The league is continuing to grow after a record-shattering 2024 season, thanks to the emergence of popular new stars such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. A 13th franchise, the Golden State Valkyries, is joining the WNBA in 2025, too, with even more new teams set to debut in 2026.

During her press conference ahead of Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Finals between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx on Thursday night, commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced major changes to the league's playoff format starting with the 2025 season.

Starting in 2025, the WNBA Finals will switch to a best-of-seven game series, increasing from the best-of-five game format. The home-away format will follow the NBA, with 2-2-1-1-1, with the higher-seeded team maintaining home-court advantage.

Natalie Nakase has been named head coach of the Golden State Valkyries ahead of the team's inaugural WNBA season. Nakase previously worked in

The Golden State Valkyries are set to kick off their inaugural WNBA season in 2025, and on Thursday announced a historic coaching hire. Natalie Nakase will be the franchise's first ever head coach, and will make history in the process as she will become the first ever Asian-American woman to hold a WNBA head coaching job.

The Golden State Valkyries have hired Natalie Nakase as their first head coach. Why it matters: Nakase, a current assistant coach with the Las Vegas Aces, will lead the Bay Area's highly anticipated WNBA team as they prepare to begin play in 2025.