An expanded WNBA with extra video games and a brand new franchise will debut May 16.
The league expanded its schedule to 44 video games this 12 months, up from 40, with the addition of the enlargement Golden State Valkyries. The new workforce, which has greater than 20,000 season ticket deposits, will play its inaugural residence recreation on opening night time towards Los Angeles.
The WNBA is coming off a record-breaking season with its most-watched common season in 24 years and its most-watched playoffs in 25 years. Fans additionally flocked to the video games with the best numbers of spectators in additional than twenty years. Last season’s rookie class, led by Indiana’s Caitlin Clark and Chicago’s Angel Reese, was an enormous cause why.
The two groups will face one another 5 occasions, the primary of which can be on the opening Saturday. Clark’s Fever will host the league’s All-Star Game on July 19.
“We sit up for kicking off the WNBA’s twenty ninth season in May 2025 and persevering with to construct on the success of final season, when the WNBA delivered its most-watched Draft and All-Star Game, and set data of viewers, attendance, digitalization, consumption and gross sales of merchandise,” stated WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “The upcoming free company interval and the 2025 WNBA Draft introduced by State Farm will create an amazing degree of pleasure, and we won’t watch for the enlargement Golden State Valkyries to take the court docket for the primary time.”
The New York Liberty will have a good time their first title with a hoop and banner ceremony on May 17 after they host Las Vegas. Liberty, who beat Minnesota in final season’s championship-deciding fifth recreation, will face the Lynx 4 occasions with the primary assembly scheduled for July 30.
All 13 groups will play on opening weekend.
The WNBA Commissioner’s Cup can be performed June 1-17 with every Eastern Conference workforce taking part in 5 video games and Western Conference groups taking part in six. The prime workforce from every convention will play within the Cup ultimate on July 1.
The common season ends Sept. 11, after which the expanded playoffs will happen. This 12 months the league modified its format to a best-of-seven ultimate and the opening spherical will go to a 1-1-1 format with the worst-seeded workforce internet hosting Game 2. In the previous, the workforce with the highest seed would take first place. first two video games on residence area.
The league will maintain its draft on April 14 with UConn star Paige Bueckers anticipated to go to the Dallas Wings first. The schedule of tv and streaming broadcasts can be communicated later.
Associated Press reporting.
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