Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark (No. 22) and Aliyah Boston (No. 7) during a preseason game earlier this month. Together, the two back-to-back No. 1 picks hope to lead the Fever to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
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Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark (No. 22) and Aliyah Boston (No. 7) during a preseason game earlier this month. Together, the two back-to-back No. 1 picks hope to lead the Fever to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
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This is shaping up to be a big year for the WNBA. The league opener comes on the heels of a record-breaking women’s college basketball season, with more people watching the women’s championship game than the men’s championship game.
Now, with several college stars making their official WNBA debuts as rookies, including Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and LSU’s Angel Reese, the WNBA will Unveiled on Tuesday, it hopes to capture that excitement.
The WNBA hopes to build on the success of the 2023 season, which was its highest-rated season in more than two decades, with ratings up 21% and attendance up 16% compared to 2022. Expansion in 2025 and 2026.
The regular season will last until mid-September, with a break for the Paris Olympics in July and August, when dozens of players will compete. The playoffs will run from late September through October.
Here’s what to keep in mind as the season begins this week:
Can anyone topple the Vegas Aces?
A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces walks onto the court during a training camp scrimmage at the Aces’ headquarters on May 2 in Henderson, Nevada. The team is the favorite to win the championship in 2024.
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A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces walks onto the court during a training camp scrimmage at the Aces’ headquarters on May 2 in Henderson, Nevada. The team is the favorite to win the championship in 2024.
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The Aces have won the WNBA title two years in a row (and finished as runner-up in 2020), which means they’re looking for a three-peat this year. Led by All-Star MVP A’ja Wilson, the Aces are expected to win another championship.
Their most likely challenger is last year’s runner-up New York Liberty. Their roster is stacked, led by a two-time MVP and league No. 1 player. Breanna Stewart, the second-leading scorer, and point guard Courtney Vandersloot, who led the league in assists per game last year.
In contrast to the Liberty’s older roster, keep an eye on the Chicago Sky, who are betting on their young players. During the offseason, the Sky shipped their leading scorer as part of a blockbuster trade for the third overall pick. With that pick, they selected college star Kamilla Cardoso (who will now miss at least six months due to injury), and with their own seventh pick, they selected Reese. Now, the Sky will look to these rookies to lead the team back to the Finals for the first time since 2021.
Can Caitlin Clark help turn the Indiana fever around?
Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever watches a preseason game against the Dallas Wings at College Park Center on May 3 in Arlington, Texas. .
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Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever watches a preseason game against the Dallas Wings at College Park Center on May 3 in Arlington, Texas. .
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On the other end of the spectrum is the Indiana Fever, who haven’t appeared in the playoffs since 2016 and whose most recent championship was in 2012, which feels like ancient history.
But their fortunes are changing. The Fever selected Caitlin Clark with the No. 1 overall pick in April’s WNBA draft, a standout college guard who entered the league directly after Iowa lost the championship game during her senior season. In Indiana, Clark joins 2023 Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston.
The excitement of Clark’s rookie season sparked a rush for the Fever’s season tickets, and when the Fever arrived, other teams’ tickets were sold out. Some opponents, including the Aces and Washington Mystics, have moved home games against the Fever to larger venues to accommodate ticket sales.
For a team that has lost 100 games the past four seasons, that’s pretty exciting stuff. But the WNBA is friendly to teams that can pull off big comebacks. The past few teams that drafted consecutive No. 1 picks all went on to win championships within a few years. Fever can probably do it too – the only question is: How far can they do it this year?
Who gets the concession and who doesn’t?
WNBA players have complained for years about the league’s commercial air travel policy for most regular-season road games.
All that is finally about to change. Last week, the WNBA announced a “phased implementation” of its charter travel plan starting with this year’s regular season.
But not every team will charter a flight immediately. Only two teams have chartered flights this week, including the Clarks and Fever, who can be seen enjoying the leather seats and legroom in a video posted to Instagram by guard Erica Wheeler.
Other teams traveling this week are taking buses or commercial flights. That includes the New York Liberty, who took a charter bus to Washington, D.C., for Tuesday’s game, said Breanna Stewart, vice president of the WNBA players union.
Charter flights for two of the league’s teams are ‘a win’ Stewart wrote on social media. “if [WNBA] Allowing unfranchised teams to obtain their own league franchises, directly to a full 12 team solution ready.
Expansion is coming
On Tuesday, the owner of the Golden State Warriors announced the name of the Bay Area’s new WNBA franchise: The Valkyries. Warriors ownership was awarded the new expansion franchise last year. The team will begin play next season.
The Valkyries are the league’s first expansion team since 2008 and will bring the league’s total to 13 teams. A 14th team is expected to come to Toronto in 2026, CBC reported last week. Toronto’s expansion will mark Canada’s first-ever WNBA team and will be the league’s largest in more than 20 years.
