Basketball is basketball.
The 2026 WNBA preseason wraps up on Sunday with a four-game slate. The Washington Mystics visit the Atlanta Dream (3 p.m. ET, WNBA League Pass), while the New York Liberty meet the Connecticut Sun (5 p.m. ET, ION). On the campus of the University of Texas, the Las Vegas Aces and Dallas Wings will face […]
After turning in the most successful expansion season in WNBA history, the Golden State Valkyries proved they deserve the benefit of the doubt. And yet, they also make it irresistible to doubt their decisions. On Saturday, Golden State made a group of training camp cuts that included Marta Suárez, the No. 16 overall pick in […]
I just happen to be the one doing the Minnesota Lynx season preview—and I am very high on them. They supposedly weren’t a great team on paper the past two years, and yet went a combined 64-20 in the regular season with two semifinals appearances and a Finals appearance. Why should we doubt them now? […]
The Chicago Sky are beginning 2026 with a fresh sense of optimism. After a 10-34 season and a trade that sent Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream, the Sky seem poised to turn a new leaf, escaping years of futility that included being labeled as the worst-run franchise in the WNBA by an anonymous poll […]
Parity is just a concept in the WNBA. The league expanding and new superstars are emerging, but it’s made no difference to the Las Vegas Aces. They have continued to win, reigning as champions of the league in three of the last four seasons, including last year after an epic in-season turnaround. The Aces have […]
The WNBA’s 30th season will be the final one for the Connecticut Sun, as, after 24 seasons in Uncasville, the team will relocate to Houston, where the franchise is expected to be re-branded as the revived Houston Comets. That future has clouded the Sun’s present. But, it shouldn’t. No, the Sun should not be forecasted […]
Last year was a smashing success for the Golden State Valkyries. They sold out all their games, established a modern brand of basketball under head coach Natalie Nakase and reached the postseason as an expansion team. Now comes the challenge of replicating or exceeding the standard they set. To accomplish this, they will need to […]
Finally, the Dallas Wings can get down to the business of basketball. On Thursday, Dallas travels to Indianapolis to take on the Indiana Fever for their first preseason game (7 p.m. ET, ION). The contest serves as the official-but-unofficial on-court reunion for Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, a duo that just so happened to win […]
It’s only preseason, but… The women’s basketball gods blessed us with quite the matchup, as Angel Reese will make her (preseason) debut for the Atlanta Dream against the Chicago Sky, the team that traded her away after two All-Star seasons in the Windy City (7 p.m. ET, WNBA App). Hopefully, fans and stans on all […]
The Indiana Fever are in a great position entering the 2026 season. Last year, they were an above .500 team that won a playoff series and played a competitive second round against the eventual-champion Las Vegas Aces. This season, they are running it back with the best parts of that 2025 roster. They’ve signed Aliyah […]
The Portland Fire’s Alex Sarama does not have the traditional resume of a head coach in the WNBA. Only 30 years old, the majority of his coaching journey has taken place overseas. (He is British, of course). He coached at Pallacanestro College Basket Borgomanero in Italy, worked for Paris Basket and the London Lions, coached […]
The Los Angeles Sparks have gone all-in on winning now. The two biggest moves they’ve made this offseason—trading away Rickea Jackson for Ariel Atkins and bringing back Nneka Ogwumike—signal their winning intentions. These actions have done two things. First, they’ve made the Sparks significantly older, adding nine-year vet Atkins and 15-year player Ogwumike, and secondly, […]
With 8,396 points and 4,262 rebounds to her name, the second-most and most in WNBA history, respectively, will Tina Charles have an opportunity to add to these all-time totals in a 15th WNBA season? Charles, inarguably, is the most accomplished unsigned WNBA free agent, even if Natasha Cloud’s situation has attracted more attention. Charles also […]
Before the 2025 WNBA season, even after they had imported Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally to form a new Big 3 with Kahleah Copper, there was plenty of skepticism about the Phoenix Mercury, as they had surrounded their stars with supporting cast of mostly unheralded or inexperienced WNBA players. In Swish Appeal’s 2025 preseason power […]
The 2024 Indiana Fever went 20-20. The 2018 Las Vegas Aces went 14-20. The 2016 Seattle Storm went 16-18. The 2002 Storm went 17-15. None of them made it past the first round of the playoffs. So should expectations really be that high for the 2026 Dallas Wings, as they, like those teams did, pursue […]
Natasha Cloud’s name headlines lists of the most-prominent unsigned WNBA free agents. Her lack of contract, however, is not the product anything sinister, with sources around the league telling The Athletic’s Annie Costabile that social media speculation that Cloud’s activism had deterred teams’ from signing her is not factual, but due to the normal dynamics […]
A mid-second-round pick in the 2019 draft, Marina Mabrey was never guaranteed anything in the WNBA. But she put in the work between her rookie and sophomore years, and had her best friend and college roommate Arike Ogunbowale in her corner. Mabrey and Ogunbowale, of course, won the national championship together as members of the […]
From the Los Angeles Sparks playing the Nigerian National Team to Caitlin Clark making her return to the WNBA court with the Indiana Fever, there were storylines galore on the first day of WNBA preseason action. Here are some of the most notable highlights from Saturday night’s five-game slate of preseason openers. In the comments, […]
The 2026 WNBA season officially-but-unofficially is here, with five preseason games scheduled for Saturday, April 25. The action tips off with the Indiana Fever taking on the New York Liberty in Barclays Center at 3 p.m. ET on ION. The other four games will be available to stream for free through the WNBA App. Also […]
Currently, there are more questions than answers regarding the 2026 WNBA season. One thing is certain, though: The Indiana Fever will be one of the most fascinating teams to watch. (And you’ll be able to do so, as all 44 of their games are on national TV.) They are at the epicenter of women’s basketball […]
Even as the now 15-team WNBA has expanded to 180 rosters spots, plus up to two development players per team, making a team is hard. That’s especially true for rookies who did not hear their names called in the 2026 WNBA Draft and instead are trying to claim their place in the league through a […]
The fate of Oliviyah has been decided. And the decision is a delightful one for Dawn Staley and South Carolina Gamecocks. A consensus top-three ranked recruit in the class of 2026, Oliviyah Edwards, a 6-foot-3 forward from Washington state, had committed to Tennessee before decommitting earlier this month. That re-opened the recruitment of the McDonald’s […]
WNBA training camps are underway and everything seems rosy. Players are all smiles, every new acquisition seems to be a perfect fit and everyone is ready for the best year ever. However, that’s not going to happen. Some teams will overperform, others will underwhelm and only one will be crowned champion. Before preseason action even […]
Just two weeks ago, I wrote about the Washington Mystics breakup with former General Manager Jamila Wideman right before the WNBA Draft, and what the cited “strategic differences” could have been that birthed a rift between Wideman and a front office that was once in her corner. I had hoped that the draft would shed […]
The WNBA is ready to begin its 30th season—a feat arguably made possible by a band of collegiate and international elites turned Hall of Famers on the world stage: the 1996 United States Women’s Olympic Basketball Team. Their 60-0 record, combined with a grueling exhibition tour and eight dominating wins at the Atlanta Olympics, led […]