A strong start to their inaugural season has Portland Fire GM Vanja Černivec thinking about the playoffs.
Černivec told Front Office Sports that the Fire are “100%” aiming to make the postseason this year.
“We definitely don’t want to start a franchise thinking about getting the number one draft pick next year,” she said, despite the allure of securing a top draft pick in a stacked 2027 class.
Portland (7–9) sits at 10th in the standings, a game behind the Los Angeles Sparks for the eighth and final playoff spot.
A top draft pick in 2027 could result in one of the most highly regarded prospects in recent memory: USC guard JuJu Watkins, the projected top pick. But Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo and Texas forward Madison Booker could also be immediate game-changers.
