WNBA and Team USA icon Sue Bird added another accolade to her resume over the weekend, becoming the only US player named to the FIBA Hall of Fame Class of 2026 on Sunday.
Bird's 2026 inclusion will see her join past US inductees like South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley and legendary UConn sideline leader Geno Auriemma.
A core member of USA Basketball's ongoing Olympic domination, Bird tallied five straight gold medals in her tenure with Team USA, winning every Olympic matchup she played from the 2004 Summer Games in Athens through the 2021 Tokyo tournament.
Along with her Olympic success, Bird also claimed championships at four FIBA World Cups throughout her playing career.
Most recently, USA Basketball appointed the 45-year-old legend as managing director of the nation's women's team, with Bird assuming her new role in May 2025 after retiring from a decorated WNBA career that included four league championships with the Seattle Storm.
This weekend's FIBA announcement is just the latest in Bird's string of recent honors, with the Storm immortalizing the former guard in statue form in August before her September induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
A two-time NCAA champion, Bird also saw her No. 10 UConn jersey retired into the rafters earlier this month in Storrs.
Bird will snag her next well-deserved honor in Berlin, Germany, as she joins six other players and one coach in the FIBA Hall of Fame Class of 2026 induction ceremony on April 21st.
The business of women's sports is booming, as Forbes confirmed this week in their Most Valuable Women's Sports Teams of 2025 rankings.
The publication reported that 25 women's sports organizations now boast valuations in the nine figures, with an estimated collective worth of $5.6 billion.
The WNBA's New York Liberty tops the list with an estimated value of $400 million, with women's basketball producing the inaugural rankings' five most valuable teams as the Indiana Fever, Seattle Storm, Las Vegas Aces, and Phoenix Mercury also punched at or above the $300 million mark.
Notably, all 12 long-established WNBA teams feature in the Top 25, with only 2025 expansion side Golden State still building into the top echelon of women's sports valuations — though the Valkyries seem a likely future addition to the list considering their record-breaking debut season.
Soccer standouts comprised the other 13 Most Valuable Women's Sports Teams of 2025, with eight NWSL franchises and five European football clubs scoring spots on the Forbes list.
No. 6 Angel City FC and No. 7 Kansas City Current lead the NWSL at $280 million and $275 million, respectively, while No. 8 Arsenal just edged Liga F side No. 7 Barcelona and fellow WSL club No. 8 Chelsea FC to top Europe's contingent with a valuation of $260 million.
Purpose-built arena and training facilities ultimately gave US teams a valuation edge, as many European clubs remain financially tied to their men's counterparts.
All in all, women's sports valuations reflect potential as much as they do current reality, as investors cash in on one of the sector's fastest-growing markets.
No. 1 UConn honored one of the NCAA basketball program's legends on Sunday, hanging up the No. 10 jersey of Hall of Fame guard Sue Bird in a retirement ceremony prior to the Huskies' dominant 102-35 victory over DePaul — their ninth win of the 2025/26 season.
A two-time NCAA champion, Bird is now one of only three UConn women's basketball players with a number in the rafters, joining Rebecca Lobo and Swin Cash — and soon-to-be Maya Moore.
"This is home," said Bird. "This is where it started. So to see what we are about to see, my number up in the rafters next to these other legends, it's an incredible, incredible honor. Hard to put into words."
"The amazing thing about [Cash, Lobo, Bird, and Moore] was the incredible amount of success they had after they left here," said UConn head coach Geno Auriemma during Sunday's jersey retirement ceremony. "That as great as their accomplishments were here, what they've done since they left has been nothing short of incredible."
Bird became UConn's first-ever No. 1 WNBA draft pick in 2002, with the floor general winning four titles with the Seattle Storm plus five Olympic gold medals as part of Team USA before retiring in 2022.
How to watch No. 1 UConn in action this week
After honoring their past superstar, the reigning national champions are now looking to the future, with No. 1 UConn gearing up for a ranked matchup against No. 16 USC on Saturday.
The clash between the Huskies and the Trojans will tip off at 5:30 PM ET, with live coverage airing on FOX.
The New York Liberty reportedly landed a boss, with multiple sources linking longtime Golden State Warriors assistant coach Chris DeMarco to the 2024 WNBA champions' head coaching vacancy late last week.
After first joining the Warriors as an intern in 2012, the 40-year-old worked through the Golden State ranks to serve in both an assistant and player development capacity for the NBA side.
