WNBA Women's National Basketball Association

2023 WNBA Regular Season Tips off Friday, May 19 Featuring Record-High 40 Games Per Team in League's 27th Season

Published on November 30, 2022 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) News Release


NEW YORK - The WNBA today released its game schedule for the 2023 regular season, which will begin on Friday, May 19 and feature a record-high 40 games per team. All 12 teams will be in action during the opening weekend of the league's 27th regular season as part of WNBA Tip-Off 2023 presented by CarMax. The regular season will conclude on Sunday, Sept. 10, followed by the WNBA Playoffs presented by Google.

The WNBA will unveil its complete television and streaming schedule at a later date.

"We eagerly anticipate tipping off the 2023 season and building on the success of last season, which was our most-watched in 14 years and set records for social media engagement, digital consumption and merchandise sales," said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. "The expanded schedule will provide fans greater opportunities to see the best players in the world compete on the game's biggest stage."

WNBA Tip-Off 2023 presented by CarMax will begin with four games on Friday, May 19 when two-time WNBA All-Star Natasha Howard, 2022 All-WNBA Second Team selection Sabrina Ionescu, 2021 WNBA All-Star Betnijah Laney and the New York Liberty meet 2022 WNBA All-Defensive Team selections Ariel Atkins and Natasha Cloud, two-time Kia WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne and the host Washington Mystics (7 p.m. ET). Connecticut, which reached the WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV last season, will also make its 2023 debut when former Kia WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones and Alyssa Thomas, who recorded the first two triple-doubles in Finals history last season, lead the Sun into Indiana to face the Fever, which owns the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm (7 p.m. ET).

The opening-night schedule will also feature WNBA All-Stars Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride and the Minnesota Lynx hosting the Chicago Sky (8 p.m. ET) and the Los Angeles Sparks welcoming the Phoenix Mercury (10 p.m. ET).

Opening weekend action will continue on Saturday, May 20 when 2022 All-WNBA First Team selection Kelsey Plum, reigning Kia WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson, 2022 Kia WNBA Most Improved Player Jackie Young, and the defending champion Las Vegas Aces visit four-time WNBA All-Star Jewell Loyd and the Seattle Storm in a rematch of their thrilling 2022 WNBA Semifinals series (3 p.m. ET). Later that day, 2022 Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year Rhyne Howard and the Atlanta Dream visit the Dallas Wings, led by Arike Ogunbowale, who has ranked among the league's top five scorers in each of her four seasons (8 p.m. ET).

The WNBA will conclude its opening weekend on Sunday, May 21 when Connecticut hosts Washington (1 p.m. ET), Indiana visits New York (2 p.m. ET) and 2021 WNBA Finals MVP Kahleah Copper and the Chicago Sky visit WNBA All-Star Diamond DeShields and the Phoenix Mercury (4 p.m. ET).

AT&T WNBA All-Star 2023

AT&T WNBA All-Star 2023, the 19th All-Star Game in league history, will be played on Saturday, July 15. More information about AT&T WNBA All-Star will be forthcoming.

Commissioner's Cup presented by Coinbase

The Commissioner's Cup presented by Coinbase, an in-season tournament pitting conference rivals against each other during the first half of the regular season, will return for its third season. The 10 designated "Cup games" per team will be the first home game and first road game each team plays against its five conference rivals, all completed from May 19 - July 12. The team from each conference with the top record in Commissioner's Cup presented by Coinbase games will compete for a half-a-million-dollar prize pool in the Commissioner's Cup Championship presented by Coinbase on Tuesday, Aug. 15. Additional details will be announced at a later date.

Expanded Regular-Season Schedule

The WNBA regular-season schedule has increased to a record-high 40 games per team, up four games from the previous high of 36 last season. Each team will play 20 home games and 20 road games.

All in for Regular-Season Finale

With playoff berths and seedings potentially on the line, the WNBA will conclude its regular-season schedule in style with all 12 teams in action on the final day, Sunday, Sept. 10.

Additional Schedule Highlights

* Las Vegas and Connecticut, the opponents in a memorable 2022 WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV, will meet three times - Tuesday, June 6 and Thursday, June 8 in Connecticut and on Saturday, July 1 in Las Vegas.

* After Chicago defeated Connecticut in a 2021 WNBA Semifinals series and Connecticut returned the favor in the 2022 Semifinals, the two teams will meet four times this season. The Eastern Conference rivals will square off in Connecticut on Sunday, June 25 and on the final day of the regular season, Sunday, Sept. 10, and in Chicago on Wednesday, July 12 and Sunday, Aug. 20.

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