made available.

While Nike didn't have a specific release date for the A'One, it will likely be made available on or around the start of the 2025 WNBA season on May 16.

Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces will begin the season on May 17 against the defending champion New York Liberty at Barclays Center. The Liberty ended Vegas' quest for a three-peat by beating them in four games in the postseason semifinals.

At this point, Unrivaled is the Lunar Owls' league and everyone else is just playing in it.

The Lunar Owls improved to 6-0 with an 85-68 victory over Vinyl on Monday. Vinyl has now lost four in a row after a 2-0 start and fell to 2-4 on the campaign.

Napheesa Collier was dominant with 36 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four steals as one of four Lunar Owls to score in double figures. Allisha Gray added 20 points in support, while Skylar Diggins-Smith (14 points, six assists and two steals) rounded out the dominant trio.

Rhyne Howard did what she could on the other side with 21 points and five rebounds, but it wasn't enough to counter the firepower of the first-place squad.

Social media had plenty of reaction to the showing from Collier and Co.:

The Lunar Owls wasted no time reminding everyone why they are the only undefeated team in the league as they jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter with Unrivaled co-founder Collier dominating on the inside, controlling the boards and even facilitating when defenders collapsed on her.

Vinyl battled back some behind Howard's scoring, but the Lunar Owls finished the first half with a five-point burst from Diggins-Smith and a string of free throws to push the advantage to 14 by intermission.

It was more of the same that fans have seen all season with the Lunar Owls.

When opponents finally contain Collier for a stretch, Gray finds her shooting stroke or Diggins-Smith explodes into the lane. Throw in Courtney Williams providing a spark of energy off the bench, and the league leaders have so many ways to control the game and avoid slow stretches.

The only question for the second half was how impressive Collier's final statline would look as she impacted the game in a variety of ways. She fittingly got the scoring started for her side in the fourth quarter as the Lunar Owls chased the target score of 84.

Gray mixed in an and-1 finish in the lane just for good measure, but it was Diggins-Smith who drilled the three-pointer to clinch it.

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark has handled the spotlight with grace, and she explained how she's able to overcome the pressure of facing constant scrutiny.

While speaking to reporters ahead of her jersey retirement ceremony at Iowa on Sunday, Clark was asked how she's handled outside critics and negative attention, and she declared definitively, "One of my greatest skills is like, I really don't care. Like, I don't. I don't care."

Clark has experienced a monumental rise to superstardom over the past few years since her historic senior season at Iowa in which she became the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer. She led the Fever to their first playoff appearance since 2016 and received 66 out of 67 votes for 2024 Rookie of the Year.

Still, the 23-year-old has displayed a maturity well beyond her years as she continues to garner more and more public attention. She added that she's benefitted from having a close-knit group of supporters to keep her on the right track.

"I think having a good circle around me, having a small circle around me of people that I really trust, those are the people that you can always count on and lean on, is what's been so important for me over the past year," Clark said.

The Connecticut Sun signed eight-time All-Star Tina Charles on Sunday, according to ESPN's Alexa Philippou.

Per Philippou, Charles is signing a one-year deal with the team that she started her WNBA career with in 2010.

It's been a busy offseason for the Sun, as they sent DiJonai Carrington and the No. 12 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft to the Dallas Wings on Saturday. They also previously traded Alyssa Thomas and Ty Harris to the Phoenix Mercury.

Thomas and Harris were sent to the Mercury in exchange for Natasha Cloud, Rebecca Allen and the No. 12 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft. Connecticut then packaged the No. 12 selection with Carrington in order to land Jacy Sheldon, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2024 draft, as well as the No. 8 selection in the 2025 draft.

As for Charles, the former MVP will now return to the team that she last played for in 2013.

"Today marks an incredible moment in our team's history as we welcome back one of the greatest players to every grace the WNBA," Sun General Manager Morgan Tuck said, per the team's official website. "Tina not only helped define the success of this franchise during her early years, but she also set the bar for excellence, both on and off the court. Her passion, leadership, and dedication to the game have left an incredible mark on our league, and we couldn't be more excited to have her return to the team where it all began."

Charles is one of the most accomplished players in WNBA history, sitting at No. 1 on the league's all-time rebounding leaderboard. She's also No. 2 on the league's all-time scoring list, only trailing 11-time All-Star Diana Taurasi.

The 36-year-old may not perform at the same level compared to her All-Star days, but Charles has proven that she can still be a key starter. In 39 appearances with the Atlanta Dream in 2024, she averaged 14.9 points and 9.6 rebounds in 29.7 minutes per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the field.

As the Sun continue to retool their lineup after coming off a semifinal appearance in the playoffs, they brought back a WNBA icon on Sunday.

The Indiana Fever agreed to a contract with six-time WNBA All-Star DeWanna Bonner, according to ESPN's Alexa Philippou.

Bonner averaged 15.0 points on 41.5 percent shooting along with 6.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals with the Connecticut Sun in 2024.

This continues a busy offseason for the Fever. They re-signed two-time All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell and reportedly added forward Natasha Howard and wing Sophie Cunningham.

Indiana ended a seven-year playoff drought in 2024 and expectations are even higher in 2025 with Caitlin Clark approaching her second season in the league.

After the Olympic break, Clark averaged 23.1 points and 8.9 assists in her final 14 games. If that's where she's starting from to open the upcoming campaign, the Fever could be a top-four threat in the league.

Adding Howard and Bonner, two proven veterans, to the frontcourt is a sign of the franchise's lofty ambitions. Indiana's aggressive personnel moves also come after hiring 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year Stephanie White, who went 55-25 in the regular season in two years with the Connecticut Sun.

No team is set up better long term than the Fever.

They have Aliyah Boston signed through 2026 and Clark under team control through 2027. Those rookie deals will be massive bargains when the salary cap inevitably jumps thanks to a new collective bargaining agreement, whenever that's signed.

The upcoming season presents Indiana with a chance to not just improve upon a first-round playoff exit but make itself more attractive for prospective free agents next offseason.

With everyone waiting on the new CBA, almost every notable veteran in the WNBA has purposefully set themselves up to become a free agent in 2026. Indiana hasn't historically been a major draw for top stars, but that could change in a big way thanks to the promise Boston and Clark have shown.

Signing Bonner is already a sign of how the perception around the Fever is evolving.

Angel Reese made Unrivaled history on Saturday.

During Rose Basketball Club's matchup against Vinyl Basketball Club, Reese became the first player in Unrivaled history to be ejected from a game.

In the second quarter, she was called for a foul while trying to take the ball from Tiffany Hayes. After making a gesture towards the referee, she earned a technical foul before arguing further, earning a second technical foul and an ejection.

Afterward, Reese reacted to her ejection on social media:

Reese had a productive start to the game before being ejected, collecting 10 points, 12 rebounds and four assists in 13 minutes. Rose lost the matchup 79-73 as Vinyl's Rhyne Howard dropped 33 points.

Rose can't afford any more ejections from Reese as they try to get back on track after starting the season 2-4. Lunar Owls is currently in control after a 5-0 start while Rose is sitting in fifth place, better than only Mist.