Let’s go!
The first 40-game season in WNBA history, totaling 480 games, begins with a four-game Friday night feature, headlined by the new-look New York Liberty visiting the nation’s capital to take on the Washington Mystics (7 p.m. ET, NBA TV). In other action, the Indiana Fever will welcome the Connecticut Sun (7 p.m. ET) and the Chicago Sky will meet the Minnesota Lynx (8 p.m. ET) before the Phoenix Mercury and Los Angeles Sparks face off in the night’s final game (11 p.m. ET, ESPN).
While all eyes will be on the official debut of the seafoam super team, opening night is an opportunity for the home team in DC to send a message. The loaded Liberty and restocked defending-champion Aces are considered the clear class of the league. The Mystics, however, have a chance to crash this two-team championship chase with an optimized Elena Delle Donne surrounded by swarming, swaggering defense. The league’s best defense last season, Washington has added three-time All-Defensive team member and two-time steals champ Brittney Sykes, forming a perimeter defensive corps of Sykes, Ariel Atkins and Natasha Cloud that is backed by post Shakira Austin, who impressed with her defensive instincts during her rookie season. Although the Liberty have explosive offensive potential, the…
. Connecticut Sun at Indiana Fever (7 p.m. ET), Chicago Sky at Minnesota Lynx (8 p.m. ET) and Phoenix Mercury at Los Angeles Sparks (11 p.m. ET, ESPN) fill out the rest of the Friday night schedule.){kind=link}