Our experts pick preseason All-WNBA teams: Paige Bueckers, A’ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark
Players are already in the spotlight for their increased salaries. Big moves between teams have been made. Young talent is brimming in the league and ready to shine.
The Athletic’s women’s basketball reporters — Annie Costabile, Brian Hamilton, Chantel Jennings and Sabreena Merchant —have cast their votes to assemble our preseason All-WNBA teams. From their points of view, expect the veterans to dominate this season. Seven players on our 10-player list have competed for at least eight seasons, including 14-year vet Nneka Ogwumike and 12-year star Alyssa Thomas. We see no forthcoming weakening as Breanna Stewart enters her 10th season and A’ja Wilson begins her ninth campaign.
Yes, younger stars are strengthening the league, but those who’ve have been around awhile aren’t giving up their crowns too soon.
| Player | Team |
|---|---|
Caitlin Clark | |
Allisha Gray | |
Aliyah Boston | |
Kelsey Plum | |
Nneka Ogwumike |
Honorable mentions: Kahleah Copper, Phoenix Mercury; Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty; Rhyne Howard, Atlanta Dream; Veronica Burton, Golden State Valkyries; Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana Fever
First team
A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
Wilson is coming off her fourth regular-season MVP award and fourth consecutive All-WNBA first-team honors. She also won WNBA Finals MVP, was named to the WNBA’s All-Defensive first team and won co-Defensive Player of the Year. For the last four seasons, Wilson has dominated the league, leading the Aces to three of the previous four WNBA titles. Year after year, she has demonstrated there isn’t an area of this game beyond her control. Defensively, she’s stifling, leading the league in blocks per game the past four seasons. She was the league’s total points (937) and points per game (23.4) leader in 2025. She makes the paint her personal playground, picking apart defenders with her elite footwork. Her interior scoring efficiency is unmatched, shooting 76 percent within three feet of the rim and 51.5 percent from between three to 10 feet. And though she doesn’t pull up from 3 often, shooting just 25 attempts from deep in 2025, Wilson can be trusted to hit them with her 42.4 3-point percentage last season. The scariest part? Wilson isn’t even 30 and is just entering her prime.
Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty
Stewart is arguably the second-best player in the WNBA. Fresh off of a championship with Unrivaled and a Euroleague title with Fenerbahce, Stewart is attempting the “triple crown” of titles by claiming her third of the year with the Liberty. After dealing with lingering injuries last year, still experiencing only a slight drop in production, Stewart’s offseason success was a testament to her health, which she’s maintained coming into the 2026 season. After five straight seasons on the All-WNBA first team, Stewart failed to make either All-WNBA teams last season. She did, however, make the WNBA’s All-Defense second team. She averaged 18.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists which makes it hard to preview 2026 as a comeback season, but considering what she’s accomplished in past years, there’s an expected level to which she can return. In the Liberty’s first preseason game, Stewart exploded for 16 points, shooting 6 of 7 from the field in just 12 minutes, serving as an emphatic reminder of the player she still is entering her 10th season.
Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings
Don’t expect a sophomore slump from the reigning Rookie of the Year. With a stronger interior presence in Dallas, Bueckers’ efficiency should only improve in 2026, which should mean an elevation from her second-team finish last season to earning a spot on the All-WNBA first team this season. A dominant two-way guard, she was the only player last season who finished in the top 10 in points, assists and steals. With increased strength heading into Year 2, Bueckers should be even more prepared for this season’s 44-game slate. If there was an obvious area of improvement from Bueckers’ rookie season, it was in 3-point shooting, where she was extremely streaky. Even though the preseason sample is small, Bueckers knocked down 5 of 7 shots from beyond the arc, including 4 of 6 against Indiana. Being a deep-scoring threat could push Bueckers into the MVP conversation.
Alyssa Thomas, Phoenix Mercury
Last season, her first year in Phoenix, Thomas shot a career-best 53 percent from the floor and averaged a career-best 9.2 assists, earning her third-consecutive first-team honors. With Satou Sabally’s free agency departure, Thomas could find herself shouldering even more for the Mercury, and betting against Thomas at a time when her number is called just feels like a bad idea.
Jackie Young, Las Vegas Aces
Young returns after the best postseason of her WNBA career, shooting 49 percent from the floor and averaging 20.4 points through the Aces’ 2025 title run. With the returning personnel enabling continuity in Vegas, Young appears primed for another full season of success as the Aces chase their fourth title in five years. Entering her eighth season, she has never been named to the WNBA’s first team (earning a second-team nod last season). Coach Becky Hammon has said Young is the best two-way guard in the league, and if she plays like she did in the 2025 postseason, then she’ll make Hammon’s point pretty clearly.
Second team
Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever
We know Clark is an elite playmaker who creates scoring opportunities out of thin air for her teammates. You have to play with your head on a swivel when Clark is on the court. Her ability to pull up from several feet beyond the arc bends defenses in a unique way. Even in a 2025 season interrupted by injury, Clark had the best offensive swing on the Fever; they were 9.1 points per 100 possessions better with her on the court. But Clark hasn’t played consistent WNBA basketball in more than a year, and that uncertainty bumps her slightly off her top-five MVP peak during her rookie season.
Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream
Coach Karl Smesko’s system unleashed the very best in Gray: a hyper-efficient wing who can lead her team in scoring (18.2 points per game) while defending opponents’ best players. Gray is a confident and high-volume 3-point shooter, she finishes well inside when she drives off of closeouts, and she is a disciplined defender; she’s the most fully actualized version of a 3-and-D player in the WNBA. The Dream don’t necessarily feature Gray as their best player, but funneling more possessions toward such a well-rounded wing could elevate Atlanta’s ceiling even further.
Aliyah Boston, Indiana Fever
This is a bet on Boston’s continued improvement and her importance to the contending Fever. Boston has intermittently been a dominant frontcourt scorer with her post-ups and pick-and-roll partnership with Caitlin Clark. She makes good decisions in the short roll with the ball in her hands and has stretched the range on her jump shot. Boston can also be a versatile defender and intimidating rim protector. Now, she has to put that all together on a consistent basis, like she did during her DPOY season in Unrivaled this winter, to help the Fever reach their potential.
Kelsey Plum, Los Angeles Sparks
The Sparks are betting that Plum can be the No. 1 option of a playoff team, and they have surrounded her with veteran talent to aid in that effort. She has Nneka Ogwumike as another interior scoring option and Ariel Atkins to help space the floor. Plum was the fourth-leading scorer (19.5 points per game) and fifth in assists (5.7) in 2025 and now has another year in Lynne Roberts’ system to hone her efficiency. Assuming Los Angeles can win some games — losing players don’t often get rewarded with All-WNBA honors — Plum will be in the middle of the conversation for the best guard in the league.
Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles Sparks
Ogwumike has earned second-team All-WNBA honors each of the last four seasons, averaging 18 points and 7.5 rebounds during that span. She is efficient, can space the floor and defends both frontcourt positions, giving her utility on both ends. Ogwumike will turn 36 this season, but she has shown little sign of drop-off since turning 30. Instead, she played all 44 games in 2025 and has extended her range to the 3-point line to become more versatile. The WNBPA president is one of the league’s most consistent players and should once again be among the 10 best.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
New York Liberty, Los Angeles Sparks, Atlanta Dream, Indiana Fever, Dallas Wings, Las Vegas Aces, Phoenix Mercury, WNBA
2026 The Athletic Media Company
What's Your Reaction?
like
0
dislike
0
love
0
funny
0
angry
0
sad
0
wow
0
