The WNBA enters its 28th season

Banner Sports Sponsored by the Patriots Foundation

Entering its 28th season, the Women’s National Basketball Association is rising in popularity and financial prosperity. An example of this occurred when an exhibition game between the Indiana Fever and the Brazilian national team took place at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena court on the campus of the University of Iowa. A sellout crowd welcomed home Caitlin Clark, the former star of the Lady Hawkeyes, who currently holds the title of No. 1 marquee attraction in the WNBA.

The reigning Rookie of the Year thrilled her fans by scoring 16 points, five assists, and six rebounds, including hitting a three-point shot from the spot on the floor where she became the top scorer in the history of women’s Division 1 college basketball. That spot is marked by her famed No. 22 stenciled on the floor (talk about your sense of the theatrical) in her Indiana Fever team’s blowout victory, 108-44.

Clark’s popularity translates to major dollars for the WNBA, as witnessed by the $670 price of tickets to this exhibition game. Compare that to the $700 plus cost of some of the cheaper tickets to a current Boston Celtics playoff game, and one can see that the WNBA is becoming one of the hottest tickets in sports. This trend is a quantum leap from this league’s early and growing years.

Former Sun player DiJonai Carrington was named the WNBA’s Most Improved Player for 2024. PHOTO: CONNECTICUT SUN/WNBA

When the league debuted in 1997, some considered it a gimmick to keep interest in professional basketball high during the summer months following the NBA Finals.

While some labeled the WNBA “David Stern’s Folly,” others labeled it “David Stern’s Dream.” The former Commissioner used the money of the NBA and its marketing division to support the league. To his credit, Stern stuck with his dream and watched it grow to what it is today. “This league will be a viable entity someday,” he said.

Today, his fantasy is a reality. Stern left this world in 2020 at 77, leaving the leagues in the care of current NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, his handpicked successor.

The first dynasty team in the league was the Houston Comets, winners of the first four WNBA titles in league history. Led by Cynthia Cooper Dyke, considered by many knowledgeable basketball fans as the Michael Jordan of the female game, the Comets were an exceptional team.

Cooper Dyke’s ascension to mega-stardom came about when Sheryl Swoopes, pegged to be the first star of the WNBA, missed the first 19 games of the inaugural season to give birth to her first child, Jordan. Coincidentally, Jordan is with the Celtics G League team in Maine. By the time Swoopes returned, Cooper Dyke was the top player in the WNBA.

The Los Angeles Sparks gained notoriety with the emergence of Lisa Leslie, the first woman to officially dunk in a WNBA game. With runway-model looks to accompany her high-powered low post game, Leslie became the marquee face of the league. Leading the Sparks to multiple WNBA titles, Leslie became one of the all-time great players in basketball history.

The University of Tennessee’s Candace Parker would also gain fame in a Sparks uniform.

Hall of Famer Cynthia Cooper-Dyke won 4 championships with the Houston Comets. PHOTO: WNBA

Led by Sylvia Fowles, Simone Augustus and Maya Moore, the Sparks etched their name into league history during the Minnesota Lynx four championship dynastic run in the 2010s. The great Tamika Catchings led the Indiana Fever to championship glory — a feat that Caitlin Clark and the current Fever squad hope to attain.

The far West welcomed former Connecticut Huskies Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart and put the Seattle Storm in the record books for winning WNBA crowns, while the Las Vegas Aces, led by A’ja Wilson, won back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023. 

The New York Liberty finally reached the pinnacle of league stardom by winning a championship in a dramatic finals triumph last year over Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx. Jonquel Jones was named Finals MVP while leading the Liberty to their first championship title in franchise history.

After decades of financial instability, the league is working to turn a profit. A burgeoning talent pool that will add the name of Connecticut All-American guard Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 pick in the collegiate draft, to its role call this coming season translates to more visibility for the WNBA.

The Las Vegas Aces won back-to-back WNBA titles in 2022 and 2023. PHOTO: WNBA

In addition, major trades are afoot, including a blockbuster with Seattle Storm All-Star guard Jewell Lloyd joining the already dominant Las Vegas Aces. Lloyd replaces sharp-shooting All-Star guard Kelsey Plum, who moves from Vegas to the L.A. Sparks. This trade highlighted an offseason of player movement activity.

One of the other top stories in the league this year centers on the dismantling and reconstructing of the Connecticut Sun franchise, one of the league’s perennial powerhouse teams. Led by Alyssa Thomas, Dewanna Bonner and a solid supporting cast, the Sun were considered an excellent team but not good enough to win a WNBA championship. They hope to turn this around with three draft picks in this year’s draft. Aneesah Morrow (No. 7), Saniya Rivers (No. 8) and Rayah Marshall (No. 25) are heading to the Nutmeg State this year.

The upward-spiraling growth of the “W” makes for a great television product. Its growing number of star players, along with their concept of team play, i.e., ball movement and body movement, is more entertaining than that of their NBA counterparts.

History will show that the late David Stern’s aspiration is alive, well and thriving. For years, the WNBA was a losing financial proposition, constantly on the brink of extinction. Those days are gone.

Today, the question is: How high will the WNBA fly?