Expansion franchise Fire host revamped Sky for first game

The Chicago Sky tied for the league low of 10 victories last season and have since revamped the roster as they prepare to open the 2026 season at the expansion Portland Fire on Saturday night.

The most important newcomer is seven-time All-Star Skylar Diggins, and one of the players shipped out was stellar rebounder Angel Reese.

Chicago added Rickea Jackson and Azura Stevens to the frontcourt, while it loaded up in the backcourt by bringing in Natasha Cloud, DiJonai Carrington and Jacy Sheldon and drafting Gabriela Jaquez out of UCLA in the first round in addition to Diggins.

Sky coach Tyler Marsh doesn't mind having a guard-heavy squad.

"I don't think you can go wrong with a lot of good guards, capable guards," Marsh told reporters earlier this week. "It's not like we're just stock holding a bunch of players. It's players that can contribute and we're going to find ways to utilize them."

Diggins, 35, averaged 15.5 points and 6.0 assists for the Seattle Storm last season. Her wealth of experience will patch a leadership void early in the season as star point guard Courtney Vandersloot continues to rehab her knee injury. The five-time All-Star tore her ACL last June.

Carrington (foot) and Stevens (knee) will also be sidelined as Chicago opens a four-game road trip. The Sky won't play at home until May 20 against the Dallas Wings.

Portland is beginning its expansion season with four straight home games -- including a two-game set against the New York Liberty and one versus the Connecticut Sun.

Fire coach Alex Sarama is focused on building a foundation around defense.

"I feel in a pretty good place with where our defense is at," the 30-year-old Sarama told reporters earlier this week. "The offense is gonna take a little longer. Just a new system, players doing a good job getting used to it."

Portland took forward Bridget Carleton (Minnesota) with the first pick of the expansion draft and also nabbed guards Carla Leite (Golden State) and Sarah Ashlee Barker (Los Angeles) and guard/forward Haley Jones (Dallas), among others.

Barker is fully bought in on being part of the Fire's building project.

"I think every single day you can tell that, one, we come in and we work really hard no matter what," Barker said earlier this week.

"When people make mistakes, we pick each other up. There's a lot of effort and energy, and you can't teach effort and energy. But you can teach the mistakes, you can teach the Xs and Os, you can teach the defense."

This is the second rendition for Portland in the WNBA. The original Fire played from 2000-02 before folding.

--Field Level Media