20 reasons to get excited about the WNBA’s 20th season

With the 2016 season set to tip off this Saturday, the 20-year-old WNBA is stocked with stars and storylines. From personnel to apparel, the league is ready to take its next steps in growth.

It all begins with two months of play before the league breaks for the Rio Olympics. The second half of the season will resume once the league’s superstars are back from Brazil and the schedule is set to run deeper into October due to the delay. That means US fans of the women’s game will get to watch nearly six months of hoops.

To celebrate the start of all that basketball, here are 20 things we’re looking forward to in the WNBA’s 20th season:

The most decorated college basketball player ever is set to make her rookie debut for the Seattle Storm. The former Connecticut Husky won four straight NCAA titles, was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player four times, National Player of the Year three times, and well, chances are the draft’s No. 1 pick carries that success over.

It’ll be weird to see Stewart lose games given she only lost five in her four-year UConn career.

All teams are getting rid of their white home uniforms in exchange for these colorful new ones. Ten new teams are getting color designs because the Los Angeles Sparks and San Antonio Stars were already ahead of the curve.

Taurasi took a step away from the league last season after her international team, UMMC Ekaterinburg, agreed to pay her WNBA salary to sit out. The three-time WNBA Champion and 2009 MVP is set to team up again with back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year Brittney Griner. The duo led the Phoenix Mercury to a title in 2014 and should make Phoenix one of the major favorites to win it all this year.

Speaking of ...

With Taurasi back in the fold, the Mercury now have four All-Star caliber players in Griner, Taurasi and forwards DeWanna Bonner and Candice Dupree. Without Taurasi, the team still earned the West’s No. 2 seed and went to the Western Conference Finals. With her, they’re expected to win it all, earning 58 percent of general manager’s picks.

Led by small forward Maya Moore and point guard Lindsay Whalen, the Lynx edged the Indiana Fever to win last year’s title. The Mercury will be their toughest opponent this season, but if they can get past them, they can do what hasn’t been done since the Los Angeles Sparks pulled it off more than a decade ago: repeat as champions.

The Lynx have the talent to do it, but they must fight a unique foe: the Rio Olympics. Moore, Whalen, shooting guard Seimone Augustus and center Sylvia Fowles (the star of the Game 5 clincher in the Finals) are all part of Team USA. The Olympic “break” won’t be so much of a break for the Lynx.

At 7:30 ET on Saturday, the Lynx will host the Mercury in Minnesota. You can watch the game on ESPN. If you’re new to the WNBA, we recommend you start here.

The season’s full schedule can be found here.

Online viewing will now be shown on WNBA League Pass. For the first time single games ($1.99) and team pass ($9.99) options will be available, along with the season long pass ($16.99). A free trial will run from May 17-20. Now fans have no excuse not to follow the league.

Look at it. Look at it.

The team formerly known as the Tulsa Shock (2010-15), and before that as the Detroit Shock (1998-09), is now the Dallas Wings. The Wings will make their debut at 6 p.m. ET Saturday against the defending East champion Fever. They’ll play at home for the first time on May 21 at 8:30 p.m. ET, which will be aired on NBA TV. Expect the Wings to be a factor in the West after finishing third behind Minnesota and Phoenix last year. That’s because ...

What’s a new team without its star? The former Notre Dame star missed all but nine games with a torn ACL for the then-Tulsa Shock. After starting the season 8-1, her team finished 8-15 without her. The former Most Improved Player was having a strong season, scoring 18 points per game. After nearly a year of rest, she’ll look to return to her All-Star form.

Several changes were made to spice up the playoffs this year. Normally, four teams from each conference made it and played three- and five-game series. This year, it’ll be a bit different.

First, the top eight teams will now make the playoffs regardless of conference. The tournament will also now extend to four rounds rather than three, with the top two seeds receiving byes to the third round and the third and fourth seeds getting automatic bumps into the second.

After each round, teams will be re-seeded, giving an even bigger incentive to finish the regular season strong as a top seed. The lower seeds will also have to fight it out in the opening two rounds as the format is changed to single elimination games. Win and advance. Lose and go home. The semifinals and finals will remain best-of-five series.

Here’s a more detailed explanation. Here’s WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne telling us she’s still not sure what to expect.

Single elimination games will give an NCAA tournament type of feel as the stakes ramp up in September. You’ll be able to watch them much more easily.

In an effort to balance out the schedule, teams will play cross-conference opponents three times each and in-conference opponents three or four times each. Originally, teams played out of conference twice against each opponent.

The 6’5 Chicago Sky wing took the league by storm last season in easily winning league MVP. She is the league’s dominant star -- think of her game as combining Dirk Nowitzki’s post-up touch, LeBron James’ size and Kevin Durant’s deep shooting ability. The next step is for her and her team to improve defensively, as Sky head coach Pokey Chatman told Swish Appeal.

Delle Donne hoops better than she moves, but we can only hoop she’ll show off her hilarious rendition of the Running Man Challenge in a game.

In the latest general manager’s poll, 50 percent of voters chose her to continue her reign as the league’s MVP.

The American team is stacked, featuring Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings, Tina Charles, Angel McCoughtry, Augustus, Delle Donne, Fowles, Griner, Moore, Stewart, Taurasi and Whalen. (Oddly, it doesn’t include Sparks forward Candace Parker, which led to some controversy). They will go on a quest for a sixth straight Olympic gold.

The league will break after games on July 22 and return on August 26. There won’t be a WNBA All-Star Game like usual.

Lost behind the illustrious career of Stewart are the other four-time champion Huskies: point guard Moriah Jefferson and forward Morgan Tuck. The trio made history when selected with the first three picks of the draft. Jefferson was selected second and will play for the San Antonio Stars, while Tuck went third and will stay where she knows playing basketball best with the Connecticut Sun.

The 36-year-old legend is ready to hang it up after this season. The 10-time All-Star, 5-time Defensive Player of the Year and 2011 MVP will give one last go with the Indiana Fever, the team she’s been with since draft day in 2002. Expect this retirement tour to be a lot different than Kobe Bryant’s.

If this hype video doesn’t get you excited, nothing will.

We’ve come a long way from “We Got Next.”

Parker sat out the beginning of last season to rest after her overseas commitment. When she returned, she posted an unreal stat-line, scoring 19.4 points, grabbing 10.1 rebounds and dishing 6.3 assists. It wasn’t enough to help the Sparks rally and advance in the playoffs, but it was still impressive.

Getting left off the Olympic team could be a blessing in disguise for her and L.A. Now, she’s able to rest and carry those numbers for an entire season.

The gender pay gap in sports has been on everyone’s minds recently, and basketball is no different. What are the WNBA’s plans to address that?

Everybody wants our players to make more. I want them to make more, they want to make more. That’s why we’re focused on top-line growth and top-line revenue. It’s a business. At the end of the day the business must be able to support all its expenses, so to the extent that we have more sponsors, that we have more viewers, that we have greater attendance, that will fix itself. So am I for it? Absolutely. Do we get questions? All the time. This is why we invite people to come out. Our fans are the answer at the end of the day.

She also unveiled her plans to better market the league’s stars and bring more fans to the arena.

With a new brain at the helm, a rookie superstar in line, All-Stars set to return and a brand new win-or-go-home playoff format, the WNBA is ready to reach new heights in its 20th season.