WNBA winners and losers: Paige Bueckers, new-look Wings top Caitlin Clark, Fever in high-scoring thriller

Elsewhere, the Phoenix Mercury absolutely crushed the Las Vegas Aces to ruin ring night

Jack Maloney

May 9, 2026

6:50 pm ET

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9 min read

Getty Images

The 2026 WNBA season is underway. The New York Liberty got their quest for a championship started in style with a 31-point win over the Connecticut Sun, while the Washington Mystics outlasted the Toronto Tempo in the expansion team's first game. In the evening's finale, the Golden State Valkyries dominated the second half to beat the Seattle Storm.

Opening weekend continued Saturday with a highly-anticipated showdown between the Indiana Fever and Dallas Wings, which featured the last four No. 1 picks: Aliyah Boston (2023), Caitlin Clark (2024), Paige Bueckers (2025) and Azzi Fudd (2026). The Wings escaped in a thrilling 107-104 shootout after Clark and Kelsey Mitchell both missed game-tying 3-pointers in the final seconds.

Later on Saturday, the Phoenix Mercury recorded the biggest season-opening win in franchise history when they crushed the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces by 33 in a 2025 Finals rematch.

Final scores, schedule:

- Liberty 106, Sun 75 (Box score)

- Mystics 68, Tempo 65 (Box score)

- Storm 91, Valkyries 79 (Box score)

- Wings 107, Fever 104 (Box score)

- Mercury 99, Aces 66 (Box score)

- Atlanta Dream at Minnesota Lynx -- Saturday, 8 p.m. ET (League Pass)

- Chicago Sky at Portland Fire -- Saturday, 9 p.m. ET (NBA TV)

- Seattle Storm at Connecticut Sun -- Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (League Pass)

- New York Liberty at Washington Mystics -- Sunday, 3 p.m. ET (League Pass)

- Las Vegas Aces at Los Angeles Sparks -- Sunday, 6 p.m. ET (USA)

- Phoenix Mercury at Golden State Valkyries -- Sunday, 8:30 p.m. ET (League Pass)

Now that the season is off and running, let's take a look at some of the winners and losers from opening night:

Winner: Wings' offseason overhaul

Last season was a complete disaster for the Wings. Coach Chris Koclanes was in over his head, Arike Ogunbowale struggled to adjust to a lesser and more off-ball role next to No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers, they were crushed by injuries and couldn't defend a soul. They finished tied for last place with a league-record 34 losses.

The good news for the Wings is they got the No. 1 pick for the second year in a row, and were so bad that general manager Curt Miller had no choice but to essentially start over. He fired Koclanes and replaced him with Jose Fernandez, drafted Azzi Fudd with the top pick, and completely overhauled the roster. Alanna Smith, the 2025 co-Defensive Player of the Year, Jessica Shepard, Odyssey Sims and Alysha Clark arrived in free agency, and they convinced former No. 2 overall pick Awak Kuier to return to the WNBA after two seasons away.

There were plenty of questions about how Bueckers and the new-look Wings would fare this season, and Saturday's season-opening win over Clark and the Fever answered a lot of them. The Wings aren't going to shoot 59.1% from the field or 52.2% from 3-point range every night, but this team is going to be electric on the offensive end. They were racing up and down the floor, and their combination of guards who can get into the lane and break down the defense, bigs who can pass and shot-makers is going to be very difficult to slow down.

Bueckers, with 20 points on 8 of 10 shooting, was her usual self, Shepard nearly recorded a triple-double and Sims, who earned a surprise start, was dynamic. But the most encouraging sign was how comfortable Ogunbowale looked in Fernandez's offense. If she can get back to her best, the Wings' outlook completely changes. Plus, they barely even got anything from Fudd in this game; she scored just three points in 18 minutes in her debut.

> The big 3⃣

Arike Ogunbowale, Paige Bueckers & Odyssey Sims combined for 60+ PTS in the @DallasWings' win over the Fever, 107-104!

The stats speak for themselves ⤵️

Arike Ogunbowale: 22 PTS | 5 AST | 3 3PM

Paige Bueckers: 20 PTS | 4 AST | 3 REB

Odyssey Sims: 20 PTS | 2 AST | 2… pic.twitter.com/6YSBGVY32c

— WNBA (@WNBA) May 9, 2026

Winner: Mercury GM Nick U'ren

The Mercury were widely criticized for not doing enough during the offseason, especially after All-Star forward Satou Sabally walked and took a discount from the Liberty -- a team they beat in the first round of the playoffs last season. But perhaps general manager Nick U'Ren knew what he was doing.

U'Ren once again scoured the international market and added Serbian guard Jovana Nogic, who drained four 3-pointers en route to a 19-point, four-assist outing in the Mercury's 33-point win over the Aces. French forward Noemie Brochant added eight points and three rebounds off the bench, Belgian center Kyara Linskens chipped in two points, two rebounds and two steals. Another French forward, Valeriane Ayayi, their biggest free agent signing, wasn't even playing because she's still overs