The 2026 WNBA season officially begins Friday, May 8. In addition to how awesome it feels just to know that WNBA games are being played again (and it feels extremely awesome), there have been a lot of changes leading up to this moment.
That means that there's also a lot of new stuff to pay attention to. Since things begin on Friday with three games, let's take a look at what's going to be going on.
Brittney Griner plays on her third season in three years
Griner departed the Phoenix Mercury after Diana Taurasi announced her retirement. For Griner, the decision to leave Arizona seemed all about creating something new for herself, and for her family. She appeared to thrive with the Dream, and her move to the Connecticut Sun came as a bit of a surprise — sort of.
The Sun will mvoe down to Texas ahead of the 2027 season and play as the newly reborn Houston Comets. Griner, who is from Texas, will be back home and has already spoken about how much she's looking forward to her family being able to see her play. But until she gets back down there, one thing to watch is how she gels with the Sun, and what that dynamic looks like on the court.
The Sun has a pretty young core and Griner will be in a true veteran spot with this team. Her leadership will go a lot further than it might on just about any other roster in the WNBA, and she could play a crucial role in lifting the team up over their 2025 record.
The Toronto Tempo play their first game
The Tempo played in the preseason like everyone else, but Friday's match against the Washington Mystics is their first test that really counts. The Tempo will be led by WNBA legend Sandy Brondello, and if anyone can coach an expansion team to success, it's a coach who has never missed the playoffs in her entire career.
The biggest thing to pay attention to will be... well... everything! It's fun to have a new team in the league, and as we learned last year with the Golden State Valkyries, it's pretty special to have the opportunity to watch a team learn, adapt, and grow in real time.
Flau'jae Johnson. That's it.
The Seattle Storm will play the Golden State Valkyries Friday, and plenty of people will be tuning in purely to see how Johnson performs against the team that drafted her, only to trade her during the second round. Johnson was on fire during the preseason, and should get solid minutes on the floor.
The Valkyries are also in a bit of a tough spot. The team announced Thursday that Iliana Rupert will miss the season (she's pregnant) and that they waived fan-favorite Kate Martin. In a lot of ways, it's almost like last year all over again: Golden State has something to prove, but this time around, we know just how good Natalie Nakase is at navigating exactly that scenario.
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