All articles tagged with #wnba
Former South Carolina star Allisha Gray signed a three-year deal with the Atlanta Dream after the WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement increased top salaries, with expected pay north of $1 million per year as she continues her rise after multiple All-Star seasons and a standout 2025 campaign.
The WNBA launches its expedited 2026 free agency with bigger rosters and a higher cap, plus a core designation that grants exclusive rights to a player. A 50-player list highlights stars likely to shift teams or stay put: A’ja Wilson is expected to re-sign with the Las Vegas Aces, Napheesa Collier appears likely to remain with the Minnesota Lynx, and Breanna Stewart is set to re-sign with the New York Liberty. Other notable moves include Kelsey Plum and Skylar Diggins changing teams, Brittney Griner moving to the Connecticut Sun, and a wave of re-signings as teams build for the 2026 season. The market will determine which franchises capitalize on core players and a reshaped salary structure.
Indiana Fever re-sign guard Lexie Hull for a fifth season, with team officials praising her two-way impact and Hull saying Indy is home and there’s unfinished business. In 2025 she posted career highs in points (7.2 PPG), rebounds (4.3 RPG), assists (1.8 APG) and steals (1.2 SPG), added her first career double-doubles, helped the Fever win the Commissioner’s Cup and reach the WNBA Semifinals, and over five seasons has appeared in 134 of 160 regular-season games while nearing franchise milestones in offensive rebounds and three-pointers.
The WNBA’s free-agency window opens on an accelerated timetable amid ongoing CBA negotiations, highlighted by Nneka Ogwumike reportedly signing with the Los Angeles Sparks after a high-profile visit; roughly 80% of players remain unsigned as front offices initiate designation and negotiation phases. The same newsletter also previews Arsenal’s pivotal Premier League clash with Bournemouth as Manchester City presses on in pursuit of the title.
The WNBA approved an expansion plan to grow from 12 to 18 teams by 2030, adding Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo in 2026, Cleveland in 2028, Detroit in 2029, and Philadelphia in 2030. The move is driven by rising popularity and strong attendance, but has sparked pushback from media figure Bill Simmons, who called the expansion “staggeringly stupid” and a money grab. The piece notes ongoing competition among owners and rising franchise valuations as the league debates growth, relocations, and the balance between speed and sustainability.
Nneka Ogwumike announced on Instagram and X that she is leaving the Seattle Storm after two seasons. The 35-year-old former MVP and 10-time All-Star thanked Seattle in the posts and is entering free agency, having spent 12 seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks prior to joining the Storm. She is not listed on Seattle’s roster, and the team has offered no comment as negotiations begin.
Angel Reese says the hard, 'uncomfortable' work ahead after being traded from Chicago to the Atlanta Dream will fuel a fresh championship run, stressing the need to sit with herself away from social media and take scary steps toward winning; she spoke on a panel with Paige Bueckers in Los Angeles amid her Victoria’s Secret campaign launch, while highlighting her LSU NCAA title run and her pro success with the Sky as the 2026 season approaches (May 8 start, Dream opener May 10).
The IX releases its detailed V2.0 2026 WNBA draft board, ranking prospects on a 20-80 future-value scale and prioritizing clearly defined roles and rotation-ready players over star potential. The list features top prospects like Awa Fam, Olivia Miles, Kiki Rice, Azzi Fudd, and Lauren Betts, plus a wide group of international and college players with notes on ceilings, floors, fit, and draft-and-stash considerations. The piece emphasizes a deep class of first-division-ready players, a lack of outright superstars, and a transparent methodology for evaluating pro projections.
Indiana Fever unveiled interior renderings of a $78 million, 108,000-square-foot training center—set to be the WNBA’s largest—designed as a year-round hub for performance, recovery, nutrition, and team life, opening before the 2027 season in downtown Indianapolis.
The WNBA began free agency with 10 players receiving core designations, giving their teams exclusive negotiating rights. Under the new CBA, players with six years or fewer can be core twice, but seventh-season players lose core eligibility starting next year. Each core comes with a supermax offer from the player’s home team, though terms can be negotiated lower or via sign-and-trade (max about $1.19 million). Satou Sabally was notably not cored, and several teams (Aces, Mystics, Sun, Valkyries) did not core players, raising questions about roster-building under the cap; Nneka Ogwumike’s meeting with the Lynx signals potential star movement ahead of free agency.
Three elite athletes—Sophie Cunningham, Napheesa Collier, and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden—will make their first SI Swimsuit appearance in the 2026 issue, photographed in Fort Myers. Cunningham, an unrestricted free agent, is pursuing a new deal with Indiana and will contribute to USA Network coverage this season; Collier, entering her eighth WNBA season and a leader off the court, is under a core qualifying offer amid a new CBA that could yield a $1.4 million one-year supermax, and Jefferson-Wooden, a five-time World Champion in track with Olympic medals, adds a historic first-time feature to her already storied résumé.
Sophie Cunningham, a 2019 first‑round pick who was traded to the Indiana Fever in 2025 and is now an unrestricted free agent, debuts in SI Swimsuit 2026 the same day she reveals a role as an athlete contributor for USA Network’s WNBA coverage with USA Sports, following a Captiva Island shoot and drawing strong fan reactions.
Angel Reese was traded from Chicago to Atlanta for two first-round picks, instantly turning the Dream into a title contender while elevating her star power on and off the court as she joins a win-now roster under GM Dan Padover.
New York’s Sabrina Ionescu, Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier and Los Angeles’ Kelsey Plum received core franchise designations, granting their teams exclusive negotiating rights and a guaranteed one-year deal at the new supermax salary (up to about $1.4 million) as free agency opens. The core tag helps teams manage a roughly $7 million cap and can be used twice from 2027 onward on players with under seven years’ experience; other players tagged include Kelsey Mitchell, Arike Ogunbowale, Allisha Gray, Ariel Atkins and Ezi Magbegor. Expansion teams Portland and Toronto tagged Bridget Carleton and Marina Mabrey, respectively. The tag can lead to sign-and-trade deals; negotiations run this week with free agency starting Saturday and training camp beginning April 19. The delayed CBA pushed the start of free agency, and more than 80% of veteran players are free agents this year.
Tilman Fertitta’s family reached a deal to buy the Connecticut Sun and relocate the franchise to Houston by 2027, signaling a WNBA comeback for the city but with pending league approval and bittersweet implications for the team and fans.