WNBA Finals: Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announces the league will move to the best-of-7 finals in 2025

NEW YORK – The WNBA Finals will be expanded to a best-of-seven series in 2025, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced Thursday before Game 1.

“This will provide fans with a championship format that they are used to in other sports,” Engelbert said.

The NBA, NHL and MLB all use a best-of-seven format. The WNBA began as a championship game in its inaugural season (1997), moved to best-of-three play the following year, and began best-of-five play in 2005, giving the home team a huge advantage when taking care of business cares. During the postseason, coaches said the league should move to a longer format. It will now be a 2-2-1-1-1 structure, with the better seeded players hosting games 1, 2, 5 and 7.

The first round will still be a best-of-three game, but in a 1-1-1 format to ensure that each playoff team plays at least one game at home. The current 2-1 structure came under fire this season when the Indiana Fever, the league leaders in attendance, did not host a playoff game.

“We have been thinking about both changes since the pandemic and would have done so in the current year, but with the Olympic break this year it was not possible,” said Engelbert. “But now that we have charters throughout the season and playoffs, it’s doable.”

WNBA director of league operations Bethany Donaphin said in a league statement that the change was a “priority based on discussions with the WNBA's team presidents, head coaches, general managers and competition committee.” The introduction of league-wide charter flights makes it easier to change cities more frequently during the playoffs.

The second round remains best-of-five. The postseason change will impact an already condensed footprint, in addition to the previously announced expansion of the regular season from 40 to 44 games. The league usually plays from May to October, but that changes when international games take place.

“I think there will be a good footprint next year,” Engelbert said. “We have to look at the following year because that is a FIBA ​​World Cup year and then of course we will be good in 1927. And it’s going to be (Los Angeles Olympics) in ’28, so it’s a constant balancing of the schedule.”

Engelbert said the league could not start earlier because of the college season, which ends in the first weeks of April and is immediately followed by the WNBA draft. The draft lottery will take place on November 17 at 5:00 p.m. ET on ESPN, the league also announced Thursday. Later in the fall, the season overlaps with the NBA and about half of the league's teams share arenas.

Engelbert also addressed the “disturbing” hate speech and threats online against players. Suns forward Alyssa Thomas commented on this after the team defeated the Indiana Fever in the first round.

“This type of behavior is not representative of the character or fan base of the WNBA,” Engelbert said in her opening statement. “As a league, we are united in condemning racism and all forms of hate. The WNBA is one of the most inclusive and diverse professional sports leagues in the world, and we will continue to uphold these values.”

Engelbert said the league will meet with the WNBA Players Association, players and teams during the offseason to “expand and strengthen our efforts” to combat the issue. She said the league will use technology to prioritize mental health, strengthen physical security and increase surveillance. The league has already met with technology providers and believes there are some “technology solutions” that can be deployed, she said.

“We want to meet with the players and see what they want to do in this regard, but there are some technology companies that we have met with to see what we can do,” Engelbert said. “We just need to continue to be a voice for it, a voice against it, condemning it and making sure we take every opportunity to support our players who have been struggling with this for much longer than this year.”