As recently as a couple of months ago, it was a fair question as to if there would even be a season given how far apart the WNBA and its players were on ironing out a new collective bargaining agreement.
It would have been a shame if there were no CBA, especially considering this is the thirtieth anniversary of the W.
But a CBA was agreed to, the players got a lot of what they were looking for in said CBA and we are on the verge of tipping off season 30 of the WNBA. Not only is it the 30th anniversary, but two new teams have joined the W’s ranks.
Many a sports site has their “hater’s guides,” but we believe in love here at Beyond The W. So, without further ado to celebrate 30 years of the W, we unveil our “lovers’ guide” to the 2026 WNBA season!
When that 111-53 drubbing on their home court at Michelob Ultra Arena by the way of the Minnesota Lynx took place, the main question on everyone’s minds would be if there would be wholesale changes in Las Vegas.
Would coach Becky Hammon be fired? Would everyone on this team go their separate ways?
Instead, that 111-53 loss was exactly what the Aces needed so they could remember who they are. Las Vegas went from being on the playoff bubble to making the entire WNBA beg for mercy.
A’ja Wilson appeared from out of nowhere to win another MVP award, a Finals MVP award and her third WNBA championship to firmly place her in the W’s all-time GOAT conversation. And she is back for more as Mark Davis did sign her to a supermax contract.
Not only has she returned, but Jackie Young is back for more. Chelsea Gray is back for more and Jewell Loyd is back for more. Not to mention the scoring depth Vegas now has in the form of Chennedy Carter. It is very fitting that with the team that established the W’s original dynasty set to return in 2027 that the Aces – another of the W’s original eight – is chasing its fourth ring to put them alongside the late 1990s Houston Comets and the 2010s Minnesota Lynx.
The Liberty are also among the WNBA’s original eight teams and finally grabbed the brass ring in 2024 in a thrilling Finals with the Lynx. Following that championship season of 2024, it appeared that a championship hangover was the case in Brooklyn.
New York was still among the WNBA’s elite teams, but it was not the same team we saw two seasons ago. The Liberty did experience a couple of significant changes over the offseason and free agency period.
Sandy Brondello, who guided the seafoam, black and copper to that first-ever Lib championship, decided to call it a career at Atlantic and Flatbush and bring her coaching talents north of the border to the Toronto Tempo. As a result, former Golden State Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco was tapped to serve in Brondello’s stead.
Also, Jonathan Kolb earned a massive feather in his cap as Satou Sabally, formerly of the Phoenix Mercury and Dallas Wings, would bring her talents to The Clays. In addition, the Liberty managed to bring back Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Marine Johannès and Sabrina Ionescu.
The Liberty will be unfortunately shorthanded in the opening part of the season because of injuries but New York once again looks like the dangerous team we saw in 2024.
When a team like Indiana drafts franchise cornerstones like Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark, said team is expecting to at least reach the Finals by the third or fourth season with that core.
Last season was an unusual one for the Fever. Clark was injured for most of the 2025 campaign. And even before that injury took place, it appeared that she was struggling with her 3-point shot which is her bread and butter.
Even with those struggles – and seeing DeWanna Bonner depart from Indy midway through last season – the Fever still solidified their contender status throughout last season by reaching the W’s semifinals.
Boston, Kelsey Mitchell and Odyssey Sims (who, for some reason, always has to scratch and claw to get on a roster) were primary catalysts for the Fever’s run last season. Now, Clark is 100 percent and coach Stephanie White’s big three is intact for even more in 2026.
With all of the hype bestowed on Clark and given what Indiana did last season, the Finals have to be the goal for the Fever. After all, A’ja Wilson reached the WNBA Finals in her third season with the Aces.
It is somewhat ironic that the Fever drafted Raven Johnson considering she was who was guarding Clark in that 2024 national championship game between South Carolina and Iowa. But Johnson does bring a championship pedigree with her – one that will do wonders for Indiana that is in search of its first ring season since 2012 when Tamika Catchings led the Fever to championship euphoria.
Even though the Lynx did win those four championships in the 2010s, Minnesota lately appears to be a team that has been so close yet so far.
Many a Lynx fan is still seething over how that 2024 Finals with the Liberty unfolded. Then there was last season when Minnesota was on the receiving end of even more postseason heartbreak by way of the Mercury.
Coach Cheryl Reeve’s team did encounter a few departures over the free agency period – notably Alanna Smith and Jessica Shepard (both to the Dallas Wings).
Many a season preview believes that the Lynx could fall to the middle of the WNBA’s pack for one primary reason. It appears Napheesa Collier – last season’s All-Star Game MVP – may miss a significant portion of the season.
