When does the WNBA season start in 2023? Key Dates, Schedule, TV Channels, Tickets and more

The 2023 WNBA season is slated to begin in a couple of months. Their official schedule was released at the end of November, with the action kicking off on May 19.

Like every WNBA season, all 12 teams will be in action in the league's opening weekend. Kicking off the year will be a matchup featuring multiple elite talents as the New York Liberty take on the Washington Mystics. Rising star Sabrina Ionescu will start her fourth season against two-time MVP Ellena Delle Donne.

Another key matchup of the opening weekend will be the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces taking on the Seattle Storm in a rematch from last year's playoffs. All of these matchups will be aired on ESPN.

Other important dates throughout the year in the WNBA include the All-Star game (July 15) and the newly-created in-season tournament (May 19-July 12). In that span, each team will play one home and road game against each team in their conference. The teams with the top two records will then compete for a prize of half a million dollars.

This WNBA season could make history once again

While the WNBA gets a lot of hate for its lack of viewership, that is slowly starting to change. Things may have taken some time to get off the ground, but their has been a spike in popularity in recent years.

Ahead of the WNBA season, commissioner Cathy Engelbert stated that last year was their most-watched in 14 years.

“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,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

“The expanded schedule will provide fans greater opportunities to see the best players in the world compete on the game’s biggest stage.”

Following their success in 2022, the league is looking to capitalize on this momentum. This year, the WNBA will be setting a record as each team is slated to compete in 40 games.

With teams playing in more games this year, the WNBA is hoping to have another year where they set records in viewership. As the league trends in the right direction, players are getting one step closer to getting the recognition and compensation that they deserve.