A trio of former WNBA MVPs signed with or were traded to new teams last season in free agency. More might be on the move in 2024.
The free agency negotiation period officially began Jan. 21. Contracts can be made official starting Feb. 1. But we already know Nneka Ogwumike will be wearing a different uniform this season. The 2016 WNBA MVP informed the Los Angeles Sparks she intends to leave.
Other free agents such as Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, both with the New York Liberty, are expected to stay put.
But all eyes are on Ogwumike as well as two-time MVP Elena Delle Donne, who was core-designated by the Washington Mystics. Rumblings of Delle Donne’s discontent with some Mystics decisions and the franchise’s direction have existed for a while, and the team is reportedly seeking draft picks in return for the star. And there’s still a big question mark surrounding Candace Parker’s health and whether we’ve seen the last of her on the court.
And 2012 MVP Tina Charles will return to the league, signing with the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday after sitting out the 2023 season.
Keep it here all offseason long for the latest buzz, news and reports surrounding the WNBA. The 2024 season — the league’s 28th — will tip off May 14.
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Feb. 1 updates
4:32 p.m. ET: The Chicago Sky, New York Liberty and Seattle Storm are on the short list for free agent Nneka Ogwumike, her sister, Chiney Ogwumike, reported on ESPN’s WNBA Free Agency Special.
4:08 p.m. ET: Natasha Cloud will sign with the Phoenix Mercury, the guard told ESPN’s Holly Rowe on ESPN’s WNBA Free Agency Special.
Cloud played for the Washington Mystics the past eight seasons, including back-to-back WNBA Finals appearances in 2018 and 2019 and the team’s championship run in 2019. She averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 3.7 rebounds, as well as 6.2 assists and 1.1 steals last season in Washington and shot a career-high 90.0% from the free throw line. Cloud is a two-time WNBA All-Defensive Team selection (2019, 2022).
«Natasha is an elite playmaker, one of the best defenders in the league and is coming off a career year as a scorer,» Mercury general manager Nick U’Ren said. «The tenacity and energy Natasha plays with, on both ends of the court, will help make our team more dynamic, versatile and competitive.»
3:04 p.m. ET: The Atlanta Dream have signed former MVP Tina Charles and guard Aerial Powers, and re-signed forward Nia Coffey. Charles ranks fourth in the WNBA in career scoring and second in rebounds, averaging 18.2 points and 9.3 rebounds over 12 seasons. The forward was the 2012 MVP and is an eight-time All-Star and three-time Olympic gold medalist.
«Tina’s ability to score and rebound the basketball at an elite level immediately helps,» Dream general manager and executive vice president Dan Padover said.
2 p.m. ET: The Los Angeles Sparks have acquired guard Aari McDonald and the Atlanta Dream’s No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 draft for guard Jordin Canada and the Sparks’ 12th overall pick. Los Angeles now holds pick numbers 2, 4, 8 and 24 in this year’s draft.
1:32 p.m. ET: The Indiana Fever have signed forward Damiris Dantas to a multiyear contract. She last played in 2022 with the Minnesota Lynx, averaging 5.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists, appearing in 15 games.
Noon ET: The Chicago Sky have signed Lindsay Allen. The guard started 20 games for the Minnesota Lynx last season and averaged 6.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and a career-high 4.5 assists in 24.1 minutes.
Noon ET: Rachel Banham has signed a two-year deal with the Connecticut Sun. The fourth overall pick by Connecticut in 2016, the guard played for the Minnesota Lynx the past four seasons. She averaged 5.5 points, 1.0 rebound and 1.7 assists, while shooting 40.2% from behind the arc last season.
11:44 a.m. ET: Skylar Diggins-Smith has signed with the Seattle Storm. The nine-year WNBA veteran point guard is a six-time all-WNBA selection and six-time All-Star. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
«Skylar is an ultimate competitor, elite playmaker and excellent defender,» Storm coach Noelle Quinn said. «Adding Skylar to our dynamic backcourt will immediately elevate our roster as we continue this next chapter of Storm basketball.»
