ESPN to Tip Off 2017 WNBA Regular Season Today

ESPN will tip off its 16-game regular-season schedule of the 2017 WNBA season Saturday, May 13, at 5 p.m. ET when the defending champion Los Angeles Sparks - led by 2016 WNBA Finals MVP Candace Parker and reigning league MVP Nneka Ogwumike - host the Seattle Storm and 2016 Rookie of the Year Breanna Stewart. Ryan Ruocco will return as the lead play-by-play voice alongside analyst Rebecca Lobo and reporter Holly Rowe. Also this year, ESPN will again televise each game of the WNBA postseason from the first round to the Finals.

ESPN's slate of games will feature two rematches of last year's WNBA Finals between the Sparks and the Minnesota Lynx (July 6 and August 27), and will also include seven games each for the Sparks and the Lynx, led by four-time WNBA All-Star Maya Moore. There will be three games showcasing Stewart and the Storm, as well as three appearances by 2015 WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne and her new team, the Washington Mystics. The New York Liberty and Tina Charles, along with the Dallas Wings and Skylar Diggins, will also be highlighted three times in the schedule.

ESPN Production Highlights

• Analyst and 2017 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee Lobo will return as an analyst alongside ESPN WNBA commentator Ruocco;
• Once again, commentator Pam Ward will team with analyst LaChina Robinson on select games;
• Reporter Rowe will return for select games, and Prim Siripipat will join as ESPN's studio host;
• Returning this year is the WNBA All-Star Game at Key Arena in Seattle on Saturday July 22, at 3:30 on ABC;
• ESPN will debut a new promotional campaign, "Remember When / Watch Now," which will air weekly during games and will look back at several great WNBA moments, as re-lived by ESPN's WNBA commentators and analysts.

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Additionally, espnW will have a complete 2017 season preview with power rankings, expert picks and team analysis. Throughout the season, columnist Mechelle Voepel will offer weekly pieces discussing some of the biggest stories in the league. Also, espnW will have longform features on veteran WNBA stars Sue Bird and Candace Parker by Voepel and Ramona Shelburne, respectively.

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network
Sat, May 13	5 p.m.	Seattle Storm at Los Angeles Sparks	ESPN
Thu, May 18	7 p.m.	Minnesota Lynx at New York Liberty	ESPN2
Tue, May 23	8 p.m.	Connecticut Sun at Minnesota Lynx	ESPN2
Tue, May 30	7 p.m.	Los Angeles Sparks at New York Liberty	ESPN2
Tue, Jun 6	8 p.m.	Washington Mystics at Dallas Wings	ESPN2
Tue, Jun 13	10 p.m.	Dallas Wings at Los Angeles Sparks	ESPN2
Fri, Jun 23	8 p.m.	Washington Mystics at Minnesota Lynx	ESPN2
Thu, Jun 29	8 p.m.	Seattle Storm at Connecticut Sun	ESPN2
Thu, Jul 6	8 p.m.	Los Angeles Sparks at Minnesota Lynx	ESPN2
Tue, Jul 18	9 p.m.	Chicago Sky at Seattle Storm	ESPN2
Sat, Jul 22	3:30 p.m.	WNBA All-Star Game 2017	ABC
Tue, Jul 25	8 p.m.	New York Liberty at Minnesota Lynx	ESPN2
Thu, Aug 3	8 p.m.	Atlanta Dream at Minnesota Lynx	ESPN2
Thu, Aug 10	8 p.m.	Phoenix Mercury at Dallas Wings	ESPN2
Wed, Aug 16	7 p.m.	Los Angeles Sparks at Washington Mystics	ESPN2
Thu, Aug 24	9 p.m.	Los Angeles Sparks at Phoenix Mercury	ESPN2
Sun, Aug 27	7 p.m.	Minnesota Lynx at Los Angeles Sparks	ESPN2

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