2019 WNBA season
League	Women's National Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
Duration	May 24 – October 10, 2019
Games	34
Teams	12
Total attendance	1,333,093
Average attendance	6,535[1]
TV partner(s)	ABC,ESPN,ESPN2,NBA TV,CBSSN
Top draft pick	Jackie Young
Picked by	Las Vegas Aces
Season MVP	Elena Delle Donne (Washington)
Eastern champions	Washington Mystics
Eastern runners-up	Connecticut Sun
Western champions	Los Angeles Sparks
Western runners-up	Las Vegas Aces
Finals champions	Washington Mystics
Runners-up	Connecticut Sun
Finals MVP	Emma Meesseman (Washington)
WNBA seasons
← 2018 2020 →

The2019 WNBA season was the 23rd season of theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA). TheSeattle Storm were the defending champions. The regular season began on May 24, with theAtlanta Dream hosting theDallas Wings and theNew York Liberty hosting theIndiana Fever. The season ended with theWashington Mystics securing their first WNBA Title over theConnecticut Sun three games to two, in a closely contestedfinals.Emma Meesseman was namedFinals MVP and teammateElena Delle Donne was namedregular season MVP.

TheLas Vegas Aces had the first pick in the2019 WNBA draft on April 10, marking the third straight draft in which the franchise won the lottery for the top pick.^[2][3] With the top pick, the Aces selectedJackie Young fromNotre Dame. The draft was televised nationally on the ESPN networks (Round 1 onESPN2, Rounds 2 and 3 onESPNU).

The WNBA Board of Governors approved two rule changes at their November 15, 2018 meeting that would go into effect during the 2019 season.^[4]

1. The "Clear Path Foul Rule" was simplified to establish "bright line" standards based on a player's positioning.
2. The definition of a "Hostile Act" was expanded for purposes of instant replay.

On April 22, 2019,CBS Sports Network announced a multi-year deal with the league to broadcast 40 games a season starting in May 2019. On June 27, 2019,TSN,Sportsnet, andNBA TV Canada announced a multi-year deal with the league to broadcast 53 games combined a season starting on June 28, 2019.

• Lindsay Whalen announced her retirement on August 13, 2018 that she would retire at the conclusion of the2018 season. Whalen played 15 seasons with theConnecticut Sun andMinnesota Lynx, winning four titles with the latter. She retired as the WNBA's all-time leader in games won, with 322.^[5]
• Noelle Quinn announced that she would retire on February 21. She joined theSeattle Storm as an assistant coach.^[6]
• Monique Currie announced her retirement via Instagram on February 26. Currie retired to pursue a career withNike.^[7]
• Cappie Pondexter announced her retirement via Instagram on April 17. Pondexter was the2007 WNBA FinalsMVP and a two time WNBA champion.^[8]

Free agency negotiations began on January 15, 2019, with the signing period starting on February 1, 2019.^[9]

• On June 17,Cathy Engelbert became the first Commissioner of the WNBA (previous top administrators had been titled "President"). She had previously served as CEO of the U.S. member firm of the international professional services firmDeloitte.^[17]

• On August 15, 2018 theSeattle Storm announced that they would play their regular season games at theUniversity of Washington'sAlaska Airlines Arena whileClimate Pledge Arena undergoes renovations for theSeattle Kraken of theNHL.^[18] The Storm later announced that of the team's 17 regular-season home games, 12 would be held at Alaska Airlines Arena and the remainder atAngel of the Winds Arena in the northern suburb ofEverett, Washington.^[19]
• On December 13, 2018 theAtlanta Dream announced that they would return toState Farm Arena, formerly Philips Arena, after playing the previous two seasons atGeorgia Tech'sMcCamish Pavilion while State Farm Arena underwent a $192.5 million renovation.^[20]
• TheWashington Mystics moved into theSt. Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports Arena beginning with the 2019 season. The arena's capacity is only 4,200, vastly smaller than the team's former home ofCapital One Arena.^[21]
• On July 24, 2019, thePhoenix Mercury announced that they would play the 2020 season atArizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum to accommodate renovations toTalking Stick Resort Arena. The Mercury plans to return to the latter venue upon project completion.^[22]
• On September 5, 2019, theIndiana Fever announced that they would move toButler University'sHinkle Fieldhouse for the entire 2020 and 2021 seasons, plus part of the 2022 season. The move was made necessary by a previously announced project to renovateBankers Life Fieldhouse, home to both the Fever and the NBA'sIndiana Pacers, with most of the work taking place during Pacers offseasons. The Fever plan to return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse upon project completion.^[23]

Source:^[24]

Notes

(#) – Conference Standing, Playoff Seeds shown to the right of team name

e – Eliminated from playoffs

The following shows the leaders in each statistical category during the 2019 regular season.^[25][26]

The WNBA continued its current playoff format for 2019. The top eight teams, regardless of conference, make the playoffs, with the top two teams receiving a bye to the semi-finals. The remaining six teams play in two single-elimination playoff rounds, with the third and fourth seeds receiving a bye to the second round.^[27]

Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

Reference:^[28]

Notes:

• Year with team does not include 2019 season.
• Records are from time at current team and are through the end of the 2018 season.
• Playoff appearances are from time at current team only.
• WNBA Finals and Championships do not include time with other teams.
• Coaches shown are the coaches who began the 2019 season as head coach of each team.

• 2019 WNBA season
• WNBA seasons

• Use mdy dates from August 2023
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata