The day has arrived. The 2021 WNBA season opens Friday night with a four-game slate, beginning with the Indiana Fever at the New York Liberty in Barclays Center.

We’ve brought you our preseason power rankings, the storylines we’ll be following and the five players with the most breakout potential this season.

Now, let’s get to the big reveal. What follows are our predictions for the WNBA season, from all of the top award recipients to playoff teams and the champion.

MVP: Breanna Stewart (Seattle Storm)

It’s as simple as this: When Stewart is healthy, she wins. That’s come in the form of four NCAA championships at UConn, four NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player awards, two WNBA championships, two WNBA Finals MVPs and one WNBA MVP — all before she turns 27. So, as the Storm look to capitalize on this championship window, I’m not betting against her.

Runner-up: Jonquel Jones (Connecticut Sun)

Rookie of the Year: Charli Collier (Dallas Wings)

I had my doubts about Collier’s ability to transition quickly to the WNBA level after an inconsistent run through the NCAA Tournament with Texas. Take what you will from WNBA preseason, but Collier then posted a double-double in Dallas’ only exhibition game, and I think she’ll get enough opportunities with a young Wings team to make her mark early and often.

Runner-up: Aari McDonald (Atlanta Dream)

Defensive Player of the Year: Natasha Howard (New York Liberty)

Since Tina Charles’ departure, the Liberty have lacked an enforcer in the paint. I expect Howard, the winner of the DPOY award in 2019, to assume that role right away while playing more minutes for New York than she did for Seattle.

Runner-up: Candace Parker (Chicago Sky)

Sixth Woman of the Year: Dearica Hamby (Las Vegas Aces)

As long as Hamby is coming off the bench for the Aces, there is no one who can compete with her for this award, which she’s won the past two years. There’s a chance she enters the starting lineup with Angel McCoughtry sidelined for the season, but I think coach Bill Laimbeer likes the energy she brings as a reserve too much to mess with the system now.

Runner-up: Jordin Canada (Seattle Storm)

Most Improved Player: Ezi Magbegor (Seattle Storm)

I will admit, I originally had Diamond DeShields winning this one. But on second thought, I don’t think a former All-Star is really eligible for this award, even if she’s coming off a disappointing, injury-plagued 2020 season. That brings me to Magbegor, whose talent we’ve been talking about for years now. The 6-foot-4 center has drawn comparisons to fellow Australian Lauren Jackson and shown glimpses of star potential. I think this is the year she starts to put it all together.

Runner-up: Bridget Carleton (Minnesota Lynx)

Coach of the Year: Mike Thibault (Washington Mystics)

Thibault pulled the Mystics out of seeming oblivion last season to earn the final spot in the WNBA playoffs. Now, he’s entering this one without Alysha Clark and Emma Meesseman and with Elena Delle Donne not yet at full strength. I think Thibault works his magic again to get this team back into the playoffs and in a position to contend despite the adversity.

Runner-up: James Wade (Chicago Sky)

Playoff teams (seeded 1-8):

Las Vegas Aces
Seattle Storm
Minnesota Lynx
Connecticut Sun
Chicago Sky
Phoenix Mercury
Washington Mystics
Los Angeles Sparks

Championship: Las Vegas Aces over Seattle Storm

You wanted to see a new team in the Finals? Tough luck. While I think the Lynx, Sun or Sky have a chance at upsetting one of these teams in the semifinals, they don’t have the same level of depth and foundational chemistry as the Aces and Storm. So, bring on a 2020 Finals rematch. And this time, with Liz Cambage and Kelsey Plum back to support reigning MVP A’ja Wilson, the Aces come out on top.

Unrivaled Basketball and trading card manufacturer Panini America are teaming up, bringing the 3×3 league's first officially licensed trading cards to market on Friday.

As part of a multi-year agreement between the two parties, Panini will debut the Instant Cards just hours before the first full weekend of play in the 2026 Unrivaled season tips off on Friday.

Panini also plans to launch a Rewind set of trading cards celebrating the 2025 inaugural Unrivaled season, among other future drops.

"Our partnership with Unrivaled is a great way to reinforce and showcase our support of the women's game and female athletes," said Panini America SVP of marketing Jason Howarth in the pair's Thursday announcement. "Unrivaled's 3-on-3 format makes for exciting and compelling game play and continuing to work with the best players in the world in this format made this partnership make perfect sense."

