WNBA

Caitlin Clark will have to wait until next year to get back on a court in a WNBA game ... because the star player says she won't be returning to play this season after suffering a groin injury.

The most famous women's basketball player of all time announced Thursday her season was over due to the nagging injury.

Clark says ... "I had hoped to share a better update, but I will not be returning to play this season. I spent hours in the gym every day with the singular goal of getting back out there, disappointed isn’t a big enough word to describe how I am feeling."

The Chicago Sky will be without Angel Reese for their showdown against the Indiana Fever Friday night -- the second-year player was officially suspended after picking up her eighth technical foul of the season.

The punishment was announced by the WNBA on Thursday ... with the league pointing out whenever a player or coach receives their eighth technical foul during the regular season, they are automatically handed a one-game ban.

Reese picked up her league-leading tech during the Sky's matchup against the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday. It happened after the 23-year-old hit Aaliyah Edwards in the head as they were fighting for a rebound.

Angel Reese is issuing a mea culpa to her Chicago Sky teammates after she seemingly knocked the Chicago Sky players and the front office in a recent interview about the team's losing season, explaining her remarks were taken out of context.

The two-time WNBA All-Star attempted to clear things up after Wednesday's game against the Connecticut Sun, responding to a reporter who asked whether she was truly upset with the organization, who currently have a dreadful 10-30 record this season.

This question stems from a recent Chicago Tribune interview where Reese said she "might have to move in a different direction and do what's best for me" after expressing frustrations with the team's play.

"I don't think I'm frustrated. I'm probably frustrated with myself right now," Reese said on Wednesday.

Sophie Cunningham doesn't need two perfect knees to bust a move ... the WNBA fan fave was dancin' in a tiny bikini, brace and all, just weeks after surgery!

A video of the Indiana Fever guard made waves over the Labor Day weekend, showing the 6'1" athlete singing Reneé Rapp's song "I Think I Like You Better When You’re Gone".

Cunningham, 29, did it while wearing a small two-piece bikini and a knee brace ... the one she got after she tore her MCL on August 17.

Indiana Fever hooper Lexie Hull gave her fans a look at the carnage after a scary mid-game collision on Tuesday ... and well, it left her with two black eyes!

The WNBA guard revealed the gnarly black-and-blue injuries on Thursday after a fan on TikTok asked how she was doing following the on-court incident with Gabby Williams during the Fever and Storm game.

"It's not doing great," Hull said on video while exposing the black eyes. "I wish this was a filter, but this is insane."

Caitlin Clark has reached yet another major milestone in her young basketball career -- the WNBA superstar was announced as Nike's newest signature athlete ... but her logo reveal that came with the news is getting mixed reviews.

Clark -- whose 2025 WNBA season has been marred with injuries -- shared the update with her followers Monday ... posting a teaser that featured a truck carrying her logo through the countryside.

"Tune in," she wrote. "Logo collection coming soon. Signature product dropping in 2026."

Caitlin Clark's earned herself plenty of attention as the superstar face of the WNBA ... but, unfortunately, not all of that attention has been positive.

The professional basketball player had to deal with a stalker, Michael Lewis, from late 2024 to early 2025, and he was eventually sent to prison for his extensive harassment of the athlete.

We're going to take a look at how Clark's stalker found himself behind bars after exhibiting troubling behavior centered on the Indiana Fever.

Lewis was living in Denton, Texas, when he began trying to get in contact with Clark, sending her over 800 messages, many of which contained threatening and sexually-charged content, between December 2024 and January 2025, according to The Athletic.

Caitlin's stalker was also recorded as having driven all the way from Denton to Indianapolis.

Lewis reportedly drove past the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where the Indiana Fever play their home games, on several occasions after reaching Indianapolis.

Police reportedly discovered Lewis had bought tickets to a women’s basketball game at Butler University, which Clark was set to attend.

Lewis' actions didn't go unnoticed by the authorities, and he was actually questioned by FBI agents in January 2025, when they found him at an Indy hotel.

The athlete's stalker downplayed his actions and messages to Clark, and claimed he was simply in "an imaginary relationship," and added his connection with her didn't "involve any threats."

Lewis told the agents he was in Indianapolis for vacation, and he allowed the agents to search his room to make sure he didn't have any weapons with him.

