Less than a month ago, the WNBA and the Women's National Basketball Players Association announced that they had come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement that established a historic and comprehensive revenue-sharing model and ensured the 2026 season would go ahead.
In order for the season to start on time, however, the entire offseason had to be condensed into a few weeks. Between April 3 and April 18, the league conducted a historic double expansion draft for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire, a unique free agency period and the 2026 WNBA Draft.
Now, finally, it's time for the players to hit the court. Training camps open Sunday, when teams will be allowed to practice together for the first time. Preseason games will then begin on April 25, with opening night set for May 8.
As training camps open, let's take a look around the league and look at one big question facing each team.
The Dream were second in the league in offensive, defensive and net rating last season and won a franchise-record 30 games, but were upset in the first round of the playoffs by the short-handed Fever. Heading into the offseason, the Dream had two paths: make changes on the margins around their core or make a big swing. They chose the latter and got it done without giving up a single member of their core. In addition to re-signing Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard, Brionna Jones, Naz Hillmon and Jordin Canada, they traded two future first-round picks for All-Star forward Angel Reese.
Reese, whose tenure in Chicago ended in unceremonious fashion, is a major talent boost for the Dream. She's the best rebounder in the league, a strong defender and an indefatigable worker. But Atlanta flamed out in the playoffs because they couldn't make enough shots when it really mattered. Will doubling down on their biggest strengths -- rebounding, defense, getting to the free throw line -- be enough for the Dream to overcome their offensive concerns in the postseason?
Few teams were as busy as the Sky this month. Out went Angel Reese and Ariel Atkins, among others, in came Skylar Diggins, Rickea Jackson, Azura Stevens, DiJonai Carrington, Jacy Sheldon and Gabriela Jaquez. For the second consecutive offseason, the Sky have completely remade their roster with an eye on the playoffs. "We're gonna remain in win-now mode as long as I'm here," general manager Jeff Pagliocca said earlier this week.
The Sky's roster is more talented than it was last season. Diggins gives them a true high-level point guard, their perimeter defense will be significantly better and their new frontcourt should be a better on-court fit. But can they actually make the postseason for the first time since 2023? Yes, but it's not a guarantee. Their best player is about to turn 36, their likely starting lineup is still going to have multiple non-shooters and their depth is a question mark. The Mystics own swap rights for the Sky's 2027 first-round pick (and own their 2028 first outright) so there's a lot riding on Chicago making the playoffs this season.
The Sun had a strong draft, adding Nell Angloma, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker to their young core of Leïla Lacan, Saniya Rivers, Aneesah Morrow and Aaliyah Edwards. They picked up Brittney Griner and Kennedy Burke in free agency to provide a veteran presence and Rachid Meziane appears to be a solid coach. On the court, they're on the right track, but are still in the early stages of their rebuild.
This season will ultimately be remembered more for what has -- and will -- happen off the court. In March, the Mohegan Tribe agreed to sell the franchise to Tillman Fertitta for a record-breaking $300 million. As part of the agreement, the Sun will move to Houston in 2027 and become the Comets – the first relocation in the WNBA since the San Antonio Stars moved to Las Vegas to become the Aces in 2018. What sort of send-off will the Sun give their fans and the people of Connecticut, who have loyally supported the team for more than two decades?
One year after selecting 2025 Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers with the No. 1 pick, the Wings selected her girlfriend, Azzi Fudd, with this year's top selection. The former Huskies will be joined in the Wings' backcourt by franchise stalwart Arike Ogunbowale, who Dallas re-signed despite a poor 2025 and months of questions about her future.
Dallas' backcourt is extremely talented, but the fit is not obvious on either end. Ogunbowale is at her best with the ball in her hands and really struggled in the lowest-usage role of her career last season. Bueckers' ability to toggle between an on- and off-ball role is one of her greatest strengths, but the Wings were at their best last season with her running the show. Fudd is best off the ball and her shooting threat will provide invaluable spacing, but you don't draft someone No. 1 just to have them sitting in the corner. And what happens defensively? Ogunbowale has never been known for her work on that end, and when they all play together, either Bueckers or Fudd is going to have to guard 3s. Maybe the talent is overwhelming, but it seemed notable when new Wings coach Jose Fernandez said "we'll see" when asked how the trio would gel.
