After three years away from professional basketball and a lot happening in her personal life, Te’a Cooper is officially back to balling. Back in December 2024, she signed with Tarbes Gespe Bigorre of the French Women’s Basketball League for the 2025 season. And while that’s a huge milestone for her, well, it looks like things aren’t exactly smooth sailing.

As she geared up for her first season back, Cooper took to Snapchat to share some behind-the-scenes clips from practice, and let’s just say she’s feeling the grind. In a series of videos, she made it clear that these training sessions were physically draining her.

She recorded herself sitting in her car, not because she was cooling off, but because she physically couldn’t bring herself to walk up the stairs to her apartment. She’s been there for just a week, but to her, it already feels like 90 days of battle.

“I tell you, my back, my neck… I want to take my m— head off and rest that b—- on the counter. I want to take my legs off,” she said, clearly exhausted. And she wasn’t joking, she went on to say that she didn’t even want this body anymore because of how much pain she was in.

So, what exactly is making these practices so brutal? Well, according to Te’a, they just do not stop. “They don’t stop, they don’t take a break, they don’t breathe, they don’t do nothing,” she shared. “We run from beginning to end.”

She made one thing clear what she’s experiencing in France is unlike anything she’s seen back home. “America, y’all are not on this s–t that they on,” she asserted. Because, usually, per her, teams mix in full-court work with half-court drills and some scrimmages. But there, it’s full-court, all the time. Sprinting, no jogging. For two straight hours, every single day. 

On top of that, there’s no recovery system in place. “The great part about it all, there’s no masseuse, there’s no nothing, there’s no Norma Tech, no mo-ng nothing, bro,” she said, visibly irritated. 

But what matters is, that despite all this, the 27-year-old is still pushing through because, at the end of the day, it’s all about her love for basketball. And honestly, if her past says anything, it’s that she’s built for this.

She was a force back in high school. In college, she played for three programs, picking up All-America honors and being named the Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Year. 

Then, in 2020, she was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury but was waived due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She bounced back, signing with the Los Angeles Sparks, where she made her mark before being released in 2022. 

Now, after building her brand and business ventures, she’s back on the court, proving she still has that fire. And while Te’a is grinding it out overseas, back in the WNBA, the free agency chaos is in full swing.

WNBA shuffles in free agency, Fever comes out on top

Almost all the top free agents have made their moves, shaking up the league in a big way. As the dust settles, we’ve already seen four recent All-WNBA picks change teams via trade—Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum, Satou Sabally, and Alyssa Thomas. 

Meanwhile, Brittney Griner left the Phoenix Mercury for the Atlanta Dream, and several other All-Stars have landed in new spots. But one team, in particular, might have just won free agency, the Indiana Fever.

At first, it seemed like the Fever were missing out on their targets, aside from bringing back Kelsey Mitchell. But then, everything changed over the weekend. First, they secured Natasha Howard, bringing back a three-time WNBA champion to her first-ever team. 

Then, they kept the momentum going by signing six-time All-Star DeWanna Bonner. With these moves, Indiana has gone from a young team on the rise to a legitimate championship contender.

On the flip side, the Golden State Valkyries, who had the most cap space heading into free agency, seem to have struck out when it comes to landing a big-name star. 

So, with all these shifts, the new top contenders for the 2025 WNBA season are looking like the New York Liberty, Las Vegas Aces, Minnesota Lynx, and…yes, you guessed it…the Indiana Fever. 

The excitement is building as we eagerly await May when the teams finally hit the court.