The 2026 Finals tipped off on Saturday, but plenty of WNBA fans are already looking ahead to the offseason. With dozens of player contracts expiring, some of the biggest names in the game are gearing up for free agency this winter. Napheesa Collier, Kelsey Mitchell and Jackie Young are all up for grabs, and where those WNBA free agents land could shake up the league for years to come.
So why are so many stars available at once? It comes down to timing. The WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement wasn’t finalized until March, giving players — including decorated veterans — a short window to settle on a landing place. Rather than lock in long term, most signed one-year deals, betting that a second trip through the market would pay off under a salary cap that jumped from $1.5 million to $7 million.
They were right. Now fans are digging into the business side of the game to predict where their favorite stars might end up before next season’s tipoff. From the Indiana Fever, who have multiple players available, to established big names like Kelsey Plum weighing new opportunities, everyone has something to gain — and, maybe more importantly, lose — this offseason.
Here’s how we’re making sense of it, with a 2027 free agency power ranking spotlighting the league’s most in-demand players and predicting where they might be headed next.
Napheesa Collier returned from ankle surgery in July and shot a career-best 44.4% from 3-point range over 16 games for the Lynx. (Jesse Johnson/Imagn Images)
1. Napheesa Collier (Minnesota)
2026 stats: 16.8 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 50.0 FG%, 44.4 3P%
Napheesa Collier bet on herself last spring, turning down a long-term contract in favor of a one-year, $1.4 million deal. Then she missed the first half of the WNBA season recovering from ankle surgery, making her debut in July. In the 16 games that followed, she shot a career-best 44.4% from 3-point range as Minnesota finished 33-11 and grabbed the No. 1 seed. However, none of that softened the blow when No. 8 New York swept the Lynx in the first round.
Now Captain Collier is free to move. Minnesota can’t core her — meaning the Lynx don’t hold exclusive rights to her contract — and every team with cap space knows it. Even though Collier maintains she “loves it” in Minnesota, she’ll weigh her options in free agency very carefully. The Lynx will likely pay big to keep her, but if Jackie Young leaves Las Vegas, the Aces could come calling.
Kelsey Mitchell averaged a career-high 24.7 points and earned All-WNBA First Team honors in 2026. (Grace Smith/IndyStar/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
2. Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana)
2026 stats: 24.7 PPG, 2.8 APG, 50.9 FG%, 45.0 3P%
No 2027 free agent is coming off a better year than Kelsey Mitchell. The longtime Fever guard hit career highs across the board in 2026, earning AP All-WNBA First Team honors and pushing A’ja Wilson in the MVP race. Despite the effort, No. 6 Indiana made an early playoff exit, falling to No. 3 Las Vegas for the second straight postseason.
Though Mitchell has spent her entire career in Indiana, she hinted in her exit interview that she plans to “be selfish” about what comes next. Fever GM Amber Cox has called re-signing her a top priority. However, with stars Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston already making max money, the math is tight. If talks stall, the guard-starved Aces would be a natural fit, though Golden State and young Washington could also put out feelers as they look to bulk up offenses.
Jackie Young set career highs in scoring and assists before the Valkyries swept the Aces in the semifinals. (Trevor Ruszkowski/Imagn Images)
3. Jackie Young (Las Vegas)
2026 stats: 18.9 PPG, 6.8 APG, 4.4 RPG, 48.8 FG%, 38.3 3P%
Jackie Young had the best regular season of her career — and the worst playoff exit.
She set career highs in scoring and assists, becoming one of just four players to finish in Top 10 in the WNBA in both categories. Then the Valkyries swept the Aces in the semifinals, with Young shooting 31.6% from the field. She skipped outside meetings last offseason, and her bond with A’ja Wilson makes a return to Las Vegas the likeliest outcome. But the Aces’ supporting cast is aging, and if Young wants a change, now’s the time to pull the trigger.
Kelsey Plum played just 17 games across the Sparks and Mercury in 2026 after a lower left leg injury. (Rick Scuteri/Imagn Images)
4. Kelsey Plum (Phoenix)
2026 stats: 21.5 PPG, 5.4 APG, 51.9 FG%, 37.7 3P%
Kelsey Plum is 2027 free agency’s toughest evaluation. She averaged a career-best 23.9 points in 12 games for LA before a lower left leg injury shut her down in June. The Sparks subsequently traded her to Phoenix, where she posted 15.8 points per game across five appearances before the same issue sidelined her again in August.
At 32, she’s still one of the league’s best shot creators — when healthy. Plum took $999,999 last spring to give the Sparks cap flexibility, so a bigger payday is overdue. Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts says the team intends to keep its new star, but a lackluster season means Phoenix must think hard about how to build around her.
Rae Burrell set career highs in minutes and scoring for the Sparks but remains a restricted free agent. (Jon Endow/Imagn Images)
5. Rae Burrell (LA)
2026 stats: 14.6 PPG, 2.5 APG, 45.5 FG%, 38.3 3P%
Rae Burrell is the most intriguing name on this list, and it’s not just her numbers. She logged career highs in minutes and scoring, with more starts than her first four seasons combined — all on a 16-28 LA team where consistent play was hard to find.
The catch is her contract status. Burrell is a restricted free agent, so LA can match any offer she receives. A Chicago or Phoenix could bet big with an offer that makes the Sparks uncomfortable, but LA holds the cards. And at 26, Burrell is a two-way wing entering her prime — something the Sparks need now more than ever.
Rookie Pauline Astier shot 54.6% from the field across 44 games for the Liberty. (Brett Davis/Imagn Images)
6. Pauline Astier (New York)
2026 stats: 9.3 PPG, 3.3 APG, 2.7 RPG, 54.6 FG%, 33.3 3P%
Rookies don’t usually play 44 games for a title-contending team, but Pauline Astier did. The 24-year-old French guard stepped into New York’s rotation on day one and shot 54.6% from the field on a 26-18 roster packed with established talent.
However, the All-Rookie Team selection is a reserved free agent, meaning she can only negotiate with New York. That limits her marketability but not her value. Locking her in before the rest of the league gets creative should sit near the top of the Liberty’s offseason to-do list.
Natasha Cloud signed late with the Sky and became one of Chicago’s most consistent two-way players. (Patrick Gorski/Imagn Images)
7. Natasha Cloud (Chicago)
2026 stats: 11.1 PPG, 4.8 APG, 3.4 RPG, 49.0 FG%, 35.7 3P%
A year ago, Natasha Cloud couldn’t get a team to commit in free agency. She waited until just days before tipoff before signing a one-year, $555,000 deal with Chicago. And then she spent five months proving she was worth more, shooting 49% from the field and 35.7% from 3-point range while serving as Chicago’s lynchpin.
Sky GM Jeff Pagliocca called her “one of the best passers and defenders in our league,” but this offseason will look different. Cloud is 34, so her next deal will likely be short, but she should get to choose this time. Chicago will want her back, though contenders like Indiana and Las Vegas could use her two-way skills too.
Awak Kuier, 25, blocked 1.8 shots per game and hit 39% from 3-point range for the Wings. (Darren Yamashita/Imagn Images)
8. Awak Kuier (Dallas)
2026 stats: 6.3 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.8 BPG, 50.8 FG%, 39.0 3P%
You can find rim protectors in the WNBA, and you can find shooters. Finding both in the same 6-foot-6 frame is a much tougher ask.
Awak Kuier blocked 1.8 shots per game and hit 39% from 3-point range for Dallas while shooting 50.8% from the field. And she’s still only 25. That skill and age combo makes her one of the more valuable players in the 2027 WNBA free agency pool. With DeWanna Bonenr out, Phoenix badly needs a frontcourt boost. But after Kuier’s defensive postseason showing, the Wings should move fast to keep her.
A foot injury limited DiJonai Carrington to 11 games in her first season with the Sky. (Kamil Krzaczynski/Imagn Images)
9. DiJonai Carrington (Chicago)
2026 stats: 8.8 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 33.0 FG%, 28.0 3P%
Everybody knows what DiJonai Carrington can do. The problem is she barely got to do it this year. A foot injury kept her out for nearly the entire 2026 season, and the rust showed when she returned in late July. Still, despite shooting just 33% from the field across 11 games, there were flashes. She scored 11.7 points per game off the bench in her first three outings and brought perimeter defense when it mattered.
The question for the Sky is fit, not talent. Carrington’s former teams like Connecticut — soon to become Houston — and Dallas could use her defense as she fights to return to form.
Kayla Thornton played all 44 games as the Valkyries reached the WNBA Finals in their second season. (John Hefti/Imagn Images)
10. Kayla Thornton (Golden State)
2026 stats: 7.7 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 36.1 FG%, 34.7 3P%
Kayla Thornton earned Golden State’s first All-Star nod in the 2025 expansion team’s debut season. However, she soon tore a ligament in her right knee. She returned to play all 44 games this year, helping the Valkyries go 32-12 and reach the WNBA Finals. She’s not the scorer she once was — her average dropped from 14 points to 7.7 while her shooting fell to 36.1% — but she’s still one of the toughest players on the roster.
Since tenacity and rebounding are skills coach Natalie Nakase builds around, Golden State will do its best to keep her. Thornton signed a one-year deal in free agency last spring, and a similar option makes sense for 2027. That is, unless Phoenix comes calling with a better offer.