As wild as it seems, we’ve already wrapped up the WNBA’s 2026 FIBA World Cup break. After a few weeks of international play, several WNBA stars will travel from Germany back to their teams, ready to ramp back up ahead of games kicking off Thursday, September 17. 

It’s a tight turnaround, but after some amazing play from multiple countries represented by quite a few WNBA players, the transition back to WNBA play should be easier. That’ll be especially true for the USA and French national teams, who finished first and second in the World Cup, respectively.

Here, we’ll look at five things from the tournament that really stood out to me following the USA’s fifth-straight gold medal. 

Valkyries Getting Back a Red-Hot Gabby Williams

When France was up by double digits to begin their gold medal game against the USA, it felt obvious that Gabby Williams would likely finish up as the tournament’s MVP if they managed actually to break the USA’s winning streak. Of course, Les Bleues were unable to hold on, so Williams’ initial heroics took a backseat. 

That doesn’t erase her impact from the entire tournament, though, where she averaged 18.7 points per game along with 2.8 steals and four assists. Most impressive about Williams’ run was how aggressive she was with the ball in her hands, showing off a finishing package at the rim and some stellar three-point shooting. She averaged 48.7 percent from deep in the tournament, which is a 14 percent increase from her average this season with the Valkyries.

If Williams can carry over that MVP-caliber play into the Valkyries’ final stretch of contests headed into the postseason, they become an even scarier team to have to face in the earlier rounds of the playoffs. 

Defensive Stalwart Angel Reese

Angel Reese #15 of the United States

Team USA got a major youth injection this year, with players like Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Kiki Iriafen, and Sonia Citron joining a core of star veterans. In the USA’s final against France, one player stood out as having made a big impact on their comeback, and that was Reese. 

She finished with just three points and three rebounds in their final game, but beyond the box score, Reese used her length to disrupt guards who couldn’t get their composure against her. She helped generate some bad looks for France and forced turnovers throughout the game. 

The Atlanta Dream need this version of Reese as they’re seeking to make a final seeding push in this final stretch of the WNBA season. She and Rhyne Howard looked poised to help make that happen with their excellent play in the clutch for Team USA in this tournament. 

Las Vegas Saving the Day

Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young managed to help Team USA avoid painful losses twice in this tournament – once against Italy during the group phase, where Young led the way with 10 points and three assists, and again against France, where Young had 18 points and Gray finished up with 12. 

Young was especially dangerous in the USA’s final against France, managing to use her speed to get to her spots on the floor quite easily while looking confident as the team’s main facilitator throughout the game. It just felt like anytime you got the ball in the hands of her or Gray, good things were going to happen.  

Las Vegas continues to battle off the Dream, Indiana Fever, and potentially the New York Liberty for the 3rd seed ahead of the postseason. Games like the ones Young and Gray just had throughout this tournament should give the Aces some confidence in their ability to hold onto that seeding. 

FIBA All-Star Lineup Features All WNBA Players

Leonie Fiebich of Germany

FIBA awarded Breanna Stewart the MVP of the women’s world cup tournament, while also placing her on their All-Star Five list from the entire tournament alongside Young, Williams, Iyana Martin, and Leonie Fiebich. 

Having two New York Liberty players on this list is pretty cool, especially with Fiebich having dominated elsewhere alongside Germany. Martin, who was selected by the Portland Fire seventh overall in this year’s draft, looked like a future weapon for Portland after averaging 17.5 points per game along with 4.2 assists and 2.2 steals for Spain. 

Spain, thanks in large part to her work, finished third in the tournament. It should get WNBA fans excited about her potential arrival in 2027 for Portland after spending this season training with Spain ahead of this tournament. 

This was a great showcase of how much international talent the league already rosters, and how much more talent is set to develop or come over to the WNBA in years to come. While Team USA seems like the obvious powerhouse to topple in future tournaments, strong cores are forming in Spain, Germany, France, and Belgium. 

Final Push from Stewart in MVP race Thanks to the World Cup?

Stewart, as mentioned, finished up as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, and that felt pretty fitting once Williams and France had dropped their gold medal game against the USA. She and Sue Bird are now the only two players in FIBA women’s basketball history to have secured four titles, and she’s the first player ever to secure multiple MVPs in FIBA history. 

The Liberty star is in the mix amid a tight MVP race in the WNBA, where A’ja Wilson, Olivia Miles, Kelsey Mitchell, Caitlin Clark, and Stewart seem to be pacing the rest of the league. It’d be hard for Stewart to make a final push now to topple one of the current assumed leaders in that clubhouse, but her performance in this FIBA tournament feels like a turning point for her as it pertains to her upcoming work for New York and their postseason push. 

She finished up the tournament as Team USA’s leader in efficiency (18.8), points per game (12.8), and rebounds per game (7.3). The veteran knew what was needed to dominate a red-hot France team, and she provided a game-best 22 points on 70 percent shooting from the field to provide that pop. 

If she can maintain that level of efficiency and two-way dominance headed into the final stretch of WNBA games, she could make a push for a not-insignificant number of MVP votes.