The Women’s National Basketball Association is experiencing the dawn of an exciting new generation.
The WNBA is now in its 27th season and it is breaking new ground on an annual basis, with popular players coming to the fore in the WNBA as new generation superstars - including New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, Dallas Wings scorer Arike Ogunbowale and Las Vegas Aces two-time MVP A'Ja Wilson - snatch the baton from legends like Candace Parker and Diana Taurasi at a time where the Aces, the 2022 WNBA champions, are as celebrated and visible in Sin City as the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.
Simply looking at the framework of the WNBA is somewhat disheartening, though. Amid all the talk of talent and the celebration that was last month’s 2023 WNBA Draft, there are only 12 franchises involved. When the league began back in 1996, there were eight teams before it grew to 16 between 2000 and 2002, but there have only been 12 teams present since 2010.
The Atlanta Dream are the WNBA’s latest expansion team, but they were introduced back in 2008. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert recently declared she hopes to see two teams enter the league in the foreseeable future, with marketable cities like San Francisco, Toronto, Denver, Austin, Nashville, Charlotte, and Portland touted as potential expansion locations.
In fact, Charlotte and Portland had WNBA teams but were forced to shut up shop as the league wasn't quite ready. The Charlotte Sting lasted from 1997 to 2006, while the Portland Fire ran from 2000 to 2002 before realising there was no long-term commitment to the team from its NBA affiliate. However, Engelbert is hopeful the new television rights deal pencilled to come in after the 2025 season will inject the WNBA with monumental financial might.
That’s not to say there isn’t any money in the sport now. Ahead of the 2023 campaign, the reigning champion Aces revealed their new dedicated team facility in the complex the team shares alongside the Raiders, who are also owned by Mark Davis. The Aces’ epic 64,000-square-foot team facility includes two practice courts and a training room that houses an infrared sauna and a hydrotherapy treadmill.
Also, each player on the team has a locker equipped with a TV and mini computer. This, remarkably, is a huge step up for a WNBA outfit after legendary forward Candace Parker admitted she had never owned a locker in her illustrious 15-year career prior to joining the Aces.
“I have not had a locker in my entire career,” Parker said on Draymond Green’s podcast back in March. “I’ve been in the WNBA for 16 years and I have not had a locker where it has my name on it and I can leave my (stuff) and then come back and know my (stuff) is going to be there. I have not had that. That’s my own, that you walk into and this is your own area. Nobody else − there’s no old people walking through. I’ve never had a practice facility where I could just go get shots up at night. We’ve always shared a practice facility.”
Parker’s wish has come true with the Aces revamping their facilities - and other teams are thankfully following suit. The Seattle Storm are also building a new complex which is set to open before next season, while the New York Liberty recently updated their locker room after moving to the Barclays Center two years ago.
The arms race regarding WNBA facilities, equipment and exposure is a big step in the right direction for a league growing in every aspect. Women’s basketball is more visible now than it has ever been before, and television ratings suggest this is only set to continue as the NCAA women’s basketball championship was consumed and discussed across the United States while the average viewership for the WNBA’s opening weekend was up almost 200% on last year.
On top of that, Brittney Griner - the two-time Olympic gold medalist who was detained and sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison last year - made her celebrated return to the league and it was the most-watched regular season WNBA game in 24 years. It was a remarkable atmosphere as her Phoenix Mercury were comfortably defeated 94-71 by the LA Sparks, with ESPN reporting a peak of 1 million viewers tuning in to watch the contest.
It’s not just the on the court action, too. April’s 2023 WNBA Draft was watched by 520,000 viewers on ESPN, making it the most-watched WNBA Draft since 2004 with an increase of 42 percent from the year before. It made sense for so many people to tune into the event given a prospect like Aliyah Boston doesn’t come around too often, with the talented former South Carolina Gamecock selected by the Indiana Fever first overall.
With so much quality and excitement around the league, the money will follow - just look north towards Seattle.. Earlier this year, the Storm announced the value of the franchise was $151million, calculated when the ownership group sold minority shares to finance the new practice facility.
Considering WNBA teams have consistently sold for about $10m to $15m, the Storm’s valuation is an exciting glimpse into the future of the league and its potential. As the WNBA enters a new chapter of its history, perhaps Parker will thankfully be the last of a dying, lockerless breed.
