Women's National Basketball Association

League founded and play begins (1996–1997)

The creation of the WNBA was officially approved by the NBA Board of Governors on April 24, 1996,^[5] and announced at a press conference with Rebecca Lobo, Lisa Leslie, and Sheryl Swoopes in attendance.^[6] The new WNBA had to compete with the recently formed American Basketball League, another professional women's league that began play in the fall of 1996, but ceased operation during its 1998–99 season.

The WNBA began with eight teams: the Charlotte Sting, Cleveland Rockers, Houston Comets, and New York Liberty in the Eastern Conference; and the Los Angeles Sparks, Phoenix Mercury, Sacramento Monarchs, and Utah Starzz in the Western Conference.^[7]

While not the first major women's professional basketball league in the United States, which was the defunct WBL, the WNBA is the only league to receive full backing of the NBA.^[8] The WNBA logo, "Logo Woman", paralleled the NBA logo and was selected out of 50 different designs.^[7]

Following a much-publicized gold medal run by the USA women's national team at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, the WNBA then began its first season on June 21, 1997. The first WNBA game featured the New York Liberty facing the Los Angeles Sparks in Los Angeles. The Liberty defeated the Sparks 67–57. A crowd of 14,284 attended the game at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California.^[9] The game was televised nationally in the United States on the NBC television network. At the start of the 1997 season, the WNBA had television deals in with NBC (NBA rights holder), ESPN, and Lifetime. Penny Toler scored the league's first point.^[10]

Houston domination and league expansion (1997–2000)

The WNBA centered its marketing campaign, dubbed "We Got Next," around stars Rebecca Lobo, Lisa Leslie, and Sheryl Swoopes.^[11] In the league's first season, Leslie's Los Angeles Sparks underperformed, and Swoopes sat out much of the season due to her pregnancy. Perhaps the WNBA's first star was MVP Cynthia Cooper, Swoopes' teammate on the Houston Comets. The Comets defeated Lobo's New York Liberty in the first WNBA championship game.^[12] The initial "We Got Next" advertisement ran before each season until it was replaced with a "We Got Game" campaign.

Two teams were added in 1998 (Detroit and Washington),^[13] and two more in 1999 (Orlando and Minnesota), bringing the total number of teams in the league up to 12.^[14] The 1999 season began with a collective bargaining agreement between players and the league, marking the first collective bargaining agreement to be signed in the history of women's professional sports.^[15] That year, the WNBA also announced that it would add four more teams for the 2000 season (the Indiana Fever, the Seattle Storm, the Miami Sol, and the Portland Fire), bringing the league up to 16 teams. WNBA president Val Ackerman discussed expansion by saying, "This won't be the end of it. We expect to keep growing the league."^[16]

In 1999, the league's chief competition, the American Basketball League (ABL), declared bankruptcy.^[17] Many of the ABL's star players, including several Olympic gold medalists (such as Nikki McCray and Dawn Staley) and a number of standout college performers (including Kate Starbird and Jennifer Rizzotti), joined the rosters of WNBA teams, enhancing the overall quality of play in the league.^[18]

On May 23, 2000, the Comets became the first women’s professional team to be invited to the White House Rose Garden.^[19][20] At the end of the 2000 season, the Comets won their fourth championship, capturing every title since the league's inception. Led by the "Big Three" of Cooper (who won the Finals MVP for all four championships), Swoopes, and Tina Thompson, the Comets dominated every team in the league.^[19][21] Under head coach Van Chancellor, the team posted a 98–24 record their first four seasons (16–3 in the playoffs). After 2000, Cooper retired from the league, and the Comets' dynasty came to an end.^[21]

L.A. Sparks success; new league ownership and contraction (2001–2002)

The Los Angeles Sparks had the best record during the 2001 WNBA season.^[22] Led by Lisa Leslie, the Sparks posted a regular-season record of 28–4 and advanced to their first WNBA Finals, sweeping the Charlotte Sting.^[23]

Looking to repeat in 2002, the Sparks again made a strong run toward the postseason, going 25–7 in the regular season under head coach Michael Cooper. Again, Leslie dominated her opponents throughout the Playoffs, leading the Sparks to a perfect 6–0 record, beating the New York Liberty in the 2002 Finals.^[24]

Teams and the league were collectively owned by the NBA until the end of 2002,^[25] when the NBA sold WNBA teams either to their NBA counterparts in the same city or to a third party as a result of the dot-com bubble. This led to two teams moving: Utah moved to San Antonio,^[26] and Orlando moved to Connecticut^[27] and became the first WNBA team to be owned by a third party instead of an NBA franchise. This sale of teams also led to two teams folding, the Miami Sol and Portland Fire, because new owners could not be found.^[28][29][30]

Bill Laimbeer leaves his mark (2003–2006)

The Women's National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) threatened to strike in 2003 if a new deal was not worked out between players and the league. The result was a delay in the start of the 2003 preseason and the 2003 WNBA draft. As a result of the strike, the league received negative publicity.^[31]

Bill Laimbeer took over the Detroit Shock in 2002 as head coach and general manager. He had high hopes for the Shock, despite the team having gone just 9–23 its previous season. Three Shock members made it to the 2003 All-Star Game (Swin Cash, Cheryl Ford, and Deanna Nolan) and Laimbeer orchestrated a worst-to-first turnaround with the Shock finishing the season 25–9 and in first place in the Eastern Conference. In the 2003 Finals, the Shock defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 2–1, winning game three in front of a league-record crowd of 22,076.^[32][33]

After the 2003 season, the Cleveland Rockers, one of the league's original eight teams, folded because its owners were unwilling to continue operating the franchise.^[34]

The Seattle Storm had consecutive first-overall draft picks in 2001 and 2002, selecting Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird. The Storm's young core broke through in 2004, finishing second in the Western Conference and advancing to the Finals. In a battle of two first-time finalists, the Storm defeated the Connecticut Sun 2–1 and won their first WNBA title. Anne Donovan became the first female coach to guide a team to a WNBA championship.^[35]

