Ready or not, even more WNBA basketball is on the way.
On Wednesday, the league announced that the 2027 WNBA season will be a 50-game season. With 15 teams, that gives fans 750 games to observe, analyze and obsess over.
Here’s what Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said about the decision to further expand the WNBA season:
Demand for the WNBA has never been greater, and expanding to a 50-game regular season reflects the extraordinary momentum we are seeing across the league. This move reflects our commitment
to growing the game and creating more opportunities for fans to watch the best players in the world and experience the extraordinary talent and competition that define the WNBA.
The announcement is not a surprise, as the 2026 CBA included a provision that made a 50-game season as soon as 2027 an option. The CBA also allows for 52 games beginning in 2029.
No details have yet to be disclosed about the logistics of a longer season. Per the CBA, the season can begin as soon as April 1 and extend to November 21.
A 50-game season continues the league’s sharp escalation in the length of the season since the pandemic-impacted seasons of 2020 and 2021. A 36-game season in 2022 become 40-game seasons in 2023 and 2024. This season, like last season, is 44 games.
So, I think it is fair to ask if the WNBA is, in fact, ready or not for a 50-game season?
The new CBA also introduced stipulations that should have teams and players better prepared to navigate the rigors of a longer-than-ever season, from codifying charter flights to implementing facility and resource standards to expanding team staffing requirements to introducing developmental players.
Yet, according to Lucas Seehafer’s WNBA Injury Tracker at The IX Sports, injuries are continuing to occur at a higher rate year by year.
A further increase games, and the increase in travel that comes with it, seems certain to extend this trend, as more games and more travel means less time for rest, recovery and maintenance. Plus, as WNBA teams increasingly adopt the principles that define modern basketball—namely space-and-pace and the maximization of possessions—a higher physical demand will be placed on players’ bodies, which can result in even more injuries, especially if time for training and recovery is reduced.
Yes, the WNBA is experiencing an unprecedented boom. But, could the eagerness to capitalize on it lead to a bust, as players become burnt out and overburdened by the too-rapid escalation and expansion of the season?
Or, is the league, in cooperation and consultation with teams and players, cognizant of these potential pitfalls and prepared to implement strategies and systems to protect against such problems?
Let us know what you think.
Is the WNBA taking on too much too soon with a 50-game season? What other concerns do you have? In contrast, are you willing to trust the league and their process? Or, do you just refuse to get preemptively worried, as you’re just excited about the opportunity to consume even more WNBA basketball?
