WNBA tip-off guide | NWSL ups the stakes | Chelsea goes for three

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WNBA tip-off has arrived

The 2025 WNBA season is finally here, with tonight’s lineup tipping off an opening weekend full of tough competition and simmering storylines.

• The reigning champion Liberty enter as odds-on favorites, but results are nearly impossible to predict after a very active offseason across the league.

What to watch: This weekend’s slate features new builds, regional rivalries, and plenty of fresh faces as top 2025 draft picks make their first pro starts.

• Minnesota vs. Dallas, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): 2025 No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers makes her official WNBA debut tonight, as revamped Dallas tests itself against a Minnesota team still stinging over last year’s title loss.

• Los Angeles vs. Golden State, Friday at 10 PM ET (ION): The Golden State Valkyries play their first-ever regular-season game on Friday, looking to form an identity against downstate rivals Kelsey Plum and the Sparks.

• Las Vegas vs. New York, Saturday at 1 PM ET (ABC): The 2023 champs meet the 2024 title winners, in a heavyweight clash that sees 2024 MVP A’ja Wilson take on a confident New York team led by guard Sabrina Ionescu.

• Chicago vs. Indiana, Saturday at 3 PM ET (ABC): 2024 headliners Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese meet again in Indiana, with the regional rivals relying on both incoming vets and young cores to write their next chapters.

Bottom line: This weekend is packed with great matchups, full stop — the ideal tip-off for a season that promises to be a wild ride no matter which team you follow.

Top-table clash headlines NWSL weekend

This NWSL also returns this weekend, delivering a top-table showdown, a bicoastal battle, and some middle-of-the-pack clashes as the season enters its ninth matchday.

• Parity is on high these days, with just three points dividing No. 1 Kansas City and No. 3 Washington in the current NWSL standings — and only three more separating No. 4 San Diego from No. 8 Seattle.

What to watch: With competition remaining tough as nails, don’t expect much more daylight between teams after this weekend’s tense lineup.

• Gotham vs. San Diego, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (NWSL+): No. 7 Gotham is still searching for consistency, coming off a two-game winless streak as they take on a confident San Diego side that hasn’t lost in four games.

• Racing Louisville vs. Seattle, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (NWSL+): Tied on points with 11 each, Seattle will be looking to hold off No. 9 Louisville as Racing continues to hunt the club’s first-ever playoff berth.

• Orlando vs. Kansas City, Friday at 8 PM ET (Prime): There’s little love lost between these NWSL titans, as home side No. 2 Orlando attempts to leapfrog top-dog Kansas City in Friday’s marquee match.

Bottom line: In a season dominated by topsy-turvy results, the pressure to secure points week-over-week weighs heaviest on teams who know they have the talent to rise above the rest.

Esther sticks around

2025 Golden Boot leader Esther González is sticking with Gotham, with the Spanish international extending her contract with the NJ/NY club through 2027.

• The 2023 World Cup winner has tallied seven goals in nine games for Gotham this season, showcasing a blistering rush of form that has her sitting two goals ahead of the next Golden Boot race contender.

• “Above all, it’s about how I’ve felt during these two and a half years with Gotham FC,” González said in yesterday’s announcement. “Continuing to be happy both on and off the field is really important. To keep enjoying myself and representing Gotham’s colors, which I truly identify with, is something really incredible."

Big picture: Gotham’s continued investment underlines the 32-year-old’s case for 2025 MVP candidacy, as award frontrunners start to emerge a third of the way through the season.

• González leads the NWSL in shots on target while sitting fourth in expected goals per 90 minutes, with her scoring pace outrunning many of her peers.

• Other players with MVP hopes include Kansas City’s 2024 MVP Temwa Chawinga and breakout star Debinha, Angel City wunderkind Alyssa Thompson, and Orlando sharpshooter Barbra Banda.

Watch more: “Is Debinha Running Away with NWSL MVP?” on The Late Sub

Chelsea goes for the treble

Chelsea is staring down trophy number three, with only Saturday’s FA Cup final against Manchester United standing between the Blues and a domestic treble.

• Having won both the 2024/25 League Cup and their sixth straight WSL title, a weekend win at Wembley Stadium would add a fairytale ending to Chelsea’s already-historic season.

• Underdogs Manchester United will be playing for their first hardware of the year, after finishing third in this season’s WSL standings behind the play of USWNT goalkeeper prospect Phallon Tullis-Joyce.

Tune in: The FA Cup final kicks off at 8:30 AM ET on Sunday, live on ESPN+.

Minnesota skates into PWHL finals

No. 4 seed Minnesota punched their ticket to the PWHL finals on Wednesday, keeping their Walter Cup repeat dreams alive by beating No. 2 seed Toronto 4-3 in overtime to win the semifinal series 3-1.

• Taylor Heise scored the game-winner at the 16-minute mark in OT, earning the Frost a little extra rest as they await the winner of the second-year league’s other semifinal.

Upping the stakes: On the other side of the bracket, top-seeded Montréal is fighting for postseason survival, needing a win in tonight’s semis clash with Ottawa to trigger a winner-take-all Game 5.

Don’t miss it: Montréal hits the ice against Ottawa tonight at 7 PM ET, streaming live on Youtube.

Quote of the day

Angel City forward Alyssa Thompson
on fellow ACFC forward — and USWNT star — Christen Press helping her see her full potential on the pitch.