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The WNBA expansion draft will be held Friday as a prelude to the women’s Final Four in Phoenix.
The condensed schedule is a symptom of the protracted negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, which finally produced a deal on March 18. As a result, the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire—the WNBA’s two new expansion teams—have just five weeks to put together a roster and market their teams before the season tips off on May 8.
The first question they’ll have to answer: Will the expansion draft be fruitful?
There are over 100 players who are set to become unrestricted free agents when free agency begins in the coming days, throwing an added wrinkle into the Tempo and Fire’s expansion draft plans.
All 13 of the existing WNBA teams were required to protect a maximum of five players—down from the protected six players last year for the Golden State Valkyries expansion draft—from their 2025 roster as protected and submit that list to the league on Sunday. All remaining players will be available for selection on Friday.
The league’s rules allow for the Tempo and the Fire to select just one unrestricted free agent regardless of their remaining core eligibility. The core designation, similar to the NFL’s franchise tag, gives a team exclusive negotiating power over a free agent and comes with a supermax qualifying offer valued at $1.4 million in 2026.
Overall this severely limits the Tempo and Fire to a small pool of players who are restricted free agents or previously drafted players who have yet to join a WNBA team that are left unprotected.
One team that won’t lose any players Friday is the Chicago Sky, which traded away two draft picks Wednesday in order to protect their entire roster.
If the Tempo or Fire select an unrestricted free agent who no longer is eligible for the core tag they will be the only team eligible to offer that player a supermax contract, allowing them a slight negotiating edge, but that player would still be eligible to sign with other teams.
A coin toss determined which team would select first in the expansion draft. The Tempo elected to receive the No. 6 overall pick in the collegiate draft, giving the Fire the right to select first in the expansion draft.
The draft will have two rounds with each team making up to 12 selections. Only one player can be selected from each existing team per round.
On Wednesday, New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart—who is set to become an unrestricted free agent—made clear she will be re-signing with the Liberty.
“I’m going to set the record straight here,” Stewart said on her Game Recognize Game podcast with Myles Turner. “I will be staying in New York.”
Stewart is a good example of a player who has high value, but isn’t necessarily worth protecting because even if the Tempo or Fire select her they will not have exclusive negotiating power. The most they could offer her is the supermax salary, which she’s already made clear won’t make a difference in her free agency decision.
Other unrestricted free agents that could be worth selecting if left unprotected include Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale, Connecticut Sun guard Marina Mabrey, New York Liberty forward Emma Meesseman, or Los Angeles Sparks forward Azurá Stevens.
Last year the Valkyries became the first expansion team to make the playoffs in their inaugural season, a credit to general manager Ohemaa Nyanin’s success with the expansion draft selecting key players like forward Kayla Thornton, guard Veronica Burton, and forward Monique Billings.
