WNBA schedule includes 25 regular-season games broadcast nationally across ABC, ESPN

The WNBA’s 26th season tips off May 6 and will feature 25 national broadcasts during the regular season across Disney-owned ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. Six of those national broadcasts will feature the 2021 WNBA Champion Sky.

Courtney Vandersloot, Allie Quigley, Candace Parker and the rest of the Sky open their season May 6 at Wintrust Arena against the Los Angeles Sparks. Their first national broadcast on one of Disney’s networks will be May 22 against the Washington Mystics on the road.

The 25 national broadcasts on Disney networks could potentially expand up to 52 games through the postseason. A complete schedule — which will include a combined 40 games across CBS and CBS Sports Network — will be unveiled at a later date.

Two teams, the Connecticut Sun and the Phoenix Mercury will appear on ESPN broadcasts eight times. Along with the Sky, the Las Vegas Aces and the Seattle Storm will both be featured on six ESPN broadcasts.

Three of the Sky’s six ESPN broadcasts will be against the Mercury, beginning with their first meeting of the season on May 31 at Wintrust Arena, again on July 2 and finally the last day of regular-season action on Aug. 14.

This season is highlighted by a record-high 36-game regular season, the second year of the interleague tournament, the Commissioners Cup and a newly implemented postseason format. The new format removed single-elimination games and seeds the top eight teams regardless of conference in bracket-style play. The first round will feature four best-of-three series before teams advance to a best-of-five semifinals series.

The Finals will also be a best-of-five series.

The Sun open the WNBA’s national broadcast schedule against the New York Liberty on May 7 on ESPN. Opening weekend concludes with a doubleheader broadcast on ESPN2 on May 8 featuring the Mystics and the Minnesota Lynx up first and the Aces and Storm closing out the night.