Negotiations between the WNBA and its players¡¯ union stretched past 5 a.m. ET on Wednesday with no deal in sight, and a leading sports business expert said the league was now dangerously close to uncharted territory.

¡°We are on the verge of a lockout,¡± Dr. Daniel G. Kelly II, Associate Dean and Clinical Professor at NYU¡¯s Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport, said in an interview.

¡°No one wins with a strike, it¡¯s a zero-sum game. With a 44-game season, you really can¡¯t afford to have too long a ... stoppage.¡±