Diggins-Smith, who posted a video of her shooting in a Seattle Storm T-shirt, has averaged 16.7 points, 4.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals over her career.
«Joining the Seattle Storm is the ideal next step in my basketball journey. The organization’s dedication to its players and the progression of the league is commendable,» Diggins-Smith said. «I’m laser-focused for the upcoming season. Stepping onto the court alongside Jewell [Loyd], benefiting from the leadership of Noelle Quinn and feeling the energy of the Seattle Storm fans is a combination that I am confident will lead to success.»
11:43 a.m. ET: The Las Vegas Aces announced they’ve re-signed 5-8 guard Sydney Colson, who came off the bench during the Aces’ back-to-back championship runs in 2022 and 2023.
11:26 a.m. ET: Jordin Canada is finalizing a contract with the Atlanta Dream via sign-and-trade deal with the Los Angeles Sparks, sources told ESPN’s Andraya Carter.
10:07 a.m. ET: Karlie Samuelson has signed with the Washington Mystics. The guard/forward heads to D.C. after career-best averages of 7.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 34 games (23 starts) for the Los Angeles Sparks in 2023. She ranked sixth in the WNBA in 3-point percentage (.426) last season and shot a career-high 46.3% from the field.
Jan. 31 updates
7:56 p.m. ET: Courtney Williams, an unrestricted free agent, is set to sign a two-year deal with the Minnesota Lynx, a source confirmed to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou. The 5-foot-8 point guard averaged 10.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and a career-high 6.3 assists last year for the Chicago Sky. She also had two triple-doubles on the season and shot 44.3% from the 3-point arc on 2.7 attempts per game.
7:28 p.m. ET: Nneka Ogwumike still hasn’t made a decision on her free agency destination, sources told ESPN’s Alexa Philippou. The Seattle Storm, who made a trade Wednesday that cleared cap space — remains among her finalists. She also met with the New York Liberty on Wednesday, as previously reported by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
6:19 p.m. ET: Unrestricted free agent Aerial Powers is expected to sign a one-year deal with the Atlanta Dream, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou. Powers spent the past three seasons with the Minnesota Lynx, averaging 14.4 points in 2022 before her playing time and production dipped in 2023 (5.2 points in 9.7 minutes per game across 20 contests).
3 p.m. ET: The Los Angeles Sparks have acquired All-Star guard Kia Nurse and the No. 4 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft from the Seattle Storm, who received the Sparks’ 2026 first-round pick. Nurse was drafted by the New York Liberty 10th overall in 2018, and has averaged 9.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists in five seasons in the league with the Liberty from 2018 to 2020, Phoenix Mercury in 2021 and the Storm in 2023.
1 p.m. ET: Guard Layshia Clarendon is expected to sign a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Sparks, ESPN’s Alexa Philippou confirmed.
12:36 p.m. ET: Jonquel Jones, who on Jan. 23 told ESPN she was returning to the New York Liberty, is expected to sign a two-year deal with the team, ESPN’s Alexa Philippou confirmed.
Noon ET: The Connecticut Sun have acquired eight-year veteran guard Tiffany Mitchell and the No. 19 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft from the Minnesota Lynx, in exchange for Natisha Hiedeman.
Hiedeman has averaged 7.4 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 0.8 steals in 150 career games with Connecticut. Originally drafted ninth overall in the 2016 WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever, Mitchell averaged 7.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists over 33 regular-season contests for the Lynx in 2023.
11:58 a.m. ET: Bridget Carleton is returning to the Minnesota Lynx on a two-year deal, ESPN’s Alexa Philippou reports.
11:48 a.m. ET: Kiah Stokes will return to the Las Vegas Aces on a two-year contract, she told ESPN’s Alexa Philippou, while Megan Gustafson will sign with Las Vegas on a two-year deal as well, sources confirmed to Philippou. Both players were unrestricted free agents and can sign contracts starting Thursday.
