Around the W: What to Watch From Each Team

The best storylines from each team as the 26th WNBA season begins!

As the 26th WNBA season kicks off, I wanted to write about the top storylines for each team. What are some things to look out for and what should we be excited about?

Atlanta Dream

A new era in Atlanta begins this season with new ownership and a brand new head coach in former Storm great Tanisha Wright. The team has moved beyond the drama between Chennedy Carter and Courtney Williams. Carter was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks and Williams signed with the Connecticut Sun in Free Agency.

The Dream made a surprise move prior to the draft trading up from the 3rd overall pick with Washington to claim the #1 overall selection. They took Kentucky Guard/Wing Rhyne Howard. Atlanta also lucked out in landing Michigan’s Naz Hillmon early in the 2nd round.

This season will revolve a lot around the growth of those two rookies along with last year’s 3rd overall pick Aari McDonald. Veterans Cheyenne Parker and Tiffany Hayes will also be there to help along the way.

This is the start of something new and will likely be a tough season for the dream who likely will struggle to make one of the top eight playoff spots. But if their younger players develop it could be just Step 1 of a very successful rebuild for the Dream.

Chicago Sky

The biggest storyline for Chicago this year is whether or not they can become the first WNBA team to repeat as champions since the Los Angeles Sparks did it in 2001-2002. The Sky lost a few key pieces in Stefanie Dolson (hit the game-winner to secure their title) who went to New York and Diamond DeShields who signed with Phoenix. However, they retained their core of Kahleah Copper, Courtney Vandersloot, and Allie Quigley; along with Azura Stevens and Candace Parker who were already signed through this year.

On top of that, they shocked the WNBA world by luring Emma Meesseman away from the Washington Mystics. Meesseman who won Finals MVP in 2019 for the Mystics is likely an upgrade over Dolson. The Sky also traded for PG Julie Allemand from the Indiana Fever who will compete with Dana Evans for the backup point guard spot behind Vandersloot.

Recently, Candace Parker said on TNT that she expected 2022 to be the year Chicago would compete for the WNBA Championship. She didn’t expect it to happen in 2021 but it did. Now they have the opportunity to repeat as champions and they certainly will be one of the favorites to do so.

Chicago’s championship window is pretty narrow as Parker is entering her 15th season in the WNBA and Quigley her 14th.

Connecticut Sun

No more excuses for Curt Miller and the Connecticut Sun. They have flirted with title aspirations for several seasons now. Reaching the WNBA Finals in 2019 but ultimately losing 89-78 in the winner-take-all Game 5 against the Mystics. In 2020, they reached the WNBA semifinals but lost to the Las Vegas Aces in the deciding Game 5 by a final score of 66-63. In 2021, they lost again in the semifinals - this time to the eventual champions the Chicago Sky. Which was an upset as the Sun entered the playoffs as the number one overall seed with a 26-6 record.

In 2020, Jonquel Jones did not play in the Bubble environment. In 2021, Alyssa Thomas missed almost the entire season with a torn Achilles. Her return late in the season may have actually messed up their chemistry they had built throughout the regular season without her as the team didn’t look the same in the playoffs.

Jones won the MVP in 2021. Alyssa Thomas is healthy this year (despite those shoulders). They are the Vegas odds favorites to win the title this year. If they don’t it’s going to be a huge disappointment.

The Sun have never won the WNBA title before, will 2022 finally be the year they get over the hump?

Dallas Wings

After trading away Liz Cambage and Skylar Diggins-Smith in 2019 and 2020, the Wings have been working on a rebuild centered around Arike Ogunbowale. The Wings have some talented pieces including Satou Sabally, Allisha Gray, Marina Mabrey, and Isabelle Harrison. They’ve also continued to build through the draft with the top two picks of 2021 in Charli Collier and Awak Kuier.

Dallas broke through and reached the WNBA playoffs last season, a sign that things are moving in the right direction with new head coach Vickie Johnson. They were eliminated in the first round (single-elimination game) against the eventual champions - the Chicago Sky (an 81-64 loss). The Wings look to improve upon last season and get even further in the playoffs this season.

The team’s biggest acquisition in the offseason was a trade for Teaira McCowan. The 6’7” Center should help Dallas with their biggest weakness which was defense. Offensively, the Wings can score with the best of them when firing on all cylinders but defensively they are a work in progress. McCowan should help a lot in that regard.

If things start clicking, Dallas could be a team that sneaks into the Top 5 this season.

Indiana Fever

As much as it pains me to say it, the Fever have been a disaster under Tamika Catchings. Top 5 draft picks have been selected only to flame out and be cut within a year. They’ve cut or traded away Lauren Cox, Teaira McCowan, and Kysre Gondrezick - all recent lottery picks. Catchings admirably opted to step down from her position as General Manager and Lin Dunn stepped in to take over as interim General Manager.

