WNBA 2026 expansion draft: Breaking down Portland, Toronto picks

The Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo took the primary steps towards constructing their inaugural rosters in Friday’s expansion draft, choosing 11 gamers every from a pool left unprotected by the 13 preexisting WNBA franchises. Both groups hope these rosters can carry them success much like what the Golden State Valkyries skilled of their first season final 12 months.

Both normal managers — Portland’s Vanja Černivec and Toronto’s Monica Wright Rogers — expressed reduction that the method was lastly full; they’d waited months whereas the brand new collective bargaining settlement was agreed upon. The two entrance workplaces had spent the offseason operating inside eventualities, projecting the 5 protected gamers on every workforce’s roster, in addition to the opposite expansion franchise’s potential picks.

Each franchise was additionally in a position to choose one unrestricted free agent.

In a coin flip final week, Toronto opted to provide Portland the primary decide within the expansion draft, giving the Tempo the very best decide within the school draft on April 13. Both opted to go away one in all their 12 roster spots open for the draft. Portland chosen the Minnesota Lynx‘s Bridget Carleton at No. 1, whereas Toronto took Julie Allemand for his first decide at No. 2.

Within Friday’s alternatives, three huge tendencies emerged. Both groups emphasised drafting veteran gamers, future foundational performers and, surprisingly, gamers who’ve loads of upside however have been considerably impacted by harm.

Here’s a take a look at three gamers from every workforce who embody these tendencies.

Veteran presence: Bridget CarletonF (Minnesota Lynx)

The Fire determined they needed to make use of their UFA decide on Carleton. And to verify Toronto didn’t choose the Ontario, Canada, native, they chose her with the primary decide within the draft.

Carleton got here off the bench for the primary 5 years of her WNBA profession earlier than sliding into Minnesota’s beginning lineup in 2024. That season, she averaged a career-high 9.6 factors, 3.8 rebounds and a pair of.2 assists whereas taking pictures 44.4% from 3 on 5.3 makes an attempt, serving to the Lynx to the 2024 WNBA Finals.

Last 12 months, she averaged 6.5 factors, 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.8 steals as a starter. At 37.3% scorer from the 3-point line, the 6-foot-2 ahead may help unfold the ground whereas offering respectable dimension within the paint.

The Fire consider Carleton can mannequin her position after the one Kayla Thornton performed for Golden State earlier than she was sidelined by harm: As the workforce’s veteran chief on the courtroom and within the locker room, all whereas persevering with to enhance her sport.

“I think [Carleton] did an amazing job in Minnesota and if you take her out of that environment and kind of start building the team around her, we think she could be an All-Star player,” Černivec mentioned.

Carleton has experiences she will impart on her much less skilled teammates. And if she will take one other step ahead in her profession, she could lead on the Fire to a profitable first 12 months.

Future foundational participant: Carla LeiteG (Golden State Valkyries)

The Fire’s second decide reunites the second-year guard with Černivec, who had chosen Leite to the Valkyries of their expansion draft forward of final season.

Golden State initially noticed the France native as a guard it must spend time growing. Taken ninth by the Dallas Wings within the school draft eight months prior, Leite spent the summer season enjoying in Europe. But with the Valkyries relying closely on worldwide gamers, Leite match proper into their system. She shortly stepped right into a rotation position, averaging 7.2 factors and a pair of.0 assists as a backup for Veronica Burton.

Černivec has referred to as Leite “fearless” in the way in which she performs. The 21-year-old brings relentless vitality and has no hesitation to combat by way of contact to get to the paint. She’s fast on her toes, however she additionally performs with a degree of persistence when she handles the ball, ensuring she is aware of the play she is about to make is the proper one.

In bringing her to Portland, which one supply informed ESPN was a “no-brainer” transfer, she brings a degree of familiarity with what it is like constructing one thing from the bottom up. She understands the challenges — and the rewards — of being a part of an expansion franchise. Portland hopes that mindset, mixed together with her relationship with Černivec, will make Leite a frontrunner on the courtroom and within the locker room.