Val Ackerman, the first WNBA president, resigned effective February 1, 2005, citing the desire to spend more time with her family. Ackerman later became president of USA Basketball. On February 15, 2005, NBA commissioner David Stern announced that Donna Orender, who had been serving as the senior vice president of the PGA Tour and who had played for several teams in the now-defunct Women's Pro Basketball League, would be Ackerman's successor as of April 2005.^[36]

The WNBA awarded an expansion team to Chicago (later named the Chicago Sky) in February 2005.^[37][38] In the off-season, a set of rule changes was approved that made the WNBA more like the NBA.^[39][40]

The 2005 Finals was the first one played in a best-of-five format. In another matchup between two teams seeking their first championship, the Sun came up short for the second consecutive year, falling in four games to the Sacramento Monarchs led by Yolanda Griffith.^[41]

In 2006, the league reached a milestone as the first team-oriented women's professional sports league to exist for ten consecutive seasons.^[10] On the occasion of the tenth anniversary, the WNBA released its All-Decade Team, comprising the ten WNBA players who had contributed, through on-court play and off-court activities, the most to women's basketball during the league's existence.^[42]

The Shock bounced back in 2006 behind newly acquired Katie Smith, along with six remaining members from their 2003 championship run. The Shock finished second in the Eastern Conference and knocked out first-seeded Connecticut in the second round of the Playoffs. In the Finals, they faced reigning champion Sacramento, winning in Game Five on their home floor.^[43]

Bringing "Paul Ball" to the WNBA (2007–2009)

In December 2006, the Charlotte Bobcats organization announced it would no longer operate the Charlotte Sting. Soon after, the WNBA announced that the Sting would not operate for 2007.^[44] A dispersal draft was held on January 8, 2007. Teams selected in inverse order of their 2006 records with the Chicago Sky receiving the first pick.^[45]

The Phoenix Mercury hired coach Paul Westhead before the 2006 season. His up-tempo style of play was perfect for the team, especially after the league shortened the shot clock from 30 seconds to 24 seconds in 2006. Led by their "Big Three" of Cappie Pondexter, Diana Taurasi, and Penny Taylor, the Mercury averaged a league-record 89.0 points per game in 2007, far surpassing the previous record, and were propelled into first place in the Western Conference.^[46] Facing the reigning champions, the Detroit Shock, in the 2007 Finals, the Mercury beat Detroit on their home floor in front of 22,076 fans in game five to claim their first-ever WNBA title.^[32][47]

In October 2007, the WNBA awarded another expansion franchise to Atlanta.^[48][49] Atlanta businessman Ron Terwilliger was the original owner of the new team. Citizens of Atlanta voted on the new team's nickname and colors, selecting the name Atlanta Dream.^[50]

During the 2008 regular season, the first-ever outdoor professional basketball game in North America, the Liberty Outdoor Classic, was played at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City. The Indiana Fever defeated the New York Liberty 71–55 in front of over 19,000 fans.^[51][52] In the 2008 Finals, the Shock swept the first-time finalists, the San Antonio Silver Stars, winning their third championship in six years under coach Bill Laimbeer.^[53] The victory effectively marked the end of the Shock dynasty, as Laimbeer resigned early in the 2009 season, with the team relocating shortly thereafter.^[54]

Late in 2008, the WNBA took over ownership of one of the league's original franchises, the Houston Comets. The Comets ceased operations on December 1, 2008, after no owners for the franchise could be found.^[55][56] A dispersal draft took place on December 8, 2008, with the first pick, Sancho Lyttle, taken by the Atlanta Dream.^[57][58]

Westhead left the Mercury following the 2007 title, and the team faltered in 2008, becoming the first defending champion in league history to miss the playoffs. New head coach Corey Gaines implemented Westhead's style of play, and in the 2009, the Mercury once again broke their own record, averaging 92.8 points per game in the regular season. Helped by the return of Taylor, who missed the 2008 season and a large part of the 2009 season, the Mercury clinched first place in the Western Conference and advanced to the 2009 Finals.^[59] The championship series was a battle of contrasting styles as the Mercury, number one league offense, had to face the Indiana Fever, number three league defense. Phoenix won Game One in overtime, 120–116, the highest scoring game in WNBA playoffs history, and defeated the Fever in five games, capturing their second WNBA championship.^[60]

Not only did Paul Westhead's system influence his Mercury team, but it created a domino effect throughout the league. Young athletic players were capable of scoring more and playing at a faster pace. As a league, the 2010 average of 80.35 points per game was the best, far surpassing the 69.2 average in the league's inaugural season.^[61][62]

Changing of the guard (2010–2012)

On October 20, 2009, the WNBA announced that the Detroit Shock would relocate to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to become the Tulsa Shock.^[63] On November 20, 2009, the WNBA announced that the Sacramento Monarchs had folded due to lack of support from its current owners, the Maloof family, who were also the owners of the Sacramento Kings at the time.^[64] The league announced it would seek new owners to relocate the team to the San Francisco Bay Area; however, no ownership was found and a dispersal draft was held on December 14, 2009.^[65][66] The folding of the Monarchs left the WNBA with twelve teams, a number that remained unchanged for the next fifteen seasons.

