In less than three weeks, the 2026 WNBA season will pause for the FIBA World Cup, which tips off Sept. 4 in Berlin, Germany and concludes on Sept. 13. On Sept. 17, WNBA play will resume for one week before the regular season wraps up on Sept. 24.
How teams navigate this scheduling quirk, and the challenges that come with it, likely will be a dominate storyline for the remainder of the season, especially for teams that not only have playoff ambitions but also have key players competing in the World
Cup.
The Las Vegas Aces, with A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young all headed to Berlin as part of Team USA, already began their proces by resting their three stars on Sunday afternoon. (Although, an absurd road back-to-back, with less than 24 hours between the tip off of their Saturday in Minneapolis and Sunday in Brooklyn was the primary motivator for the organization’s decision.)
Three more teams with stars headed to the World Cup—the Dallas Wings, Golden State Valkyries and Minnesota Lynx—are action on Wednesday night, providing an opportunity to take a look at how each of these teams are planning, or not planning, to navigate the potential challenges ahead with their players.
In the comments, share your perspective about World Cup-related load management. What type of plan would you like to see from teams and their stars? Are you concerned that players competing in Berlin could be burned out by the playoffs? Or, do you think World Cup participation isn’t anything worth extra worry?
Do the Wings have a pre- and post-World Cup plan for Paige Bueckers?
The Wings, ascendant before the All-Star break, have hit a rough spot since the post-All-Star resumption of play.
After winning seven of eight games before the brief hiatus, they’ve now lost five of their last six games, including three-straight. They did take care of business against their one non-playoff opponent during this stretch, blowing out the Connecticut Sun. Otherwise, they’ve lost in mostly competitive, although no less distressing, fashion to high-quality opponents in the Atlanta Dream, Washington Mystics (twice), Golden State Valkyries and Minnesota Lynx.
Add on a two-game injury absence for Azzi Fudd, and Dallas’ stretch of struggle is explainable.
The concern, however, is that ending their three-game skid and rediscovering a winning rhythm will require Paige Bueckers to be overextended. Bueckers, of course, will be competing in the World Cup for Team USA. Alanna Smith is also headed to Berlin to represent the Australian Opals, while development player Costanza Verona will be playing for Spain.
Because of Smith’s injury-interrupted and overall uneven season, it’s just Bueckers who will require careful management, as Dallas isn’t going to do anything in the playoffs without peak Paige.
Or, it’s Bueckers who should require management.
Wings head coach Jose Fernandez has yet to indicate any real concern for what’s ahead for Bueckers and how her burdens could impact what’s ahead for the whole team, rejecting postgame queries about Bueckers’ minutes and/or potential fatigue.
It is at least worth recognizing that Fernandez’s publicly brusque posture, which seems to have become the head coach’s brand, could not accurately or fully reflect the organization’s behind-the-scenes plan for Paige.
The evidence suggests that Bueckers’ load has been marginally minimized as of late. After she was logging almost 35 minutes per game in July, she’s averaging 30.5 minutes per game in four August games, although the blowout win over the Sun required just 25 minutes from Paige. Her usage is also slightly down since the All-Star break.
Dallas, admittedly, is in a tough spot.
Considering the team’s lack of wins of late, Wings fans likely aren’t inclined to support less Paige, from a minutes or usage perspective; however, wins in late September matter more than those in August. And yet, a Wings team lacking postseason experience should prefer to enter the playoffs with a highest seed possible, which then demands not dropping games in August, and with Fudd dealing with a right knee issue, and Jessica Shepard slated to miss at least one game with an ankle injury, Dallas isn’t well positioned to ask less of Bueckers, and still expect to win games.
A game against the Toronto Tempo profiles as just the easy win that the Wings need, one that can be achieved without demanding too much from Paige (8 p.m. ET, USA Network). Yet, if the Tempo snap their nine-game skid against the Wings, expect Fernandez to become even less inclined to look beyond the next game on the schedule.
Golden State is readying Gabby Williams for the World Cup road ahead
The Valkyries, in contrast to the Wings, have quite clearly approached the load management of their World Cup star with intentionality.
Gabby Williams, the first option for the French national team, has averaged a hair over 20 minutes per game since the All-Star break, suggesting Golden State is scaling back her minutes in order to help her be fresh for the French, and not exhausted when she returns to San Francisco in mid-September.
The Valkyries are one of the rare teams that has the luxury of resting their star, and still collecting wins without too much stress. Golden State is 4-1 since the break, with the best net rating in the W over that span.
Even before the Valkyries began to throttle down Williams’ minutes, she was only averaging 25.1 minutes per game, the third-most on the team. Rather than logging well over 30 minutes per game and running on fumes, Williams has been able to run hot during her less-extended time on the court, allowing her to average a career-high in points per game while maintaining her menacing defense.
There’s still a sliver of concern for Gabby and Golden State.
France, presumably, will be asking a lot of Williams in Berlin. Especially as the team advances, in-game rest might become rare for Williams. That rapid intensification of playing time, after such careful management, could have repercussions. But, Golden State likely is aware of that, with a recovery plan prepared for Williams when she’s back in the Bay.
Wednesday night Gabby and the Valks get a visit from her first WNBA team: the Chicago Sky. In an opening day surprise, the Sky beat the Valkyries in Ballhalla (10 p.m. ET, USA Network). Even if Williams sees less than 15 minutes on Wednesday, it would be surprising if Chicago does it again.
The World Cup won’t be a problem for the Lynx and Napheesa Collier
In ESPN’s Life in the W mini-series, Napheesa Collier extensively discussed the struggles she experienced returning to top basketball form following her pregnancy.
Double-ankle surgeries, in contrast, appear to have presented no such issues for Phee.
She almost instantly looked like herself—a hyper-efficient, fundamental two-way force—when she debuted for the Lynx just before the All-Star break. Her rebound, assist, steal and block averages are right in line with the numbers she posted last year, when she spent most of the season as the MVP favorite. Playing about three fewer minutes per game compared to last season, her scoring correspondingly has dipped by three points. On top of all that, she’s drilling 50 percent her 3s.
Collier’s seamless returns inspires confidence in Minnesota’s ablility to make sure she is prepared for all that comes with the World Cup, from what will be required in the lead up to what will be demanded of her in Berlin to what will be needed when she returns.
And since Minnesota was the best team in the league without Collier for most of the season, they should be more than fine maintaining their first-place perch if Phee needs a game or two of rest before the playoffs begin.
On Wednesday, Collier and the Lynx wrap up their season series against the Portland Fire (10 p.m. ET, WNBA League Pass). A Phee-less Minnesota side already scored two comfortable wins over Portland, and now Minnesota has Collier, while Portland is dealing with a mounting injury report.
