League founded and play begins (1996–1997) , the first player signed by the WNBA, won four championships with the
Houston Comets and three MVP awards. The creation of the WNBA was officially approved by the NBA Board of Governors on April 24, 1996, and announced at a press conference with
Rebecca Lobo,
Lisa Leslie, and
Sheryl Swoopes in attendance. The new WNBA had to compete with the recently formed
American Basketball League, another professional women's league that began play in the fall of 1996, but ceased operation during its 1998–99 season. The WNBA began with eight teams: the
Charlotte Sting,
Cleveland Rockers,
Houston Comets, and
New York Liberty in the Eastern Conference; and the
Los Angeles Sparks,
Phoenix Mercury,
Sacramento Monarchs, and
Utah Starzz in the Western Conference. While not the first major women's professional basketball league in the United States, which was the defunct
WBL, the WNBA is the only league to receive full backing of the
NBA. The WNBA logo, "Logo Woman", paralleled the NBA logo and was selected out of 50 different designs. The game was televised nationally in the United States on the
NBC television network. At the start of the 1997 season, the WNBA had television deals in with NBC (NBA rights holder),
ESPN, and
Lifetime.
Penny Toler scored the league's first point.
Houston domination and league expansion (1997–2000) entered the WNBA at age 34 and won Finals MVP in each of the Houston Comets’ four championships. The WNBA centered its marketing campaign, dubbed "We Got Next," around stars
Rebecca Lobo,
Lisa Leslie, and
Sheryl Swoopes. In the league's first season, Leslie's
Los Angeles Sparks underperformed, and Swoopes sat out much of the season due to her pregnancy. Perhaps the WNBA's first star was
MVP Cynthia Cooper, Swoopes' teammate on the
Houston Comets. The Comets defeated Lobo's
New York Liberty in the
first WNBA championship game. The initial "We Got Next" advertisement ran before each season until it was replaced with a "We Got Game" campaign. Two teams were added in 1998 (
Detroit and
Washington), and two more in 1999 (
Orlando and
Minnesota), bringing the total number of teams in the league up to 12. The 1999 season began with a collective bargaining agreement between players and the league, marking the first
collective bargaining agreement to be signed in the history of
women's professional sports. That year, the WNBA also announced that it would add four more teams for the 2000 season (the
Indiana Fever, the
Seattle Storm, the
Miami Sol, and the
Portland Fire), bringing the league up to 16 teams. WNBA president
Val Ackerman discussed expansion by saying, "This won't be the end of it. We expect to keep growing the league." In 1999, the league's chief competition, the
American Basketball League (ABL), declared bankruptcy. Many of the ABL's star players, including several Olympic gold medalists (such as
Nikki McCray and
Dawn Staley) and a number of standout college performers (including
Kate Starbird and
Jennifer Rizzotti), joined the rosters of WNBA teams, enhancing the overall quality of play in the league. On May 23, 2000, the Comets became the first women’s professional team to be invited to the
White House Rose Garden. At the end of the 2000 season, the Comets won their fourth championship, capturing every title since the league's inception. Led by the "Big Three" of Cooper (who won the
Finals MVP for all four championships), Swoopes, and
Tina Thompson, the Comets dominated every team in the league. Under head coach
Van Chancellor, the team posted a 98–24 record their first four seasons (16–3 in the playoffs). After 2000, Cooper retired from the league, and the Comets' dynasty came to an end. Led by Lisa Leslie, the Sparks posted a regular-season record of 28–4 and advanced to their first
WNBA Finals, sweeping the
Charlotte Sting. Looking to repeat in 2002, the Sparks again made a strong run toward the postseason, going 25–7 in the regular season under head coach
Michael Cooper. Again, Leslie dominated her opponents throughout the Playoffs, leading the Sparks to a perfect 6–0 record, beating the New York Liberty in the
2002 Finals. Teams and the league were collectively owned by the NBA until the end of 2002, when the NBA sold WNBA teams either to their NBA counterparts in the same city or to a third party as a result of the
dot-com bubble. This led to two teams moving: Utah moved to
San Antonio, and Orlando moved to
Connecticut and became the first WNBA team to be owned by a third party instead of an NBA franchise. This sale of teams also led to two teams folding, the Miami Sol and Portland Fire, because new owners could not be found.