The 2010 season saw a tight race in the East, which held a .681 winning percentage over the West, its highest ever. However, it was a Western team, the Seattle Storm, who ultimately dominated the league. Led once again by the duo of Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson, the only players remaining from the 2004 championship team, the Storm finished 28–6 in the regular season and a perfect 7–0 in the playoffs.^[67] Although the Storm swept the Atlanta Dream, the 2010 Finals were a close affair, with Seattle winning the three games by a combined eight points.^[68] The Dream, who had finished their inaugural 2008 season 4–30, made a quick turnaround behind the 2009 first-overall pick Angel McCoughtry and advanced to the Finals in only their third year.^[69][70]

After the 2010 season, President Orender announced she would be resigning from her position as of December 31.^[71] On April 21, 2011, NBA commissioner David Stern announced that former Girl Scouts of the USA Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Laurel J. Richie, would assume duties as president on May 16, 2011.^[72]

In their first eleven seasons in the league, the Minnesota Lynx saw little success, winning only one playoff game in total. Before the 2010 season, Cheryl Reeve took over as head coach, and the team added Rebekkah Brunson and Lindsay Whalen to support 2006 first-overall pick Seimone Augustus. The Lynx failed to make the playoffs once again in Reeve's first season, but were able to select Maya Moore with the first pick in the 2011 draft. The core of Augustus, Brunson, Moore, and Whalen would go on to make six Finals appearances and win four championships over the next seven years. Their first title came immediately in 2011, with the Lynx dominating the regular season and dropping only one game throughout their playoff run.^[73] In the 2011 Finals, the Dream were swept for the second straight year despite more heroics from McCoughtry, who set still-standing league records for most points in a playoff game (42) and in a Finals game (38) during the Dream's consecutive Finals appearances.^[74]

The Lynx made it back to the 2012 Finals but fell in four games to the Indiana Fever, led by Tamika Catchings. In what was far from a smooth ride, the Fever had to stave off elimination in both of the first two rounds and lost their second-leading scorer, Katie Douglas, to injury along the way before ultimately capturing their first WNBA championship.^[75][76]

The "Three to See" (2013–2019)

The much-publicized 2013 WNBA draft produced Baylor center Brittney Griner, Delaware forward Elena Delle Donne, and Notre Dame guard Skylar Diggins as the top three picks. It was the first WNBA draft televised in prime time on ESPN after the league extended its TV deal with the network through 2022.^[77] Griner, Delle Donne, and Diggins were thus labeled "The Three To See".^[78][79] The retirement of legends Ticha Penicheiro, Katie Smith, Sheryl Swoopes, and Tina Thompson^[80][81] coupled with the arrival of highly touted rookies and new rule changes effectively marked the end of an era for the WNBA and the ushering of another.^[82] The promotion of "The Three To See" helped boost television ratings for the league by 28 percent, and half of the teams ended the 2013 season profitable.^[83][84] The improved health of the league was on display after the season, when the Los Angeles Sparks' ownership group folded; it took the league only a few weeks to line up Guggenheim Partners to purchase the team, and the franchise also garnered interest from the ownership of the Golden State Warriors.^[85] On the court, the Minnesota Lynx won their second title in three years, sweeping the Atlanta Dream in the 2013 Finals.^[86]

This narrative was reinforced by the 2014 Finals, which featured a matchup between the Phoenix Mercury (led by Griner and Diana Taurasi) and the Chicago Sky (led by Delle Donne and Sylvia Fowles) and became the most-watched series since 2003.^[87] The Mercury swept the first-time finalist Sky to cap a dominant season: they went 29–5 in the regular season, the best winning percentage since the 2001 Sparks.^[88]

However, the 2015 season began without several stars of the previous Finals. Taurasi was paid by her Russian club, where she played during the WNBA offseason, to sit out the season,^[89] while Fowles refused to play for Chicago before she was traded to the Lynx in July.^[90] That proved enough to swing the balance, as the Lynx returned to the top by defeating the Indiana Fever in five games in the 2015 Finals. Fowles was named Finals MVP, helping the Lynx avenge their 2012 defeat.^[91] After the 2015 season, the Tulsa Shock moved to the Dallas–Fort Worth region and were renamed the Dallas Wings.^[92][93] The league also saw another change in leadership, as president Laurel J. Richie left her position in November 2015^[94] and was succeeded by Lisa Borders in February 2016.^[95]

Beginning in 2016, the league abolished conference-based playoff seeding: the top eight teams by record, regardless of conference, advanced to the postseason, with the top two regular-season teams receiving byes directly to the semifinals.^[96] Coincidentally, the next two seasons were marked by a clear separation between two Western teams, the Lynx and the Los Angeles Sparks, and the rest of the league, culminating in back-to-back five-game Finals matchups.^[97][98] In the 2016 Finals, the Sparks, led by Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike, won their first championship since 2002, taking Game Five in Minnesota on a game-winning Ogwumike basket with 3.1 seconds left.^[99] The Lynx earned their revenge in the 2017 Finals, defeating the Sparks in five games.^[100] It marked Minnesota’s fourth title in seven years and the final chapter of the franchise’s dynasty, as after an unsuccessful 2018 season, Brunson, Moore, and Whalen all effectively retired from the league.

Following the 2017 season the San Antonio Stars moved to Nevada, becoming the Las Vegas Aces.^[101][102] In October 2018, Borders stepped down as president.^[103] Mark Tatum served as interim president until May 2019, when Cathy Engelbert was named WNBA commissioner, a role that replaced the league’s president title.^[104]

After their 2010 championship, the Seattle Storm posted only one winning season in the next seven years. However, that put them in position to draft back-to-back No. 1 overall picks for the second time in franchise history: Jewell Loyd in 2015 and Breanna Stewart in 2016. Alongside the ageless Sue Bird, they returned the Storm to the top in 2018. Their toughest playoff test came in a five-game semifinal series against the Mercury.^[105] In the Finals, Seattle swept the first-time finalist Washington Mystics, led by Delle Donne, who had been traded to Washington a year earlier.^[106]

With Stewart and Bird missing the 2019 season due to injuries, the Mystics dominated the regular season behind Delle Donne's MVP campaign and the first 50-40-90 season in WNBA history. Led by Mike Thibault, the winningest coach in WNBA history, the Mystics ran the best offense in league history,^[107][108] and returned to the Finals for a second straight year. There, they faced the Connecticut Sun, who reached the Finals for the first time since 2005—coincidentally, then coached by Thibault. The Mystics prevailed in five games to win the first championship in franchise history, as well as the first for Delle Donne and Thibault.^[109]

New collective bargaining agreements and expansion (2020–present)

