NEW YORK \u2014 The Liberty are set to begin the WNBA\u2019s 30th season on May 8 \u2014 if the league and the WNBPA are able to reach a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement and avoid work stoppage.<\/p>\n
The spring matchup against the Connecticut Sun would be the WNBA debut of new Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco at Barclays Center. The Friday evening matchup is the first of a 44-game WNBA schedule.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s still unknown how the initial 44-game schedule announced Wednesday will be impacted if CBA talks continue through the winter as spring approaches. There\u2019s no guarantee for play to begin on May 8 or if the 44-game season will remain as currently structured.<\/p>\n
For now, fans can hope for an eventful WNBA tipoff schedule, which features all 15 teams \u2014 including new expansion franchises Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire \u2014 during the opening weekend of play.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s more on the schedule release centered around the Liberty and the rest of the WNBA:<\/p>\n
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Brondello\u2019s return<\/p>\n
New Toronto Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello is set to make her Barclays Center return on June 3 in both team\u2019s first Commissioner\u2019s Cup Game. The matchup takes place almost nine months after the Liberty decided to part ways with Brondello \u2014 the franchise\u2019s all-time regular-season wins record-holder.<\/p>\n
Playoff rematch<\/p>\n
The WNBA scheduled two consecutive games between the Liberty and Phoenix Mercury on May 27 and 29. It\u2019ll be the first time the two teams face off since last year\u2019s first-round best-of-three playoff series, which ended with the Mercury defeating the Liberty, 2-1.<\/p>\n
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The Liberty and Mercury are set to face off for a third time on Aug. 1 in Phoenix.<\/p>\n
Games vs. expansion teams<\/p>\n
After Brondello and the Tempo face off against the Liberty on June 3, the new expansion squad is set for two more matchups: July 12 at Bell Centre and Sept. 20 at Coca-Cola Coliseum (Tempo\u2019s home arena).<\/p>\n
The July date is one of 19 total league-wide games held in special arenas to accommodate larger expected crowds.<\/p>\n
The Liberty won\u2019t wait long to face the Fire as New York has that expansion team scheduled for the third game of the season on May 12 at Moda Center. The Liberty are scheduled to play the Fire again on May 14 (away) and May 25 (home).<\/p>\n
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Both Portland and Toronto are currently without rosters. Details on an expansion draft will emerge following the completion of a potential CBA.<\/p>\n
Paying homage<\/p>\n
The Liberty\u2019s June 21 road matchup against the Los Angeles Sparks will commemorate the league\u2019s inaugural tip-off game in 1997.<\/p>\n
That June 21 matchup held 30 years prior featured a 67-57 Liberty win, with New York\u2019s Rebecca Lobo and Los Angeles\u2019 Lisa Leslie both scoring 16 points apiece.<\/p>\n
All-Star and FIBA break<\/p>\n
The Liberty\u2019s All-Star Break is scheduled to run from July 23-27.<\/p>\n
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Players voted into the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game will participate on Saturday, July 25 at United Center in Chicago. The Sky\u2019s Wintrust Arena will host the 3-Point Contest and Skills Challenge on Friday, July 24.<\/p>\n
Regular-season action will pause again for roughly two weeks when numerous WNBA players are expected to represent their respective nations in the FIBA Women\u2019s Basketball World Cup from Sept. 4-13 in Germany.<\/p>\n
MVP A\u2019ja Wilson led Team USA to a gold medal in the competition back in 2022.<\/p>\n
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Other Liberty and league notes<\/p>\n
\u2014 The longest Liberty homestand stretches from May 21 through June 6, with New York hosting seven games at Barclays Center.<\/p>\n
\u2014 This year\u2019s Liberty schedule includes three back-to-backs on May 24-25 (home vs. Wings, Fire), July 11-12 (road vs. Lynx, Tempo), and Sept. 20-21 (road vs. Tempo, home vs. Dream).<\/p>\n
\u2014 New York\u2019s 2025 regular-season schedule featured three back-to-backs on May 29-30 (home win vs. Valkyries, road win vs. Mystics), July 25-26 (home win vs. Mercury, home loss vs. Sparks) and Aug. 12-13 (road win vs. Sparks, road loss vs. Aces).<\/p>\n
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\u2014 The first WNBA Finals rematch is scheduled for May 9 between the Aces and Mercury.<\/p>\n
\u2014 The Dallas Wings, who own the No. 1 pick of the 2026 WNBA draft, face off against the Indiana Fever on May 9.<\/p>\n
\u2014 The regular season is set to end on Sept. 24, with postseason action beginning on the 27th.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK \u2014 The Liberty are set to begin the WNBA\u2019s 30th season on May 8 \u2014 if…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":425466,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[40918,49,48,6681,3458,3459,31163,2803,1522,632,3461,104252,23760,82,23761,45963,630,43869],"class_list":["post-425465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-barclays-center","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-chicago","tag-connecticut-sun","tag-dallas-wings","tag-expansion-teams","tag-indiana-fever","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-sparks","tag-phoenix-mercury","tag-portland-fire","tag-sandy-brondello","tag-sports","tag-the-liberty","tag-toronto-tempo","tag-wnba","tag-wnba-schedule"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/425466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}