The biggest takeaways from the first three games of the 2026 WNBA season

Stewie shows off MVP form in Liberty domination

It might be the start of the year, but Breanna Stewart is already giving peak performances. Stewart scored 31 points, went 10-for-17 from the field, and made 11 of her 12 free throws. Offensively, her only shortcoming was her 3-point shooting. She went 0-for-4 from deep, but the scoring inside was elite, with nine of her makes coming from the paint. Thanks to Stewart’s efforts, the Liberty cruised to a 106-75 victory over the Sun. Stewie shined brightest, but she wasn’t the only one who played well for New York. The Liberty had four of their five starters in double figures, and Julie Vanloo dominated off the bench. She flirted with a triple-double with 12 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists. For Connecticut, Diamond Miller led the way with 16 points, and Brittney Griner ended the night with 13 points and six rebounds. In this first game, the Liberty looked like a team poised for a big season, while the Sun seemed like a team in a transition period. It’s just one contest, but Connecticut has to find a way to still compete and keep their spirits high, despite a move to Houston looming. If they don’t figure out how to optimize their talent, then this could be a lame-duck season, and things can get very dark, real fast.

Sharpshooting Golden State secures victory in Seattle

If people thought the Golden State Valkyries’ first season was a fluke, well, the start of their second year certainly threw cold water on that theory. Once again, they were humming like a well-oiled machine offensively. They beat the Seattle Storm 90-81 and did it off of some incredible 3-point shooting performances. Janelle Salaün came off the bench and scored 20 points, knocking down five 3s. Kaitlyn Chen joined her as an explosive reserve, scoring 14 points while shooting 50 percent from the field. As a team, the Valkyries knocked down 41 percent of their 3s with nearly half of their field goal attempts coming from beyond the arc. For Seattle, this season is about the future, and that future is Dominique Malonga. She was incredible in this game, establishing her presence at the rim and scoring 21 points. Malonga also had eight rebounds and a pair of blocks. She is now the youngest player in WNBA history to reach 200 rebounds. Not bad. It’s early, so things can change at a rapid pace this WNBA season. There’s no need to overreact to the good or the bad, but as the data comes in we’ll be analyzing where things stand. So far, the Mystics, Valkyries, and Liberty got off on the right foot, and the Storm, Tempo, and Sun have work to do so that they can rack up their first wins.