WNBA Offseason Grades: How Each Team Fares After 2026 Draft, Early Free Agency

It’s been a whirlwind week in the league, with a bunch of new-look rosters. Let’s assess how each front office has done so far.

Between the college draft and the early wave of free agency, there’s a lot to parse through around the WNBA. | Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images (Sabally); Brad Penner/Imagn Images (Fudd); Kamil Krzaczynski/Imagn Images (Reese)

Even the WNBA draft seemed fast. After Azzi Fudd went No. 1 to the Wings, the league blazed through 45 picks in about two hours on Monday. There's no time to waste. Since ratifying a new collective bargaining agreement, the WNBA, its teams and its players have raced through a compressed offseason. Remember, UCLA won the NCAA tournament eight days ago. Training camp opens on Sunday, and the season begins in less than a month.

So, let’s slow down and assess how each team has done with the initial wave of free agency and the draft in the books. (Don’t forget: Players like Natasha Cloud, Tina Charles, Emma Meesseman, Tiffany Hayes and Temi Fágbénlé still haven’t signed with new teams, the offseason frenzy isn’t over quite yet.)

Atlanta Dream: A

Key Additions: Madina Okot, Angel Reese, Isobel Borlase
Key Departures: Brittney Griner, Nia Coffey, Maya Caldwell

Adding Angel Reese cost Atlanta only first-round picks in 2027 and ’28, when the franchise should be positioned as a top-four team in the league. She should make one of the Dream’s strengths—offensive rebounding—even stronger. In 2025, Atlanta had the third-highest offensive rebounding rate (32.0%) and the highest overall rebounding rate (53.0%) in the W. With Reese, Bri Jones and Naz Hillmon (and Okot) in the paint, good luck to anyone trying to grab a board.

More than anything, Atlanta had a successful offseason because it kept the team’s core together. Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, Hillmon and Jones are all signed through 2028. Jordin Canada and Reese are signed through 2027. The Dream also now have Isobel Borlase, named MVP of Australia’s Women’s National Basketball League, in the mix. Point being, Atlanta is set up for success.

Chicago Sky: B

Key Additions: Skylar Diggins, Azurá Stevens, Rickea Jackson, DiJonai Carrington, Jacy Sheldon, Gabriela Jaquez
Key Departures: Angel Reese, Ariel Atkins, Michaela Onyenwere, Rebecca Allen

After the Reese trade last week, I wrote that the Sky did not appear to know what they were doing. I yield: Chicago appears to know what it is doing, somewhat. 

Garbriela Jaquez going No. 5 was one of the surprises of the night during Monday’s WNBA draft. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Sky have successfully revamped their entire roster. They now have scorers and floor spacers (Azurá Stevens and Rickea Jackson), a healthy floor general (Skylar Diggins) and a defensive stopper (DiJonai Carrington). They brought back Courtney Vandersloot, Rachel Banham and Elizabeth Williams, too.

Chicago’s trade for Jacy Sheldon is perplexing. The Sky traded their 2028 first-round pick—the same draft with Sarah Strong, Mikayla Blakes, Joyce Edwards and Jaloni Cambridge—for a player who hasn’t yet lived up to her college scoring prowess. Diggins will be 37 at the end of her contract; Vandersloot will be 38. If the Sky’s veteran talent doesn’t elevate the team, it’s not a lock that Chicago won’t be back in the lottery in 2028.

There is a question of fit, too. Last year, Sheldon, Stevens, Cardoso and Jackson all ranked in the bottom 25 in terms of defensive rating. While that stat says more about the teams each player was on and the systems they played for, coach Tyler Marsh will need to find ways to elicit defensive proficiency out of a talented frontcourt group.

And, we also have to talk about the Sky’s first-round pick. Gabriela Jaquez is a solid player and a versatile wing. If she didn’t have the national championship game that she had, though, then she might not have been a top-five pick. (Before Monday, it wasn’t clear that she’d even be a top-10 pick.) Time will tell whether this was the correct pick, but it seems like Chicago missed an opportunity to get younger at guard early in the draft.

