Draft:2025 WNBA season
| 2025 WNBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | Women's National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | May–September, 2025 |
| Number of games | 40 per team |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| TV partner(s) | ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 Ion CBS/CBSSN Amazon Prime Video NBA TV |
| Draft | |
The 2025 WNBA season will be the 29th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), a professional women's basketball league based in the United States.
The regular season runs from May to September 2025 with each of the 12 teams playing 40 games—four games against five teams from the same conference and two teams from the other conference, and three games against the remaining four teams.[1] Five regular season games will be played against teams in the same conference to determine qualification for the WNBA Commissioner's Cup, an in-season tournament first played in 2021; the final will be hosted by the team with the better win–loss record in qualifying games.[2] The 2024 season will feature a week long break for the annual WNBA All-Star Game in July 2025.[3][4]
The eight teams with the best regular season records, regardless of conference, qualify for the WNBA Playoffs to determine the league's champion in the 2025 WNBA Finals. Since 2022, the playoffs have used a best-of-three series in the first round, where teams are seeded based on regular season performance, and a best-of-five format for the semifinals and new this season, a best-of-7 WNBA finals.[5][6] The defending champions for 2024 are TBA.[7]
2025 WNBA draft
[edit]The 2025 WNBA draft will be held in April 2025.
Transactions
[edit]Retirement
[edit]Free agency
[edit]The free agency negotiation period will begin in January 2025, and teams were able to officially sign players starting in February.[8]
Coaching changes
[edit]| Off-season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 2024 season | 2025 season | Reference |
| Atlanta Dream |  Tanisha Wright
|
Karl Smesko
|
[9] |
| Chicago Sky | Teresa Weatherspoon
|
Tyler Marsh
|
[10] |
| Connecticut Sun | Stephanie White
|
 Rachid Meziane
|
[11] |
| Dallas Wings | Latricia Trammell
|
Vacant | |
| Golden State Valkyries | Did Not Exist | / Natalie Nakase
|
[12] |
| Indiana Fever | Christie Sides
|
Stephanie White
|
[13] |
| Los Angeles Sparks | Curt Miller
|
Lynne Roberts
|
[14] |
| Washington Mystics | Eric Thibault
|
Vacant | |
Regular season
[edit]All-Star Game
[edit]Standings
[edit]Statistical leaders
[edit]The following shows the leaders in each statistical category during the 2025 regular season.[15][16][17]
| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | |||
| Rebounds per game | |||
| Assists per game | |||
| Steals per game | |||
| Blocks per game | |||
| Field goal percentage | |||
| Three point FG percentage | |||
| Free throw percentage | |||
| Points per game (team) | |||
| Field goal percentage (team) | |||
Season award winners
[edit]Player of the Week Award
[edit]| Date Awarded | Eastern Conference | Western Conference | Reference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Player | Team | ||
Player of the Month Award
[edit]| Month | Eastern Conference | Western Conference | Reference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Player | Team | ||
Rookie of the Month Award
[edit]| Month | Player | Team | Reference |
|---|
Coach of the Month Award
[edit]| Month | Player | Team | Reference |
|---|
Postseason awards
[edit]Coaches
[edit]Eastern Conference
[edit]| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years with team | Record with team | Playoff Appearances | Finals Appearances | WNBA Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Dream | Karl Smesko | Florida Gulf Coast Eagles | 1 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chicago Sky | Tyler Marsh | Las Vegas Aces (assistant) | 1 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Connecticut Sun | Vacant | ||||||
| Indiana Fever | Stephanie White | Connecticut Sun | 1 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| New York Liberty | Sandy Brondello | Phoenix Mercury | 4 | 80–36 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Washington Mystics | Vacant | ||||||
Western Conference
[edit]| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years with team | Record with team | Playoff Appearances | Finals Appearances | WNBA Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Wings | Vacant | ||||||
| Golden State Valkyries | Natalie Nakase | Las Vegas Aces (assistant) | 1 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Las Vegas Aces | Becky Hammon | San Antonio Spurs (assistant) | 4 | 87–29 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Los Angeles Sparks | Lynne Roberts | Utah Utes | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minnesota Lynx | Cheryl Reeve | Detroit Shock (assistant) | 16 | 330–180 | 13 | 7 | 4 |
| Phoenix Mercury | Nate Tibbetts | Orlando Magic (assistant) | 2 | 19–21 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Seattle Storm | Noelle Quinn | Seattle Storm (associate head coach) | 3 | 74–68 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
- Year with team does not include 2025 season.
