NEW YORK – The WNBA’s milestone 30^th season delivered record viewership and attendance while producing historic individual, team and coaching accomplishments.

“The league’s 30th season has been one to remember, with extraordinary fan engagement, record viewership, packed arenas and spectacular basketball,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “For three decades, generations of players, teams, fans and so many others have dedicated themselves to building this league and making a season like this possible. There is tremendous pride in what we’ve accomplished together and even greater excitement for all that lies ahead.”

Highlights from the WNBA’s 30^th season include:

VIEWERSHIP

The WNBA reached a record of more than 90 million unique viewers across all national networks during the 2026 regular season. 51 telecasts averaged at least 1 million viewers, the most in WNBA history and up from 19 in 2025. Nine telecasts averaged more than 2 million viewers, also a league record, up from four telecasts in 2025. Fans watched more than 320 million hours of coverage, the highest regular-season total in league history. The First Round of this year’s WNBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel was the most-watched First Round ever, averaging 1.3 million viewers. Additional viewership highlights by network include:

ABC

• ABC delivered its most-watched WNBA regular season ever, averaging 1.56 million viewers, up 9% from 2025.

• The 2026 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game was the second most-watched WNBA All-Star Game ever, averaging 3.16 million viewers, up 44% from 2025.

• The Chicago Sky–Indiana Fever matchup on Aug. 8 was the second most-watched WNBA game ever on ABC, averaging 2.56 million viewers.

CBS

• CBS delivered its most-watched WNBA regular season ever, averaging 1.27 million viewers, up 9% from 2025.

• The Indiana Fever–New York Liberty matchup on July 18 was the most-watched WNBA game ever on CBS, averaging 2.58 million viewers.

ESPN

• ESPN delivered its most-watched WNBA regular season ever, averaging 1.24 million viewers, up 32% from 2025.

• The Atlanta Dream–Indiana Fever matchup on Aug. 16 was the most-watched WNBA game ever on ESPN and across all cable networks, averaging 2.6 million viewers.

• The 2026 WNBA Draft presented by State Street Investment Management SPY was the second most-watched WNBA Draft ever, averaging 1.5 million viewers on ESPN, up 20% from 2025.

ION

• ION delivered its most-consumed WNBA season ever, with fans watching more than 46 million hours of WNBA game coverage, up 15% from 2025. Six ION telecasts surpassed 1 million average viewers this season.

• The Dallas Wings–Indiana Fever matchup on Aug. 14 was ION’s most-watched WNBA game ever, averaging 1.62 million viewers and peaking at 2.2 million.

NBC and Peacock

• The WNBA’s return to NBC saw its most-watched season on the network since 1998, averaging 1.75 million viewers.

• The Chicago Sky–Indiana Fever primetime matchup on Aug. 23 averaged 3.31 million viewers across NBC and Peacock (TAD), making it the most-watched WNBA regular-season game since the league’s inaugural weekend in 1997 and the third most-watched ever.

• The July 12 debut of Sunday Night Basketball, featuring the Las Vegas Aces and Indiana Fever, averaged 2.64 million viewers across NBC and Peacock and peaked at 2.8 million (TAD). It was the second most-watched game of the 2026 regular season. 

Amazon Prime Video

• Prime Video’s average WNBA audience was 5% higher than the league’s 2025 average cable audience.

• The Dallas Wings–Indiana Fever matchup on Aug. 20 was Prime Video’s most-watched WNBA game of the season, averaging 1.07 million viewers. 

USA Network

• USA Network averaged 525,000 viewers in its inaugural WNBA season, 25% above the league’s 2025 average cable audience.

• The Indiana Fever–Golden State Valkyries matchup on July 15 was USA Network’s most-watched WNBA game of the season, averaging 1.14 million viewers.

ATTENDANCE

The WNBA set records for total and average attendance, drawing 3.8 million fans across a league-record 330 regular-season games. Average attendance reached 11,474 fans per game, up 21% from the previous high set in 2025. Additional highlights include:

• The WNBA recorded an all-time high of 212 sellouts, 33 more than in 2025 and representing 64% of all regular-season games.

• 4 teams sold out every game during the 2026 regular season.

• The Toronto Tempo set a WNBA single-game attendance record with 20,996 fans at Bell Centre in Montreal for their July 10 matchup against the Dallas Wings.

• The Portland Fire set a WNBA attendance record for an expansion team’s season opener, drawing more than 19,300 fans to Moda Center for their May 9 matchup against the Chicago Sky.

• The 2026 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game at United Center in Chicago on July 25, set a new All-Star attendance record of 19,487 fans, and WNBA Live presented by AWS, the league’s annual fanfest, reached a new record with over 30,000 attendees throughout the 2026 AT&T WNBA All-Star Weekend.

