The Portland Fire are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Fire compete in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Moda Center. Beginning play in May 2026, the franchise is the second WNBA team in the city’s history, following the original Portland Fire in the early 2000s.
History
The city’s first WNBA team, the Portland Fire, played from 2000 until they folded in 2002. They were named in reference to the use of fire and smoke signals by the native peoples of the area. This includes the Multnomah and Clackamas.
On September 18, 2024, Portland was officially awarded a franchise, which will be the WNBA’s 15th team. The team will be owned by Lisa Bhathal Merage and her brother Alex Bhathal via RAJ Sports, who also own the Thorns. They paid the WNBA $125 million for the franchise.
In February 2025, RAJ Sports announced the first joint practice facility between the Fire and the Thorns in Hillsboro. The initial phase will cost US$75 million, with the overall cost being US$150 million for the multi-phase project.
On July 15, 2025, the team announced that it would be named the Portland Fire, reviving the name of the original WNBA team.[18]
Vanja Černivec was announced as the General Manager on August 25.[19] Černivec served as the Golden State Valkyries‘ Vice President of Basketball Operations since July 2024. She played a pivotal role in building the franchise from the ground up – overseeing day-to-day basketball operations in its inaugural season, assisting with the hiring of coaching and operational staff, and leading the scouting department through the 2024 expansion draft and 2025 WNBA draft.
On October 14, Ashley Battle was named as Vice President of Basketball Operations, Strategy and Innovation.[20]
On October 17, the team hired Alex Sarama, an assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers, as its inaugural head coach. On November 24, the team hired Brittni Donaldson as assistant coach and assistant general manager.
Media
Gray Media carries the team’s local games through its two stations in the area, with KPDX (channel 49) serving as the main broadcaster, with KPTV (channel 12) carrying select high-profile games, under the umbrella of the Rose City SportsNet, with Gray’s Raycom Sports producing the telecasts.[24][25] National games air among the league’s multiple broadcast and cable partners, including Ion station KPXG-TV (channel 22).
Coaches and staff
Head coach
| Portland Fire head coaches | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Start | End | Seasons | Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||
| W | L | PCT | G | W | L | PCT | G | ||||
| Alex Sarama | October 17, 2025 | Present | 1 | 5 | 3 | .625 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
Assistant coaches
- Brittni Donaldson
- Sylvia Fowles
- Danielle Boiago
- Sefu Bernard
Front office
- Ashley Battle – Vice president of basketball operations, strategy, and innovation
- Vanja Černivec – General manager
- Brittni Donaldson – Assistant general manager
Season-by-season record
| Portland Fire | |||||||
| Season | Team | Conference | Regular Season | Playoff Results | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | PCT | |||||
| 2026 | 2026 | West | TBD | 0 | 0 | – | TBD |
| Regular season | 0 | 0 | – | 0 Conference Champions | |||
| Playoffs | 0 | 0 | – | 0 WNBA Championships | |||
Players
Current roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Portland Fire is set to make a significant impact in the WNBA, returning to the league with a strong foundation and fan support.
