NEW YORK — The WNBA will move to a best-of-seven series for the WNBA Finals starting next season, commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Thursday.
In her address to the media before Game 1 of the Finals between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx, Engelbert also said the league will go to a 1-1-1 setup for the best-of-three first round, giving all playoff teams at least one home game, and the regular season will expand to 44 games.
The WNBA has had a best-of-five format for the Finals since 2005. From 1998 through 2004, it was a best-of-three series. The championship in the inaugural WNBA season in 1997 was decided in a single-game format.
The best-of-seven series will have a 2-2-1-1-1 structure in which the higher seed would host Games 1, 2, 5 and 7, and its opponent would host Games 3, 4 and 6.
“This will give our fans a championship-series format they are accustomed to seeing in other sports,” Engelbert said.
The WNBA semifinals will continue to be a best-of-five format.
The first round has changed…