The agents warned him to stop posting about Clark, and they left after he agreed to be more judicious about his online activity.

Lewis didn't stay out of the authorities' sight for long, as he was arrested and charged with stalking, just a few days after his visit with the FBI agents.

We obtained court documents which showed Clark had been rattled by her stalker's behavior, and she was said to have changed her public appearance schedule out of concern for her personal safety.

Lewis' appearance in court was particularly troubling, as he described himself as "guilty as charged" just after sitting down, and he told the judge to "throw me the book" before complaining about not receiving medication for unspecified issues related to his mental health.

The man convicted of stalking Caitlin Clark insisted to FBI agents over and over again days before his arrest that he had nothing more than "an imaginary relationship" with the WNBA superstar ... new police video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows.

The body camera footage was captured outside of an Indianapolis hotel room on Jan. 8 -- after authorities accused Michael Lewis of "sending numerous threats and sexually explicit messages" to Clark beginning on Dec. 12, 2024.

In the clip, you can see a couple FBI agents -- along with multiple Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers -- questioning Lewis for several minutes about his concerning social media posts.

Paige Bueckers made history in Los Angeles Wednesday night after breaking Candace Parker's rookie scoring record ... and she did it all in front of one of her favorite celebrities -- Shemar Moore!!

It was a special moment for the hooper -- in an interview during WNBA All-Star Week, Bueckers was asked if there were any big names she would love to see courtside at her games ... and she mentioned Moore, which got his attention.

"You never know when your boy might show up and HOLLA your name at one of your games," Moore wrote on Instagram at the time.

Sophie Cunningham appreciates the support, but says the narrative that Bria Hartley intentionally hurt her, leading to a season-ending injury, just ain't based in reality!

The unfortunate play occurred in the 2nd quarter of Sunday's Fever vs. Sun game, when Connecticut guard Hartley lost her footing while driving the baseline, falling onto Cunningham's leg, causing her to collapse, as she lay on the ground in serious pain.

Doctors later confirmed she suffered a torn MCL.

Since news of the season-ending injury broke, Hartley has faced waves of accusations claiming she injured SC on purpose. Things got so bad that she had to disable comments online.

Sophie Cunningham is breathing more life into her beef with Jacy Sheldon after the two were involved in a scuffle during a game back in June ... 'cause the Indiana Fever star autographed her nemesis' card -- and included a savage diss alongside it!!

The moment went down at a recent signing event ... when a fan presented a Sheldon card in front of Cunningham to sign. The hooper got a chuckle out of it before getting to work and etching "Property of Sophie Cunningham" on the item.

"No way," said Lexi Hull, Cunningham's teammate.

Darcy Connolly-Brunner -- the mother of former WNBA and Arizona State basketball player Sophie Brunner -- was tragically killed in a head-on collision in Illinois. She was 61 years old.

The Stephenson County Sheriff's Office said deputies responded to a fatal incident on Route 26 North in Freeport on Saturday.

Officials said preliminary investigation findings indicated the driver of a Nissan Altima, Rolando Ico-Choc, 30, was heading southbound when he entered the northbound lane, crashing directly into a Ford Edge.

Candace Parker's made plenty of connections over her time in professional basketball ... and it looks like the strongest of the bunch is with her wife Anna Petrakova.

The athletes went from playing on the same team to tying the knot and starting a family -- all within a decade!

We're going to take a look into Petrakova's past and see how her love story with the former WNBA star has played out.

Petrakova's originally from Russia, and she moved to the United States at the age of 17 to play basketball at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

The athlete, whose older sister also attended the institution, was inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018.

Following her graduation from the university, Petrakova returned to Russia and began a career in basketball, and she played for several teams throughout her professional life.

She was also a member of the Russian women's national basketball team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, which took fourth place.

Petrakova and Parker first met while they were both playing for the Russian professional basketball team UMMC Ekaterinburg, where Parker played from 2010 until 2015.

Parker was previously married to former NBA player Shelden Williams, and they welcomed a daughter named Lailaa prior to their divorce, which was finalized in 2016.

Petrakova and Parker grew close while competing together, and although they "denied" their connection at first, they eventually began dating, according to Time.

Petrakova described accepting the idea of having a relationship with another woman as a "long, hard process" -- although it evidently worked out.

Parker popped the big question when she was vacationing with Petrakova in Mexico, and they tied the knot in December 2019.

