Under the new CBA, a lot of things have improved for WNBA players.
The schedule, however, is still a bit of a mess, reflected not only through the disparities between teams’ travel burdens but also differences in the volume of games.
The New York Liberty already have four games in the books, with the Las Vegas Aces and Connecticut Sun joining them on Friday night with they meet for the second game of their two-game set in Mohegan Sun Arena (7:30 p.m. ET, WNBA League Pass). The Sun, at least, have experienced
limited travel, opening last Friday in New York before hosting three-straight home games. The Aces began the season with a home-road back-to-back before making their final trek to the wilds of Uncasville. (No schedule deference for the defending champs!)
The Phoenix Mercury, likewise, will log their fourth game on Friday night. Their reward for routing the Aces in their opener was a back-to-back road game in San Francisco against the Golden State Valkyries before Tuesday night’s home opener against the Minnesota Lynx. Their opponent on Friday night (10 p.m. ET, ION), the Chicago Sky, has yet to play at home, beginning the season on a West Coast road trip that makes their 2-0 start even more impressive.
The Indiana Fever just endured a single-game West Coast jaunt, as they host the Washington Mystics back in Indianapolis on Friday after winning in Southern California over the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET, ION). The Mystics don’t have too much to complain about, even if a road-home-road schedule to start the season is not the most ideal.
The Sparks really don’t have anything to complain about, as their third of four-straight home games to start the season is on Friday night (10 p.m. ET, ION). There’s no excuse to fall to 0-3 against the Toronto Tempo, now beginning a five-game road trip after beginning the season with two games in Canada, with second becoming the first win in franchise history.
All this chaos is not unique to the early season.
Over the course 2026’s 44-game schedule, teams will experience the imbalances of the WNBA schedule. Successfully navigating these vagaries requires resiliency from a team’s best players, in addition to rostering reserves ready to step up and fill a larger role.
Among the teams in action on Friday night, which one is best equipped with reliable star power and depth with fire power?
I think the answer is obvious, and unsurprising: the Las Vegas Aces. The defending champions with the four-time M’VP? Big shocker!
For all the ways in which A’ja Wilson is impressive, her availability might be underrated. A’ja conditions herself to not just survive the challenges of the 44-game season, but thrive through them. Last year, she played in 40 of 44 games, missing three games due to a concussion and just one with a wrist sprain. Her avoidance of soft tissue injuries is a testament to her training.
And it’s not just A’ja. Last season, Jackie Young, also a workout warrior, played in every game. After an injury-interrupted 2024 season, so did Chelsea Gray. Jewell Loyd also had perfect attendance in her first season in Las Vegas. Mid-season addition NaLyssa Smith actually played 45 games last year!
And now, the Aces are boosted by possibly the best bench player in the league in Chennedy Carter.
One of the most purely talented hoopers in the game, Carter, at least so far, is translating that talent to a team context in a wholly positive ways. The leading Sixth Player of the Year candidate, Carter introduces an extra level of off-the-bench electricity that can turn games trending towards losses into wins for the Aces.
On Friday night, the Sun surely will not be excited to see Carter check in. In Vegas’ Wednesday night rout in Connecticut, Carter dropped a tidy 27 points on 13-for-16 shooting, in addition to grabbing eight boards, dishing four assists and nabbing two steals.
Even including a relatively quiet first game, Carter’s been so good that she currently ranks as the best overall player in the whole WNBA according to ESPN Analytics’ net points metric. Although skewed by the (very, very) small sample size, the stat indicates that Carter is not just out there getting buckets, but that her production propelling winning basketball.
Encouragingly, Cheyenne Parker-Tyus had her best game in an Aces uniform on Wednesday, scoring 10 points on 60 percent shooting with five rebounds, two steals and a block in 18 minutes. No, the Sun are not the most imposing opponent, but if Parker-Tyus can regularly provide a jolt of efficient offense and active defense from the frontcourt to complement the backcourt scoring of Carter and shooting of Loyd, Vegas will be in an even more advantageous position.
What are your thoughts?
Are you frustrated by your favorite team’s early-season schedule? Do you see a fix for scheduling imbalances, or is the sometimes inexplicable schedule just an unavoidable byproduct of the challenge of balancing arena availabilities, travel logistics and television network preferences for 15 teams?
And, do you agree that the Aces are best situated to manage schedule difficulties? Is there a team that you could see suffering during unfavorable schedule stretches due to injury-prone players or poor depth? Share any of your irritations or assessments in the comments.
