WNBA free agency formed 5 fun new pairings, including DiJonai Carrington and NaLyssa Smith in Dallas

WNBA free agency is nearly complete, and the league looks drastically different. More than a dozen former All-Stars have switched, a list that includes 8 2024 All-Stars (Kelsey Plum, Jewell Loyd, Satou Sabally, Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, Brittney Griner, and Brionna Jones).

As a result, several teams (the Wings, Sun, and Mercury) look entirely different. Some (the Fever and Sparks) simply upgraded around their existing core. Others lost a few important bench pieces (the Aces and Liberty).

There will be plenty of time for free agency grades and preseason power rankings, but for now, let’s take a look at which new fun duos emerged as a result of offseason moves.

NaLyssa Smith and DiJonai Carrington were teammates at Baylor — and, they also happened to now be in a relationship. As a result of recent trades, the couple will reunite on the Wings.

Carrington landed in Dallas via a trade that sent Jacy Sheldon to Connecticut, while Smith was traded from the Fever in the four-team trade that brought Sophie Cunningham to Indiana.

It won’t be their first time sharing the floor (nor living in Texas), but it is their first time doing so as professionals. Last spring, Carrington and Smith faced off in the playoffs as members of the Connecticut Sun and Indiana Fever, respectively. Now, they’ll run it back as teammates.

Sabally and Thomas were two of the top prospects of WNBA free agency, and both are do-it-all players whose versatility stands out. Both stars have spent their entire WNBA careers on teams that didn’t have its own practice facility (the Wings and Sun, respectively) but now, both will get the opportunity to play for one of the league’s most well-resourced franchises in the Mercury.

While both can easily be described as versatile, the stars also have unique skillsets. Sabally is fresh off the best three-point shooting season, while Thomas doesn’t take them. But both players are offensive hubs in their own right, and will provide an interesting on-court pairing.

Vandersloot returns to the organization where she began her career, and this time, she’ll be playing alongside two of the league’s upcoming post players in Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese.

Vandersloot’s presence should elevate the play of both incoming sophomores, but her playmaking should particularly be of service to Cardoso, who was an elite finisher in college but didn’t have an elite distributing guard in her rookie season

Cardoso, the third overall pick in the 2024 draft, averaged 9.8 points and 7.9 rebounds in her rookie season. With Vandersloot at the helm and one more year of experience under her belt, those scoring numbers are poised to increase.

Caitlin Clark will be a part of several intriguing duos on the Indiana Fever next season, with the front office bringing in DeWanna Bonner, Sophie Cunningham, Natasha Howard, Sydney Colson, and others.

But, the new on-court pairing of her and Howard is particularly intriguing. Howard, who signed with the Fever after two seasons with the Dallas Wings, is an elite rim-runner whose game should be elevated by Clark’s presence.

“She can spread the floor by shooting, she can dictate the floor as a point guard,” Howard said of Clark in her introductory press conference. “She’s an amazing passer, so I can’t wait to run the floor and get those passes.”

Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby were teammates on the Las Vegas Aces team that won a championship in 2022, and now, both former Sixth Player of the Year winners will reunite in a new city: Los Angeles.

Hamby has upped her production significantly since landing in LA two years ago – last season, she averaged 17.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. But, she hasn’t had another personnel around her to field a playoff team, and Plum’s arrival via a three-team trade helps with that.

Plum, meanwhile, will likely play a bigger role offensively than she has to date in her career. Her best offensive season was in 2022, when she averaged 20.2 points per game on 46% shooting. Hamby was her teammate then.

Plum will likely need to recreate that type of offensive to elevate the Sparks back to playoff contention.