WNBA 2026: Offseason Guide for Eliminated Teams and Keys

The race for the 2025 WNBA championship is down to four teams. The teams eliminated in the first round of the playoffs are: New York Liberty, Seattle Storm, Atlanta Dream, and Golden State Valkyries, who join Connecticut Sun, Chicago Sky, Dallas Wings, Washington Mystics, and Los Angeles Sparks, who are already focusing on the 2026 season. This is expected to be one of the most crucial offseasons in WNBA history. The league and players are negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), two new teams will join in Portland and Toronto, and an expansion draft will be held. In addition, there will be an unprecedented number of free agents, given that many players signed one-year contracts after the players’ association (WNBPA) opted to terminate the current CBA last October.

In the meantime, we analyze the possible moves of each WNBA franchise at the end of its season, including a look at the state of each roster, the team’s needs, and the priorities of each front office.

(Note: All players listed as “reserved” can become free agents if their current team does not extend a qualifying offer).

New York Liberty

2025 Record: 27-17 (5th)Free Agents: Breanna Stewart (unrestricted), Sabrina Ionescu (unrestricted), Jonquel Jones (unrestricted), Natasha Cloud (unrestricted), Kennedy Burke (unrestricted), Isabelle Harrison (unrestricted), Emma Meesseman (unrestricted), Stephanie Talbot (unrestricted), Rebekah Gardner (reserved), Marine Johannes (reserved), Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Annika Soltau, Raquel Carrera, Seehia Ridard (suspended contracts expired).2026 Draft Capital: Own third-round selection.Season Summary: The Liberty retained almost all of their players from the 2024 season (excluding Laney-Hamilton, who was injured in the preseason and did not play in 2025, and Kayla Thornton, who went to Golden State in the expansion draft). The Liberty began the season with optimism about the possibility of defending their championship. They started the year 9-0, but injuries and inconsistency frustrated those ambitions, as Jones, Stewart, Cloud, and Ionescu missed games. New York signed Meesseman, a three-time EuroLeague MVP, on August 1, but the move did not have the desired impact due to a short schedule and changes in lineups. A 12-11 regular season record after the All-Star break caused the Liberty to fall to the number 5 seed, but they were finally (mostly) healthy when their first-round series began. They won the first game against the Mercury, but Stewart suffered a medial collateral ligament sprain in overtime. She was hampered thereafter, and Phoenix won the next two games to eliminate the defending champions. The Liberty had the most talented roster in the league, but they failed to capitalize on it.

Template Status: The Liberty only have two players under contract for 2026 (Nyara Sabally and Leonie Fiebich) and only one pick in the 2026 draft, so the roster is unstable. Depending on CBA negotiations, the Liberty will likely protect Ionescu or Cloud, but under current CBA rules, they would not be able to protect Stewart or Jones.Office’s main priority: Two words: free agency. The Liberty need a team for 2026 and, due to limited draft capital and players with existing rookie contracts, they have to build that team through free agency. The New York office is expected to aggressively pursue players from the current roster, as well as possibly add a couple of new faces. General Manager Jonathan Kolb has made big appearances in recent years.The most important question of the offseason: The most important question is the simplest, and perhaps the one most teams face this offseason: Who’s coming back? This offseason could be straightforward if Stewart, Jones, Ionescu, and Cloud re-sign and this version of the Liberty core tries again. Or… some or all of them leave.Seattle Storm2025 Record: 23-21 (7th)Free Agents: Skylar Diggins (unrestricted), Ezi Magbegor (unrestricted), Tiffany Mitchell (unrestricted), Nneka Ogwumike (unrestricted), Katie Lou Samuelson (unrestricted), Brittney Sykes (unrestricted), Erica Wheeler (unrestricted), Gabby Williams (unrestricted), Zia Cooke (reserved), Mackenzie Holmes (reserved)2026 Draft Capital: Own third-round pick, plus first-round picks from Los Angeles and Las Vegas and a second-round pick from Dallas.Season Recap: The start of August was a pressure point for Seattle. Tied for fourth in the league entering the month, a six-game losing streak sent the Storm reeling. They recovered enough to make the playoffs and, perhaps most crucially, secure their lottery draft pick from the Sparks, but were stuck facing Las Vegas in the first round for the second straight year. While Seattle was competitive against the top teams in the WNBA in the regular season, beating every playoff team twice except Indiana, that didn’t translate as the Aces eliminated the Storm from the postseason for the third time in four years.Template status: Only two players are under contract for 2026: veteran guard Lexie Brown, who struggled to find consistent playing time this season, and 2025 No. 2 overall pick Dominique Malonga. The latter is the centerpiece of the Storm’s next generation, who will add two first-round picks next spring and regain 2023 first-round pick Jordan Horston from an ACL tear in 2026. However, if Seattle wants to remain in playoff contention, maintaining the veteran presence provided by All-Stars Diggins and Ogwumike could be crucial.

