The WNBA kicks off its 24th season on Saturday, July 25 with two straight days of jam-packed action.
The games will be broadcast across ABC, ESPN and CBS Sports Network in the U.S., and fans across Canada will be able to tune in on TSN and Sportsnet. Games will also be available on WNBA League Pass.
Every game will take place at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida inside of a bubble, or Wubble, as it's been coined on social media. All 12 teams will play a total of 22 games, with each team playing each other twice.
The first game of the season features the return of 2018 WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart — who missed the entire 2019 season with an Achilles injury — as her Seattle Storm take on 2020 No. 1 overall draft pick Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty. Canadian Kia Nurse will be looking to build off her All-Star 2019 season where she averaged 13.7 points, 2.3 assists, 2.5 rebounds shooting 35.3 percent from 3-point range. Fans in Canada can catch the action on TSN 1/4 at 12:00 p.m. E.T.
Nurse headlines a list of four Canadians playing in the W this season. Canadian Women's National Team member Natalie Achonwa gets her sixth season underway when her Indiana Fever take on the defending WNBA Champion Washington Mystics at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 25 on CBS Sports Network.
Veteran Kayla Alexander and Bridget Carleton complete the Canadian quartet as their Minnesota Lynx take on the Connecticut Sun at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 26th. Canadian fans can watch Alexander and Carleton in action on Sportsnet 360.
“As we build on the momentum for women’s sports and the WNBA from last season, we’re incredibly grateful to our broadcast partners who have shown a continued commitment to bringing the WNBA to fans across the country on their biggest platforms,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a release. “This 2020 WNBA season will truly be one unlike any other, and we’re looking forward to using our collective platform to highlight the tremendous athletes in the WNBA as well as their advocacy for social change.”
With the brighter spotlight on this season, the league's players and teams have dedicated opening weekend to the Black Lives Matter movement.
All 12 teams and all six games will serve as a platform to affirm Black Lives Matter and honour victims and family members who've lost their loved ones to police brutality and racial violence.
The league and Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) announced the launch of The Justice Movement and the creation of a collaborative Social Justice Council in early July. Together, they hope to advance the conversations about race, voting rights, LGBTQ+ advocacy amongst other issues.
“As many WNBA players–past and present–have said and, more importantly, consistently demonstrated, the reason why you see us engaging and leading the charge when it comes to social advocacy is because it is in our DNA,” WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike said in a release. “With 140-plus voices all together for the first time ever, we can be a powerful force connecting to our sisters across the country and in other parts of the world.
"And may we all recognize that the league’s stated commitment to us – in this season and beyond – offers a pivotal moment in sports history.”
The Social Justice Council will host virtual roundtables, podcats and other activations to discuss inequality and systemic racism in America.
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