WNBAExplainer
Women's National Basketball Association
WNBA Projected
Six national TV partners, a 50-game season and a team moving to Houston: what is known and unknown for 2027.
Photo: Anthony Quintano / CC BY 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Latest WNBA stories
Season guide
The 2026 season, the league's 30th, was the first with 15 teams (the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo joined the Golden State Valkyries from 2025). The regular season opened on May 8, 2026 with 44 games per team. The All-Star Game was in Chicago on July 25. The Finals went to a Game 7 for the first time ever, and the Golden State Valkyries won their first title on October 31, 2026.
What we know for 2027:
- 50 games per team, up from 44. The league announced it in June 2026. The new labor agreement caps the regular season at 50 games for 2027 and 2028 and at 52 for 2029, per NBC Sports.
- A franchise move. The Connecticut Sun played their last season in Uncasville in 2026. The team is to move to Houston as the Houston Comets in 2027, owned by Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta.
- Arena changes. The Atlanta Dream plan to use State Farm Arena full time. The Dallas Wings play 2027 in the Mavericks' arena.
- Expansion. Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029), Philadelphia (2030).
- A new seven-year labor deal through 2032, ratified on March 24, 2026.
Note. The league has not published 2027 start or draft dates in any source we can read; the All-Star Game is set for July 31, 2027 at Chase Center. Dates shown as projected are placeholders based on the 2026 pattern.
Schedule and key dates
There is nothing to schedule yet: the 2027 regular-season schedule is not out. The table lists the months in which things happen, as projections from 2026 (draft in April, opening in May, playoffs from September, Finals in October), plus the one date that is set: the All-Star Game on July 31, 2027 at Chase Center in San Francisco. The other exact dates are not known. Last year's draft lottery was held on November 23, 2025 and broadcast on ESPN, so a lottery in the weeks ahead is possible; we will add it when it is announced.
- Apr 1Thu2027 WNBA draft and draft lottery (April, date to be announced)
The 2026 draft was on April 13, 2026. The league has not announced 2027 dates in a source we can read.
- May 1Sat2027 season opens (May, date to be announced)
The 2026 season opened on May 8. 2027 will have 50 games per team instead of 44.
- Jul 31Sat2027 All-Star Game, Chase Center (San Francisco)
Saturday, July 31, 2027, at the Golden State Valkyries' arena. The 2026 All-Star Game was in Chicago on July 25, 2026. The source gives no broadcaster, so none is listed.
in 271 daysSource - Sep 15WedPlayoffs (placeholder: September to October 2027)
Eight teams, best-of-three quarterfinals. In 2026 the semifinals started on Oct 4 and the Finals ended on Oct 31. The 2027 dates are not announced; this date is a placeholder.
Where to watch
The WNBA's national TV rights are spread across six partners. In 2026 the league began 11-year deals with ESPN and ABC, NBC and Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video, plus an 11-year deal with USA Network (because NBC's deal came before NBCUniversal spun most of its cable networks out into Versant), and new multi-year deals with CBS and Scripps Sports (ION). NBA TV also carried 15 games.
2027 is year two of those deals, but the league has not published the 2027 split. The table shows the 2026 pattern, labelled as projected. Quick rules from 2026:
- Monday and Wednesday nights: USA Network.
- Tuesday nights: ESPN.
- Thursday nights: Prime Video.
- Friday nights: ION (a free broadcast network).
- Saturday and Sunday: ABC, CBS, NBC and ESPN.
- Playoffs: ESPN, ABC, NBC, Peacock, USA, Prime Video and NBCSN across rounds. In the 2026 Finals, Peacock streamed every game; NBC aired games 1 and 4, USA the rest.
