WNBA Most Improved Player Rankings: Breakout stars powering the Portland Fire

Perhaps a change of scenery is the key to winning the WNBA's Most Improved Player award. Whether drafted to an expansion team or leaving the city they've spent their entire career in, we've seen players have great success in new places so far this season. If they continue, one of them has a good chance of receiving the 2026 honors.

Last season, Veronica Burton was named Most Improved. She had spent the first three years of her career finding her footing before landing with the Golden State Valkyries in 2025, reaching new heights and becoming a face of the franchise.

Expansion teams have become melting pots for players around the league who have been waiting for a shot. The Portland Fire has become another prime example, already having multiple candidates for this year's honors. However, there are some more promising contenders around the league. Here are the top five players in the running for the Most Improved Player award right now.

5. Emily Engstler, Portland Fire

Some could argue that Engstler's teammate, Sarah Ashlee Barker, would fit in this spot. I'd agree, but this is Engstler's fifth year in the league. We've seen her get more opportunities and she seems to have finally found a stable landing ground in Portland.

Through her first three seasons, Engstler averaged 13.3 minutes, 4.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game. Already this season, she's averaging 9.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in 23.7 minutes per game.

Her defense has been top-tier. She is averaging 2.3 blocks per game, ranking second across the league. She's in the top 10 of steals, averaging 1.5 per game. But she's also shown off her offensive production. Through her first four seasons, Engstler averaged 0.5 3-pointers made off 1.3 attempts per game. This season, she's finding her spots and confidence from beyond the arc. Averaging 3.0 attempts and draining 1.4 per game. She's become a consistent starter for the first time in her career and we're seeing sides of her that have been waiting to emerge.

4. Dominque Malonga, Seattle Storm

While Malonga has only played three games this season due to a concussion, I expect her to pick right back up when she returns. In her rookie season, it felt like we never really got to see Malonga reach her full potential. She averaged 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. So far this season, her improvements have made her a possible top candidate for this award later down the road.

This season, Malonga is averaging 16.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. This spike in production could possibly be because she's getting more time on the court, but she also spent the offseason at Unrivaled, where she put up massive numbers. In her three games on the court, we saw her become a key piece for this revamped Seattle Storm squad.

She also has not gotten the chance to play with rookie Awa Fam yet. Fam is playing lights out for the Storm so far. There's a good chance she and Malonga will become a powerhouse when on the court together later in the season, only enhancing Malonga's production.

3. Bridget Carleton, Portland Fire

Carleton spent the last two years as a consistent starter for the Minnesota Lynx. She averaged 8.1 points per game during those two seasons. Since being drafted by the Portland Fire, her minutes on the court haven't really increased, but her role and production surely have. This season, Carleton is averaging 14.7 points per game.

She's been in this conversation before. In 2024, Carleton finished third in the voting for Most Improved Player after going from averaging 3.2 points per game, off the bench in 2023, to 9.6 points per game and a starting spot the following year. Now, we're seeing even larger numbers, but her points per game aren't the only leap we've seen her take. Carleton's defense has been electric. She's third in the league in steals, averaging 2.1 per game.

Carleton has taken on and embraced the leadership role in Portland. She's been credited with helping create the culture for the expansion franchise. Per the Bowen Island Undercurrent, head coach Alex Samara told reporters, "That was a big reason why we drafted her, and it's how can we create this environment of joy where we have a really strong culture in the locker room? I think BC is a huge part of that and sets in the culture that we want as an expansion team. It's really important." From her efforts on both ends of the floor to her overall impact in Portland, it's hard to imagine she's not making an even stronger case to be reconsidered for the honors in 2026.

2. Carla Leite, Portland Fire

Surprise, surprise. Another member of the Portland Fire! Leite is making an incredible case to surge to the top spot on the list before the end of the season. She knows what it looks like for an expansion team to succeed. She spent last season, her rookie year, with the Golden State Valkyries. Which means she also spent the year watching Veronica Burton on her road to winning Most Improved Player.

Through 2025, Leite averaged 7.2 points and 2.0 assists per game off the bench. This season, she's a key piece of Portland's starting lineup, averaging 15.2 points and 5.2 assists per game. We've seen her efficiency grow, as well. Last season, she shot 38.7 percent from the floor. That number has jumped to 47.1 percent. She's also gotten better at shooting the 3-ball. It's not necessarily what she's known for, but she's shooting 35.7 percent from beyond the arc right now, after finishing her 2025 campaign shooting only 17.3 percent.

She's quickly become a problem for other teams. Per Conrado Pascual, Samara called Leite "one of the best players in the league at getting downhill and driving." He included that she allows the team to do unique things on offense. The team is trying to maximize her unique talents. Portland has to be happy with the product so far.

1. Jessica Shepard, Dallas Wings

Leaving the Minnesota Lynx and signing with the Wings might end up being the best decision Jessica Shepard could have made for her career this offseason. She was originally drafted by Minnesota in 2019 and since 2022, her career has been a little stagnant. She's been averaging around 8 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists per game steadily for the last three seasons.

She's now one of the newest breakout stars in Dallas. She's found herself in a starting role, playing more minutes than she ever has before. Shepard is now averaging 12.6 points, 11.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists. Her game has grown in nearly every aspect. She's become a primary facilitator for the Wings, working flawlessly with the other Dallas stars like Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd.

Already this season, Shepard has recorded the only two triple-doubles we've seen across the league. Her second came against the Las Vegas Aces when she recorded 22 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists. She became only the second player in WNBA history to have a 20+ point and 20+ rebound triple-double. If Shepards' goal in coming to Dallas was to find a deeper role, she's done just that. A lot of the Wings' success is breathing through her and her numbers only seem to be growing with time.

It's still early in the season, so these rankings are destined to change. There are so many new stars emerging. More Portland Fire players have been finding their footing and could make an appearance in the Most Improved Player conversation later in the year, specifically Megan Gustafson. Nyara Sabally of the Toronto Tempo has also gotten off to a hot start in her new enhanced role. The Connecticut Sun's Aneesah Morrow also can't be counted out. She leads the league in double-doubles with eight so far this season. This race is wide open and might come down to the wire.

More WNBA news and analysis:

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow