Last season, the New York Liberty opted to charter the team flights for the second half of the WNBA season, resulting in a $500,000 fine and consideration of “termination of the franchise,” according to a recent Sports Illustrated report by Howard Megdal. The fine is the largest in WNBA history.

The New York Liberty were fined $500K by the WNBA for chartering flights in second half of last season, per @howardmegdal

The league's general counsel also considered 'termination of the franchise' as an option for punishment pic.twitter.com/Sgr8Ro1inH

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 1, 2022

The article, which details the circumstances surrounding the league-record fine, also discusses a larger issue – the differences among WNBA owners with regards to the league’s growth.

Some, like Liberty owners Joe and Clara Tsai, want to invest more in their teams in order to turn them into profitable franchises. Others “view it as pure charity,” according to Megdal.

According to the article, the Liberty told the WNBA Board of Directors last September that they had found a way to get charter flights compensated for every team in the league for three years.

In October, Tsai tweeted out that conversations with airline CEOs were “going well.”

“They get the idea of equity for women athletes,” he said.

However, the plan lacked majority support. Some owners were worried that there would be no going back once players got used to the new form of travel.

WNBA travel has been hotly debated in the past. Currently, the league’s CBA does not allow for teams to pay for anything more than premium economy. There have been a multitude of travel issues, including delayed flights, which have led coaches like Chicago’s James Wade and Connecticut’s Curt Miller to publicly lament the complicated travel arrangements between games.

During last year’s WNBA Finals, the league chartered flights for the Chicago Sky and Phoenix Mercury between Games 2 and 3.

The current CBA does not allow teams to charter flights. When the Liberty opted to charter flights for each road game during the second half of last season, the league intervened. A $1 million fine was floated around informally, as well as the possibility of terminating the franchise or removing draft picks. Ultimately, the fine was reduced to $500,000.

Since then, Tsai isn’t the only owner to raise the possibility of charter flights. Las Vegas Aces owner Mark Davis said in an early February media call that the “players do deserve more money” as well as better flight options.

“They don’t need to be flying on commercial flights,” Davis said. “We should have charter flights.”

On Tuesday, Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu responded to the article, saying “What a joke.”

What a joke😂😂😂 https://t.co/SdedaL1vyN

— Sabrina Ionescu (@sabrina_i20) March 1, 2022

The WNBA is taking a weekend road trip, as the No. 2 Atlanta Dream and No. 8 Seattle Storm head across the border to Vancouver, British Columbia, for the league's first-ever in-season Canada Game on Friday night.

The game features a rematch of Atlanta's 85-75 win over the Storm on Wednesday, with the win propelling the Dream up the WNBA standings — and threatening to drop Seattle out of postseason contention entirely.

"Time is running out, and the team knows it," Seattle head coach Noelle Quinn said earlier this week. "I didn't want to put so much pressure on them, but they know the situation, and they understand the urgency."

While Friday marks the first regular-season WNBA matchup played outside the US, the league has previously staged two preseason games in Canada, tipping off in Toronto in 2023 and Edmonton in 2024 — both in front of sold-out crowds.

Toronto's 2023 exhibition appeared to serve as a trial run for expansion, with the league awarding the Canadian city its first franchise — the 2026-incoming Toronto Tempo — earlier this year.

While plans for a formal move to Vancouver hasn't yet surfaced, the WNBA's explosive popularity and rapid growth outlook provide plenty of room for new markets to enter the conversation.

How to watch the 2025 WNBA Canada Game

The No. 8 Seattle Storm and No. 2 Atlanta Dream will square off inside Vancouver's Rogers Arena at 10 PM ET on Friday night.

Live coverage of the WNBA Canada Game clash will air on ION.

Coming off a series of strategic transactions, the No. 10 Washington Mystics will forge ahead on Friday night, taking on the short-staffed No. 6 Indiana Fever with a chance to play spoiler as they reshape their 2025 expectations from below the postseason cutoff line.

