WNBL Season structure announced
Basketball Australia has today announced that the 2021-22 WNBL season will return to a full home and away season with each Club playing 21 games commencing in the first week of November.
This will be one of the most highly anticipated WNBL seasons fresh off the results from the Tokyo Olympics and leading into next year’s FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Sydney. The WNBL is one of the strongest leagues in the world with Australia’s best talent and players from the WNBA and European leagues. Australia’s position as the #2 in the FIBA world ranking demonstrates both the quality of the athletes and the importance of the WNBL in producing exceptional players.
On announcing the 2021-22 season, Basketball Australia Head of Women in Basketball, Lauren Jackson said:
“We are excited to announce a full home and away schedule to allow fans to see their teams play at their home stadiums.
The talent level this season is arguably the strongest in the history of the WNBL as Australian and international athletes bring their games to our league.
Fans across Australia will have the opportunity to see Australian stars such as 2020 League MVP Stephanie Talbot, emerging superstar Ezi Magbegor, Opals Captain Jenna O’Hea, and 2020 Grand Final MVP Leilani Mitchell, fresh from their Olympic campaign. Added to this is exciting emerging Australian talent such as Shyla Heal and Alanna Smith, and some of the strongest USA depth out of the WNBA ever seen in the league.
A commitment to a full season illustrates the priority of the WNBL and Clubs is to continue to grow our fan base and provide the opportunity to watch our amazing athletes both live at home stadiums and with consistent broadcast coverage.”
Following the home and away the WNBL Finals will return to a three game format for both the Semi Final and Grand Final Series.
Due to the introduction of more international games on the FIBA calendar, the WNBL will pause for two weeks in February to allow the Australian Opals to participate in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, likely to be played in Europe.
Jackson noted “COVID-19 has thrown us some curve balls of late and we are looking forward to resuming a full season with all safety protocols being adhered to. We understand that there may still be issues with border closures upon outbreaks and we are planning alternate scenarios keeping the well being of our players, officials and fans top of mind.”
2021-22 WNBL season:
Opening Round: 6 – 7 November 2021
Final Round: 10 -12 March 2021
Semi Finals Series: 16-23 March 2022
Grand Final Series: 26 March – 2 April 2022
Each team will play 21 x Regular Season games
The End of Season WNBL Awards will take place in March, with city and venue to be confirmed.
Broadcast details and the full fixture for the 2021-22 WNBL Season will be released in due course.