WNBA New Season Highlights: Li Yueru Starts a New Journey of Storm, Page Clark Challenges the Defending Champion

On May 17, Beijing time, the 2025 WNBA regular season will kick off, and Chinese player Li Yueru will start a new journey with the Seattle Storm. What are the highlights of the new season of the WNBA?

Aspect 1: Can Li Yueru continue to improve?

Li Yueru, the core of the Chinese women's basketball team, did not have a smooth WNBA career, playing for the Chicago Sky in the first two seasons, and the second season was reimbursed due to injury. Last season, Li Yueru played for the Los Angeles Sparks, and although she has improved, she is still a fringe player on the team.

In the two years she played in the WNBA, Li Yueru averaged 1.8 points and 1.5 rebounds and 5.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.

In the previous preseason, Li Yueru had started 19 minutes and contributed a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds. Let's hope that she will establish herself in the new team and play more beautiful statistics.

Compared with the previous two teams, the Storm now has a more complete lineup, can Li Yueru gain a foothold in Seattle and follow the team to the championship in the playoffs?

Aspect 2: Clark and the new lineup

Caitlin Clark's rookie season was legendary, breaking records on the court, and stellar off-court box office and ratings — and as a historic star at the University of Iowa, she surpassed expectations when she joined Indiana as the top player.

Clark, who dished out 334 assists in a single season and set a new WNBA record, now has Bonner, a two-time champion, as his nightly passer. She will also be paired with former Defensive Player of the Year Natasha Howard, who can both finish under the basket and be the heart of the defense.

The Indiana Fever, a team of young talent and championship veterans, may need time to get used to it, but once the chemistry takes shape, there's no limit to it.

Aspect 3: The performance of the champion Page

For the second year in a row, there was no doubt about the top pick in the WNBA Draft — UConn legend Page Buckels was undisputed by the Dallas Wings with the No. 1 pick.

UConn is a WNBA draft factory: it has produced 50 draft players, six No. 1 picks and six Rookie of the Year, and Paige, known as the "American Sweetheart," is the school's all-time scoring leader with 19.8 points per game.

How will Paige, who just led UConn to the 2025 NCAA title, play in the WNBA? How will she interact with her idol Kyrie Irving?

Aspect 4: Stewart's journey to defend his title

After 28 seasons as "chasers", the New York Liberty are about to start the new season as "chased" - as the defending champions, they will be the "target" of all teams, ready for every opponent.

Three-time WNBA champion Stewart is no stranger to this kind of pressure. Although she has successfully defended her NCAA title three times, she has yet to achieve back-to-back titles in the WNBA – one of the few gaps in her honor book.

With Stewart, Ionescu and Jones all on the team, the Liberty's core roster is largely complete. They made only minor changes in the offseason, replacing the departed Courtney Vanderslot with Natasha Crowder as point guard.

Aspect 5: MVP Wilson is winning the championship again

How can Aja Wilson continue her historic 2024 season? Here's a quick recap: 26.9 points per game (league-high), 11.9 rebounds (league-second), 2.58 blocks (league-first), 1.79 steals (league-fifth), and 51.8% shooting percentage (league-seventh).

The result: First unanimous MVP since Cooper in his first season in the WNBA in 1997, tied with Swopes, Leslie, and Lauren Jackson as the only three-time MVP winner. The 28-year-old Wilson would be one of the greatest players of all time if he wins the MVP again.

Despite Wilson's back-to-the-clock performance, the Aces failed to become the first team to win three consecutive championships since the Houston Comets from 1997 to 2000, losing four games in the semifinals to eventual champion Liberty. With back-to-back 2022-2023 challengings, Wilson and the Aces are eager to return to the top, with new signing Jewell Lloyd set to help.

Aspect 6: The first year journey of the Golden State Valkyrie

The first WNBA team to expand since Atlanta Dream 2008, the Golden State Valkyries are the first of three new teams to join in the next two years (the Toronto and Portland teams will join in 2026).

As the first WNBA team in the Bay Area, since its inception was announced on October 5, 2023, Valkyrie has attracted much attention: the team uniform peripherals were quickly sold out, and more than 15,000 season ticket pre-orders were received without a single game.

The biggest question for any expansion team: How long does it take for a roster built through an expansion draft and a college draft to be molded into a new coach, a new management, and a new environment?

Looking back at the dream of a team that expanded the team, it was only 4-30 in its debut season, but won the 2009 draft pick, selected Angel McCourtley, made the playoffs the following year, and advanced to the Finals in the third year (three championships in 2010, 2011, 2013).

Can the Valkyries replicate this trajectory of rapid rise? This will also be a big attraction.

Key Dates for the New WNBA Season –

May 17: Regular season begins

June 2-18: President's Cup Tournament

July 2: President's Cup Finals

July 20: WNBA All-Star Game

September 12: The regular season ends

September 15: Playoffs begin

October 18: Latest date for the Grand Final