The offseason is about enchancment and, even after a yr of , the WNBA nonetheless has rather a lot to work on.
The league has by no means had extra eyes or extra media consideration, largely due in 2024 to Caitlin Clark and a rookie class that greater than . Given the incoming expertise and upcoming enlargement ‒ the Golden State Valkyries will , and franchises in and will observe in 2026 ‒ the WNBA’s rise in recognition is more likely to proceed.
Some options on how commissioner Cathy Engelbert & Co. could make the league higher:
1. Repair the playoffs
Engelbert learn our minds and introduced two massive, and lengthy overdue, modifications earlier than the Finals started. The primary is that the Finals are increasing to a seven-game format starting subsequent yr, matching that of just about each different league that does not have a one-game, winner-take-all championship.
The second is that the format of the primary spherical will change to home-away-home, making certain lower-seeded groups get to host a playoff sport. That is massive for progress as a result of it offers each groups the monetary advantage of internet hosting a playoff sport and it permits their followers to expertise the exhilaration of the playoffs in individual.
That does not imply we do not nonetheless have beef, nonetheless!
The primary spherical needs to be expanded to a best-of-five collection. Whereas the best-of-three collection shall be fairer now that the primary two video games will alternate between groups, a best-of-five collection continues to be a greater manner to make sure the perfect crew is advancing. Plus, who would not need extra basketball?
And might we please cease scheduling playoff video games, the Finals specifically, in opposition to the NFL? It’s true that the WNBA’s summer season schedule is difficult, particularly if you throw in each 4 years and a looming World Cup some falls. However there needs to be a greater manner than scheduling video games on Sunday afternoons when the NFL overshadows the whole lot.
Sure, the W has proven that it . However think about how a lot better it may do if it wasn’t going up in opposition to a slate of NFL video games. On the very least, push the beginning time again to 7 p.m. ET, when CBS and Fox’s protection is wrapping up and Sunday night time’s sport hasn’t began.
Or, higher but, if the Monday Night time Soccer matchup is meh, schedule the W playoffs for Monday night time. All of America would have rejoiced if there’d been a substitute for that Titans-Dolphins sport a couple of weeks again.
2. Broaden rosters
With 12 groups and 12 roster spots, the WNBA is extensively thought of the to make. For the final decade-plus, there’s solely been 144 whole spots, and plenty of groups solely carry 11 due to the wage cap. This whole will improve with enlargement, however solely 12 spots per roster places groups in a bind in the event that they endure a rash of accidents (see the Dallas Wings and Phoenix Mercury).
There’s an apparent repair for this: Add two to a few developmental gamers per roster. This offers youthful, unpolished gamers a possibility to play their manner into the league and if a crew suffers a big damage, they received’t be left scrambling to signal somebody – who doubtless doesn’t know their system – to a short-term contract.
We all know this might be robust financially, however we’ve bought a plan for that, too. Bear in mind the Residence Depot partnership with U.S. Olympians that ran for years, the place the house enchancment large labored with athletes to present them full-time pay and advantages for part-time work? Why not companion with small companies in every of the WNBA markets – like the businesses that sponsor the jersey patches – and work out the same setup, the place athletes are given versatile jobs that might permit them to attend practices and residential video games. It could additionally assist athletes really feel extra related to the communities they’re taking part in in – and if the deal is nice sufficient, it’d entice athletes to remain within the metropolis within the offseason, as a substitute of going abroad.
3. Get bullish on globalization of the sport
The WNBA is rising in reputation throughout the U.S., as evidenced by skyrocketing rankings, attendance and enlargement. It’s time to unfold that love the world over, each by engaging extra international gamers to affix the W and taking part in video games abroad.
The prioritization rule, which gamers say between being paid effectively abroad and taking part in within the WNBA, must be revisited and revamped. That can permit a number of the world’s greatest gamers to play within the WNBA yearly, rising viewership the world over. It’s a downright disgrace that gamers like Emma Meesseman weren’t within the league this season ‒ and that’s a straightforward repair. (And sure, WNBA League Go works in international international locations.)
