The women’s league is in a final. The men’s league has not started its regular season. On 12 October those are two calendars, and they get mashed together whenever a feed says “playoffs” and “opening night” in the same breath.
ESPN and the WNBA’s own postseason FAQ put Atlanta Dream against the Golden State Valkyries in the 2026 Finals. Both semifinals were sweeps. The final is a best of seven, 2-2-1-1-1. Golden State, the higher seed, host games 1, 2 and, if needed, 5 and 7.
Saturday in the Bay, Tuesday in New York
Game 1 is Saturday 17 October, 3:30 p.m. Eastern, 22:30 Moscow, on NBC and Peacock. Game 2 is Monday 19 October, 8 p.m. Eastern, which is 3:00 a.m. Moscow on Tuesday, on USA and Peacock. Games 3 and 4 are dated 22 and 24 October. Games 5, 6 and 7 carry an asterisk: they exist only if the series gets there. There is no final score yet. A September seeding argument does not belong in this paragraph.
The NBA opens three days later. The league site sets opening night as Tuesday 20 October, three games on NBC and Peacock. Boston at Detroit, 3 p.m. Eastern, 22:00 Moscow. Philadelphia at New York, 7 p.m. Eastern, 2:00 a.m. Moscow on the 21st. The Knicks raise the 2025-26 championship banner. The league’s own preview has LeBron James and Jaylen Brown making their 76ers debuts that night. Oklahoma City at San Antonio, a Western Conference finals rematch, is 9:30 p.m. Eastern, 4:30 a.m. Moscow.
Opening-day rosters are locked on 19 October at 5 p.m. Eastern. That line is on NBA.com’s key dates, separate from the banner release. Preseason ends on the 17th. Emirates NBA Cup group play starts on 30 October.
If the screen is one and the clock is Moscow, the Saturday WNBA final at 22:30 is the cleaner watch. The Knicks’ banner night will be watched anyway. The league itself says New York has waited more than fifty years for it.