During the 2018 season, the WNBA players' union opted out of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the league, which ended after the 2019 season. In January 2020, the league and union announced that they had reached an agreement on a new CBA to take effect with the 2020 season and running through 2027, with an opt-out after 2025. The agreement increased player compensation by more than 50% and expanded benefits, including fully paid maternity leave. It also broadened free‑agency rights. In addition, the CBA introduced a “prioritization” clause that penalizes veteran players who report late to WNBA training camp after returning from overseas play.^{[110][111][112]}

Also in January 2020, the WNBA announced a new in-season tournament, the Commissioner's Cup, originally slated to debut in the 2020 season.^[113] On April 3, the WNBA announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the beginning of the 2020 season would be postponed. The 2020 entry draft took place as originally scheduled on April 17, although it was done remotely.^[114] In June, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced plans for a 22‑game regular season beginning in July, with a traditional playoff format, to be held exclusively at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The players were housed at the Bradenton complex, and all games and practices took place there.^[115] Several players opted out for medical or personal reasons.^[116] The reigning champion Mystics were particularly affected, Delle Donne among those absent, and barely made the playoffs. The shortened regular season was largely dominated by the Seattle Storm and the Las Vegas Aces, who ultimately met in the Finals. It was the Aces franchise's first Finals appearance since 2008, and their first since relocating to Las Vegas. The Storm, back at full strength, swept their playoff run to win their second title in three years.^[117]

On March 15, 2021, an announcement was made that the WNBA would introduce a ceremonial logo, basketball, and uniforms as part of its 25th anniversary celebratory campaign called "Count It".^[118] As part of the campaign, the league unveiled The W25, a list of 25 players determined to be the league's greatest and most influential, as chosen by a panel of media and pioneering women's players.^[119]

The 2021 season largely returned to normal conditions and featured a 32‑game regular season with a month‑long Olympic break for the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics.^[120] The Commissioner's Cup officially debuted that year.^[121] The inaugural Cup Final, held on August 12 as the first game after the Olympic break, was streamed via Amazon Prime Video, and the reigning WNBA champions, the Seattle Storm, won the first edition by defeating the Connecticut Sun.^[122] But neither team replicated its success in the playoffs, and in a season full of twists, the 2021 WNBA Finals produced a rematch of the 2014 Finals between the fifth-seeded Phoenix Mercury and the sixth-seeded Chicago Sky. Benefiting from expanded free‑agency rights under the new CBA, the Sky were able to sign Candace Parker before the season to bolster their established core.^[123] Chicago prevailed in four games to win the first championship in franchise history.^[124]

In February 2022, the league raised $75 million in capital, on terms valuing the league at $475 million. Under the deal, investors received 16 percent of the league's equity. In mid-2022, commissioner Cathy Engelbert confirmed that the league was actively considering expansion.^[125]

Before the 2022 season, the Las Vegas Aces signed head coach Becky Hammon to a then‑unprecedented $1 million annual salary.^[126][127] The move was the latest in a series of ambitious investments by the team’s new owner, Mark Davis, who purchased the franchise in February 2021,^[128] including the construction of a $40 million dedicated training facility, the first of its kind in the league.^[129][130] The Aces' core included consecutive first-overall picks from 2017 to 2019—Kelsey Plum, A'ja Wilson, and Jackie Young—along with Chelsea Gray, whom they signed in free agency in 2021. In 2022, with the regular season expanded to 36 games, Las Vegas finished with the best regular‑season record and won the Commissioner's Cup. That season, the playoff format reverted to a traditional bracket without byes for top seeds and with a best‑of‑three first round. The Aces advanced to the Finals and defeated the Connecticut Sun in four games to win the first championship in franchise history.^[131]

The 2023 season was widely framed as a battle between two "superteams": the Aces and the New York Liberty. The Aces added Candace Parker in free agency, while the Liberty signed free agents Breanna Stewart and Courtney Vandersloot and traded for Jonquel Jones, joining 2020 first-overall pick Sabrina Ionescu in New York.^[132] The two franchises were frequently cited as examples of increased owner investment, and both drew league scrutiny, resulting in investigations or penalties, for providing player benefits beyond those stipulated by the CBA.^{[133][134][135]} That year, the league expanded the regular‑season schedule to 40 games. The season largely matched expectations: the two teams met in the Commissioner's Cup Final, which the Liberty won, and then again in the WNBA Finals.^[136] Despite playing without Parker throughout the playoffs and losing two starters to injury during the Finals, the Aces defeated the Liberty in four games and became the first repeat champions since the 2001–02 Los Angeles Sparks.^[137] The regular season was the most-watched in 21 years and the Finals were the most-watched since 2003.^[138][139]

On October 5, 2023, the WNBA announced an agreement with the owners of the NBA's Golden State Warriors to bring a team to San Francisco, with a reported $50 million expansion fee payable over ten years.^[140][141] The Golden State Valkyries became the league's first expansion team since the Atlanta Dream in 2008 and joined as the thirteenth team in 2025.^[142] On May 23, 2024, the league announced that the Kilmer Group had acquired a franchise based in Toronto that will debut in 2026.^[143] On September 18, 2024, the league announced that the Bhathal family, owners of the Portland Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), had acquired a franchise based in Portland that will also debut in 2026.^[144][145]

The 2024 draft drew unprecedented attention amid surging interest and record viewership in women's college basketball, particularly the 2023 and 2024 NCAA championship games. The draft class was led by first-overall pick Caitlin Clark, widely regarded as the main driver of the surge in attention, and featured other highly followed players, including Angel Reese. The draft averaged 2.45 million viewers, more than four times the previous record for a WNBA draft.^[146] It was the first of numerous viewership records set during the record-setting 2024 season, the majority of which involved Clark’s Indiana Fever; games featuring both Clark and Reese proved a particular draw.^[147][148] The 2024 All-Star Game averaged 3.44 million viewers, delivering the league’s largest audience since its opening weekend in 1997.^[149] Attendance also rose, with the league and individual teams setting multiple highs, including a regular‑season record of 20,711 for a Mystics–Fever game in Washington.^[150][151] In July 2024, the league announced a new 11-year media deal worth $2.2 billion.^[152]

