After its teams completed the longest season in league history in 2026, the WNBA will push the envelope again in 2027 as it introduces a 50-game regular-season schedule.

The 2027 WNBA season is expected to start on May 7, one day earlier than 2026. However, it will end no later than Oct. 24, a full week earlier than the 2026 season ended.

That means the WNBA will cram more games into a shorter time frame, one problem that fans are already seeing with the new-look schedule -- a key provision of the collective bargaining agreement that was agreed upon earlier this year. The 2026 CBA allows the WNBA and the WNBPA to extend the season to as many as 52 games.

"Hold onto your knees, ladies," one X user wrote.

The 2027 WNBA season will have a record-setting 50 regular season games, is expected to start May 7 and end no later than October 24, per @alexaphilippou. The 2026 season had 44 regular season games, started on May 8 and ended on October 31.

— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) November 13, 2026

The newest expansion to the season brings more basketball for fans as the WNBA continues to grow in popularity and prosperity.

But it also could create an unbearable physical tension for players -- who could well face an injury crisis similar to the one that Adam Silver's NBA is combating right now. Silver has pushed back on the idea of shortening the season, and The W continues to expand it.

A potential solution is to expand rosters to accommodate more players; WNBA teams are permitted to carry up to 12 players as of now. That could go some way toward helping players withstand a season calendar that has swelled to nearly one-and-a-half times the size it was as recently as 2022.