Even sans Phee, the Lynx still have a formidable team. Courtney Williams is back for more. Kayla McBride – one of the W’s premier sharpshooters – is back for more. Natasha Howard will be wearing Minnesota’s threads to bolster its frontcourt.
Not to mention one of the signature names of this year’s draft class has brought her talents to Minny in Olivia Miles. One may consider it difficult for Miles to garner minutes on a team expected to contend, but if she does get those minutes then Miles may make a case for Rookie of the Year.
The goal for Minnesota should be to hold its own until Collier returns – then duplicate what the Aces did last year in their second half of 2026.
Speaking of teams that seemingly have not lived up to potential, that status appears to have fit the Dream like a glove.
The 2025 version of the Dream put together a 30-win campaign for the first time in franchise history. Atlanta should be advancing to the second round of the playoffs. Instead, the Dream encountered nightmares in the first round of the postseason by way of the Fever.
When a team has Rhyne Howard and an Allisha Gray that is always in the MVP conversation, that team should be making deep playoff runs. Instead, the Dream have encountered early exits the last three seasons.
But we also have to remember that the Dream have Dan Padover as its general manager – the same Padover that was instrumental in building the Aces into what they have become. Padover completed a deal with the Chicago Sky that landed Atlanta Angel Reese – a young superstar who fits the team and the city perfectly.
A team with names such as Howard, Gray, Reese, Brionna Jones, Jordin Canada, Naz Hillmon and Te-Hina Paopao has contender written all over it. The task for Karl Smesko’s bunch is to finally get over that first round playoff hurdle.
The Reese signing has actually created sky-high demand for Dream tickets. A select number of games are being moved from Gateway Center Arena to State Farm Arena in the heart of the ATL. Perhaps it is time for the Dream to return to downtown Atlanta full time beginning in 2027.
The X-Factor is one of the most passionate and loyal fanbases in all of sports – not simply just the WNBA. Much of that X-Factor had to adjust to an unusual sight in 2025 – a Phoenix Mercury team that did not have Diana Taurasi or Brittney Griner running through the tunnels.
Taurasi called it a career prior to the 2025 season and BG took her talents to Atlanta (even though she did not put up BG-esque numbers we are used to seeing from her Phoenix days).
Even with that, Mercury owner Mat Ishbia laments his lack of belief in rebuilds and still put together a Phoenix team that included Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas alongside a returning Kahleah Copper. DeWanna Bonner also returned midway through the season.
The Mercury did make its first appearance in a Finals since losing in 2021 to Chicago. Phoenix was swept by the Aces and then saw Sabally depart for Gotham during April’s free agency period.
Thomas, Copper, Bonner and Monique Akoa Makani are all back for coach Nate Tibbetts’ team – and it even has an updated logo. The Mercury appear to be one of those teams that is easy to write off on paper, but they will always be in the contenders’ chat as long as the triple-double engine that is Thomas is wearing its uniform.
Many a WNBA pundit appears to be bullish on the Sparks this season – and for good reason.
Two years ago, Los Angeles was stuck in WNBA purgatory with 8 victories and 32 losses. What was an eight-win team in 2024 became a 21-win team in 2025.
The Sparks were still on the outside of the playoff picture looking in but considering where Los Angeles was in 2024, last season could be considered a successful one in Southern California.
And it is only fitting that for the 30th anniversary of the WNBA (and the 30th anniversary of the Original Eight team that is the Sparks) that they bring back No. 30. Nneka Ogwumike will once again be sporting Sparks purple, gold and teal this coming season.
Also returning for her 10th season in the WNBA is Kelsey Plum. Veteran-laden teams like Lynne Roberts’ Sparks typically are those that are contenders and general manager Raegan Pebley is not given the credit she deserves for putting this team together.
A team with names such as Ogwumike, Plum, Erica Wheeler, Dearica Hamby, Ariel Atkins and Rae Burrell should cause massive problems for the rest of the WNBA. And if we get a fully healthy Cameron Brink this season? The spark appears to have been restored to the Sparks.
As an expansion franchise, a team is playing with all of the house money there is. After all, there is not that much pressure on first-year teams to contend.
Except the Valks did something that caught the entire WNBA by surprise – they actually did contend.
Golden State won, won some more and won some more. In fact, the Valkyries won so much as an expansion franchise that it qualified for the playoffs in its first year of existence and nearly knocked off the Lynx in a first-round playoff game in Ballhalla.
