Throughout the 2025 WNBA season, some of the biggest names in the league – including Caitlin Clark, Georgia Amoore, Sophie Cunningham – have been ruled out with injuries.
ACL tears are among the most common injuries in the WNBA and women’s college basketball. According to Yale Medicine, ACL tears and problems are more common in women because they have less muscle mass around their knees compared to men.
The Indiana Fever has struggled the most with injuries. Five players, including Clark, Chloe Bibby, Cunningham, Sydney Colson, and Aari McDonald, are ruled out for the remainder of the season. Knee, foot, and groin injuries have taken a toll on this team.
Other Indiana players, like Lexie Hull, are playing through the pain to keep their team afloat. After a collision with Gabby Williams of the Seattle Storm, Hull came into the next game with two black eyes and continued to fight through the pain and play to help the Fever.
As playoffs approach, teams are struggling to keep fully rostered and healthy teams. Even though the Fever has been struggling to keep their roster healthy, they are still moving on to playoffs.
The teams that are going to the playoffs are Minnesota Lynx, Las Vegas Aces, Atlanta Dream, Phoenix Mercury, New York Liberty, the Fever, Seattle Storm, and the Golden State Valkyries. The teams left out of the playoffs are Los Angeles Sparks, Washington Mystics, Connecticut Sun, Chicago Sky, and the Dallas Wings.
Dallas got the number one pick in the draft this year, Paige Bueckers, but the team struggled as players got traded and Bueckers battled but failed to lead her team into the playoffs.
Bueckers won the Associated Press Rookie of the Year award, she is expected to win the league award as well, since she has had an incredible season. She tallied up the third-most points and assists by a rookie in WNBA history, with 692 points and 194 assists. She also scored a career high 44 points against the Los Angeles Sparks.
This WNBA regular season has been a historic one and has brought more attention to the league. As the playoffs approach, teams need to focus on keeping their players healthy and making sure their rosters are ready to battle in the close games that are coming up.
The first games of the playoffs start Tuesday and will feature Dream vs. Fever and Aces vs. Storm.
