Seven things to watch as season tips off

Consider the reigning champion New York Liberty, the WNBA Finals runner-up Minnesota Lynx, the Las Vegas Aces, and the Indiana Fever the haves.

For the rest of the league, navigating the unknown will be one of the major themes.

Some of the changes will be exciting — the Golden State Valkyries will be the league’s first franchise addition since the Atlanta Dream in 2008 — but some will be head-spinning. Here’s a quick glance:

More than half the teams brought in new head coaches.

The splashiest and most surprising was Stephanie White walking away from the Connecticut Sun shortly after the playoffs — in the midst of a family issue — then taking the opportunity to coach Caitlin Clark and the tooled-up Fever.

The Dream hired Karl Smesko to replace Tanisha Wright after three seasons. Teresa Weatherspoon was one-and-done with the Chicago Sky, who hired Tyler Marsh. White took Christie Sides’s job in Indiana. The Sun filled the void left by White with French national team coach Rachid Meziane. The Dallas Wings took the reins from Latricia Trammell and handed them to former Sun assistant Chris Koclanes. The Los Angeles Sparks replaced Curt Miller with Lynne Roberts. The Washington Mystics replaced Eric Thibault with Sydney Johnson.

That list doesn‘t include Natalie Nakase, the first-year head coach who joins the Valkyries after three seasons as an assistant in Las Vegas.

The only holdovers are Sandy Brondello (Liberty), Becky Hammon (Aces), Cheryl Reeve (Lynx), Nate Tibbetts (Phoenix Mercury), and Noelle Quinn (Seattle Storm).

Of the 186 players on WNBA rosters this season, 52 players are on different teams from a year ago and 66 weren‘t in the league last year.

The biggest move was Jewell Loyd leaving Seattle after 10 seasons. The Storm took her with the No. 1 overall pick in 2015, and after being named Rookie of the Year, and winning two championships and a scoring title, she left after filing a harassment claim against the organization.

Loyd moved on to Las Vegas with the hopes of getting her third title and helping the Aces do the same.

The list of players who switched teams includes 12 former All-WNBA players, four former Sixth Player of the Year winners, four Most Improved Players, two former Defensive Players of the Year, two former Rookies of the Year, and one former MVP.

The Fever loaded up on defensive-minded veterans to surround Clark. They lured two-time WNBA champion DeWanna Bonner from Connecticut in the hopes of winning another title at 37. They also brought in former Defensive Player of the Year Natasha Howard from Dallas and two-time All-Defense selection Brianna Turner.

The Sun had a turbulent offseason, losing four of five starters from a team that was one win away from reaching the Finals, plus losing White as coach.

With all the turnover, Marina Mabrey requested a trade but didn‘t get one. The Sun did, however, accommodate Natasha Cloud after pulling together a 10-team trade to add the veteran guard in February, then sending her to New York in a trade in March.

Meanwhile, just days before the start of the season, Sportico reported that the Mohegan Tribe was exploring options for selling the team after buying it 22 years ago and relocating it from Orlando.

Still, between Mabrey and Tina Charles — plus two first-round picks in Aneesah Morrow from LSU and Saniya Rivers from N.C. State — the Sun have enough to be competitive and extend their run of eight straight playoff appearances alive.

Last year, A’ja Wilson joined Sheryl Swoops, Lisa Leslie, and Lauren Jackson as the only three-time MVP winners. Wilson took all 67 first-place votes, making her just the second player to win the award unanimously, joining Houston Comets legend Cynthia Cooper, who helped lay the foundation for the league in 1997.

Even if the voting didn‘t show it, a strong case could have been made for Napheesa Collier, who averaged 20.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 3.4 assists and pushed the Lynx to the second-best regular-season record, then led them to the WNBA Finals.

This year’s race will be different.

Clark is the betting favorite after averaging 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, and 5.7 rebounds as a rookie. Last year, she was a fresh star on a young team trying to make a playoff push. This season, she’s firmly planted as one of the faces of the league and her team has championship expectations.

The college stars keep rolling in. This year, it’s Paige Bueckers, fresh off a national championship at UConn.

Dallas welcomed her as the No. 1 overall pick, so she’ll play alongside scoring prodigy Arike Ogunbowale and former Sun DiJonai Carrington.

Seattle landed Dominique Malonga with the No. 2 overall pick. At 6 feet 6 inches, she’s drawing comparisons to Victor Wembanyama.

With their eyes on the future, Washington, Connecticut, and Chicago had back-to-back first-round picks. The Mystics took Kiki Iriafen from Southern Cal and Sonia Citron from Notre Dame. The Sun grabbed Morrow and Rivers. The Sky landed Ajsa Sivka from Slovenia and Hailey Van Lith from TCU.

Diana Taurasi, Elena Delle Donne, Danielle Robinson, and Layshia Clarendon announced their retirements in the offseason.

Taurasi, the first “White Mamba” (sorry Scal), played 20 seasons for the Mercury, won three titles, two Finals MVPs, and a regular-season MVP, all while talking more trash than Kevin Garnett.

Delle Donne played 10 seasons for the Sky and Mystics, won MVPs with both teams, and won a championship in Washington. The game came easy to her — she actually stepped away at UConn to be closer to her family in Delaware, and played volleyball for the Blue Hens instead. She’s one of just 11 players in the WNBA, NBA or G-League history to shoot 50/40/90 in a season.

▪ May 17, Las Vegas Aces at New York Liberty: The league’s national TV opener won‘t be short on star power. The Liberty will start their bid to repeat as champions. The Aces will retool to try to win their third in the past four seasons. (Watch With Us Boston is hosting a viewing party at Dorchester Brewing Company starting at 1 p.m.)

▪ June 17, Las Vegas Aces at Minnesota Lynx: Two MVP candidates go head to head in an early-season matchup

▪ July 15: Indiana Fever at Connecticut Sun (TD Garden): Bringing women‘s professional basketball to TD Garden for the first time last summer was an overwhelming success — the Sun beat the Sparks in front of a sellout crowd. This year, Boston gets its first look at Clark, and Clark gets her first taste of TD Garden. (Bonus! On Aug. 17, the Fever play the Sun again, in Connecticut. Bonner is 518 points away from reaching 8,000, which would make her the league’s No. 2 all-time scorer behind Taurasi, and she could hit the mark against the she left after five seasons.)

Julian Benbow can be reached at julian.benbow@globe.com.