Awa Fam on playing in FIBA World Cup
Callie Fin talks with Seattle Storm’s Awa Fam to discuss the upcoming FIBA World Cup.
Sports Seriously
The final push for the 2026 WNBA postseason won’t begun until Sept. 17, when the league is set to return from its break for the FIBA Women’s World Cup.
When the tournament begins Friday, Sept. 4, in Berlin, Germany, a whopping 51 WNBA players will be featured across the 16 national teams. Every WNBA team, except the Chicago Sky, will be represented. The No. 6 seed New York Liberty send a league-high eight players.
Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson and Phoenix Mercury guard Kelsey Plum both were both late scratches announced Monday. Plum is out for the remainder of the season.
As their replacements, Team USA will welcome Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron from the Washington Mystics.
All eight postseason spots have been clinched, but seeding is still up for grabs. Let’s take a look at how the rosters of each franchise will be impacted during the FIBA break for this week’s USA TODAY Sports’ WNBA power rankings, released every Tuesday this season:
Previous rank: 3 (2)
Players going to World Cup: Gabby Williams (France), Janelle Salaün (France), Milea Sowah (Australia), Cecilia Zandalasini (Italy)
The Valkyries entered the FIBA break on a four-game win streak that started with a 80-66 win over the top seeded Minnesota Lynx. Their final four games of the season will pit them against the Portland Fire, Seattle Storm and Los Angeles Sparks — all teams who didn’t make the playoffs. France is also getting its first change to avenge its narrow loss to Team USA in the gold medal game at the 2024 Paris Olympics. If Les Bleues are successful, two Golden State players could come back from the break with the confidence of a global championship win.
Previous rank: 1 (1)
Players going to World Cup: Napheesa Collier (United States), Chloe Bibby (Australia), Antonia Delaere (Belgium), Eliska Joklova (Czechia), Dorka Juhász (Hungary)
Even though Minnesota entered the break with back-to-back losses against Golden State and the Atlanta Dream, they still sit atop the standings. Napheesa Collier, an MVP candidate in 2025 before being sidelined with a month left in the season, is back after multiple ankle surgeries. Averaging 18 points and 7.3 rebounds per game since her debut in July, Collier said the World Cup is the perfect opportunity for her to ramp back up into postseason form for the Lynx. Meanwhile, rookie phenom Olivia Miles is not competing in the World Cup and will have these two weeks to rest in light of the multiple injury scares weathered throughout a rookie season worthy of MVP consideration.
Previous rank: 5 (2)
Players going to World Cup: Angel Reese (United States), Rhyne Howard (United States), Isobel Borlase (Australia), Sika Koné (Mali)
Rebounding from a 101-83 loss to the Portland Fire on Friday, Aug. 28, with an 89-81 victory over the Lynx on Sunday, Aug. 30, the Dream entered the break on a high note. By the time play resumes from the FIBA break, two-time Sixth Player of the Year DeWanna Bonner should be primed to make her debut for in Atlanta, which could make the No. 4 seeded team even more formidable.
Previous rank: 4 (⬌)
Players going to World Cup: Chelsea Gray (United States), Jackie Young (United States), Stephanie Talbot (Australia), Mai Yamamoto (Japan)
Losing reigning FIBA MVP A’ja Wilson from the Team USA roster is bad news for the fans who’d like to see a fifth consecutive women’s basketball World Cup trophy return to American soil, but it’s good news for those hoping to watch the Aces secure yet another WNBA title. Wilson has missed games with a leg injury and, more recently, a back injury this season. They’ll rely on her in the playoffs, and now the league’s leading scorer gets a chance to rest and recover. The Aces will have a lot to do during the break otherwise, with Kalani Brown coming in to replace NaLyssa Smith and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus getting back to speed after missing time with a concussion. As they work, the defending league champions will hope their other key players return from the World Cup without too much wear and tear. Luckily, they face non-playoff teams in their final four games of the regular season.
Previous rank: 2 (3)
Players going to World Cup: Caitlin Clark (United States), Aliyah Boston (United States)
‘The Fever entered the break with a 111-91 win over the Connecticut Sun on Friday, Aug. 28. They have one of the tougher schedules to close out the regular season, with games against the Washington Mystics and Lynx. It helps that Indiana has the league’s No. 2 leading scorer, Kelsey Mitchell, on ice during the FIBA break, but stars Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston are likely to play some intense minutes in Berlin.