Exiting as as front-of-bench assistant, DeMarco aided the team to an impressive four NBA championships (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022) during his tenure.
DeMarco also has experience on the international sideline, leading the Bahama men's national team from June 2019 until August 2025.
Recent WNBA hiring trends have favored NBA vets, with Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Alex Sarama recently named head coach of 2026 expansion side Portland while Seattle tapped former Memphis Grizzlies assistant Sonia Raman as the Storm's new sideline leader.
According to ESPN, additional top candidates for the New York Liberty opening vacated by now-Toronto Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello included Toronto Raptors assistant Jama Mahlalela, ex-Brooklyn Nets and current Charlotte Hornets assistant Will Weaver, and former assistant to the NBA's Washington Wizards and Dallas Mavericks Kristi Toliver, the current associate head coach for the Phoenix Mercury.
As all but two Liberty players enter free agency, New York is aiming to keep stars like Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu on its roster — with the hiring of DeMarco potentially playing game-changer in some of those contract negotiations.
ESPN reported that Bay Area product Ionescu apparently reached out to Golden State Warriors icon Steph Curry to ask about DeMarco as part of the hiring process.
Dallas has once again jumped to the front of the line, as the Wings locked down the No. 1 overall pick at the 2026 WNBA Draft, scoring the top draft selection for the second straight year at Sunday's lottery.
The Wings selected UConn star guard Paige Bueckers with last year's No. 1 pick, with the NCAA champion going on to win 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year.
"We've got an exciting young group, and we really bond together," said Dallas Wings forward and 2023's overall No. 3 draftee Maddy Siegrist. "I'm excited to bring someone else in."
In the rest of Sunday night's 2026 lottery results, the league's rich got richer, with 2025 WNBA playoff contenders the Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm claiming the No. 2 and No. 3 picks, respectively, after both teams gained draft assets via trades.
The Washington Mystics will boost their already impressive young roster with the fourth draft pick in April, while the Chicago Sky snagged the fifth and final lottery spot on Sunday.
With 2026 WNBA season expanding to 15 teams, the league's two incoming expansion sides — the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire — will select in the Nos. 6 and 7 spots.
As for the 2026 class, top NCAA prospects including UConn guard Azzi Fudd, UCLA center Lauren Betts, and TCU guard Olivia Miles — as well as international star Awa Fam from Spain — are likely to earn early selections in April's WNBA Draft.
WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike made waves on Wednesday, with the Seattle Storm star becoming the first player to join offseason league Project B — a new overseas pro women's basketball venture set to tip off in late 2026.
"There's so many different opportunities for players [outside of the WNBA] and that's always been the case," said Ogwumike. "This is just another one of those opportunities and I know that a lot of players are doing what they can to ensure that they can maximize on the short time that they have in their playing careers. This is my chance to be able to do that."
The Project B deal reportedly exceeds the 35-year-old forward's WNBA salary, with Ogwumike also receiving an equity stake in the fledgling league as part of her deal.
"It's not something that's usually offered to us, and by us, I mean women athletes," Ogwumike explained. "So for there to be an entry level of equity across the board was eye-catching. It's something that I stand for, obviously."
Headed by Skype cofounder Geoff Prentice and former Facebook executive Grady Burnett, Project B looks to field a total of 66 players across six teams.
The concept revolves around a Formula One-style event, with teams playing a traveling circuit of tournaments across multiple European and Asian cities before winners advance to compete for a world title.
Project B expects to run from November 2026 through April 2027, with all games streaming live.
"Basketball has never been just a game," said retired WNBA legend and early Project B investor Candace Parker. "It's culture, community, and connection. But for too long, players have carried the game without a real stake in its future. And women, especially, [are] asked to wait for change."
"Project B isn't waiting."
Another WNBA team has reportedly landed a leader, with the Seattle Storm rumored to have tapped former New York Liberty and Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach Sonia Raman as the team's newest head coach.
Building out her early head coaching career in the NCAA's Division III leading the MIT Engineers, Raman spent four seasons as an NBA assistant in Memphis before joining Sandy Brondello's Liberty staff for the 2025 WNBA season.
According to a Friday report, the Seattle Storm have offered Raman a multi-year deal, and the hiring will make her the first-ever WNBA head coach of Indian descent.
