2 winners, 2 losers from WNBA opening weekend (so far)

Winner: Kaitlyn Chen, Golden State Valkyries

Kaitlyn Chen was a third-round draft pick in 2025 and was cut by the Valkyries in the middle of her rookie season. But she had a tremendous offseason, made Golden State’s opening night roster, and looked tremendous in the season debut, tallying 14 points on 5-10 shooting, 2 assists, and 0 turnovers off the bench in a 91-80 win over the Seattle Storm. After the game, Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase credited Chen for her offseason work. “She’s been working,” Nakase said. “That’s credit to her in the offseason, right? Just putting in extra time. She came, you know, to the bay for a couple of weeks too, to work on her game after she went overseas.” “Just her ability to score on all three levels, that’s basically what she did. And I mean, you saw her playing AU. She just took over the games. It was really nice to kind of see that carry over.”

Loser: The 2026 rookie class

It’s extremely early, but the 2026 WNBA draftees look like they’re going to need a little bit more time. So far, only one rookie has scored double-digit points: Seattle Storm guard Flau’jae Johnson, who tallied 12 points on 25% shooting in Friday night’s loss to the Golden State Valkyries. No. 1 pick Azzi Fudd came off the bench for the Dallas Wings and scored 3 points on 1-2 shooting in 18 minutes. No. 2 pick Awa Fam is still overseas, and No. 4 pick Lauren Betts went scoreless in her Mystics debut. It’s early, and the rookies made their impact in other ways, but the first 24 hours of the WNBA season did not do anything to dispel the notion that the 2026 draft class is mostly filled with future role players.

**Loser: The Connecticut Sun**

The Sun were absolutely crushed by the New York Liberty on opening night. They led 36-13 after the first quarter, and never let go of the rope, ultimately winning 106-75. The Liberty are one of the WNBA’s most loaded teams, and the Sun are in the midst of a rebuild, but it was not the start to the season that Connecticut was hoping for. Only three players scored in double-figures: Diamond Miller (16 points), Aneesah Morrow (15 points), and Brittney Griner (13 points). As a collective, Connecticut shot 39% from the field, 18% from three, and 47% from the three-point line. Facing the Liberty on opening night is a tough way to start, and the Sun were without Leila Lacan, who was one of their best players last season. Still, it was not an optimal start to their last-ever season in Connecticut.