2026 WNBA expansion draft: Date, rules and everything to know as Portland Fire, Toronto Tempo pick rosters
Two new franchises, the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, will join the WNBA for the 2026 season
The WNBA's double expansion draft for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo -- the two new franchises joining the league this season and bringing the total number of teams to 15 -- will be held on Friday, April 3, just hours before the 2026 NCAA Women's Final Four.
The league on Wednesday announced the official rules and regulations for the process, which will be slightly different from the Golden State Valkyries' expansion draft ahead of the 2025 season. This is the first multi-team expansion draft since 2000, when the Indiana Fever, Miami Sol, Portland Fire (2000-02) and Seattle Storm all joined at the same time.
Here's everything you need to know about how this unique event will work and the implications for not only the Fire and Tempo, but the existing 13 teams.
2026 WNBA expansion draft
- Date: Friday, April 3
- Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
- TV: ESPN | Streaming: fubo (try for free)
What is the format and which team gets the first pick?
The WNBA conducted a coin toss on Friday to determine the order of the expansion draft and where the Fire and Tempo will pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft. The Tempo won the toss and opted to pick No. 6 overall in the annual draft, which gives the Fire the first pick in the expansion draft.
The expansion draft will be two rounds, with up to 12 picks per round -- six for each team. The teams will alternate picks within each round and there will be a snake format between rounds to reverse the order. Additionally, the teams will snake picks in the annual draft.
As expected, the Tempo decided that the No. 6 pick in the annual draft and the second and fourth picks in the expansion draft were more valuable than the No. 7 pick in the annual draft and the first and third picks in the expansion draft. Of course, they did have to make that decision before knowing what players were available in the expansion draft.
Following Friday's coin toss, here are the picks each team has in the annual draft and expansion draft:
- Toronto Tempo: Picks Nos. 6, 22 and 36 in the WNBA Draft and picks Nos. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21 and 23 in the expansion draft.
- Portland Fire: Picks Nos. 7, 21 and 37 in the WNBA Draft and picks Nos. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24 in the expansion draft.
Determining the player pool
Ahead of the expansion draft, each of the 13 existing teams will be required to submit a list to the league of every player to whom it has rights -- players on the team's active, suspended, draft list/reserved, core, or retired lists -- as of the final day of the 2025 regular season. This list will be due by Sunday, March 29 -- notably two days after the coin toss.
The 13 existing teams will then be allowed to designate five "protected players" who will not be available for selection in the expansion draft.
All other players will be deemed "unprotected players" and will be eligible for selection by the Fire and Tempo.
How many players can be selected from each existing team?
Two, but only one in each round.
In the interest of fairness, the Fire and Tempo will, combined, be allowed to select a maximum of two players from each of the 13 existing teams. That prevents a situation where one team (or teams) has its roster decimated, while others are left intact.
It is important to note that while only two players can be selected from each existing team, each expansion team is not limited to one player from each of the existing teams. For example, if the Fire select a player from the New York Liberty in the first round, they would be permitted to select another player from the Liberty in the second round, thereby blocking the Tempo from selecting a Liberty player.
Additionally, the Fire and Tempo are not required to make the maximum 12 selections. The Valkyries, for example, only made 11 selections in their draft.
What about upcoming free agents?
Most players lined up their contracts so that they would be free agents this winter in anticipation of a major pay raise under the new collective bargaining agreement. As a result, there are well over 100 free agents this winter, including dozens of unrestricted free agents.
If the Fire or Tempo select a player who is an upcoming free agent, they will receive whatever contract rights the previous team had with said player. Thus, if a player was set to become a restricted free agent, for example, the Fire or Tempo would have the right of first refusal on a contract offer from another team.
It is important to note that the Fire and Tempo can each only select one player in the expansion draft who will be an unrestricted free agent.
Also, unlike the Valkyries' expansion draft, an unrestricted free agent may be selected even if they can no longer be designated as a Core Player. That is significant because in the Valkyries' expansion draft, players who had no core eligibility remaining were automatically ineligible for selection, which meant teams did not have to use protected player slots on them. For a team like the Liberty, for example, this means that this time around they will have to decide whether or not to protect Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, who are both unrestricted free agents but do not have core eligibility.
If the Tempo or Fire select a player who is an unrestricted free agent, they will be the only team that can offer that player a supermax contract. That is the case even if the player no longer has core eligibility.
Can the Fire and Tempo make trades?
Yes. Here's what the league has to say on that matter:
"Between the time that the roster lists are submitted and a designated time on the day before the expansion draft, Portland and Toronto will be permitted to make the following trades with existing teams: (i) an agreement to select a particular player from an unprotected list and trade that player to a team other than her existing team; and (ii) an agreement to select (or not select) a particular player from such trading team's unprotected list."
