Get to Know Portland Fire G Maya Caldwell
Maya Caldwell, a 5'11" guard with the Atlanta Dream, was picked by the Portland Fire in today's WNBA expansion draft.
After notching career-highs last season in starts, and games played, Maya Caldwell drew the attention of the Portland Fire.
Today, the WNBA expansion franchise selected Caldwell in the first round of the 2026 WNBA expansion draft.
This piece is one of eleven profile pieces spotlighting the career journeys of Portland’s expansion draft selections - the first professional women’s basketball players to represent the Rose City since 2002 - and the first members of Portland’s new WNBA team.
Caldwell - from the suburbs of Charlotte, NC - played college basketball at Georgia (2017-21). She played right away, seeing game action in all 33 contests during her freshman year. One particular stat from that opening campaign resonates with the rest of the roster assembled today in Portland: as a true freshman at Georgia, Caldwell led her team in three point shooting percentage.
With ten games remaining in her sophomore year, she became a starting small forward for the Bulldogs. Staying in the starting lineup for her junior and senior seasons, Caldwell notched career highs in all categories except three point shooting. In 2021, the senior was named to the SEC All-Tournament Team.
Later that year, Caldwell was drafted 33rd overall by the Atlanta Dream. Before the regular season opener in May 2022, they waived her.
After bouncing between Atlanta and Indiana, plus overseas stints with clubs in Israel, Turkey, and Spain, Caldwell found her form in 2025. She started 16 games for the Dream, averaging 18.5 minutes across 41 game appearances, while shooting 42.6% from the field and 35.5% from distance. She also earned a career high 3.1 rebounds per game.
Caldwell and her new Portland Fire teammates will return to the court later this Spring. The Fire’s regular season opener is at home May 9th against the Chicago Sky.
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Matt Bagley is a professional sportswriter and broadcaster with a passion for women’s sports. Outside of work, he cherishes quality time with his birth family, his chosen family, and one very pesky house panther.
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