The 2026 WNBA season kicks off this week, the first year of the new seven-year CBA signed by the players and team owners several weeks ago.
Earlier this week, all 15 team head coaches and key players were available to the media via Zoom leading up to tip-off on Friday, May 8. The Minnesota Lynx will open on Saturday, May 9, due to the Wolves-Spurs playoff game on Friday.
Two new teams, Portland and Toronto, begin play this season. Each team experienced changes due to expansion, free agency and the college draft.
Shimmy Miller, who calls Chicago Sky games, said her team “looks great on paper.”
“This roster is constructed to win this summer and GM Jeff Pagliocca and Head Coach Tyler March did a phenomenal job in free agency.,” said Miller. “Can the healthy players hold it down until Courtney Vandersloot, Azura Stevens and DiJonai Carrington return from injuries?”
“Skylar Diggins brings leadership, toughness and elite point guard play along with setting the standard defensively, and that was something that was greatly missed last season,” Miller said. “When Courtney Vandersloot is healthy, those two can play together side by side. The acquisition of Stevens should keep the floor spaced so Kamilla Cardoso can have room to operate in the paint, and Rickea Jackson is going to be a star in this league, so that trade was a real difference maker.”
Jackson was acquired by Chicago from Atlanta for Angel Reese. “I really like Atlanta as a team to watch,” Miller continued. “They return their core group but add a two-time All-Star in Angel Reese. If Rhyne Howard can stay healthy, they are a legitimate championship contender. A healthy Rhyne Howard in year five is dangerous, and she is my breakout player to watch.”
Minnesota lost key players from last season’s club, which finished with the best regular-season record before losing to Phoenix in the playoffs. Departures include Carrington to Chicago, Natasha Hiedeman to Seattle, Alanna Smith and Jessica Sheppard both to Dallas via free agency, and Bridget Carleton to Portland and Maria Kliundikova to Toronto via expansion. The Lynx did re-sign Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams, who were free agents, and added veterans Natasha Howard and Nia Coffey.
As a result, this season’s Lynx will look drastically different from last summer.
At press time, the 2026 final roster had not yet been finalized. Coach Cheryl Reeve told reporters, including the Spokesman-Recorder, last week in Kansas City, “We are in full evaluation mode, and players will get ample opportunity to show what they can do.”
“There’s a lot of new faces, there’s a lot of learning involved, but I think we’re doing a good job of implementing that information and just making sure that we’re having that type of professionalism and excellence that the Lynx demands,” said the 6-1 Coffey, the St. Paul native and Hopkins High School grad who begins her 10th year in the league. “We’re doing a good job.”
That includes top rookie Olivia Miles, the second overall pick in this year’s draft, who has shown she is talented but will expectedly have her ups and downs, not uncommon for WNBA rookies.
“I’ve just been trying to be a sponge as much as I can,” said the 5-10 point guard. “I’m always trying to get better at everything. I think obviously my defensive intensity and effort has to be upped.”
“I just want to get better, whether that’s adjusting my angles, getting on screens better, talking to my teammates, whatever that may be,” Miles continued. “I’m always trying to be a sponge on both ends of the floor, just trying to get better each game.”
Both Reeve and Assistant Coach Lindsay Whalen are impressed with Miles’ approach.
“It’s gonna be a lot of fun to just work with her, get to know her, and to have somebody with that type of passion and seeing the floor,” Whalen said. “It is going to be a lot of fun to have her on the team.”
Record TV deal brings mixed reviews
When the WNBA national television schedule was released last month, it was received with mixed reviews.
A record 216 games will be shown across multiple platforms: ABC/ESPN, Amazon Prime Video, CBS/Paramount+, ION, NBC/Peacock/NBCSN, USA Network, and selected games on NBA TV.
However, some took to social media to complain about broadcast disparities, notably that all 44 of Indiana’s games will be televised, but only 33 games for the 2025 defending champion Las Vegas. Minnesota will be shown nationally 28 times, up from 21 last season.
The Lynx also announced April 22 that all regionally distributed games this season will be on Victory+, a modern sports streaming platform available on smart TVs and multiple devices. Minnesota is the first pro basketball team on the service, joining two NHL clubs, an MLB team, an NFL team and the National Women’s Soccer League, among others.
Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses at challman@spokesman-recorder.com.