Dunn continued to clean house to rebuild the roster in her vision. Dunn was the Storm’s original head coach when the team debuted in the WNBA and helped lead the Fever to their only WNBA Championship in 2012.

Armed with four first round picks in this year’s draft Dunn selected NaLyssa Smith (2nd overall), Emily Engstler (4th), Lexie Hull (6th) and Queen Egbo (10th).

All four first-round picks made the Fever’s opening day roster. They also added South Carolina’s Destanni Henderson (20th overall) for a total of five rookies on the roster.

The Fever look like a college All-Star but will it be good enough to compete for a playoff spot this season? Realistically, no! But they are a team rebuilding and also putting themselves in position to potentially land Aliyah Boston. Or even more long-term, potentially drafting Aliyah Boston in 2023 and either Caitlin Clark or Paige Bueckers in 2024. Just as the Storm drafted Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart in back-to-back seasons or the Vegas Aces drafting Kelsey Plum, A’ja Wilson, and Jackie Young in consecutive years. Teams can completely change their fortunes through the draft if they get top picks in special years. This is likely the goal of the Fever at this point.

Las Vegas Aces

The Vegas Aces are in a very similar situation as the Connecticut Sun. They have been very close to winning the title in recent seasons and just haven’t been able to reach the mountain top.

Their biggest offseason move was allowing All-Star Center Liz Cambage to walk in Free Agency. A’ja Wilson had the best year of her career in 2020 when Cambage sat out during the pandemic season. Wilson won the MVP and helped lead the Aces to the number one overall seed and a trip to the WNBA Finals where they were ultimately swept by the Seattle Storm. In 2021, it looked like they would reach the finals again for a 2nd consecutive season but were upset by the Phoenix Mercury in the deciding Game 5 of the semifinals 87 to 84.

Vegas still has a great core of players with A’ja Wilson leading the way. She is surrounded by Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, Dearica Hamby, Jackie Young, Riquna Williams and more. This team is still stacked and should be near the top of the WNBA standings.

Mark Davis, the owner of the Aces and the Las Vegas Raiders, decided to go in a different direction moving on from legendary coach Bill Laimbeer and making a huge splash with the hiring of Becky Hammon. Hammon, widely regarded as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs returns to her roots in the WNBA to help lead the Aces to their first championship.

Coach Laimbeer had a more old school gameplan of focusing on getting points in the paint and drawing fouls; limiting the amount of three-pointers his team should take in games. While it had led to a lot of success, it didn’t result in championships. Look for Becky Hammon to modernize the Aces’ offense this season.

Los Angeles Sparks

Back after Free Agency had concluded I wrote that no team did more to improve their roster in my eyes than the Los Angeles Sparks. You can click that link to read that if you missed it.

The biggest addition being All-Star Center Liz Cambage. But they also brought in two former Seattle Storm players in Jordin Canada and Katie Lou Samuelson. Chiney Ogwumike returns from injury and Nneka Ogwumike remains one of the league’s top power forwards. They also traded for potential star in Chennedy Carter from the Atlanta Dream.

Promising rookies Rae Burrell, Amy Atwell, and Olivia Nelson-Ododa all made the opening day roster. They have the potential to build a strong supporting cast along with last year’s first-round pick Jasmine Walker.

From a talent perspective, the LA Sparks are significantly better than they were a year ago. Especially on the offensive side of the ball. The biggest challenge for Coach Derek Fisher will be keeping all these players on the same page and focused on the ultimate goal. Both Cambage and Carter have had a history of attitude issues or at least not the easiest players to get along with around the league. But their talent is elite.

If they can keep it together, the Sparks should contend for a playoff spot and may even have the talent to be a Top 5 team this season.

Minnesota Lynx

For Minnesota, this season is all about legendary center Sylvia Fowles. Fowles announced earlier this year that this would be her final season in the WNBA and that she will retire at the conclusion of the Lynx’s season. Fowles is arguably the greatest center the league has ever seen and is certainly up there with other greats like Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson.

The Lynx are aiming to be the first WNBA team to win 5 WNBA Championships. They are tied with Seattle and the now-defunct Houston Comets as the only franchises to win four titles.

Unfortunately, it’ll be challenging as All-Star Napheesa Collier is expected to miss the majority of this season as she’s currently pregnant with her first child. The team is also dealing with injuries as Damiris Dantas and Angel McCoughtry (who was their big free agent signing) are still dealing with health issues and won’t be available for Game 1 of the WNBA season.

Minnesota never went through a full rebuild after losing Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen, Rebekkah Brunson, and Seimone Augustus to retirement. With Fowles and Collier on the team they’ve still been able to compete for playoff spots but haven’t reached the Finals since they won it all in 2017.

The team recently added Odyssey Sims and will eventually get Kayla McBride back from her overseas play. Minnesota should still compete for the playoffs this year but I’m not sure they’ll be good enough to be one of the top two or three teams to challenge for the title this season.

