The Portland Fire opened their 2026 WNBA schedule by hosting the Las Vegas Aces on Thursday night, with tipoff set for 10 p.m. ET in a game that marked the league’s first clear appointment on the calendar. Fans looking for Fever Vs Sky style coverage were instead trying to pin down one matchup at the start of a season built to be harder to follow than most.
That search matters because the 2026 WNBA season began under a brand new collective bargaining agreement and a new media rights deal, a combination that put more attention on when games would be played and where they could be seen. As of 6:09 a.m. ET on Thursday, the listed start time for Portland and Las Vegas was 10 p.m. ET, one of the early fixtures in a season that was just getting going.
The matchup also put the defending champion Aces back in front of the league. Las Vegas entered the season trying to keep its dynasty alive and chase a fourth title in five years, while the Fire were tasked with welcoming them into a new year of basketball. For a league trying to build momentum, that opening-night mix of a new market, a reigning power and a late-night tipoff gave the game real weight before the ball was even thrown up.
But the broadcast side of the story was less tidy than the schedule. The new media rights setup made it difficult to figure out which channel each team was on from night to night, and the listing for this game did not make that any easier. The only thing set in stone was the start time and the teams on the floor, not the place fans would need to look for it.
There was more waiting behind this opener than just a television listing. A rookie class headlined by Dallas Wings top pick Azzi Fudd, along with Minnesota’s Olivia Miles and Washington’s Lauren Betts, was arriving as the season began, giving the league a fresh layer of intrigue around the same time veteran powers like Las Vegas were trying to stay on top. For Portland and Las Vegas, though, the immediate answer was simpler: Thursday, June 11, 2026, at 10 p.m. ET. The harder question was whether the new media map would make it obvious where to watch when that moment finally came.