DIGITAL AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT

WNBA social channels generated a record 4 billion social views during the 2026 regular season, up 28% from 2025. The league also introduced WNBA ID and new WNBA App features, expanding access to live games, original content, and personalized experiences. To celebrate Season 30, the WNBA premiered WNBA Top 30 in September, a roundtable content special featuring WNBA legends including Sheryl Swoopes and Cynthia Cooper ranking the best on-court plays in league history, and launched the @wnbahistory account on Instagram to showcase historic and never-before-seen league access footage. Additional digital and social highlights include:

• The WNBA saw double-digit percentage growth in engagement on every social media platform where it has a presence, with overall engagement up 24% from 2025.

• The league added more than 1 million followers across its social media channels, bringing its combined following to over 11.4 million.

• WNBA ID membership surpassed 1.7 million following its launch in April.

• The WNBA App recorded over 700,000 downloads and more than 1.21 million active users.

INTERNATIONAL GROWTH AND ENGAGEMENT

This season, WNBA games and programming reached fans in 214 countries and territories in 25 different languages during the 2026 season. 87 players representing 30 countries outside the United States competed in the league, accounting for more than 35% of this year’s player pool. Additional international engagement highlights:

• The Toronto Tempo joined the WNBA this season as the league’s first team based outside the U.S.

• For the first time in league history, the WNBA offered Spanish-language broadcasts tailored to the Latin American audience via WNBA League Pass for regular season and postseason games.

• This season, the league launched WNBA Australia Instagram and Facebook handles, in addition to the WNBA Canada Instagram and Facebook handles, to increase bespoke local coverage of the league.

• The WNBA activated around the world at NBA events in Macao, Mexico City, Berlin, London, Melbourne, Montreal, Paris, and Manila, engaging fans with current player and legend appearances, interactive activities, clinics, panels, and giveaways.

• A total of 70 current and former WNBA players were featured on national team rosters for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin.

ON-COURT RECORDS AND INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES

The league established single-season records in the following categories, with per-game figures reflecting team averages: points (87.1); assists (20.7); field goals made (31.0); field goal percentage (45.2); three-point shots made (8.7); estimated possessions (83.1); and offensive rating (104.8). Additional records included 109 games featuring a team scoring 100-plus points and 19 games with both teams scoring 100-plus points.

Team Performances

• The Indiana Fever set WNBA records for points per game (96.0), games with at least 100 points (20) and consecutive 100-point games (6).

Player Milestones

• Angel Reese, Atlanta Dream: Set WNBA season records for double-doubles (32) and rebounds (521) and became the fastest player to reach 1,000 career rebounds (79 games).

• Kamilla Cardoso, Chicago Sky: Set a WNBA single-game record for most field goals made without a miss (13 for 13).

• Brittney Griner, Connecticut Sun: Became the WNBA’s career blocks leader with 899.

• Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings: Set a WNBA record for points scored in a player’s first two seasons (1,570).

• Azzi Fudd, Dallas Wings: Became the first rookie to win the State Farm WNBA 3-Point Contest.

• Jessica Shepard, Dallas Wings: Recorded six triple-doubles, joining Alyssa Thomas as the only players in WNBA history with at least three in a season.

• Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever: Became the fastest to 1,000 points, 250 rebounds and 250 assists (54 games) and the first player with multiple games of at least 30 points/10 assists.

• Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana Fever: Set the WNBA season scoring record with 1,086 points. Mitchell also scored at least 20 points in a record 27 consecutive games.

• A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces: Became the first player with multiple 1,000-point seasons and multiple career games with at least 45 points. Wilson also raised her career scoring average to a league-record 22.1 points per game.

• Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles Sparks: Earned her 11th All-Star selection, tying Diana Taurasi for the second-most in WNBA history behind Sue Bird (13).

• Kayla McBride, Minnesota Lynx: Set a WNBA single-game record with 10 three-pointers.

• Olivia Miles, Minnesota Lynx: Set WNBA rookie records for total points (790), games scoring at least 20 points (22), and made three-pointers in a game (8).

• Jonquel Jones, New York Liberty: Became the first player to win WNBA MVP (2021), Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game MVP (2023), WNBA Finals MVP (2024) and WNBA All-Star Game MVP (2026).

• Alyssa Thomas, Phoenix Mercury: Recorded five triple-doubles, extending her WNBA regular-season career record to 24.

• Marina Mabrey, Toronto Tempo: Tied the WNBA single-game scoring record with 53 points against Los Angeles on June 25

COACHING MILESTONES

WNBA coaches reached significant career milestones during the league’s 30th season. Highlights include:

• Cheryl Reeve, Minnesota Lynx: Became the WNBA’s all-time leader in regular-season coaching wins, surpassing Mike Thibault’s record of 379. Reeve finished the regular season with 397 career victories.

• Becky Hammon, Las Vegas Aces: Became the second-fastest head coach to reach 150 regular-season wins, achieving the milestone in 205 games. Only former Houston Comets head coach Van Chancellor reached the mark in fewer games.

The WNBA Finals tip off on NBC and Peacock on Saturday, October 17, at 3:30 p.m. ET, when the Atlanta Dream visit the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center. Fans can find the complete WNBA Finals schedule and viewing information at https://www.wnba.com/schedule.