New York Liberty

After Phoenix surprisingly dismissed head coach Sandy Brondello the Liberty jumped at the opportunity to scoop up the accomplished Australian coach. The team was aggressive in free agency trying to lure Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd, and Stefanie Dolson to the team. While they struck out in landing Stewart or Loyd, they were able to attract Dolson away from Chicago.

The Liberty have a strong core with Sabrina Ionescu, Betnijah Laney, Natasha Howard, Sami Whitcomb, Stefanie Dolson, and rookie of the year Michaela Onyenwere.

New York got out to an excellent start last season going 5-1 through their first six games but struggled down the stretch. They ended up still making the playoffs as the 8th and final seed. The Liberty were ousted in the first round with a heartbreaking defeat losing by a single point in the single-elimination game to the Phoenix Mercury by a final score of 83-82.

With a new coach and Ionescu and Howard both healthier this year the Liberty look to take a leap forward and try to establish themselves as a Top 5 team.

Phoenix Mercury

The biggest storyline with the Mercury is the unfortunate news regarding Brittney Griner who is currently being held as a prisoner in Russia and has been for nearly 80 days now. The United States has declared they believe she was wrongfully committed. With Russia currently at war with Ukraine tensions are extremely high and the hope is that Griner will be returned to the United States as soon as possible. Sadly, there is no guarantee this will happen any time soon.

On the court, the Mercury hired Vanessa Nygaard as their new head coach after deciding to go in a different direction from long-time head coach Sandy Brondello.

Phoenix was one of the more aggressive teams in free agency prior to Griner’s arrest that saw them add Tina Charles and Diamond DeShields in free agency. They also re-signed Sophie Cunningham who had a strong playoff run last season.

It’s really hard to determine how good the Mercury will be this season if Griner remains out the entire year. Tina Charles is another MVP-type player but she is not quite at the level of a Brittney Griner. Phoenix seems to have improved their overall depth with some additions.

The team’s fate will rely heavily on Charles, Taurasi, and Skylar Diggins-Smith. They have enough talent to be a Top 5 team this year.

Seattle Storm

One last hurrah? This will be Briann January’s final season. Will it be Sue Bird’s? And will Breanna Stewart play with the Storm in 2023 after only signing a one-year deal this offseason?

Breanna Stewart had surgery to repair another torn Achilles. Her 2nd since 2019. Can Stewie still be the MVP-type player she’s been in 2018 and 2020? From what we saw in preseason that was a resounding YES.

Jewell Loyd continues to impress getting better and better each season. Last year she was named first team All-WNBA as one of the league’s five best players.

The team’s biggest acquisitions were Gabby Williams, who was acquired for the team’s first-round draft pick and Katie Lou Samuelson; and Briann January who was signed as a free agent. Both players were added to help improve the team’s defense.

After losing Alysha Clark, Jewell Loyd was given the responsibility of having to guard the opposing team’s toughest wing player. The team wanted to make things easier on Loyd by bringing in some additional defensive stalwarts.

There is also a concern for the team as starting center Mercedes Russell has an undisclosed injury and will likely miss at least 4-5 weeks (or roughly 1/3rd the season). Can the additions of Jantel Lavender and Reshanda Gray make up for not having Russell for several games?

When Breanna Stewart has been healthy at the end of the year the Storm have gone on to win the WNBA Championship in 2018 and 2020. But in order to do that this year, not only will the team need to stay healthy but they’ll have to do it without Natasha Howard, Alysha Clark, or Sami Whitcomb who all departed after the 2020 season.

We don’t know if Sue Bird will be retiring after this season or not. But if she does, there’d be no better way to go out then to win the team’s 5th WNBA title.

Washington Mystics

Health. Health. HEALTH. That’s the biggest key to the Washington Mystics season this year. Elena Delle Donne hasn’t played a full WNBA season since they won the title in 2019. Alysha Clark was one of the team’s biggest acquisitions during the 2021 offseason but missed the entire year with a Lisfranc fracture in her foot. Clark continues to rehab the injury and while she is expected to play this year she won’t be ready to go to begin the season.

Fortunately, Delle Donne did play 30 minutes in Game 1 - an 84-70 victory over the Indiana Fever. Delle Donne lead the way with 21 points on 8-16 FG shooting and a team-high nine rebounds.

The team re-signed Myisha Hines-Allen, signed former All-Star Elizabeth Williams, and drafted Shakira Austin 3rd overall in the 2022 draft. Along with Delle Donne and Tiana Hawkins the Mystics are loaded in the front court.

Their defense, especially with Williams and a returning Clark should be better than ever. Coach Thibault is arguably the league’s best coach. Washington missed the playoffs last season but as long as they stay healthy they should be back in the post-season this year.

Notes: The Around the W column goes out to both paid and free subscribers. Consider becoming a paid subscriber if you want full detailed game recaps the morning after every game, additional interviews and podcasts, and more. Let’s enjoy the 26th WNBA season!