Connecticut Sun: B-

Key Additions: Nell Angloma, Gianna Kneepkens, Brittney Griner, Kennedy Burke,
Key Departures: Marina Mabrey, Tina Charles

The Sun seem content to let their young players develop. That’s not a bad idea: French point guard Leïla Lacan, a rabid disruptor, thrived when she took over as the full-time starter last season. Connecticut has young talent in Aaliyah Edwards, whose play in Unrivaled has always suggested her ceiling is higher than what she’s shown in the WNBA, and second-year players Saniya Rivers and Aneesah Morrow, who both give the Sun a gritty identity. 

To that identity, Connecticut brought in Kennedy Burke and Brittney Griner. Each should bring veteran experience. The Sun also added depth at wing with No. 12 pick Nell Angloma and needed three-point shooting with No. 15 pick Gianna Kneepkens. But after leaving Marina Mabrey unprotected and seeing the Tempo select her in the expansion draft, the Sun don’t have a true bucket-getter on the roster. They may be in a prime position to draft one—JuJu Watkins or Madison Booker, perhaps?—next year, ahead of the team’s move to Houston.

Dallas Wings: B+

Key Additions: Azzi Fudd, Alanna Smith, Jessica Shepard, Lindsay Allen, Awak Kuier
Key Departures: Luisa Geiselsöder, Haley Jones, Ty Harris

Free agency may have made the Wings’ selection of Fudd inevitable. Dallas bolstered its frontcourt by poaching two bigs from the Lynx, with co–Defensive Player of the Year Alanna Smith signing a three-year max contract and Jessica Shepard signing a two-year deal worth $2.05 million. They will join Li Yueru and 2021 No. 2 pick Awak Kuier down low in the paint.

In Fudd, the Wings have the best pure shooting prospect … ever? There may not be a player with a more textbook, smooth shooting motion than Fudd, and she had the highest three-point percentage (44.7%) of any player in this class. By reuniting Fudd with Paige Bueckers, the Wings should have their backcourt set for years to come.

There is one small hitch. Dallas now has six guards (Bueckers, Fudd, Aziaha James, JJ Quinerly, Lindsay Allen and Arike Ogunbowale, who signed a two-year max extension) capable of garnering real minutes, and the team doesn’t have depth at the three behind Maddy Siegrist. New coach Jose Fernandez should lift Dallas out of last place, but true contention might be a year or two away.

Golden State Valkyries: B-

Key Additions: Marta Suárez, Gabby Williams, Kiah Stokes
Key Departures: Monique Billings, Carla Leite

The Valkyries’ signing of Gabby Williams, who agreed to a three-year max contract, is the perfect fit for both player and team. Williams has the opportunity to be a true star on a team for the first time in her career, and her skill set mirrors everything Golden State built its identity around in year one. She’s a menace in the passing lanes and plays tough, game-wrecking defense. (She led the league in steals per game.) She also grew as a scorer, tallying a career-high 11.6 points per game, and sank more than one three per game on average for the first time. Williams, Veronica Burton and a healthy Kayla Thornton will be one Cerberus of a trio to face.

It does sting to lose Carla Leite, who the Fire snatched up in the expansion draft. The Valkyries would benefit from Justė Jocytė, the No. 5 pick in last year’s draft, bringing some juice off the bench. If her game doesn’t translate and Tiffany Hayes doesn’t re-sign, the Valkyries may be in desperate need of a point guard.

(Don’t ask about what happened with the team’s trade for Marta Suárez and a 2028 second-round pick in exchange for Flau’jae Johnson. Or, do so, and receive a riddle in response.)

Valkyries GM Ohemaa Nyanin declined to answer questions for now on the selection and subsequent trade of LSU star Flau'jae Johnson:

"I'm going to take a beat to be able to eloquently give a response… I don't have a lot of detail to share. One, because I'm exhausted. Two,…

— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) April 14, 2026

Indiana Fever: C+

Key Additions: Raven Johnson, Monique Billings, Myisha Hines-Allen
Key Departures: Natasha Howard, Chloe Bibby

The Fever were in a bind: With Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark due for max extensions, Indiana couldn’t sign Kelsey Mitchell and take a large swing in free agency without throwing a wrench into its long-term plans. Still, the Fever’s offseason hasn’t been inspiring. They haven’t considerably improved a roster that went 8–5 in games that Clark played and punched far above its weight in its run to the semifinals last year.

Until, at least, Indiana walked away from the draft with Raven Johnson. The South Carolina guard isn’t afraid to guard anybody and does the little things correlated with winning, and she should bring stability to a guard room that rotated a cast of characters throughout last season. (Don’t count out third-rounder Jessica Timmons, a crafty scorer, either.) Johnson was a great pick for the Fever, who will be hoping that a fully healthy Clark will be the primary addition that they need to contend.

