December 16, 2024
Atlanta Dream and Seattle Storm will play in league’s first regular season game in Canada
Engelbert: 'The WNBA Canada Game has been a tremendous opportunity to grow our league’s footprint'
On Monday, the WNBA announced that for the first time ever, the league will be playing an international regular-season game. On Aug. 15, 2025, the Atlanta Dream and the Seattle Storm will go head-to-head at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C. This will be the third WNBA game in Canada.
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“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 in a press release shared by the league. “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 announcement follows the Dream’s second consecutive playoff run for the first time since 2013 and 2014. The squad is filled with notable players, including Mississauga, Ontario’s Laeticia Amihere as well as Rhyne Howard, who averaged 17.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game. The team also holds Tina Charles, who ranks first in second for points scored in WNBA history, and Allisha Gray, the Dream’s guard who averaged 15.6 points a game in 2024.
“This is a monumental moment for the WNBA, and we are honored that the league chose the Dream to participate in the first regular-season game outside the U.S. We look forward to showcasing our amazing athletes on a global stage in Vancouver,” the Atlanta Dream’s president and COO Morgan Shaw Parker said in the press release. “Members of our team have competed internationally, and now they will be doing so wearing Dream colors and representing the city of Atlanta.”
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The Storm are four-time WNBA champions and have just come off their 19th playoff appearance. Their star-studded roaster features nine-time WNBA All-Star Nneka Ogwumike and Notre Dame alums Jewell Loyd and Skylar Diggins-Smith.
“The WNBA Canada Game is an opportunity to showcase the WNBA and its talent to more fans. The Storm is honored to be a part of this international celebration of basketball,” Seattle Storm CEO and team president Alisha Valavanis stated. “Playing in front of fans in Edmonton in 2024 was a highlight of the season and we’re looking forward to bringing the Storm energy back to Canada in 2025.”
This isn’t the first time either teams will head out of the U.S. to compete. In 2011, the Dream participated in the first preseason WNBA game in Europe and defeated the Great Britain Women’s National Team in Manchester, England. And in 2024, Seattle played in the second preseason WNBA Canada Game and beat the Los Angeles Sparks in Edmonton, AB.
In 2024, Toronto was granted the 14th WNBA franchise. Recently, the organization revealed that their squad’s name will be the Toronto Tempo. They will begin play in the 2026 season.
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