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andre snellings
multiple authors
It’s almost that time again!
fantasy women’s basketball is back for its fourth year. After a wire-to-wire power-packed season last year, we look forward to being even bigger and better in 2026.
Fantasy Women’s Basketball is similar to other fantasy games you may have played before: It’s a point-to-point, head-to-head format that crowns a champion in a season-ending playoff.
Here is the scoring system for the game:
Points, rebounds and assists are all potentially high-volume categories, so they each earn one fantasy point. Steals and blocks are harder to come by, so they have double the value. Made 3-pointers give you a bonus fantasy point in addition to the three FP you get for points. It also allows you to build your fantasy roster with player types who contribute in different ways.
For example, a’ja wilson Won the 2025 WNBA MVP. The value of his 23.4 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 3.1 apg, 2.3 bpg, 1.6 spg and 0.6 3pg was 23.4 + 10.2 + 3.1 + 4.6 + 3.2 + 0.6 = 45.1 FP/G.
During this time, Nafeesa Collier Was a top three ranked player for most of the season. The value of his 22.9 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.5 bpg, 1.6 spg and 1.5 3pg was 22.9 + 7.3 + 3.2 + 3.0 + 3.2 + 1.5 = 41.0 FP/G.
And Caitlin ClarkIn the injury-free season, averaged 16.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 8.8 apg, 1.6 spg, 0.5 bpg and 2.2 3ppg. The value of that stat line was 16.5 + 5.0 + 8.8 + 3.2 + 1.0 + 2.2 = 36.7 FP/G.
WNBA stars will likely be among the elite fantasy scorers regardless of their production style. There is room for low-volume players to shine if they contribute significantly to the more difficult categories. This includes “glue players” who control the paint, defensive anchors, and long-range shooters.
Here’s a recap of everything you need to get ready for the fantasy women’s basketball season.
The Basics: What You Need to Know
The WNBA regular season begins on May 8. Details regarding the schedule, All-Star break and length of the season will follow shortly after the new collective bargaining agreement is signed on March 18.
The most important – and for many people, the most fun – part of putting together a fantasy team is the draft. The snake draft and salary cap draft are the most popular of the four methods available, but choose the one that works best for you:
snake: Players are selected in a set order in the first round and the draft order is reversed for each round thereafter. (Example: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 then 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1).
salary cap: Team managers use a notional budget to enroll and sign players until their roster is complete. Suggested prices are listed in the draft room, with a $1 minimum.
Autopick: The system automatically drafts players for each team in the league on the scheduled draft date so that team managers do not have to be online during the draft.
Offline: Team managers conduct their drafts without the use of ESPN’s online draft system, then manually input the offline draft results into the system.
Game Plan: How to Win Your League
Being a successful team manager means taking an active role in running your team throughout the WNBA season.
At a minimum, this means:
1. Making adjustments to your starting lineup from the beginning to the end of the season.
2. Adding free agents or trading for players who can help your team and removing or trading players who are ineffective.
3. Moving injured players to injured reserve to open up available roster space that can be filled.
Good luck this season and have lots of fun! Be sure to check back throughout the WNBA season for plenty of analysis to help build championship rosters.
