The first weekend of the 2025 WNBA season is going to be spicy.
The WNBA announced its 2025 schedule on Monday, highlighted by the clash of 2024 headline draft picks Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, plus the introduction of the Golden State Valkyries, the league’s first expansion franchise since 2008.
The Valkyries host the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday, May 16 — the first day of the season — while Indiana hosts Chicago in a re-emerging Midwest rivalry on Saturday, May 17. Broadcast and streaming details will be released at a later date.
The 2025 WNBA Schedule is LIVE 🗓️
Browse through key matchups that will shape the upcoming szn, such as recent Finals rematches and battles between teams with No. 1 overall draft picks, and our annual Commissioner’s Cup games.
Check it all out on https://t.co/HF5BTljYz4 pic.twitter.com/a4S79NIP1Q
— WNBA (@WNBA) December 2, 2024
The opening weekend also features New York hosting Las Vegas on May 17 in the cross-country rivalry. Las Vegas defeated the Liberty in the 2023 Finals between the two superteams. New York, this time holding home-court advantage, dispatched the Aces in the 2024 semifinals in four games and won the franchise’s first title in October. The Liberty will raise their banner and commemorate the championship that afternoon at Barclays. Breanna Stewart, the 2023 league MVP, and the Liberty will also host the Aces on July 8, while 2024 MVP A’ja Wilson and the Aces will host the Liberty once on Aug. 13.
Dallas, which holds the No. 1 overall pick and the right to select Paige Bueckers, will host MVP runner-up Naphessa Collier and Minnesota on May 16 and is scheduled to play Clark’s Fever four times. The Wings and Fever play in Dallas on June 27 and Aug. 1, and in Indiana on July 13 and Aug. 12.
The WNBA schedule will expand to 44 games, up from 40 the previous two seasons, and run from opening tip on Friday, May 16, through the regular-season finale on Thursday, Sept. 11. The All-Star Game will be played on Saturday, July 19, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The WNBA season will not have a break or end early for international play as there are no Olympic Games or FIBA World Cup in 2025.
Commissioner Cathy Engelbert previously announced that the playoff format will change. The first round will remain best-of-three, but in a 1-1-1 format so each team can host a playoff game. The Finals moves to a best-of-seven.
The fifth annual Commissioner’s Cup will remain in a streamlined format from June 1 to June 17. Each team will play one game against the other teams in its conference, so the six Eastern Conference teams will play five games, and the seven Western Conference teams will play six. The championship will be played on July 1, hosted by the team with the best winning percentage in Cup play. The 2024 game, which the Minnesota Lynx won, had to be moved out of New York’s Barclays Center due to a scheduling conflict.
Caitlin Clark, Fever chase another playoff appearance
The Fever will play a lighter schedule than last year when Clark’s rookie year began against the league’s best. They play 11 games in the first month of the season and six are against Chicago, Atlanta or Washington. All three missed the playoffs in 2024.
Indiana plays Reese and the Sky a total of five times and, unlike last season, the games are spread out throughout the schedule. The Fever host on May 17, Aug. 9 and Sept. 5. Chicago hosts on June 7 (Commissioner’s Cup game) and July 26.
The league leaders in attendance will host a five-game homestand (Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Golden State, Atlanta and Dallas) from July 3 through July 15 before the schedule turns difficult and condensed.
our 2025 schedule presented by @lacroixwater has arrived 🙌
mark your calendars, select single-game tickets go on sale Tuesday, December 17 at 2 p.m. 🎟️
purchase tickets for select games starting then, or secure your spot as an MVP by placing a waitlist deposit for season… pic.twitter.com/2tb74ts2L0
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) December 2, 2024
Indiana will head to the East Coast to play Connecticut and New York back-to-back on July 15 and 16. The Fever will then host All-Star weekend from July 17-19 and hit the road back to New York (July 22) before hosting Las Vegas (July 24) and heading up to Chicago (July 26).
The team has a break on the back end by finishing a few days early in a regular-season finale at home against Minnesota on Sept. 9.
Unique game changes
WNBA franchises are moving select games to larger arenas and/or holding games in different cities as interest, attendance and viewership continue to climb. The Sun announced last week they would once again hold a game in Boston at TD Garden, home of the NBA’s Celtics and NHL’s Bruins. That game will be against the Fever on Tuesday, July 15.
The 2024 game in Boston sold out at an announced franchise-record 19,156 with the Sparks in town. The Fever and Mystics set the WNBA attendance record in the 2024 regular-season finale with 20,711 at Capital One Arena, where the Mystics moved the game from the 4,200-seat Entertainment and Sports Arena.
The Aces, who said they sold out of season tickets for a second consecutive year, will host their final three home games down the Las Vegas Strip at T-Mobile Arena. Those games are against Minnesota (Sept. 4) and Chicago (Sept. 7 and 9). Las Vegas regularly sells out at Michelob Ultra Arena, which holds around 12,000.
Full opening weekend schedule
The WNBA scheduling masters delivered enticing matchups all weekend (all times ET).
Friday, May 16: Dream at Mystics (7:30 p.m.), Lynx at Wings (7:30 p.m.), Sparks at Valkyries (10 p.m.)
The Valkyries will begin their inaugural season at home at Chase Center by welcoming 2024 star rookies Cameron Brink, the No. 2 overall pick, and Rickea Jackson, the No. 4 pick. The Sparks hold the No. 2 pick in the 2025 draft and the Valkyries, who will begin building their roster during the expansion draft on Friday (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), have the No. 5 pick.
Brink, who attended nearby Stanford, is rehabbing a torn ACL she sustained in June. Recovery usually takes between six and 12 months, though many athletes are returning around nine months. It is Golden State’s only game that weekend.
Bueckers (should the Wings draft her No. 1) could see Napheesa Collier, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and MVP runner-up, in her opening game.
Saturday, May 17: Sky at Fever (1 p.m.), Aces at Liberty (3 p.m.), Storm at Mercury (10 p.m.)
Fans can watch all three games on Saturday, a rare luxury when contests usually tip at the same time most nights. The afternoon tips are hotly contested rivalry games. Indiana went 3-1 against the Sky last season as Clark and Reese’s collegiate rivalry entered the WNBA.
The Storm and Mercury are poised to look very different from their 2024 rosters as they renew a rivalry that goes back to the classic Diana Taurasi-Sue Bird face-offs. Taurasi has not made an announcement on whether she will return for a 21st season or join Bird in retirement.
Sunday, May 18: Mystics at Sun (1 p.m.), Lynx at Sparks (6 p.m.)
The Sun play their only game of the weekend at home against Washington before hosting Las Vegas on Tuesday. Connecticut is entering a new era after parting ways with head coach Stephanie White, who took the job in Indiana. Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones are all free agents. The Mystics, who have also yet to hire a new head coach, have the No. 4 and No. 6 picks as they rebuild.
