Storm, Dream tip off in Vancouver on TSN
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The Seattle Storm and Atlanta Dream will tip off at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Friday night, the first regular-season WNBA game to be played outside of the United States.
Watch the Storm and Dream LIVE Friday at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on TSN5, the TSN App, and TSN.ca.
Friday will mark the third time the WNBA has visited Canada after playing exhibition games in Toronto (2023) and Edmonton (2024). The league also played international games in England (2011) and Mexico (2004).
The expansion Toronto Tempo are scheduled to begin play in the WNBA in 2026.
“The WNBA Canada Game has been a tremendous opportunity to grow our league’s footprint, and we look forward to hosting the first-ever international regular season game with the Seattle Storm’s return to Canada to face the Atlanta Dream,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said following the game’s announcement. “As we prepare to establish permanent roots in Canada with a Toronto franchise, this game and our year-round engagement efforts are a nod to the incredible momentum around women’s basketball in Canada.”
The Dream (21-11) enter Friday’s contest in first place in the Eastern Conference, riding a league-best six-game win streak. Rhyne Howard scored 25 points for Atlanta as they beat Seattle on Wednesday night. The Dream leapfrogged the New York Liberty for second in the East with Wednesday’s win, with one more matchup to come against the defending champions this season.
Allisha Gray leads the Dream in scoring at 19.0 points per game this season. Gray and Howard were both named to their third WNBA All-Star team last month.
Dream guard Jordin Canada will miss Friday’s game with a hamstring injury.
The Storm (16-17) have lost six consecutive games and sit in the eighth and final playoff spot. Wednesday’s 85-75 loss to the Dream was the largest margin of defeat during their losing skid after Seattle dropped its previous five games by four points or fewer.
Nneka Ogwumike leads the team with 18.2 points per game this season, earning the 10th All-Star appearance of her career. The 2016 WNBA Most Valuable Player leads the team’s interior scoring presence, scoring nearly 25 per cent of the team’s 38.7 paint points per game.
This is the fourth and final meeting between the teams this season.