NEW YORK — The WNBA is about to start its season May 8, assuming the league and the gamers’ union can come to an settlement on a brand new collective bargaining settlement.
Groups will play 44 video games over a five-month interval with a 17-day break for the FIBA World Cup in early September. The league mentioned final 12 months that with the World Cup this season they’d maintain the schedule at 44 video games regardless of including two new groups in Portland and Toronto.
“As we put together to tip off the WNBA’s historic thirtieth season, this schedule displays each how far the league has come and the momentum that continues to drive us ahead,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert mentioned.
“From welcoming two new organizations in Toronto and Portland, to honoring our historical past with marquee matchups that join the league’s first sport to at this time’s stars, the 2026 season will rejoice the WNBA’s previous, current, and future. With a report variety of video games, rising world attain, and unprecedented momentum, this milestone season will assist outline the subsequent chapter of the WNBA.”
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By placing the schedule out now, groups can begin promoting ticket packages, guide journey for away video games — together with constitution flights — and safe area dates.
“Releasing the 2026 schedule is a key step as we put together for the WNBA’s thirtieth season and permits groups, companions, broadcasters and followers to start the important planning for the 12 months forward,” a WNBA spokesperson mentioned.
All however two groups have at the least one back-to-back set of video games. General, the common of video games on consecutive nights is down from 2.4 per group in 2025 to 1.6 this 12 months.
The WNBA hopes to develop the variety of video games groups play in future years, however that may are available a brand new CBA.
Coaching camp is slated to start April 19, six days after the faculty draft. The league can have its sixth annual Commissioner’s Cup video games in June with the championship sport slated to happen June 30. The All-Star Sport is about for Chicago on July 25 with video games to renew three days later.
The WNBA will go on break from Aug. 31-Sept. 16 for the World Cup, which will probably be performed in Berlin this 12 months. Groups can have a handful of video games after that match finishes with the playoffs set to start on Sept. 27.
All of that is nonetheless contingent on the league and union coming to an settlement on a brand new CBA. The final CBA was introduced in the midst of January 2020, a month after it had been agreed to. It might simply take two months from when a brand new CBA is reached to get to the beginning of free company.
The 2 sides agreed to a moratorium on free company, which was supposed to start earlier this month. The moratorium was wanted after no new extension was reached Jan. 9 to barter a brand new CBA. The WNBA and union are actually in a “established order” interval the place the outdated CBA continues to be in impact and the 2 events are negotiating on good religion.
Moreover free company, the WNBA additionally nonetheless has to carry an enlargement draft for Portland and Toronto.
Different highlights of the schedule embody:
All 15 groups will play opening weekend, highlighted by a WNBA Finals rematch between Las Vegas and Phoenix in addition to a matchup of the previous two No. 1 picks, with Paige Bueckers and Dallas visiting Indiana and Caitlin Clark.
Los Angeles internet hosting New York on June 21 on the anniversary of the unique matchup between the groups that was the primary sport in league historical past.
Toronto will play two video games in Montreal and Vancouver.
Connecticut can have two video games in Hartford and one sport in Boston.