WNBA ready to build off exciting offseason and influx of new talent
The WNBA is set to begin its 27th season this month, following a record-setting NCAA women’s basketball tournament and a near record-setting WNBA draft that saw the Indiana Fever select South Carolina superstar Aliyah Boston with the No. 1 overall pick.
Indiana hopes Boston will help propel a young Fever team back to the playoffs after a long layoff. The Fever won the 2012 championship and reached the Finals again in 2015 but haven’t been back to the postseason since 2016.
Meanwhile in Phoenix, the Mercury return seven-time WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner, who missed the entire 2022 season after she was arrested and imprisoned in Russia on drug charges following a trial legal experts classified as a “sham.” Griner returned to the U.S. in December in a dramatic prisoner exchange with Russia after being detained in the country for more than nine months.
The reigning champion Las Vegas Aces will seek their second consecutive title and have added even more firepower to a roster that already contained twotime MVP and four-time All-Star A’ja Wilson. Candace Parker, another twotime MVP, signed with the Aces as a free agent in February after the seven-time All-Star spent the past two years in Chicago and led the Sky to the 2021 championship.
But the Aces won’t be the only superstar-laden team in 2023. The New York Liberty made a splash in the offseason, signing 2018 MVP and four-time All-Star Breanna Stewart and four-time All-Star Courtney Vandersloot as free agents, less than a month after trading for 2021 MVP and four-time All-Star Jonquel Jones.
When does the regular season start?
The season begins on Friday, May 19, with four games, including Griner’s first game back when the Mercury travel to Los Angeles to face the Sparks on ESPN at 11 p.m. EDT.
When and where is the All-Star Game?
The All-Star break is July 13-17 with the All-Star Game scheduled for Saturday, July 15, in Las Vegas.
When will the regular season conclude?
All 12 teams will be in action on Sunday, Sept. 10, on the final day of the regular season.
When will the playoffs begin?
The postseason is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Sept. 13.