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Good morning! One season ends, and another begins. Today:

🏆 Can Valks do it again?
🏀 2027 contenders
⛹️‍♀️ Fresh college talent

Let’s go.

Can the Valks repeat?

The Golden State Valkyries’ historic championship run will be talked about for years, maybe even decades. It was the franchise’s first, of course, but it was also the fastest any expansion team has won a title in WNBA history and second-fastest in any major North American sports league. (The MLS’ Chicago Fire won a title in their inaugural year in 1998.) For a sports town that is no stranger to winners, this one felt different because it fed an appetite of a women’s sports fanbase that had long gone hungry.

On the night the Valkyries defeated the Atlanta Dream in Game 7, 68-63, to secure the sterling silver trophy, no one wanted to talk much about the future. Not owner Joe Lacob or coach Natalie Nakase. Instead, they all wanted to bask in the glory of their accomplishment, a feat very few expected out of a second-year expansion team with a roster constructed of mostly sixth-woman players and 12 other franchises’ first cuts.

The celebration is deserved by them, but for us, it’s time to answer the question of how they run it back. 

While the Valkyries validated the saying “defense wins championships,” they also exposed glaring concerns on the offensive end. They never shot over 40 percent from the field through the seven-game series. Finals MVP Gabby Williams was the team’s leading scorer, averaging 19.6 points per game, and she did it shooting 32.6 percent from the field and 26.9 percent on 3s.

Solidifying a repeat run hinges on free agency and general manager Ohemaa Nyanin’s ability to ink one of the offensive weapons that will be available. Two of the biggest names hitting the free-agent market: MVP candidates Napheesa Collier and Kelsey Mitchell.

Collier is shooting nearly 50 percent from the field over the course of her eight-year career, while Mitchell is coming off a historic offensive season in which she broke the WNBA’s single-season scoring record and 3-point record.

Will Collier pull a Kevin Durant and join the Valkyries after they won this title to fortify their championship window? And will Mitchell be swayed to the West Coast?

Ultimately, Nyanin’s job this offseason is answering “yes” to at least one of those questions.

More: How the Valks fast-tracked their way to the WNBA title.

Will the Dream be back?

After Atlanta’s devastating Game 7 loss, Jordin Canada confidently delivered a promise: “I said it last year that we were going to be back, and I meant it, and we got to this point. And again, I’m gonna say it again. We will be back. This is not the end of us.”

The recent history of the WNBA has shown that a finals loss, even a heartbreaker, doesn’t close the book on a title window. In the last 10 years …

Minnesota came back from a winner-take-all defeat in 2016 to win the championship in 2017.
Washington rebounded from a 2018 sweep to win its first title in 2019.
Las Vegas was swept out of the finals in 2020 but came back two years later to capture a championship — and then two more.
And New York avenged its 2023 defeat with the franchise’s first title in 2024.

Although the Valkyries expedited their timeline, most champions go through the sting of defeat before winning it all, and the Dream hope that this loss will sharpen them for the next go-round.

Of the seven players in the playoff rotation, six are under contract for 2027. All-WNBA players Angel Reese and Rhyne Howard are 24 and 26 years old, respectively, so improvement is expected, especially with a full offseason for Reese to work with coach Karl Smesko (a reminder that she arrived in Atlanta right before training camp in 2026). Four-time All-Star Brionna Jones will also return next season.

Atlanta could very well have won a title in 2026 — that Game 1 loss looms even larger in hindsight — so don’t expect any dramatic changes. The Dream should enter 2027 as a title favorite regardless.

More: Reese had a statement season, just not the last word in the WNBA Finals, our Brian Hamilton writes.

Early 2027 contender thoughts

Beyond the Valkyries and the Dream, there are two early title contenders we have to talk about: the Dallas Wings and the Washington Mystics. 

All four of the Wings’ leading scorers are under contract next season, giving GM Curt Miller a strong foundation to build on. Playing alongside Paige Bueckers is going to be a huge selling point in free agency. The question for the Wings centers on Azzi Fudd’s health, Alanna Smith’s production and their defensive consistency.

