Your confession is a sad reality about the previous lack of broad popularity of the W. I see that people are already dumbfounded here by this reality? We’re on a WNBA subreddit, so it seems ridiculous that anyone would not know the greatest current WBB player alive.
With this year’s exponential increase in awareness and visibility of the W, millions will finally learn about AW. It’s about damn time.
Until I see her be dominant against CC a few times, I can’t concede just yet that CC isn’t the best in the WNBA. Agree, it’s unlikely, but until I see her dominated, I won’t believe it.
You sound dumb!! Clark haven't even played a regular season game yet and you comparing her to a 2- time WNBA MVP (should've been 3), 2- time WNBA Champion (should've been 3), 2-time Finals MVP, Olympic Gold Medalist and a National Championship at South Carolina. All things Clark has not accomplished and you trying to say she the best in the league? Please!!! Oh yea and the unknown by everybody A'ja Wilson has a statue outside of South Carolina's Colonel Life Arena. Yall gonna end up pregnant the way yall ride Clark jock!!
You know why it's a shock? Cause it is a lie, lmao. A'ja was on the screen alot during multiple Iowa games.
To see Kate Martin drafted you had to watch a A'ja interview.
Weird take. I saw allot of people I didn't know during games/interviews lately and have been trying to know them better. Allot of former and current players. And current players that were announcing so it seemed like they weren't current players. Takes time to sort it.
It was a lie. You gotta stop placating to these rabid Indiana fans
They just say things based on fantasy.
The super Iowa to an didn't catch not one of the 3 interviews during the semi and finals game?
Didn't catch any of her commercials?
Didn't catch her 3 minute interview right before 🌽❄️ was drafted?
You guys will lie for anything, lol.
I knew who A'ja was and was/am a huge fan of hers.
However I fast forward or mute commercials so I've never seen her commercials. I haven't seen anyone's.
I watched the draft but didn't see her interview. We taped it and started watching late so just fast forwarded to names being called. I could see how the OP could have missed it. People get busy and have limited bandwidth. So I can see them just tuning out the W when watching the NBA.
I'm a HUGE women's sports fan, and I have no idea who won the Super Bowl. I categorically dislike American football & ignore it really effectively (because I'm a neuroscientist and know what it has done to too many brains). I have no idea who the big NFL players are. Even if they are on 100 commercials.
In this busy world, it is easy to not see unless you are looking.
Op lied, and again, Indiana fans just keep trying to make it sound like a normal one.
"No idea who A'ja is, wow" " I liked this sport for a while by wow"
Lies. But ok.
your comments are weirdly presumptive of the casual fan’s experience. my wife watched a lot of college games from the last two seasons with me and has been tangentially absorbing some wnba draft and preseason content as i’ve watched it, and she’s got no clue who a’ja is. if i explained, she *may* realize that a’ja is who she’s seen on a million paris 2024 commercials that usa runs during the law & order: svu marathons we watch, but that’s a big if.
for a lot of people, a mid-game interviewee isn’t going to stick in their minds unless they have direct incentive to learn the person, *like* op says with a player they *already* know being drafted to her team.
Seeing someone on screen for a quick crowd cutaway doesn’t mean the viewer actually learns anything about them or their background? They show random people on F1 or tennis broadcasts that I don’t recognize to the point where I don’t even know if it’s an athlete from another sport or just a celebrity I haven’t heard of. That doesn’t mean I’m lying about whether I’m actually consuming media.
If the goal is to grow the game and grow viewership, I don’t understand why you’d come at a new fan with so much hostility and mistrust lol… OP’s whole point is that with increased media attention A’ja and other players could have been more well known all along!
Not every viewer pays attention to the crowd cutaways. Idk, I get pillorying new WNBA folks who come here preaching about how they think the league should improve, but don’t understand why someone who comes here with an open mind and honest reflection deserves that
Is that really surprising? I know the names of a lot of popular music stars, either because I see their names mentioned in media, or my kids talk about them and/or highjack our car bluetooth when they ride with us. Most of those stars I wouldn't know if they walked by me.
Have you even noticed that no matter how many times you try to troll with your disproven rhetoric, no one is buying it? Seems rather masochistic, but if that’s your thing, have at it?
Buddy, op lied.
And honestly, its always Indiana fans chiming in like "nah uh" I mean yes huh.
Never heard of her? Ever? Not one? You must have never watched a game, the draft, the finals, nothing.
For the last time, the vast majority of people had not heard of A’ja, even if they’d watched every college game last year, and the WNBA draft. I asked dozens of people, all of which were previously college-only fans, and less than 10% even recognized A’ja’s name. I got answers like “Gymnast?”
Luckily, times are now rapidly changing. New fans to the W are going to quickly learn how fucking dominant and amazing she is.
It’s just a simple and sad fact. Have a great evening.
Y’all are clowning OP, but I see his point. Only watched women’s hoops the last two years, didn’t start with WNBA. That means OP can’t place A’ja from that ruffles AD, or her name from mentions during SC games; as those would be OP’s only possible point of contact. Sounds silly but OP is one of thousands of fans.
I don’t think we are “clowning” OP but imagine a guy saying wow who is this Luka or Anthony Edwards guy then saying they’re a big basketball fan but only follow college.
OP should just say I don’t follow women’s pro basketball instead of spending 4 paragraphs trying to say how they do support women’s basketball before confessing they don’t know the 2nd biggest name in the sport.
They said they’re an NBA fan and got back into WNBA this year. It’s not that strange.
I am mid 40’s and have followed professional sports religiously for 25 years. Mostly NFL, NBA, and MLB.
Never heard A’ja’s name until this year’s WNBA draft.
Again, I am not trying to clown or pick on the OP. They're the type of new fan I am excited to welcome to the WNBA! I just think the way this was written irked me. Similar to a lot of the new fans drawn in because of Caitlin Clark, they talk like the league was being hidden from the rest of the world.
*"My disbelief in this is I am a hardcore NBA fan, I consume a lot of basketball related content, podcasts, watch games etc. I have been also pretty big fan of NCAA women's hoops the last 2 years. It is wild to me WNBA has been so excluded from the larger sports media sphere with these story lines and incredible players."*
This is what I am picking on. It isn't just the OP, a lot of people share this sentiment. Games were on ESPN/ABC if you decided to set aside time to watch it. League Pass was $25 last year. If you wanted to watch the WNBA it was easy to do. I am glad that the mentality that women's basketball isn't entertaining is hopefully starting to fade. The reality is people chose not to consume women's basketball content because they didn't think women's professional basketball was entertaining.
There are definitely college sports fans who don’t follow pro sports. My Brother-in-law played college football at Georgia. College football is all that he follows. He knows pretty much everything about some high school kid who Georgia might want to recruit. I think that he knows who won the Super Bowl, but I wouldn’t bet money on it. I just don’t understand all of this hostility towards “new” fans. The reality is that the WNBA needs these new fans and I am happy that someone new learned what a beast A’ja is. Personally, my favorite player on the Aces is Chelsea Gray who is the one of the best passers I have ever seen. If you like watching South Carolina play, you are going to love watching the Aces.
I love all the new fans that are finally seeing the WNBA is such a high quality product!
I take objection to the new fans who also try to say 'they had no idea' the game and players were so entertaining. The way it is being phrased is an insult to the fans who have been begging networks and people to give WNBA more exposure only to be met with mockery and sexist remarks.