In 2024, the Aces faltered despite a historic season by Wilson,^[153] and the Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx squared off in both the Commissioner's Cup Final, which the Lynx won, and the WNBA Finals. The five-game Finals were one of the closest in history, with two games going to overtime and two others decided by a single possession. For the first time in WNBA Finals history, a decisive Game Five went to overtime. The Liberty ultimately prevailed, after a controversial ending,^{[154][155][156]} to win the first championship in franchise history.^[157] The playoffs were no exception to the rising interest, and the Finals drew their largest audience in 25 years.^[158]

With the Golden State Valkyries joining the league, the 2025 season expanded to 44 games. Despite Clark and other stars missing significant time due to injuries, the league largely sustained upward trends in interest, viewership, and attendance,^{[159][160][161]} highlighted by the Valkyries immediately setting attendance records.^[162] Investment continued to rise across the league, and by the end of 2025 more than half of franchises had either opened or announced dedicated training facilities.^[163] On August 15, 2025, the Seattle Storm and the Atlanta Dream played the first-ever international WNBA regular-season game at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.^[164] The Lynx topped the regular‑season standings, but were upset by the Fever in the Commissioner's Cup Final and by the Phoenix Mercury in the playoffs. In the WNBA Finals, played in a best-of-seven format for the first time, the Mercury faced the Aces. Las Vegas struggled midseason but closed the regular season on a 16-game win streak,^[165] with Wilson earning a record fourth MVP.^[166] The Aces swept the Mercury to claim their third title in four years.^[167]

On June 30, 2025, the WNBA announced expansion teams in Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. The Cleveland team is scheduled to begin play in 2028, followed by Detroit in 2029, and Philadelphia in 2030.^[168]

Future teams

Timeline

Relationship with NBA teams

Regular season

Teams hold training camps in April and May that allow the coaching staff to prepare the players for the regular season and determine the 12-woman roster with which they will begin the regular season. A series of preseason games is also played during this period.^[185][186]

The WNBA regular season begins in May. In 2023 and 2024, each team played 40 regular-season games, 20 each home and away. With the Golden State Valkyries joining the league in 2025, the regular season expanded to 44 games.^[187] As in the NBA, each team hosts and visits every other team at least once every season.

During years in which the Summer Olympics are held, the WNBA takes a month off in the middle of the season to allow players to practice and compete with their respective national teams. During years in which the FIBA World Cup is held, the WNBA either takes a break for the World Cup or ends its season early, depending on the scheduling of the World Cup.

Commissioner's Cup

The 2020 season was planned to be the first for the Commissioner's Cup, an in-season tournament. Each team's first home and away games against each of its conference opponents, all of which were to be played in the first half of the season, were designated as Cup games. After each team played its 10 Cup games, the top team in each conference's Cup standings would advance to the Commissioner's Cup Final, a single match held in August. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the tournament to be scrapped for the time being; the tournament instead launched in 2021 under the originally announced format.^[188]

The format was changed for the 2024 season. Each team now plays only one Commissioner's Cup game against each team in its conference, with either two or three games at home and the remainder away. All games in the first half of June are Cup contests. The Cup final, which remains a single game featuring the top teams in each conference's Cup standings, is now held near the end of June or at the start of July. Under both formats, all Cup games except the final count as regular-season games.^[189]

All-Star Game

In July, the regular season pauses to celebrate the annual All-Star Game. The first edition was held in 1999, the league's third season. The game is part of a weekend-long event, held in a selected WNBA city each year and played on the selected WNBA team's home court. Through the 2017 edition, the All-Star Game featured star players from the Western Conference facing star players from the Eastern Conference. Since 2018, conference affiliations have been ignored in team selections. During the season, voting for All-Star starters takes place among fans, WNBA players, and sports media members. The starters are selected by a weighted vote (fans 50%, players and media 25% each), while reserves are selected by the league's head coaches. The two players with the most fan votes are named team captains, who then fill out their teams in a draft format.^[190]

In 2004, The Game at Radio City was held in place of a traditional All-Star Game. The 2006 All-Star Game was the first game to feature custom uniforms that match the decade anniversary logo. From 2008 through 2016, no All-Star Game was held in any Summer Olympic year. In 2010, an exhibition game (Stars at the Sun) was held. Although the 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19, no All-Star Game was played in that season. The 2021 season featured the first All-Star Game in an Olympic year since 2000; this contest featured a WNBA all-star team facing the US national team. The 2024 game used the same format as in 2021, and was also an official All-Star Game.

Shortly after the All-Star break is the trading deadline. After this date, teams are not allowed to exchange players with each other for the remainder of the season, although they may still sign and release players. Major trades are often completed right before the trading deadline.^[191]

Playoffs

The WNBA playoffs usually begin in late September, though in years of the FIBA World Cup they begin in August. In the current system, the eight best teams by the regular-season record, without regard to conference alignment, qualify for the playoffs. Since 2022, the playoffs have been held in a standard knockout format, with the quarterfinals consisting of best-of-three series and the semifinals being best-of-five. The Finals were also best-of-five until being expanded to best-of-seven in 2025.^[192] Since 2021, Google has been the official sponsor of all playoff rounds except for the Finals,^[193] which are sponsored by YouTube TV.^[187]

Having a higher seed offers several advantages. The higher seed will generally face a weaker team, and will have home-court advantage in each round. In 2024, all quarterfinal series used a 2–1 home-court pattern, which allowed the higher seed the opportunity to win the series without having to visit the lower seed. This in turn meant that a lower seed that won one of the first two games would host the series decider.^[192] However, the quarterfinals returned to an odd-even pattern in 2025, with the higher seed hosting the first game and a potential third game.^[187]

The quarterfinals are bracketed in the normal manner for an 8-team tournament, with 1 vs. 8 and 4 vs. 5 on one side of the bracket and 2 vs. 7 and 3 vs. 6 on the other. The winners of each quarterfinal series advance to the semifinals, with the bracket not being reseeded. The semifinals use a 2–2–1 home-court pattern, meaning that the higher-seeded team will have home court in games 1, 2, and 5 while the other team plays at home in game 3 and 4.

