WNBA First Basket Stats 2026: Leaders, Team Rates and Tipoffs

WNBA first basket stats for 2026: Shakira Austin led the league with 11 first baskets of the game, the players who score first most often per start, how often each team scores first and wins the tipoff, and how first baskets are scored, from play-by-play data.
Modified

October 13, 2026

HomeStatsWNBA First Basket Stats 2026: Leaders, Team Rates and Tipoffs

Who scores first in the WNBA? This page counts the first field goal of every WNBA game in 2026 (330 regular season, 16 playoffs, 1 play-in) from the play-by-play, then breaks it down by player, team and scoring method. These are the same labels our first basket models learn from; the models add tonight’s lineups, the opponent and the price at every sportsbook.

Most first baskets of the game, 2026

Starts are games started. The team column counts the first basket for that player’s team, which is a separate market with two winners per game.

Player Team Starts First basket of game Rate First basket for team Rate
Shakira Austin WAS 45 11 24% 17 38%
Paige Bueckers DAL 44 9 20% 14 32%
Cecilia Zandalasini GSV 39 9 23% 13 33%
Jonquel Jones NYL 48 9 19% 11 23%
A’ja Wilson LVA 45 8 18% 17 38%
Gabby Williams GSV 43 8 19% 12 28%
Dominique Malonga SEA 34 8 24% 11 32%
Kelsey Mitchell IND 47 8 17% 10 21%
Nneka Ogwumike LAS 42 8 19% 10 24%
Kamilla Cardoso CHI 43 7 16% 13 30%
Rhyne Howard ATL 48 7 15% 12 25%
Emily Engstler PDX 44 7 16% 12 27%
Aliyah Boston IND 43 7 16% 10 23%
Alyssa Thomas PHX 41 6 15% 14 34%
Chelsea Gray LVA 48 6 12% 13 27%
Natasha Howard MIN 45 6 13% 11 24%
Jordin Canada ATL 47 6 13% 10 21%
Megan Gustafson PDX 32 6 19% 9 28%
Marina Mabrey TOR 30 6 20% 9 30%
Sabrina Ionescu NYL 36 6 17% 8 22%
Breanna Stewart NYL 47 5 11% 12 26%
Dearica Hamby LAS 41 5 12% 12 29%
Courtney Williams MIN 44 5 11% 11 25%
Allisha Gray ATL 46 5 11% 11 24%
Pauline Astier NYL 44 5 11% 10 23%

Highest first basket rate for their team (15+ starts)

Player Team Starts First basket for team Rate First basket of game Rate
Brittney Griner CON 18 9 50% 3 17%
A’ja Wilson LVA 45 17 38% 8 18%
Shakira Austin WAS 45 17 38% 11 24%
Alyssa Thomas PHX 41 14 34% 6 15%
Maria Conde TOR 18 6 33% 4 22%
Cecilia Zandalasini GSV 39 13 33% 9 23%
Dominique Malonga SEA 34 11 32% 8 24%
Paige Bueckers DAL 44 14 32% 9 20%
Kamilla Cardoso CHI 43 13 30% 7 16%
Marina Mabrey TOR 30 9 30% 6 20%
Dearica Hamby LAS 41 12 29% 5 12%
Azzi Fudd DAL 24 7 29% 3 12%
Megan Gustafson PDX 32 9 28% 6 19%
DeWanna Bonner PHX 25 7 28% 4 16%
Gabby Williams GSV 43 12 28% 8 19%
Caitlin Clark IND 43 12 28% 4 9%
Emily Engstler PDX 44 12 27% 7 16%
Chelsea Gray LVA 48 13 27% 6 12%
Sarah Ashlee Barker PDX 15 4 27% 2 13%
Brittney Sykes TOR 15 4 27% 1 7%
Breanna Stewart NYL 47 12 26% 5 11%
Rhyne Howard ATL 48 12 25% 7 15%
Nyara Sabally TOR 20 5 25% 1 5%
Courtney Williams MIN 44 11 25% 5 11%
Natisha Hiedeman SEA 40 10 25% 3 8%

Which teams score first, and who wins the tipoff

Scored first is the share of games in which the team made the game’s first field goal. Tipoff is the opening jump ball.

Team Games Scored first Rate Home Away Tipoff wins Rate
New York Liberty 50 30 60% 64% 56% 29/48 60%
Indiana Fever 47 29 62% 52% 71% 29/45 64%
Las Vegas Aces 51 28 55% 52% 58% 17/50 34%
Dallas Wings 47 28 60% 61% 58% 18/45 40%
Golden State Valkyries 50 26 52% 62% 42% 25/50 50%
Toronto Tempo 44 23 52% 55% 50% 25/43 58%
Washington Mystics 46 22 48% 52% 43% 27/45 60%
Atlanta Dream 49 22 45% 44% 46% 26/46 57%
Chicago Sky 44 22 50% 59% 41% 27/44 61%
Seattle Storm 44 22 50% 41% 59% 22/42 52%
Portland Fire 44 21 48% 50% 45% 16/42 38%
Connecticut Sun 44 20 45% 36% 55% 31/43 72%
Los Angeles Sparks 44 19 43% 45% 41% 14/43 33%
Minnesota Lynx 46 18 39% 48% 30% 8/43 19%
Phoenix Mercury 44 17 39% 32% 45% 22/43 51%

How first baskets are scored

Method First baskets Share
Layup 158 46%
3-pointer 101 29%
Other 2-pointer (jumper, hook, tip) 88 25%

In 18 of 347 games (5%) the game’s first points came from a different player than its first field goal, usually a free throw. That is the difference between a first points market and a first field goal market; our first basket guide explains which books use which.

2025 leaders

Player Team Starts First basket of game Rate First basket for team Rate
A’ja Wilson LVA 0 15 – 25 –
Kahleah Copper PHX 0 11 – 16 –
Aliyah Boston IND 0 10 – 14 –
Nneka Ogwumike SEA 0 9 – 21 –
Natasha Howard IND 0 8 – 18 –
Sabrina Ionescu NYL 0 7 – 10 –
Skylar Diggins SEA 0 7 – 11 –
Shakira Austin WAS 0 7 – 10 –
Brionna Jones ATL 0 7 – 15 –
Alyssa Thomas PHX 0 7 – 12 –

Team pages

Atlanta Dream · Chicago Sky · Connecticut Sun · Dallas Wings · Golden State Valkyries · Indiana Fever · Las Vegas Aces · Los Angeles Sparks · Minnesota Lynx · New York Liberty · Phoenix Mercury · Portland Fire · Seattle Storm · Toronto Tempo · Washington Mystics

Who scored the most first baskets in the WNBA in 2026?

Shakira Austin, with 11 first baskets of the game in 45 starts (24%). Paige Bueckers was second with 9.

How often does the home team score first in the WNBA?

In 2026, the home team made the first field goal in 50% of games.

How often does the team that wins the tipoff score first?

In 220 of 347 games with a recorded opening tip (63%), the team that won it also made the first field goal. Winning the ball helps, but a missed first shot hands the chance to the other side.

Are these the picks?

No. This page is history. The picks come from our models, which combine this history with tonight’s starting lineup, the opponent, pace and the price at each book, and post to Discord when a price is better than the projection. See WNBA first basket picks.

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Source: WNBA play-by-play and box scores, 2026. Updated October 13, 2026. Back to all stats.