The 2026 WNBA season is officially underway, with a full slate of action across Sunday’s slate. The Seattle Storm and Connecticut Sun will open up the action with a 1 p.m. ET tip-off, with both sides looking to bounce back from their opening game loss.

Looking at the odds, the Storm enter as 2.5-point favorites with -148 moneyline odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Sun hold +124 odds of pulling off the upset, with the game total set at 160.5 points.

Let’s get into a pick and prediction for this Storm at Sun matchup.

Storm at Sun Preview

The Connecticut Sun are looking to improve on last season’s 11-33 record, the third-worst mark in the WNBA. They did not get off to the ideal start, losing the season opener to the New York Liberty, 106-75. Connecticut never had a lead in the matchup, with the Liberty jumping out to a 36-13 first-quarter advantage and never looking back. The Sun failed to cover the 9.5-point spread, and the game total went over the 159.5-point line. While New York is the WNBA title favorite at +190 on DraftKings Sportsbook and posed as difficult a matchup as the Sun could get out of the gates, it was not reassuring to see some of the same issues that plagued them last season put on display.

Diamond Miller headlined the scoring for Connecticut in the season-opener, finishing with 16 points and three rebounds. Brittney Griner was brought in during the offseason and added 13 points and six boards in her Sun debut. Aneesah Morrow was the lone other player to score in double figures, with 15 points and six rebounds of her own. Saniya Rivers, Kennedy Burke, Charlisse Leger-Walker, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, and Hailey Van Lith will also play notable roles on the team.

The Seattle Storm finished last season with a 23-21 record, which ranked seventh in the league. They were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs by the eventual champion Las Vegas Aces. Seattle kicked off a rebuild in the offseason, with their top five scorers — Nneka Ogwumike, Gabby Williams, Skylar Diggins, Erica Wheeler, Brittney Sykes — each leaving in free agency. This accounts for 82.2% of last season’s scoring production.

Seattle kicked off this new era with a matchup against the Golden State Valkyries, but suffered a 91-80 loss. They failed to cover the 5.5-point spread, and the game total went over 156.5 points. Last year’s second overall pick, Dominique Malonga, is tasked with additional offensive responsibility and led the charge with 21 points and eight rebounds in the season opener. Zia Cooke and Jade Melbourne combined for 28 points off the bench. Rookie Flau’jae Johnson contributed 12 points despite her 3-for-12 shooting performance, while Stefanie Dolson and Natisha Hiedeman each also play key roles.

Storm at Sun Pick, Best Bet

Both these teams are still figuring out their true identity, but I am backing the Sun to pull off the upset in this matchup. Connecticut has some issues they need to fix, but Seattle will provide far less resistance than Las Vegas in the season opener. The Storm underwent a massive identity shift in the offseason, and it’s going to take some time to fully figure out.

The hope is for Dominique Malonga to grow into the franchise face, but she was limited to 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds across 14.3 minutes per game as a rookie. The flashes are there for the 6-foot-6 center, but she is being asked to fill some massive shoes at a bit quicker than seems realistic. Any way you cut it, there are going to be some major growing pains with this youthful Seattle roster, and this feels especially likely at the start of the season.

In the opening matchup, the Valkyries did an excellent job moving the ball and creating three-point looks. They knocked down 15 of their 37 perimeter looks and also scored 28 points in transition. Golden State relies more heavily on its three-point production, but there are takeaways from this matchup that Connecticut can apply.

Expect the Storm to continue working through the growing pains of this youth movement and for the Sun to take advantage in the two teams’ second matchup of the season. Count on Brittney Griner having some success on the interior and for Connecticut to pull off the upset in front of their home crowd.

Best Bet: Connecticut Sun Moneyline (+124)