Several key players, including Seattle’s Gabby Williams and Chicago’s Ruthy Hebard, will be making their season debuts soon. Let’s talk about what to expect from them moving forward, as well as assess a suddenly-perilous frontcourt situation in Washington.

Atlanta Dream

If you have Rhyne Howard on your fantasy team, chances are you enjoyed your weekend. The second-year wing dropped a career-high 43 points on Sunday against Los Angeles, shooting 6-12 on 3-pointers and 9-9 on free throws, and chipped in 4 defensive stats for good measure. Howard is now averaging 18.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game, and while the field goal percentage won’t always be there game-by-game, she contributes more than enough elsewhere to make up for it. If you’re playing in a dynasty format, Howard will likely be one of the first players chosen.

Forward Monique Billings, meanwhile, is finally coming around. With Naz Hillmon, Nia Coffey, and possibly Laeticia Amihere competing with Billings for playing time, she’s not going to be a heavy-minute player, but she’s been far more productive when in her time out there lately, averaging 6.4 points and 6.6 rebounds in 16.7 minutes in her last five games. Billings has been one of the league’s most productive per-minute rebounders over the past several seasons, and that will continue to drive the majority of her fantasy value.

Chicago Sky

Things are looking up in Chicago again, especially for Courtney Williams, who broke out of a lengthy slump with a triple-double last Friday and followed it up with a 28-points, 8-assist performance on Sunday. With Rebekah Gardner (foot) out for the season, Chicago is stuck playing a three-guard rotation of Williams, Marina Mabrey, and Dana Evans, and while Mabrey puts up the biggest scoring numbers of the trio (15.9 points and 2 3-pointers made per game), Williams contributes the most evenly across the box score: 9.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game.

Chicago also became the second team to make a coaching change this season when James Wade abruptly resigned to take a job with the NBA’s Toronto Raptors. He’s replaced by assistant Emre Vatansever, who previously led the 2022 Sky to a 2-0 record while Wade was in COVID-19 protocol. Of course, that Sky team was significantly different than this year’s, so we’ll see if Vatansever handles things differently than Wade did.

The Sky will get reinforcements in the frontcourt soon, with Ruthy Hebard set to make her season debut after returning from maternity leave. Until now, Chicago’s frontcourt rotation of Elizabeth Williams, Alanna Smith, and Morgan Bertsch was pretty much set in stone; there will, of course, be a ramp-up period for Hebard, and while her pick-and-roll finishing ability will be a welcome addition to a Sky offense in need of efficient scoring, how much playing time she ultimately gets could depend on whether Vatansever plays her more at center (behind Williams) or power forward.

Connecticut Sun

We didn’t learn much about the Sun last week, other than that they’re not nearly as good as the Las Vegas Aces – especially without Brionna Jones. Connecticut is adjusting to life without its starting center, who recently injured her Achilles, and was dealt a humbling defeat by the reigning champs that exposed its new-look, smaller starting lineup. Alyssa Thomas remains fantastic (12 points, 5 rebounds, and 11 assists) and will continue to produce at an MVP level for the rest of the season no matter which position she plays, though, and her shift to center has opened up opportunities for a couple other players, too.

First, if you haven’t rostered Olivia Nelson-Ododa, consider doing so now. In her last two games, Nelson-Ododa totaled 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 defensive stats in 44 minutes of play as Connecticut’s lone “true” center, and the Sun will be forced to give her those backup center minutes against bigger teams like Las Vegas and New York for the rest of the season.

DiJonai Carrington, meanwhile, continues her strong play, and is quietly putting together a career year after a slow start to the season. In her last four games, Carrington is averaging 17.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game; granted that’s fueled by 53.3% shooting from outside, which will not continue, but she’s been the Sun’s go-to wing off the bench for long enough to make her a safe addition regardless.

Dallas Wings

The Wings made a few changes to their roster last week, releasing guard Jasmine Dickey and forward Ashley Joens to make room for Odyssey Sims, who briefly played for the team earlier in the season on an emergency hardship contract and averaged 4.8 points and 5.8 assists in 20.9 minutes during a four-game span.

Neither Dickey nor Joens were fantasy-relevant, but Sims certainly is, and the Wings jumping through hoops to bring her back on a regular contract speaks to how they view her game – as well as Veronica Burton’s. Crystal Dangerfield will remain the Wings’ other starting guard next to Arike Ogunbowale until further notice, but it’s clear that Dallas wanted an offensive-minded ball handler backing her up. That hasn’t been Burton; the second-year guard struggled to make an offensive impact in June, averaging 2.5 points on 25% shooting from the field, and she went three games in a row without recording a single assist. Sims should be rostered in deeper leagues, while keeping Burton is a risky proposition in just about any format.

