The WNBA dropped its 2025 schedule on Monday, with the league's 29th season set to tip off on May 16th and run through September 11th.

With the Golden State Valkyries debuting as the league’s first expansion franchise since 2008, all 13 teams will now play 44 games (22 home, 22 away), up from 40 in 2024. Despite the additional games, the season's calendar has not increased, as 2025 will not require an extended international break like last summer's Paris Olympics necessitated.

The fifth-annual Commissioner's Cup competition will begin in June, when the six Eastern Conference teams and seven Western Conference squads will play five and six round-robin games, respectively, to determine the two conference leaders who will contend for the in-season tournament's title — and the $500,000 purse — on July 1st.

Also on the 2025 WNBA schedule is the 21st annual All-Star Game, which will take over the Indiana Fever's Gainbridge Fieldhouse on July 19th.

"We look forward to... continuing to build on the success of last season, when the WNBA delivered its most-watched Draft and All-Star Game, and set records for viewership, attendance, digital consumption, and merchandise sales," commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in Monday's release.

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2025 WNBA season to tip off with all teams

All 13 teams will play on opening weekend, with the Valkyries logging their first minutes when they host an in-state battle against the LA Sparks on Friday, May 16th.

Other season-opener highlights include the Friday bout between 2024 runners-up Minnesota and Dallas, who are expected to debut UConn star Paige Bueckers as their 2025 No. 1 Draft pick, and Saturday's battle between the last two league champions — 2023 title-winners Las Vegas and reigning champs New York.

Indiana will also kick off their campaign against Chicago on May 17th, with both teams adding new head coaches to their rosters last month. Home to the the last two Rookies of the Year, Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark, the Fever will face a Sky side made stronger by Angel Reese's return from injury in the first of five 2025 regular-season meetings.

Fans eager for a 2024 Finals rematch between the reigning champions Liberty and the Lynx will have their patience tested by the 2025 schedule. Unless they meet again in the July 1st Commissioner's Cup championship, the pair won't face off until the first of their four regular-season battles on July 30th.

The WNBA's next steps

The road to the first-ever seven-game WNBA Finals series next fall begins on May 16th, but the league has a significant to-do list to tackle before stepping to the 2025 season's starting line. The WNBA must handle February's free agency signing period, April's draft, and the ongoing process of filling the league's multiple coaching vacancies — all while concurrently negotiating a new CBA with the WNBPA.

While the 2025 game calendar is set, the league's broadcast scheduled is still being hammered out and will be announced at a later date.

The WNBA's first step, however, is Friday’s expansion draft, when Golden State will begin to fill their inaugural roster by selecting players from the league's other 12 rosters live on ESPN at 6:30 PM ET.

The Connecticut Sun is still on the chopping block, with reports surfacing Tuesday that the WNBA made a $250 million offer to buy the team in order to control its final landing place.

The Mohegan Tribe — the Sun's current owners — are reportedly still seeking clarity on the league's preferred relocation destination, after two prospective outside bids stalled in front of the Board of Governors.

Multiple offers remain on the table, including two $325 million bids from groups in Boston and nearby Hartford, Connecticut — as well as a plan to raise capital via minority investments rather than a full sale.

Recent reports point to the league's desire to control the Sun's fate while preserving certain markets for expansion, with the Mohegan Tribe under pressure to bend to the WNBA's interests.

The WNBA offer to buy the Connecticut Sun outright is reportedly part of a larger plan to flip the team to a different prospective ownership group without an additional relocation fee — and rumors say Houston is in the lead.

The Mohegan Tribe already turned down a low-ball bid out of Cleveland, with WNBA later awarding the Northeast Ohio city an expansion team for a $250 million fee.

NBA co-ownership was a clear priority during the league's most recent expansion, with officials now looking to force that strategy onto the Sun's future.

While the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx watch from above, the race for the No. 2 postseason seed is taking center stage, with teams like the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury eyeing 2025 WNBA Playoffs spots as the league nears the regular-season home stretch.

Big Tuesday wins helped boost the No. 2 New York Liberty and No. 5 Las Vegas Aces up the WNBA standings, while the Mercury refused to lose pace with a 98-91 victory over the No. 7 Golden State Valkyries.

"We're just continuing to try to build," Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts told reporters afterwards. "We're on the right step, but there's still work to be done."

Multiple talent-stacked teams are continuing to sharpen their form with the 2025 Playoffs looming, with only a half-game currently separating the New York Liberty, Atlanta Dream, Phoenix Mercury, and Las Vegas Aces on the WNBA table.

The Mercury have benefitted a healthy Big Three — Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally, and Kahleah Copper — with Copper leading Phoenix's five double-digit scorers by registering 25 points in Tuesday’s win.

"Our support staff has been great and our culture and my teammates have been great in helping me navigate through [early-season injuries] and just being able to get back out there," Copper said this week.

How to watch the Phoenix Mercury this week

The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury will have their work cut out for them on Thursday, when they'll visit Las Vegas to tip off against the surging No. 5 Aces and their eight-game winning streak at 10 PM ET.

Live coverage of the clash will air on Prime.

The No. 9 Sparks haven't given up the fight, with LA sitting just outside the 2025 WNBA playoff picture ahead of Wednesday night's clash with a No. 11 Dallas Wings side facing postseason elimination.

The Sparks have had an up-and-down season, arriving at a 16-18 record with six wins in their last 10 games.

"We control our destiny, so what do we do with it?" LA head coach Lynne Roberts said on Tuesday. "And I love that we're in that spot, but we'll see how competitive we are."

"Obviously we feel like there's some games that we should have and could have won at the beginning of the season early on, but [you] can't change the past," echoed Sparks forward Dearica Hamby. "We have good momentum right now still. We're still in good position to make the playoffs, so just take it a game at a time."

Meanwhile, Dallas will try to stave off joining the last-place Connecticut Sun in playoff elimination, though their draft lottery odds rise with every loss.

The Wings will be even more shorthanded on Wednesday after losing Li Yueru to a season-ending ACL sprain on Friday, with the center now joining star guard Arike Ogunbowale, who is suffering from knee tendinitis, on the sideline.

How to watch the Dallas Wings vs. LA Sparks on Wednesday

The No. 9 Sparks will host the No. 11 Wings at 10 PM ET on Wednesday, with live coverage airing on WNBA League Pass.

The No. 6 Indiana Fever are officially down another guard due to injury, with the team confirming Tuesday that Sophie Cunningham suffered a season-ending right MCL tear during the squad's Sunday matchup against the No. 13 Connecticut Sun.

"If you're going to hurt your knee, that is the best possible case," Cunningham explained on her podcast on Tuesday. "A couple more inches to the left, [I] would've torn a whole bunch more s—t. I'm very thankful for where I am at, so it's all good."

Cunningham posted an average of 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 46.9% from the field on the season for Indiana.

In response to losing the seven-season WNBA standout, Indiana signed veteran guard Shey Peddy to a seven-day hardship contract on Tuesday, one day after releasing previous hardship addition Kyra Lambert.

Cunningham became the third Fever guard sidelined with a season-ending injury in less than two weeks, after Indiana lost both Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald to an ACL tear and broken foot, respectively, in the same game on August 7th.

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The trio join superstar guard Caitlin Clark on the Fever's injured list, after the WNBA sophomore's lingering right groin issue has seen her on the bench since before the 2025 All-Star break.

That said, Clark has reportedly been participating in practice this week, ramping up her game fitness as she eyes a return to the 2025 WNBA court.