{"id":492250,"date":"2026-02-26T20:21:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T20:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/492250\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T20:21:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T20:21:09","slug":"once-labor-and-management-get-togethe-rhere-are-five-wnba-title-faves-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/492250\/","title":{"rendered":"Once Labor and Management Get Togethe rHere Are Five WNBA Title Faves in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

A breakdown of five WNBA title contenders for 2026, including championship odds, roster uncertainty, expansion teams, and key preseason storylines.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Who Has the Edge?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the 30th year of the Women\u2019s National Basketball Association (WNBA), whenever it begins. As of this late-February writing, when the 2026 WNBA season gets underway is anyone\u2019s guess. There\u2019s no collective bargaining agreement in place, so an early May tip-off of what\u2019s supposed to be a 44-game schedule (through mid-September) is not certain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A truncated season? It\u2019s not as if there\u2019s no precedent in the NBA.<\/p>\n

This has led to much speculation involving the ladies, starting with the fact that the majority of the league\u2019s veterans (anticipating this development and a presumptive increase in salaries) is\/are free agents. Another of the variables is the debut of franchises in Portland (Fire) and Toronto (Tempo), meaning two new teams need to be stocked.<\/p>\n

Throw in the WNBA draft, scheduled to be held in mid-April, and with Dallas having the first overall selection once again. Since the Wings went a robust 19-65 over the past two seasons, it\u2019s not as if they can\u2019t use the help.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Immediately after Dallas are the Minnesota Lynx (via Chicago Sky), Seattle Storm (via Los Angeles Sparks), Washington Mystics, and Chicago (via Connecticut Sun).<\/p>\n

However, this missive is about the top of the ladder, teams with the (theoretical) best chances of winning the title.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why not begin in Sin City, where the Las Vegas Aces have three championships in the last four seasons (2022, 2023, 2025)? Vegas, which was led by four-time league MVP A\u2019ja Wilson (might she change teams?), is the tepid 16-5 (+320) favorite once again, according to WNBA championship odds<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s some support around other precincts, including co-second choices the Indiana Fever (featuring some woman named Caitlin Clark, who\u2019s not a free agent) and the Minnesota Lynx at 7-2 (+350). The New York Liberty, champs in 2024 but disappointing last season, are 17-4 (+425) fourth choices on the board.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re then out to 10-1 (+1000) with the Phoenix Mercury, who lost in the finals to the Aces last season. This particular future wager is especially tricky as of now, with the rosters unsettled.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a lottery player, newbie franchises in Portland and Toronto are at 200-1 (+200000 and 250-1 (+25000), respectively.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a primer on WNBA news just ahead of the 2026 season, variables being what they are\u2026<\/p>\n

What Month Does the WNBA Season Start?<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re an optimist, Friday, May 8th, is the start of the 2026 WNBA season. 44 games by each of the 15 teams. As was mentioned, there\u2019s no labor agreement in place as we put imaginary pen to imaginary paper (late February), thus no league business other than those negotiations.<\/p>\n

How Many New WNBA Teams Will There Be in 2026?<\/p>\n

Welcome, both the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, bringing the total number of WNBA teams to 15. Whether they can surprise in the manner of last season\u2019s Golden State Valkyries, who finished 23-21 and made the 2025 WNBA playoffs, remains to be seen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Has the 2026 WNBA Schedule Been Released?<\/p>\n

Indeed, it has, beginning with (at least they\u2019re on the books) preseason games in late April and the regular season WNBA schedule about two weeks after that. Everything is in flux, however.<\/p>\n

Any Final Thoughts?<\/p>\n

WNBA rumors are dominated by what\u2019s been happening off the court. Whether or not the league and its players are close to a new labor agreement probably depends on which side you believe. As was mentioned, it\u2019s not sacrilege to play a shortened schedule (NBA did so during lockouts and pandemic seasons), but no fan of the ladies wants that as the outcome. Before any future wagers on a board that figures to be more fluid than usual, do your homework\u00a0<\/p>\n

This concludes today\u2019s sermon on the subject.<\/p>\n

Tyrone Black, Gambling911.com\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A breakdown of five WNBA title contenders for 2026, including championship odds, roster uncertainty, expansion teams, and key…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":492251,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[225600,99,434],"class_list":["post-492250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-gambling911-com-five-wnba-title-contenders-to-watch-this-year","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=492250"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492250\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/492251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=492250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=492250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=492250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}