The WNBA, coming off a big year, will launch its 29th regular season with a week-long WNBA Tip-Off 2025 Presented by CarMax starting May 16.
Opening day will feature three games, culminating with the new Golden State Valkyries playing their first game against the Los Angeles Sparks at 10 p.m. ET.
Last year’s rookie sensation Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever play their first game on Saturday May 17, taking on arch-rival Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky at 1 p.m. All thirteen teams will be in action during the opening weekend, according to the schedule released by the league Monday.
Games have not yet been assigned to individual networks.
The new season will also feature the mid-season WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Presented by Coinbase in June. The AT&T WNBA All-Star Game will be held July 19 in Indianapolis. The regular season ends Sept. 11, followed by the WNBA Playoffs presented by Google.
Last year was a banner season for the WNBA with ratings on ESPN up 170%, up 86% on CBS Sports and up 133% on Ion. Attendance was the highest in 22 years.
“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,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in a statement. “The upcoming free agency period and the 2025 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm will create a tremendous level of excitement, and we are also looking forward to the expansion Golden State Valkyries taking the court for the first time.”
Also on the schedule is the 2024 WNBA Expansion Draft on Dec. 6 to stock the Valkyries roster. That’s presented by State Farm.
In the Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase, every team will play one game against each of the other teams in its conference – a total of five games for each of the six Eastern Conference teams and six games for each of the seven Western Conference teams.
The team from each conference with the best record in Commissioner’s Cup games will compete for a $500,000 prize pool in the Commissioner’s Cup Championship presented by Coinbase. Coinbase has committed $120,000 in cryptocurrency to the prize pool, which includes $5,000 for each player in the championship game. The title game will be played on Tuesday, July 1.
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Jon Lafayette is the Sports Editor for Barrett Media. His focus is on the business of sports, including revenue-generating activities, executive intrigue and on-air and behind the scenes talent. Jon previously covered big stories in the media industry as business editor of Broadcasting+Cable. Before B+C, Jon covered the TV and advertising industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago. He can be reached by email at Jon@BarrettMedia.com.
