2025 WNBA season

2025 WNBA season
LeagueWomen's National Basketball Association
SportBasketball
DurationMay 16 – September 11, 2025
Number of games44 per team
Number of teams13
TV partner(s)ABC/ESPN/ESPN2
Ion
CBS/CBSSN
Amazon Prime Video
NBA TV
Draft
WNBA seasons
2026 →

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 16 to September 11 with each of the 13 teams playing 44 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 the New York Liberty.[7]

2025 WNBA draft

Main article: 2025 WNBA draft

The 2025 WNBA draft will be held in April 2025.

Transactions

Main article: List of 2025 WNBA season transactions

Retirement

Free agency

The free agency negotiation period will begin in January 2025, and teams were able to officially sign players starting in February.[8]

Coaching changes

Off-season
Team 2024 season 2025 season Reference
Atlanta Dream United States Tanisha Wright United States Karl Smesko [9]
Chicago Sky United States Teresa Weatherspoon United States Tyler Marsh [10]
Connecticut Sun United States Stephanie White France Rachid Meziane [11]
Dallas Wings United States Latricia Trammell Vacant
Golden State Valkyries Did Not Exist United States/Japan Natalie Nakase [12]
Indiana Fever United States Christie Sides United States Stephanie White [13]
Los Angeles Sparks United States Curt Miller United States Lynne Roberts [14]
Washington Mystics United States Eric Thibault Vacant

Regular season

All-Star Game

Main article: 2025 WNBA All-Star Game
July 19, 2025
8:30 p.m. ET
Team USA vs. Team WNBA

Standings

{{2025 WNBA standings}}

Statistical leaders

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

Player of the Week Award

Date Awarded Eastern Conference Western Conference Reference
Player Team Player Team

Player of the Month Award

Month Eastern Conference Western Conference Reference
Player Team Player Team

Rookie of the Month Award

Month Player Team Reference

Coach of the Month Award

Month Player Team Reference

Postseason awards

Award Winner Position Team Votes/Statistic
Most Valuable Player Award
Finals MVP Award
Rookie of the Year Award
Most Improved Player Award
Defensive Player of the Year Award
Sixth Player of the Year Award
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award
Peak Performer: Points
Peak Performer: Rebounds
Peak Performer: Assists
Coach of the Year Award
Basketball Executive of the Year Award
Team Members
All-WNBA First Team
All-WNBA Second Team
All-Defensive First Team
All-Defensive Second Team
All-Rookie Team

Coaches

Eastern Conference

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

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

National

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

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Huddleston, Ben (2024-10-11). "News: WNBA Finals format, Vince Carter, Cam Newton". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved 2024-10-12.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "Atlanta Dream Hire Karl Smesko as Head Coach". dream.wnba.com. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
  10. ^ "Chicago Sky Name Tyler Marsh as Head Coach". sky.wnba.com. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
  11. ^ Voepel, Michael (2024-12-04). "Sun hire coach Meziane of Belgian national team". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
  12. ^ James, Yalonda (2024-10-11). "Natalie Nakase becomes WNBA's first Asian American head coach". NBC News. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
  13. ^ "Indiana Fever Hire Stephanie White as Head Coach". fever.wnba.com. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
  14. ^ "Los Angeles Sparks Name Lynne Roberts Head Coach". sparks.wnba.com. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
  15. ^ "Official Leaders". wnba.com. WNBA. Archived from the original on June 24, 2024. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  16. ^ "Team Stats". wnba.com. WNBA. Archived from the original on February 6, 2024. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  17. ^ "Statistical Minimums". wnba.com. WNBA. Archived from the original on December 2, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ 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.