WNBA teams to play record 40-game schedule in 2023


NEW YORK — WNBA teams will play a record 40-game schedule during the 2023 season, which begins May 19, the league announced Wednesday.

All 12 teams will have games during the opening weekend, including the Sparks and new coach Curt Miller hosting the Phoenix Mercury as one of four games on opening night. The regular season concludes on Sept. 10 with all 12 teams playing.

“We eagerly anticipate tipping off the 2023 season and building on the success of last season, which was our most-watched in 14 years and set records for social media engagement, digital consumption and merchandise sales,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. “The expanded schedule will provide fans greater opportunities to see the best players in the world compete on the game’s biggest stage.”

The slate of 40 regular-season games per team – 20 on the road, 20 at home – is four more than 2022 and eight more than 2021. The league will announce its television and streaming schedule at a later date.

Las Vegas and Connecticut, who played in the WNBA Finals last season, will play three times with consecutive games in Connecticut on June 6 and 8 and then in Las Vegas on July 1.

Seven of the 12 teams will play games on consecutive days with Las Vegas doing it twice. The Aces do have one of those back-to-backs at home.

The All-Star Game will take place on July 15 at a site to be announced and the third annual Commissioner’s Cup – the in-season tournament – will take place from May 19-July 12. The championship game will be played on Aug. 15.

The Sparks will face seven opponents, including all five Western Conference teams, four times, twice at home and twice on the road, and four opponents three times – Connecticut (one home and two away), Indiana (one home and two away), New York (two home and one away) and Washington (one home and two away).

The Sparks have two homestands of at least four games. The first is a five-game slate with two games against the Minnesota Lynx (June 16 and June 20), one game against the Connecticut Sun (June 18) and two games against the Dallas Wings (June 23 and June 25). The second four-game homestand comes in July with consecutive two-game series against the Indiana Fever, who hold the first overall draft pick, and the New York Liberty.

The Sparks end the season with a two-game East Coast trip where they’ll take on the Sun (Sept. 5) and the Liberty (Sept. 7) before ending the regular season in Seattle (Sept. 10).

The free agency period begins early next year, with free agent negotiations allowed to begin on Jan. 21 and signings permitted as early as Feb. 1.

The 2023 WNBA Draft, in which the Indiana Fever have the No. 1 overall pick, is scheduled for April 10, 2023.

2023 SPARKS SCHEDULE

Fri., May 19 – vs. Phoenix, 7 p.m.

Thurs., May 25 – vs. Las Vegas, 7 p.m.

Sat., May 27 – at Las Vegas, 6 p.m.

Fri., June 2 – at Phoenix, 7 p.m.

Sat., June 3 – vs. Seattle, 7 p.m.

Tues., June 6 – at Seattle, 7 p.m.

Fri.,…

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