 |
|
 |
|
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | April 22, 1996; 25 years ago (1996-04-22) |
| Motto | "Watch Me Work" |
| Inaugural season | [[1997 in sports|1997]] |
| No. of teams | 12 |
| Country(ies) | United States |
| Most championships | Houston Comets Minnesota Lynx (4 titles each) |
| TV partner(s) | United States: Canada: |
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a professional basketball league in the United States. It is currently composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's "counterpart" to the National Basketball Association (NBA), and league play started in 1997.
The regular season is played from May to September, with the "All Star" game being played midway through the season in July (except in Olympic years) and the WNBA Finals at the end of September until the beginning of October. Starting in 2020, a midseason tournament, the Commissioner's Cup, will be added. Initially, regular-season Cup games were to be played through early July, followed by a final match in August; however, this schedule is subject to change due to disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Five WNBA teams have direct NBA counterparts and play in the same arena: Indiana Fever, Los Angeles Sparks, Minnesota Lynx, New York Liberty, and Phoenix Mercury. The Atlanta Dream, Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun, Dallas Wings, Las Vegas Aces, Seattle Storm, and Washington Mystics do not share an arena with a direct NBA counterpart, although four of the seven (the Dream, the Sky, the Wings, and the Mystics) share a market with an NBA counterpart, and the Storm shared an arena and market with an NBA team at the time of its founding. The Dream, the Sky, the Sun, the Wings, the Aces, the Sparks, and the Storm are all independently owned.
The WNBA originated with 8 teams in 1997, and through a sequence of expansions, contractions, and relocations currently consist of 12 teams. There have been a total of 18 franchises in WNBA history.
As of the league's most recent 2019 season, the Las Vegas Aces (formerly the Utah Starzz and San Antonio (Silver) Stars), Los Angeles Sparks, New York Liberty, and Phoenix Mercury are the only remaining franchises that were founded in 1997.
Arenas listed below reflect those that had been intended for use in the 2020 season before COVID-19 led to an abbreviated season played entirely at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
| Conference | Team | City | Arena | Capacity | Joined | Head coach | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern | ||||||||
| Atlanta Dream | College Park, Georgia | Gateway Center Arena | 3,500 | 2008 | Nicki Collen | |||
| Chicago Sky | Chicago, Illinois | Wintrust Arena | 10,387 | 2006 | James Wade | |||
| Connecticut Sun | Uncasville, Connecticut | Mohegan Sun Arena | 9,323 | 1999| Curt Miller | ||||
| Indiana Fever | Indianapolis, Indiana | Hinkle Fieldhouse | 9,100 | 2000 | Marianne Stanley | |||
| New York Liberty | Brooklyn, New York | Barclays Center | 17,732 | 1997 | Walt Hopkins | |||
| Washington Mystics | Washington, D.C. | Entertainment and Sports Arena | 4,200 | 1998 | Mike Thibault | |||
| Western | ||||||||
| Dallas Wings | Arlington, Texas | College Park Center | 7,000 | 1998| Brian Agler | ||||
| Las Vegas Aces | Paradise, Nevada | Mandalay Bay Events Center | 12,000 | 1997| Bill Laimbeer | ||||
| Los Angeles Sparks | Los Angeles, California | Staples Center | 18,997 | 1997 | Derek Fisher | |||
| Minnesota Lynx | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Target Center | 19,356 | 1999 | Cheryl Reeve | |||
| Phoenix Mercury | Phoenix, Arizona | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 14,870 | 1997 | Sandy Brondello | |||
| Seattle Storm | Seattle, Washington Everett, Washington |
Alaska Airlines Arena Angel of the Winds Arena |
10,000 8,500 |
2000 | Dan Hughes | |||
|
An asterisk (*) in the table above denotes a franchise move; an italicized name in the associated map denotes the former presence of a franchise under that name at the location shown. See the respective team articles for more information. |
||||||||
Sheryl Swoopes, the first player signed (shown in 2008)
Lisa Leslie of the Sparks
Bill Laimbeer
Diana Taurasi of the Mercury
Sylvia Fowles of the Sky
Old WNBA logo with NBA color scheme
Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx, MVP of the 2014 WNBA Season.
Sue Bird, a member of the All-Decade and Top 15 teams
Lauren Jackson
