How A’ja Wilson Won 2025 | Our Best Moments of the Year

Zena, Sabreena, and Ben wrap up the year with a celebration of women’s basketball—breaking down the top duo of 2025, standout performances, teams that showed up big, and their favorite reporting moments— before turning their attention to things to look forward to in 2026. No Offseason is a part of The Athletic Podcast Network: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/ 00:00 Intro 00:47 Best Game of the Year 01:23 Sabreena’s pick: 2025 Finals Game 1: Aces vs. Mercury 02:41 Zena’s pick: 2025 Semifinals Game 5: Fever vs. Aces 04:04 Worst Game of the Year: Duke vs. UNC in the Sweet 16 04:52 Ben’s pick: Alabama vs. Maryland in the Sweet 16 06:11 Kansas State 80, Kentucky 79 (OT), NCAA 2nd Round 07:11 Belgium defeats Spain 67–65 to win FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025 07:33 Lynx steamroll Aces 111–58 07:52 Lunar Owls top Mist 84–80 in Unrivaled debut 08:54 Best Individual Performance 09:13 Zena pick: Sarah Ashlee Barker drops 45 points in loss to Maryland 09:59 Ben’s pick: Cheryl Reeve after Game 3 of the semifinals 13:01 Zena’s pick: JuJu leads USC to hand UCLA its first loss of the season 13:49 Sabreena’s pick: JuJu powers USC to Big 10 title  15:10 Paige Bueckers sets WNBA rookie record with 44-point game 15:19 Audi Crooks multiple 40-point games 15:26 Mikayla Blakes nets NCAA-record 55 points in Vanderbilt win 15:55 Caitlin Clark shines in return from injury against the Liberty 16:50 A’ja Wilson dropping 38 points vs. Storm in crucial Game 3 17:48 Sarah Strong’s domination in the national title game 19:29 Favorite reporting moment 19:40 Zena’s pick: Candace Parker’s compliment to Zena 20:37 Sabreena’s pick: Outside the WNBPA and league meeting All-Star weekend 23:46 Ben’s Pick: A’ja’s postgame sit-down after Finals Game 4 28:343 Quotes of the Year 29:12 Zena’s pick: Napheesa Colliers comments on WNBA leadership 30:25 Sabreena’s pick: JuJu saying “I don’t wear hats” 31:01 Ben’s pick Ryan Ruocco’s one-liner after NCAAW title game 33:49 Duo of the Year 34:16 Ben’s pick: Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman aka The Studbudz 34:28 Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd make an electric dynamic duo  35:00 Sabreena’s pick: Paige and Li Yueru 39:44 Looking Ahead to 2026 Related links and articles: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6912482/2025/12/23/2025-winners-losers-womens-basketball/ by Sabreena Merchant and Ben Pickman Follow and listen to the audio podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/no-offseason-the-athletic-womens-basketball-show/id1699815468 Get in touch! Leave a comment wherever you’re listening, or email us at NoOffseason@TheAthletic.com Show Links: -YouTube: @No-Offseason -Instagram: @tanooffseason [https://www.instagram.com/tanooffseason] -TikTok: @no_offseason [https://www.tiktok.com/@no_offseason] Credits: -Zena on BlueSky: @zenakeita -Ben on BlueSky: @benpickman -Sabreena on BlueSky: @sabreenajm -Chantel on BlueSky: @chanteljennings -Produced by Taneka Burrell -Executive Produced by Andrea B. Scott Visit the Yahoo Women's Sports Hub: https://sports.yahoo.com/womens-sports/?guccounter=1 Full Episodes Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5UWQzuMYdm7txmok7cpMB3YlgkwrT2E0 Shorts Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5UWQzuMYdm72uhBjsd24rsh5teZtgUpS Thumbnail: Stephen Gosling / Contributor / National Basketball Association via Getty Images