When does the 2026 WNBA Season Start? WNBA Tip-Off Week Schedule, Date, Times, TV, How to watch

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.

Full WNBA Opening Weekend Schedule 2026, Dates, Start-Times

Date Time (ET) Host Visitor

Friday, May 8

7:30 pm ET: Connecticut Sun vs. New York Liberty

7:30 pm ET: Washington Mystics vs. Toronto Tempo

10 pm ET: Golden State Valkyries vs. Seattle Storm

Saturday, May 9

1 pm ET: Dallas Wings vs. Indiana Fever

3:30 pm ET: Phoenix Mercury vs. Las Vegas Aces

9 pm ET: Chicago Sky vs. Portland Fire

Sunday, May 10

1 PM ET: Seattle Storm vs. Connecticut Sun

3 PM ET: New York Liberty vs. Washington Mystics

7 PM ET: Las Vegas Aces vs. Los Angeles Sparks

7 PM ET: Atlanta Dream vs. Minnesota Lynx

8:30 PM ET: Phoenix Mercury vs. Golden State Valkyries

Season 30 is also highlighted with a rematch of the league’s inaugural game in 1997, with the Los Angeles Sparks hosting the New York Liberty on Sunday, June 21, on the anniversary of the original matchup.

May 10 7 p.m. Minnesota Lynx Atlanta Dream

May 10 8:30 p.m. Valkyries Mercury

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