Kansas City Current Poised to Shatter NWSL History as Greatest Team of All Time
What defines excellence in sports? It's a perpetual debate that oscillates between exaggeration and undeniable truth.
As the 2025 National Women's Soccer League regular season concludes, there's a compelling case that this year's Kansas City Current squad might represent the finest team in league history.
What sets this KC Current squad apart?
The 2025 Current have shattered numerous records throughout the campaign. Since the NWSL's inception in 2013, no franchise has accumulated more points (65) or victories (21) than this Current roster. These numbers alone provide a measurable way to assess their excellence.
It's worth noting that the NWSL previously featured fewer matches before the 2024 expansion. However, even when calculating the 2025 Current's average performance—65 points across 26 games (2.5 points per match)—it surpasses the previous benchmark records: 2018 North Carolina Courage (57 points, 2.4 points per game, 17 victories) and the 2024 Orlando Pride (60 points, 2.3 points per game, 18 victories).
Offensively, the Current netted more goals than any squad in 2025 (49) while falling short of the all-time mark. That record of 57 goals belongs to the 2024 Current roster. Notably, 19 players from last year's championship team remain on this season's squad.
Defensively, the 2025 Current stands alone. Their 13 goals allowed throughout 26 regular season matches (0.5 per game) represents an impressively tight defensive record. Additionally, no franchise has ever recorded 16 clean sheets in a single NWSL campaign, with goalkeeper Lorena also establishing an individual milestone with 14.
Mentioning Lorena naturally shifts the discussion from statistics to individual talent. From top to bottom, the 2025 Current boasts a complete roster without significant weaknesses. Leading scorer, defending NWSL MVP and Ballon d'Or candidate Temwa Chawinga is positioned to become the greatest goalscorer in NWSL history. She netted a league-high 15 goals in 2025, following her league-record 21 goals in 2024, her debut season.
Supporting Chawinga in attack are Brazilian international Bia Zaneratto and Debinha, a former NWSL MVP, while U.S. women's national team winger Michelle Cooper provides pace, pressing intensity and crossing quality.
The USWNT midfield partnership of Claire Hutton and Lo LaBonta remains the league's premier combination for defensive tenacity and quick distribution to advance play and exploit spaces. Both Hutton and LaBonta can alternate defensive responsibilities as a single pivot or combine as a double pivot to protect leads.
The Current's defensive unit is anchored by center back Kayla Sharples and fullback Izzy Rodriguez. The remaining positions have rotated between veteran Elizabeth Ball, the recently returned Gabrielle Robinson, the skillful Hallie Mace and emerging talent Ellie Wheeler.
Behind the defense stands the commanding Lorena, another Brazilian international with composed presence. She demonstrates an eagle-eyed approach to reading play development and positioning herself perfectly before opponents attempt shots.
Which other NWSL teams rank among the greatest?
Competing with the 2025 Current for greatest team honors are the 2018 Courage and the 2024 Pride. Both squads dominated regular season standings with then-record point and victory totals.
The 2024 Pride shared similarities with the 2025 Current through their resolute defensive approach that prevented opponents from mounting comebacks after falling behind early.
Beyond excellent team chemistry and structure, the 2024 Pride featured a spectacular attacking partnership in Marta and Barbra Banda. While Chawinga dominates headlines, the 2025 Current possesses a more varied attacking arsenal than the 2024 Pride offered.
Neither squad quite resembles the 2018 Courage, largely due to the NWSL's different landscape then. With the U.S. Soccer Federation covering USWNT player salaries, clubs like the Courage didn't need to budget for their numerous allocated stars.
When the Courage captured both the 2018 NWSL Shield and championship, their starting eleven included three USWNT standouts in Sam Mewis, Crystal Dunn and Abby Dahlkemper, all at career peaks.
The roster also featured USWNT members and top scorer Lynn Biyendolo (née Williams), plus Jess McDonald and Jaelene Daniels (née Hinkle). Similar to the Current, Debinha served as a central creative force, bringing energy and unpredictability in the final third.
Regarding pure star quality, the 2018 Courage presents a strong argument for superiority over the 2025 Current. However, considering tactical sophistication and collective functionality, I would favor the 2025 Current and 2024 Pride to handle the 2018 Courage quite comfortably.
Must the Current capture the NWSL title to claim greatness?
This represents the crucial question. If the Current fails to complete a playoff sweep, can they still be considered the greatest team ever?
Both the 2018 Courage and 2024 Pride dominated regular seasons before claiming playoff glory. Securing both trophies—the Shield and championship—seems essential for greatest-ever consideration.
This means the Current sits just three victories away from reaching the most exclusive tier in NWSL history. Should the Current claim the NWSL championship on Nov. 22, it becomes impossible to deny this group's status as the greatest ever assembled.