The WNBA is set to go through a two-team expansion draft this offseason, as the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire are set to join the league. It’ll be the second year in a row of an expansion draft, as the Golden State Valkyries joined the league for the 2025 season, and they surprised many by making the playoffs this year.
In that draft, the Dallas Wings lost Veronica Burton, the former 7th overall pick of the 2022 WNBA Draft. She was never able to find her footing in Dallas, but she broke out in Golden State, winning the Most Improved Player award this year. Teams going through the expansion draft will hope they can do something similar this year.
The Athletic recently went through a mock expansion draft, where they had Arike Ogunbowale going to the Portland Fire in Round 7.
“The draft opens up again in Round 7, with every team available to pick from once more. At this point, the Fire are taking a gamble on star power. As the Wings reorient around Bueckers, Ogunbowale can start the next phase of her career in Portland. The four-time All-Star, three-time all-WNBA selection and former scoring champ will be the Fire’s offensive impetus, even if her scoring efficiency has waned in recent seasons. The Wings have other young players of interest, including Haley Jones and JJ Quinerly, but Ogunbowale is a proven star. She has talent that generally isn’t available to expansion teams. Portland will core her and start its inaugural season with a top-five scorer of all time.”
Aug 10, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale (24) reacts against the Washington Mystics during the second half at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images / Chris Jones-Imagn Images
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Arike Ogunbowale is set to be a free agent this offseason, but last year’s expansion draft taught us that teams could select as many unrestricted free agents as they want, if they’re not re-signed, but they could only offer a tender to one.
In this case, the Wings protected Paige Bueckers, Diamond Miller, Luisa Geiselsoder, Aziaha James, and Maddy SIegrist. The Geiselsoder one is an intersting inclusion, as she is also set to be a free agent, and I imagine the Wings would rather either protect Li Yueru or Ogunbowale, if they could. They gave up a few draft picks to get Yueru in a trade this year, including the first pick of the second round of this year’s draft. That’s a valuable asset to give up just to lose her, and she was also taken in this expansion draft with the first pick.
A lot will depend on the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which they’re still negotiating, so things could change with the expansion draft.
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