The Valkyries had one of the most unexpected seasons in WNBA history in 2025, as they became the first expansion team ever to make the playoffs in their inaugural campaign. They also made the postseason despite finishing 10th in the league in offensive rating, last in field goal percentage and 11th in 3-point percentage. Kayla Thornton, who missed half the season after undergoing knee surgery, was their only player in the top 30 in the league in scoring and the only one who averaged more than 12 points.
Heading into 2026, there are still plenty of questions about the Valkyries' offense. Gabby Williams, their main free agent addition, is a great player, but not a primary scorer, and they traded out of the first round rather than keeping the No. 8 pick (Flau'jae Johnson). Who is this team turning to when they need a bucket? Why did they not do more to address their clear need for 3-point shooting when they took a record-setting amount of 3s last season? The Valkyries are still going to be an excellent defensive team, but barring some serious internal improvement, it's once again hard to see them scoring consistently. And that will make it difficult for them to improve on last season's finish.
Last season, the Fever were five minutes away from their first trip to the Finals since 2015 despite six players suffering season-ending injuries -- seven, if you want to include Kelsey Mitchell leaving their final game with rhabdomyolysis -- but that's not a sustainable path. Indiana needs better health this season in order to compete for a title, and that starts with Caitlin Clark.
Clark only played 13 games last season due to an array of lower-body injuries. When she was on the floor, she rarely looked anything like her usual self and had by far the worst shooting percentages of her professional or collegiate career. Clark is healthy now and coming off an MVP showing with Team USA at last month's FIBA Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament, but the Fever are still going to be cautious with their superstar. "I don't want to say ease her into it, because she's ready for camp, but we want to make sure that we manage the reps, and what kinds of reps she's getting, just to build her up so that she's ready to go, and we don't have any kind of questions about that," Fever coach Stephanie White said this week.
The Aces won their third title in four years last season thanks to a historic late-season turnaround and superhuman efforts from A'ja Wilson and Jackie Young. During the regular season, that duo scored 45.2% of the Aces' points. In the playoffs, they increased their output to account for 53.3% of the Aces' points, and each had a late game-winning bucket (Young in Game 3 of the first round, Wilson in Game 3 of the Finals).
There's little doubt that Wilson and Young are going to be awesome again this season, but who will step up to help them? The Aces made big commitments to Chelsea Gray and Jewell Loyd in free agency and will be expecting more consistency from their veteran guards. Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, who missed the majority of last season on maternity leave, is now fully healthy and could provide some much-needed frontcourt help. But the biggest boost may come from Chennedy Carter, who signed a training camp contract. She's had some off-court issues at her previous stops, but is one of the most talented backcourt scorers around. Considering some of their depth questions, it's surprising the Aces only brought 13 players to training camp.
In the Sparks' first 24 seasons of existence, they missed the playoffs just four times. Entering 2026, they've missed the playoffs five seasons in a row, which is the longest active postseason drought in the league. Their offseason moves -- bringing franchise icon Nneka Ogwumike back in free agency, re-signing Dearica Hamby and trading Rickea Jackson for Ariel Atkins -- should ensure that they return to the playoffs for the first time since 2020. But, assuming they get there, can they actually contend?
The starting five looks excellent on paper, but they have a lot riding on Nneka Ogwumike maintaining her All-WNBA level of play into her late 30s and Cameron Brink staying healthy. Their depth, at least in the regular season, is also a bit of a question mark. Getting back to the playoffs would be great, but the Sparks traded two lottery picks (Jackson and Dominique Malonga) and punted on their rebuild to create this team. That could age very poorly if the Sparks aren't able to go on a deep postseason run.