Veronica Burton was named the W’s Most Improved Player last year and coach Natalie Nakase earned Coach of the Year honors. This season is a bit different because now the standard has been set for the Valkyries to continue winning ala last year.
Golden State took advantage of the mass exodus from Seattle by adding Gabby Williams to a team that already includes Burton, Kayla Thornton, Tiffany Hayes, Janelle Salaun, Cecilia Zandalasini and Iliana Rupert.
Not only are the Valkyries winning on the court and at the gate – they are winning on the bottom line as Golden State was once again recognized as the WNBA’s highest valued franchise for the second year in a row.
Some teams emerge from rebuilds faster than others. For the Wings, it appeared that the team was stuck in neutral when considering the last two years.
The 2024 Dallas Wings won nine games and last year’s Wings were merely a game better at 10 victories. Paige Bueckers did plenty of Paige Bueckers things en route to last year’s Rookie of the Year honors but a change was made at head coach.
Jose Fernandez will now be drawing up the plays for Dallas this season – and we can guess a good number of those plays will include Arike Ogunbowale.
We can also guess that a good number of those plays will also include Azzi Fudd who the Wings selected out of UConn with the first overall draft pick.
When considering this team has notables such as Maddy Siegrist, Jessica Shepard, Alanna Smith and Odyssey Sims, there is reason to believe this version of the Wings could be a playoff contender. Not to mention the young talent on Dallas goes beyond merely Bueckers and Fudd.
Aziaha James is also slowly, but surely, establishing herself as one of the W’s bright young stars. The talent is there for the Wings – but can Dallas put it all together in what appears to be their final season at UT-Arlington’s College Park Center before possibly moving to Dallas proper in 2027.
If there is one thing we have seen the Mystics do in recent seasons it is stockpile draft picks.
There are few teams that exemplify the phrase “team of the future” more than Washington does. Even with that reality that the Mystics are living, it appeared for much of last season that Washington was in the throes of a playoff chase.
Then the Mystics decided to trade veteran Brittney Sykes (now in Toronto) to the Seattle Storm and that was the season.
Regardless, the Mystics hit paydirt on their draft picks going into 2025. Both Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron put together seasons that were more than worthy of the Rookie of the Year honors that went to Bueckers. Unfortunately, the third of those notable rookies in Georgia Amoore missed all of 2025 with an ACL injury.
Washington managed to stockpile even more picks – including Lauren Betts who recently led UCLA to its first-ever women’s basketball national championship plus winning Most Outstanding Player honors for 2026’s March Madness. Angela Dugalić is also joining the Mystics out of UCLA. Washington’s draft haul also included Ole Miss’ Cotie McMahon.
The Mystics did make a change in its front office by relieving Jamila Wideman of her general manager duties. Look out rest of WNBA is the Mystics get a fully healthy season as well from Shakira Austin.
Remember in 2024 when South Carolina was referred to as “the daycare” because of its youth? If there is any “daycare” for the W, it is probably the Mystics.
Expansion franchises are supposed to enter a league with little to no expectations. But after what the Golden State Valkyries did last season, the two new teams joining the W’s ranks this year will have a bit of pressure on them to deliver.
This could particularly be the case for the Tempo given Toronto is a very large media market – and it is Canada’s team.
The Tempo made a massive splash during the offseason with the announcement of Sandy Brondello as its head coach. Brondello was won championships with both the Mercury and Liberty. Toronto may not be thinking about championships this season but when one is able to hire a coach with the track record of a Brondello, it is an indication of a team putting building blocks together to be a future juggernaut.
What Monica Wright Rogers is building in the 6ix includes Marina Mabrey who no longer has to deal with everything happening with Connecticut. A fan favorite for many a Tempo fan will be Canada’s own Kia Nurse. Brittney Sykes will add a veteran presence and Temi Fágbénlé will bolster Toronto’s frontcourt. Another of those national champions in Kiki Rice will also be in Tempo threads this season.
Perhaps the Tempo are a reversion to the norm for expansion franchises or maybe they are Valkyries 2.0. One thing is certain – this team will win games. And perhaps they will win more games than what many are predicting considering who is drawing up the plays.
The cold, hard, honest truth regarding the Sun is everything happening on the court with Connecticut is taking a back seat to the reality that awaits them after this season.
With Houston’s Tillman Fertitta having completed a deal to purchase the team and resurrect the Comets, this will indeed be a Sunset Season in New England.
Years of playoff near-misses and the Mohegan Tribe all but being priced out of the league finally took its toll. The sad reality is that Connecticut’s Sunset Season will likely be another rebuilding season.