Office’s main priority: Find more shots. The Storm finished ninth in scoring and attempts from the 3-point line, a key factor in ranking eighth in offensive rating, ahead of only one playoff team, the Golden State Valkyries. Seattle tried in free agency, but Samuelson was lost to an ACL tear and Alysha Clark was out of the rotation before a mid-season trade for Sykes. The Storm’s young core could use a shooter to complement Malonga.The most important question of the offseason: Should Seattle continue with a two-timeline approach? Trading Jewell Loyd for the pick used to get Malonga meant developing the promising teenager, who ranked No. 4 in ESPN’s 25 Under 25 players, while also trying to win now. The optimistic view was that she could become a star quickly enough to complement her friends Diggins and Ogwumike while they are still able to lead a contending team. That became harder to justify during the Storm’s second-half slump. The support of Diggins and Ogwumike was crucial for Noelle Quinn, the second-longest tenured coach in the WNBA after Cheryl Reeve, to keep her job last offseason. If that changes, or if the Seattle front office decides to move towards a younger group that is more in line with Malonga’s timeline, there could be changes on the roster.

Atlanta Dream

2025 Record: 30-14 (3rd)Free Agents: Brittney Griner (unrestricted), Brionna Jones (unrestricted), Jordin Canada (unrestricted), Allisha Gray (unrestricted), Nia Coffey (unrestricted), Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (unrestricted), Rhyne Howard (restricted), Naz Hillmon (restricted), Maya Caldwell (reserved)2026 Draft Capital: Own first, second, and third-round picks.Season Summary: Under the new leadership of Karl Smesko and a new offensive system, the Dream thrived, achieving their best season in years. They improved in almost every statistical category compared to the previous year, moving from third to first in rebounds (36.6 per game), from twelfth to third in assists (21.4 per game), and from tenth to third in three-pointers made (421). They are also second in offensive efficiency (they finished last season) and defensive efficiency. Their 30 wins are also a league record in a single season for a first-year WNBA coach. They also finally won a postseason game for the first time since 2018.Template Status: Te-Hina Paopao and Taylor Thierry will remain under their rookie contracts, making them the only players guaranteed to return. Paopao, the No. 18 overall pick in 2025, carved out a solid role in her rookie season, starting 17 games and averaging 5.8 points on 43.8% shooting and 2.4 assists.

Office’s main priority: The Dream need to find a way to retain their core of Gray, Howard, and Hillmon. Atlanta general manager Dan Padover told ESPN that the trio has been the centerpiece of the franchise’s rebuild over the past four years, and when the Dream selected Howard and Hillmon in 2022 and signed Gray the following year, the plan was to keep them long-term.The most important question of the offseason: How will Griner’s future be in Atlanta? Her arrival last offseason was surprising, and there were even more questions about how she, as well as Jones, two dominant bigs, would function in Smesko’s offensive system that relies on shooters. Griner averaged just 9.8 points per game, her lowest point total since her freshman year (12.6). She also played a career-low 20.8 minutes.

Golden State Valkyries

2025 Record: 23-21 (8th)Free Agents: Tiffany Hayes (unrestricted), Kayla Thornton (unrestricted), Monique Billings (unrestricted), Temi Fagbenle (unrestricted), Kaila Charles (unrestricted), Cecilia Zandalasini (restricted), Veronica Burton (restricted), Kaitlyn Chen (reserved), Janelle Salaun (reserved), Iliana Rupert (reserved), Laeticia Amihere (reserved)2026 Draft Capital: Own first, second, and third-round picks.Season Summary: The Valkyries made history in their first season, becoming the first expansion franchise to reach the playoffs in their inaugural year. With a roster made up of former sixth players, the Valkyries said they always maintained the belief that they would exceed expectations and what previous expansion teams had done, but acknowledged that even they were surprised by how quickly the group built their chemistry. This was even more true after Thornton, at the time a candidate for Most Improved Player, missed the season with a knee injury in July. The award went to her teammate Burton. Golden State had the opportunity to finish as high as sixth place in the regular season, but finished eighth due to some late-season losses and tiebreakers. Still, even making the postseason in their first year is an incredible feat.