"There's just so many different success stories with this group," Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson said following Washington's 88-83 loss to the No. 7 Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday.

The Mystics have lost five of their last six games, and will take the court on Friday without injured new addition Jacy Sheldon and starting center Shakira Austin.

While Washington exceeded this year's early-season projections — skyrocketing above the playoff line behind leading scorer Brittney Sykes and the dynamic rookie duo of Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron — the now-fading Mystics chose to shift gears at the trade deadline, sending Sykes to the No. 8 Seattle Storm and shipping second-year forward Aaliyah Edwards off to the No. 13 Connecticut Sun.

With their natural 2026 draft pick secured, Washington has a shot at adding a top first-round prospect should they play out the rest of the regular season at the bottom of the WNBA standings — in other words, by strategically tanking the final weeks of 2025 play.

On the other hand, the injury-laden Indiana enters Friday's action eyeing a win after falling to the No. 11 Dallas Wings by just one point on Tuesday.

How to watch the Washington Mystics vs. Indiana Fever on Friday

The No. 10 Mystics will take on the No. 6 Fever in Indianapolis at 7:30 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage airing on ION.

A top-table battle headlines the NWSL this weekend, as the No. 1 Kansas City Current hosts the No. 2 Orlando Pride for a possible postseason rehearsal on Saturday.

Led by Golden Boot frontrunner Temwa Chawinga, the Current enter the weekend with a full 12-point lead over the rest of the league, as reigning NWSL Shield and Championship winners Orlando push to make a statement.

"We are resilient. That is part of our identity. We never give up and we are always playing to win, and we always believe in ourselves," Pride defender Kylie Nadaner said following last Saturday's 1-1 draw with Racing Louisville.

More than just a clash between the top two teams in the NWSL standings, history shows very little love lost between these perennial heavy-hitters.

Last season, Orlando snapped KC's NWSL-record 17-game unbeaten streak on the Current's home turf, then took Kansas City down again in the pair's 2024 semifinal playoff match.

"We will remember the way they acted after the cameras were off," Current forward Michelle Cooper posted to social media after their July 2024 loss.

Kansas City has already issued some regular-season revenge on their way up the table this year, defeating the Pride 1-0 back in May.

How to watch Kansas City vs. Orlando this NWSL weekend

The No. 1 Current will kick off against the No. 2 Pride at 4 PM ET on Saturday, with live coverage airing on CBS.

NBA 2K is going all in on the WNBA, with the popular video game expanding its MyTEAM mode this week to allow athletes from both leagues to star on the same team when the 2K26 edition drops next month.

"MyTEAM is where competition meets a basketball fan's wildest imagination," explained Visual Concepts VP of NBA development Erick Boenisch. "By integrating the WNBA into one of our most popular modes, we're not only giving players the opportunity to customize their all-time dream rosters but shining a spotlight on some of the game's most iconic hoopers. We're looking forward to giving our players a new and deeper way to engage with the WNBA."

"Players can now mix and match current superstars and legends from both leagues, and compete with more dream lineup combinations than ever before," NBA 2K said in Thursday's release.

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"Pair Paige Bueckers with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, throw a lob from Sheryl Swoopes to Shaquille O'Neal, or run a pick-and-roll with Angel Reese and Carmelo Anthony," the franchise continued.

NBA 2K has ramped up its WNBA integration significantly since the league's debut in the 2K20 edition, expanding from Play Now and Season modes to the upcoming 2K26 version's virtual press conferences, pre-draft interviews, social media refreshes, and Top-10 player ratings.

How to buy the WNBA Edition of NBA 2K26

With Chicago Sky sophomore Angel Reese playing cover star, the WNBA Edition of NBA 2K26 will be sold exclusively in physical form at GameStop, dropping along with the other versions of the popular video game on September 5th.

Fans can purchase the WNBA version through the gaming retailer's presale now.