The WNBA has seen several experienced players take their talents overseas, and Aerial Powers is among those who recently chose that route. After years at the highest level of women’s basketball, the former Indiana Fever player spent the 2025-26 winter season in Turkey. She did not play in the WNBA in 2026, and she kept playing elsewhere, including a stint in Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball, where she averaged 9.3 points in 12 games. Her latest career development shows she is still finding ways to compete on major stages.
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The 2019 WNBA champion has been named to the Team USA roster for the 2026 FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup. The selection follows three FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series events in August, where the U.S. team did not win a title and reached the semifinals at best. It gives the ten-year veteran another international platform after her WNBA absence, and it raises the question of what comes next for her in the league.
Aerial Powers entered the WNBA as the fifth overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings. She averaged 10.4 points per game in her debut season, landed on the 2016 All-Rookie Team, and finished second in Sixth Player of the Year voting. But injuries limited her to just 12 games in 2017, and midway through the 2018 season, after 59 total games in Dallas, she was traded to the Washington Mystics.
In total, she ended up having a 10-year WNBA career, appearing in 200 career games, and representing the Dallas Wings, Washington Mystics, Minnesota Lynx, Atlanta Dream, Golden State Valkyries, and Indiana Fever.
Her time in Washington proved particularly memorable, as she played an important role in the Mystics’ 2019 championship-winning campaign. Powers delivered a strong season, averaging 11.4 points per game and once again finishing second in Sixth Player of the Year voting, receiving two votes behind winner Dearica Hamby and establishing herself as a valuable contributor to the team’s title run.
Her 2020 season in Washington was far shorter, as she appeared in just six games while averaging 16.3 points before a hamstring injury ended her year. She then moved on to the Minnesota Lynx from 2021 to 2023, the Atlanta Dream in 2024, and briefly the Golden State Valkyries in 2025 before the Indiana Fever signed her after the Valkyries waived her.
With the Fever, Powers appeared in eight games and averaged 9.0 points per game. Following that 2025 WNBA season, she signed with Çanakkale Belediyespor in Turkey.
The numbers from that stint were loud, even in a small sample. Powers averaged 17.6 points per game in about 31 minutes across five games, which shows her ability to score at a high level remains intact outside the WNBA structure.
Her path with USA Basketball’s 3×3 program began in August, when she joined the national roster for the team’s Tokyo stop alongside Madison Scott, Mikayla Blakes, and Taylor Bigby. The AmeriCup selection builds on that stretch. She will represent the United States at the FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup in San Salvador, El Salvador, scheduled for October 28 to November 1. According to Athlon Sports, Aziaha James, Sydney Taylor, and Flau’jae Johnson round out the U.S. roster, a group that mixes experience with emerging talent. The U.S. women enter as defending champions, although last year’s title was won by a different foursome.
Powers appears to be in full preparation mode. According to Athlon Sports, she posted a short clip to her Instagram story showing her and her teammates at practice in what looks like a Georgetown University facility, with the caption “Back at it 🏀.”
A WNBA return has not been reported, and any roster spot would depend on a team making room for her. What the AmeriCup does provide is a visible stage for a veteran who has played for six franchises and is still producing overseas. A strong showing in El Salvador would keep her name in front of front offices heading into the offseason.