However, the pair managed to keep the news about their nuptials secret, eventually letting the public know about their marriage in 2021.

Parker and Petrakova started a family of their own when they welcomed a son named Airr in February 2022.

Alyssa Thomas has had to rely on the support of numerous teammates over the length of her career in the WNBA ... including her fiancée, DeWanna Bonner!

The professional basketball player and her partner have stuck together on and off the court, and the two have wedding bells planned for their future!

We're going to take a look at the background of Thomas' soon-to-be wife and see how they were brought together by their love for sports.

Bonner began receiving attention for her skills on the court in high school, and she continued with the sport, playing college basketball at Auburn University.

The athlete became the first player from Auburn to lead the SEC in scoring, which she accomplished in her 2008-2009 season.

Bonner also set a scoring record at her school, racking up a total of 2,162 points, according to her WNBA profile.

The WNBA star finished out her career with Auburn in 2009, graduating from the institution with a degree in psychology.

Bonner's WNBA career kicked off shortly after she finished college, when she was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury in 2009, where she played guard and forward.

She remained with the team until 2020, when she was traded and began a four-year stint with the Connecticut Sun.

The professional athlete concluded her time with the Sun in 2024, and she returned to the Mercury for the 2025 season.

In addition to her work in the WNBA, Bonner's played for various international teams over the length of her career.

The thing is, Thomas wasn't Bonner's first partner, as the athlete was briefly married to fellow WNBA player Candice Dupree.

Bonner, who played alongside Dupree on the Mercury, tied the knot in the fall of 2016, according to the WNBA's official website.

Bonner announced she was pregnant in March 2017, and she gave birth to a pair of twin girls that July.

The professional basketball players eventually split up, and Bonner moved on with another teammate.

Bonner and Thomas first met when they were both playing for the Sun in 2020, and their relationship developed when they were mandated to stay in what were described as "bubbles" for much of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bonner told CBS News she "stalked" her now-fiancée by watching her Instagram Stories prior to the start of their relationship.

The pair eventually began dating, and the guard-forward asked Thomas to marry her following the 2023 WNBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas.

A'Ja Wilson's earned herself plenty of supporters over her time in professional basketball -- including her boyfriend, NBA star Bam Adebayo!

Wilson revealed the news about her romance in February 2025 ... although she claimed she'd been close with Bam for an extended period of time, prior to the start of their relationship.

We're going to take a look at the life and times of the WNBA star's partner and see how their love story unfolded.

Adebayo's career in the NBA kicked off in 2017, and he's played as both a center and a power forward over the length of his time in the league.

The athlete, who played college ball for the University of Kentucky, was drafted by the Miami Heat after only one season of collegiate sports.

He's earned a fair amount of accolades over the course of his career, and he's played in the NBA's All-Star Game on three separate occasions.

Adebayo earned two gold medals in his appearances at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympic Games, where he played on the USA's National Team.

Wilson and Adebayo were first linked when they were spotted together just prior to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, when the WNBA star was a member of the USA Women's National Basketball Team, according to People.

The two sparked rumors about a potential relationship when they began sharing cryptic social media posts that appeared to point to their connection after the Games concluded.

Oh yeah, and we caught them leaving a restaurant in Beverly Hills on what appeared to be a date night in January 2025.

The thing is, the athletes had been friends "for years" before they ever started officially dating, and the Las Vegas Aces star confirmed their relationship just after Valentine's Day in 2025 -- which they had to spend apart, as he needed "rest."

Adebayo and Wilson have been openly supportive of each other's efforts off the court, and Adebayo was pictured wearing the Nike A'One Basketball Shoes when the Heat played the Brooklyn Nets in January 2025.

The WNBA star told People her boyfriend was incredibly supportive of her collaboration with Nike and wanted to be at the "forefront of pushing my shoes."

Wilson said she was "thankful" Adebayo wanted to be the one to promote her shoes, and described him as "a good person all around."

Lance Stephenson is demanding an end to the sex toy-throwing chaos at WNBA games -- not just out of respect for the players, but also for the young fans in the crowd.

The longtime NBA star made things crystal clear to TMZ Sports this week ... following a fourth incident where a dildo was launched onto the court during a W contest.

"I got kids," Stephenson said. "For them to see that on the floor, man, I mean like, I'd be devastated."