The WNBA is set to begin another season. It all starts tonight with a doubleheader on NBA TV.
ESPN2 will tip off its 20-game regular season schedule on Saturday. The ESPN/ESPN2 slate of professional women’s basketball games includes six doubleheaders including five Tuesday evening twinbills in July.
Ryan Ruocco from ESPN Radio New York will form one broadcast team along with Rebecca Lobo and Holly Rowe. Pam Ward and Carolyn Peck will also be another announcing team. LaChina Robinson will also be a reporter on selected games.
Here’s what Turner Sports and ESPN are saying about the new WNBA season.
NBA TV Tips Off 2014 WNBA Coverage with Doubleheader Action Friday, May 16, at 7:30 p.m. ET
NBA TV’s 2014 WNBA Season Preview to feature NBA Inside Stuff Co-host Kristen Ledlow and WNBA analyst LaChina Robinson
NBA TV will tip off its 2014 WNBA coverage Friday, May 16, with a doubleheader featuring the San Antonio Silver Stars and this year’s No. 3 overall draft pick Kayla McBride against the defending Eastern Conference Champion Atlanta Dream and Angel McCoughtry at 7:30 p.m. ET. In the second game of the night, the Los Angeles Sparks and reigning MVP Candace Parker will visit the Seattle Storm and Sue Bird at 10 p.m.
The network will preview the regular season with the 2014 WNBA Season Preview hosted by Kristen Ledlow and analyst LaChina Robinson. WNBA President Laurel Richie also joins the hosts to discuss a variety of topics from around the WNBA.
And next, ESPN’s extensive preview.
2014 WNBA Season Tips Off May 17 on ESPN2
20-Game Schedule Includes WNBA All-Star 2014 on ESPN
The WNBA regular-season schedule on ESPN networks opens Saturday, May 17, on ESPN2 from Madison Square Garden as the New York Liberty hosts the Chicago Sky. The ESPN/ESPN2 20-game WNBA schedule includes six doubleheaders, with five airing on Tuesday evenings in July. All games can also be seen via WatchESPN.
The opening ESPN2 game marks the return of the Liberty to the Garden after a three-year absence due to building renovations.
The WNBA All-Star Game 2014 on Saturday, July 19, will showcase the league’s top players on ESPN, at 3:30 p.m. from US Airways Center in Phoenix.
The Chicago Sky and 2013 WNBA Rookie of the Year Elena Delle Donne will make seven appearances on ESPN2. The Los Angeles Sparks and 2013 WNBA MVP Candace Parker, as well as the Minnesota Lynx and 2013 WNBA Finals MVP Maya Moore, will be featured on six separate occasions. The Phoenix Mercury and two-time WNBA Champion (2009, 2007) Diana Taurasi are on the ESPN2 schedule five times.
Commentators
Ryan Ruocco returns to ESPN’s WNBA coverage as a play-by-play voice. He can also be heard on ESPN New York 98.7 FM’s “Stephen A. Smith & Ryan Ruocco” weekdays from 1-3 p.m. Ruocco will be paired with analyst and former WNBA star Rebecca Lobo, as well as reporter Holly Rowe. Veteran play-by-play commentator Pam Ward teams with analyst Carolyn Peck. LaChina Robinson will also work as a reporter on select games.
ESPN Content Highlights
ESPN will boost its production commitment to the WNBA through the teams, players and coaches.
- Continued access includes:
- Live microphones worn in-game by coaches and players.
- Special mini-camera worn by referees during select games.
- Look-ins at practices and shoot around, as well as in the locker rooms pregame and during half time.
- The song “Classic” by MKTO used as the theme song throughout the regular season.
- “Need to See” – a specialty brand focusing on top players in the league and their impact throughout the season, similar to last year’s focus of “3 to See”.
espnW
- espnW’s 2014 season preview will include expert picks, conference predictions and player and team analysis of what the season holds. Included will be features on Chicago Sky’s Elena Delle Donne and Seattle Storm’s Sue Bird, as well as slideshows on the top MVP candidates and league contenders.
