Building off the monumental viewership numbers from last year, the WNBA announced earlier this week that their entire pre-season games would be aired for the first time in the league’s 28 years.
Friday, May 2 marks the first pre-season games with the highly anticipated debut of No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers and the newly assembled Dallas Wings (including former CT Sun players Ty Harris and Dijonai Carrington and Indiana Fever’s NaLyssa Smith), under first time head coach Chris Koclanes. Koclanes and his squad will square off against the Las Vegas Aces. The Aces led by 2024 MVP A’ja Wilson and point guard Chelsea Gray, now joined by Jewell Lloyd (formerly Seattle Storm) are looking to reclaim a WNBA title this year after winning in 2022 and 2023. The two teams will play at 7 pm ET on ION or WNBA League Pass which is allowing a free preview.
The Wings and Aces game is followed by the Chicago Sky facing off against the Brazilian National Team in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at LSU’s Pete Maravich Assembly Center at 9 pm ET. This game is a two part homecoming for Sky players. Forward Angel Reese is returning to her alma mater and center Kamila Cardoso will be playing against her home country and national team teammates. This game can again be found on ION and WNBA League Pass.
On Saturday, May 2, Caitlin Clark and the completely overhauled roster of the Indiana Fever play the Washington Mystics at 1 pm on NBA TV and WNBA League Pass. This will be the first time that Clark has played basketball since the WNBA playoff series loss to the CT Sun in late September of last year. Unlike many of her colleagues, Clark did not play overseas or in the inaugural Unrivaled 3-on-3 league, thus, fans are itching to see her compete, especially alongside her old teammates in Aliyah Boston, Kelsie Mitchell, Lexie Hull, and new additions in Sophie Cunningham (formerly Phoenix Mercury), Brianna Turner (Sky), Natasha Howard (Wings), DeWanna Bonner (Sun), and Sydney Colson (Aces).
The Fever will also match up against the Brazilian National Team in a return to Clark’s college home court, Carver Hawkeye Arena on Sunday, May 3 at 4 pm airing on ESPN. The game sold out in less than an hour demonstrating once again the magnetism of Clark.
Additionally, the Golden State Valkyries, the league’s newest expansion team will compete against their state rivals the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday, May 6 at 10 pm ET on WNBA League Pass.
Other games of note, both the Wings and New York Liberty who won the 2024 WNBA championship will play the Toyota Antelopes of the Japan Basketball League during the pre-season. Specifically, the Liberty take on the Antelopes at Oregon’s Matthew Knight Arena at 10 pm ET on May 12, a homecoming for Oregon Ducks alums Sabrina Ionescu and Nyara Sabally.
The full pre-season game schedule can be found here.
