MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – The Minnesota Lynx announced the team’s schedule for the upcoming 2020 season. The Lynx will kick off their 22nd WNBA season, presented by Mayo Clinic, on the road by visiting the Chicago Sky on Friday, May 15 at 7:00 p.m. The team will host the Indiana Fever in its Home Opener Presented by Mayo Clinic on Sunday, May 17 at 6:00 p.m.
For the first time, the 2020 campaign includes 36 regular-season games from May 15 through September 20. The league will break from July 11 to August 15 to allow players to compete for their respective countries in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Full season memberships, which include tickets to all 18 home games, are available by visiting lynxbasketball.com/membership or calling 612-673-8400. Single-game tickets will be released at a later date.
Minnesota’s 2020 season includes three nationally televised games, one on ABC (June 7 vs. Los Angeles), one on ESPN (August 16 at Connecticut) and another on ESPN2 (August 25 at Seattle).
Minnesota’s 18-game Target Center schedule includes 11 weekend games (five Friday, one Saturday, five Sunday), two on Tuesday, three on Wednesday and two on Thursday. The annual Camp Day game presented by Delta Dental of Minnesota is set for Wednesday, July 1 at 12:00 p.m. vs. Atlanta. The Lynx have one four-game homestand (August 28-September 6) and two three-game homestands (May 17-21 and June 23-July 1), while their longest road trip will be four games in length (September 9-18).
New this year is the Commissioner’s Cup. It will consist of designating a portion of regular-season games – 10 games per team – as counting towards Cup play. The team from each conference with the top record in designated “Cup games” will then compete for The Commissioner’s Cup title and a special prize pool. Cup games will be the first home game and first road game each team plays against its five conference rivals, all completed from May 15 – July 10 before the Olympic break. The Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game is tentatively scheduled to be played on Friday, Aug. 14, two days before regular season play resumes on Sunday, Aug. 16 following the Olympic break.
The home half of the schedule is highlighted by a visit from 2019 Most Valuable Player Elena Delle Donne and the reigning WNBA champions Washington Mystics on Tuesday, June 23. Other notable matchups include two games vs. Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury (Friday, June 19 and Sunday, September 20) along with two visits from Candace Parker and the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday, June 7 and Wednesday, August 19.
Minnesota’s preseason schedule and 2020 local television broadcast schedule will be announced at a later date. Following are key facts regarding the Lynx’ 2020 regular season schedule.
Key Facts about the 2020 Lynx Regular Season Schedule
- By month, the schedule breaks down as follows: May (4 home, 4 away = 8 total), June (5 home, 4 away = 9 total), July (2 home, 4 away = 6 total), August (4 home, 2 away = 6 total), September (3 home, 4 away = 7 total).
- By day, the schedule breaks down as follows: Monday (0 total), Tuesday (2 home, 3 away = 5 total), Wednesday (3 home, 2 away = 5 total), Thursday (2 home, 1 away = 5 total), Friday (5 home, 5 away = 10 total), Saturday (1 home, 2 away = 3 total), Sunday (5 home, 5 away = 10 total).
- Minnesota’s home schedule will feature four different starting times: 12 games tip off at 7:00 p.m., four games will commence at 6:00 p.m., one Wednesday game will start at 12:00 p.m. and one game will tip off at 2:00 p.m.
- The Lynx will begin the regular season on the road May 15 at Chicago, marking the eighth time in franchise history the club has opened the season on the road and first time since the 2014 season. Minnesota’s home schedule begins on Sunday, May 17 vs. Indiana.
- For the second consecutive season, Minnesota will enjoy a four-game homestand: August 28-September 6 (vs. Indiana, Chicago, Connecticut and Las Vegas). The Lynx will also have two three-game homestands: May 17-21 (vs. Indiana, Atlanta and Dallas) and June 23-July 1 (vs. Washington, Seattle and Atlanta).
- The most consecutive road games this season for the Lynx is four: Sept. 9-18 (at Atlanta, Washington, Connecticut and Phoenix). Minnesota has two stretches of three consecutive road games: June 9-13 (at Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Dallas) and July 3-7 (at Seattle, Las Vegas and Indiana).
- Minnesota will play in one set of games on back-to-back nights this season on July 7-8 (at Indiana and vs. Dallas).
You can view the full schedule here.