WNBA Preseason Preview: Teams and Players to Watch in Final Tune-Up
Teams to Keep an Eye on Ahead of Opening Tip
Las Vegas Aces
Entering the season with a target on their back, the defending 2025 WNBA Champions Las Vegas Aces are a team to certainly follow. Only taking 3 losses in the 2025 postseason, the Aces were hungry back then for the title and still are today. With very few changes in last year's roster, the Aces are coming into this season with the same mission and chemistry. One notable addition Head Coach Becky Hammon made in the offseason was signing Chennedy Carter from free agency. This signing of Carter allows for even more depth in the guard position, and a leader to take control likely coming off the bench. Aside from being the defending champs, the Aces are worth watching because of their superstar talent. Led by not only All-Stars Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray, but also 4x WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson, you can't miss out on witnessing one of the greatest to play basketball's career continue to unfold. Can the Aces run it back like they did in the 2022 and 2023 seasons and go back-to-back?
Dallas Wings
Looking to improve in any way possible, the Dallas Wings show a lot of promise coming into the 2026 WNBA Season. With an almost completely new roster, the Wings have not only added the size they were missing in years past, but also a star guard to play off the ball facilitation of Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale. Heading into the 2026 season, the Dallas Wings are one of the few teams to have a major fresh start. This redo began with bringing in Jose Fernandez, one who coaches with professionalism and appropriate discipline, as the new head coach. It was with the help of Fernandez that the Wings were also able to snag new players in attempt to further complete the franchise's rebuild. Jessica Shepard and Alanna Smith were two that made headlines as they both departed from the Lynx, believing in Dallas' vision for the future. Shepard is a forward that dictates the rebounding in matchups and Smith was the 2025 Co-Defensive Player of the year. After obtaining more skill and experience in the post with Shepard and Smith, all the Wings really had left to find was another elite guard to put around Bueckers and Ogunbowale. This was quickly solved as the Dallas Wings selected Azzi Fudd with the First-Overall Pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft. Fans are not only excited to see Fudd help further improve Dallas' rebuild and push for the title, but they are also excited for the reunion of former UConn teammates, Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd. In their final season together at UConn (2024-2025), Bueckers averaged 19.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals while Fudd averaged 13.6 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists on nearly 50-40-90 shooting. With this in mind, Wings fans should be thrilled to see this past chemistry carried into the W that will without a doubt impact the whole team for the better as well. Will the Dallas Wings' big three in Paige Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale, and Azzi Fudd gel quickly enough to turn the team into a contender?
Toronto Tempo
As the WNBA's newest franchise, the Toronto Tempo are one of the league's most intriguing teams entering 2026. Coming into the league as an expansion team can bring a lot of excitement and hopes to do well but also wiggle room as the newcomers. That said, with the team that Head Coach Sandy Brondello has built, it's hard to rule out the Tempo for any form of contention this early. Even before the season has begun, Toronto has already shown great promise in who they have selected and drafted. Notable players that were selected by the Tempo in the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft are Marina Mabrey, Nyara Sabally, and Isabelle Harrison. Each of these players and several others selected in the draft have a new opportunity to break out as their own star whereas at their former teams, they may have served more as role players. Out of the four picks the Toronto Tempo had in the 2026 WNBA Draft, the player to pay the closest attention to is Kiki Rice, the Sixth-Overall Pick. Coming off great success helping lead UCLA to their first National Championship in program history, Rice has notable momentum coming into the W playing alongside developed guard and scorer, Marina Mabrey. One final major move that the Tempo made prior to their inaugural season was signing Brittney Sykes in free agency. Last season, Sykes had arguably one of the better seasons of her career averaging 11.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists for the Seattle Storm. Sykes and Mabrey will be a perfect pair to not only lead the team in scoring and experience, but also as guides to the new franchise and rookies. Could Marina Mabrey and Brittney Sykes help lead the Toronto Tempo to have as successful of an inaugural season as the Golden State Valkyries did last year?
The Biggest Individual Storylines to Follow
Olivia Miles, Minnesota Lynx
The Second-Overall Pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, the rookie debut of Olivia Miles is one of the most highly anticipated moments. Even before getting drafted by the Minnesota Lynx, the hype around Olivia Miles' future success in the league has been in talks. With the way that Miles was able to uplift TCU and help lead them to the Elite 8 in her single season with them deserves a lot more credit. That said, Miles' impact won't end in college as she will surely elevate the already title contending Minnesota Lynx. In her final college season, Miles averaged 19.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.8 steals per game for the Horned Frogs. Just from these stats alone, we see how Miles impacts her team on both ends of the floor from scoring and great passes, to converting her own steals into easy buckets. This tenacious playstyle that Miles possesses will be perfect as she transitions into the W as she will have a heavy load off the jump. With Minnesota Lynx star forward Napheesa Collier out for several months, someone will have to help generate points for the Lynx alongside veteran guards Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams. Will Olivia Miles live up to the hype and prove herself to be worthy of being drafted to such a successful franchise?
Marina Mabrey, Toronto Tempo
With a fresh start on the Toronto Tempo, Marina Mabrey has a chance to redefine her career. Finding herself a little farther North, Mabrey will likely be one the Tempo will look to for scoring. Last season, Mabrey did it all for the Connecticut Sun, making her an obvious candidate as an expansion draft selection. In the 2025 WNBA Season, Mabrey averaged 14.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists for the Sun despite having underwhelming shooting splits. Said shooting percentage decreases were likely due to the fact that Mabrey had to take much more shots after the Connecticut Sun decided to start from scratch when they lost Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, DiJonai Carrington, and several others in the off season prior to the 2025 season. In a similar situation, Mabrey is once again one of the lone stars on the Toronto Tempo. Teaming up with 1x All-Star Brittney Sykes, Mabrey could not only find her true value and role as the best player she can be, but also perhaps grow into someone new that Toronto needs. Will Mabrey's lights out shooting and ability to lead like she has in past seasons translate to this new franchise as they seek success?
Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, Dallas Wings
One of the season's most anticipated storylines will be the pairing and reuniting of Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd on the Dallas Wings. As previously stated, there was nothing that fans were more excited about in the 2026 WNBA Draft then the Dallas Wings drafting Azzi Fudd with the First-Overall Pick to allow her and Paige Bueckers to play together again. Paige Bueckers was the 2025 Rookie of the Year averaging 19.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game on efficient shooting. However, Bueckers' success was really all Dallas had working for them. The Wings look to use Fudd as their final piece in the puzzle as they form a more complete and well-rounded lineup than in years past. Despite taking a hard loss in the Final Four, Fudd had a remarkable senior season with UConn with 17.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 2.5 steals per game. Not to mention Fudd was one of few players to come just short of 50-40-90 shooting, though this was the standard for her as she averaged 46.9-42.2-92.5 in her entire college career at UConn. Regardless of Fudd's obvious success, many in the media have already critiqued her for getting drafted first due to rumors that it was only to reunite her and Bueckers given their past at UConn and not due to her skillset. Although this was confirmed to be false by the Dallas Wings' leadership, can Fudd prove herself to be the electrifying shooter she was in college as she enters the W?
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