The Sun did make a bit of a splash in the offseason by bringing in Brittney Griner. Two things about that. BG did not have the best season with the Dream last year. Also, Griner is a Houston native so her presence will somewhat be a reminder of what awaits the franchise following this season. In addition, we know that BG’s deal is a multi-year pact so she will follow the franchise when it trades Connecticut orange and navy blue hues for Houston’s red and navy blue hues.
Two from UCLA are set to take the court in Sun threads this season – Gianna Kneepkens and Charlissa Leger-Walker. Leila Lacan, Aneesah Morrow, Kennedy Burke, Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Saniya Rivers are also talented professionals on this team.
The date that many a women’s basketball fan in New England has circled on their calendars is September 24 when the Sun stage its Fan Appreciation Night against the Tempo. That will be the final regular season matchup Connecticut will play at Mohegan Sun Arena as the Sun. One will be hard-pressed to find a dry eye in that Uncasville building in the final minutes of that fourth quarter.
Some teams win at free agency and others lose at free agency. For the Seattle Storm, it did not only lose massively during the free agency period, it suffered a mass exodus.
Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins and Gabby Williams all took their talents elsewhere. When Sue Bird retired and Breanna Stewart returned to her native New York to sport Liberty threads, the Storm were supposed to rebuild then.
Seattle staved off that rebuild by keeping Loyd for one more year then bringing in veterans like Ogwumike and Diggins, but it could no longer avoid said rebuild following April. First-year head coach Sonia Raman will have a young team to work with.
The Storm may have the most international frontcourt in the entire WNBA between Australia’s Ezi Magbegor, France’s Dominique Malonga and Spain’s Awa Fam. Stud Bud Natisha Hiedeman also adds a veteran presence as does Stefanie Dolson.
Where the Storm really drew headlines was during the draft when general manager Talisa Rhea completed a deal with the Valkyries to bring Flau’jae Johnson to the Emerald City. That is a “face of the franchise” move given how great of a player she is and how culturally relevant she is.
Category 4 has made her way to Seattle and the Storm are unquestionably in a new phase of its franchise with a new face of its franchise. The word that may define Seattle more than anything else is upside.
The Sky are arguably the most maligned franchise in the entire WNBA – and one of the most in all of sports. From their inability to keep star players in Sky threads to the questionable practices of its front office, Chicago has experienced its fair share of criticism from many within the WNBA sphere.
This franchise won a championship in 2021 with a core of Candace Parker, Kahleah Copper, Courtney Vandersloot, Dana Evans and Allie Quigley and appear to have regressed ever since.
When the Sky managed to land both Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso in the 2024 draft, that was supposed to establish Chicago’s frontcourt for the next 15 years. Except Reese did not always see eye to eye with the front office.
Reese was traded to Atlanta. And while the Sky still have Cardoso, Chicago did manage to add Skylar Diggins (formerly of Seattle) and Rickea Jackson (formerly of Los Angeles). The Sky also did take advantage of this UCLA draft by adding Gabriela Jaquez from the defending national champions.
Let us also remember that the Sky managed to add DiJonai Carrington in free agency as well as recently adding Natasha Cloud who some believe was being railroaded because of her political activism. Azurá Stevens, Rachel “Latto” Banham, Jacy Sheldon and Elizabeth Williams are other notable names on this team.
There is talent on this team – but there is talent on every WNBA team. The question is can Tyler Marsh turn this team into a contender. By giving him a second year, Chicago’s front office is already giving him a longer leash than it did Teresa Weatherspoon.
What is old is new again in the WNBA. The Portland Fire have been resurrected – and with it, so has the W’s I-5 rivalry between the Emerald City and Rose City.
The same applies to the Fire as applies to the Tempo – a pair of expansion teams that have a bit more pressure on them to deliver in their first seaons following the successful maiden voyage the Valkyries embarked on in 2025. The reality is that the Tempo have higher expectations than the Fire – and that may work to Portland’s advantage because Portland does not have the media presence of a Toronto.
Drawing up the plays for the Fire in its first season back is Alex Sarama – a former assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Names on this team that are familiar to many WNBA fans include Megan Gustafson, Karlie Samuelson, Sug Sutton, Luisa Geiselsoder, Bridget Carleton, Sarah Ashlee Barker and Carla Leite.
The main issue with the Fire is who will emerge as the team’s primary playmakers. Portland has plenty of WNBA-level talent – as do the Tempo and as did last season’s Valkyries. Who steps up to be the primary leaders in points, rebounds, assists and steals.
That is the question that Sarama will have to answer – and one that will surely play itself out over the course of the next several months.