With the Dallas Wings as well as both 2026 expansion teams the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo also recently locking in their new locker room leaders, Seattle's sideline news means that only 2024 champions New York remain without a manager well into the WNBA offseason.
Reports indicate that Raman initially caught the Liberty's eye, after Brondello parted ways with the team following New York's first-round exit from the 2025 WNBA Playoffs.
Raman will replace Seattle's 2021-2025 head coach Noelle Quinn, taking over a Storm roster centered around 2025 WNBA Draft overall No. 2 pick and All-Rookie team honoree Dominique Malonga plus an anticipated 2026 lottery pick.
Fresh off her rookie WNBA season, Seattle Storm star Dominique Malonga is causing a stir overseas, abruptly withdrawing from her offseason contract with Turkish club Fenerbahçe this week — and creating controversy in her wake.
Malonga initially signed a three-year deal with the two-time Euroleague champions in March before she "unilaterally terminated her professional player contract with our club without any just cause," according to a Fenerbahçe social media post on Monday.
"We inform the public that we will exercise all our legal rights to seek compensation for any material and moral damages incurred by our club during this process," the team continued.
While she didn't disclose a reason for leaving Istanbul, the 19-year-old did reveal that she recently required surgery to repair a dislocated tendon in her wrist, estimating that she'd be in a cast for six weeks.
The 2025 WNBA Draft overall No. 2 pick finished her debut WNBA season averaging 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, earning herself a spot on the stacked 2025 All-Rookie Team.
Should the contract dispute remain unresolved, Fenerbahçe could attempt to disrupt Malonga's second season in Seattle due to a longstanding "letter of clearance" rule requiring approval from both the WNBA and Europe's FIBA before athletes can move between leagues.
Front Office Sports reported on Tuesday that while the WNBA signed off on the 19-year-old's Turkish contract, Fenerbahçe could deny her ability to return to the US league "under the condition that she violated the terms of her contract."
"If the season tips off in May as it did in 2025, this would give Fenerbahçe and Malonga about six months to rectify any potential dispute and clear her for a WNBA return," warned FOS.
Despite finishing at the bottom of the 2025 WNBA standings, the No. 12 Chicago Sky and No. 13 Dallas Wings will not be moving on from their current head coaches according to a report from Front Office Sports this week.
Dallas sideline leader Chris Koclanes and Chicago manager Tyler Marsh led their sides to identical 10-34 records in their first year at the helm — the worst in the league this season.
In contrast, 2025 playoff participants Seattle and New York are already making aggressive coaching changes, dismissing Storm boss Noelle Quinn and Liberty leader Sandy Brondello following first-round postseason exits.
While some fans criticized the presumed decision, Chicago Sky and Dallas Wings stars spoke out in support of their head coaches.
"Obviously the season didn't go how we expected, but being able to have a coach like Tyler, it was amazing through the ups and downs," Chicago center Kamilla Cardoso told reporters. "He always showed up every day with the same energy, no matter what the record was."
"The team embodies the attitude of your leader," echoed Dallas guard Paige Bueckers. "And for [Koclanes] to show up every single day at work and pour into all of us…it means a lot to us as a team."
The Seattle Storm is cleaning house, opting to not renew the contract of head coach Noelle Quinn following the team's first-round exit from the 2025 WNBA Playoffs last Thursday.
"On behalf of our organization, I would like to thank Noelle for her time with the Storm," Seattle GM Talisa Rhea said in Sunday's announcement. "Her commitment to the ongoing success of our organization and to furthering the development of our players was second to none. She put us in a position to win at the highest levels of the game and, for that, we are grateful."
After winning the 2018 WNBA championship as a Seattle Storm player, Quinn joined the staff as an assistant coach before claiming another title as the team's associate head coach in 2020.
The Storm named Quinn head coach in May 2021 after her predecessor Dan Hughes stepped down due to health reasons — minting her the first-ever Black woman manager in Seattle history.
In her five-year tenure at the helm, Quinn led the Storm to four playoff appearances and logged the second-most wins of any coach in Seattle history, with the 40-year-old exiting the franchise with an overall record of 101-97.
In those four playoffs, Seattle only advanced past the first round in 2022, with the team going 4-8 in all postseason play under Quinn.
The Seattle Storm finished the 2025 WNBA regular season as the No. 7 seed on a 23-21 record before falling to the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces in the first round to cap their postseason run last week.