WNBA's 30th season tips Friday with two expansion teams in Toronto and Portland

The 30th WNBA season starts Friday, and for the first time since 2008 there are new teams. The Toronto Tempo open Friday at 7:30 ET against the Mystics. The Portland Fire follow Saturday at 9 ET against the Sky. The first teams added together to a league pushing toward 18 franchises by 2030.

The actual league tipoff comes Friday night when the Connecticut Sun visit the New York Liberty. Saturday is the showcase: ABC has a doubleheader, with Caitlin Clark's Fever hosting Paige Bueckers and the Wings at 1 ET, then defending champion Las Vegas hosting Phoenix at 3:30 in a Finals rematch. The Aces ended last season on a 15-game winning streak. Three more and they break the 2001 Sparks' all-time mark.

Storylines are stacked. Clark is healthy after a rookie year that ran the league's TV ratings into the stratosphere. Angel Reese is in Atlanta after the Sky traded her. Sabrina Ionescu rolled an ankle in preseason and will miss at least the first two weeks for the Liberty. Tina Charles isn't on a roster for the first time in 14 years. The W has never been bigger or weirder. It's about to start.