THE WNBA revealed a massive move regarding its regular season and playoff format.
The new changes were recently announced by the women’s basketball league.
Indiana Fever rookie star Caitlin Clark dribbles the ball during a WNBA playoff game against the Connecticut Sun on September 25[/caption]
Clark passing the ball during the away playoff contest[/caption]
The WNBA has received record attendance viewership numbers in the 2024 season in large part due to the league’s surge in rookie talent which includes the 2024 NCAA all-time leading scorer Caitlin Clark.
Last Friday, the league made three big announcements.
With the WNBA continuing to grow, the league will add four games in the regular season, going from 40 to 44 total contests.
That means the season will continue deeper in October.
The WNBA Finals is currently taking place with the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx squaring off against each other.
Another change will be coming to the first round of the postseason.
Beginning next year, there will be a 1-1-1 first-round format.
And the WNBA Finals is set to be a best-of-7- format in 2026.
The last change will be adding an expansion team in the Golden State Valkyries for next year.
It has been previously announced that the WNBA will add Toronto and Portland franchises for the 2026 season.
The availability of charter flights and the popularity of the WNBA have helped fuel these new additions, per WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
“Honestly, the league’s growth and increased demand for WNBA basketball made this the ideal time to expand the schedule, lengthen the Finals, and provide more opportunities to see the best players in the world compete at the highest level,” Engelbert said last week.
The WNBA’s new $2.2 billion TV deals, part of a set of agreements with the NBA, won’t begin until 2026.
Next year, the league will be having the first of the new deals with ESPN, NBC Sports, and Amazon.
Clark poses for a portrait after being named 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year on October 4[/caption]
The WNBA Finals change in 2025 means the championship round will be in line with professional sports leagues such as the NBA Finals, MLB World Series, and NHL Stanley Cup.
And the change for the first change was made after Clark and the Indiana Fever never got to play at home.
The team that hosts Game 1 will now not host Game 2 with the series moving to a different arena.
The WNBA saw Clark win the Rookie of the Year award and lead her team to the playoffs.
The Iowa Hawkeyes product and her team were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, however.