10:29 a.m. ET: Unrestricted free agent Kalani Brown is returning to the Dallas Wings on a multiyear deal, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou. A 2019 first-round pick out of Baylor, Brown is coming off a career season with Dallas, where she averaged 7.8 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game in 2023.
2:07
The best of Satou Sabally as she returns to the Wings
Check out the best plays from Satou Sabally as she announces her return to the Dallas Wings.
Jan. 30 updates
8:30 p.m. ET: Restricted free agent Satou Sabally will return to the Dallas Wings, she told ESPN’s Alexa Philippou on Tuesday. The 25-year-old was the 2023 WNBA Most Improved Player and finished fifth in MVP voting last season.
Sabally’s one-year deal is fully protected and worth $195,000, a source told Philippou, below the regular max she could have earned ($208,219). But she was willing to take a bit of a discount to allow Dallas to bolster the talent around her.
Sabally said she kept an open mind throughout free agency but was drawn to the goal of winning a championship with Dallas, where she has played her entire WNBA career since the Wings drafted her No. 2 overall in 2020.
«Just engaging in those basketball conversations really made us realize that we want to work together and we want to bring a championship to Dallas,» Sabally said. «It could really be termed as unfinished business.»
Free agent & #WNBA All-Star @satou_sabally joined Tuesday’s late-night @SportsCenter to discuss her new deal to stay with the @DallasWings
cc @stanverrett pic.twitter.com/LD19BdjaJj
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) January 31, 2024
Jan. 29 updates
8:03 p.m. ET: Nneka Ogwumike, in New York to promote «Shattered Glass: A WNBPA Story,» a documentary on the lives and careers of Ogwumike, Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart and Sheryl Swoopes, was expected to meet with the New York Liberty on Tuesday, sources told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
Tonight in NYC @nnekaogwumike @breannastewart and @jus242 are at the premiere of Shattered Glass: A WNBPA story. Tomorrow, according to sources, @nnekaogwumike will have a free agent meeting with the @nyliberty pic.twitter.com/XXLdR2Pyhn
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) January 30, 2024
Jan. 26 updates
3:13 p.m. ET: Unrestricted free agent Alanna Smith will sign with the Minnesota Lynx on a two-year deal, her agent, Sammy Wloszczowski of SIG Sports, told ESPN’s Alexa Philippou.
The 6-foot-4 forward from Australia and former Stanford star is coming off a career season with the Chicago Sky in which she averaged 9.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks with a league-best 63% shooting on 2-pointers.
1:54
Nneka Ogwumike’s best highlights from the 2023 season
Check out some of Nneka Ogwumike’s top highlights with the Sparks during the 2023 WNBA season.
Jan. 24 updates
6 p.m. ET: Former WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike informed the Los Angeles Sparks that she intends to leave in free agency, the team told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. Ogwumike has played her entire 12-year WNBA career with the Sparks since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2012. She was the 2016 MVP and led the Sparks to the title that season.
Ogwumike has taken meetings with the Sparks, Atlanta Dream, Phoenix Mercury and Chicago Sky. She intends to meet with the Seattle Storm and New York Liberty before deciding on her next team.
LA, I hope it’s not goodbye, but ‘see you later’. pic.twitter.com/kalKHp4k3o
— Nneka Ogwumike (@nnekaogwumike) January 25, 2024
Jan. 23 updates
5:41 p.m. ET: Jonquel Jones intends to return to the New York Liberty, her agent, Boris Lelchitski, told ESPN’s Alexa Philippou. Jones, who was the 2021 WNBA MVP while competing with the Connecticut Sun, was a key player in the Liberty’s run to last season’s WNBA Finals.
Jan. 20 updates
5:36 p.m. ET: Two-time WNBA champion Jordin Canada will most likely seek a sign-and-trade from the Los Angeles Sparks, who designated her a core player, sources told ESPN’s Andraya Carter.
Canada was part of the Seattle Storm’s 2018 and 2020 championship squads, and is a two-time All-Defensive first-team selection. She spent the past two seasons playing in Los Angeles, her hometown team and near her college of UCLA.