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Assuming there isn’t a lockout this year, the 2026 WNBA season is scheduled to begin with a three-game slate on Friday, May 8.
The New York Liberty will host the Connecticut Sun in the first game of the night. At the same time, the Toronto Tempo will be kicking off the first year in franchise history by hosting the Washington Mystics. The nightcap is a battle between the Golden State Valkyries (last year’s expansion team) and the Seattle Storm.
The defending champions will be in action on Saturday, as the Las Vegas Aces raise another banner before hosting the Phoenix Mercury in a rematch of last year’s WNBA Finals. All 15 teams, including two expansion franchises (Tempo and Portland Fire), will be in action during the opening week of the WNBA’s 30th season.
Of course, the schedule release doesn’t guarantee that games will be played in early May, or even at all.
The WNBA and Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) still have to agree on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) before anything else. Until a new CBA is in place, the Tempo and Fire can’t conduct their expansion drafts, free agency can’t begin, and there won’t be a rookie draft.
Basically, a lot has to happen before regular-season games can get underway in May.
WNBA Opening Weekend Schedule 2026
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