Absent from the Mercury’s initial injury report, Thomas will not play in Friday’s showdown with the undefeated Lynx. Her absence leaves a significant hole in the lineup due to the ability to impact games as a scorer, playmaker and defender. Kalani Brown, who played 11 minutes in Tuesday’s win over the Sky, may pick up additional minutes but is not a “like-for-like” replacement for Thomas. The Mercury will rely even more on Satou Sabally, which should raise her already-high fantasy ceiling.

Sabally will miss her fourth straight game due to a right knee injury. The 25-year-old will sit out on Friday after missing last Saturday’s game in Indiana followed by two more games at home against the Golden State earlier this week. Sabally had some right knee discomfort pop up prior to Saturday’s game against the Fever and as a result she had an doctor’s appointment on Monday to check on her knee. The doctor reported no structural damage. Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello hopes that Sabally can play on Sunday when the Liberty return home to face the Sun. “She’s making progress, but we want to make sure she’s feeling 100%,"Brondello said. Expect Kennedy Burke to see at least 25 minutes against the Mystics. If the Liberty jump out to an early commanding lead, expect Isabelle Harrison to have some extended run as well.

Bueckers will be re-evaluated on Tuesday to determine her next steps. The 23-year-old rookie will miss at least two games, including Saturday’s matchup with Chicago and Dallas’ game against Seattle on June 3. Bueckers’ absence leaves a significant hole in the Wings’ rotation, as head coach Chris Koclanes has leaned heavily on his starting guards (Bueckers, DiJonai Carrington and Arike Ogunbowale) thus far. Maddy Siegrist and Kaila Charles are potential replacements in the starting lineup, while rookies Aziaha James and JJ Quinerly may have the opportunity to earn additional minutes.

Jones will miss the Liberty’s rematch against the Valkyries after recording a 13/10/5/1/1 line against them on Tuesday in a blowout win. Thursday’s absence will serve as the first missed game of the season for the reigning WNBA Finals MVP, who is off to a strong opening to her ninth season, amidst the Liberty’s perfect 4-0 start. She is averaging her most points and rebounds per game since the 2021 season, while dishing out a career-best in assists per game. In addition to Jones, reserve center Nyara Sabally will also miss Thursday’s game for the Liberty, leaving opportunities for Kennedy Burke and Isabelle Harrison to step into larger roles and produce.

Bonner has struggled in the early going of this young WNBA season. Part of her struggles have been due to playing with a completely new set of players, but the other end of it is she’s playing at a completely different pace as a 37-year-old. With Caitlin Clark at the helm of the offense, the Fever boast the highest pace in the WNBA due to the fact that Clark and Kelsey Mitchell operate at their best offensively in transition. Bonner has played years on teams that were successful playing at a much slower pace. Without Clark available on Wednesday night, Bonner was a bit more comfortable in half-court play and wasn’t rushing her shots. Also, Bonner’s performance helped her become the first player in WNBA history to reach 7,500 points, 3,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists for her career.

Sykes applied a lot of rim pressure on Wednesday night, blowing by a vulnerable Fever perimeter defense to score almost half of her total points within ten feet of the rim, in addition to that other half coming mostly via her six trips to the line, most of which occurred in the second half. Along with KiKi Iriafen, Sykes carried Washington in the fourth quarter, scoring over 42 percent of her points in the final frame. When Sykes wasn’t scoring the basketball, she was providing secondary rim protection along with keeping the Mystics humming in transition to exploit a sluggish Fever defense.

Plum stayed hot for the second consecutive game, efficiently shooting her way to her fourth 25-point outing of the season. Meanwhile, the former Sixth Player of the Year also continues to make waves defensively; Plum’s four steals against Atlanta marked the third time this season she’s reached that number in a single game. Her three-point shooting is noteworthy from a fantasy standpoint. Plum’s now made at least three triples in all but one of the six games thus far and has tallied four makes on three different occasions. In conclusion, she is producing at a high level on both ends of the floor to begin the fantasy season.

The Fever suffered a significant loss on Monday, as the team announced that Clark is facing a multi-week absence. And this is the same leg that kept Clark out of Indiana’s preseason opener. One of the most productive players in fantasy basketball, the reigning Rookie of the Year’s absence leaves a massive hole in the Fever rotation. While Sydney Colson is Clark’s potential replacement in the starting lineup, this injury is more likely to boost the fantasy values of starter Kelsey Mitchell, as Colson is not much of a scorer.

Sunday’s game is the Dream’s second in as many days, after they beat the Wings on Saturday. Griner will sit to rest her left knee, and she’s been replaced in the starting lineup by Nia Coffey. Griner’s absence also means more opportunities for starter Brionna Jones. Joining Coffey and Jones in the starting lineup are Maya Caldwell, Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray.