Today on The IX Sports Podcast, co-hosts Howard Megdal and Jackie Powell have the perfect introduction to the 2026 WNBA Season, set to tip off tonight. But before getting into that, the two of them took some time to reflect on the impact of Tina Charles, who announced her retirement this week.
“When we think about what Tina was in this league, it is important to understand her in the broader context of being ahead of the curve, something I talked about in my Basketball Insider column at The IX Sports this week,” Megdal said, describing how Charles was a trailblazer for bigs shooting from the perimeter.
“She was a figure who was ahead of the curve on why the off-season was so important and required higher player salaries, and she was ahead of the curve on organizing players on social justice issues in ways that will absolutely have led the framework to what is to come,” he added.
Powell also noted Charles’ investment in social justice, and the way she used her platform intersectionally as a filmmaker and philanthropist. She recalled a panel Charles sat on with Liberty teammate Tanisha Wright in 2019 that focused on incarcerated women and criminal justice reform.
“And so this was all happening before we had the George Floyd and Breonna Taylor movement that then dovetailed into what we saw in the 2020 bubble,” Powell said. “And then that other thing about Tina, is I mean, the Hopey’s Heart Foundation, right? And how much that became a part of her story.”
GM Survey
Powell and Megdal also discussed the annual WNBA GM Survey in this week’s episode, breaking down several categories. One item of discussion was the question: If you were starting a franchise today and could sign any player in the WNBA, who would it be?
The results showed Paige Bueckers first at 33%, followed by Caitlin Clark and A’ja Wilson tied at 20% and Dominique Malonga with 13%.
“I think what’s most interesting to me about this part of the survey is how much there’s a bit of a balance here,” Powell said. “Like last year, it was Caitlin Clark 50% so yeah, she doesn’t really play a lot in her sophomore season. But, I mean, I don’t know. I sort of had a feeling that Paige would be who she was. […] So it just, I guess, is this an overcorrection of last year’s survey?”
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Megdal said that front office members he interviewed last year were split on Clark or Bueckers as the starting player. Part of it, Megdal noted, is likely that Clark only played 13 games last season due to injury.
“Now we get to see what Caitlin does, hopefully healthy, and having watched a lot to be able to incorporate into her game, I can’t wait to see that either,” Megdal said.
Officiating
To close out the episode with Court Vision, Megdal and Powell discussed the ongoing conversation across the league regarding physicality and officiating. Powell pointed to the newly formed State of the Game Council announced by Commissioner Kathy Engelbert on draft night.
“It’s been created to address the physicality of the game and just officiating standards in general, so that there is a general forum, and there is there are institutional practices on how to achieve some of these changes that GMs and coaches have been clamoring for for years,” Powell said.
Megdal noted that there will continue to be adjustments to officiating as the season goes on, noting that more whistles will lead to more starts and stops throughout the game.
But one thing that’s starting (and not stopping any time soon)? The 2026 WNBA season tips off tonight.
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