- Weekly columns and online chats from writers Mechelle Voepel and Michelle Smith.
- Total Access with the Los Angeles Sparks. After two seasons of tremendous change, have the Sparks finally found the right formula to win the franchise’s first championship since 2002? espnW will go behind-the-scenes to examine all the key players and how they might impact Los Angeles’ quest for another title. Features will include stories, blogs, and video and photo galleries
- Blogs from WNBA players: Seimone Augustus (Minnesota), Bird (Seattle), Tina Charles (New York), Delle Donne (Chicago), Kayla McBride (San Antonio), Chiney Ogwumike (Connecticut), Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles), Odyssey Simms (Tulsa) and Diana Taurasi (Phoenix).
ESPN Digital Platforms
- WatchESPN – available to 67.5 million households nationwide via an affiliated video provider – will carry every WNBA regular-season game this season.
- Live scores, alerts and video clips accessible via the ESPN mobile Web and SportsCenter app
WNBA Postseason Coverage
ESPN2 will showcase the majority of the 2014 WNBA postseason.
- Playoff coverage begins Thursday, Aug. 21, with an ESPN2 doubleheader.
- The WNBA Finals runs September 7-17 with a best-of-five series.
The WNBA and ESPN have been affiliated for 18 years, dating back to the league’s inaugural season in 1997, and extended the relationship in March 2013 for six years through the 2022 season.
2014 WNBA ESPN/ESPN Schedule (subject to change)
Date Time (ET) Games / Commentators Network Sat, May 17 8 p.m. Chicago Sky at New York Liberty
Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo & Holly RoweESPN2 Mon, May 26 3:30 p.m. Minnesota Lynx at Chicago Sky
Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo & Holly RoweESPN2 Tue, June 3 7 p.m. Los Angeles Sparks at Atlanta Dream
Pam Ward, Carolyn Peck & LaChina RobinsonESPN2 Sun, June 15 1 p.m. Phoenix Mercury at Minnesota Lynx
Pam Ward & Carolyn PeckESPN2 Sun, June 22 1 p.m. Tulsa Shock at Chicago Sky
Pam Ward & Carolyn PeckESPN2 Tue, July 1 8 p.m. Indiana Fever at Atlanta Dream
Pam Ward & Carolyn PeckESPN2 10 p.m. Chicago Sky at Los Angeles Sparks
Ryan Ruocco & Rebecca LoboESPN2 Sun, July 6 2 p.m. Minnesota Lynx at New York Liberty
Ryan Ruocco & Rebecca LoboESPN2 4 p.m. Phoenix Mercury at Los Angeles Sparks
Pam Ward & Carolyn PeckESPN2 Tue, July 8 7 p.m. Connecticut Sun at Atlanta Dream
Pam Ward & Carolyn PeckESPN2 9 p.m. Los Angeles Sparks at Minnesota Lynx
Ryan Ruocco & Rebecca LoboESPN2 Sun, July 13 3 p.m. Seattle Storm at Minnesota Lynx
Pam Ward & Carolyn PeckESPN2 Tue, July 15 8 p.m. Los Angeles Sparks at Indiana Fever
Ryan Ruocco & Rebecca LoboESPN2 10 p.m. Washington Mystics at Phoenix Mercury
Pam Ward & Carolyn PeckESPN2 Sat, July 19 3:30 p.m. WNBA All-Star 2014 (Phoenix)
Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo & Holly RoweESPN Tue, July 22 8 p.m. Indiana Fever at Chicago Sky
Ryan Ruocco & Rebecca LoboESPN2 10 p.m. Phoenix Mercury at Seattle Storm
Pam Ward & Carolyn PeckESPN2 Tue, July 29 8 p.m. Chicago Sky at San Antonio Silver Stars
Pam Ward & Carolyn PeckESPN2 10 p.m. Los Angeles Sparks at Phoenix Mercury
Ryan Ruocco & Rebecca LoboESPN2 Thu, Aug 7 8 p.m. Chicago Sky at Minnesota Lynx
Ryan Ruocco & Rebecca LoboESPN2
And we’re done here.
