The WNBA will open its 28th season on May 14 with a slate of games featuring the league’s biggest stars. Chelsea Gray and A’ja Wilson will lead the Aces in their back-to-back title defense against Diana Taurasi’s Mercury following a matchup between the Liberty and Mystics.
Opening night will also feature 2023 Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston’s Fever, taking on the league’s triple-double leader, Alyssa Thomas, and the Sun. The fourth and final opening night game is between the Storm, led by the league’s 2023 scoring leader, Jewell Loyd and the Lynx.
The Sky — deemed unworthy of an opening night debut by the powers that be — don’t begin play until the following night.
After finishing the 2023 season 18-22, narrowly beating out the injury-ridden Sparks for the final playoff spot before being swept by the Aces in the first round, the Sky will open the 2024 40-game regular season with a three-game road trip. The team’s home opener is scheduled for Saturday, May 25 against the Sun at 7 p.m.
All eyes will be on first-time WNBA head coach Teresa Weatherspoon as she looks to resurrect the Sky, who fell from title contention into the bottom half of the league in one season. To accomplish that, new general manager Jeff Pagliocca will be tasked with building out the Sky’s roster, which is in need of a starting point guard and a point-forward that can help stretch the floor playing alongside center Elizabeth Williams.
Alanna Smith was elevated into a starting role following Isabelle Harrison’s season-ending knee injury. She had surgery in May to repair a tear in her left meniscus and is expected to return fully healthy at the start of the season for the second year of the two-year contract she signed in 2023. Smith will be an unrestricted free agent in the new year.
Harrison is one of five Sky players on protected contracts, including Kahleah Copper, who signed a two-year supermax extension on the last day of the regular season in September. Also on protected contracts are Williams and guards Dana Evans and Marina Mabrey.
Without a first-round draft pick, the Sky will look to fill out their roster in free agency. Skylar Diggins-Smith is at the top of the list of free agents the Sky will look to go after.
Despite their roster being far from figured out, here are a number of intriguing games for the Sky in 2024:
At Dallas — May 15
The Wings are a great team for the Sky to begin the Weatherspoon era against. Latricia Trammell enters her second season at the Wings’ helm after leading them to a fourth-place finish in 2023. Arike Ogunbowale, Natasha Howard and Teaira McCowan all return for the Wings as they look to improve upon their semifinals sweep by the Aces.
At Indiana, New York, at Washington, Atlanta, Connecticut — June 1-12
The WNBA modified its Commissioner Cup play to feature five cup games over a two-week span during the regular season instead of the 10 games played prior. The Sky will look to secure a place in the Cup final in these five games. The two teams in each conference with the best record will compete in the championship game for the $500,000 prize pool on June 25.
Las Vegas — June 27
The Aces are the standard by which the rest of the league will be measured in 2024. After nearly sweeping their way to back-to-back titles, the Aces return almost their entire starting lineup. Candace Parker — who was featured on the Aces schedule release campaign — will be an unrestricted free agent in the new year and has left the door open for both the possibility of retirement and a return for her 17th season. The Sky will play the Aces three more times — once more at home and twice on the road — during the 2024 season.
At Atlanta, at Connecticut — Sept. 17 and 19
The Sky secured their fifth-straight playoff berth with a win at home against the Minnesota Lynx in their 39th game of a 40-game season last year. In 2024, the Sky will end the regular season with a two-game road trip which could once again prove pivotal in the playoff race.
All-Star, Olympic break — July 16 to Aug. 15
Copper is in the running for a spot on Team USA’s Olympic roster after being a casualty of the final roster cuts ahead of the Tokyo games. The tournament will take place in Paris from July 27 to Aug. 11. WNBA All-Star weekend — July 19 and 20 in Phoenix — will likely serve as a sendoff opportunity for the Olympic team.
