The 2019 WNBA season was the 23rd season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Seattle Storm were the defending champions. The regular season began on May 24, with the Atlanta Dream hosting the Dallas Wings and the New York Liberty hosting the Indiana Fever. The season ended with the Washington Mystics securing their first WNBA Title over the Connecticut Sun three games to two, in a closely contested finals. Emma Meesseman was named Finals MVP and teammate Elena Delle Donne was named regular season MVP.
The Las Vegas Aces had the first pick in the 2019 WNBA draft on April 10, marking the third straight draft in which the franchise won the lottery for the top pick.[2][3] With the top pick, the Aces selected Jackie Young from Notre Dame. The draft was televised nationally on the ESPN networks (Round 1 on ESPN2, Rounds 2 and 3 on ESPNU).
The WNBA Board of Governors approved two rule changes at their November 15, 2018 meeting that would go into effect during the 2019 season.[4]
On April 22, 2019, CBS Sports Network announced a multi-year deal with the league to broadcast 40 games a season starting in May 2019. On June 27, 2019, TSN, Sportsnet, and NBA TV Canada announced a multi-year deal with the league to broadcast 53 games combined a season starting on June 28, 2019.
Free agency negotiations began on January 15, 2019, with the signing period starting on February 1, 2019.[9]
Source:[24]
Notes
The following shows the leaders in each statistical category during the 2019 regular season.[25][26]
The WNBA continued its current playoff format for 2019. The top eight teams, regardless of conference, make the playoffs, with the top two teams receiving a bye to the semi-finals. The remaining six teams play in two single-elimination playoff rounds, with the third and fourth seeds receiving a bye to the second round.[27]
Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.
Notes: