The WNBA has been growing exponentially for the last couple of years. With more and more star players coming in, the fame quotient of the league has been on the rise. Unfortunately, despite all the hype, this season in particular has seen a weird trend. A trend where a plethora of injuries has clouded the league. For example, Breanna Stewart’s injury pushed Liberty to a fourth-worst defensive rating. And with the likes of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese following suit, the teams have been suffering significantly. Meanwhile, speaking on the topic, Los Angeles Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts seems to know why exactly these injuries were happening.
Now then, the biggest news this year was Caitlin Clark’s injury. With the 2024 Rookie of the Year expected to have a blast this season, Clark is still nursing her groin. And as Roberts analyzed all the injuries, she came up with a probable reason for the same.
Lynne Roberts Blames Long Season For Athlete Injuries
Speaking on the topic, Roberts brought up a crucial issue that is hampering the athlete’s health. She pointed out that in most of the leagues, the players get adequate rest in between seasons. Unfortunately, that is not the same for the WNBA stars. In the offseason too, most players continue with their physical stress by playing overseas. Thus, their bodies do not get the required rest and recovery in the offseason.
“I think it’s probably a 12-month [season]. I think you have to look at the whole calendar year for these athletes not just the W season because they’re playing overseas … they’re not getting that break that most professional athletes get in the offseason,” said Roberts.
WNBA requires at least 8 active players on a team's roster in order to play.
— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) August 29, 2025
Due to injuries, the league granted Dallas an 'extreme hardship contract' to meet this requirement, which the team used to sign Christyn Williams.
via @dallaswings, @eryn_280798 pic.twitter.com/j3QCo4yEQa
She also pointed out how the game has become utterly physical now-a-days. Add to that, the timespan between two games has shrunk significantly as well. Concluding her statement, the Sparks’ head coach urged the WNBA to come up with some fix for the same. Meanwhile, Lynne was not the only one to comment on the rising injuries. WNBA analyst Rebecca Lobo too, had her voices heard.
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Rebecca Lobo Echoed Lynne Roberts’ Concerns As Injuries Rise
The tight scheduling of the WNBA has been a hot topic of discussion lately. Sparks’ Kelsey Plum recently had an honest take on the WNBA schedule. And supporting her claims, WNBA analyst Rebecca Lobo recently chipped in with her take on the matter. Lobo stated that the shortened gaps between the games were one of the biggest reasons for the injuries. She also came up with some solid stats from Garrett Gastfield to further highlight the latest trend.
“A priority of @TheWNBPA in the new CBA has to be addressing the condensed schedule. This season there are too many games in too short a period of time. (Research: Garrett Gastfield) AVERAGE # OF DAYS BETWEEN GAMES 2021: 4.03 2022: 2.81 2023: 2.88 2024:3.23 2025: 2.70,” said Lobo.
Surely, the injury list is looking pretty long this year. Things went so badly with the Dallas Wings that they had to rely on ‘extreme hardship’ signings to avoid forfeiting their Friday game. Thus, with the situation looking concerning, it is now time for the WNBA to step in.