New rivals, reigning champs, and historic rematches ignite the WNBA's 30th season, featuring expansion, iconic matchups, and a packed, action-filled calendar.
The WNBA will open its 30th season on May 8 with expansion teams on the floor, signature rivalries back on the calendar and a schedule built to showcase both its history and its accelerating growth.
The league released its 2026 regular-season schedule Wednesday, setting a five-month run that ends Sept. 24 and leads into a revamped postseason. Each team will play 44 games, evenly split home and road, in a season that adds two franchises and pauses briefly for international competition.
Opening night centers on Canada, where the Toronto Tempo will play the first regular-season game in franchise history by hosting Washington in Toronto. The same night, New York opens at home against Connecticut, and Seattle hosts Golden State to round out a three-game slate.
Saturday’s schedule quickly raises the stakes. Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever will host Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings, pairing two of the league’s most prominent young stars less than 48 hours into the season. Later that day, the Las Vegas Aces, the defending champions, open at home against Phoenix in a Finals rematch. The night concludes in the Pacific Northwest, where the Portland Fire play their first regular-season game since returning to the league.
The league will lean into its roots as the summer progresses. On June 21, the Los Angeles Sparks host the New York Liberty on the anniversary of the WNBA’s inaugural game in 1997, a rare schedule moment designed to connect the league’s earliest era with its present.
Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the structure of the season reflects both continuity and ambition.
“As we prepare to tip off the WNBA’s historic 30th season, this schedule reflects both how far the league has come and the momentum that continues to drive us forward,” Engelbert said. “From welcoming two new organizations in Toronto and Portland, to honoring our history with marquee matchups that connect the league’s first game to today’s stars, the 2026 season will celebrate the WNBA’s past, present, and future.”
The league will again stage an in-season competition in June, with designated games counting toward a Commissioner’s Cup standings that culminates in a title game at the end of the month. All Cup games, except the championship, also count in the regular-season standings, tightening the early-season race.
Chicago will host the All-Star Game on July 25, with additional events spread across the city. Later in the summer, the schedule pauses for roughly two weeks as players depart to represent their countries at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Germany.
The regular season resumes Sept. 17, setting up a final push for playoff positioning. The postseason begins Sept. 27 and features a three-round format: a best-of-three opening round for the top eight teams, followed by best-of-five semifinals and a best-of-seven Finals.
Several early storylines are already built into the calendar. Las Vegas opens with a chance to extend a 16-game regular-season winning streak and chase a long-standing league record. Atlanta, which closed last season on a surge, opens against Minnesota before facing Dallas and Las Vegas within its first week. Indiana and Minnesota, last season’s Commissioner’s Cup finalists, meet three times down the stretch.
The schedule also reflects the league’s expanding footprint. Toronto will stage select home games beyond its primary venue, while Las Vegas, Dallas, Chicago and others will move marquee matchups to larger arenas to accommodate demand.
Television and streaming assignments will be announced later, with the league expecting more than 200 games to air nationally.
Thirty seasons in, the WNBA enters 2026 with new cities, familiar rivalries and a calendar designed to underline how much the league has grown — and where it intends to go next.