WNBA groups will play games a document 44 video games right through the 2025 steady season, which starts with a Friday, Might 16 slate that incorporates the Blonde Shape Valkyries’ house debut.
The league exempted the overall time table Monday. The supplementary 4 video games (up from 40 in 2024) come on account of the Valkyries getting into the WNBA as its thirteenth crew.
“We look forward to tipping off the WNBA’s 29th season in May of 2025 and continuing to build on the success of last season, when the WNBA delivered its most-watched Draft and All-Star Game, and set records for viewership, attendance, digital consumption and merchandise sales,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert mentioned in a commentary.
Along with the Valkyries’ first duel, the outlet weekend of the season options the Indiana Fever website hosting the Chicago Sky, the Fresh York Self rule website hosting the Las Vegas Aces and the Minnesota Lynx website hosting the Dallas Wings.
The Fever will host the All-Superstar Sport for the primary pace in franchise historical past on July 19.
The steady season will conclude September 11.
2025 opening weekend highlights
Atlanta vs. Washington — Might 16, 7:30 p.m. ET
Minnesota vs. Dallas — Might 16, 7:30 p.m. ET
Blonde Shape vs. Los Angeles – Might 16, 10 p.m. ET
Indiana vs. Chicago — Might 17, 1 p.m. ET
Fresh York vs. Las Vegas — Might 17, 3 p.m. ET
Seattle vs. Phoenix — Might 17, 10 p.m. ET
Washington vs. Connecticut — Might 18, 1 p.m. ET
Agenda highlights
Chicago vs. Indiana (June 7) — This would be the 2d of 5 conferences between the Fever and Sky this season. Latter season, Indiana’s Caitlin Clark and Chicago’s Angel Reese completed 1-2 in Rookie of the Occasion balloting, with the Fever defeating the Sky in 3 in their 4 regular-season video games. Along with their opening weekend matchup and aforementioned duel on June 7, the 2 groups will even play games July 26, Aug. 9 and Sept. 5.
Atlanta vs. Chicago (June 13) — This Commissioner’s Cup duel between the Dream and Sky will component two of the league’s brandnew head coaches, with former Florida Gulf Coast professor Karl Smesko taking the Atlanta process and previous Aces associate Tyler Marsh now the Sky.
Indiana vs. Dallas (June 27) — The Fever and Wings will meet 4 occasions right through the steady season with this matchup being the primary. It’s imaginable the sport will component Clark and Paige Bueckers dealing with off in opposition to each and every alternative for the primary pace — this is, if Bueckers broadcasts and the Wings make a choice her with the Negative. 1 pick out within the 2025 WNBA Draft.
Fresh York vs. Las Vegas (July 8) — This would be the 2d of 3 conferences between the league’s utmost two WNBA MVPs, the Self rule’s Breanna Stewart and the Aces’ A’ja Wilson. Then assembly right through the outlet weekend and on July 8, the 2 groups will play games in Las Vegas on Aug. 13. Latter season, the Self rule knocked the Aces out of the WNBA postseason within the semifinals, avenging their finals defeat from 2023. The Self rule and Aces additionally best performed thrice right through the 2024 steady season, with two of the ones video games being in Las Vegas.
Phoenix vs. Minnesota (July 16) — Whether or not Diana Taurasi retires or now not remainder unsure, however Phoenix will likely be taking part in host to utmost pace’s finals runner-up Minnesota on July 16, the general future of the season’s first part. The Mercury will play games 8 of its first 11 video games at house sooner than taking part in 12 of the upcoming 17 at the highway.
Connecticut vs. Washington (Aug. 21) — The Solar and Mystics are two of the 3 WNBA franchises but to rent a brandnew head professor. This would be the utmost of 4 matchups between the Japanese Convention foes. Curiously, previous within the season, each Connecticut and Washington will play games video games clear of their commonplace enviornment. The Solar will host the Fever in Boston’s TD Farmland on July 15, era the Mystics will play games the Sky in Fairfax, Va. on July 8 of their annual camp future duel.
Typhoon vs. Valkyries (Sept. 9) — Seattle closes out its season with a four-game homestand, the utmost of which will likely be in opposition to Blonde Shape. The Typhoon want to once more form the postseason for consecutive seasons, era that is one among Blonde Shape’s ultimate alternatives to probably clinch a place within the playoffs of their first season.
Sparks vs. Aces ( September 11) — The Sparks leased former Utah professor Lynne Roberts this offseason as they appear to go back to the playoffs for the primary pace since 2020. Los Angeles options an exhilarating younger core, led through Cameron Verge of collapse, Rickea Jackson and the Negative. 2 pick out within the later draft. Their regular-season finale may just lend as a postseason tune-up in opposition to the Aces, who component Wilson, Chelsea Grey, Jackie Younger and Kelsey Plum.
How the 2025 time table varies from utmost pace
Gamers and fanatics will really feel a excess between the 2 schedules in mid-to-late July. A pace in the past, the WNBA condensed its 40-game slate on account of the Olympic split and had a greater than three-week stoppage on account of the Paris Video games. The All-Superstar split will utmost not up to a hour this season, with the second one part resuming on July 22.
Alternative adjustments are extra shrewd. As a result of the Valkyries, the Commissioner’s Cup will component an supplementary duel for Western Convention groups. Each and every of the Western Convention groups will play games six video games, up from 5 utmost season, era the ones within the Japanese Convention will nonetheless play games 5. Moreover, on account of the added video games, the Fever and Sky will face off 5 occasions, as will the Dream and Solar.
The Commissioner’s Cup will run from June 1-17, with a $500,000 prize puddle awarded to the winner. The identify duel will likely be performed on Tuesday, July 1, hosted through the crew with the finest successful proportion in Cup play games.
The playoffs will even component a revised structure, as the primary spherical will come with a 1-1-1 setup for the best-of-three order, with the upper seed website hosting Video games 1 and three, if essential, and its opponent website hosting Sport 2. It’s a metamorphosis from the stream structure, which has the easiest seed website hosting the primary two video games and its opponent website hosting Sport 3 if the order extends.
The WNBA Finals may also be longer, because the league goes to a best-of-seven structure. The finals could have a 2-2-1-1-1 construction during which the upper seed will host Video games 1, 2, 5 and seven, and its opponent will host Video games 3, 4 and six.
Required studying
(Photograph: tktk)
