Georgia Amoore's injury is a reminder the college-to-WNBA transition is too short

USA Today

02-05-2025

Georgia Amoore's injury is a reminder the college-to-WNBA transition is too short
Georgia Amoore injured her right ACL during Tuesday's Mystics practice, the team announced. She and the team will examine treatment and rehabilitation options.
Amoore was the No. 6 pick in the WNBA draft. pic.twitter.com/beAjSLTl4z — espnW (@espnW) April 30, 2025
Mystics rookie Georgia Amoore won't suit up this season.
Washington announced earlier this week that Amoore suffered a right ACL injury and would provide updates as appropriate. The first update from new head coach Sydney Johnson wasn't great. Johnson confirmed that Amoore won't see the floor this year.
"From a depth standpoint, there's some minutes there that we thought Georgia would be able to play," Johnson said. "We'll have to look forward to that in 2026."
After a stellar college career, including a standout season at Kentucky, the 5-foot-6 guard was picked No. 6 overall during the 2025 WNBA Draft. The Mystics selected the Australian native to pair with Notre Dame guard Sonia Citron and USC Trojans forward Kiki Iriafen as part of central pieces for an ongoing rebuild.
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There went the air right out of Amoore's sails during her maiden WNBA voyage. It's a cruel reminder that the transition from college to the pros, as little as five weeks in some cases, just isn't enough time to properly adjust.
This is the timeline for any athlete who played in the March Madness this year and was subsequently drafted:
April 4-6: Final Four and National Championship
April 14: 2025 WNBA Draft
April 27: Training camp starts
May 2: WNBA preseason games begin
May 16: 2025 WNBA season kicks off
Sounds a bit ridiculous, right? It is.
In 2024, we saw the short schedule impact multiple rookies, including Sparks center Cameron Brink and Sky forward Angel Reese, who suffered season-ending injuries. Though she didn't miss any time, Fever star Caitlin Clark also battled through an ankle injury, an underlying sign that the grind of playing an entire college season and going straight to the pros isn't talked about enough.
WNBA legend Candace Parker spoke to For The Win in 2024 about that intense turnaround that Clark and so many rookies like Amoore trudge through.
"When you come in, you're in postseason form because you've been playing since October," Parker said. "Then, you hit that mid-season wall where you're tired. You're exhausted. Essentially, [Clark's] going to have to play a year straight with the playoffs."
Caitlin Clark went to the locker room with an ankle injury
She has returned to the bench 🙏 pic.twitter.com/aNgXAUPk6n — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 20, 2024
So, what's the solution? Unfortunately, there probably isn't an immediate one. Re-configuring the WNBA's schedule to start later would likely be rather complicated. It's often predicated on the calendar of other sports and the shared use of venues occupied by neighboring professional franchises.
Additionally, while starting later would significantly help with recovery and prep time, the number of games played during the season might still nullify that. The WNBA season now includes 44 regular-season games (up from 40 last year), and the WNBA Finals is moving from a five-game format to a best-of-seven series. In other words, fixing one problem won't instantly solve another.
The grind is seemingly unrelenting ― curse you, basketball gods ― and showing no signs of stopping as the league pushes to new heights. There are more games, more names and a whole lot more at stake. We can only hope that when Amoore returns in 2026, she'll be just as she was: gutsy, fiery and ready to unleash.