The WNBA season is chugging along with strong performances across the board. While the defending finalist Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty were expected to dominate again, we're seeing several other teams playing themselves into contention early.
And even among the teams off to slower starts, there are strong individual performances among rookies and others earning larger opportunities that give reason for optimism.
As always, let's dig a bit deeper into the league and to identify unheralded players who are producing fantasy-caliber numbers and might be worth adding to your fantasy hoops squads.
Kia Nurse, Los Angeles Sparks (36.0% rostered in ESPN leagues): Nurse has started all eight games this season and has two three-game streaks scoring double-digits, with two down games in between. Nurse averaged 16.3 PPG, 3.0 3PG, 2.0 APG, 1.7 RPG and 1.0 SPG through the first three games. She has kept that same energy in her last three, averaging 17.0 PPG, 2.7 3PG, 2.3 APG and 1.3 RPG in 31.3 MPG.
Aari McDonald, Sparks (6.7% rostered): McDonald started slow this season, averaging only 7.3 MPG off the bench for her new team, but she has picked it up of late, averaging 24.8 MPG over her last four and turning that into 9.3 PPG, 3.3 APG, 2.8 RPG, 1.5 3PG and 1.0 SPG. She has only one strong scoring game but is producing in the peripheral categories on a regular basis.
Natasha Mack, Phoenix Mercury (28.9%): Mack has started in place of the injured Brittney Griner all season and has proven to be a consistent source of numbers in defensive categories. Mack has at least one blocked shot in all nine games and is coming off back-to-back double-digit rebound efforts. On the season, she is averaging 7.9 RPG, 4.8 PPG, 2.3 APG, 2.0 BPG and 0.9 SPG in 22.4 MPG.
Chennedy Carter, Chicago Sky (11.4%): While Carter made headlines over the weekend with her flagrant foul on Caitlin Clark, she has also been making contributions in the box scores. Carter has scored in double figures in six straight games in her role off the bench, averaging 13.3 PPG, 2.7 APG, 2.3 RPG and 0.7 SPG in 19.0 MPG during that stretch.
Sevgi Uzun, Dallas Wings (8.1%): The 26-year-old rookie has started all seven games this season and has generated strong passing numbers. She has been more aggressive as a scorer of late, scoring in double figures in two of her last three games. Over her last six games, Uzun has averaged 7.2 PPG, 5.5 APG, 3.2 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 0.8 3PG and 0.5 BPG in 33.0 MPG.