Moreover, the league needs to be taking part in preseason video games abroad. The NBA already does it. So, too, do big-time school applications, with Notre Dame and South Carolina starting their season in Paris final yr. Why should not worldwide followers get an up-close take a look at A’ja, Stewie, Sab and Caitlin, too?
As soon as once more, Engelbert appears to have peeked at our to-do checklist, mentioning in her pre-Finals information convention the potential of taking part in in Asia, Africa and South America. She additionally stated Mexico Metropolis has expressed curiosity in internet hosting a sport.
4. Adam Silver wants extra of a presence across the WNBA
The NBA owns and operates the WNBA, and likes to say they’re companions. If that’s actually true, NBA commissioner Adam Silver must be round extra. He ought to at the very least be an everyday presence at New York Liberty video games ‒ Barclays Middle is only a subway trip from his workplace, in any case ‒ and journey with Engelbert extra typically.
Extra persons are catching on to the truth that together with additionally boasting a number of the greatest athletes on this planet, who’re greater than worthy of watching, girls’s sports activities is booming enterprise. Silver wants to higher perceive this, to advocate for the WNBA as a lot as he does the NBA. Each WNBA participant ought to really feel snug strolling as much as Silver and speaking to him ‒ that’s solely carried out if he’s extra seen.
5. Everybody wants a follow facility. Proper now.
There’s nothing like just a little public shaming to get the ball rolling.
Each WNBA crew ought to have had this season. It’s downright embarrassing {that a} crew just like the Connecticut Solar needed to with a neighborhood middle occasion 24 hours earlier than their first-round collection vs. Indiana. Engelbert, Silver and the league have to publicly lean on possession teams to maneuver into the twenty first century and supply their gamers with a state-of-the-art follow facility, someplace gamers can prepare (and rehab) year-round.
No metropolis ought to even be thought of for enlargement if the possession group doesn’t simply have a dedication however a plan ‒ like, design plans — for a follow facility. Established groups that don’t have one, like Los Angeles, an authentic WNBA franchise, must be publicly pressured to repair this.
The times of homeowners with the ability to run their groups on a budget are over. If groups aren’t keen to spend money on their gamers, these gamers will go elsewhere. Simply ask the Chicago Sky.
6. Get aggressive about saying you need enlargement
Talking of public shaming, it’s time for cities that haven’t invested in both a WNBA or NWSL franchise to be referred to as out for it. Investing in girls is stylish proper now, and extra cities ‒ {and professional} sports activities possession teams — ought to wish to be concerned. There’s nonetheless yet another enlargement metropolis to be named. Why not entice potential websites to point out how, and why, they deserve a crew?
7. Broaden the preseason
Once more, the WNBA’s summer season schedule is hard. However the league has bought to discover a solution to increase the preseason to 4 full weeks. Gamers and coaches desperately need it, and rookies want it. (Someplace, Clark is nodding her head.) It’s superb to maintain preseason video games at two or three, however gamers want extra follow time collectively. There’s one straightforward manner to do that …
8. Transfer up the WNBA draft
Proper now, the draft is per week after the Ultimate 4. Why not mix these enormous occasions, when the ladies’s basketball neighborhood is already in a single place ‒ together with a lot of the prime prospects, who’re often on the town to gather awards — and in a celebratory temper? There’s no query it will be a problem logistically, however it will in the end end in extra preseason follow. That’s a win for everybody.
Bonus suggestion: For the love of humanity, give us good mascots
Ellie the Elephant , however she wants some firm. Chicago lastly bought with this system this season, retiring “Sky Man” and introducing “Skye the Lioness“. However all WNBA followers deserve higher.
Let Ellie run some offseason coaching camps or one thing. There’s no query they’d be a sellout.