On Dec. 16, the league announced the third WNBA Canada game, featuring the Atlanta Dream and Seattle Storm. This is the first regular-season game; in previous years, it was a preseason game. The Atlanta vs. Seattle game will be held on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. Canada is a huge fan of the WNBA, and now it has its team, the Toronto Tempo.
WNBA and Canada
This will be the third year the WNBA will have a game in Canada. The first two years were successful, and the games sold out in 2023 and 2024. As per the release, in 2024, the WNBA viewership in Canada was up 175% compared to the previous year in 2023. The league set new highs in Canada across all digital platforms, including WNBA League Pass and social media. Toronto, being the 14th team in the WNBA, which will debut in 2026, having another game in Canada speaks to the league’s progress.
Atlanta Dream vs. Seattle Storm
Having the Dream and Storm as the teams to play in 2025 in Canada will attract even more fans. The four-time champion Seattle Storm is coming off its 19th playoff appearance and has an elite roster with players like nine-time WNBA All-Star Nneka Ogwumike, six-time WNBA All-Star Skylar Diggins-Smith and the rest of the young roster. WNBA All-Star and two-time champion Jewell Loyd requested a trade earlier this month, and it is up in the air how Seattle will revamp its roster for the 2025 season.
The Dream acquired a new head coach, Karl Smesko, a former collegiate head coach at Florida Gulf Coast University, who coached for 23 years. Coach Smesko is known as a three-point specialist, which Atlanta has struggled throughout the years. The Dream shot 30% from three in the 2024 season. However, the Dream is coming off its second consecutive playoff appearance for the first time since 2013 and 2014. The Dream is a mix of young and veteran roster, which includes Rhyne Howard, the 2022 Rookie of the Year. The nine-time All-WNBA center Tina Charles had a great year with Atlanta and the KIA WNBA Skills Challenge and WNBA Starry 3-point champion Allisha Gray.
