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Paige Bueckers 'excited for the future' after joining Wings (0:29)
Paige Bueckers dons a cowboy hat and speaks on the reaction to being drafted by the Dallas Wings during her introductory press conference. (0:29)
Michael VoepelApr 28, 2025, 01:00 PM ET
- Michael Voepel is a senior writer who covers the WNBA, women's college basketball and other college sports. Voepel began covering women's basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996.
For the first time, every WNBA preseason game -- including the Indiana Fever's game vs. the Brazilian national team on Sunday in Iowa City -- will be available via national broadcast or through online streaming this year.
The Fever's game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena (4 p.m. ET) -- one of four WNBA preseason games to be televised nationally -- will be a homecoming for 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark, who became the all-time Division I scoring leader while at Iowa from 2020-2024. It will be shown on an ESPN platform to be announced.
The availability of preseason games for viewers is a big change for the league. Previously, only one preseason game in WNBA history was shown on national television -- the New York Liberty vs. the Chinese national team in 2019.
The 2025 WNBA preseason starts Friday with past Notre Dame and LSU stars also having homecoming games. They will be televised as a doubleheader on ION at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET.
In the first game, the Las Vegas Aces, featuring former Notre Dame guards Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young, face the Dallas Wings, led by Irish alum Arike Ogunbowale, at Notre Dame's Purcell Pavilion.
This will be Loyd's first game with the Aces after being traded in February from Seattle, where she spent the first 10 seasons of her WNBA career. It also will be the preseason debut of 2025 No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers of Dallas.
The second game of the doubleheader will feature the Chicago Sky vs. the Brazilian national team at LSU's Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Former LSU standout Angel Reese led the WNBA in rebounding last season as a rookie for the Sky.
On Saturday, Indiana will host the Washington Mystics at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis at 1 p.m. ET (NBA-TV). The Mystics have three of the top six picks from the recent WNBA draft: No. 3 Sonia Citron (Notre Dame), No. 4 Kiki Iriafen (USC) and No. 6 Georgia Amoore (Kentucky). The Fever then will travel to Iowa City for Sunday's game.
Every preseason game except the Fever vs. Brazil also will be available for free on the WNBA League Pass app. The Fever-Brazil game will be streamed by ESPN.
Among the streamed games, the expansion Golden State Valkyries will make their preseason debut vs. the visiting Los Angeles Sparks on May 6 at Chase Center in San Francisco (10 p.m. ET).
Another streamed college homecoming game is May 12, with Oregon alums Sabrina Ionescu and Nyara Sabally leading the defending WNBA champion Liberty against the Toyota Antelopes of the Japan Basketball League at Oregon's Matthew Knight Arena (10 p.m. ET).
Teams must finalize their rosters by 5 p.m. ET on May 15, and the WNBA will tip off its 29th season on May 16. The 44-game regular-season ends Sept. 11.
