The WNBA, or the Women's National Basketball Association, is an American professional league and it is a counterpart for the women to the men's National Basketball Association or the NBA. As of September 2024, a total of twelve teams participate in the league, with six teams in the Eastern Conference and six in the Western Conference. The league was founded on April 24, 1996, and the first game was played on June 21, 1997, between the New York Liberty and the Los Angeles Sparks in Los Angeles.
The league initially began with eight teams, the Charlotte Sting, the Cleveland Rockers, the Houston Comets, the New York Liberty, the Los Angeles Sparks, the Phoenix Mercury, the Sacramento Monarchs and the Utah Starzz(Now known as Las Vegas Aces. As of September 2024, the twelve teams are, the New York Liberty, the Los Angeles Sparks, the Phoenix Mercury, the Las Vegas Aces, the Washington Mystics, the Dallas Wings, the Connecticut Sun, the Indiana Fever, the Seattle Storm, the Chicago Sky, and the Atlanta Dream. In 2025 and 2026, three more teams will join the league, the Golden State Valkyries, the Toronto WNBA team, and the Portland WNBA team.
Number of rounds played in WNBA Finals
As of September 2024, the WNBA Finals follow a best-of-five format for both the semifinals and finals. Teams play a regular season first and after that, the top eight teams from the regular season, regardless of conferences, advance to the playoffs, which is an elimination tournament.
In round one of the playoffs, with a homecourt pattern of 2–1, a best-of-three series is played. The higher-seeded team hosts games 1 and 2, while the lower-seeded team hosts game 3, if necessary. Both the semifinals and finals follow a best-of-five format, with a homecourt pattern of 2–2–1, where the higher-seeded team hosts games 1, 2, and 5, while the lower-seeded team hosts games 3 and 4.
In the early years of the league, only the top four teams advanced to the playoffs. From 2016 to 2021, a stepladder-like system was introduced. In this format, the first and the second-seeded teams entered the tournament in the semifinals, while the third and the fourth-seeded teams started in the second round. Teams with seeds 5- 8 start their playoff journey in the first round. The current elimination format with eight teams was introduced in 2022.
FAQs on WNBA
A. The first WNBA season started on June 21, 1997.
A. The WNBA match took place between the New York Liberty and the Los Angeles Sparks.
A. Cathy Engelbert is the Commissiner of the WNBA as of September 2024.
A. As of September 2024, there are 12 teams in the WNBA.