Previous rank: 8 (2)
Players going to World Cup: Paige Bueckers (United States), Alanna Smith (Australia)
Having clinched the eighth and final spot in the WNBA postseason, the Wings pushed through 2026 No. 1 overall pick Azzi Fudd being shutdown for the season and entered the FIBA break on a four-game win streak that began with a 91-85 win over the Fever on Aug. 20. When the WNBA returns, they’ll close out their final four games of the season against the Sparks, Phoenix Mercury and Seattle Storm.
Previous rank: 6 (1)
Players going to World Cup: Breanna Stewart (United States), Leonie Fiebich (Germany), Marine Johannès (France) Rebecca Allen (Australia), Pauline Astier (France), Elizabeth Balogun (Nigeria), Raquel Carrera (Spain), Han Xu (China)
With almost their entire roster competing in Berlin, the Liberty will close their post-FIBA regular-season schedule with contests against the Lynx, Dream and Toronto Tempo. The break comes at a good time for Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, who was 2-of-22 from the field and 1-of-12 from the 3-point line in her last two games. She hasn’t made more than two 3s in a game since Aug. 3 and is now shooting a career-worst 29.5% from deep.
Previous rank: 7 (1)
Players going to World Cup: Sonia Citron (United States), Kiki Iriafen (United States), Alicia Floréz (Spain)
The young Mystics, who mounted a seven-game win streak between July and early August, now have a chance to get experience on the global stage in Berlin as they prepare for a postseason run. They took an 88-82 loss to the Sparks on Friday, Aug. 28, and will come back from the break with games against the Chicago Sky, Fever and Sun.
Previous rank: 9 (⬌)
Players going to World Cup: Carla Leite (France), Megan DiLeo (Spain), Freida Bühner (Germany), Luisa Geiselsöder (Germany), Iyana Martín (Spain), Amy Okonkwo (Nigeria)
Portland is 1-4 in its last five games and sending six players to the World Cup. They closed out their pre-FIBA schedule with an 86-69 loss to the Valkyries and will play Golden State two more times in their final four regular-season games after the break.
Previous rank: 10 (1)
Players going to World Cup: None
Chicago doesn’t have any players competing in the World Cup and entered the break on a three-game losing streak. Their final four games of the season are against the playoff-bound Mystics and Dream, along with a matchup against the eliminated Tempo.
Previous rank: 12 (1)
Players going to World Cup: Jihyun Park (Korea)
With a flurry of recent roster moves that included waiving and signing a pair of former Aces players in Kate Martin and Aaliyah Nye, the Sparks entered the FIBA break with back-to-back wins over the Mystics and Storm. Although they’re eliminated from postseason contention, they could be disruptive to the seeding as they close out their regular-season schedule against the playoff-bound Wings, Aces and Valkyries.
Previous rank: 11 (1)
Players going to World Cup: Kahleah Copper (United States), Valériane Ayayi (France), Kyara Linskens (Belgium)
In a stunning fall from the 2025 WNBA Finals to now, the Mercury entered the FIBA break by snapping a four-game losing streak with a 101-69 win over the Tempo on Saturday, Aug. 29. They traded for Kelsey Plum in an effort to turn their season around, and she’ll now watch from the sidelines as the team closes out its regular-season against the Fire, Wings and Aces.
Previous rank: 13 (⬌)
Players going to World Cup: Julie Allemand (Belgium), Maria Condé (Spain), Nyara Sabally (Germany)
Since narrowly beating New York on July 12, the Tempo have lost 16 games. Their sole win since came Friday, Aug. 21, against the Portland Fire. They’ll meet the Liberty again after the FIBA break in a regular-season schedule that will also pit them against Fever, Sky and Sun before the expansion team goes back to the drawing board to prepare for a second season in the WNBA.
Previous rank: 14 (⬌)
Players going to World Cup: Kennedy Burke (Turkey), Leïla Lacan (France)
The Sun entered the FIBA break on a three-game losing streak. Most of their roster will rest during the break, which could be beneficial for the Sun. They’ll face Atlanta, Minnesota, Washington and Toronto for their closing games of the season. Those contests will also be the final games of the franchise’s existence, as the Sun sets on Connecticut.
Previous rank: 15 (⬌)
Players going to World Cup: Awa Fam (Spain), Ezi Magbegor (Australia), Dominique Malonga (France), Jade Melbourne (Australia)
There’s no sugarcoating how difficult this season has been for the Storm. With regular-season games against the Aces, Valkyries and Wings after the FIBA break, the biggest question is whether the Storm will do a better job of experimenting with lineups to evaluate which roster members they can build around for next season. Intrigue surrounds how the franchise can maximize their promising young core, which includes Flau’Jae Johnson, Dominique Malonga and Awa Fam, who told USA TODAY she knows the trio can be “great.”
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