Ahead of the WNBA Finals kicking off in Brooklyn, commissioner Cathy Engelbert dropped several significant pieces of news to media members during a pregame presser, during which she reviewed the league’s growth.
Shortly after sharing some major milestones the WNBA reached this season, Cathy Engelbert dropped several important updates, including confirming murmurs of a 44-game season and how the upcoming WNBA Draft Lottery and 2025 WNBA Draft will work with the Golden State Valkyries officially up and running.
It was somewhat hard to keep up with all the updates ― they were flying with lightning speed ― but we’ve gathered them all here for you. Here’s what we learned from Cathy Engelbert’s Thursday presser:
The WNBA Finals will move to a best-of-seven series in 2025
The best-of-seven series in the WNBA Finals will be a 2-2-1-1-1 format, and the first round will be a best-of-three series with a 1-1-1 setup. The regular season will also move from 40 to 44 games.
https://Twitter.com/Bachscore/status/1844517040670797855
The WNBA Draft is April 14, 2025
The Los Angeles Sparks, Dallas Wings, Chicago Sky and the Washington Mystics will participate in the WNBA Draft Lottery on November 17. The Golden State Valkyries will also have the 5th pick in each round during the WNBA Draft on April 14, 2025.
https://Twitter.com/Balldontlie/status/1844521362292986064
The cities still in consideration for a WNBA expansion team
There are 10-12 cities still in consideration for the league’s 16th team, including Philadelphia.
https://Twitter.com/GeoffJMags/status/1844520966371545246
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