The WNBA announces entry into the best-of-7 finals starting next season

NEW YORK – The WNBA will move to a best-of-seven series for the WNBA Finals starting next season, commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Thursday.

Speaking to the media before Game 1 of the final between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx, Engelbert also said the league would switch to a 1-1-1 system in the best-of-three first round , in which all playoff teams would be awarded at least one home game.

The WNBA has had a best-of-five format for the Finals since 2005. From 1998 to 2004 it was a best-of-three series. The championship in the first WNBA season in 1997 was decided in a single-game format.

The WNBA semifinals will continue to be a best-of-five format.

The first round has changed over the years. The most recent lineup included the first two games of a best-of-three series played at the higher seed’s home stadium and a possible third game at the lower seed’s home stadium. But this format doesn’t guarantee that every playoff team will have at least one home game – the 1-1-1 scenario will do that.

Engelbert said the WNBA’s move to charter flights for all games starting this season will help with the playoff format changes.

She also announced that the expansion draft for the league’s 13th ranked team, the Golden State Valkyries, will air on ESPN on November 17 at 5 p.m. It has also been confirmed that the Valkyries will take fifth place in each round of the Standard draft in April. The Valkyries, who announced their new coach Natalie Nakase on Thursday, will begin play next season.