The Women’s Basketball Association historic season has a start date. The WNBA’s 25th season is set to begin on May 14th. WNBA opening weekend will see all 12 teams facing up with two battles of MVPs looking to take control of the league early on. After capping off the previous season in a bubble, this will be the teams first time back in their home markets.
“As we tip-off this historic season with teams returning to play in their home markets, we celebrate the impact the WNBA has made on generations of young and diverse athletes and on sports and society since 1997,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said.
“Together with our fans and partners, we look ahead to how the outstanding athletes of the WNBA will continue to provide the best women’s basketball in the world while also driving change, striving for justice and equality, and impacting future generations.”
The league will run through to September with a month-long break in preparation for the Toyko Summer Olympics. All teams will play 32 games, leaving time for WNBA players who would like to play for Team USA this summer.
2020 1st overall pick Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty look to start the opening season by taking on Indiana Fever in Brooklyn. Sabrina Ionescu had her rookie season cut short due to a season-ending ankle injury in just her third game. Watch for her to shoot out the gate looking to make a major impact.
Another major matchup in the season comes with former 2x MVP Candice Parker making her Chicago Sky debut against former MVPs Elena Delle Donne and Tina Charles. After being drafted and spending 13 seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks, Candice Parker decided to sign with the Chicago Sky this off-season. Both Elena Delle Donne and Tina Charles sat out last season due to injuries. Expect this matchup to be one of the biggest as all have something to prove this season.
WNBA recently made headlines in the sports world with the debut of their new city jerseys. Nike announced the jerseys on their social media, which instantly set the internet ablaze. Nike and WNBA released three jerseys for each team: WNBA Nike Heroine Edition, the WNBA Nike Explorer Edition, and the WNBA Nike Rebel Edition. Nike spoke about tailoring the uniforms to better fit the WNBA players.
“Players should never need to “hack” their way to a better-fitting uniform by, say, rolling their shorts to cinch the waistband or tucking their jersey straps into their bra straps to hold the jersey in place,” Nike said. “The new WNBA Nike uniforms come with an entirely re-engineered chassis and feature new proportions in the game jersey and short.”
From sport media outlets to players from the NBA, the WNBA jerseys were the talk of the town. Many fans of the NBA flocked over the WNBA store to check out the latest drops from Nike. It seems the sports world is starting to pay close attention to the WNBA and that they should. Look out for more information and surprises as we inch closer to the WNBA season.