Bill Laimbeer leaves his mark (2003–2006) , a three-time MVP and the most accomplished international player in league history The
Women's National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) threatened to strike in 2003 if a new deal was not worked out between players and the league. The result was a delay in the start of the 2003 preseason and the
2003 WNBA draft. As a result of the strike, the league received negative publicity.
Bill Laimbeer took over the
Detroit Shock in 2002 as head coach and general manager. He had high hopes for the Shock, despite the team having gone just 9–23 its previous season. Three Shock members made it to the
2003 All-Star Game (
Swin Cash,
Cheryl Ford, and
Deanna Nolan) and Laimbeer orchestrated a worst-to-first turnaround with the Shock finishing the season 25–9 and in first place in the
Eastern Conference. In the
2003 Finals, the Shock defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 2–1, winning game three in front of a league-record crowd of 22,076. After the
2003 season, the
Cleveland Rockers, one of the league's original eight teams, folded because its owners were unwilling to continue operating the franchise. spent her entire WNBA career with the
Seattle Storm and is the only player to win titles in three different decades. The
Seattle Storm had consecutive first-overall draft picks in 2001 and 2002, selecting
Lauren Jackson and
Sue Bird. The Storm's young core broke through in 2004, finishing second in the
Western Conference and advancing to the
Finals. In a battle of two first-time finalists, the Storm defeated the
Connecticut Sun 2–1 and won their first WNBA title.
Anne Donovan became the first female coach to guide a team to a WNBA championship. Val Ackerman, the first WNBA president, resigned effective February 1, 2005, citing the desire to spend more time with her family. Ackerman later became president of
USA Basketball. On February 15, 2005, NBA commissioner
David Stern announced that
Donna Orender, who had been serving as the senior vice president of the
PGA Tour and who had played for several teams in the now-defunct
Women's Pro Basketball League, would be Ackerman's successor as of April 2005. The WNBA awarded an expansion team to Chicago (later named the
Chicago Sky) in February 2005. In the off-season, a set of rule changes was approved that made the WNBA more like the NBA. The
2005 Finals was the first one played in a best-of-five format. In another matchup between two teams seeking their first championship, the Sun came up short for the second consecutive year, falling in four games to the
Sacramento Monarchs led by
Yolanda Griffith. In 2006, the league reached a milestone as the first team-oriented women's professional sports league to exist for ten consecutive seasons. The Shock bounced back in 2006 behind newly acquired
Katie Smith, along with six remaining members from their 2003 championship run. The Shock finished second in the Eastern Conference and knocked out first-seeded Connecticut in the second round of the Playoffs. In the
Finals, they faced reigning champion Sacramento, winning in Game Five on their home floor.
