The 2026 Women’s FIBA World Cup in Berlin, Germany, started on September 4th and finished this past Monday on September 13th. This was the 20th edition of the FIBA Women’s World Cup, and sixteen nations took part in the tournament this year. Including Germany, the United States, France, Australia, China, Belgium, Spain, Nigeria, Japan, Puerto Rico, Italy, South Korea, Turkey, Czech Republic, Mali, and Hungary.
The United States FIBA Women’s team included: Dallas Wings Guard Paige Bueckers, Washington Mystics Guard Sonia Citron, Atlanta Dream Guard Rhyne Howard, Phoenix Mercury Guard Kahleah Copper, Las Vegas Aces Guard Chelsea Gray, Washington Mystics Forward Kiki Iriafen, Minnesota Lynx Forward Napheesa Collier, Indiana Fever Guard Caitlin Clark, Las Vegas Aces Guard Jackie Young, Indiana Fever Forward Aliyah Boston, Atlanta Dream Forward Angel Reese, with New York Liberty Forward Breanna Stewart as team captain.
Team USA throughout the tournament would gain a flawless 6 and 0 record against the other nations competing for gold. In the Final Round of the tournament, Team USA faced off against Team France. Winning with an end score of 97-79, Team USA would win their fifth consecutive FIBA Women’s World Cup title, with team captain Breanna Stewart being named FIBA MVP and making the All-Tournament First Team alongside Jackie Young.
Many fans expected the players for the FIBA tournament to come back to the WNBA during the final stretch of games before the highly anticipated 2026 WNBA playoffs, but almost all of the players from the FIBA team have come back and seemed more energized and ready to win as ever, with stellar performances from players like Angel Reese who on the 17th of September put up 30 points and 10 rebounds on 83.5 percent true shooting efficiency or Jackie Young’s 35 point game versus the Seattle Storm on 83 percent true shooting efficiency. The WNBA playoffs start in just nine days with winning gold. Several players look ready to win again and add another piece of hardware to their great basketball season.
