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Welcome to the first edition of No Offseason, your new weekly guide through the world of women’s basketball. Let’s go!
Why We’re Here: Your women’s hoops cheat sheet
When we named The Athletic’s women’s basketball podcast “No Offseason,” we understood the implication: Between the WNBA, college basketball, Unrivaled and Olympics, there are no breaks in the women’s basketball calendar. But now, we’re forgetting everything we thought we knew, because the news cycle has risen to an unprecedented level.
Just since the start of March, we’ve seen:
A massive, transformational collective bargaining agreement signed in the WNBA
A first-time champion crowned in the NCAA Tournament, followed by a record-breaking WNBA Draft showing for UCLA
Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers’ debuts for USA Basketball
A road tour in Unrivaled’s second postseason
Possibly the quickest offseason/free agency in pro sports history
Oh, and the WNBA season starts Friday.
It’s hard to believe that not too long ago, the mere existence of a 2026 WNBA season was in question. There was a protracted deadlock between the players’ union and the league about how to share the growing pie of money coming into the WNBA, and the process felt increasingly contentious as the days, weeks and months dragged … and dragged … and dragged.
But the deal is done, and the 30th WNBA season is upon us. Now, it’s up to the players to prove they can handle the increased expectations and justify what they fought so hard for. The lights have never been brighter on the WNBA.
That’s why we’re here — to help you follow the biggest players, games and storylines in the sport. Every Tuesday in your inbox, you’ll get extra insights into what I (Sabreena) am watching, what scoops our Annie Costabile is chasing, the big-picture stories Chantel Jennings and our other feature writers are tackling and so much more.
And keep listening to the “No Offseason” podcast for even more expert analysis from Zena Keita, Layshia Clarendon and the rest of the crew. Also: You can reach us at nooffseason@theathletic.com with any questions or comments — or just to say hi.
Now, let’s play (write, read, chat) ball!
Fast Breaks
🏆 Our preseason power rankings are here, led by the (shocker) Las Vegas Aces.
👟 Sabrina Ionescu will be out for at least two weeks after injuring her foot in preseason.
🏀 Paige Bueckers was succinct in explaining her personal relationship with new Wings, and old UConn, teammate Azzi Fudd: It’s “nobody’s business but our own.”
💭 Angel Reese fit right in with her new squad, the Dream, en route to beating that of her old, the Sky.
🎽 For their season opener against the Sun, the Liberty are suiting up in retro threads. Find the look, and the two other teams who followed suit with throwback uniforms, here.
➕ The NCAA Tournament is expanding to 76 teams in 2027. Has there been enough parity in the college game to support adding more teams to the field? I don’t think so. Nobody wants or needs that.
➡️ Chantel ranked college hoops’ 20 best transfer fits, and since that piece went live, UCLA picked up one more veteran for its title defense: KK Bransford from Notre Dame.
🎙️ The No Offseason podcast crew dives into some big questions for the WNBA teams with the best chance at making a serious title run. We’re curious about the Fever, Aces, Liberty … and whether or not the Wings and Dream even belong in this conversation. Listen wherever you enjoy your podcasts.
Burning Questions: One Q for each WNBA team
Let’s check in with each team ahead of Friday’s season opener, from the contenders to the middle of the pack and the teams that are rebuilding:
👑 WNBA championship contenders
New York: The Liberty have roster continuity on their side, but where there’s uncertainty is in the coaching staff. Will first-year coach Chris DeMarco be able to maximize this cheat code of a lineup?
Indiana: Clark is at 100 percent after nagging injuries limited her to just 13 games in her sophomore campaign. Without Clark, the Fever were on the doorstep of a finals appearance. With her back, do they break through?
Las Vegas: The Aces ended the 2025 season with a championship, thanks to one of the most dominant stretches in league history. With the full core back, can they put it together for a full season and threaten the Houston Comets’ regular-season wins record? The Comets won 90 percent of their games (27-3) in 1998 en route to their second of four straight titles.
Atlanta: Is Reese the missing piece to the Dream’s hopes of being a contender? Atlanta hasn’t even made it past the first round of the playoffs since 2018.
🐺 Middle of the pack
Phoenix: Will the Mercury remain a title contender after losing forward Satou Sabally in free agency?
Minnesota: The Lynx lost their fourth- through eighth-best players from the 2025 team that had the league’s best regular-season record, but they retained MVP candidate Napheesa Collier (though she’s out with ankle injuries), Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams. Do they still have enough to be in title talks? Or are they facing an imminent rebuild?
