The WNBA’s 2027 calendar is set for a historic shift, marking a significant change in how the league structures its regular season. The development comes just days after the 2026 campaign concluded on Oct. 31, when the Golden State Valkyries defeated the Atlanta Dream in Game 7 of the Finals.
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That shift will give each WNBA team 50 regular-season games, six more than the 44-game slate in 2026. Announced by the league on June 17, the expansion sets a new record for the longest regular-season schedule in WNBA history.
“Demand for the WNBA has never been greater, and expanding to a 50-game regular season reflects the extraordinary momentum we are seeing across the league,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in the June 17 announcement.
The WNBA has expanded its regular-season schedule several times throughout its history. Teams played 28 games during the league’s inaugural 1997 season, with the schedule increasing to 30 in 1998 and 32 in 1999 before reaching 34 games in 2003. That format remained in place through 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the schedule.
The league subsequently moved from 22 games in 2020 to 32 in 2021, 36 in 2022, and 40 in 2023. By 2025, the league had increased its regular-season schedule to 44 games per team, continuing a progression that has reshaped the WNBA calendar over nearly three decades.
On Thursday, ESPN’s Alexa Philippou reported that the 2027 season is expected to begin on May 7, and Oct. 24 will mark its latest possible end date, including the playoffs.
In 2026, the regular season opened on May 8 and ended on Sep. 24, while the Finals concluded with Game 7 on Oct. 31. If the reported 2027 dates hold, the season would begin one day earlier, with its latest possible finish falling seven days before the 2026 championship finale.
WNBA’s 2027 Season Will Have No International Break
The 2027 WNBA season is also expected to proceed without a midseason break for international competition. That would mark a change from 2026, when the league’s published calendar included a pause from Aug. 31 through Sep. 16 for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, which took place in Berlin from Sep. 4 to 13. An international break is expected to return in 2028 for the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
The expanded schedule is supported by the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which the WNBA and WNBPA formally signed on May 22, 2026. Under Article XXXIII, Section 5, the agreement allows a maximum of 44 regular-season games per team in 2026, 50 in 2027 and 2028, and 52 beginning with the 2029 season. These figures are ceilings rather than guaranteed schedules. The league has specifically announced a 50-game regular season for 2027, while the agreement permits a further increase in later seasons. The signed CBA sets out those limits.
With 15 teams slated to compete in 2027, each franchise is expected to play 25 regular-season home games, according to the league’s official FAQ. The next approved expansion franchise, Cleveland, is scheduled to begin play in 2028. Based on those figures, the league-wide regular-season total would rise from 330 games in 2026 to 375 in 2027. That represents 45 additional games across the league.
The projected Oct. 24 endpoint also places the postseason within a tighter calendar window. The WNBA’s 2026 postseason format featured a best-of-three first round, best-of-five semifinals, and best-of-seven Finals.
The league introduced the best-of-seven championship series in 2025, replacing the previous best-of-five format. However, the WNBA has not yet released the complete 2027 postseason calendar, so the 2026 format provides context rather than confirmation of next year’s playoff schedule.
The 2027 season will therefore mark the WNBA’s first 50-game regular season, while the CBA allows the league to increase the maximum to 52 games beginning in 2029. The complete 2027 game-by-game calendar is still awaited. In its June announcement, the league said further schedule details, including the season’s footprint and key dates, would be announced later. Until that release, May 7 and October 24 remain reported planning dates rather than officially confirmed schedule dates.