Las Vegas Aces: B-

Key Additions: Janiah Barker, Stephanie Talbot, Brianna Turner
Key Departures: Megan Gustafson, Kiah Stokes, Aaliyah Nye

Is Jackie Young’s one-year max contract a portent of Vegas’s window closing? File that away for now. The defending champions did what they needed to do to retain Chelsea Gray, Jewell Loyd and Young, and A’ja Wilson’s signing should soon follow. The Aces held onto their key glue players from last year, including NaLyssa Smith, Kierstan Bell and Dana Evans, and will have Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, who was on maternity leave for most of last season, in the fold as well. 

Stephanie Talbot and Brianna Turner are solid veteran signings. The Aces didn’t make any blockbuster moves, but they didn’t need to.

Los Angeles Sparks: C+

Key Additions: Ta’Niya Latson, Nneka Ogwumike, Ariel Atkins, Erica Wheeler
Key Departures: Azurá Stevens, Rickea Jackson, Julie Allemand

It pays to remember where the Sparks were a year ago. They had two promising young players in Rickea Jackson and Cameron Brink, and two more-than-competent veterans in Dearica Hamby and Azurá Stevens. They held the No. 2 pick, but rather than adding to its talent pool with Dominique Malonga or Sonia Citron, Los Angeles decided to accelerate its rebuild and acquire Kelsey Plum. While the move seemed reasonable enough, the Sparks still weren’t a contender at the time.

Los Angeles once again opted to sacrifice part of its future (Jackson) by trading for a short-term jolt (Ariel Atkins). And again, it is not clear whether the move makes the Sparks a true contender. Is Atkins an upgrade to Los Angeles’s backcourt? Yes. Is Nneka Ogwumike, who signed for one year, an upgrade over Stevens? Yes. But, neither Ogwumike nor Plum is under team control after this year. Winning a playoff series for the first time since 2020 should be the bare minimum expectation. Even then, Los Angeles may wish that it had taken a long-term approach.

Minnesota Lynx: C

Key Additions: Olivia Miles, Natasha Howard, Nia Coffey
Key Departures: Alanna Smith, Jessica Shepard, Natisha Hiedeman, Bridget Carlton, DiJonai Carrington, Maria Kliundikova

Woof. The Lynx were raided this offseason: Five of the eight players who suited up in Minnesota’s final two playoff games are now on a different team. While Kayla McBride will reportedly recover from a partially ruptured eardrum in time for training camp, there’s no denying that Minnesota’s roster underwent a major downgrade.

It’s not all bad. While Napheesa Collier recovers from ankle surgery, Howard will fill in as a capable understudy. The Lynx also have their point guard of the future in No. 2 pick Olivia Miles, who possesses galaxy-brain level court vision and an ability to throw passes you may not have thought were possible. She will do just fine under Cheryl Reeve, who may also just be able to shore up Miles’s defensive weaknesses. 

After her sister Nyara, a former member of the Liberty, was picked up by the Tempo in the expansion draft, Satou was added to New York’s roster. | Allan Henry-Imagn Images

New York Liberty: A

Key Additions: Satou Sabally, Rebecca Allen, Raquel Carrera, Pauline Astier
Key Departures: Kennedy Burke, Nyara Sabally, Isabelle Harrison (and Natasha Cloud, potentially)

After spending a year in Phoenix, Satou Sabally will reunite with former Ducks teammate Sabrina Ionescu and form a true Death Star lineup on the floor. Between Ionescu, Leonie Fiebich, Sabally, Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, there is next to no matchup the Liberty can’t switch.

The league isn’t won on paper, however. Look no further than last year’s result: Even with Natasha Cloud added to a championship roster, New York lost in the first round and coach Sandy Brondello was fired. Chris DeMarco, a four-time NBA champion as an assistant with the Warriors, will step in and immediately have to live up to title expectations. Beyond Sabally, general manager Jonathan Kolb also gave his coach Spanish forward Raquel Carrera, who scored 15 points against Team USA in FIBA World Cup Qualifiers in March, and French guard Pauline Astier, a top European prospect, to work with and develop in his first year as coach.