Los Angeles: The Sparks haven’t made the playoffs since 2020, the longest drought of any team in the league. Franchise icon Nneka Ogwumike is back in Los Angeles to join the core of Kelsey Plum, Dearica Hamby and Cameron Brink. Is this the year the Sparks break the streak?
Dallas: Bueckers might have been the second-best rookie of all time in 2025, but the Wings didn’t win many games. Did Dallas add enough in the offseason with Fudd, Alanna Smith and Jess Shepard to allow Bueckers to play meaningful basketball in August and beyond?
Golden State: What happens when opposing teams are ready for Golden State’s particular brand of basketball? The Valkyries were a pleasant surprise in 2025, but now the rest of the league knows what to expect.
Chicago: Will this be the year the Sky trend back toward title contention? Since 2023, the franchise has been in a downward spiral, but general manager Jeff Pagliocca asserts the 2026 roster is the one capable of turning the page.
🏗️ Rebuilding … and for two, just building
Toronto: Led by WNBA championship-winning coach Sandy Brondello, are the Tempo — the WNBA’s first international team — capable of mirroring the success the Valkyries had last year?
Washington: The Mystics are playing the long game with a total of 14 picks in the next three drafts, six of them first-rounders. But what steps are realistic for the franchise in the immediate future with young stars like Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen and rookie Lauren Betts?
Connecticut: Will the franchise’s “sunset season” be the sendoff fans are hoping for before it relocates to Houston in 2027?
Seattle: The Storm have one of the most exciting futures in the WNBA with international frontcourt stars Dominique Malonga and Awa Fam, despite a huge offseason talent exodus (four 2025 All-Stars left in free agency). How quickly can Malonga, Fam and the rest of Seattle’s young core become competitive?
Portland: Which college megastar in the 2027 (or 2028) draft will fit best in Portland? The expansion Fire have a lot of interesting young fliers but little proven talent in their debut campaign.
We’ll get our answers soon enough. To this question, too: Can the contenders, or anyone, dethrone the Aces?
Watch Guide: Opening week’s biggest games
Like most leagues nowadays, how to watch the WNBA this year looks different from even last year.
This season, the WNBA provided free streaming of all preseason games on League Pass. The league is following that up with a bolstered regular-season broadcast schedule: a record 216 nationally broadcast games across television and streaming platforms.
NBC, Peacock, NBCSN and USA Network are the league’s new broadcast partners, joining ABC/ESPN, Amazon Prime Video, CBS Television Network/Paramount+, ION and NBA TV. Got all that?
ION leads all partners with 50 broadcasts this season, including Friday night doubleheaders.
The Mickey Mouse networks will broadcast 30 games, and among them are the league’s major tentpoles like the All-Star Game.
NBC is back after broadcasting the first WNBA game in 1997 with a seven-game slate.
USA Network will air the second-most games (48). Prime Video will stream 30 games, CBS and Paramount+ will have 20, NBA TV will air 15 and Peacock/NBCSN will broadcast 15, including the WNBA Finals series.
All 44 of the Fever’s games will be available nationally. The Wings will have 36 national games, the Liberty will have 35 and the Aces will have 33.
Now here are the biggest games, and where to watch them, during opening week:
Friday, May 8
Sun-Liberty: The Sun’s first game of the franchise’s final season in Connecticut will be played on the road against a Liberty team trying to rebound after a first-round playoff exit last season. (7:30 p.m. ET, ION/League Pass)
Mystics-Tempo: This game will be historic with the Tempo debuting (at home) as the WNBA’s first Canadian team. (7:30 p.m. ET, ION/League Pass)
Saturday, May 9
Wings-Fever: Indiana hosts Dallas in what could be the preeminent rivalry of the WNBA for the foreseeable future with Clark and Bueckers anchoring each. (1 p.m. ET, ABC/Disney+)
Mercury-Aces: Phoenix travels to Las Vegas for a rematch of the 2025 WNBA Finals minus Sabally, last season’s leading scorer. (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/Disney+)
Sky-Fire: The WNBA returns to Portland for the first time since 2002, when the original Fire franchise folded. (9 p.m. ET, NBA TV)
Sunday, May 10
Aces-Sparks: Los Angeles hosts the reigning champions as it looks to snap its postseason drought with a retooled roster that includes 2016 MVP Ogwumike. (6 p.m. ET, USA)
For our full 2026 WNBA watch guide, click here.
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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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