Finals

The final playoff round, a best-of-seven series between the two semifinal winners, is known as the WNBA Finals and is held annually, currently scheduled in October. Each player on the winning team receives a championship ring. Also, the league awards a WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award. Since 2025, the Finals have used the same 2–2–1–1–1 pattern currently used by the NBA, meaning that the higher seed hosts games 1 and 2, the lower seed hosts games 3 and 4, and the teams alternate the last three games, all if necessary.^[194]

Milestones

Awards

Around the beginning of September (or late August in Olympic and FIBA World Cup years), the regular season ends. It is during this time that voting begins for individual awards. The Sixth Player of the Year Award (known before 2021 as the "Sixth Woman" award) is given to the best player coming off the bench (must have more games coming off the bench than actual games started).^[199] The Rookie of the Year Award is awarded to the most outstanding first-year player. The Most Improved Player Award is awarded to the player who is deemed to have shown the most improvement from the previous season. The Defensive Player of the Year Award is awarded to the league's best defender. The Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award is awarded to the player who shows outstanding sportsmanship on and off the court. The Coach of the Year Award is awarded to the coach that has made the most positive difference to a team. The Most Valuable Player Award is given to the player deemed the most valuable for her team that season. The Basketball Executive of the Year Award is presented to the team executive most instrumental in his or her team's success in that season. The newest WNBA award, first presented in 2019, is the season-long version of the WNBA Community Assist Award, presented to a player for especially meritorious community service.^[a]

Also named are the All-WNBA Teams, the All-Defensive Teams, and the All-Rookie Team; each consists of five players. There are two All-WNBA teams; starting with the 2022 season, each consists of five top players selected without regard to position, with first-team status being the most desirable.^[201] There are two All-Defensive teams; since the 2023 season, each consists of the top defenders regardless of position. Finally, there is one All-Rookie team, consisting of the top five first-year players regardless of position. (In all cases, a tie in voting may lead to a team containing six players instead of five.)

Retired numbers

Notes

Notable international players

A number of international players that have played in the WNBA have earned multiple all-stars or won MVP awards:

• Janeth Arcain, Brazil – four-time WNBA champion with the Houston Comets (1997–2000), one-time All-Star (2001) and Most Improved Player Award (2001)
• Elena Baranova, Russia – among the first international players in the WNBA (1997), one-time All-Star (2001).
• Zheng Haixia, China – first winner of the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award and first international player to win a WNBA award (1997)
• Margo Dydek, Poland – first international player to be #1 draft pick (1998)
• Ticha Penicheiro, Portugal – WNBA champion with the Sacramento Monarchs (2005) and four-time All-Star
• Lauren Jackson, Australia – two-time WNBA champion with the Seattle Storm (2004, 2010), three-time WNBA MVP and eight-time All-Star
• Penny Taylor, Australia – three-time WNBA champion with the Phoenix Mercury (2007, 2009, 2014) and four-time All-Star
• Tammy Sutton-Brown, Canada – two-time All-Star
• Sophia Young, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – four-time All-Star
• Sancho Lyttle, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – two-time All-Star
• Liz Cambage, Australia – four-time All-Star
• Emma Meesseman, Belgium – WNBA champion with the Washington Mystics (2019), two-time All-Star, 2019 WNBA Finals MVP
• Jonquel Jones, The Bahamas – WNBA champion with the New York Liberty, five-time All-Star, 2017 Most Improved Player, 2018 Sixth Player of the Year, 2021 WNBA MVP, 2023 WNBA Commissioner's Cup MVP, 2024 WNBA Finals MVP
• Satou Sabally, Germany – three time All-Star, 2023 Most Improved Player

Some of these players, among them Jones, Lyttle, Penicheiro, Sabally, Sutton-Brown, and Young played U.S. college basketball.

Court dimensions

Finance

In 2007, teams were estimated to be losing $1.5 million to $2 million a year.^[238] In total, the league projected losses through the 2010 season to be around $400 million.^[239] In December 2010, Donna Orender said that the league had its first-ever "cash flow positive" team during the 2010 season.^[240] In 2011, three teams were profitable, and in 2013, six of the league's 12 teams reported a profit.^[241] However, in 2018, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver revealed that the WNBA had lost an average of more than $10 million annually, which would amount to at least $280 million in losses since the WNBA's inception in 1997.^[242]

By the 2024 season, the WNBA has seen their revenue grow rapidly through a variety of avenues, such as through raising capital,^[243] re-negotiating their media rights deal, expansion fees,^[244] increased ticket sales,^[245] and establishing new strategic partnerships and sponsorships with organizations.^[246] Still, 40% of the revenue generated by the WNBA goes to the teams and the players, with the remainder going to the NBA and outside investors. Overall, the league is expected to have lost $50 million for the 2024 season.^[244]

Activism

The New York Times in 2020 called the WNBA "the most socially progressive pro league".^[247]

As the popularity of the league has grown, players have gained more voice and power to perform as activists in many fields. One of the activist players' main focuses is the inequality between men's and women's sports. Many players such as Brittney Griner, Breanna Stewart, and Maya Moore have spoken about equality between gender, sexual orientation, and race.^[248] The players have also supported progressive social and political movements such as Black Lives Matter and others.^[249] The Minnesota Lynx were early advocates. The New York Times called Seimone Augustus "one of sports' most forward-thinking and undersung activists" for her early work advocating for marriage equality and LGBTQ+ rights.^[250] Before the Lynx July 9, 2016, home game, the team held a press conference where the four co-captains wore black t-shirts with the message ""Change starts with us - Justice and Accountability" on the front and the names of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling on the back. Castile had been killed by police in a traffic stop three days before the game.^[251] Shortly after the George Floyd protests began, the league and union decided in 2020 to put Black Lives Matter and Say Her Name slogans on warmup gear and opening weekend uniforms.^[252] When team owner Senator Kelly Loeffler criticized the league's support for Black Lives Matter, her team wore black T-shirts with the slogan "VOTE WARNOCK", endorsing her election opponent Raphael Warnock, an African-American pastor who defeated Loeffler.^[252]

