The WNBA is leading with its biggest storylines to kick off its 2025 season, most notably the one elevated by Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
Clark’s Indiana Fever take on Reese’s Chicago Sky on May 17 in Indianapolis, Ind., highlighting the WNBA’s schedule release on Monday. Additionally, the Golden State Valkyries, an expansion newcomer, will tip off against the Los Angeles Sparks to begin their California rivalry on May 16. Projected top pick Paige Bueckers could hoop that same night against the Minnesota Lynx.
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The upcoming season will be the longest in the W’s 29-year history with 44 games, up four from the last two seasons. Each team will play 22 home and 22 road games, and clubs will play each other anywhere between three and five times during the regular season.
Of course, the 2024 season was largely defined by the arrival of Clark, who led the Fever to their first playoff appearance since 2016 and drove national television viewership to heights unseen in 20 years. Including the WNBA Draft and the All-Star Game, where 3.4 million viewers watched her team with Reese and other league All-Stars against Team USA ahead of the Summer Olympics break, 21 national telecasts featuring Clark had over 1 million viewers.
Clark and Reese, who faced off in college at Iowa and LSU, respectively, carried on their rivalry through their respective teams in 2024, with games that sparked heated discussions away from the sports arena. Indiana and Chicago will face each other five times in 2025, with Indiana hosting three of the games.
Although every other team has started selling tickets, the Fever’s games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse won’t go on sale until Dec. 17, when a select number of tickets will be available. Additionally, the team is directing people to add their names to the season ticket waitlist. Indiana, which began play in 1998, broke a league record for attendance last season with 17,035 fans per game, more than triple its league-low total of 4,067 in 2023.
The 2025 season will also be the inaugural campaign for the Valkyries, the league’s 13th franchise. The sister team of the NBA’s Warriors will make its official debut at Chase Center against the Los Angeles Sparks on May 16. The Valkyries will be joined by fellow expansion sides Toronto and Portland in 2026.
Additionally, the Commissioner’s Cup games—the mini-competition where players compete for a chance to split a $500,000 prize pool—will all take place from June 1-17, with the teams with the best Cup records in each conference facing off on July 1.
WNBA teams borrowed from the NFL’s elaborate and clever schedule releases. The Dallas Wings enlisted Keith Lee, the former Bellator MMA fighter who’s made a name as a food critic, to try foods that represent a few WNBA cities. The Connecticut Sun used weather forecasts. The Las Vegas Aces tapped into their petty side by using the “Obama handshake skit” from Key and Peele.
Speaking of petty, the W has embraced tension for its opening weekend by scheduling the first game between Chicago and Indiana, as well as the New York Liberty raising its championship banner before playing the Aces on May 17.
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