Template Status: Only Kate Martin and Carla Leite are not free agents for the Valkyries. Both were important rotation players for WNBA Coach of the Year Natalie Nakase, and Leite also started in six games. But neither of them will be the core of this team. Golden State owner Joe Lacob wants to keep as many players on this roster together as possible, but it will be a difficult task.Office’s main priority: Bringing back as many players as possible, especially Thornton and Burton. If the Valkyries want to keep building on this impressive season, they need to retain these two point guards who are the leaders of this team on and off the court.The most important question of the offseason: The Valkyries thought they were a desirable destination even before they had played a single game. Now, after this historic season, they believe even more that they can attract big names. Can the front office sign a star in free agency? Part of the Valkyries’ success story was how successful they were with a roster full of former rotation players. To keep building, they should aim for a game-changing player.

Los Angeles Sparks

2025 Record: 21-23 (9th)Free Agents: Julie Allemand (restricted), Emma Cannon (unrestricted), Dearica Hamby (unrestricted), Alissa Pili (reserved), Kelsey Plum (unrestricted), Azura Stevens (unrestricted), Julie Vanloo (reserved)2026 Draft Capital: Own second-round pick, Seattle’s second-round pick, own third-round pick. Traded their first-round pick to SeattleSeason Summary: Lynne Roberts left Utah and college basketball to coach in the WNBA for the first time. Record-wise, her Sparks improved greatly from last season’s last-place finish of 8-32, and despite starting the summer with a 5-13 record, they had played relatively well after the All-Star break. They remained in playoff contention until the penultimate night of the season. Still, a franchise that for many years was practically automatic to reach the playoffs has now missed the postseason for the fifth consecutive year.Template Status: Interior players Rickea Jackson, Cameron Brink, and Sania Feagin, and point guard Sarah Ashlee Barker will continue with their rookie contracts. Jackson has had more success, averaging 14 points and 3.6 rebounds in two seasons. Brink returned from an ACL injury that cut short her 2024 rookie season, playing 19 games this year and averaging 5.1 points and 4.3 rebounds. The Sparks hope that both 2024 lottery picks will be long-term cornerstones for the team.

Office’s main priority: Bringing back Plum, the team’s top scorer, and Hamby and Stevens, their best rebounders. After the Sparks were eliminated on September 9, Coach Roberts said she hopes the franchise can keep its core together, as she believes the Sparks can build a lot on the progress made this season. She also said that her biggest disappointment was some of the close games that the Sparks felt slipped away, but that experience should help next season.The most important question of the offseason: How much better can Brink be? As long as players like Plum, who requested to be traded from Las Vegas last offseason, choose to stay in Los Angeles, perhaps the most important key for Roberts and general manager Raegan Pebley is Brink’s continued recovery. Brink averaged 7.5 points in 2024 before getting injured, and it seemed like she was really starting to gain confidence at the time she got hurt. This year, she returned to action but didn’t seem very comfortable on offense. Brink still has the opportunity to be one of the league’s impact players, which would be a big boost for the Sparks.

Washington Mystics

2025 Record: 16-28 (10th)Free Agents: Shakira Austin (restricted), Alysha Clark (unrestricted), Stefanie Dolson (unrestricted), Emily Engstler (reserved), Jade Melbourne, Madison Scott (reserved), Sug Sutton (restricted)2026 Draft Capital: Own selections in all three rounds: Seattle’s first-round pick, New York’s first-round pick (via trade with Connecticut), Minnesota’s second-round pickSeason Summary: The Mystics really had two different seasons. Until August 5th with a 13-15 record, they were fighting for a playoff spot behind three All-Stars: rookies Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen and first-time veteran Brittney Sykes. After trading Sykes to Seattle to get the Storm’s first-round pick for 2026, Washington then struggled down the stretch. The Mystics finished the season with a 10-game losing streak, which could allow them to move up in the draft lottery order, pending the Sparks’ season finale. The late slump can’t take away the excitement for Citron and Iriafen, both locks for the All-Rookie first team.

Template Status: After having two of the top four picks this year, Washington will again add young talent in the spring. Seattle’s late slump will give the Mystics three draft picks in the top 11 to join Citron and Iriafen. The other long-term cornerstone for Washington is center Austin, who finally enjoyed a healthy season and averaged a career-high 12.7 PPG. As a restricted free agent this offseason, the former No. 3 pick is only 25 years old. With so many rookie contracts on the books, the Mystics have the option to be aggressive in free agency.Office’s main priority: Explore the 2026 draft. Citron and Iriafen were ranked among the top 10 players under 25 last month, but Washington could still use another high-level prospect. If the Mystics move into position to select