Coming off the most successful season in league history, the Women’s National Basketball Association can’t wait to build off that year. While fans will have to wait another five months for the 2025 season to tip off, the league did announce the schedule on Dec. 2.
The league’s 29th season will welcome a new franchise in the Golden State Valkyries, and they will be one of six teams in action for opening night on Friday, May 16, as the league expands from 40 games per team to 44. Here are the top 10 can’t-miss regular-season matchups.
May 16
Minnesota Lynx at Dallas WingsLos Angeles Sparks at Golden State Valkyries
Opening night features a couple of highly anticipated debuts. The first will see the No. 1 overall pick make her WNBA debut as the Wings hold the top spot in the 2025 draft. It is widely expected to be UConn star Paige Bueckers, and the league won’t make it easy for her as she’ll match up against reigning WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Napheesa Collier, and the 2024 runner-up Lynx.
Then an entire team will make its debut as the Valkyries begin their WNBA tenure. California will get its second WNBA team, making it the only state with two active franchises, and what’s sure to become a fierce in-state rivalry will launch as the Sparks travel to the Bay Area to welcome the Valkyries to the league.
May 17
Chicago Sky at Indiana FeverLas Vegas Aces at New York Liberty
Speaking of rivalries, that’s what we’ll get when Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese share the court, again, when the Fever host the Sky. After they split a pair of Final Four matchups in college, Clark won three of four contests between the two in their rookie seasons in 2024. Clark and Reese finished first and second, respectively, in Rookie of the Year voting this past year, and both will aim to be in contention for MVP next season.
The MVP frontrunners will be A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart. They’ve won five MVP awards between them, and the Liberty winning the 2024 WNBA championship ended the Aces’ bid for a three-peat. This will be the teams’ first meeting since New York knocked Las Vegas out of the playoffs in the 2024 semifinals.
June 6
Los Angeles Sparks at Dallas WingsWhy is a matchup between the teams with the two worst records from last year on this list? Well, their last meeting on Aug. 25 ended 113-110 in what was the highest-scoring game of the season, and one of the highest-scoring of all-time. Dallas had two players score at least 30 points, while L.A. had three with over 20 points. Now, add in projected No. 1 pick Bueckers for Dallas, and the return of the injured Cameron Brink for Los Angeles, and this game becomes must-see.
June 27
Indiana Fever at Dallas WingsBueckers is the favorite to be the 2025 Women’s College Player of the Year and is then favored to be drafted first overall by Dallas in the spring. If both of those happen, this game will feature the last five Player of the Year winners in Bueckers, who already won it in 2021, Aliyah Boston (2022) and Caitlin Clark (2023 and 2024). It would also be the third all-time meeting between Bueckers and Clark, who faced off twice in college, with each of their teams winning once.
July 16
Indiana Fever at New York LibertyThis marks Clark’s first of two trips to New York, and her first chance at redemption. In her last game in NYC this past season, she had a career low of three points on 1 of 10 shooting versus the Liberty. However, she’s had much better success against New York at home as in her most recent game against the Liberty—which came in Indianapolis—Clark became the first WNBA rookie to record a triple double with 19 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds.
July 30
New York Liberty at Minnesota LynxThe first rematch of the 2024 Finals takes place in late July, with Minnesota looking for revenge after squandering a 1-0 Finals lead. This is also a rematch of the Commissioner’s Cup Finals, with the Lynx prevailing in that over New York. These teams also had the two best records in the league last year, as they are a cut above all other WNBA teams.
Sept. 4
Minnesota Lynx at Las Vegas AcesThis will be the last of four matchups between these two but will be the first Aces game of the season to take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Aces will play their final three home games of the 2025 WNBA season at the T-Mobile Arena, which holds 18,000 people, compared to their regular home venue, Michelob Ultra Arena, which holds 12,000. Considering these squads represented the West in each of the last three WNBA Finals, the T-Mobile Arena should be packed, as a game between the Aces and Fever in July had 20,366 spectators and was the second-most attended game in WNBA history.
Sept. 9
Los Angeles Sparks at Phoenix MercuryAssuming Diana Taurasi returns for next season, and assuming it will be her last year, then this would be the final home game for one of the so-called GOATs of women’s basketball. She is the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer, has made a record 14 All-WNBA teams, and in 2021 was voted as the greatest player in league history. This game would allow the Phoenix fans to celebrate Taurasi’s impact on their team, the league, and women’s sports as a whole.
