The 30th WNBA season has officially kicked off, and the league is in full swing. Games began on May 8th with the Connecticut Sun taking on the New York Liberty, the Washington Mystics facing the Toronto Tempo and the Golden State Valkyries squaring up against the Seattle Storm. Each team, since then, has played at least two games, and there have already been several achievements reached to kick off the 2026 season.

Tempo and Fire Each Recorded Their First Wins

The WNBA had two new expansion teams join the league to kick off 2026. The Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire bring the league up to 15 teams. The WNBA held an expansion draft ahead of the 2026 season to get these two teams into competing shape.

The Tempo played their first game on opening day and fell to the Mystics, 68 to 65. It was a close battle, but in the end, the Mystics got the better of them. The Tempo dusted themselves off and got ready to take the court once more, hosting the Seattle Storm. Although the Storm were leading by the time halftime rolled around, the Tempo took the win 86 to 73.

The Portland Fire hosted their first game on Saturday, May 9th. Despite being an expansion team and new to the league, the Chicago Sky didn’t hold back and beat the Fire 98 to 83. On Tuesday, May 12th, the Fire stayed at home and hosted the New York Liberty. The two teams went back and forth for a while in a high-offensive and highly defensive game. With seconds remaining, the game was primed to head to overtime, as both teams were tied with 96 points. Bridget Carleton took a shot with two minutes remaining, but missed. Sarah Ashlee Barker picked up the rebound and scored a buzzer-beater basket to earn the Fire their first win.

Dominique Malonga Becomes Youngest Player to Reach 200 Rebounds

Dominique Malonga is in her second season with the Seattle Storm and is already off to the races to show the Storm what she is capable of. In the Storm’s season opener on May 8th against the Golden State Valkyries, Malonga recorded eight rebounds, the most of anyone on the team. With this performance, she now becomes the youngest player in WNBA history to reach 200 rebounds.

This record was previously held by Maria Stepanova. She was selected in the 1998 WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury and recorded this record on August 20th, 1999, in a matter of 52 games. Malonga broke the record in nine fewer games, with 43 played. She just beat Stepanova as well, as Malonga was five days younger than Stepanova when she broke the record.

Malonga has been great for the Storm ever since Seattle selected her with the second overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. This was only Malonga’s first game of the 2026 season, and she is already breaking records. It will be exciting to see what else she can accomplish as the season goes on.

Angel Reese Finding Success in Atlanta

Malonga was not the only player to break a record in her first game of the season. Angel Reese recorded her 50th double-double in the Atlanta Dream’s season opener. It only took her 65 games to reach this milestone and become the new fastest player to do so, breaking Tina Charles’ record, which she set in 75 games. Reese achieved the milestone in ten fewer games than Charles.

After the WNBA signed the new CBA, Reese was traded to the Dream from the Chicago Sky. In exchange, the Sky received a 2027 first-round draft pick and a 2028 first-round draft pick.

Many people were skeptical as to whether or not Reese would make an impact right away with the Dream; she proved those people wrong real quick, helping the Dream beat the Minnesota Lynx 91-90 in their season opener.