Bringing "Paul Ball" to the WNBA (2007–2009) , the WNBA's all-time leading scorer, spent her entire 20-year WNBA career with the
Phoenix Mercury. In December 2006, the
Charlotte Bobcats organization announced it would no longer operate the
Charlotte Sting. Soon after, the WNBA announced that the Sting would not operate for 2007. A
dispersal draft was held on January 8, 2007. Teams selected in inverse order of their 2006 records with the Chicago Sky receiving the first pick. The
Phoenix Mercury hired coach
Paul Westhead before the 2006 season. His up-tempo style of play was perfect for the team, especially after the league shortened the shot clock from 30 seconds to 24 seconds in 2006. Led by their "Big Three" of
Cappie Pondexter,
Diana Taurasi, and
Penny Taylor, the Mercury averaged a league-record 89.0 points per game in 2007, far surpassing the previous record, and were propelled into first place in the Western Conference. Facing the reigning champions, the Detroit Shock, in the
2007 Finals, the Mercury beat Detroit on their home floor in front of 22,076 fans in game five to claim their first-ever WNBA title. In October 2007, the WNBA awarded another expansion franchise to Atlanta. Atlanta businessman
Ron Terwilliger was the original owner of the new team. Citizens of Atlanta voted on the new team's nickname and colors, selecting the name
Atlanta Dream. During the 2008 regular season, the first-ever outdoor professional basketball game in North America, the
Liberty Outdoor Classic, was played at
Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City. The
Indiana Fever defeated the
New York Liberty 71–55 in front of over 19,000 fans. In the
2008 Finals, the Shock swept the first-time finalists, the
San Antonio Silver Stars, winning their third championship in six years under coach Bill Laimbeer. The victory effectively marked the end of the Shock dynasty, as Laimbeer resigned early in the 2009 season, with the team relocating shortly thereafter. , a five-time Defensive Player of the Year, spent her entire WNBA career with the
Indiana Fever. Late in 2008, the WNBA took over ownership of one of the league's original franchises, the Houston Comets. The Comets ceased operations on December 1, 2008, after no owners for the franchise could be found. A
dispersal draft took place on December 8, 2008, with the first pick,
Sancho Lyttle, taken by the Atlanta Dream. Westhead left the Mercury following the 2007 title, and the team faltered in 2008, becoming the first defending champion in league history to miss the playoffs. New head coach
Corey Gaines implemented Westhead's style of play, and in the 2009, the Mercury once again broke their own record, averaging 92.8 points per game in the regular season. Helped by the return of Taylor, who missed the 2008 season and a large part of the 2009 season, the Mercury clinched first place in the Western Conference and advanced to the
2009 Finals. The championship series was a battle of contrasting styles as the Mercury, number one league offense, had to face the Indiana Fever, number three league defense. Phoenix won Game One in overtime, 120–116, the highest scoring game in WNBA playoffs history, and defeated the Fever in five games, capturing their second WNBA championship. Not only did Paul Westhead's system influence his Mercury team, but it created a domino effect throughout the league. Young athletic players were capable of scoring more and playing at a faster pace. As a league, the 2010 average of 80.35 points per game was the best, far surpassing the 69.2 average in the league's
inaugural season.
Changing of the guard (2010–2012) On October 20, 2009, the WNBA announced that the
Detroit Shock would relocate to
Tulsa, Oklahoma, to become the
Tulsa Shock. On November 20, 2009, the WNBA announced that the
Sacramento Monarchs had folded due to lack of support from its current owners, the
Maloof family, who were also the owners of the
Sacramento Kings at the time. The league announced it would seek new owners to relocate the team to the
San Francisco Bay Area; however, no ownership was found and a
dispersal draft was held on December 14, 2009. The folding of the Monarchs left the WNBA with twelve teams, a number that remained unchanged for the next fifteen seasons. The 2010 season saw a tight race in the
East, which held a .681 winning percentage over the
West, its highest ever. However, it was a Western team, the
Seattle Storm, who ultimately dominated the league. Led once again by the duo of
Sue Bird and
Lauren Jackson, the only players remaining from the 2004 championship team, the Storm finished 28–6 in the regular season and a perfect 7–0 in the playoffs. Although the Storm swept the
Atlanta Dream, the
2010 Finals were a close affair, with Seattle winning the three games by a combined eight points. The Dream, who had finished their inaugural 2008 season 4–30, made a quick turnaround behind the 2009 first-overall pick
Angel McCoughtry and advanced to the Finals in only their third year. After the 2010 season, President Orender announced she would be resigning from her position as of December 31. On April 21, 2011, NBA commissioner
David Stern announced that former
Girl Scouts of the USA Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer,
Laurel J. Richie, would assume duties as president on May 16, 2011. In their first eleven seasons in the league, the
Minnesota Lynx saw little success, winning only one playoff game in total. Before the 2010 season,
Cheryl Reeve took over as head coach, and the team added
Rebekkah Brunson and
Lindsay Whalen to support 2006 first-overall pick
Seimone Augustus. The Lynx failed to make the playoffs once again in Reeve's first season, but were able to select
Maya Moore with the first pick in the 2011 draft. The core of Augustus, Brunson, Moore, and Whalen would go on to make six Finals appearances and win four championships over the next seven years. Their first title came immediately in 2011, with the Lynx dominating the regular season and dropping only one game throughout their playoff run. In the
2011 Finals, the Dream were swept for the second straight year despite more heroics from McCoughtry, who set still-standing league records for most points in a playoff game (42) and in a Finals game (38) during the Dream's consecutive Finals appearances. The Lynx made it back to the
2012 Finals but fell in four games to the
Indiana Fever, led by
Tamika Catchings. In what was far from a smooth ride, the Fever had to stave off elimination in both of the first two rounds and lost their second-leading scorer,
Katie Douglas, to injury along the way before ultimately capturing their first WNBA championship.