- Records are from time at current team and are through the end of the 2024 regular season.
- Playoff appearances are from time at current team only.
- WNBA Finals and Championships do not include time with other teams.
- Coaches shown are the coaches who began the 2025 season as head coach of each team.
Media Coverage
[edit]National
[edit]This will be the ninth and final year of the deal with ESPN, the third and final year of the deal with Ion,[18] and the second and final year of a deal with CBS Sports and Amazon.[19][20] New 11 year deals with ESPN, NBC Sports and Amazon will begin in 2026.[21] Select games also air on NBA TV through the WNBA and NBA's shared ownership.
References
[edit]- ^ Allen, Percy (December 18, 2023). "Here's a look at the Storm's 2024 schedule". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on January 29, 2024. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ Voepel, M.A. (December 18, 2023). "WNBA goes to more compact format for Commissioner's Cup". ESPN. Archived from the original on January 29, 2024. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ Pickman, Ben; Merchant, Sabreena (December 18, 2023). "WNBA unveils 2024 schedule with 40 regular-season games, new Commissioner's Cup format". The Athletic. Archived from the original on July 6, 2024. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ Feinberg, Doug (December 18, 2023). "WNBA to take its usual month-long break for the Olympics". Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 29, 2024. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ Henderson, Cydney (September 12, 2023). "2023 WNBA playoffs: Finals schedule, scores, matchups and award winners". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 29, 2024. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ Huddleston, Ben (2024-10-11). "News: WNBA Finals format, Vince Carter, Cam Newton". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved 2024-10-12.
- ^ Lev, Jacob (October 18, 2023). "Las Vegas Aces become WNBA's 1st repeat champions in 21 years". CNN. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ Maloney, Jack (February 5, 2024). "2024 WNBA free agency tracker: Storm sign Nneka Ogwumike to form new Big Three in Seattle". cbssports.com. CBS. Archived from the original on February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ^ "Atlanta Dream Hire Karl Smesko as Head Coach". dream.wnba.com. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
- ^ "Chicago Sky Name Tyler Marsh as Head Coach". sky.wnba.com. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
- ^ Voepel, Michael (2024-12-04). "Sun hire coach Meziane of Belgian national team". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
- ^ James, Yalonda (2024-10-11). "Natalie Nakase becomes WNBA's first Asian American head coach". NBC News. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
- ^ "Indiana Fever Hire Stephanie White as Head Coach". fever.wnba.com. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
- ^ "Los Angeles Sparks Name Lynne Roberts Head Coach". sparks.wnba.com. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
- ^ "Official Leaders". wnba.com. WNBA. Archived from the original on June 24, 2024. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
- ^ "Team Stats". wnba.com. WNBA. Archived from the original on February 6, 2024. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
- ^ "Statistical Minimums". wnba.com. WNBA. Archived from the original on December 2, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
- ^ Zucker, Joseph (April 20, 2023). "WNBA, ION TV Agree to Multiyear Broadcast Contract; Won't Run Past 2025 Season". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
- ^ Lucia, Joe (April 10, 2024). "CBS Sports announces new multi-year deal with WNBA". Awful Announcing. Archived from the original on April 10, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
- ^ Spangler, Todd (April 5, 2024). "Amazon Prime Video Extends WNBA Exclusive Streaming Pact for Two More Years". Variety. Archived from the original on April 10, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
- ^ Nagle, Dave (October 6, 2014). "ESPN & NBA Reach Nine-Year Agreement for Significantly Enhanced Multiplatform Rights". ESPN Press Room. Archived from the original on July 6, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2024.