The Portland Fire are back — and this time, they're here to stay. The name revives the franchise that played in Portland from 2000 to 2002, a beloved but short-lived original that folded when the league contracted. A generation later, the WNBA returned to the Rose City with an expansion franchise for the 2026 season, keeping the Fire name as a bridge between the city's women's basketball past and its future. As one of the league's two 2026 expansion teams, Portland tipped off its debut season at the Moda Center — sharing the building with the Trail Blazers and the Thorns — in front of a fan base that had been waiting 24 years for this moment.
What defines the Fire is the seriousness of the build. The franchise was awarded in the fall of 2024 and unveiled the Fire name in July 2025. Ownership — RAJ Sports, led by Alex and Michelle Bhathal — didn't cut corners. They hired Vanja Černivec as the first general manager in August 2025, importing her directly from the Golden State Valkyries' front office so the expansion playbook came with institutional memory. In October 2025 they named Alex Sarama — a Cleveland Cavaliers assistant and player-development specialist — as the first head coach. Then they stacked the staff with credibility: Brittni Donaldson as assistant coach and assistant GM, and WNBA legend Sylvia Fowles — two-time champion, two-time Finals MVP, eight-time All-Star — as an assistant coach. The city responded before a single game was played: Portland surpassed 10,000 season-ticket deposits before the franchise even had a name, with ownership setting a goal of 20,000 for the debut season — a figure that would set a league record.
The April 3, 2026 expansion draft gave the Fire its foundation. Portland selected Bridget Carleton from the Minnesota Lynx, Carla Leite from the Golden State Valkyries, Luisa Geiselsöder from the Dallas Wings, Emily Engstler from the Washington Mystics, Maya Caldwell from the Atlanta Dream, Chloe Bibby from the Indiana Fever, Haley Jones from the Dallas Wings, Nyadiew Puoch from the Atlanta Dream, Sarah Ashlee Barker from the Los Angeles Sparks, Sug Sutton from the Washington Mystics, and Nika Mühl from the Seattle Storm. Two days before the draft, the front office traded with Chicago to move up to the No. 17 draft pick, and after the draft they dealt for center Serah Williams from Connecticut. Free agency filled out the rest: veterans like Karlie Samuelson and Megan DiLeo joined a roster blending proven WNBA rotation players with international upside.
The inaugural season, by the honest accounting, was a success with growing pains. Portland opened at the Moda Center on May 9 and put together signature wins against Indiana, New York, and Dallas — the kind of victories that tell a new fan base this team is real. Carla Leite, the 22-year-old guard, led the team at 15.9 points per game with a fearless ability to drive and finish. Carleton and Barker both had breakout seasons before Barker's year was cut short by a torn ACL in July. The Fire were eliminated from playoff contention with six games remaining, but they played with a clear identity: Sarama's "constraints-led approach," built on instinct and offensive fluidity, produced the eighth-best offense in the league. The defense, ranked second-to-last, was the price of youth — and the next frontier. Portland never won more than three in a row (a May run), and five-game skids in the summer showed how thin the margin is for an expansion roster. But continuity is the real prize: the front office's stated goal is to keep this core together into Year 2, exactly what a new franchise wants.
What's next is a targeted shopping list. Carleton, DiLeo, and Leite are the pillars to build around, and the hope is that Barker makes a full recovery from the ACL tear. Karlie Samuelson hits unrestricted free agency, Engstler is restricted, and Mühl carries a club option — decisions that will shape the rotation. Portland holds its own first- and second-round picks in 2027. The top front-office priority, in the open, is an elite shot creator — a go-to bucket-getter to take the quick-paced offense to the next level — plus a true center to anchor the paint. In a league where the 2027 schedule jumps from 44 to 50 games, depth is no longer a luxury.
The Fire's identity is still being written, and that's the fun of it. The branding — fire red, brown, blue, and pink, with PDX jerseys honoring the Willamette River and the 2026 arrival — was designed by a local Portland agency to feel like the city itself. The Rose City has always been a basketball town; it just needed its team back. Year one proved the Fire belong. Year two is about proving they can climb.