The "Three to See" (2013–2019) The much-publicized
2013 WNBA draft produced
Baylor center
Brittney Griner,
Delaware forward
Elena Delle Donne, and
Notre Dame guard
Skylar Diggins as the top three picks. It was the first WNBA draft televised in prime time on ESPN after the league extended its TV deal with the network through 2022. Griner, Delle Donne, and Diggins were thus labeled "The Three To See". The retirement of legends
Ticha Penicheiro,
Katie Smith,
Sheryl Swoopes, and
Tina Thompson coupled with the arrival of highly touted rookies and new rule changes effectively marked the end of an era for the WNBA and the ushering of another. The promotion of "The Three To See" helped boost television ratings for the league by 28 percent, and half of the teams ended the 2013 season profitable. The improved health of the league was on display after the season, when the
Los Angeles Sparks' ownership group folded; it took the league only a few weeks to line up
Guggenheim Partners to purchase the team, and the franchise also garnered interest from the ownership of the
Golden State Warriors. On the court, the
Minnesota Lynx won their second title in three years, sweeping the
Atlanta Dream in the
2013 Finals. This narrative was reinforced by the
2014 Finals, which featured a matchup between the
Phoenix Mercury (led by Griner and
Diana Taurasi) and the
Chicago Sky (led by Delle Donne and
Sylvia Fowles) and became the most-watched series since 2003. The Mercury swept the first-time finalist Sky to cap a dominant season: they went 29–5 in the regular season, the best winning percentage since the 2001 Sparks. , a two-time Finals MVP and four-time Defensive Player of the Year However, the 2015 season began without several stars of the previous Finals. Taurasi was paid by her Russian club, where she played during the WNBA offseason, to sit out the season, while Fowles refused to play for Chicago before she was traded to the Lynx in July. That proved enough to swing the balance, as the Lynx returned to the top by defeating the
Indiana Fever in five games in the
2015 Finals. Fowles was named Finals MVP, helping the Lynx avenge their 2012 defeat. After the 2015 season, the
Tulsa Shock moved to the
Dallas–Fort Worth region and were renamed the
Dallas Wings. The league also saw another change in leadership, as president
Laurel J. Richie left her position in November 2015 and was succeeded by
Lisa Borders in February 2016. Beginning in 2016, the league abolished conference-based playoff seeding: the top eight teams by record, regardless of conference, advanced to the postseason, with the top two regular-season teams receiving byes directly to the semifinals. Coincidentally, the next two seasons were marked by a clear separation between two Western teams, the Lynx and the
Los Angeles Sparks, and the rest of the league, culminating in back-to-back five-game Finals matchups. In the
2016 Finals, the Sparks, led by
Candace Parker and
Nneka Ogwumike, won their first championship since 2002, taking Game Five in Minnesota on a game-winning Ogwumike basket with 3.1 seconds left. The Lynx earned their revenge in the
2017 Finals, defeating the Sparks in five games. It marked Minnesota’s fourth title in seven years and the final chapter of the franchise’s dynasty, as after an unsuccessful 2018 season, Brunson, Moore, and Whalen all effectively retired from the league. Following the
2017 season the
San Antonio Stars moved to Nevada, becoming the
Las Vegas Aces. In October 2018, Borders stepped down as president.