In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the WNBA led American professional sports teams in promoting the COVID-19 vaccine.^[253] Teams hosted vaccine clinics in their home arenas.^[253] In April the league and union's Social Justice Council made a PSA, Our Health is Worth a Shot, that aired during the WNBA draft.^[253][254] In June 2021, the WNBA announced that 99% of its players had been fully vaccinated.^[255]

In June 2024, the documentary film Power of the Dream was released.^[256] The film focuses on the league's work to support Black Lives Matter and the organizing to support the election of Warnock. Sue Bird and Nneka Ogwumike are co-producers of the film along with Tracee Ellis Ross and the director Dawn Porter.^[256]

Sponsorships

On June 1, 2009, the Phoenix Mercury was the first team in WNBA history to announce a marquee sponsorship.^[257] The team secured a partnership with LifeLock to brand their jerseys and warm-ups.^[258] It was the first branded jersey in WNBA history. Following the expiration of the LifeLock deal, the Mercury secured a new uniform sponsorship deal with Casino Arizona and Talking Stick Resort on February 3, 2014.^[259]

Other teams eventually followed in the Mercury's footsteps; some teams feature sponsors prominently on the front of their jerseys, while others have sponsors on the upper left-hand shoulder.^[260]

On August 22, 2011, the WNBA announced a league-wide marquee sponsorship with Boost Mobile.^[261] The deal would allow the Boost Mobile logo to be placed on eleven of the 12 teams' jerseys (excluding San Antonio) in addition to branding on the courts and in arenas. A source said the deal is a "multiyear, eight-figure deal".^[262]

Before the start of the 2011 season, every team announced a new look for their uniforms. The supplier of the uniforms for the league, Adidas, upgraded all teams to new high-tech designs, much like they did for the NBA before the start of their season.

On April 8, 2019, the WNBA announced a multiyear marquee partnership with AT&T, making them the first non-apparel partner to have its logo featured on the front of all 12 team jerseys. The jerseys officially debuted during the 2019 WNBA draft.^[263]

In 2020, the league launched WNBA Changemakers, a collective of businesses committed to the advancement of women in sports. The business partners that make up the collective provide direct financial investment to the WNBA as well as marketing amplification through collaborations.^[246]

Salaries, rosters, and collective bargaining

Before the 2009 season, the maximum team roster size was changed from 13 players (11 active and 2 inactive) to 11 players (all active). Any team that falls below nine players able to play due to injury or any other factor outside of the control of the team will, upon request, be granted a roster hardship exception allowing the team to sign an additional player or players so that the team will have nine players able to play in an upcoming game or games. As soon as the injured (or otherwise sidelined) player(s) can play, the roster hardship player(s)—not any other player on the roster—must be waived. In March 2014, the WNBA and players signed a new, eight-year collective bargaining agreement, increasing the number of players on a roster to 12.^[264]

The WNBA draft is held annually every spring. The minimum age is 22 years for American players and 20 years for international players, measured as of December 31 of the calendar year of the draft. For draft purposes, "American" includes those born in the U.S., as well as those who have enrolled in a U.S. college or university, regardless of their citizenship. The draft is three rounds long, with each of the 12 teams in the league (trades aside) getting three picks each. The draft order for the eight teams that made the playoffs the previous year are based on team records, and the team with the highest previous record will pick last. For the remaining top four picks, a selection process similar to the NBA draft lottery is conducted for the four teams that did not qualify for the playoffs.

Previously, in 2008, a new six-year collective bargaining agreement was agreed upon between the players and the league. The salary cap for an entire team in 2010 was $827,000 (although it was later lowered to $775,000). By 2013 (the sixth year under this agreement), the cap for an entire team was $900,000. In 2010, the minimum salary for a player with three-plus years of experience was $51,000 while the maximum salary for a six-plus year player was $101,500 (the first time in league history that players can receive over $100,000). The minimum salary for rookies was $35,190.^[265][266] Many WNBA players supplement their salaries by playing in European, Australian, or more recently Chinese women's basketball leagues during the WNBA offseason. The WNBA pays its female players less than their NBA counterparts, although this is attributed to the much greater revenues of the NBA; however the WNBA has been criticized for "paying its players a lower share of revenue than the NBA".^[267]

The decision of superstar Diana Taurasi to sit out the 2015 WNBA season was seen by some in the media as a harbinger of salary-related troubles in the future. The Russian club for which she was playing at the time, UMMC Ekaterinburg, offered her a bonus well over the league's maximum player salary to sit out that season. Taurasi accepted, largely because she had not had an offseason since playing college basketball more than a decade earlier. Such offers have often been made to star American players, including Taurasi herself, but none were accepted until Taurasi did so in 2015.^[268]

A more recent incident that led to widespread media comment on the WNBA's salary structure was the torn Achilles suffered by reigning WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart while playing for another Russian side, Dynamo Kursk, in the 2019 EuroLeague Women final. The injury came at a time when the WNBA and its players' union were preparing to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement,^[269] following the union's announcement in November 2018 that it would opt out of the current CBA after the 2019 season. With overseas leagues offering much higher salaries to many players than the WNBA currently provides, roughly 70% of the league's players go overseas in any given season. While these players do not necessarily play as many games as NBA players do in their seasons, even participants in the NBA Finals get several months of rest in the offseason, something not available for WNBA players who also play overseas.^{[270][271][272]} In a story on the ramifications of Stewart's injury, Michael Voepel of ESPN had this to say about the lead-in to the injury:^[272]

For Stewart, her 2018 went like this: playing in China, brief time off, WNBA season, World Cup in the Canary Islands, brief time off, playing in Russia. She hasn't had significant recovery time since before her senior season at UConn. Now, she'll have time away from playing but while going through rehab and physical therapy.

