WNBA to expand Finals to 7 games, add to regular season next year

WNBA to expand Finals to 7 games, add to regular season next year


Napheesa Collier #24 of the Minnesota Lynx scores the game winning basket during the game against the New York Liberty during Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Finals on October 10, 2024 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. 

Nathaniel S. Butler | National Basketball Association | Getty Images

Basketball fans will have even more chances to see their favorite stars play in the Women’s National Basketball Association in the 2025 season.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that the league will expand its regular season from 40 to 44 games, and its Finals series from five to seven games, both beginning next year. The Finals round will be a 2-2-1-1-1 format for home games, with the higher seed hosting first.

The three-game first round of the playoffs will alternate hosts, instead of the higher seed hosting the first two games before switching, like it did this season.

Engelbert said the league has considered the playoff changes since the pandemic, but the surge in its popularity and introduction of charter flights for teams was the final push needed to implement the new playoff format.

“The league’s growth and increased demand for WNBA basketball made this the ideal time to expand the schedule, lengthen the Finals and provide fans more opportunities to see the best players in the world compete at the highest level,” Engelbert said during a Thursday press conference.

The schedule is not the only thing expanding in next year’s season. The Golden State Valkyries will debut in 2025 as the league’s 13th team. Two more expansion teams have been announced, one in Toronto and one in Portland, and there are discussions in the works to lock in a city for the 16th team, Engelbert said Thursday. The Toronto and Portland teams, which are both unnamed, will start play in 2026.

The additions come as the WNBA is rapidly increasing in popularity, which led to the league’s most recent media rights deal being worth $2.2 billion for 11 seasons, CNBC previously reported. The league’s media contract is negotiated within the National Basketball Association’s deal.

Viewership, attendance and engagement numbers all increased for the 2024 season, and in some cases set new records. The influx of exciting rookies like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, in combination with established stars like Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson, who are the respective 2023 and 2024 MVPs, contributed to the surge.

As the league has grown in popularity, more players have said they experienced racism or online harassment. When Engelbert appeared on CNBC last month, she did not outright condemn either when asked about the issue, sparking criticism. Engelbert later clarified and condemned “hate or racism.”

There's a lot of capital coming into women's sports, says WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert

The WNBA is not the only women’s sports league growing in popularity, and media executives and investors are taking notice. Both Redbird IMI’s Jeff Zucker and Endeavor executive chairman Patrick Whitesell spoke to CNBC about the enticing opportunities across women’s sports.

This year’s Finals are currently underway between the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty. The Lynx are up 1-0 in the best-of-five series after winning an overtime thriller on Thursday night.



Source

Top Walmart exec says American manufacturing comeback is real and good for business
Business

Top Walmart exec says American manufacturing comeback is real and good for business

John Furner, Walmart U.S. CEO, speaks to CNBC’s Sara Eisen during the Invest in America Forum on Oct. 15, 2025. Aaron Clamage | CNBC Manufacturing is seeing renewed attention from corporate America, with Walmart among the major companies publicly reaffirming its commitment to domestic production.  At CNBC’s inaugural Invest in America Forum, Walmart U.S. CEO […]

Read More
United Airlines’ summer earnings and profit outlook top estimates, but revenue falls short
Business

United Airlines’ summer earnings and profit outlook top estimates, but revenue falls short

A United Airlines Boeing 737-MAX 8 aircraft departs at San Diego International Airport en route to New York on Aug. 24, 2024. Kevin Carter | Getty Images United Airlines on Wednesday forecast higher-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter after a rocky start to 2025. The carrier expects to earn between $3 and $3.50 a share […]

Read More
Big banks like JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs are already using AI to hire fewer people
Business

Big banks like JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs are already using AI to hire fewer people

Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., at the Institute of International Finance (IIF) during the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.  Kent Nishimura | Bloomberg | Getty Images The era of artificial intelligence on Wall Street, and its impact on […]

Read More