Mark Tatum served as interim president until May 2019, when
Cathy Engelbert was named WNBA commissioner, a role that replaced the league’s president title. , a two-time MVP and three-time champion with the
Seattle Storm and
New York Liberty|left After their 2010 championship, the
Seattle Storm posted only one winning season in the next seven years. However, that put them in position to draft back-to-back No. 1 overall picks for the second time in franchise history:
Jewell Loyd in 2015 and
Breanna Stewart in 2016. Alongside the ageless Sue Bird, they returned the Storm to the top in 2018. Their toughest playoff test came in a five-game semifinal series against the Mercury. In the
Finals, Seattle swept the first-time finalist
Washington Mystics, led by Delle Donne, who had been traded to Washington a year earlier. With Stewart and Bird missing the 2019 season due to injuries, the Mystics dominated the regular season behind Delle Donne's MVP campaign and the first
50-40-90 season in WNBA history. Led by
Mike Thibault, the winningest coach in WNBA history, the Mystics ran the best offense in league history, and returned to the
Finals for a second straight year. There, they faced the
Connecticut Sun, who reached the Finals for the first time since 2005—coincidentally, then coached by Thibault. The Mystics prevailed in five games to win the first championship in franchise history, as well as the first for Delle Donne and Thibault.
New collective bargaining agreement and expansion (2020–2023) During the 2018 season, the
WNBA players' union opted out of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the league, which ended after the 2019 season. In January 2020, the league and union announced that they had reached an agreement on a new CBA to take effect with the 2020 season and running through 2027, with an opt-out after 2025. The agreement increased player compensation by more than 50% and expanded benefits, including fully paid maternity leave. It also broadened free‑agency rights. In addition, the CBA introduced a “prioritization” clause that penalizes veteran players who report late to WNBA training camp after returning from overseas play. Also in January 2020, the WNBA announced a new in-season tournament, the
Commissioner's Cup, originally slated to debut in the
2020 season. On April 3, the WNBA announced that due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the beginning of the 2020 season would be postponed. The
2020 entry draft took place as originally scheduled on April 17, although it was done remotely. In June, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced plans for a 22‑game regular season beginning in July, with a traditional playoff format, to be held exclusively at
IMG Academy in
Bradenton, Florida. The players were housed at the Bradenton complex, and all games and practices took place there. Several players opted out for medical or personal reasons. The reigning champion Mystics were particularly affected, Delle Donne among those absent, and barely made the playoffs. The shortened regular season was largely dominated by the
Seattle Storm and the
Las Vegas Aces, who ultimately met in the
Finals. It was the Aces franchise's first Finals appearance since 2008, and their first since relocating to Las Vegas. The Storm, back at full strength, swept their playoff run to win their second title in three years. On March 15, 2021, an announcement was made that the WNBA would introduce a ceremonial logo, basketball, and uniforms as part of its 25th anniversary celebratory campaign called "Count It". As part of the campaign, the league unveiled
The W25, a list of 25 players determined to be the league's greatest and most influential, as chosen by a panel of media and pioneering women's players. , the only player to win the MVP award as a rookie and the only player to win championships with three different teams. The
2021 season largely returned to normal conditions and featured a 32‑game regular season with a month‑long Olympic break for the postponed
2020 Summer Olympics. The Commissioner's Cup officially debuted that year. The
inaugural Cup Final, held on August 12 as the first game after the Olympic break, was streamed via
Amazon Prime Video, and the reigning WNBA champions, the
Seattle Storm, won the first edition by defeating the
Connecticut Sun. But neither team replicated its success in the playoffs, and in a season full of twists, the
2021 WNBA Finals produced a rematch of the 2014 Finals between the fifth-seeded
Phoenix Mercury and the sixth-seeded
Chicago Sky. Benefiting from expanded free‑agency rights under the new CBA, the Sky were able to sign
