The WNBA’s present continues this afternoon with Game 2 of the 2024 WNBA Finals. The league, however, also has an eye on its future, as indicated by major news from the past week:
WNBA announces playoff format changes for 2025
When addressing the media before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that next year’s WNBA Finals will be, for the first time in league history, a best-of-seven series. On the change, Engelbert said, “This will give our fans a championship-series format they are accustomed to seeing in other sports.”
While the first round will remain a best-of-three series, the format will change from the current set up, where the higher-seeded team hosts Games 1 and 2, to an alternating structure, with the higher-seeded team hosting Games 1 and 3 and the lower seed hosting Game 2. This 1-1-1 format would guarantee that all playoff participants host at least one home game.
Engelbert also confirmed that the 2025 regular season will be 44 games, after the league has played 40 games in 2023 and 2024.
So, the 2025 WNBA champion will play at least 53 games, with 44 regular-season contests plus nine playoff wins. Most likely, the eventual champion will play more than the minimum nine playoff games; that team could also compete…
