The entirety of the WNBA universe has converged on Chicago for this year’s All-Star festivities, meaning we are at the “official” midway point of the 2026 season.
There are some teams that have met exceptions. There are others that are currently where we expected them to be at this stage of the season. And there are others that have not exactly lived up to expectations.
With our W on break in the Windy City, we studied the tape – or should we say, assignments – to examine which teams have understood the assignment (and which teams appear to be failing the grade for 2026).
The Lynx have done it again. Many a pundit figured that without Napheesa Collier healthy to begin the season that coach Cheryl Reeve’s Lynx would be merely treading water for the first half of the season.
We knew that Olivia Miles was one of the best players in this year’s draft. Miles is looking like a franchise player – and the runaway pick for Rookie of the Year.
Minnesota is going into the All-Star break with a seven-game winning streak and an overall record of 22-6 – and that is without the services of Phee for most of the season. Now that Collier is back, the rest of the league needs to take notice.
Even though Reeve does have four championships to her name thanks to the dynasty Lynx of the 2010s, this iteration of Minnesota will receive the “good regular season” team tag by a few pundits if the 2026 season concludes without another banner being raised to the Target Center rafters. This year’s Lynx are looking to get it done.
Remember when we were talking about the Valkyries as the typical expansion franchise poised to struggle?
Golden State is no longer an expansion team – and in the Valks’ second season of existence they look like full-fledged contenders.
The Valkyries are 19-8 going into the All-Star break and their calling card for much of the season has been defense. This speaks to how great a coach Natalie Nakase is. She understands that Golden State may not have the marquee names other franchises may enjoy. So, her team will attempt to keep opponents off the scoreboard.
It helps when a team has names like Gabby Williams, Janelle Salaün, Veronica Burton leading the charge.
To be champs, a team more than likely has to defeat the champs. For three of the last four seasons, the Las Vegas Aces have had the distinction of being the final team standing once a WNBA season was complete.
Eight teams have been successful in defeating the champions this season – 18 have not. If one is Becky Hammon, one will gladly take that record heading into the All-Star break.
As last season displayed, all the Aces have to do is qualify for the playoffs and take their chances against their competition. After all, even though they recently let go of Chennedy Carter, this team still has Jackie Young. It still has Chelsea Gray.
And it still has A’ja Wilson. As long as South Carolina’s very own is in silver and black Las Vegas threads, aficionados throughout the Silver State have to once again feel optimistic about the Aces’ chances when it is once again time to Raise The Stakes.
Things have been looking up on- and off-court for the Wings lately. This is a team that is on the cusp of calling it a time in the Dallas suburbs and has a golden opportunity to claim downtown Dallas for itself with the Stars and Mavericks planning moves.
The Wings are also planning major moves on the court as well. Dallas at the All-Star break boasts a record of 17-9. Jose Fernandez is a real contender for 2026 Coach of the Year and Jessica Shepard – All-Star selection Jessica Shepard that is – appears to be the leader in the clubhouse for Most Improved Player.
And this team has Paige Bueckers. And this team has Arike Ogunbowale. And this team has Azzi Fudd. It has been a few years since the Wings were last in the WNBA semifinals. A deep playoff run appears to be in the cards for Dallas in 2027.
When one puts all of the other stuff to the wayside when considering this team, Indiana has displayed signs of being a formidable force.
The Fever, arguably, entered the 2026 season with the most pressure. This is a team that reached the semifinals last season without Caitlin Clark. Now, with Clark healthy, there is immense pressure on Indiana to at least reach the Finals.
For much of the first half, it appeared that Indiana was a team that could defeat teams that one would consider to be beneath it when looking at the WNBA on paper. That seems to be slowly, but surely, changing as well.
Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell is one of the most dangerous big threes in the entire WNBA. One can say that the All-Star break could not be occurring at a worse time for the Fever because it appeared that Indiana was beginning to play its best ball.
The Dream’s acquisition of Angel Reese was one of the higher profile pickups of the offseason.
It was yet to be seen how Reese’s would translate to on-court play. It appears to have translated according to plan.
When one considers Atlanta as a team has Reese in addition Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, Jordin Canada and Naz Hillmon among others, this looks like a Dream assembling that should earn victories in the playoffs.
That has been the thing that has defined this era of Dream basketball – promising regular seasons only for everything to fall flat in the playoffs. Perhaps that changes this year. If the postseason were to begin today, the Dream would be the sixth seed.
It was extremely tempting to drop the Liberty’s grade to a C+ but considering what New York has done the last couple of games, we decided to be nice and give New York a B-.
Injuries have been the story with the Liberty throughout the first half of the season. Sabrina Ionescu has been hurt. Marine Johannès has been hurt.
The real question among Lib Loyals has been if first-year coach Chris DeMarco has a place for Betnijah Laney-Hamilton in this team’s offense. Laney-Hamilton has been part of the heart and soul of New York throughout the 2020s.
This is a team that still does have Breanna Stewart who is more than capable of giving a team MVP-type numbers. Only time will tell if New York can find a rhythm again and get back to playing like the Finals contender many expected it to be at the outset of the season.
It should not be surprising that the Mystics are in firm position to claim the eighth and final seed in this year’s playoffs. After all, Washington proved itself to be a formidable contender for much of last season until the Brittney Sykes trade to Seattle signified the Mystics were punting on last season.