The current CBA, which took effect in 2020, significantly increased minimum and maximum salaries. The minimum league salary in 2020 was $57,000 for players with less than three years of experience, and $68,000 otherwise. For most players, the 2020 maximum salary was $185,000; players who met specified criteria for league service had a maximum of $215,000.^[273]

WNBA players are awarded bonuses for certain achievements. Some of the bonuses given by the league (amount is per player), from 2020 to 2027 (the duration of the current CBA): WNBA champion: $11,356; Runner-up: $5,678; Most Valuable Player: $15,450; All-WNBA First Team member: $10,300; and All-Star Game participant: $2,575.^[274] These were only modest increases from amounts provided before 2020.^[275]

In recent years, the lack of roster space for rookies, thus hampering their professional development, has become a major issue. While the 2020 CBA led to maximum player salaries nearly doubling from 2019 to 2022, the team cap only increased by slightly less than 40% in that period. Because the cap is a hard cap, many WNBA teams now carry only 11 players on their rosters instead of the maximum 12, leading Stewart to state "We're at a tipping point. . . . without some easy tweaks, we are no longer a league that has 12 teams and 144 players — it's more like 133." The WNBA also has no developmental league similar to the NBA G League; Chiney Ogwumike, a vice president of the players' union, publicly called for such a league. While roster limits have always been a significant issue in the league—between the first WNBA draft in 1997 and 2021, more than 40% of drafted players never made a roster—this became especially apparent at the dawn of the 2020s. In one notable example, the 2019 Naismith Trophy winner Megan Gustafson did not make an opening-day roster in 2019, and had only played in parts of the 2019–2021 seasons before being cut in the 2022 preseason. This issue gained major publicity during the week before the start of the 2022 season. The Minnesota Lynx, which began that week with barely over $12,000 of cap room, cut six players, including the 2020 Rookie of the Year Crystal Dangerfield, their 2021 first-round pick Rennia Davis, and both of their 2022 draft picks. The Seattle Storm, whose first 2022 draft pick was in the middle of the second round, waived that pick (Elissa Cunane), and the Las Vegas Aces waived both of their picks, one of them a first-rounder.^[276][277]

Another clause in the 2020 CBA, known as the "prioritization" clause, has been viewed as a potential problem for the league. Because of overseas league commitments, a significant number of WNBA players have reported late to training camp each season. Several overseas leagues and continental club competitions overlap with WNBA training camps, and even with the start of the WNBA season. For example, 55 WNBA players missed the start of training camp in 2021, meaning that most teams were unable to start practice with their full rosters.^[278] Starting in 2023, teams are required to fine players with more than two years of WNBA experience who miss the start of training camp. (Exemptions are provided for national team commitments, graduations, and other significant life events.) Starting in 2024, the league can penalize a veteran player who does not report to camp with a season-long suspension without pay.^[279] In a 2021 episode of a podcast hosted by Napheesa Collier and A'ja Wilson, Collier raised the prospect of players choosing to abandon the WNBA for higher overseas salaries, telling Wilson "If I'm not making that much in the league, if it's not enough for me to survive on during the year, I'm going overseas and having the summer off."^[278] When Stewart re-signed with the Seattle Storm as a free agent before the 2022 season, she cited the prioritization clause as the reason she only signed a one-year contract.^[279]

Merchandise

Presidents and commissioners

The title of the league's chief executive was "President" before Cathy Engelbert became the first "Commissioner".

• Val Ackerman, 1996–2005
• Donna Orender, 2005–2010
• Chris Granger, 2011 (interim)
• Laurel J. Richie, 2011–2015
• Lisa Borders, 2015–2018^[294]
• Mark Tatum, 2018–2019 (interim)
• Cathy Engelbert, 2019–present^[295]

WNBA League Pass

In 2009, the WNBA announced the launch of WNBA LiveAccess, a feature on WNBA.com that provides fans with access to more than 200 live game webcasts throughout the WNBA season. All of the WNBA LiveAccess games are then archived for on-demand viewing. Most games (except broadcasts on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2, which are available on ESPN3) are available via this system. The first use of LiveAccess was the E League versus Chicago Sky preseason game.^[322]

Before the 2011 season, LiveAccess was given an overhaul, and the system became more reliable and many new features were added. Before the 2012 season, it was announced that users of LiveAccess would have to pay a $4.99 subscription fee to use the service. In 2013, this was increased to $14.99. In 2014 the streaming service was renamed WNBA League Pass.

WNBA League Pass is available as part of the WNBA App, the free mobile application available on the iPhone, iPad and Android devices and costs US$16.99 for the season. Games airing on ESPN, ESPN2 as well as other games taking place during the telecast windows of ESPN and ESPN2 games, are not available live on WNBA League Pass. However, those games will be available on-demand shortly after the conclusion of their live broadcast.^[323]

Viewership

More information Year, Season ...

Year	Season	Telecasts on ESPN/ESPN2/ ABC/CBS	Average viewership	+/− over previous
2005	Regular	Unknown	282,000
2006	Regular	14	242,000
2007	Regular	16	221,000
2008	Regular	13	248,000
	Playoffs	12	282,000
2009	Regular	12	269,000
	Playoffs	13	435,000
2010	Regular	18	258,000
	Playoffs	7	370,000
2011	Regular	11	270,000
	Playoffs	15	Unknown
2012	Regular	10	180,000
	Playoffs	19	301,000
2013	Regular	13	231,000[324]
	Playoffs	17	344,000[325]
2014	Regular	19	240,000[326]
	Playoffs	10	489,000[327]
2015	Regular	11 (includes 1 on ESPN)	202,000[303]
	Playoffs	Unknown	Unknown
2016	Regular	Unknown	224,000[328]
	Playoffs	Unknown	Unknown
2017	Regular	Unknown	171,000[329]
	Playoffs	Unknown	346,000[125]
2018	Regular		231,000[330]
	Playoffs		319,000[330]
2019	Regular		246,000[331]
	Playoffs		258,000[332][125]
2021	Playoffs	Unknown	367,000[125]
2022	Regular & Playoffs	Unknown	412,000
2023	Regular & Playoffs	Unknown	505,000
2024	Regular	22	1,190,000[333]
2025	Regular & Playoffs	49	1,200,000

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