The WNBA 2027 season schedule is expected to expand to 50 games per team, up from 44 in 2026, according to sources cited by ESPN. The season is expected to start May 7 and end no later than Oct. 24, with no midseason break for international competition.
The jump would mark the league’s largest single-year schedule increase since it began steadily lengthening its regular season earlier this decade. The reported numbers have not been confirmed by the league itself, but they align with provisions already written into the WNBA‘s collective bargaining agreement.
The Main Development
According to ESPN‘s sourcing, the 2027 regular season is on track to run 50 games per team, a six-game increase over the 44-game slate played in both 2025 and 2026. The report adds that the season is expected to open May 7 and wrap no later than Oct. 24.
Unlike the 2026 campaign, which included a break for the FIBA World Cup, the 2027 schedule reportedly will not pause for international play. That break is expected to return in 2028 to accommodate the Summer Olympics, per the same report.
What It Means
The 50-game total is not a surprise jump so much as the next step the league’s labor deal already allows. The current collective bargaining agreement permits up to 50 games in both 2027 and 2028, then a maximum of 52 games starting in 2029, according to Bleacher Report‘s review of the reported plans.
That structure gives the WNBA a built-in runway to keep expanding its calendar without needing a new round of labor negotiations in the near term. The absence of an international break in 2027 also suggests scheduling flexibility that was not available in 2026, when the World Cup forced a pause.
Context: A Six-Year Climb
The 2027 total would continue a steady climb in regular-season length. The WNBA played 36 games per team in 2022, then moved to 40 games in both 2023 and 2024 before jumping to 44 games in 2025 and again in 2026, per Bleacher Report.
The league’s playoff format has also evolved alongside the longer regular season. The WNBA Finals shifted to a best-of-seven format starting in 2025, replacing the previous format, while the first round of the playoffs remains best-of-three and the semifinals stay best-of-five. Single-elimination playoff rounds were eliminated after the 2021 season.
The 2026 Finals reflected that longer postseason, running the full distance before the Golden State Valkyries won the title, beating the Atlanta Dream in a Game 7 that closed the season on Oct. 31. The 2026 regular season itself began May 8, a day later than the reported 2027 start date.
Team Impact: No New Clubs In 2027
The 50-game expansion will not coincide with new franchises taking the floor. The Cleveland Sirens are set to begin play in 2028, one year after the reported schedule change, according to Bleacher Report. Detroit is scheduled to join the league in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030, meaning the 2027 season will be played with the league’s current team count even as the schedule grows.
That timeline means the 2027 Finals matchup will again be drawn from the existing field of teams, a group that includes the defending champion Valkyries and a Dream team that pushed the series to Game 7 last fall.
What’s Next
The reported May 7 start date and Oct. 24 end date for the 2027 season have not been formally announced by the WNBA, and the league has not released an official schedule. Further confirmation is expected as the league typically finalizes and releases its full regular-season schedule closer to the start of the new year.
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