Date announced for Toronto Temp, Portland Fire, WNBA expansion draft

The WNBA has announced the expansion draft for the incoming Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire franchises will take place on Fri., April 3.

Toronto was announced as the 14th WNBA franchise in May 2024. Portland, which previously played in the league between 2000 and 2002, was announced as the 15th franchise in September 2024.

The expansion draft was announced on Wednesday, a day after the WNBA board of governor’s unanimously ratified a new landmark seven-year collective bargaining agreement that should significantly increase player salaries.

Let’s break down how the expansion draft works.

WNBA expansion draft

A coin toss will be held on Fri., March 27. The winning franchise will then choose between taking the first pick in the expansion draft or the sixth overall pick in the college draft on April 13. The team that doesn’t get the sixth selection in the college draft will pick seventh.

The expansion draft is two rounds, with up to six selections for each expansion team in each round.

Toronto and Portland will alternate picks, with a reverse order in the second round, so the team that picks first in the first round will pick second in the second round.

The Tempo and the Fire will pick from players not protected by their WNBA teams. The rest of the league will need to provide a list of five protected players by Sunday. Only one player can be drafted from each team.

Players who have been in the league for five or more years after the 2025 season must be put on the roster list as an unrestricted free agent or included in the unprotected list.

Of significant note, over 80 per cent of players are free agents this year. Seattle’s Lexie Brown and Phoenix’ Kalani Brown are the only veteran players who didn’t have contracts that expired after last season.

Toronto and Portland can only select one player who is a potential unrestricted free agent. The teams can then negotiate a supermax contract with those players, which could be valued at up to $1.4 million annually under the new CBA.