Cathy Engelbert holds a press conference ahead of Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Finals at Barclays Center.

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NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA will expand the Finals to a best-of-seven format next year, the league announced Thursday.

The competition currently features a best-of-five semi-finals and finals play-offs with a best-of-three first round.

“This will give our fans a championship series format they are used to in other sports,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said before Game 1 of the Finals.

Engelbert said the better-seeded teams will host the first, second, fifth and seventh matches. The league will also change the opening round to give the lower-ranked team at least one home game. The higher seeded team will host Game 1, and 3 if necessary. Currently, in the first round, the first two matches are played against the better placed team. All four first-round series were sweeps this year.

The commissioner said that now that the league is using charter flights throughout the season, including the playoffs, it will be easier to travel back and forth between cities.

Engelbert also said the league’s lottery will be held on Nov. 17 and the Golden State Valkyries expansion team will have the No. 5 pick.

Engelbert also addressed the rising number of attacks players have faced on social media, saying there is no place for it and that the league will work with the players’ union to figure out what they can do together to help combat this . Engelbert mentioned technology and mental health support.

The league had an incredible regular season in terms of attendance and viewership. The league said 2,353,735 fans attended the games, the most in 22 years, and the teams combined to sell out 154 games – up from 45 last season.

The WNBA averaged 9,807 fans per game in 2024, a significant increase from last season’s 6,615 per game. The league also said a record 22 regular-season broadcasts averaged at least 1 million viewers.

Rookie Clark’s impact was a major reason for the increased interest in the league. The Fever set a home attendance record of 340,715 fans in a single season, breaking the New York Liberty’s mark of 250,565 in 2001.

“Culminating in the most transformative year in WNBA history,” Engelbert said. “Put it in perspective with a few statistics that provide insight into what happened. WNBA surpassed the industry in live games in 2024. Fans watched an average of 30% more each WNBA regular season game. games reached 54 million viewers in the regular season.