International WNBA players often leave their teams during the regular season; here's why that's changing

Seattle Storm's Gabby Williams and Phoenix Mercury's Satou Sabally are excelling in the 2025 WNBA season, with Williams achieving career highs in points (14), assists (4.7), and rebounds (4.5) alongside a significant three-point percentage increase, while Sabally leads her team with 19.3 points per game.

Historically, WNBA players from European nations like France, Germany, Belgium, and Italy have paused their seasons midyear to participate in FIBA's EuroBasket tournament (June 18-29), which qualifies teams for the Olympics and involves up to six games in 12 days. Similar commitments affect players in other FIBA continental tournaments like the AmeriCup (late June–early July) and Asia Cup (mid-July), exemplified by Chicago Sky's Kamilla Cardoso and Indiana Fever's Damiris Dantas leaving for AmeriCup with Brazil.

Currently, 22 of 162 WNBA players (13.5%) face midseason departure or delayed arrivals due to these tournaments. While 13 players committed to participating, eight—including Sabally (Germany), Williams (France), Marine Johannès (France/Liberty), and Nyara Sabally (Germany/Liberty)—declined. Sabally highlighted this as a trend toward player autonomy in 2025.

All WNBA teams except the Mystics, Aces, and Dream (which lack international players) are impacted. Expansion team Golden State Valkyries lost one-third of their roster to EuroBasket in June. Conversely, French rookie Carla Leite (Valkyries) and No. 2 draft pick Dominique Malonga (Storm) prioritized WNBA commitments over pre-tournament national team training, diverging from federation expectations.

Before 2023, French Federation players typically joined national camps after club seasons ended. Connecticut Sun's Leïla Lacan (2024 draft pick) exemplifies this tradition, scheduled to debut after France's EuroBasket run concludes, potentially as late as June 30.