Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Several WNBA teams have undergone significant roster changes this offseason, positioning themselves for improved performance in the upcoming season.
- Key additions for teams like the Sparks, Wings, Fever and more aim to address specific weaknesses that plagued them in the previous year.
- These strategic moves have set the stage for potential shake-ups in the playoff picture, with several franchises eyeing better fortunes in 2026.
The 2026 WNBA offseason was set up to be one of the most chaotic ever. Most of the league's veterans hit free agency and a new CBA positioned us for some big swings of power. In the end, we got ... some chaos. Vegas and New York retained their cores and are still atop the league, but enough things happened elsewhere in the WNBA to potentially shake up the rest of the playoff picture.
These four teams below feel specifically positioned to improve on their 2025 production. For some, that won't be hard, as the two teams who tied for the worst record in the league last season are represented. We start with the one that picked No. 1 overall in this year's WNBA Draft.
Dallas Wings
It shouldn't be hard for the Dallas Wings to surpass last season's 10-34 record. Heck, they could do it within the first 20 games of the season.
Drafting Azzi Fudd with the No. 1 overall pick isn't the reason Dallas will improve, though her added shooting helps. The big reason is that the team fixed its biggest 2025 weakness: the frontcourt.
All last season, it felt like the Wings had no idea what they were doing up front, and one of the big offseason acquisitions in the frontcourt, NaLyssa Smith, didn't even last the full season with the team. This time, though, things look better, as the team added last season's co-Defensive Player of the Year Alanna Smith alongside Smith's former Lynx teammate Jessica Shepard, one of the best playmaking bigs in the league.
Sure, the fit between Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale is still messy, but the Wings have a significantly better roster than the one they had last season.
Chicago Sky
I still don't think the Chicago Sky front office knows what it's doing, but the fact that Skylar Diggins wanted to sign with the franchise this offseason means that some of the team's past crimes against team building can be forgiven.
Not only is Diggins joining the Sky, but the team also added Rickea Jackson via trade and signed Azura Stevens. Yes, Chicago trading Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream is a move that takes away a potential All-WNBA player, but the combined value of the additions seems to outweigh that.
That's not to say there aren't questions, especially when it comes to Diggins' backcourt mate, which will either be Courtney Vandersloot, who simply isn't the player anymore that she once was, or Jacy Sheldon, which is a big bet that her 2025 shooting is more indicative of who she is as a player than her 2024 shooting.
Even with that question mark, this roster is clearly improved as a whole. Diggins won't have a Candace Parker-like impact — remember when she turned the Sky into a title-winning team in 2021 — but she can get this roster to the playoffs, or at least in reach of the playoffs.
Indiana Fever
Unlike the other teams on this list, the Indiana Fever were pretty good last year, making it all the way to the semifinals despite the injury bug hitting hard. But if we're talking regular season, I think Indiana has a clear path to be better than last year's 24-20 finish.
Obviously, the return of a healthy Caitlin Clark is a big part of that. Indiana was without the 2024 No. 1 overall pick for much of the 2025 season and even when she was on the floor, she wasn't the electrifying player she was a rookie. At her best, Clark completely warps how the defense plays because she's a threat to score from anywhere while also being one of the most gifted playmakers in the league.
In addition to Clark, the team brought back Kelsey Mitchell to form what's probably the most dynamic offensive backcourt in the league, and it drafted Raven Johnson to add a defensive playmaker.
The frontcourt feels a little weak, but I think you can theoretically win with a lineup that features Myisha Hines-Allen and Sophie Cunningham as the starting forwards. I don't love that pairing, but if Cunningham can hit open shots and Hines-Allen can defend opposing fours and draw the defense away from the paint to give Aliyah Boston more one-on-one chances, Indiana will be in business.
Los Angeles Sparks
Franchise legend Nneka Ogwumike is back after a brief sojourn to Seattle and with her come playoff hopes for the Sparks, who just barely missed out on the postseason last year after going 21-23.
Rickea Jackson is gone and the team added guard Ariel Atkins in her place via trade with Chicago, a move that might have featured the Sparks giving up the most talented player, but also saw it get someone back whose shooting ability makes her a better fit for this roster.
Small forward is a question mark, but the team can survive with Rae Burrell there, and the rotation at the four and five of Ogwumike, Cameron Brink and Dearica Hamby might be my favorite frontcourt in the league from an intrigue perspective. Making it work might take some work, but I wonder if Hamby can get her shooting back to its 2024 form to allow the Sparks to play all three together for short stretches?
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