LOS ANGELES — The Sparks will open their 2024 regular season against the Atlanta Dream on May 15 at Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid due to scheduled construction at Crypto.com Arena, the team announced Monday. The WNBA, which will begin its 28th season on May 14, will see all 12 teams play 40 regular-season games for the second consecutive season.
The Sparks, who have not made the playoffs since 2020, will play their first five home games at LBSU due to phase three of a three-year renovation project at Crypto.com Arena, where the Sparks have primarily played their home games since 2001.
“We’re thrilled to welcome back the Los Angeles Sparks to the Walter Pyramid,” Long Beach State executive director of athletics Bobby Smitheran said in a news release. “We’re excited to once again showcase one of the premier women’s basketball teams in the world at Long Beach State.”
The Sparks, who finished last season with a 17-23 record, will play their second game of the season on the road against the back-to-back WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces on May 18. They will return to Los Angeles for a three-game homestand at LBSU against the Washington Mystics (May 21), Indiana Fever (May 24) and Dallas Wings (May 26). Barring a trade, the game against Indiana will be a highly anticipated matchup between the top two picks in the 2024 WNBA Draft. The Fever currently hold the No. 1 pick and the Sparks have the No. 2 pick.
The last of the Sparks’ home games at Long Beach State will be against the Minnesota Lynx on June 5.
The Sparks will play their first home games at Crypto.com Arena against Dallas on June 7 and Las Vegas on June 9, which will both be part of the league’s newly formatted Commissioner’s Cup in-season tournament. The fourth iteration of the event will include five games during two weeks from June 1-13. Teams will compete for a $500,000 prize pool, as the cup championship game will be played on June 25 at the home arena of the team with the best record in Commissioner’s Cup play.
“We eagerly anticipate tipping off the 2024 season and building on the success of last season, our most-watched in 21 years and a record-setter for social media engagement, digital consumption, All-Star merchandise sales and sports betting,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said via news release. “Free agency and the 2024 WNBA Draft are sure to create excitement, and the new format to the Commissioner’s Cup will provide fans a great opportunity to see the best players in the world compete for bragging rights and prize money early in the season.”
The 2024 WNBA All-Star Game will be played on Saturday, July 20 in Phoenix, before the league-wide break for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics from July 21 through Aug. 14. In some past seasons, the league opted not to have an All-Star Game during Olympic years.
The Sparks’ longest road trip of the season is a seven-game stretch that begins in Seattle on June 11 and concludes in Phoenix on June 28. The Sparks’ final home game will be on Sept. 17 against Phoenix before they conclude the regular season on Sept. 19 at Minnesota.
The three-time WNBA champion Sparks are hoping to make the playoffs for the 21st time in their 28-year existence, which would extend the franchise’s league record.
The television schedule for the WNBA will be announced at a later date. Free agency signings begin in February, and the WNBA draft is April 15.
SPARKS 2024 REGULAR-SEASON SCHEDULE
All times are PT
May 15 – vs. Atlanta*, 7 p.m.
May 18 – at Las Vegas, noon
May 21 – vs. Washington*, 7 p.m.
May 24 – vs. Indiana*, 7 p.m.
May 26 – vs. Dallas*, 6 p.m.
May 28 – at Indiana, 4 p.m.
May 30 – at Chicago, 5 p.m.
June 2 – at Phoenix, 6 p.m.
June 5 – vs. Minnesota*, 7 p.m.
June 7 – vs. Dallas, 7 p.m.
June 9 – vs. Las Vegas, 6 p.m.
June 11 – at Seattle, 7 p.m.
June 14 – at Minnesota, 4:30 p.m.
June 16 – at Atlanta, noon
June 18 – at Connecticut, 4 p.m.
June 20 – at New York, 4 p.m.
June 22 – at New York, 2 p.m.
June 28 – at Phoenix, 7 p.m.
July 2 – vs. Washington, 7 p.m.
July 5 – vs. Las Vegas, 7 p.m.
July 7 – vs. Phoenix, 4 p.m.
July 9 – vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m.
July 13 – at Dallas, 12:30 p.m.
July 16 – vs. Seattle, 12:30 p.m.
July 20 – WNBA All-Star Game (at Phoenix)
Aug. 15 – vs. New York, 7 p.m.
Aug. 17 – vs. Chicago, 2 p.m.
Aug. 18 – at Las Vegas, 12:30 p.m.
Aug. 20 – at Connecticut, 4 p.m.
Aug. 23 – at Washington, 4:30 p.m.
Aug. 25 – at Dallas, 1 p.m.
Aug. 28 – vs. New York, 7 p.m.
Sept. 1 – vs. Atlanta, 4 p.m.
Sept. 4 – at Indiana, 4 p.m.
Sept. 6 – at Chicago, 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 8 – vs. Connecticut, 6 p.m.
Sept. 10 – vs. Connecticut, 7 p.m.
Sept. 11 – vs. Seattle, 7 p.m.
Sept. 15 – at Seattle, 3 p.m.
Sept. 17 – vs. Phoenix, 7 p.m.
Sept. 19 – at Minnesota, 4 p.m.
* = Game to be played at LBSU’s Walter Pyramid
