5 Things We're Excited About at the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup

The WNBA season is officially on pause for a few weeks in the midst of a scorching playoff race, but don't worry: We've got some must-watch best-on-best play in the meantime.

The biggest stars in women's basketball are set to tip off in Berlin as the 2026 FIBA World Cup begins Friday. From Sept. 4 through Sept. 13, 16 teams composed of the best players from North America, Europe, Asia and Africa will compete for international glory.

For the uninitiated, the FIBA World Cup is one of two major international tournaments in the women's basketball world (the other, of course, is the Olympics).

The U.S. women's national team has won nine of the last 12 FIBA World Cups, including four consecutive, and hasn't lost a World Cup game since 2006. Team USA's dominance is a sight to behold, but as the game keeps growing, we can't write the rest of the world off this year.

Plus, A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum will miss the tournament due to injury, which means Team USA will be without two of its best players—and two of the most experienced in international play.

Will the next generation of stars step up for the U.S., or will parity catch up and break its dominant international run? Here are five things to look forward to at the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup.

Bueckers, Clark and Reese Take the Spotlight

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As devastating as it is for Team USA to lose WNBA MVP front-runner Wilson and veteran guard Plum, it gives the new faces of the league a huge opportunity to take their next steps.

This will be the first major international tournament for Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. All three 24-year-olds have started carving out their own unique paths in their first several years of their professional careers.

Bueckers is the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year, and she's about to get her first taste of the WNBA playoffs as she led her Wings to contention this season. Clark is healthy and playing some of the best basketball of her professional career, plus her Fever have made the postseason each of her three years. Reese is leading the WNBA in rebounding for the third time in her three years, has grown her game into a balanced skill set full of double-doubles and is fitting in well with Atlanta.

Given the history of coaching decisions in international tournaments—and the team success these decisions have created—we can't expect these players to jump in and assume the huge roles they've grown into on their respective teams.

Team USA traditionally opts for those with experience to lead the way, at least to start. But the absence of Wilson and Plum sure opens up the field and forces the staff to look to younger players.

The World Cup is one of the last boxes to check as Bueckers, Clark, Reese and Aliyah Boston (another first-timer) usher in a new era of women's basketball. It'll be a blast to watch each of them play to their own strengths they've spent the last few years fine-tuning for the international stage.

Caitlin Clark's Got Momentum

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Speaking of Clark, she's got a lot to smile about lately as she's fully healthy and has played an important role in punching the Fever's third consecutive trip to the playoffs.

Her third WNBA season has been her best so far, as she's averaged 22.5 points and 8.4 assists, and shot over 45 percent from the field.

She's always had a killer three, but she's grown far more comfortable with her midrange shot and has added more depth to her overall game. She's more efficient and more willing to stray from the three, but she's also still capitalizing on her trademark deep shot when needed. She scored 45 points, including six three-pointers, and 10 assists on July 17 to set a Fever points record.

All this, and then you remember Clark was the MVP of the World Cup qualifying tournament earlier this year. She may start the tournament coming off the bench—she may even stay coming off the bench—but she's grown so much that you get the sense she will make a splash with whatever time she's given.

France Is Intriguing

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The most likely team to ruin USA's attempt at a fifth consecutive World Cup win is France.

France is rolling out one of its most talented rosters ever as the women's game reaps the benefits of a huge popularity boom in the region. It boasts eight active WNBA players, including Golden State star guard Gabby Williams.

The French have been building momentum for years now. They took Olympic silver in 2012 and bronze in 2021. They got closest to glory at the Olympic final in Paris in 2024, ultimately losing to Team USA by one point behind Williams' 19 points.

Williams will be hungry to show the world that France is better than ever, and she's in fantastic shape headed into the playoffs.

Lineup Options Aplenty for Team USA

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Team USA has so many options when it comes to the lineup, and so many unique adjustment possibilities if the coaching staff needs to get creative without Wilson and Plum. In terms of chemistry, plenty of these players have lined up together in various situations.

There are WNBA teammates on the roster: the Fever's Clark and Boston, the Aces' Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray, the Mystics' Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron, the Dream's Reese and Rhyne Howard.

Beyond that, we've seen some of these players develop chemistry quickly on their offseason Unrivaled teams. Kahleah Copper, Reese and Gray won it all with the Rose back in 2025.

Not to mention, each Unrivaled team is represented via a player on this roster. Even if they haven't all gotten in reps with each other, this group has learned how to adapt quickly to new teammates.

Team USA Is Still Team USA

Look, we mean it when we say that this year's tournament should be more competitive than years past. We've seen Team France knocking at the door, and we saw how close they got to defeating Team USA at the 2024 Olympics.

Still, we mean it when we say that the U.S. women's national basketball team is one of the most dominant entities not just in basketball, but in all of sport.

Team USA has won eight straight Olympic Gold medals and four straight FIBA World Cups. It hasn't lost a game in international play since the 2006 World Championship semifinals, and has won 30 consecutive international games since that day more than 20 years ago.

History aside, the current roster is the most stacked in the field, even without Wilson and Plum in the fold. The younger players are already stars on their respective WNBA teams, and there is still a heavy star veteran presence on the team between Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Copper and Gray.

The team swept the World Cup qualifying tournament 5-0 and won by an average margin of 42 points over the span of those five games. It's not going to be as easy in the heat of the real thing, but Team USA remains the heavy favorite for a reason.