WNBA’s 20th anniversary season tips off on Saturday, May 14 with five games
The WNBA’s historic 20th season tips off on Saturday, May 14 with five games including an ESPN telecast of the defending WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx and the Phoenix Mercury at 7:30 p.m. ET. WNBA Tip-Off 2016 consists of 12 games over nine days (May 14-22), showcasing the home opener of every team.
In the other opening-day matchups, the Chicago Sky host the Connecticut Sun (8 p.m. ET); the newly relocated Dallas Wings play at the Indiana Fever (6 p.m. ET); the New York Liberty visit the Washington Mystics (7 p.m. ET); and the Atlanta Dream take on the host San Antonio Stars (8 p.m. ET).
ESPN networks will air up to 33 games, including wall-to-wall coverage of the WNBA postseason with ESPN networks televising every game of the WNBA Playoffs and WNBA Finals presented by Verizon. All ESPN telecasts will also be available on WatchESPN. NBA TV will televise more than 40 games during the regular season. That telecast schedule will be announced at a later date.
In addition, WNBA LiveAccess will provide online and mobile viewing of live and archived WNBA games for the entire season.
In October 2014, the NBA and ESPN announced an extension of the partnership between the WNBA and ESPN through which WNBA games will continue to be televised on ESPN networks through the 2025 season. The agreement extends the league’s relationship with ESPN, which commenced in 1997, to 29 years.
Day     Date                  Visitor                    Home               Local Time   Eastern Time      Network
Sat.     May 14, 2016     Phoenix                  Minnesota        6:30 PM        7:30 PM               ESPN
Tues.  May 24, 2016     Los Angeles           Chicago            6:00 PM        7:00 PM               ESPN2
Tues.  May 31, 2016     Minnesota              New York         8:00 PM        8:00 PM               ESPN2
Tues.  June 7, 2016     New York               Los Angeles     7:00 PM        10:00 PM             ESPN2
Tues.  June 14, 2016   Indiana                   Minnesota        7:00 PM        8:00 PM               ESPN2
Tues.  June 21, 2016   Phoenix                  Dallas               7:00 PM        8:00 PM               ESPN2
Tues.  June 28, 2016   Dallas                     Los Angeles     7:00 PM        10:00 PM             ESPN2
Tues.  July 5, 2016       Chicago                  Minnesota        7:00 PM        8:00 PM               ESPN2
Tues.  July 19, 2016     Los Angeles           Indiana             8:00 PM        8:00 PM               ESPN2
Sun.    Aug. 28, 2016    Seattle                    Minnesota        6:00 PM        7:00 PM               ESPN2
Sun.    Aug. 28, 2016    Los Angeles           Phoenix            6:00 PM        9:00 PM               ESPN2
Tues.  Sept. 6, 2016     Phoenix                  Atlanta              8:00 PM        8:00 PM               ESPN2
Tues.  Sept. 13, 2016   Minnesota              Chicago            7:00 PM        8:00 PM               ESPN2
Sun.    Sept. 18, 2016   Dallas                     Indiana             4:00 PM        4:00 PM               ESPN2