Candace Parker before the season to bolster their established core. Chicago prevailed in four games to win the first championship in franchise history. In February 2022, the league raised $75 million in capital, on terms valuing the league at $475 million. Under the deal, investors received 16 percent of the league's equity. In mid-2022, commissioner Cathy Engelbert confirmed that the league was actively considering expansion. , a four-time MVP and three-time champion with the
Las Vegas Aces Before the 2022 season, the Las Vegas Aces signed head coach
Becky Hammon to a then‑unprecedented $1 million annual salary. The move was the latest in a series of ambitious investments by the team’s new owner,
Mark Davis, who purchased the franchise in February 2021, including the construction of a $40 million dedicated training facility, the first of its kind in the league. The Aces' core included consecutive first-overall picks from 2017 to 2019—
Kelsey Plum,
A'ja Wilson, and
Jackie Young—along with
Chelsea Gray, whom they signed in free agency in 2021. In 2022, with the regular season expanded to 36 games, Las Vegas finished with the best regular‑season record and won the
Commissioner's Cup. That season, the playoff format reverted to a traditional bracket without byes for top seeds and with a best‑of‑three first round. The Aces advanced to the
Finals and defeated the Connecticut Sun in four games to win the first championship in franchise history. The 2023 season was widely framed as a battle between two "superteams": the Aces and the
New York Liberty. The Aces added Candace Parker in free agency, while the Liberty signed free agents Breanna Stewart and
Courtney Vandersloot and traded for
Jonquel Jones, joining 2020 first-overall pick
Sabrina Ionescu in New York. The two franchises were frequently cited as examples of increased owner investment, and both drew league scrutiny, resulting in investigations or penalties, for providing player benefits beyond those stipulated by the CBA. That year, the league expanded the regular‑season schedule to 40 games. The season largely matched expectations: the two teams met in the
Commissioner's Cup Final, which the Liberty won, and then again in the
WNBA Finals. Despite playing without Parker throughout the playoffs and losing two starters to injury during the Finals, the Aces defeated the Liberty in four games and became the first repeat champions since the 2001–02
Los Angeles Sparks. The regular season was the most-watched in 21 years and the Finals were the most-watched since 2003. On October 5, 2023, the WNBA announced an agreement with the owners of the NBA's
Golden State Warriors to bring a team to
San Francisco, with a reported $50 million expansion fee payable over ten years. The
Golden State Valkyries became the league's first expansion team since the
Atlanta Dream in 2008 and joined as the thirteenth team in 2025. On May 23, 2024, the league announced that the Kilmer Group had acquired a franchise based in
Toronto that will debut in 2026. On September 18, 2024, the league announced that the Bhathal family, owners of the
Portland Thorns of the
National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), had acquired a franchise based in
Portland that will also debut in 2026.
Popularity surge and further expansion plans (2024–present) The
2024 draft drew unprecedented attention amid surging interest and record viewership in women's
college basketball, particularly the
2023 and
2024 NCAA championship games. The draft class was led by first-overall pick
Caitlin Clark, widely regarded as
the main driver of the surge in attention, and featured other highly followed players, including
Angel Reese. The draft averaged 2.45 million viewers, more than four times the previous record for a WNBA draft. It was the first of numerous viewership records set during the record-setting
2024 season, the majority of which involved Clark’s
Indiana Fever; games featuring both
Clark and Reese proved a particular draw. The
2024 All-Star Game averaged 3.44 million viewers, delivering the league’s largest audience since its opening weekend in 1997. Attendance also rose, with the league and individual teams setting multiple highs, including a regular‑season record of 20,711 for a Mystics–Fever game in Washington. In July 2024, the league announced a new 11-year media deal worth $2.2 billion. In 2024, the reigning champions, the
Las Vegas Aces, faltered despite a historic season by
A'ja Wilson. The
New York Liberty and the
Minnesota Lynx squared off in both the
Commissioner's Cup Final, which the Lynx won, and the
WNBA Finals. The five-game Finals were one of the closest in history, with two games going to overtime and two others decided by a single possession. For the first time in WNBA Finals history, a decisive Game Five went to overtime. The Liberty ultimately prevailed, after a controversial ending, to win the first championship in franchise history. The playoffs were no exception to the rising interest, and the Finals drew their largest audience in 25 years. With the
