WELCOME BACK
New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu returns after playing only 2 1/2 games last season before spraining her ankle and missing the remainder of the season. The No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft will try to help the Liberty improve on the league s worst record last season.
Nearly a dozen other players who missed last season because of injury or opting out because of the coronavirus are set to return.
WELCOME HOME
The WNBA will be playing in home cities this season after the entire 2020 campaign was held at IMG Academy in Florida because of the coronavirus pandemic. While attendance will be limited to start the year, the league hopes to be able to have more fans in the arenas as the season progresses.
WNBA returns, celebrating 25th anniversary season
By DOUG FEINBERGMay 14, 2021 GMT
NEW YORK (AP) The WNBA is back and celebrating its silver anniversary.
It was a busy offseason for the longest running women’s professional sports league that will tip off its 25th season Friday night.
There was a lot of player movement in the offseason, headlined by Candace Parker heading home to Chicago after playing the first 13 years of her career in Los Angeles.
Defending champion Seattle will try to become the first WNBA team to win consecutive titles since Los Angeles did it in 2001 and 2002. The Storm still have a strong nucleus with Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd leading the way.
Game Info
Where: Entertainment and Sports Arena, Washington, D.C.
How to watch: ABC
Injury Report
Sky: Ruthy Hebard and Shyla Heal (coronavirus protocol)
Pregame notes
The Washington Mystics are facing the Chicago Sky in their regular-season opener. The Mystics will be without Delle Donne, Erica McCall, Myisha Hines-Allen and Alysha Clark, who is out for the season. Washington lost both of their pre-season games last week and seem to still be figuring things out as the final roster is narrowed down. The team waived guards Aislinn Konig and Lapresha Stanley Monday afternoon.
The Mystics shot terribly in their pre-season games
Tykera Carter May 13, 2021
From one historic season to another, the WNBA’s 25th season is set to tip-off on May 14th. The league will commemorate the 25th season with a campaign, “Count It” and a distinguishing and purposeful 25th season logo. The WNBA will also celebrate the ways its players have shattered expectations and have stood at the forefront of advancement, inclusion, and social change for 25 years.
In the lead up to the season, WNBA.com will break down each team in the league. Next up: the Washington Mystics.
Just two seasons ago the Mystics were crowned WNBA champions for the first time in franchise history, and now they stand a chance at being one of the top teams in the league yet again. The return of Elena Delle Donne, Natasha Cloud and newcomer Tina Charles (who is bound to impact the game on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor) brings a lot of promise to Washington.