fire.wnba.com
Portland WNBA expansion team, called the Portland Fire, will begin to play in 2026. They unveiled their name in July, Choosing a name honoring the first WNBA team that Portland hosted from 2000-2002.
The Portland Fire has not announced a head coach yet, however they have announced a General Manager, Vanja Cernivec. Cernivec will be taking the lead in major tasks like filling the roster and searching for a head coach. She’s previously held roles internationally with the London Lions as well as the Chicago Bulls.
The roster will be chosen through the WNBA’s expansion draft, the international draft, and the regular college draft. There’s lots of names circling in the media about who Portland will try to draft. A few of the names that pop up the most are: Olivia Miles, a guard who missed the 2025 draft due to an ACL injury, Azzi Fudd, a Remarkable guard from University of Connecticut, and Flau’Jae Johnson, a skilled player coming from LSU. Portland isn’t the only city starting to get a WNBA team. Toronto Tempo is going to begin playing in 2026, which might cause some competition during the draft. Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia are also excited to be welcoming expansion teams in the next few years.
The WNBA has been a growing league for a while now, kicking it off in 1997, the first teams were Charlotte Sting, Cleveland Rockers, Houston Comets, Los Angeles Sparks, New York Liberty, Phoenix Mercury, Sacramento Monarchs, and finally the Utah Starzz. These eight teams were separated into eastern and western conferences, creating the foundation of the Women’s National Basketball Association.
Many people don’t know this, but this isn’t the first WNBA team that Portland has hosted. In the year 2000 Portland was home to another WNBA team called the Portland Fire as well, until it folded in 2002 due to financial problems and lack of new ownership. Unfortunately, they also weren’t doing very good, not making it to the playoffs a single time. Hopefully in 2026 they can turn it around!
Portland also has the Portland Thorns FC professional women’s soccer team, which is known to have one of the best fan bases along with FC Barcelona, and Arsenal FC. Portland is one of the most welcoming cities when it comes to women’s sports. Penelope Thurston, a sophomore on the basketball team, says that she believes “The WNBA is growing and I think there’s a lot of women all over Oregon who will want to come out and support.” Everyone can agree the Blazers aren’t great. They’re in a rebuilding year and probably will be for the next year or so, which means it’s the perfect time for a WNBA team. Portland Fire will bring the life back to the Moda Center and basketball in Portland in general. The Fire will be sharing the Portland Trail Blazers stadium, the Moda Center, so make sure you check them out coming the 2026 season.
If you have any more questions, go to the Portland Fire page, but keep in mind it’s still fairly early in its development so many things like a schedule for example won’t be available yet. Finally, make sure you stay updated on the draft and make sure you don’t miss when tickets drop!