Wild card decide: Nika MuhlG (Seattle Storm)

At face worth, this decide may be a head-scratcher. Muhl will miss all of the 2026 season as she recovers from surgical procedure to restore a torn proper ACL. She additionally missed the 2025 season whereas recovering from a torn left ACL. If she’s unable to contribute instantly, why would Portland use a roster spot on her?

Černivec certainly noticed this as an funding within the franchise’s future, primarily based on a earlier rapport with Muhl: The two crossed paths within the NBA Academy Women’s Program on the 2019 NCAA girls’s Final Four.

When wholesome for the Storm a 12 months earlier, Muhl gave them good vitality off the bench and shortly turned a fan favourite. In her senior 12 months at UConn in 2023-24, she averaged 6.9 factors on 46.2% area objective taking pictures, together with 40.2% from 3, 5.6 assists and 4.0 rebounds in 32.1 minutes.

Sources informed ESPN there is a degree of confidence that head coach Alex Sarama’s participant improvement model — a constraints-led method, which emphasizes adaptability, improvisation and decision-making slightly than predetermined motion patterns and drills — will permit Muhl to return higher than she was.

Veteran presence: Marina MabreyG (Connecticut Sun)

One of the Sun’s most dependable gamers final season, it appeared stunning that Mabrey was left unprotected within the expansion draft — however the guard had additionally expressed interest in leaving Connecticut final season. Now, she will get a brand new begin she was looking for.

Mabrey, an unrestricted free agent, was the Tempo’s third decide (sixth total) and offers them a veteran scorer. She averaged 14.4 factors final season — the second-best scoring mark on the workforce — in addition to 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Her 31.5 minutes per sport had been probably the most of any Sun participant, too.

But what makes Mabrey stand out is the season she simply had in Unrivaled: She led the 3-on-3 league in scoring, averaging 25.3 factors on 43.4% taking pictures from the sphere. She additionally hit 10 3-pointers in a sport when the league performed in Philadelphia in late January.

Mabrey brings an edge that the Fire do not have, at the very least on the floor. She will be controversial, and he or she does not draw back from stepping into it with different gamers. She performs with a degree of physicality that is not overly widespread in WNBA. A participant corresponding to Mabrey can function a foundational piece of a startup franchise and form its identification — and degree of grit.

Future foundational participant: Julie AllemandG (Los Angeles Sparks)

Toronto hopes it secured its major ball handler in Germany, its first decide. Despite being drafted in 2020 by the Indiana FeverAllemand has performed simply three full seasons within the WNBA — with Indiana, with the Chicago Sky in 2022 and final 12 months with the Sparks. But she was named to the All-Rookie workforce in 2020 after beginning all 22 video games for the Fever and averaging 5.8 assists and eight.5 factors. For Los Angeles, she averaged 5 assists, with solely Kelsey Plum recording extra (5.7).

Her actual energy nonetheless may come from her success on the worldwide degree. A member of the Belgian nationwide workforce, Allemand has received the EuroCup Women gold in 2023 and 2025.

A participant with a excessive talent set for ball distribution might be a sensible approach to construct the inspiration for a brand new franchise aiming to hit the bottom operating. It will permit head coach Sandy Brondello and her workers to not waste time instructing their gamers the way to facilitate.

Wild card decide: Nyara SaballyF (New York Liberty)

Sabally was one other participant surprisingly left out there by her former workforce — which finally allowed for a reunion together with her former coach, Brondello.

Sabally gave the Liberty some good moments since being drafted fifth in 2022, however his tenure in New York was marred by accidents. She missed her first season to get better from a proper knee harm and was restricted to only 17 video games final season as a result of a flare-up in the identical surgically repaired knee.

But when Brondello moved to a much bigger lineup for the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Sabally proved she might be an necessary presence within the paint. She proved it, turning into a key contributor for New York in its extra time Game 5 thriller within the 2024 WNBA Finals, scoring 13 factors and grabbing seven rebounds to assist flip the sport within the Liberty’s favor. Toronto might need discovered its star middle in Sabally. She simply wants to remain wholesome.