WNBA Women's National Basketball Association

Defending Champion Phoenix Mercury Tips off WNBA's 19th Season

December 11, 2014 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) News Release


NEW YORK, Dec. 11, 2014 - The reigning WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury, led by 2014 Finals MVP Diana Taurasi and 2014 Defensive Player of the Year presented by Samsung Brittney Griner, will be among the 10 teams in action on Friday, June 5, when WNBA Tip-Off 2015 presented by Boost Mobile gets underway. The Mercury will receive its championship rings before playing host to the San Antonio Stars at 10 p.m. ET. The defending Eastern Conference champion Chicago Sky and the Minnesota Lynx - led by 2014 WNBA MVP presented by Samsung Maya Moore - will also be in action on the league's opening day, with Minnesota hosting the Tulsa Shock at 8 p.m. ET, and Chicago welcoming the Indiana Fever at 8:30 p.m. ET.

WNBA Tip-Off 2015 presented by Boost Mobile will feature 24 games from June 5 through Sunday, June 14, culminating with the launch of ESPN2's season-long coverage of the WNBA. ESPN2 will debut its schedule of games June 14, with a doubleheader showcasing the league champions from the past three seasons and a multitude of MVPs and All-Stars. The first telecast features Tamika Catchings and the Indiana Fever hosting Elena Delle Donne and the Sky at 1 p.m. ET. That game will be followed by a rematch of the 2014 Western Conference Finals as Taurasi and the Mercury host Moore and the Lynx at 3 p.m. ET.

ESPN2, ABC, and NBA TV will televise up to 80 regular-season and postseason contests highlighting the league's most talented players and top rivalries.

ESPN2 will air 11 games during the regular season and cap it off with extensive coverage of the WNBA Playoffs and Finals presented by Boost Mobile. All ESPN2 telecasts will also be available on WatchESPN. In addition, WNBA LiveAccess provides online and mobile viewing of live and archived WNBA games for the entire season.

In October of this year, the NBA and ESPN announced an extension of the partnership between the WNBA and ESPN. Under the terms of the new deal, WNBA games will continue to be televised on ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC through the 2025 season. ESPN also will have enhanced in-progress highlight rights for the WNBA on digital and linear platforms. The deal extends the league's relationship with ESPN, which commenced in 1997, to 29 years.

NBA TV will televise more than 40 games during the regular season and provide additional postseason coverage. The NBA TV schedule will be announced at a later date.

Other must-watch television matchups during the 2015 WNBA regular season include:

Five ESPN2 telecasts featuring former league MVPs going head-to-head, including a pair of clashes involving the Mercury (Taurasi, 2009) and Lynx (Moore, 2014), first on June 14 when Minnesota visits Phoenix; then on Aug. 30 when the teams meet in Minneapolis. Other MVP matchups will take place July 21 when Taurasi and Phoenix visit Los Angeles (Candace Parker, 2013); Aug. 4 as Moore's Lynx pay a call to Parker's Sparks; and Aug. 16 when Catchings (2011) and Indiana travel to the Valley of the Sun to face Taurasi and the Mercury. The Mercury will appear on six ESPN2 telecasts. All-Star-laden Chicago (Delle Donne, Jessica Breland, Sylvia Fowles, Epiphanny Prince, and Courtney Vandersloot) will make four appearances, and Minnesota (Moore, Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson, and Lindsay Whalen), and Los Angeles (Parker, Nneka Ogwumike, and Kristi Toliver) will make three. Western Conference rivals Minnesota and Phoenix, which met for the right to advance to the WNBA Finals presented by Boost Mobile in 2011, 2013, and 2014, will square off twice on ESPN2 (in Phoenix on June 14 at 3 p.m. ET; and on Aug. 30 in Minneapolis at 7 p.m. ET). A pair of games featuring a rematch of the 2014 Finals presented by Boost Mobile between Phoenix and Chicago. Both contests will air on ESPN2, with the Mercury first hosting the Sky on July 28 at US Airways Center. (10 p.m. ET), followed by an Aug. 9 matchup at Chicago's home, Allstate Arena (1 p.m. ET). A rematch of the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals tips off on June 14, when Chicago meets Indiana at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (1 p.m.) in the first game of a doubleheader on ESPN2. Season-long coverage on ESPN2 will include six Tuesday evening games and five Sunday telecasts.

The 2015 WNBA regular season runs from Friday, June 5 to Sunday, Sep. 13. A complete listing of the game-by-game schedule is available at http://www.wnba.com/schedules/ . The ESPN2/ABC game telecast schedule follows:

2015 WNBA NATIONAL TELEVISION SCHEDULE

Day Date Visitor Home Local Time Eastern Time Network

Sun. June 14, 2015 Chicago Indiana 1:00 PM 1:00 PM ESPN2

Sun. June 14, 2015 Minnesota Phoenix 12:00 PM 3:00 PM ESPN2

Tues. June 23, 2015 Los Angeles Washington 8:00 PM 8:00 PM ESPN2

Tues. June 30, 2015 New York Chicago 7:00 PM 8:00 PM ESPN2

Tues. July 7, 2015 Tulsa Atlanta 8:00 PM 8:00 PM ESPN2

Tues. July 21, 2015 Phoenix Los Angeles 7:00 PM 10:00 PM ESPN2

Tues. July 28, 2015 Chicago Phoenix 7:00 PM 10:00 PM ESPN2

Tues. Aug. 4, 2015 Minnesota Los Angeles 7:00 PM 10:00 PM ESPN2

Sun. Aug. 9, 2015 Phoenix Chicago 12:00 PM 1:00 PM ESPN2

Sun. Aug. 16, 2015 Indiana Phoenix 4:00 PM 7:00 PM ESPN2

Sun. Aug. 30, 2015 Phoenix Minnesota 6:00 PM 7:00 PM ESPN2

* Schedule subject to change

NBA TV schedule to be announced at a later date

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