Golden State Valkyries joining the league, the
2025 season expanded to 44 games. Despite Clark and other stars missing significant time due to injuries, the league largely sustained upward trends in interest, viewership, and attendance, highlighted by the Valkyries immediately setting attendance records. Investment continued to rise across the league, and by the end of 2025 more than half of franchises had either opened or announced dedicated training facilities. On August 15, 2025, the
Seattle Storm and the
Atlanta Dream played the first-ever international WNBA regular-season game at
Rogers Arena in
Vancouver. The Lynx topped the regular‑season standings, but were upset by the Fever in the
Commissioner's Cup Final and by the
Phoenix Mercury in the playoffs. In the
WNBA Finals, played in a best-of-seven format for the first time, the Mercury faced the Aces. Las Vegas struggled midseason but closed the regular season on a 16-game win streak, with Wilson earning a record fourth MVP. The Aces swept the Mercury to claim their third title in four years. On June 30, 2025, the WNBA announced expansion teams in
Cleveland,
Detroit, and
Philadelphia. The Cleveland team is scheduled to begin play in 2028, followed by Detroit in 2029, and Philadelphia in 2030.
New Collective Bargaining Agreement In July 2025, during the
WNBA All-Star Weekend, the
WNBA players union and the league officials had a meeting regarding a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The CBA, which was signed in 2020, was set to expire in 2027, but in October 2024 the WNBPA exercised its right to opt out of the agreement, effective on October 31, 2025. More than 40 players were present at the meeting, which they described as a "missed opportunity", Players had said that revenue sharing, salary structure, and prioritization were some of the key issues that they did not agree on. On July 19, before the All-Star Game, all players wore "Pay Us What You Owe Us" T-shirts during warmups and fans chanted "pay them!" in support after the game. In August, representatives of the WNBA and the WNBPA had another meeting in New York to continue the negotiations. On October 30, the WNBA and the WNBPA agreed to an extension, pushing the deadline for the CBA expiration for 30 days, until November 30. On November 30, the WNBA and the WNBPA agreed to a second extension, pushing expiration deadline until January 9, 2026. On December 18, the WNBPA announced that the union had authorized the executive committee to "call a strike when necessary" as players continued negotiations with the league over a new CBA. If both sides hadn't reached an agreement, the league could have experienced a
lockout, which has never happened in its history. On March 24, 2026, the WNBA and its players' union finalized a new 7-year CBA extending to 2032. The agreement introduced a historic shift in the league's economic structure by directly linking player salaries to league revenue for the first time, with players receiving an average of 20% of total revenue. These changes facilitated a substantial increase in the teams' salary cap, which rose from $1.5 million under the previous deal to $7 million. In turn, player compensation saw a significant upward adjustment; the average player salary reached $583,000, and the supermax contract was established at $1.4 million. Minimum salaries were also restructured to range between $270,000 and $300,000 based on a player's years of service. The 2026 CBA also introduced key changes to the "Core" player designation. The "Core" player designation allows a team to retain exclusive negotiating rights with a star player who would otherwise become an unrestricted free agent, in exchange for a one-year qualifying offer at the league's supermax salary level. The total number of times a player can be "cored" during their career was reduced from three to two. Furthermore, a service-year limit was established to ensure that, starting in 2027, players with seven or more years of experience cannot be designated as core players, allowing them to reach unrestricted free agency. The 2026 agreement introduced the "Exceptional Performance on Initial Contract" (EPIC) provision. This allows players to renegotiate the fourth year of their rookie scale contract and agree to a three-year extension if they meet specific performance criteria. Players who earn All-WNBA First or Second Team honors become eligible for a maximum salary in that fourth year, while those who win the league's Most Valuable Player award qualify for the supermax salary. ==Teams==