Meanwhile, it may be tempting to pick up forward Awak Kuier, who has played double-digit minutes in three straight games for the first time this season. She’s still competing with rookie Maddy Siegrist for playing time, though, and with the Wings’ frontcourt minutes already mostly going towards some combination of Satou Sabally, Teaira McCowan, Natasha Howard, and Kalani Brown, Kuier’s upside isn’t yet worth the risk.

Indiana Fever

Four straight losses have sent the Fever back below playoff contention after a brief appearance in the upper portion of the WNBA standings, but don’t get it twisted; this young team is competing, and there’s been a surprising amount of continuity on the roster as well.

Of course, the team’s core players of Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston, and NaLyssa Smith all have their roles solidified, with Mitchell and Boston in particular getting heaps of playing time lately. It’s an interesting direction for a rebuilding team to take, but it shows how serious first-year head coach Christie Sides is about competing, and her players are rewarding her: Mitchell had arguably her best game of the season last Sunday, recording 26 points and 8 assists, while Boston is averaging a double-double of 11.4 points and 10 rebounds in her last five games.

If there’s one position battle to watch for, it’s on the wing, where Maya Caldwell usurped starter Lexie Hull in the Fever’s most recent game (27 minutes to 12). Both players have gotten inconsistent playing time for most of this season, though their roles as off-ball options are roughly the same, and Hull’s rebounding gives her the slight edge in standard fantasy formats. Caldwell shot the ball unsustainably well last season for Atlanta (56.3% on 3.6 3-point attempts per game) and has regressed to the mean considerably this season (18.8%) so even if she does start getting minutes in the mid-teens or low-20s, there’s no rush to pick her up.

Las Vegas Aces

There’s basically nothing to be said about Las Vegas that hasn’t been covered already, although it’s nice to see Candace Parker getting it going after a slow start to the season. In her last five games, Parker is averaging a healthy stat line of 10.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2.4 defensive stats in 24.8 minutes played, showing how valuable she is as a connective player on a roster full of stars at their respective positions. Perhaps most importantly, she’s shooting 59% from the field during that span, which suggests that she’s still fully healthy; at this point in Parker’s career, games played are the biggest obstacle to individual success, and the legendary forward has been in tip-top shape so far.

Otherwise, there’s not much fantasy-wise going on here. Historic success can get boring, but it’s considerably more enjoyable if you have one or more of A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, and Kelsey Plum on your roster.

Los Angeles Sparks

The Sparks remain incredibly shorthanded, down five rotation players (Nia Clouden, Layshia Clarendon, Jordin Canada, Chiney Ogwumike, and Lexie Brown) due to a variety of maladies in their most recent game. For those well enough to play for Los Angeles, not much has changed: Nneka Ogwumike remains one of fantasy basketball’s most productive players (25 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 defensive stats on Sunday), while Dearica Hamby (18 points and 8 rebounds) and Azurá Stevens (13 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 defensive stats) have stepped it up as her supporting cast in the frontcourt.

The Sparks’ backcourt, however, is a completely different story. Destanni Henderson made an immediate impact for Los Angeles on an emergency hardship contract, but has cooled off, shooting a combined 2-15 in her last three games. Rookie Zia Cooke has been similarly inconsistent, though she recently scored in double-figures in back-to-back games for the first time in her career. Cooke won’t contribute many rebounds or assists, but the Sparks have little choice but to play her while Brown and Canada recover, so consider adding her if you’re in a deeper league.

Minnesota Lynx

Diamond Miller is back, and she’s making up for lost time. The #2 overall pick in the 2023 draft has been on fire since returning from an ankle injury, averaging 20.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.3 steals in 28.3 minutes in three games, and she looks infinitely more comfortable with the speed of the WNBA game than she did prior to getting injured. Miller’s ceiling is sky-high, and with Minnesota in rebuilding mode, she’ll get all the reps she can handle for the rest of the season. Make sure no one in your leagues got frustrated by her lengthy absence and dropped her.

