WNBA Reschedules 2025 All-Defensive Team Announcement Ahead of Finals Game 1

The WNBA was initially supposed to release its All-Defensive First and Second Teams on Wednesday, but that didn’t happen.

And now there is some uncertainty about when it will.

Annie Costabile of Front Office Sports reported Thursday that the league rescheduled the announcement, though a new date has yet to be announced.

This comes amid a turbulent week for the WNBA.

On one hand, the league will be under the spotlight Friday with the start of the WNBA Finals between the Las Vegas Aces and the Phoenix Mercury. On the other hand, commissioner Cathy Engelbert has been the subject of plenty of criticism thanks to head-turning comments by Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier.

Collier used her exit interview to read a prepared statement that criticized Engelbert directly and the league’s overall leadership. 

Among the most notable tidbits was Collier’s comment that the WNBA has “the best fans in the world, the best players in the world, but the worst leadership in the world.” She also criticized the league’s failure to address officiating concerns and revealed that Engelbert told her Caitlin Clark needed the WNBA’s platform to make her endorsement money.

Clark responded to the comments Thursday during her own exit interview and said, “I have great respect for Phee and I think she made a lot of valid points. This is straight-up the most important moment in our league.”

There is no indication the delay in the All-Defensive teams announcement has anything to do with the public comments from some of the league’s most prominent players, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if Collier was included on one of the teams.

After all, she was the league’s Defensive Player of the Year last season and is known for her ability to thrive on both ends of the floor. She also finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting this season.

Her teammate, Alanna Smith, was named the Co-Defensive Player of the Year alongside Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson. They will surely be on the All-Defensive First Team when it is announced.

Gabby Williams of the Seattle Storm and Alyssa Thomas of the Mercury finished in third and fourth in the voting, respectively.

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