The WNBA announced its historic 25th season tips off Friday, May 14 with a full weekend of games featuring all 12 teams.
The Sky season opener Saturday May 15 highlights two MVPs, Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne. Two-time league MVP Parker will make her debut with Chicago on the road against fellow two-time MVP Delle Donne and the Mystics at noon Chicago time.
Since trading Delle Donne February 2017 the Sky are 2-10 against the Mystics. They split games last year against Washington which was notably without Delle Donne and Natasha Cloud in the bubble.
Following the season opener, the Sky continue their road trip playing in Atlanta May 19 at 6 p.m. before returning to Chicago for their home opener against the New York Liberty on May 23 at noon.
It’s unclear at this point if fans will be in attendance for the home opener.
“The Chicago Sky continues to work with the league, city and state officials on evaluating conditions to determine if there is a timeline that would allow for fans this season,” the team said in a statement.
Have a must watch #skytown game?
— Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) April 13, 2021
Our answer: ALL OF THEM pic.twitter.com/qaxhEySAIJ
Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty open the season on Friday May 14 at the Barclays Center against the Indiana Fever at 6 p.m. Chicago time. Opening night features three more games.
At 6:30 p.m., the Connecticut Sun take on the Atlanta Dream on the road at Gateway Center Arena. The Minnesota Lynx and the most recent rookies of the year, Napheesa Collier and Crystal Dangerfield, welcome the Phoenix Mercury for an 7 p.m. tipoff. The nightcap showcases Nneka Ogwumike and the Los Angeles Sparks hosting 2020 leading scorer, Arike Ogunbowale and the Dallas Wings at 9:30 p.m.
Saturday’s slate of games concludes with a rematch of the 2020 WNBA Finals when Sue Bird and the defending champion Seattle Storm welcome the Las Vegas Aces for a 2 p.m. tip.
Opening weekend wraps up with two games Sunday. First, the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer, Diana Taurasi and the Mercury play the Sun on the road at 11 a.m. Closing things out is a matchup featuring the Liberty on the road against the Fever at noon.
One of Chicago’s most anticipated matchups comes during the third week of the season when the Sky host Parker’s former Sparks team for a weekend series on May 28 at 7 p.m. and May 30 at 5 p.m.
A week later, Parker and the Sky fly to Los Angeles for Parker’s first game on that court as a member of the visiting team. Tip-off for that game is set for 2 p.m. on June 5.
The league also announced a shortened regular season which will be cut from 36 games to 32 due to the pandemic and the Olympic break. Each team will play 16 games at home and 16 on the road. Breaking it down further, teams will play three games apiece versus 10 opponents, and two games against one team from the opposite conference.
Chicago’s regular season concludes with a home game against the Fever on Sunday Sept. 19 at 5 p.m.
The full television schedule will be released in the coming week’s.
