Napheesa Collier #24 of the Minnesota Lynx scores the winning basket during the game against the New York Liberty in Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Finals on October 10, 2024 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Nathaniel S. Butler | National Basketball Association | Getty Images
Basketball fans will have even more chances to see their favorite stars play in the Women’s National Basketball Association during the 2025 season.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced the league would expand its regular season from 40 to 44 games and its Finals series from five to seven games, both beginning next year. The final round will be a 2-2-1-1-1 format for home games, with the higher seed hosting first.
The first round of the playoffs, consisting of three games, will alternate hosts, instead of the higher seed hosting the first two games before switching, as it has this season.
Engelbert said the league had considered changes to the playoffs since the pandemic, but its surge in popularity and the introduction of charter flights for teams was the final push needed to implement the new playoff format playoffs.
“The growth of the league and increasing demand for WNBA basketball makes this the perfect time to expand the schedule, extend the Finals and provide fans with more opportunities to see the world’s best players compete at the highest level level,” Engelbert said at a news conference Thursday. .
The schedule isn’t the only thing that will expand during next year’s season. The Golden State Valkyries will debut in 2025 as the league’s 13th team. Two more expansion teams have been announced, one in Toronto and one in Portland, and discussions are underway to lock down a city for the 16th team, Engelbert said Thursday. The Toronto and Portland teams, both unnamed, will begin play in 2026.
The additions come as the WNBA is rapidly growing in popularity, leading to the league’s latest media rights deal being worth $2.2 billion for 11 seasons, CNBC previously reported. The league’s media contract is negotiated as part of the National Basketball Association agreement.
Viewing, attendance and engagement figures have all increased for the 2024 season and in some cases set new records. The influx of exciting rookies like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, in combination with established stars like Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson, who are the 2023 and 2024 MVPs, respectively, have contributed to this increase.
As the league grows in popularity, more players are reporting experiencing racism or harassment online. When Engelbert appeared on CNBC last month, she also did not issue an outright condemnation when asked about the issue, drawing criticism. Engelbert later clarified and condemned “hate or racism”.
The WNBA isn’t the only women’s sports league growing in popularity, and media executives and investors are taking notice. Jeff Zucker of Redbird IMI and Patrick Whitesell, executive chairman of Endeavor, spoke to CNBC about the exciting opportunities in women’s sports.
This year’s Finals are currently underway between the Minnesota Lynx and the New York Liberty. The Lynx lead 1-0 in the best-of-five series after winning an overtime thriller Thursday night.
