The WNBA playoffs are officially set for this season, just in time for the postseason to commence next month, and right before the much-awaited FIBA Women’s World Cup. And with the grandest international event in women’s basketball on the horizon, the league is pushing pause on its schedule and will wrap up play on August 30, with top stars heading to Berlin, Germany. The WNBA will be back in action on September 16, three days after the world champion is crowned.

While the best players in the league won’t receive any break following an exhausting and chaotic regular season due to national duty, it also means the World Cup will be a highly exhilarating showcase of the best women’s basketball has to offer.

In total, sixteen teams have qualified for the World Cup, including the USA, China, France, Germany, Spain, Australia, Japan, Mali, Hungary, Nigeria, South Korea, Belgium, Puerto Rico, Turkey, Czech Republic, and Italy. The teams will be divided into four four-team groups, with the team placing first in each group booking its place in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, the second-place team will battle it out against a third-place team from another group to qualify for the next round. The team finishing last in their group will be eliminated.

Team USA is in Group D, where they will face China on September 4, Italy on September 6, and the Czech Republic on September 7. The United States has historically been the best team in the World Cup, winning the last 9 out of 11 events. Overall, Team USA has won 11 titles, along with a second-place finish back in 1983 and a pair of third-place finishes in 1994 and 2006. Team USA won the last four World Cups, including the previous one held in Sydney, Australia, in 2022. And they are once again the favorites to defend their crown.

One look at the travelling squad under head coach Kara Lawson lets us know why they are the favorites. The stunning roster includes Aliyah Boston, Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark, Napheesa Collier, Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Rhyne Howard, Kelsey Plum, Angel Reese, Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson, and Jackie Young. Moreover, the assistant coaches under Lawson are highly regarded, to say the least. Indiana Fever’s Stephanie White, Golden State Valkyries’ Natalie Nakase, and Phoenix Mercury’s Nate Tibbetts will all be stepping in for the role.

The stacked roster is further elevated to new heights when you understand that four MVP frontrunners of the WNBA are on the squad, as Wilson, Clark, Bueckers, and Stewart will all feature in this World Cup. Wilson and Stewart are quite experienced in the World Cup. The Aces star has won two gold medals, while Stewart has won three. Moreover, Stewart won the MVP title back in 2018 in Spain, and Wilson followed it up with one of her own in 2022 in Australia.

“This is an incredibly talented group that has earned the opportunity to compete in Berlin.” Team USA managing director Sue Bird said.

She added, “Wearing a USA jersey is a privilege, and I know these 12 players will embrace that responsibility as we go after another gold medal. I can’t wait to see what this team accomplishes together.”

As for the head coach herself, Lawson revealed it was a tough process to jot down the 12 players most equipped to head to Germany, considering the talent across the country. However, having worked with most of the players, Lawson believes the lot are capable of the challenges ahead.

“I couldn’t be more excited about working with each of them, and I’ve had good experience with each of them. I think that’s what makes it even more special is the relationships that you have, and having worked with them in different capacities. I know what they’re capable of, and I know that this is a group that’s ready for the challenges that are ahead.” Lawson said, as reported by USA Basketball.

Lawson might be correct with her analysis, considering how much women’s basketball has evolved in recent years. Team USA’s head coach is not the only one to feel the challenging road ahead, as WNBA analyst Rachel DeMita has picked France as the team that Lawson and co. will have the most difficulty overcoming.

“Just today, the French team was also announced for the World Cup. And this is where it gets very interesting because, as we saw in the Paris Olympics, for both the men’s and the women’s final, it was USA versus France. That seems to be the country that produces the best basketball talent in the world. It seems to be one of the only countries that can really compete with Team USA.” 

“On this team, you have Gabby Williams, Marine Johannès, Dominique Malonga, Pauline Astier, Carla Leite, Leïla Lacan, Janelle Salaün, and Valériane Ayayi. This team is a real threat to the USA, and I think this will be a really great basketball game,” DeMita said on Tuesday’s episode of her Courtside Club podcast.

The 2024 Paris Olympics is the most recent example we can take of Team USA and France going all out against each other. The hosts put Team USA to the absolute limit and were agonizingly close to pulling off an upset, ultimately losing 67-66. As DeMita pointed out, even the men’s side was absolute mayhem, to say the least, and France would have taken the victory there if not for Steph Curry and his otherworldly shots from outside the arc.

As for the WNBA landscape itself, with players leaving left and right for Germany, some teams’ plans for the break will be affected more than others. Managing director Sue Bird also gave her two cents on this matter recently.

Sue Bird Reveals the Team Most Impacted by the World Cup

The 17-day break is the best time period coaches could have asked for ahead of the all-important playoffs. However, with key players departing from the majority of the teams, in-game management, along with planning the break, would be of the utmost importance. And New York Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco probably needs to hear this most, as Sue Bird picked the New York Liberty as the team to be the most affected by the World Cup.

“Yeah, I think it’s pretty obvious. The New York Liberty will be the most impacted, given that they have seven players going. I’m like, ‘What are those five players that are sticking around? What’s Chris DeMarco gonna be doing with them?’” Bird said on NBC Sports’ WNBA Showtime.

As Bird said, multiple key Liberty players will be travelling to Germany next week. MVP candidate Breanna Stewart (USA), Leonie Fiebich (Germany), Raquel Carrera (Spain), Pauline Astier (France), Marine Johannes (France), and Han Xu (China) won’t be there. Although Satou Sabally is not part of the squad because she pulled out to recover from a concussion, that means she may not be present for Liberty’s practice sessions either.

Thankfully, the Liberty are already qualified for the playoffs, so DeMarco wouldn’t have to worry about that part at least. Or else, it would have been a hassle for him not to overload his star players after the World Cup and before the playoffs in order to seek qualification.

Apart from DeMarco, Fever head coach Stephanie White was asked about her plans for the break now that she is leaving for Germany alongside two of her best players, Clark and Boston.

“I think we take a lot of that and really work on player development, really work on, number one, getting back in shape because I would imagine if they have a little time off, they’re not going to do a whole lot,” Stephanie White said during media availability at Wednesday’s practice.

With challenging teams during the World Cup and consequences to be faced following it, the road to the WNBA playoffs has never been trickier for players and coaches alike.