The league will expand from 12 to 13 teams with the addition of the Golden State Valkyries, who were first announced in 2023.
[2] Five regular season games will be played against teams in the same conference to determine qualification for the WNBA Commissioner's Cup, an in-season tournament first played in 2021; the final will be hosted by the team with the better win–loss record in qualifying games.
[3] The 2025 season will feature a week long break for the annual WNBA All-Star Game in July 2025.
The free agency negotiation period began on January 21, 2025, and teams were able to officially sign players starting on February 1, 2025.
[27][28] New 11 year deals with ESPN, NBC Sports and Amazon will begin in 2026.