Mitchell, Brionna Jones, and Tina Charles headline a list of stars playing overseas this winter, despite the rise of Unrivaled and other domestic leagues.
Now that the WNBA season has come to a close, several of the league’s stars are headed overseas to play in the Europe, China, Australia, and other international basketball leagues. This season, more players than ever will stay in the US, with Unrivaled including 36 WNBA stars who will play 3-on-3 basketball in Miami — and Athletes Unlimited including an undisclosed number of WNBA players as well.
Still, a slew of WNBA standouts are taking the more conventional offseason route and heading to various professional sports leagues around the world to play traditional 5-on-5 basketball, as has long been custom in the WNBA.
Here are six standouts to watch out for this winter:
Kelsey Mitchell
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Kelsey Mitchell enjoyed the best season of her career with the Indiana Fever in 2024; she averaged 19.2 points per game on 46.8% shooting, including 40.2% from three, helping the Fever to their first playoff berth since 2016.
Now, Mitchell is playing for the Shanxi Flame of the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA), alongside the Connecticut Sun’s Olivia Nelson-Ododa. The 28-year-old’s season has yet to begin, though Mitchell has arrived in China.
Gabby Williams
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Gabby Williams is an international star; she helped lead France to a Silver medal finish at the Olympics, and has played for a slew of overseas teams. Currently, she’s a member of the Turkish Super League, where she’s averaged 14.3 points per game so far through four games. That season goes through June 1st, making it likely that Williams will miss the beginning of the WNBA season.
Williams has played for the Seattle Storm these past three seasons; in 2024, she averaged 10.3 points, 4 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.7 steals per game.
Brionna Jones
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Brionna Jones is another multiple-time All-Star playing overseas during the WNBA offseason — Jones currently plays for USK Prague of the Czech Women’s Basketball League. Isabelle Harrison of the Chicago Sky also plays for the club.
Jones, the No. 8 pick in the 2017 WNBA draft, averaged 13.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game for the Connecticut Sun in 2024 after making a full recovery from an Achilles injury suffered last year.
Natasha Howard
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Natasha Howard, a three-time WNBA champion and two-time All-Star, currently plays for the Turkish Super League. Howard is currently averaging 19.3 points and 7 rebounds per game for Basketbol.
Howard is fresh off a successful season with the Dallas Wings in which she averaged 17.6 points and 6.7 rebounds. Howard is an unrestricted free agent, and has signaled she likely won’t be back in Dallas next season. For now, though, she’s dominating overseas.
Tina Charles
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Tina Charles is playing for Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Super League, where she’s averaging 15 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Charles is fresh off a superb season with the Atlanta Dream, in which she returned from a one-year WNBA absence to average 14.9 points and 9.6 boards per game.
Fenerbahce has a loaded roster this season, headlined by Charles, Williams, Sevgi Uzun, Emma Meesseman, Ariel Atkins, and Marieme Badiane. So far this year, the Turkish club is undefeated.
Ezi Magbegor
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Ezi Magbegor was a Defensive Player of the Year candidate for the Seattle Storm this past season, averaging 11.7 points and 8 rebounds per game in one of the best seasons of her WNBA career.
Now, Magbegor can be found playing for ZVVZ USK PRAHA, a professional women’s basketball club based in Praha, Czech Republic.
