Notable Records from the 2026 WNBA Season

Notable Records from the 2026 WNBA Season

This year, the WNBA reached new heights — from viewership and attendance records to personal accolades, rookie stars, and everything in between. Here's a collection of the major milestones and records from this year (so far).

League Records 

Viewership

  • The WNBA reached a record 90M+ unique viewers across all national networks during the 2026 regular season. 

  • 51 telecasts averaged at least 1M viewers, the most in WNBA history and up from 19 in 2025. Nine telecasts averaged more than 2M viewers, also a league record, up from four telecasts in 2025. 

  • The First Round of this year’s WNBA Playoffs was the most-watched First Round ever, averaging 1.3 million viewers. 

Attendance

  • The WNBA set records for total and average attendance, drawing 3.8 million fans across a league-record 330 regular-season games. Average attendance reached 11,474 fans per game, up 21% from the previous high set in 2025. 

  • The Golden State Valkyries drew a regular-season record of 397,408 total attendees, averaging 18,064 fans per game. They are the only team to sell out every game for two consecutive seasons.

WNBA Records — Rookie Stars 

  • Olivia Miles (Minnesota Lynx):

    • Holds the WNBA rookie single-season scoring record with 771+ points.

    • Set the rookie record for 3-pointers made in a single game with eight.

    • Set the rookie record for 20-point games with 22.

    • Recorded six games with at least 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists, passing Tamika Catchings for second-most by a rookie

  • Flau’jae Johnson (Seattle Storm) became the third rookie in WNBA history to record:

    • 500+ points

    • 200+ rebounds

    • 100+ assists

    • 50+ steals

  • Sydney Taylor (Chicago Sky): the first rookie in WNBA history to hit multiple game-winning shots with five seconds or less remaining in a single season.

  • Lauren Betts (Washington Mystics): finished with 37 blocks, tying the Mystics' rookie record and leading all rookies. 

  • Pauline Astier (New York Liberty): became the first Liberty rookie to record 150 points, 50 rebounds, 50 assists, 10 steals, and 10 made 3-pointers within her first 15 games.

Records/Milestones by Team

Connecticut Sun

  • Brittney Griner reached 891 career blocks — a new WNBA record.

Seattle Storm

  • Dominique Malonga became the youngest player in WNBA history to reach 500 career rebounds. 

  • Flau’jae Johnson set a franchise record for most 25+ point games by a rookie. 

Chicago Sky

  • Courtney Vandersloot recorded her 3,000th career assist, moving up to the #2 all-time assist leader spot. Sloot also has the highest career average assists in league history.

Phoenix Mercury

  • Alyssa Thomas has amassed over 350 assists, the third-highest single-season total in WNBA history. She is the first player in W history to notch four 300+ assist seasons.

  • Kahleah Copper scored her 2,000th career point as a Mercury player.

Portland Fire

  • Emily Engstler set the franchise record for most single-season rebounds with 246. 

  • Bridget Carleton set the single-season franchise record with 60 steals.

  • Carla Leite set the single-season franchise record with 626 points.

  • The Fire set an all-time attendance record for a WNBA expansion team debut with a sellout crowd of 19,335.

Washington Mystics

  • Shakira Austin scored 658+ points and grabbed 377 rebounds during the regular season—both new Mystics franchise records.

  • Kiki Iriafen set a Mystics franchise record with eight consecutive double-double games. 

  • Shakira Austin and Kiki Iriafen became the first pair of Mystics teammates to each record 20+ double-doubles in the same season.

Toronto Tempo

  • Marina Mabrey dropped 53 points in a game — tying the single-game scoring record.

Dallas Wings

  • Paige Bueckers scored 853+ points and notched 247 assists in a single season—both new franchise records. Bueckers also set a WNBA record for points scored in a player’s first two seasons (1,570).

  • Jessica Shepard recorded six triple-doubles, including one in Dallas' regular-season finale. She joins Alyssa Thomas as the only players in WNBA history with at least three in a season.

  • Azzi Fudd became the first rookie to win the 3-Point Contest at All-Star Weekend.

New York Liberty

  • Jonquel Jones set the Liberty's single-season rebounding record, reaching 372 rebounds. Jones also finished with 53 double-doubles, tying for the second-most in franchise history.

Indiana Fever

  • Caitlin Clark dropped a 45-point game against Seattle, marking the highest-scoring game in Fever franchise history.

  • Kelsey Mitchell set the WNBA regular-season scoring record with 1,086 points. Mitchell also scored at least 20 points in a record 27 consecutive games.

Los Angeles Sparks

  • Azurá Stevens surpassed Candace Parker's franchise record for games with at least two 3-pointers and two blocks, reaching nine.

  • Nneka Ogwumike earned her 11th All-Star selection, tying Diana Taurasi for the second-most in WNBA history behind Sue Bird (13)

Minnesota Lynx

  • Kayla McBride hit 10 three-pointers against Dallas, setting the Minnesota franchise mark and WNBA single-game record.

  • Head Coach Cheryl Reeve became the WNBA’s all-time leader in regular-season coaching wins, finishing the season with 397 wins.

Golden State Valkyries

  • In just their second year as a franchise, the Valks reached their first-ever WNBA Finals. 

  • Janelle Salaün is the league’s first-ever unanimous sixth player of the year. Salaün also set the league record for most off-the-bench points during this year’s season with 509.

Las Vegas Aces

  • Jackie Young: the most career three-pointers in franchise history (437 career three-pointers). 

  • A’ja Wilson became the first five-time MVP winner (the most MVP awards in WNBA history), and the first player to win three consecutive MVP awards. She also became the first player to lead the WNBA in scoring and blocks for three straight seasons.

  • Head Coach Becky Hammon became the second-fastest head coach to reach 150 regular-season wins, doing so in 205 games. Only former Houston Comets head coach Van Chancellor reached the mark in fewer games.

  • Chelsea Gray recorded the most career assists in the WNBA postseason, totaling 423.

Atlanta Dream

  • Angel Reese became the first franchise player to win Defensive Player of the Year. Reese led the league in double-doubles, with 29 this season. She also grabbed 26 rebounds on Aug. 24 against the Sparks—a new single-game record.

  • The Atlanta Dream franchise has the most steals in a season in WNBA history with 373.

  • Rhyne Howard hit 129 three-pointers — the most in a single season.

  • Allisha Gray scored the most points in a season in franchise history (774).