While you’re scouring the waiver wire, look for Lindsay Allen, too. Tiffany Mitchell (wrist) will be out for at least a few weeks, and Allen has been the overwhelming favorite to take the team’s point guard minutes since then. She’s averaging 8 points and 7.7 assists (and just 0.3 turnovers!) in 30.9 minutes in her last three games; Allen isn’t the most capable shooter, but she’s a terrific game manager, and is a very safe option to roster, especially considering her current lack of competition at her position.

New York Liberty

Just like with Las Vegas, there’s not much going on with New York that hasn’t already been talked about. Guard Courtney Vandersloot continues to record double-doubles and is averaging 11.7 points and 8.7 assists per game on the season, center Jonquel Jones continues to be limited with minutes in the mid-20s (though she did play 32 against her former Connecticut Sun team last Tuesday – a breakthrough, perhaps?), and Breanna Stewart continues to be the most productive player in fantasy basketball – though her former Seattle Storm teammate Jewell Loyd is hot on her tail, according to our WNBA fantasy basketball rankings.

If there’s one thing to note about the Liberty, it’s that Nyara Sabally has been Jones’ primary backup at center, with Han Xu competing in FIBA Women’s Asia Cup and Stefanie Dolson sidelined with an ankle injury. Even so, Sabally isn’t going to play a ton, and Xu recently led China to a gold medal in Asia Cup, so it might be best to just wait until we get more information on when Xu will rejoin the team to make a fantasy roster move.

Phoenix Mercury

Forward Brianna Turner is looking more like the player we’ve expected her to be, playing heavy minutes in her last three games (34.9) and averaging 8.7 rebounds and a massive 4.7 defensive stats during that span. Of course, Turner isn’t going to shoot the ball very often, but as long as she’s rebounding the ball and making plays defensively, she’s plenty worthy of a fantasy roster spot – especially if she’s leading the Mercury in minutes played.

Meanwhile, starting wing Sophie Cunningham is in concussion protocol, which should open the door for a few more touches for Michaela Onyenwere. Onyenwere is having a career year in her first season with the Mercury, averaging 9.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.5 defensive stats per game. Guard Jennie Simms is also a streaming option; in four games since signing a hardship contract with the team, Simms is playing 15.8 minutes per game, though she’s not providing much offense (2.8 points on 28.6% shooting).

Ultimately, how much value these lower-usage players have in Phoenix depends on the status of the team’s two stars, center Brittney Griner and guard Diana Taurasi. While Griner has been her usual dependable self, averaging 19.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, Taurasi’s game-by-game production has fluctuated wildly, and it’s almost a sure bet that she’ll be missing at least a few more games later in the season. Keep this in mind as you comb through the Mercury’s bench players.

Seattle Storm

Gabby Williams is back in Seattle! The athletic forward has signed with the Storm for the remainder of the season, which was previously in doubt due to her commitment to the French National Team.

That is, of course, great news for Seattle, as well as fantasy managers. Williams has one of the more versatile skillsets in the WNBA, and she’s coming off a career year in 2022 when she averaged 7.5 points, 5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. She’s an absolute gold mine in formats that emphasize defensive and peripheral statistics, and she’ll probably get more of a chance to shoot the ball now than she did last season, too.

The question, now, is whose minutes Williams will take: Kia Nurse or Jordan Horston. Offensively, Williams is best suited as a small-ball power forward, but that’s where Seattle has been playing Horston for much of the season. Horston’s fantasy ceiling is certainly higher than Nurse’s, and the Storm are invested in her long-term, so don’t let Williams’ arrival deter you from rostering her just yet.

Washington Mystics

Hopefully you listened to us last week when we recommended you pick up Tianna Hawkins, because the veteran forward is suddenly the go-to player in the Mystics’ frontcourt. Starting center Shakira Austin (hip strain) will be out for the next three weeks, and with forward Elena Delle Donne (ankle) also out for the time being, Hawkins’ role has grown considerably: she’s averaging 9.3 points and 8.7 rebounds in 28.5 minutes in her last three games, and with Myisha Hines-Allen still playing minutes in the mid-teens as she recovers from offseason knee surgery, Hawkins is going to continue to start and be a double-double threat for the foreseeable future.

Most of Delle Donne’s usage, however, will likely be going to the Mystics’ guards. Ariel Atkins and Brittney Sykes combined to get 29 shots up in the team’s last game, leading the Mystics with 20 and 15 points scored, respectively, and both players also recorded 3 steals apiece. Washington is going to struggle for as long as both Delle Donne and Austin are out, but fantasy managers who have Atkins, Sykes, and Natasha Cloud on their rosters will likely benefit.