The Wings signed Smith to a three-year max contract this year, which has her set to make $1.2 million next season and $1.3 million in 2028. The acquisition was largely because of her defensive prowess. But the 2025 Co-Defensive Player of the Year wound up playing under 18 minutes per game and was largely ineffective in first-year coach Jose Fernandez’s system. If the Wings can get more out of Smith in 2027, have Fudd healthy and make a big splash in free agency, we could be looking at another first-time WNBA champion in 2027.

But no team exceeded expectations in 2026 more than the Mystics. They were widely believed to be a team in build-mode because of their young roster. They made the playoffs for the first time since 2023, led by All-WNBA second team player Shakira Austin and All-Defensive second team player Sonia Citron. Austin was also named to the WNBA’s All-Defensive first team and was a contender for Most Improved Player.

The Mystics’ entire roster — outside of veteran Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who they acquired in August after she was waived by the Liberty — is under contract in 2027. They also have a deep well of draft capital that they could use to package in a splashy trade this offseason. The Mystics were last in the league in 3-point attempts, which should be their top priority in free agency.

And what about the Aces? As long as five-time MVP A’ja Wilson is suited up, the Aces will be contenders. But it’s fair to wonder if this is the beginning of the end of Las Vegas’ title window.

Chelsea Gray and Jewell Loyd are both signed through 2028. Gray continues to play at an elite level but Loyd’s production dipped substantially in 2026. She averaged career lows in every major statistical category off the bench for the Aces. Meanwhile, Jackie Young is an unrestricted free agent. She’s given no indication that she has a desire to play for any team other than the Aces, but that doesn’t mean teams won’t make their best efforts to sway her.

Shoring up their supporting cast needs to be a top priority for the Aces in their effort to extend their title window.

Fast Breaks

🏀 The Liberty fired coach Chris DeMarco after one season that ended in a 26-18 regular-season record and semifinals sweep.

🌊 “The Bay Area anointed a new cast of heroes, and they are women. Champions. Indeed worthy of every ounce of the adoration this region bestows upon its sports stars.” What the Valkyries mean to the Bay. 

🌏 Natalie Nakase is the first female Asian American head coach to win a WNBA title. But the Valkyries coach’s roots inspire her community off-court, too, our Chantel Jennings writes.

😮‍💨 Patience was the overriding theme of Gabby Williams’ career. Now? She’s the WNBA Finals MVP. 

🏀 And now for something totally different, preseason college basketball power rankings! Speaking of …

College hoops has begun!

We’re essentially one day into the 2026-27 season, and the star power for this season is impressive. But for now, let’s take a look at some of the newbies.

No. 3 USC’s Saniyah Hall channeled memories of JuJu Watkins’ college debut — and on the same court in Las Vegas — with 22 points on 7-of-8 FG shooting. The alpha wing trio of Hall, Watkins and sophomore Jazzy Davidson (who were each the No. 1 player in their recruiting classes) is going to be a nightmare for opposing teams to contain. (Oh, and Watkins didn’t miss a beat in her first game back in 588 days.)
No. 1 South Carolina has a ton of depth, but do the Gamecocks have a true point guard? Dawn Staley ran veterans Tessa Johnson and Jordan Lee by committee in the first game, to mixed results. The answer could be freshman Jerzy Robinson if she can force her way into the starting five.
Jovana Popovic followed up her outstanding exhibition games with 19 points (8-of-12 shooting) in 24 minutes for No. 2 UConn. In her first year, the former Serbian pro already looks like the Huskies’ second-most important player — at least on offense — behind Sarah Strong.
No. 12 North Carolina’s Kate Harpring earned the preseason plaudits, but it was No. 21 Oklahoma’s LeeLee Bell who won the freshman battle and led the Sooners to a win over the Tar Heels with 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Perhaps Oklahoma will be a surprise team in the SEC with its newfound depth.

More: 

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