At the end of January, the WNBA Board of Governors announced that some major changes to both the regular season and playoff formats have been made and will go into effect this season. Along with the new changes, fans can expect some big media coverage for the Seattle Storm and the rest of the WNBA in the upcoming season. Every playoff will be live-casted by ESPN. And the teams with the highest winning percentages will be able to enter the playoffs according to their records—which mean that conferences no longer have the bearing they had going into the playoffs.

Fans can look forward to watching a total of four playoff rounds now in lieu of the previous three rounds. According to the Board, “The top two seeds receive a bye to the semifinals (third round), and the third and fourth seeds receive a bye to the second round.” Re-seeding will then follow, and single elimination will occur during first and second rounds. Best of five will be done in the semifinals, with a 2-2-1 format. For further details, including how conferences will be formatted, be sure to visit the WNBA website.

Proponents are calling it a more organized flow with more balance. Mark Tatum, NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer, says, “The new postseason format provides an enhanced opportunity to showcase the best teams in the WNBA Finals. Coupled with the new regular season structure that creates more competitive balance and additional excitement during the stretch run toward the playoffs, the new postseason format will provide a heightened sense of urgency to the start of the postseason.”

If the changes will really get the WNBA much more exposure, and therefore more fans, it sounds like something to celebrate. Change can be difficult and there will always be drawbacks when you first implement new plans, but after twenty years, it’s about time the networks took more notice of women’s basketball—and about time those players got the recognition they deserve.

Will the WNBA become more of a household leisure time due to the new formats? Maybe not, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction to ensure that more homes do have access to the games. What do you think of the changes? Will they have a big impact on how you watch the game already, and will they make it easier for you to share your love of basketball with others?

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