NEW YORK — The WNBA is set to start its season May 8, assuming the league and the players’ union can come to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement.
Teams will play 44 games over a five-month period with a 17-day break for the FIBA World Cup in early September. The league said last year that they would keep the schedule at 44 games despite adding two new teams in Portland and Toronto with the World Cup this season.
“As we prepare to begin the WNBA’s historic 30th season, this schedule reflects how far the league has come and the momentum that is driving us forward,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
“From welcoming two new organizations in Toronto and Portland, to honoring our history with a marquee matchup connecting the league’s first game with today’s stars, the 2026 season will celebrate the past, present and future of the WNBA. With a record number of games, growing global reach and unprecedented momentum, this milestone season will help define the WNBA’s next chapter.”
By releasing the schedule now, teams can begin selling ticket packages, book travel to away games – including charter flights – and secure field dates.
A WNBA spokesperson said, “Releasing the 2026 schedule is an important step as we prepare for the WNBA’s 30th season and allows teams, partners, broadcasters and fans to begin essential planning for the year ahead.”
All but two teams have at least one back-to-back set of games. Overall, the average of games on consecutive nights has dropped from 2.4 per team in 2025 to 1.6 this year.
The WNBA hopes to expand the number of games played by teams in future years, but this will come in a new CBA.
Training camp is scheduled to begin April 19, six days after the college draft. The league’s sixth annual Commissioner’s Cup game will take place in June and the championship game will take place on June 30. The All-Star Game will take place in Chicago on July 25 and games will resume three days later.
The WNBA will be on hiatus from Aug. 31 through Sept. 16 for the World Cup, which will be played in Berlin this year. The teams will have some matches after the tournament ends and the playoffs will start from September 27.
All of this is still dependent on the league and union reaching agreement on the new CBA. The final CBA was announced in mid-January 2020, a month after it was agreed. It could easily take two months from the time the new CBA arrives to the start of free agency.
two sides agreed to adjourn On free agency, which was set to begin earlier this month. After this an adjournment was required no new expansion A meeting was held on 9 January to negotiate a new CBA. The WNBA and the union are now in a “status quo” period where the old CBA is still in effect and both parties are negotiating in good faith.
Beyond free agency, the WNBA still has to hold an expansion draft for Portland and Toronto.
Other highlights of the schedule include:
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All 15 teams will play on the opening weekend, which will include a WNBA Finals rematch between Las Vegas and Phoenix as well as a matchup of two previous No. 1 picks, with Paige Bueckers and Dallas visiting Indiana and Kaitlin Clark.
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Los Angeles is hosting New York on June 21, the anniversary of the original matchup between the teams which was the first game in league history.
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Toronto will play two matches in Montreal and Vancouver.
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Connecticut will have two games in Hartford and one game in Boston.