Few teams may exemplify the concept of “team of the future” more than the Mystics. We know what this team can get from a talent such as Shakira Austin as well as Michaela Onyenwere. Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen are once again putting together a stellar campaign for Washington.
The Mystics’ latest win was a statement victory – a 100-99 victory over the defending champion Aces. The fact that this happened against the All-Star break could either be a great or not-so-great thing for Washington.
If there was no All-Star break, this could be the type of victory that would propel the Mystics through the rest of the season. Or it may and the All-Star break will not be something that cold slow Washington’s momentum.
Following what the Golden State Valkyries were able to accomplish last season in its expansion campaign, this put added pressure on this year’s two expansion teams to also deliver solid seasons.
In Alex Sarama’s first season at the helm with the Portland Fire, he appears to be doing just that. Portland is on the playoff bubble as the ninth seed. The C could be for Carla Leite who has put together a stellar season for Portland.
The Fire have also been the beneficiary of solid seasons from Bridget Carleton, Sarah Ashlee Barker and Megan DiLeo.
Interestingly enough, the gap between the eighth and ninth seeds in terms of the loss column is the biggest of any gap at the All-Star break. Portland is four games behind Washington in said loss column.
Toronto is the other team that entered this season playing with a lot of house money as an expansion franchise – but also a lot of pressure because of what Golden State did last season.
The Tempo have also shown flashes in large part because of the heroics of Marina Mabrey. Coach Sandy Brondello is used to coaching up veterans and she has two more of the most talented veterans in the W in Brittney Sykes and Isabelle Harrison to coach up in addition to Mabrey.
Nyara Sabally is in her third season in the WNBA and Kiki Rice is in her first.
The Tempo are currently tenth in the W – and the team’s schedule coming out of the All-Star break is not exactly favorable considering it includes a game at Minnesota and back-to-back contests with the Valkyries.
When a team has to let go of its general manager midway through a season, that is a microcosm of how disappointing said season has been.
That has been the case with the Sparks when they let go of Raegan Pebley recently.
It is very difficult to imagine a team like the Sparks with all the talent they have including Nneka Ogwumike, Kelsey Plum, Azurá Stevens and Cameron Brink and seeing them closer to the bottom of the WNBA’s standings than to the top of them. In addition, Los Angeles is 2-8 in its last 10 games.
When Pebley was let go, this led many to speculate about what could be next for head coach Lynne Roberts.
This team was supposed to benefit from a move by the Sparks prior to the start of the season that raised its fair share of eyebrows. That move was Rickea Jackson bringing her talents to Chicago. Unfortunately for the Sky, an ACL injury would sideline Jackson for the season.
On paper, this season should have seen an improvement considering this year’s Sky assembling includes the veteran presence of a Skylar Diggins and the youth and talent of a Kamilla Cardoso. Instead, the Sky are one of three teams that still has yet to reach the double-digit marker for wins in 2026.
Even worse for Chicago – even if it wanted to punt on the season in hopes of landing a high draft pick, the Sky are unable to because the Mystics own what would be its selection.
Even though the Sky are once again the host franchise for this season’s All-Star festivities, Chicago is once again being much-maligned for its practice facility woes as the team will continue to practice at Wintrust Arena for the remainder of the season. Rookies Sydney Taylor and Gabriela Jaquez have been bright spots for the Sky this season.
What happened to the Phoenix Mercury team that stunned the Lynx in last season’s semifinals to earn a Finals date with the Aces?
Ever since last season’s Finals, the Mercury have resembled a team more poised for the lottery than any playoffs.
This is a team that has Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper on it – two future Hall of Famers. A team with AT and Kah on it has no business being in the running for a lottery spot as opposed to the postseason.
A bright spot in what has been a forgettable Mercury season did take place recently when Thomas recorded her first double-double of the season in a victory over the Sparks.
The reason why we decided to give the Sun an incomplete is because one must ignore Connecticut’s dismal 7-20 record at the All-Star break. Everything unfolding with this team on the court is secondary to the overarching story regarding this franchise – the looming move to Houston.
It has indeed been the Sunset Season for New England’s WNBA team – and it appears Connecticut will go out with a whimper.
Brittney Griner, Leïla Lacan, Aneesah Morrow Aaliyah Edwards, Diamond Miller and Hailey Van Lith have been bright spots. Unless something miraculous happens following the All-Star break, Connecticut likely will be on the outside of the playoff picture looking in for its final campaign as a New England franchise.
Tilman Fertitta is the biggest beneficiary of Connecticut’s woes so far as the rechristened Comets appear to be in prime position to win the 2027 WNBA Draft Lottery and select JuJu Watkins first overall.
Remember when we wrote earlier that the “team of the future” label applies perfectly to the Mystics? The Storm appear to be also making a case.
Yes, the Storm are currently 6-23 – last in the WNBA. But Seattle appears to have building blocks that can take this team into the future.
Those building blocks are, of course, Dominiqu Malonga, Awa Fam and Flau’jae Johnson. In fact, Seattle’s budding big three were recently rewarded with a cover on Slam Magazine.
The Storm are entering the All-Star break in the throes of a six-game losing streak. The number six also represents the number of victories Seattle has compiled this season. Four of those wins have occurred at Climate Pledge Arena.
Teams with young cores eventually learn how to win big games on the road. Once Sonia Raman’s Storm learns how to accomplish that objective, Seattle could be back in the contenders’ chat.
