PORTLAND, Ore. \u2014 The Portland Fire are one of two new teams in the WNBA this season, and the only expansion team coming into the league with a legacy already built behind it. The Fire will enjoy a unique opportunity to both celebrate and rewrite history, and could even serve as the model for future expansion teams in Cleveland, Houston, and Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
But first, they have to play the 2026 season \u2014 and ideally rack up some wins.<\/p>\n
In addition to a brand new roster, the Fire have a brand new coach. Alex Sarama, who previously worked with the city\u2019s G League affiliate team the Rip City Remix, is back in Portland fresh off a stint as assistant coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. A lot of attention has been focused on his methodology, which he\u2019s dubbed the Constrants-Led Approach (CLA), and for good reason \u2014 CLA hasn\u2019t been done in the W before. <\/p>\n
That will all change on April 29, when the Fire play their first preseason game against the Seattle Storm. The match will offer the team their first opportunity to put CLA into motion, and will give Sarama an idea of what works needs to be done next. <\/p>\n
Sarama isn\u2019t expecting big wins right away. In fact, it\u2019s kind of the opposite.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to take time, and it\u2019s going to be messy at the beginning,\u201d he told reporters in Portland last week. \u201cBut it\u2019s going to be a good mess, because it\u2019s going to allow us to get to a point which we will never be able to get to if we\u2019re just playing scripted, rigid basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n
That might mean the team loses a few games early on, but Sarama believes they\u2019ll rewrite that narrative quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe might win a few more games early on [by] playing very rigidly, but when it comes to the future, when we\u2019re talking about winning [a] playoff series, we\u2019re going to be a more adaptable team, and we\u2019ll have the answers for everything,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
Part of the adaptability built into CLA, which Sarama describes as \u201cprinciples of play\u201d instead of a structured basketball system. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s principles and principles of play that we\u2019re developing collectively and being intentional to design it around the strengths weaknesses of the players,\u201d he explained. \u201cSo it is a different way of playing, because it\u2019s it\u2019s all about them being put into situations to make decisions, as opposed to me calling stuff from the sideline.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think to really cool actually, to see players starting to understand the whys and actually making sense and embracing it and coming into the gym now,\u201d Sarama also said.<\/p>\n
Maya Caldwell<\/a>, who was drafted to the Fire as part of the team\u2019s expansion draft this month, endorsed CLA from the start. \u201cI mean, the way he runs practice, it\u2019s not a bunch of full court drills or individual shooting,\u201d she told reporters, \u201cyour traditional passer, shooter, rebounder kind of stuff. We get right into live action immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to catch onto Sarama\u2019s energy as well. \u201cIt\u2019s contagious. It\u2019s contagious,\u201d she said. \u201cHe comes in here, he\u2019s part of the drills. He\u2019s not just standing on the sideline or a half court, kind of telling people what to do and pointing in different directions. His energy is very contagious, and that\u2019s something you can\u2019t find everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n The Fire will get plenty of opportunities to show what their team, culture, and identity will be all about this season. Watching players catch on to CLA has been fun for Sarama, and, hopefully, that will translate to the people who show up at games.<\/p>\n Fans will be a big part of the Fire\u2019s first season<\/p>\n Before the 2025 season, expectations for expansion teams weren\u2019t especially high. That all changed after the Golden State Valkyries debuted in San Francisco and ended up the season in the playoffs and with Natalie Nakase snagging Coach of the Year. Now there\u2019s a lot to live up to, and there\u2019s no way around it: the Fire need to make an impact this season. <\/p>\n Part of that will rely on fans showing up and supporting the teams through wins and losses, which isn\u2019t always a given in sports. The Fire have emphasized the need for adaptability on and off the court, and that\u2019s something fans can participate in, too. <\/p>\n Caldwell\u2019s plea to fans was immediately clear. \u201cI feel like off rip, the message is, please come watch us play,\u201d she said. \u201cI heard that Portland loves women\u2019s sports. You couldn\u2019t ask for more, especially with the new WNBA team over here.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to the Fire, the city is also home to the Portland Thorns. The NWSL team celebrated a new home-opener attendance record<\/a> in March when 21,321 fans showed up for the team\u2019s match against the Seattle Reign. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to do everything that we can to bring as many wins into the building,\u201d Caldwell\u2019s teammate Emily Engstler<\/a> echoed while speaking to reporters. \u201cWe\u2019re basketball players. This is our job. And we really hope we don\u2019t fall short, but if we do, we really ask the fans to stay behind us, because we are building something really amazing here.\u201d<\/p>\n Sylvia Fowles<\/a> adds dimension to a new team<\/p>\n The Fire might be new, but the team will benefit from the guidance and experience of WNBA legend Sylvia Fowles<\/a>, who will work alongside Sarama as one of the team\u2019s assistant coaches.<\/p>\n Working with Fowles was a major pull for Engstler. \u201cI\u2019m gonna be completely honest, if I had to get pulled into an expansion [team], I was really hoping it was with Portland,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause I really wanted to work with Syl.\u201d <\/p>\n Engstler continued, \u201cI don\u2019t even know how to explain how awesome it is to be here with her. She\u2019s, one, a great person, but she has so much basketball knowledge that as a four or five, I can\u2019t wait to learn from her.\u201d<\/p>\n Megan Gustafson<\/a>, who joined the team by way of the Las Vegas Aces, agreed. \u201cTo be honest, when Portland reached out, that was really exciting to be able to learn from her. I have a post player Mount Rushmore. She\u2019s on it, so to be able to learn from her is really exciting for me. It was honestly one of the main reasons I\u2019m here.\u201d <\/p>\n Gustafson, Engstler, and Caldwell will lead a team made up of familiar faces and newcomers (like the team\u2019s first-ever draft pick, Iyana Mart\u00edn\u00a0Carri\u00f3n<\/a>, who will head to Portland next year). The return of the Fire will usher in a new era for a team that last played in the WNBA in 2002. The Fire have a lot of opportunities to build upon their history and create something new in the process \u2014 something that feels distinctly like the city the team calls home once again.<\/p>\n Order \u2018Rare Gems\u2019 and save 30% If you enjoy Megdal\u2019s coverage of women\u2019s basketball every Wednesday at The IX Sports, you will love \u201cRare Gems: How Four Generations of Women Paved the Way for the WNBA.\u201d Click the link below to order<\/a> and enter MEGDAL30 at checkout to save 30%!<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n \t
Howard Megdal, founder and editor of The IX Basketball and The IX Sports, wrote this deeply reported book. \u201cRare Gems\u201d follows four connected generations of women\u2019s basketball pioneers, from Elvera \u201cPeps\u201d Neuman to Cheryl Reeve and from Lindsay Whalen to Sylvia Fowles and Paige Bueckers.<\/p>\n