The 2026 WNBA season starts this week and ESPN rolled out their ranking of the Top 50 players in the league. Two former Syracuse Orange players found themselves included in the list with Brittney Sykes at 28 and Kamilla Cardoso at 34.
Sykes is coming off a season where she averaged 14.1 points and 4 assists per game for Washington and Seattle. This season she will be one of the featured players for the expansion Toronto Tempo and have a chance to show more of her offensive game. Here’s what ESPN had to say about
Still among the WNBA’s best defenders after nine years, Sykes had the second-best offensive season of her career with Washington and Seattle in 2025. Now with a two-year max deal, Sykes is a foundational piece of the expansion Tempo. While she has rarely been the No. 1 scoring option for any WNBA team she has played for, expect that in Toronto — or for her to at least share the role with Marina Mabrey. — Charlie Creme
With Sykes just a few hours away in Toronto, hopefully Syracuse fans will get to see her play more. Her success in Unrivaled has shown that she can be more than a defensive threat and her two-way play has her in contention for the USA 3X3 Olympic squad in 2028.
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Cardoso enters her 3rd season with Chicago and averaged 13.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game last year. The Sky are in another rebuild so Cardoso should be an even bigger part of their offensive gameplan this season.
Laila Phelia saw action in one preseason game for the Atlanta Dream before being released. We have to wait and see if she is added to another team’s roster before the season. Emily Engstler will begin the season with the other expansion squad- the Portland Fire.
We’ll keep you updated on the Orange in the WNBA throughout the summer.
