The WNBA announced its 2025 All-Defensive teams on Wednesday, headlined by a trio of former UConn women’s basketball stars.
Seattle Storm guard Gabby Williams was named to the first team for the first time in her seven-year career after previously landing on the second team in 2022. This was the first complete WNBA season Williams has played since 2022, and she returned to the league in historic fashion coming just one steal short of tying the WNBA’s single-season record of 100 set by Teresa Weatherspoon in 1998. She joined Weatherspoon and Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings as the only players to record more than 90 steals in a single season, and she led the league in 2025 averaging 2.3 steals per game. Williams also set Seattle’s franchise record for steals in a single game with eight against the Los Angeles Sparks on on June 17.
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Williams was joined on the first team by former UConn teammate Napheesa Collier, the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year. Collier anchored the Minnesota Lynx’s league-leading defense this season, averaging a career-high 1.5 blocks plus 1.6 steals on top of her 22.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. The MVP runner-up also tied the WNBA record for most steals in a quarter with five against the Storm on May 27. Collier and league MVP A’ja Wilson were the only players this season to rank top five in both blocks and steals, and Collier was also third in defensive rating.
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Wilson and Lynx center Alanna Smith, the 2025 Co-Defensive Players of the Year, were also named to the first team along with Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas.
Huskies legend Breanna Stewart landed on the second team, continuing her six-year streak of All-Defensive recognitions. The New York Liberty star missed 13 games during the regular season with a right knee injury, but she still ranked top 10 in the league in defensive rating averaging 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. Stewart is the first player in Liberty history to earn three All-Defensive nods and remains the franchises’ only player with multiple first-team selections in 2023 and 2024.
Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston, Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton, Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard rounded out the second team.