Local: some teams use free streaming (the Lynx and Dream on Victory+; the Portland Fire on a Gray Media station). League Pass handles out-of-market games and the ION regional windows.
| Service | What you get | Scope | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABCbroadcast | 2026 pattern: 12 weekend-afternoon games and the All-Star Game in primetime. 2027 slate not announced. Projected | National | Not listedChecked Sun, Nov 1Source |
| CBSbroadcast | 2026 pattern: 20 regular-season games on CBS and Paramount+, eight of them Saturday primetime. CBS Sports Network no longer carries WNBA games. 2027 slate not announced. Projected | National | Not listedChecked Sun, Nov 1Source |
| ESPNcable | 2026 pattern: 30 games on ESPN and ABC (Tuesday and Sunday nights on ESPN, weekend afternoons on ABC), the All-Star Game on ABC, and two first-round series plus a semifinal series in the playoffs. 2027 slate not announced. Projected | National | Not listedChecked Sun, Nov 1Source |
| IONbroadcast | 2026 pattern: 50 Friday-night games on the ION broadcast network, some in regional windows. 2027 slate not announced. Projected | National | Not listedChecked Sun, Nov 1Source |
| NBA TVcable | 2026 pattern: 15 games. Projected | National | Not listedChecked Sun, Nov 1Source |
| NBCbroadcast | 2026 pattern: seven Sunday games, two of them under the 'Sunday Night Basketball' name in primetime, a semifinal series, and Finals games 1 and 4. 2027 slate not announced. Projected | National | Not listedChecked Sun, Nov 1Source |
| NBCSNcable | 2026 pattern: about 15 games, mostly Monday nights, also on Peacock. 2027 slate not announced. Projected | National | Not listedChecked Sun, Nov 1Source |
| Paramount+streaming | 2026 pattern: streams the 20 CBS games. 2027 slate not announced. Projected | National | Not listedChecked Sun, Nov 1Source |
| Peacockstreaming | 2026 pattern: all NBC games, 15 NBCSN games (mostly Mondays), and the full Finals. 2027 slate not announced. Projected | National | Not listedChecked Sun, Nov 1Source |
| Prime Videostreaming | 2026 pattern: 30 regular-season games, mostly Thursday nights, the Commissioner's Cup championship game and one first-round series. 2027 slate not announced. Projected | National | Not listedChecked Sun, Nov 1Source |
| USA Networkcable | 2026 pattern: 48 regular-season games (Monday and Wednesday nights), nine games in the last eight days of the season, one first-round series and most of the Finals (all but games 1 and 4). Some games also stream on Peacock. 2027 slate not announced. Projected | National | Not listedChecked Sun, Nov 1Source |
| Victory+streaming | Free streaming home of the Minnesota Lynx and the Atlanta Dream in 2026. Atlanta games also air on TV through Gray Media. Portland's local partner is a Gray Media station. Projected | Local | Not listedChecked Sun, Nov 1Source |
| WNBA League Passleague-pass | Out-of-market games, including regional ION windows. Not read from the league's page, so no price is shown here. Projected | Out of market | Not listedChecked Sun, Nov 1Source |
How the playoffs work
Eight teams qualify, regardless of conference, seeded by regular-season record (1 plays 8, 2 plays 7, 3 plays 6, 4 plays 5).
- Quarterfinals: best-of-three; the higher seed has home-court advantage.
- Semifinals: best-of-five, 2-2-1 home pattern. There is no reseeding.
- Finals: best-of-seven, 2-2-1-1-1 home pattern. The Finals ended on October 31 in 2026.
The Commissioner's Cup is a separate in-season tournament. Its championship game was on Prime Video in 2026.
Sources
- Wikipedia: 2026 WNBA season (CC BY-SA 4.0, revision 1382117907)
This is the first season of new 11-year media rights agreements with the ESPN family of networks, NBC Sports, and Amazon Prime Video.
read 2026-11-01 - Wikipedia: 2026 WNBA Finals (CC BY-SA 4.0) read 2026-11-01
- Wikipedia: Women's National Basketball Association (CC BY-SA 4.0) read 2026-11-01
- Wikipedia: WNBA playoffs (CC BY-SA 4.0) read 2026-11-01
- NBC Sports: WNBA Notebook, what 50 games means (Jun 25, 2026)
the regular season will consist of 50 games — rather than 44
read 2026-11-01 - NBCUniversal: 2026 fall sports lineup (WNBA postseason on NBC, Peacock, NBCSN) read 2026-11-01
- Chase Center: 2027 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game (venue's official event page)
will take place on Saturday, July 31, 2027, at Chase Center
read 2026-11-02