Phoenix Mercury: D

Key Additions: Valériane Ayayi
Key Departures: Satou Sabally, Kitija Laksa, Lexi Held

Valériane Ayayi might be the most under-the-radar signing of the offseason. The 31-year-old French forward is a three-time Olympian and has starred next to Brionna Jones at ZVVZ USK Praha, winning the 2025 EuroLeague title and averaging 13.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game in 2025 EuroBasket competition. 

But, outside of Ayayi, the Mercury have been quiet. It feels like they need to land another impact player if they have hopes of returning to the finals.

Portland Fire: B+

Additions*: Megan Gustafson, Iyana Martín Carrión
*Excludes expansion draft picks. For more analysis, check out our expansion draft grades.

There are two extreme approaches to building an expansion team: play the long game and structure a roster around a big-picture vision, or try to break the bank and make splashy signings to compete in Year 1. The Fire opted for the former, filling out their team with players who bring efficiency or versatility—and sometimes both. 

Portland added two capable three-point shooters in Karlie Samuelson and Megan Gustafson in free agency and a high-IQ pick-and-roll operator in Iyana Martín Carrión in the draft. The vision and organizational alignment, from top to bottom, are clear. (The B+ is for adhering to that vision.) The next step is turning abstract concepts like alignment and versatility into tangible results, and giving fans a true star to root for.

Seattle Storm: C

Key Additions: Awa Fam, Flau’jae Johnson, Taina Mair, Natisha Hiedeman, Stefanie Dolson
Key Departures: Nneka Ogwumike, Gabby Williams, Skylar Diggins, Erica Wheeler

There are trees. There are forests. And then there is the Storm’s frontcourt: a mind-bending array of talent between the 6’4” Ezi Magbegor, 6'4" No. 3 pick Awa Fam and 6'6" Dominique Malonga. The draft did not break the way the Storm may have hoped—Miles would have made the perfect guard pairing with Malonga—but they didn’t reach and instead took the best player available. It’s hard to see how Seattle will get the most out of that trio (hence the mind-bendingness), but that’s not a question that needs to be answered this year.

Why? After seeing Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins, Gabby Williams and Erica Wheeler walk in free agency, the Storm are clearly entering a new era. New coach Sonia Raman has her work cut out for her. No worries. Draft picks Johnson and Taina Mair will help set the tone on defense and make sure the Storm are a tough out.

Toronto Tempo: B

Key Additions*: Brittney Sykes, Kiki Rice, Isabelle Harrison
*Excludes expansion draft picks. For more analysis, check out our expansion draft grades.

Unlike the Fire, the Tempo chose to compete from the jump. They signed Brittney Sykes, a tenacious perimeter defender with springy athleticism on offense, to a two-year max contract, and attempted to snag restricted free agent Shakira Austin. (Toronto was unsuccessful.) With Mabrey and Sykes, coach Brondello has a roster that has a bit more star power than the typical expansion team.

Here’s the problem: Mabrey and Sykes are high-volume shooters and are also among the least efficient players in the league. That’s not to say the pairing can’t work. They are both in a new environment and are playing for a coach with a history of scheming up efficient offense, and Sykes did shoot 40% from three in Unrivaled. (Small sample caveats apply.) They also have two solid backcourt mates in Julie Allemand and No. 6 pick Kiki Rice. Either way, the Tempo will need a lot from Mabrey and Sykes over the next two years.

The Mystics have built a young roster, including Lauren Betts, with a stash of draft capital in recent years. | Angelina Katsanis/Getty Images

Washington Mystics: C-

Key Additions: Michaela Onyenwere, Lauren Betts, Cotie McMahon, Angela Dugalić
Key Departures: Jacy Sheldon, Sug Sutton, Emily Engstler

After trading Jacy Sheldon to the Sky, the Mystics had a ludicrous amount of draft capital. Washington had three first-round picks on Monday and has one more in 2027 and another two in 2028. At some point, those resources have to turn into something on the court.

Like the Storm, the Mystics went best player available and selected Lauren Betts with the No. 4 pick. Like Seattle, Washington has a logjam in its frontcourt. Unlike Seattle, Washington added to its logjam with its second pick of the first round, Angela Dugalić. It doesn’t seem like there are enough minutes to hand out to Betts, Dugalić, Austin, Kiki Iriafen and Aaliyah Edwards. The Mystics may have reached the point of having too much draft capital.

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