Following Monday's Season 2 tip-off, Unrivaled is continuing to form strategic partnerships as the offseason pro league grows in popularity.

"We want to meet fans where they are, and Panini's history in this space makes them an ideal partner to highlight the biggest moments for women's basketball's biggest stars," said Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell.

How to purchase Unrivaled Instant Cards

The full Unrivaled Instant Card set will release online at 3:08 PM ET on Friday at PaniniAmerica.net.

US women are lighting up the ice, performing record-breaking short programs at the US Figure Skating Championships on Wednesday as the nation's top skaters compete to represent Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics in February.

Currently atop the field is 26-year-old Amber Glenn, with the reigning back-to-back national champion posting the highest short program score in event history on Wednesday.

Glenn's 83.05-point performance surpassed the 81.11-point previous record set just minutes before by her 20-year-old teammate, reigning world champion Alysa Liu.

"I think that was one of my most enjoyable experiences competing ever," Glenn said afterwards.

With Liu and Glenn leading the charge, the US is aiming to end a 20-year Olympic medal drought in women's singles figure skating in Milan, Italy, this winter — and Team USA has even more depth on their side.

A full six of the world's Top-17 skaters hail from the US, with 18-year-old Isabeau Levito — who claimed third in Wednesday's short program competition — joining Glenn and Liu in the Top 5.

Team USA can send only three singles skaters to next month's Winter Games, with the national selection committee assessing each athlete's full season — not just their performances at this week's championships — before announcing the Olympic-bound trio on Sunday.

How to watch the 2026 US Figure Skating Championships

The women's singles competition will conclude with Friday's free skate, which kicks off at 3 PM ET before the top skaters in the standings take the ice at 8 PM ET on NBC and Peacock.

The 2026 US Olympic Figure Skating Team will then be announced at 2 PM ET on Sunday, live on NBC.

This month's USWNT roster featured one notable gap, as the absence of Portland Thorns midfielder Sam Coffey stirred up rumors that the 27-year-old is finalizing a move to the WSL to join the top-tier UK league's frontrunners, Manchester City.

First reported by The Guardian, ESPN added on Thursday that Manchester City will ante up a base transfer fee around $800,000 to add Coffey to the Citizens' roster — though the number could rise as negotiations continue and parties finalize a deal.

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The national team stalwart will reportedly travel to Manchester in the near future to ink a potential contract, but Coffey currently remains under contract with Portland until 2027, having signed an extension with the Thorns in 2024.

Coffey has been a mainstay for her NWSL club since Portland drafted the Penn State alum in 2021, but the UK league's pull could persuade her to join her USWNT teammates Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea), Emily Fox (Arsenal), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United), and Naomi Girma (Chelsea) in making the leap to the WSL.

Currently sitting six points clear of six-time reigning champion Chelsea atop the 2025/26 WSL table, Manchester City has reportedly been searching for "the right defensive midfield option" as they pursue their first league title since 2016.

This weekend's SEC slate brings the heat, as the stacked NCAA basketball conference gears up for more than one high-profile ranked matchup on Sunday.

Undefeated No. 2 Texas will visit Baton Rouge to take on No. 12 LSU, with the Tigers looking to add to their 80-59 Thursday win over unranked Georgia as they continue battling back from a dismal 0-2 start in 2025/26 conference play.

"We think we're just going to go in there and out-jump, out-leap somebody," said LSU boss Kim Mulkey following last Sunday's loss to No. 7 Vanderbilt. "You're not going to do that in this league."

"This year, the [SEC] is every bit as good as last year — when you really think about it, it's probably way better," Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer told the Austin American-Statesman on Thursday. "The big thing right now is we've got to get better."

Texas's clash with LSU opens a tough stretch for the Longhorns, as they face AP Poll headliners No. 3 South Carolina, No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 6 Kentucky, and No. 7 Vanderbilt in the coming weeks.

Sunday's other SEC blockbuster between the Sooners and the Wildcats is all about redemption, as Oklahoma aims to bounce back from their 74-69 upset loss to No. 18 Ole Miss on Thursday while Kentucky looks to put their 64-51 Thursday loss to unranked Alabama in the rearview mirror.

How to watch ranked SEC basketball on Sunday

No. 2 Texas will tip off Sunday's ranked SEC slate against No. 12 LSU at 3 PM ET, airing live on ESPN.

Then at 4 PM ET, No. 5 Oklahoma will visit No. 6 Kentucky, with live coverage on the SEC Network.