The Washington Mystics will open the 2020 WNBA season by raising the 2019 championship banner to the rafters at their home opener on May 16th at 4:00 p.m. The team released their schedule for the upcoming season which begins with the opener against the Los Angeles Sparks at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Congress Heights.
In addition, the WNBA announced the extension of the regular season from 34 games to 36 games. The extended schedule will see Washington face the Indiana Fever and the Atlanta Dream four times this season and every Western Conference opponent three times.
The Mystics won the first championship in franchise history in 2019 following a record-breaking season that included the most wins in franchise history and Most Valuable Player honors for perennial All-Star Elena Delle Donne.
“Seeing our schedule gets everyone excited to begin preparing to try to defend our championship in front of our great fans,” General Manager and Head Coach Mike Thibault said. “We will need the electric atmosphere that was created at ESA last season to propel us again this summer. We can’t wait to get started!”
Following the home opener, Washington will go on the road for a four-game road trip against Indiana (May 20), Atlanta (May 22), Seattle (May 29) and Phoenix (May 31) before hosting the Storm in a rematch of the 2018 WNBA Finals on June 2.
The Mystics will be featured in five nationally televised games on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. They are: May 16 vs. Los Angeles (ESPN), June 2 vs. Seattle (ESPN2), June 28 vs. Connecticut (ESPN2), Sept. 6 at Phoenix (ABC), and Sept. 20 vs. Connecticut (ABC).
Following the game on July 10, the Mystics and the WNBA will be on hiatus for the 2020 Summer Olympics Games in Tokyo but will return to action at home on Aug. 16 against the Atlanta Dream.
Additional Highlights
Washington will play the New York Liberty at Capital One Arena on July 8 at 11:30 a.m. for the annual camp day game for local children’s camps and groups.
Washington’s longest homestand will be from Aug. 21 to Aug. 28 when the Las Vegas Aces (Aug. 21), Los Angeles Sparks (Aug. 23), Phoenix Mercury (Aug. 25), and Dallas Wings (Aug. 28) visit the Entertainment and Sports Arena.
The team will be on the road from Aug. 30 to Sept. 8 for its longest road trip of the season when they play the Wings (Aug. 30), the Aces (Sept. 1), the Sparks (Sept. 3), the Mercury (Sept. 6) and the Storm (Sept. 8). All weekday home games (with the exception of June 2 and the camp day on July 8) will tip off at 7:00 p.m. Sunday home games will start at 3:00 p.m.
New Commissioner’s Cup
The league will also introduce a new competitive element this season with the Commissioner’s Cup.
The new Commissioner’s Cup tournament will consist of a portion of regular-season games – 10 games per team – through which players will compete for a title and a special prize pool. Cup games will be the first home game and first road game each team plays against its five conference rivals, all completed from May 15 – July 10 before the WNBA takes a monthlong break while many players participate in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
The team from each conference with the best 10-game record in Cup play will advance to the Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game. The Championship Game is tentatively scheduled to be played on Friday, Aug. 14, two days before regular season play resumes on Sunday, Aug. 16 following the Olympic break.