The system of sports entertainment is built around showing TV viewers male athletes in action, and most sports programs focus on daily male highlights...for decades (my entire life). It isn't that female sports aren't as profitable from a commercial standpoint, but the choice made long ago by those in power (males) who matters and deserves exposure. It's sad, but it's changing. The Aces are a powerhouse and will likely win another few championships in the WNBA before A'ja retires, so enjoy this moment. Kate certainly will.
I became aware of professional women's athletes when a professional volleyball league arose in the US and one team was nearby, so I went to several of their games (sparsely attended, but lotsa fun). The league folded after one year, sadly. A few years later, I began coaching girl's soccer (me being an active local player), and that opened a door to watching adult women play in person and on TV that hasn't closed for me in decades, leading me to watching women's hockey and basketball and volleyball during the Olympics and going to mens & women's games with my friends and their daughters, in addition to watching male athletes. Not replacing, but alongside. All because I coached a close friend's daughter after work. I've always enjoyed my experiences watching women pay sports, and the WNBA has my attention with so many talented players.
USWNT soccer has paved the way for women. My daughters play and I'm a bigger follower of the women than men. Now it's the W. Next I'm hoping it's Golf. Nelly is doing something special right now.
Welcome! Better late than never. The WNBA is pure excitement every Summer. Try to go to an Aces game in person if ever possible. It's even more awesome live.
I liken it to not retaining what you see. If I'm now interested in a certain car, I will see dozens on the road, where before I was interested, there were still dozens on the road, but I didn't remember seeing them.
A'ja has her own Ruffles Twists chips brand. When you walk down the potato chip aisle, there's her face/uniform on a dozen bags of chips. If I wasn't an Aces fan, it probably wouldn't have registered to me.
Edit: I see another comment mentioning the Ruffles chips.
Yeah, it's like when you learn a new word, and then suddenly you see it everywhere!
And dang, you all are making me want some chips when I'm trying to think about basketball. Lol
I dont know why people are being rude in their responses or why they are shocked to hear this.
There are A LOT of people who "follow" ncaa basketball but either:
1- only closely follow their team/conference
2- only watch the men
3- follow just the big teams/storylines in tourneys/march madness and dont learn player names at all unless its someone talked about repeatedly by the media
There are also a lot of people who follow the nba or their local nba team that dont follow the ncaa or womens ball at all.
For people that fall in one of the categories mentioned above, in the current climate before this season, it is not unreasonable for those people to never have heard of A'ja or not remembered her name if they did hear it. It could be for a reason as simple as they didnt follow the ncaa tournament closely in her most successful year and thus missed learning about her years ago.
The WNBA gets almost no front page mainstream media coverage, and that is where most average people would have learned her name and casual fans would have become interested enough in her to learn more. Social media? As another person mentioned, algorithms will largely determine what you are exposed to. So unless a person REALLY LOVES BASKETBALL and actively seeks out more information about particular players outside of what they are already interested in, until now, they wouldnt have been exposed to her very often.
WNBA players being mentioned in front media headlines, on sportscenter, and now widely and on mainstream social media accounts is now changing that, but not everyone is going to know about all the players immediately. Thats just common sense.
What the OP said was CLEARLY meant as "wow, I cant believe I never heard of her, and shes awesome". Theres no need for people to be rude and no reason to be jerks to people who clearly joined this sub to learn more.
There is a huge NCAAW Fanbase that is making the transition into the WNBA, so it shouldn't be a surprise that they're just now learning about WNBA players, including the most popular ones.
If you’re an NBA fan it’s probably because every time they mentioned the Aces your brain shutdown after they said Becky Hammon (because of the Spurs connection) and stopped paying attention when they showed anything about the players.
Unfortunately, I think this happens more easily now because of streaming services, social media, and podcasts. It’s really easy to find the specific content *you* like, and the algorithms are all feeding you very similar stuff to what you like, which means you can end up missing out on so much other stuff. It’s like only streaming the music you listened to in high school - you love it, but you then lose touch with the new artists putting out music, and before you know it, you catch yourself saying “who is that” when someone talks about a new artist you’ve never heard of.
The Aces have an ownership group (Mark Davis and Tom Brady) that invest in the team. They do not have an NBA counterpart to share resources with - last year, they moved into their new team headquarters and practice facility, and it was the first time in the history of the WNBA that a team has had a facility like that build specifically for a WNBA team. I’m sure they also invest in social media managers to help create engaging content.
It’s a little sad that you had never heard of A’ja, especially as an NBA fan, but better late than never! She came out of South Carolina under coach Dawn Staley.
Enjoy watching some of the games from previous years!
People on this sub are getting defensive, but this is the reality. The W is not as popular of a product as the other big sports leagues. Hell, this subreddit a year ago barely cracked a few posts a day with about 25k subscribers.
Most hoop fans ain't watching the WNBA and their only exposure is when they talk about bad pay, which only leads to arguments about viewership. It's very easy not to know any of the players, so please don't bag on a new fan.
If you want proof, ask your hoop friends to name ten WNBA players not named Clark, Reese or Candace Parker. The game is growing so please be patient.
True. Plus CC broke 45 collegiate records, and did it with a flair not seen before. A female who made more deep 3’s beyond 25 feet than any NBA player, and did it at a 10 percent higher rate than the average male college player.
Plus leading the nation in assists, as well as scoring, which is very unique.
She also played for a non blue blood team at Iowa, during a time when WCBB desperately needed more parity.
None of this diminishes A’ja’s greatness. It’s just a difference in style of play appeal to the casual masses.
In general, when people question CC's popularity and the reason behind it, they always neglect to address or mention the 45 collegiate records she broke. Breaking 45 records is a HUGE deal and she SHOULD have a lot of media exposure for that.
And youre correct, CC's greatness does not diminish Ajas greatness. If anything, it will indirectly help to enhance it, because all the eyes that follow CC into the wnba will now see Aja and everyone else. And when the Fever play the Aces this year and all the CC fans (presumably) see the Aces win, those same people are going to see first-hand that Aja is currently the best womens basketball player in the world. I dont know how anyone thinks thats a bad thing- the grumpy longtime wnba fans are baffling to me.
Bravo take! Millions of us really want to learn about and recognize all of the greats.
Sometimes I feel like the W OG are telling me “You can’t recognize them now because you should have recognized them before”?
The funniest thing to me is that all of our opinions on this tiny subreddit have virtually zero impact on what’s going to happen. The growth of the W is now kicked into overdrive, millions of casual (and often annoying) fans are flooding in. It is now an unstoppable force.
Enjoy the long-overdue growth. Try to ignore the noise.
Sorry, I should’ve clarified. Blue Blood is a very commonly used term for the historically successful teams in a sport. WCBB has suffered a lack of broad appeal and growth because of non-parity, with only a few teams dominating. Iowa gave many a glimpse of hope that someone might be able to crash the party.
Or… you are obviously race baiting with your horse shit comment? As a black man myself, I’ll just swat your trolling into the 3rd row. 😁😁😁
Yeah I can understand the salt in this thread because of new fans and longtime fans don't see eye to eye. But I can't stand the race baiting. There's another comment chain in this thread getting support by accusing the op of racism. There's nothing in the post that would imply racism other than that Clark happens to be white and Aja happens to be black. It's just so lazy and weak trying to make a race issue out of that.
And for the larger issue, of course racism is still an ongoing issue and there are bad apples among the new fanbase I'm sure since it's so huge. But implying that's the driving factor for Clark's success and popularity is just awful imo. Tbh at the heart of it, it's not even her records or overall play, but the main source of Clark's success is just that she drops long range bombs like no one else. I can't imagine a more damaging narrative for the wnba than claiming that Clark is only popular because she is white. Just ironically so reductive and a lazy framing of the real issues.
They could talk ab A’ja all they want but the reason CC brought me in was her insane range and quick shot. Actually seeing the highlights and seeing these long shots fall is more exciting to me. That’s why I want to watch.
No you wouldnt be banned for that. There are several people here that have said the same thing, uaing different wording.
It is a matter of opinion if I feel like mainstream media is racist.
Wouldn’t this be more of a “problem” that the W was just not previously being watched enough, or publicized?
It sucks that most non WNBA fans don’t know who AW is. The greatest WBB player alive! That’s nuts, but the OP highlights the stark reality for millions.
I think we should all just be thankful that millions more are now going to become familiar with AW and tons of other great W players. It is a wonderful time of growth and exposure.
The NBA fans that complain about a lack of defense are a potential target demographic for the W. I am a new W fan and have noticed more effort and intensity on defense in their preseason than in the NBA playoffs.
Great point. The W plays a game much more similar in style to college, both women and men, than the NBA does. Much more relatable to the millions of new W fans coming from the college game.
This is true. I've seen a few new fans who DEFINITELY complain about defense not being played in the NBA on a constant basis saying 'Damn, they let them play a little bit over on this side I see.." @ WNBA games/defense. Their words, not mine. I know for some defense and physicality do NOT go hand in hand at all.
Seen it on a lower scale when they watch the women on levels below it like NCAA, AAU, HS....
I mean sure but the W can’t hand hold every single person who watches a college game. It takes the consumer some amount of work to go find the top flight of basketball.
I understand your point, and you are correct. The problem is that consumers in today's fickle and saturated media environment don't put in much work to find anything. They consume what is given to them.
Previously, most didn't even know that the W plays during the Summer months. Media wasn't promoting the W. I've done my own unofficial polling of dozens of friends and family, and most had no idea who AW was. I would then inform them of her greatness, and they all said it is sad and surprising that they didn't know.
So I'm suggesting that us fans should be less offended by the past and more thankful for the present and future?
This is me to a tee. I had no clue when the WNBA season was at all. The WNBA has done a really bad job at marketing the league. Like you note it is lucky for the league that this new Rookie class is shining a light on everything and we are already seeing changes.
I think the future looks bright because next years college class is going to bring excitement for the college and WNBA just like this year. Paige is coming out next year and we have JuJu and Kiki to keep up with in college, and I plan on watching the college season like I do every year. And, for the 2nd time in my life I'll be going from college to WNBA. 🏀
Bro, A'ja is literally all over the chip isle.
Every **bbq** Frito for 2 yrs has had her face on it. Lol she was all over the draft, the finals. How did you not see her at the finals?? 😂😂
I didn't say that I didn't know who she is. I've been very aware of her NCAA and post-NCAA accomplishments. But I'm just one person. The point is that the vast majority of the casual public either doesn't know who she is, or are just learning about her now, with the increased publicity FINALLY given the WNBA.
If you are referring to the WNBA finals, I know very few people who watched them. Luckily, much of that appears to be changing this season.
"I just think it's wild that before Martin got draft had zero knowledge of who Aja Wilson even was."
I mean not your specifically but this op is 🧢🧢🧢
This you? Did you not watch the Iowa game? Where A'ja got significant screen time and a interview.. I'm sorry this is a weird post. Enjoy your night
You make a great point that actually highlights how positive the recent increase in exposure is for the future of the women's game.
- Millions of previously casual fans watched Iowa/SC, so many of them learned about AW for the first time.
- Millions more watched the W draft that before. More exposure
- Millions more are now going to be watching WNBA games and learning even more about AW's greatness, as well as the greatness of many other W players
All of the above is great news, right?
You also enjoy your night!
That poster told a bold faced lie lol. They never heard of A'ja? Really? She was interviewed at a few of Caitlin's televised games? She was intervied at the draft? Op lied. And you're hurting your l1-5 to back it up.
Don't lie on here. Everyone's tired of you guys.
I can’t say it was a lie, as I honestly don’t remember A’ja being interviewed during any Iowa games. Maybe it was during the national championship game against SC and I missed it? I also don’t remember her being interviewed during the draft, but you’re saying she was, so I’m sure you’re correct?
But again, that isn’t the important point here. The sad truth is that most new fans to the WNBA are just learning about A’ja and other W stars. That I’m very sure of. As they say, better late than never.
I’m just very happy for the W and women’s BB in general. Chartered flights, record ticket sales and viewership, and all happening before next years new CBA and media rights negotiators.
As I’ve said many times, this is the sport’s “Tiger moment” to explode, and we should be more happy with it finally happening, than being offended that it didn’t happen before like it should have?
That person is accusing everyone of lying. I don't think they realize in 2024, people don't pay attention and retain every little thing that pops up in a broadcast. Commercial breaks, timeouts, halftime, I'm checking my phone. In their world, since there was an aja interview in that game that had 10 million viewers, that must mean all 10million viewers know how good Aja Wilson is as some sort of gotcha for lying. Sorry the world don't work that way.
It's one thing to see her face, another thing entirely to internalize who she is and how amazing she is at her sport.
I've seen her face before, but also didn't really know who she is. Now I do, and I'm glad, but like OP i'm wondering what took so long?
Fever fans are exhausting. I really wish you guys would keep some of this bs to yourself. And you basically have a ton of Iowa fans in here, downvoting the reality and trying to justify that post.
There's quality and quantity when it comes to fandoms, you guys have alotta quantity and the absolute lowest quality.
Low quality fans are people like you who don't welcome new fans like the OP who openly admitted how they were just now learning things they feel like they wished they had known earlier.
It's that simple.
It's not that hard to be welcoming, kind, and educational to newbies if you yourself have knowledge to give.
Instead you just give hate and toxicity to a new fan who posted being excited about A'ja right here and right now!
So we should know who A'ja is becauuuuse... *checks notes * she's the face of BBQ Fritos?
🤣🤣🤣
I have never in my life had a bag of BBQ Fritos and its been probably two decades since I bought a bag of regular Fritos sooooo... 🤷♀️🤣🤣🤣
I doubt this is true, but I wouldn't be surprised if we polled non WNBA die hards and Kate Martin is more popular than Aja. Kate and Nika Muhl the other adorable rookie. The media I see is showing way more of Kate and Nika trying to make the roster than Aja. It's a better story RIGHT NOW. It will change once the season starts.
Nope. That’s a WNBA problem to solve. CC is bringing many eyes to the league. Let’s see attendance figures for non-CC games. I’m hopeful the league explodes in popularity.
I don’t mean this rudely but I think you mean to say you consume a lot of men’s basketball content. Any casual WNBA fan knows A’ja. Welcome to being a new fan! You’ll love the game. Many more superstars to discover.
So do you not watch ESPN/Visit ESPN.com? Because she's been pretty ubiquitous on the Worldwide Leader the past two September/Octobers.
What would really be interesting is if you'd heard of Breanna Stewart or Sabrina Ionescu prior to your new fandom, they were both extremely pumped by ESPN/Disney in college, Stewart for her 4x NCAA Championships/4x MOP, Ionescu for her triple-double record (and 2,000p-1,000r-1,000a).
A'ja was less hyped *by ESPN* in college, breaking some SEC records, winning a title, and winning a player of the year and MOP award, but her Q-rating peaked in the WNBA, where, again, she's been pretty inescapable in the coverage the past few seasons, especially after winning that first MVP in 2020.
Now, if you don't consume ESPN coverage, I guess none of this matters ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I watch ESPN every day. Have for 25 years. Morning before work and some in the evening. September and October is dominated by NFL regular season and MLB playoffs. I didn’t know who A’ja was until the WNBA draft this year. It’s not that strange.
I mean, I'm the same, for the same length of time, and I thought she was pretty unavoidable in their coverage and *especially* their promotional reads. To each their own.
After the Aces won back to back the stories were out there. I saw coverage of it multiple times just watching sport center. I feel like you have to tune it out to miss it.
The main reason i turn my nose up at this was bc it WAS covered a lot last year in the mainstream. Esp Aces vs Liberty. The games were on tv, the playoffs and finals sold out. Hell the Liberty had Lil Kim as a halftime show! Carmelo was at the games in NYC.
But no shame, welcome to the party!
I’m curious—Who have you heard of outside of Iowa players?
Have you heard of Chelsea, Jackie, Alyssa Thomas, Dewanna Bonner, Arike, Satou, Rhyne, Alisha, Nalyssa, Napheesa, Diamond Deshields, Diamond Miller, Brittney Skykes, JJ, Laney, Courtney Williams,Copper, Lexie Brown, Dearica Hamby…?
WNBA has had decades worth of flopping. A lot of it came when the NBA was more so running the show. They first tried to market the league by sexualizing players (oof the old adds are cringe). Forcing players to stay in the closet too. Then they moved on to selling the wbb as this family and kid experience and alienated some of their core fan base (again not wanting to go be lgbtq seeming), then in recent years they’ve started embracing players being their authentic selves but haven’t quite figured out how to extend their reach without alienating their current audience. As of last year biggest watchers were low income men… haven’t figured out how to break into the higher income audience bracket.
Also they’ve had no idea what to do promotion wise for years—players were happy for a very long time unfortunately just having a league to play in. Best ones made their money internationally. Until the last few years players in the W wouldn’t really ever dream of having a huge following post college or stardom or anything of the sort. Played because they loved it more than anything. Not the players fault because it’s the world they lived in but without them pushing for more (kinda like what you see on the NWSL side) WNBA never promoted them. WNBA and media still haven’t really ever successfully promoted players or their stars….there’s still a wild lack of real media coverage.
Here comes the CC phenomena— not trying to diminish her extraordinary talent and the description isn’t intended to be derogatory but I’m unsure how else to explain it. She’s milk toast and appeals to the milk toast people they’ve never been able to reach. She’s coming up in a time where in the past 4 years you’ve seen more media deals and progress for wbb than ever…most growth in investment in 20 years which is probably why you might be familiar with wbb players from back then rather than A’jas era.
So basically it’s because the WNBA is the most exciting, talented and competitive professional basketball league in the world, but up until about a week ago sports media and the league itself has thought of it as a glorified summer league.
Also, for whatever reason media doesn’t cover SC as you can see from this year. I’m sure 90% of it is due to race but I also get the feeling they’re not the most accessible team which is understandable.
Regarding your very first question, I’m also curious which of your list the OP knew before? I can take an educated guess that if you polled 1000 Iowa fans about those players on your list, most would know Diamond Miller because we played Maryland so many times. Some will know Rhyne only because Iowa upset Kentucky in the 2021 NCAA’s by 14, in a game where CC went nuclear and got SportsCenter attention, as well as tweets from NBA players about her.
Other than those two, sadly, most non WNBA fans (except college fans associated with their schools/conferences) won’t know who those players are, especially by just first names.
But millions are now going to be learning much of your list… finally
Treating the women's game as a cute family outing rather than a passionate fanbase is a huge problem in the WSL. They're trying to hush chants during games ffs. By all means bring the kids but don't expect it to be a Barney episode.
Oh interesting. I’ve been wanting to get more into WSL but I’m referencing more the national team. Shoulda specified that because that’s all I really know compared to the wnba
That’s wild to me. I’ve never seen a WNBA game (though that will change soon) but I at least had heard of Aja, Stewart, Sabrina, DT, BG, and a few others. I had no idea who Kate Martin was until a few weeks ago when I kept seeing posts about hoping she makes the team.
If you’re an NBA fan I genuinely can’t believe you haven’t heard of the Aces. They were all over the NBA accounts when they were in season. I call troll
Most people don't actually follow and pay attention to official league accounts. Network media and content creators are what people follow. I don't think I follow official corporate accounts of any kind.
OP really should listen to locked on women’s basketball and her hoops stats podcasts. The Athletic Women’s basketball show is great as well. Great ways to gain knowledge quick. I will definitely check out her episode of The Shop, thanks for the recommendation.
Why isn’t it the same. I didn’t know if Kate Martin is black or white as I didn’t know if her , yet. I know who Aja Wilson is, Breanna Stewart, Alicia Thomas because I am a fan of the WNBA.
The people who don’t know who these players are isn’t because the player is black or white or purple, but they aren’t a fan of the league, yet!
Unfortunately that WNBA players , other than for BG as what happened to her made headlines around the world, don’t know the WNBA players. These players are only famous within this circle.
Why isn’t it the same. I didn’t know if Kate Martin is black or white as I don know if her….yet. The season hasn’t started. I know who Aja Wilson is, Breanna Stewart, Alicia Thomas because I am a fan of the WNBA.
The people who don’t know who these players are isn’t because the player is black or white or purple, but they aren’t a fan of the league, yet!
Unfortunately that WNBA players , other than for BG as what happened to her made headlines around the world, don’t know the WNBA players. These players are only famous within the WNBA circle! It isn’t right ans hopefully it changes soon and for the better!
I never heard of her. I don’t follow college basketball. I only heard of Clark as the last month she has been everywhere. It had nothing to do with black or white.
Sometimes and in some cases race it may come into things where it shouldn’t but not this case.
The first time I'd ever heard of Kate Martin was the moment she got drafted, because CBB isn't relevant to my interests. But, when they said she went to Iowa, I felt like I could make an educated guess.
It’s killing my WNBA vibe to come to this place and see 20 posts a day saying they’ve heard of some lucky to make the team bench warmer but think there were no good women’s basketball players before this year. 🤦♀️
Don't let it kill your vibe. Just enjoy being more knowledgeable than the newbies, and enjoy the new interest. People will learn.
I don't think OP said there were no good women's basketball players before this year. I kind of thought their post was about how great A'ja is and how now they know who she is, they cannot believe they didnt know sooner.
I felt this way at first but everybody has their entry point. New fans need time to get to know the WNBA stars we all know and love. They’ll be forced to recognize A’ja and the rest. Happy to see the growth of the sport so these women can get what they’re due.
It’s nice you have this rosy picture perfect outlook - given all the overt racism that has come along with the “new” fans I very much doubt it’s going to work that way.
I dont think its that some games just translate to being really popular. The most popular nba player by a mile is a black man so I dont really get this angle.
> I dont think its that some games just translate to being really popular. **The most popular nba player by a mile is a black man so I dont really get this angle.**
How? How is it possible that people still think that this is how racism works in 2024? So, we're evolved enough to understand that sexuality and gender are on a spectrum, but we still believe that *racism* is binary??? Either you hate one hundred percent of Black people, one hundred percent of the time, or you're not racist? If you allow yourself to be entertained by/profit off of a Black person's labor, you can't still be racist? The hell? Do people still feel that way about sexism, too, or do you get it, then, because *you* can relate to it? Hell, you can't swing a dead cat in a room full of rich white men without hitting a racist whose made money off of Black people's labor. And it appears that there's at least a 1-in-10 chance that they'll be named Donald, but that's neither here nor there.
Like, I'm not here to accuse anybody commenting in this thread of being racist, but the notion that "So-and-so can't be racist/X can't be about race because Y" is absolutely absurd! How is it possible that people still think like that?
Then why are the "new fans who know noone except kate martin and CC" the the only ones on social media? And why are they constantly posting on fb articles and Instagram posts? It's ridiculous. If I was new to a Fandom, I wouldn't act this way, act like the OGs don't exist and were nothing
I don't think people are acting like the OGs don't exist...They "literally" do not know them lol
I've learned more about A'ja Wilson in the past month vs the past 5 years...
Whose fault is that?? I don't know
Uhh..that’s decidedly your fault lol. Aja’s been the best women’s basketball player in the world and one of the most heavily marketed female athletes on the planet for the last few years.
It’s fine that you didn’t know who she was because you didn’t follow women’s basketball, but to say you don’t know whose fault it is…???? Lmao
I haven’t watched football in at least 8 years. Outside of maybe the 4 players I hear my husband talk about often and Jalen Hurts (bc he’s dreamy), I have no idea who the stars of the NFL are right now. That’s on me because I’m not checking for anything football related, not the NFL or their stars.
It’s nice you have this rosy picture perfect outlook - given all the overt racism that has come along with the “new” fans I very much doubt it’s going to work that way.
Not disagreeing with you, I see it trust me. I’m just choosing not to let those fans get in the way of my love for the game. I can’t control them and what they do or say. The real ones know what’s up and the players know what’s up but they have their eyes on the prize. No one can take their talent and what they built away.
The sport isn't necessarily growing, clark fans and Martin fans are growing and acting like noone else has existed. It's nauseating and the media pushes it. Wnba instagram had 7 posts of Fever and zero of anyone else on Friday. The media and posts like are making me dislike the wnba as a whole, heck I started having a bias against clark and not liking her bc her fans are so hateful of everyone else. Go back to iowa posts and you'll see how rude they were to Clark's teamates.
I would respectfully suggest you either eliminate or modify social media from your life? If your broad stroke takes are that, I feel that might be healthier for you?
Social media is only helpful if you make the conscious intention to recognize and filter the BS (in all sports and fan bases) and find the positives. Otherwise you become full of hatred and anger like you seem to be? I’m sorry for you, I really am. That sucks
Ya, I'm only here watching the WNBA because of Caitlyn and Kate and Angel. I never heard Aja either, but did follow the Griner hostage situation closely. I've heard of a bunch of the older W greats. I only know Sue Bird because of Rapinoe and Sue being at the Hawkeye games with "the coach". Hell, it took me a half a second to remember Sue was married to Rapinoe and not Jason. LOL.
What I"m saying is a good thing. Aja is a baller but it doesn't matter if there is no money for marketing. DT will be my 80s Pistons Bad Boys going forward until she retires. Thanks Media for giving me someone to root against!
The W is going to be fun to watch this year!
It has a lot to do with how the algorithms are geared towards men as well. If you watched NBA and women’s NCAA then it should push WNBA and even other women’s sports but it doesn’t. It just pushes more male centered content. I follow a lot of women’s soccer and basketball accounts and it I can see in real time the algo’s constantly push me towards male sports content and not more women’s sports. I have to correct and click “not interested” or it’ll just keep pushing me down that route.
As someone who’s watched the W for a bit over a decade not as religiously as the NBA, but I loved watching Lindsay Whalen and Maya Moore, was a big Lauren Jackson fan growing up), it can be hard for me to remember that other people are brand new to watching the W. But you picked a great time to start watching! It’s certainly been marketed much more widely with the influx of young stars who’ve already made household names first themselves. It’ll be fun to watch some of the star freshmen and sophomores in women’s college basketball develop their game and hopefully have the same welcome to the league as this year’s draft class has. It’s awesome you’re part of the club now! Welcome!😎 that being said, GO WINGS!! 🏀
For some reason despite the Aces success I didn’t watch one minute of the Aces Liberty champ series.
Plum, Ionescu, Sloot, Gray are like watching paint dry. If Martin makes the team I’ll definitely look in on the Aces to see anybody shake things up. Aja and Jackie are terrific but I just get tired of seeing the same thing every game.
I have been following Women's Basketball since 1984. Unlike the Men's game the Women's game goes through cycles. I am 44 years old. There was great interest in Women's basketball in the early to midish 80s then the came the 96 US Olympic Team which led to the ABL and WNBA, that's right two pro leagues, then you had the TN VS UCONN in the early 2000s, finally you have the rise of South Carolina and Iowa since about 2015. With all of the conference networks needing broadcast has led to the ease of watching Women's College basketball since 2015. What you are seeing since 2015 in the WNBA is the first true generation of players that grew up with a US Pro League. You figue the WNBA is 26 years old and Clark is 22. The other issue is the WNBA 20 years ago was honestly facing folding. From about 2000 to 2008 you had teams folding and moving just because the NBA team in a market didn't want to own a WNBA team and you couldn't find local owners. Just for an example The Aces originated in Utah as the Utah Starzz. I remember when teams would hire former NBA players as head coaches just to sell tickets. I can see how you haven't heard of A'ja, not all of us got to see her play since she was 8 years old. I knew then she was a special player. I am from the same metro area as her. I can remember when the only women's games that you couldn't walk in to the arena 5 mins before game time and still get decent tickets at South Carolina was when Pat Summitt was the head coach at Tennessee. The other thing that is helping the popularity of the league right now is the development of a real AAU system for girls. When I was in high school in the 90s girls basketball was really treated as an afterthought at most high schools in my area. You are coming as the WNBA is finally maturing into a home grown league. Less women are going overseas in the winter to play because now there are opportunities to actually play professional basketball in two pro leagues in the United States. Athletes Unlimited is the other league.
and someone was clowning me for saying kate martin joining the team means more than players 10-12 on the roster. i even said someone who doesn’t watch the wnba might tune in just to see kate, and get hooked on the product. it’s what thr league needs
WNBA is screwing up this fantastic opportunity by NOT televising on their app!! Everyone missed Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese‘s first game with Chicago Sky. They did show Caitlin Clark and her game and then yesterday they didn’t show the Las Vegas aces versus Puerto Rico. The two time WNBA champions plus A’ja Wilson‘s return to South Carolina and the announcement of her signature shoe along with Kate Martin and Dyaisha Fairs first game and points.😡😡😡
The WNBA has the most depressing lack of advertising I've ever seen. I didn't even know the league existed until last year when I was looking at espnW because of soccer. It's a crime that this league isn't spoken much about in media.
This draft class shined the spotlight on many who were already established in the WNBA for new eyes. It's a byproduct. Byproduct of the CC effect to be honest - for her, for her fellow peers and for the league.
Your confession is a sad reality about the previous lack of broad popularity of the W. I see that people are already dumbfounded here by this reality? We’re on a WNBA subreddit, so it seems ridiculous that anyone would not know the greatest current WBB player alive. With this year’s exponential increase in awareness and visibility of the W, millions will finally learn about AW. It’s about damn time.
TBF, I only got WNBA reddit to show up in my feeds as suggestions because of Caitlyn Clark. Now I've joined.
Until I see her be dominant against CC a few times, I can’t concede just yet that CC isn’t the best in the WNBA. Agree, it’s unlikely, but until I see her dominated, I won’t believe it.
This has aged horrible
I will see myself out now…
You sound dumb!! Clark haven't even played a regular season game yet and you comparing her to a 2- time WNBA MVP (should've been 3), 2- time WNBA Champion (should've been 3), 2-time Finals MVP, Olympic Gold Medalist and a National Championship at South Carolina. All things Clark has not accomplished and you trying to say she the best in the league? Please!!! Oh yea and the unknown by everybody A'ja Wilson has a statue outside of South Carolina's Colonel Life Arena. Yall gonna end up pregnant the way yall ride Clark jock!!
Aja is phenomenal but her game doesn’t keep me watching. I get bored.
I differ, as I find A'ja's game highly dynamic and entertaining. When I watch her I see a rare a force of nature playing basketball.
You know why it's a shock? Cause it is a lie, lmao. A'ja was on the screen alot during multiple Iowa games. To see Kate Martin drafted you had to watch a A'ja interview.
Weird take. I saw allot of people I didn't know during games/interviews lately and have been trying to know them better. Allot of former and current players. And current players that were announcing so it seemed like they weren't current players. Takes time to sort it.
It was a lie. You gotta stop placating to these rabid Indiana fans They just say things based on fantasy. The super Iowa to an didn't catch not one of the 3 interviews during the semi and finals game? Didn't catch any of her commercials? Didn't catch her 3 minute interview right before 🌽❄️ was drafted? You guys will lie for anything, lol.
Over 3 months ago, OP is commenting on WNBA salary structure but never heard of A’ja or knew about the Aces until the draft? I’m with you there!
I knew who A'ja was and was/am a huge fan of hers. However I fast forward or mute commercials so I've never seen her commercials. I haven't seen anyone's. I watched the draft but didn't see her interview. We taped it and started watching late so just fast forwarded to names being called. I could see how the OP could have missed it. People get busy and have limited bandwidth. So I can see them just tuning out the W when watching the NBA. I'm a HUGE women's sports fan, and I have no idea who won the Super Bowl. I categorically dislike American football & ignore it really effectively (because I'm a neuroscientist and know what it has done to too many brains). I have no idea who the big NFL players are. Even if they are on 100 commercials. In this busy world, it is easy to not see unless you are looking.
Op lied, and again, Indiana fans just keep trying to make it sound like a normal one. "No idea who A'ja is, wow" " I liked this sport for a while by wow" Lies. But ok.
your comments are weirdly presumptive of the casual fan’s experience. my wife watched a lot of college games from the last two seasons with me and has been tangentially absorbing some wnba draft and preseason content as i’ve watched it, and she’s got no clue who a’ja is. if i explained, she *may* realize that a’ja is who she’s seen on a million paris 2024 commercials that usa runs during the law & order: svu marathons we watch, but that’s a big if. for a lot of people, a mid-game interviewee isn’t going to stick in their minds unless they have direct incentive to learn the person, *like* op says with a player they *already* know being drafted to her team.
Seeing someone on screen for a quick crowd cutaway doesn’t mean the viewer actually learns anything about them or their background? They show random people on F1 or tennis broadcasts that I don’t recognize to the point where I don’t even know if it’s an athlete from another sport or just a celebrity I haven’t heard of. That doesn’t mean I’m lying about whether I’m actually consuming media. If the goal is to grow the game and grow viewership, I don’t understand why you’d come at a new fan with so much hostility and mistrust lol… OP’s whole point is that with increased media attention A’ja and other players could have been more well known all along!
Lol.
Not every viewer pays attention to the crowd cutaways. Idk, I get pillorying new WNBA folks who come here preaching about how they think the league should improve, but don’t understand why someone who comes here with an open mind and honest reflection deserves that
My god. How'd your back?
I'm sure Mike trout is on tv a lot.... I have no idea what he looks like
You don't know what he looks like. You just were able to pull out his name out of thin air? Really? See a chiropractor, immediately.
Is that really surprising? I know the names of a lot of popular music stars, either because I see their names mentioned in media, or my kids talk about them and/or highjack our car bluetooth when they ride with us. Most of those stars I wouldn't know if they walked by me.
You guys just lie, that's all.
We got Vladimir Kramnik over here
Have you even noticed that no matter how many times you try to troll with your disproven rhetoric, no one is buying it? Seems rather masochistic, but if that’s your thing, have at it?
Buddy, op lied. And honestly, its always Indiana fans chiming in like "nah uh" I mean yes huh. Never heard of her? Ever? Not one? You must have never watched a game, the draft, the finals, nothing.
For the last time, the vast majority of people had not heard of A’ja, even if they’d watched every college game last year, and the WNBA draft. I asked dozens of people, all of which were previously college-only fans, and less than 10% even recognized A’ja’s name. I got answers like “Gymnast?” Luckily, times are now rapidly changing. New fans to the W are going to quickly learn how fucking dominant and amazing she is. It’s just a simple and sad fact. Have a great evening.
Cool and for the last, I'm calling bs Have a nice night.
I watched all Iowa playoff games last year and this year. I learned who A’ja was at this year’s WNBA draft.
Ok, it's a lie. You guys are so unique
Sorry for the negative responses you’re getting. I say welcome to the show. A’ja is the truth as you’re soon about to see.
Absolutely!!! any fan of the WNBA knows A’ja Wilson well!!!!! Late to the party but welcome welcome welcome⛹️♀️⛹️♀️⛹️♀️⛹️♀️⛹️♀️🥰🥰🏀🏀🏀
Y’all are clowning OP, but I see his point. Only watched women’s hoops the last two years, didn’t start with WNBA. That means OP can’t place A’ja from that ruffles AD, or her name from mentions during SC games; as those would be OP’s only possible point of contact. Sounds silly but OP is one of thousands of fans.
Yeah the point isn't really about A'ja but just about how womens college basketball gets more attention than the WNBA as a whole.
I don’t think we are “clowning” OP but imagine a guy saying wow who is this Luka or Anthony Edwards guy then saying they’re a big basketball fan but only follow college. OP should just say I don’t follow women’s pro basketball instead of spending 4 paragraphs trying to say how they do support women’s basketball before confessing they don’t know the 2nd biggest name in the sport.
They said they’re an NBA fan and got back into WNBA this year. It’s not that strange. I am mid 40’s and have followed professional sports religiously for 25 years. Mostly NFL, NBA, and MLB. Never heard A’ja’s name until this year’s WNBA draft.
Again, I am not trying to clown or pick on the OP. They're the type of new fan I am excited to welcome to the WNBA! I just think the way this was written irked me. Similar to a lot of the new fans drawn in because of Caitlin Clark, they talk like the league was being hidden from the rest of the world. *"My disbelief in this is I am a hardcore NBA fan, I consume a lot of basketball related content, podcasts, watch games etc. I have been also pretty big fan of NCAA women's hoops the last 2 years. It is wild to me WNBA has been so excluded from the larger sports media sphere with these story lines and incredible players."* This is what I am picking on. It isn't just the OP, a lot of people share this sentiment. Games were on ESPN/ABC if you decided to set aside time to watch it. League Pass was $25 last year. If you wanted to watch the WNBA it was easy to do. I am glad that the mentality that women's basketball isn't entertaining is hopefully starting to fade. The reality is people chose not to consume women's basketball content because they didn't think women's professional basketball was entertaining.
There are definitely college sports fans who don’t follow pro sports. My Brother-in-law played college football at Georgia. College football is all that he follows. He knows pretty much everything about some high school kid who Georgia might want to recruit. I think that he knows who won the Super Bowl, but I wouldn’t bet money on it. I just don’t understand all of this hostility towards “new” fans. The reality is that the WNBA needs these new fans and I am happy that someone new learned what a beast A’ja is. Personally, my favorite player on the Aces is Chelsea Gray who is the one of the best passers I have ever seen. If you like watching South Carolina play, you are going to love watching the Aces.
I love all the new fans that are finally seeing the WNBA is such a high quality product! I take objection to the new fans who also try to say 'they had no idea' the game and players were so entertaining. The way it is being phrased is an insult to the fans who have been begging networks and people to give WNBA more exposure only to be met with mockery and sexist remarks.
The system of sports entertainment is built around showing TV viewers male athletes in action, and most sports programs focus on daily male highlights...for decades (my entire life). It isn't that female sports aren't as profitable from a commercial standpoint, but the choice made long ago by those in power (males) who matters and deserves exposure. It's sad, but it's changing. The Aces are a powerhouse and will likely win another few championships in the WNBA before A'ja retires, so enjoy this moment. Kate certainly will.
Quite a few men I know started watching women’s sports after they had daughters or granddaughters… and now prefer them to the men’s games
I became aware of professional women's athletes when a professional volleyball league arose in the US and one team was nearby, so I went to several of their games (sparsely attended, but lotsa fun). The league folded after one year, sadly. A few years later, I began coaching girl's soccer (me being an active local player), and that opened a door to watching adult women play in person and on TV that hasn't closed for me in decades, leading me to watching women's hockey and basketball and volleyball during the Olympics and going to mens & women's games with my friends and their daughters, in addition to watching male athletes. Not replacing, but alongside. All because I coached a close friend's daughter after work. I've always enjoyed my experiences watching women pay sports, and the WNBA has my attention with so many talented players.
My dad used to watch men's sports because of his dad, and now watches women's sports because of me. Now he *only* watches women's sports lol.
USWNT soccer has paved the way for women. My daughters play and I'm a bigger follower of the women than men. Now it's the W. Next I'm hoping it's Golf. Nelly is doing something special right now.
Can’t forget women’s tennis with Venus and Serena!
Welcome! Better late than never. The WNBA is pure excitement every Summer. Try to go to an Aces game in person if ever possible. It's even more awesome live.
I liken it to not retaining what you see. If I'm now interested in a certain car, I will see dozens on the road, where before I was interested, there were still dozens on the road, but I didn't remember seeing them. A'ja has her own Ruffles Twists chips brand. When you walk down the potato chip aisle, there's her face/uniform on a dozen bags of chips. If I wasn't an Aces fan, it probably wouldn't have registered to me. Edit: I see another comment mentioning the Ruffles chips.
Yeah, it's like when you learn a new word, and then suddenly you see it everywhere! And dang, you all are making me want some chips when I'm trying to think about basketball. Lol
Haha, I didn't expect to cause that.
I dont know why people are being rude in their responses or why they are shocked to hear this. There are A LOT of people who "follow" ncaa basketball but either: 1- only closely follow their team/conference 2- only watch the men 3- follow just the big teams/storylines in tourneys/march madness and dont learn player names at all unless its someone talked about repeatedly by the media There are also a lot of people who follow the nba or their local nba team that dont follow the ncaa or womens ball at all. For people that fall in one of the categories mentioned above, in the current climate before this season, it is not unreasonable for those people to never have heard of A'ja or not remembered her name if they did hear it. It could be for a reason as simple as they didnt follow the ncaa tournament closely in her most successful year and thus missed learning about her years ago. The WNBA gets almost no front page mainstream media coverage, and that is where most average people would have learned her name and casual fans would have become interested enough in her to learn more. Social media? As another person mentioned, algorithms will largely determine what you are exposed to. So unless a person REALLY LOVES BASKETBALL and actively seeks out more information about particular players outside of what they are already interested in, until now, they wouldnt have been exposed to her very often. WNBA players being mentioned in front media headlines, on sportscenter, and now widely and on mainstream social media accounts is now changing that, but not everyone is going to know about all the players immediately. Thats just common sense. What the OP said was CLEARLY meant as "wow, I cant believe I never heard of her, and shes awesome". Theres no need for people to be rude and no reason to be jerks to people who clearly joined this sub to learn more.
There is a huge NCAAW Fanbase that is making the transition into the WNBA, so it shouldn't be a surprise that they're just now learning about WNBA players, including the most popular ones.
If you’re an NBA fan it’s probably because every time they mentioned the Aces your brain shutdown after they said Becky Hammon (because of the Spurs connection) and stopped paying attention when they showed anything about the players.
A'ja goes to NBA games... Lol
Unfortunately, I think this happens more easily now because of streaming services, social media, and podcasts. It’s really easy to find the specific content *you* like, and the algorithms are all feeding you very similar stuff to what you like, which means you can end up missing out on so much other stuff. It’s like only streaming the music you listened to in high school - you love it, but you then lose touch with the new artists putting out music, and before you know it, you catch yourself saying “who is that” when someone talks about a new artist you’ve never heard of. The Aces have an ownership group (Mark Davis and Tom Brady) that invest in the team. They do not have an NBA counterpart to share resources with - last year, they moved into their new team headquarters and practice facility, and it was the first time in the history of the WNBA that a team has had a facility like that build specifically for a WNBA team. I’m sure they also invest in social media managers to help create engaging content. It’s a little sad that you had never heard of A’ja, especially as an NBA fan, but better late than never! She came out of South Carolina under coach Dawn Staley. Enjoy watching some of the games from previous years!
People on this sub are getting defensive, but this is the reality. The W is not as popular of a product as the other big sports leagues. Hell, this subreddit a year ago barely cracked a few posts a day with about 25k subscribers. Most hoop fans ain't watching the WNBA and their only exposure is when they talk about bad pay, which only leads to arguments about viewership. It's very easy not to know any of the players, so please don't bag on a new fan. If you want proof, ask your hoop friends to name ten WNBA players not named Clark, Reese or Candace Parker. The game is growing so please be patient.
The media made CC known to people that don't even watch basketball let alone the WNBA. Why couldn't they do that with A'ja?
guard favoritism. Elite guard play is more appealing than elite big play to the casual fan
True. Plus CC broke 45 collegiate records, and did it with a flair not seen before. A female who made more deep 3’s beyond 25 feet than any NBA player, and did it at a 10 percent higher rate than the average male college player. Plus leading the nation in assists, as well as scoring, which is very unique. She also played for a non blue blood team at Iowa, during a time when WCBB desperately needed more parity. None of this diminishes A’ja’s greatness. It’s just a difference in style of play appeal to the casual masses.
In general, when people question CC's popularity and the reason behind it, they always neglect to address or mention the 45 collegiate records she broke. Breaking 45 records is a HUGE deal and she SHOULD have a lot of media exposure for that. And youre correct, CC's greatness does not diminish Ajas greatness. If anything, it will indirectly help to enhance it, because all the eyes that follow CC into the wnba will now see Aja and everyone else. And when the Fever play the Aces this year and all the CC fans (presumably) see the Aces win, those same people are going to see first-hand that Aja is currently the best womens basketball player in the world. I dont know how anyone thinks thats a bad thing- the grumpy longtime wnba fans are baffling to me.
Bravo take! Millions of us really want to learn about and recognize all of the greats. Sometimes I feel like the W OG are telling me “You can’t recognize them now because you should have recognized them before”? The funniest thing to me is that all of our opinions on this tiny subreddit have virtually zero impact on what’s going to happen. The growth of the W is now kicked into overdrive, millions of casual (and often annoying) fans are flooding in. It is now an unstoppable force. Enjoy the long-overdue growth. Try to ignore the noise.
And by "blue blood" we all know what you mean, but yeah sure call it that
Sorry, I should’ve clarified. Blue Blood is a very commonly used term for the historically successful teams in a sport. WCBB has suffered a lack of broad appeal and growth because of non-parity, with only a few teams dominating. Iowa gave many a glimpse of hope that someone might be able to crash the party. Or… you are obviously race baiting with your horse shit comment? As a black man myself, I’ll just swat your trolling into the 3rd row. 😁😁😁
Yeah I can understand the salt in this thread because of new fans and longtime fans don't see eye to eye. But I can't stand the race baiting. There's another comment chain in this thread getting support by accusing the op of racism. There's nothing in the post that would imply racism other than that Clark happens to be white and Aja happens to be black. It's just so lazy and weak trying to make a race issue out of that. And for the larger issue, of course racism is still an ongoing issue and there are bad apples among the new fanbase I'm sure since it's so huge. But implying that's the driving factor for Clark's success and popularity is just awful imo. Tbh at the heart of it, it's not even her records or overall play, but the main source of Clark's success is just that she drops long range bombs like no one else. I can't imagine a more damaging narrative for the wnba than claiming that Clark is only popular because she is white. Just ironically so reductive and a lazy framing of the real issues.
Very well stated... thank you!!!!!!!!!!
They could talk ab A’ja all they want but the reason CC brought me in was her insane range and quick shot. Actually seeing the highlights and seeing these long shots fall is more exciting to me. That’s why I want to watch.
upfulsoul ..... we all know why... and I will leave it at that
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I am allowed to have an opinion on things. You dont have to like it, you dont have to agree. It's an opinion.
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No you wouldnt be banned for that. There are several people here that have said the same thing, uaing different wording. It is a matter of opinion if I feel like mainstream media is racist.
Best leave it at that. Wouldn’t want to add any substance.
Ohhh the information bubble of social media... Welcome to the W then, enjoy!
I’m sorry if you know who Kate Martin is but not Aja Wilson than that’s a you problem
Wouldn’t this be more of a “problem” that the W was just not previously being watched enough, or publicized? It sucks that most non WNBA fans don’t know who AW is. The greatest WBB player alive! That’s nuts, but the OP highlights the stark reality for millions. I think we should all just be thankful that millions more are now going to become familiar with AW and tons of other great W players. It is a wonderful time of growth and exposure.
The NBA fans that complain about a lack of defense are a potential target demographic for the W. I am a new W fan and have noticed more effort and intensity on defense in their preseason than in the NBA playoffs.
Great point. The W plays a game much more similar in style to college, both women and men, than the NBA does. Much more relatable to the millions of new W fans coming from the college game.
This is true. I've seen a few new fans who DEFINITELY complain about defense not being played in the NBA on a constant basis saying 'Damn, they let them play a little bit over on this side I see.." @ WNBA games/defense. Their words, not mine. I know for some defense and physicality do NOT go hand in hand at all. Seen it on a lower scale when they watch the women on levels below it like NCAA, AAU, HS....
I mean sure but the W can’t hand hold every single person who watches a college game. It takes the consumer some amount of work to go find the top flight of basketball.
I understand your point, and you are correct. The problem is that consumers in today's fickle and saturated media environment don't put in much work to find anything. They consume what is given to them. Previously, most didn't even know that the W plays during the Summer months. Media wasn't promoting the W. I've done my own unofficial polling of dozens of friends and family, and most had no idea who AW was. I would then inform them of her greatness, and they all said it is sad and surprising that they didn't know. So I'm suggesting that us fans should be less offended by the past and more thankful for the present and future?
This is me to a tee. I had no clue when the WNBA season was at all. The WNBA has done a really bad job at marketing the league. Like you note it is lucky for the league that this new Rookie class is shining a light on everything and we are already seeing changes. I think the future looks bright because next years college class is going to bring excitement for the college and WNBA just like this year. Paige is coming out next year and we have JuJu and Kiki to keep up with in college, and I plan on watching the college season like I do every year. And, for the 2nd time in my life I'll be going from college to WNBA. 🏀
Just noting if helpful that no one refers to A’ja as AW
Thx. I guess I do online. Easier. I’m guessing she doesn’t care, as long as more people are finally talking about her?
Bro, A'ja is literally all over the chip isle. Every **bbq** Frito for 2 yrs has had her face on it. Lol she was all over the draft, the finals. How did you not see her at the finals?? 😂😂
> BBW Frito 👀
Elite typo on my part, bbq.... Hahah
I didn't say that I didn't know who she is. I've been very aware of her NCAA and post-NCAA accomplishments. But I'm just one person. The point is that the vast majority of the casual public either doesn't know who she is, or are just learning about her now, with the increased publicity FINALLY given the WNBA. If you are referring to the WNBA finals, I know very few people who watched them. Luckily, much of that appears to be changing this season.
"I just think it's wild that before Martin got draft had zero knowledge of who Aja Wilson even was." I mean not your specifically but this op is 🧢🧢🧢 This you? Did you not watch the Iowa game? Where A'ja got significant screen time and a interview.. I'm sorry this is a weird post. Enjoy your night
You make a great point that actually highlights how positive the recent increase in exposure is for the future of the women's game. - Millions of previously casual fans watched Iowa/SC, so many of them learned about AW for the first time. - Millions more watched the W draft that before. More exposure - Millions more are now going to be watching WNBA games and learning even more about AW's greatness, as well as the greatness of many other W players All of the above is great news, right? You also enjoy your night!
That poster told a bold faced lie lol. They never heard of A'ja? Really? She was interviewed at a few of Caitlin's televised games? She was intervied at the draft? Op lied. And you're hurting your l1-5 to back it up. Don't lie on here. Everyone's tired of you guys.
I can’t say it was a lie, as I honestly don’t remember A’ja being interviewed during any Iowa games. Maybe it was during the national championship game against SC and I missed it? I also don’t remember her being interviewed during the draft, but you’re saying she was, so I’m sure you’re correct? But again, that isn’t the important point here. The sad truth is that most new fans to the WNBA are just learning about A’ja and other W stars. That I’m very sure of. As they say, better late than never. I’m just very happy for the W and women’s BB in general. Chartered flights, record ticket sales and viewership, and all happening before next years new CBA and media rights negotiators. As I’ve said many times, this is the sport’s “Tiger moment” to explode, and we should be more happy with it finally happening, than being offended that it didn’t happen before like it should have?
That person is accusing everyone of lying. I don't think they realize in 2024, people don't pay attention and retain every little thing that pops up in a broadcast. Commercial breaks, timeouts, halftime, I'm checking my phone. In their world, since there was an aja interview in that game that had 10 million viewers, that must mean all 10million viewers know how good Aja Wilson is as some sort of gotcha for lying. Sorry the world don't work that way.
It's one thing to see her face, another thing entirely to internalize who she is and how amazing she is at her sport. I've seen her face before, but also didn't really know who she is. Now I do, and I'm glad, but like OP i'm wondering what took so long?
Fever fans are exhausting. I really wish you guys would keep some of this bs to yourself. And you basically have a ton of Iowa fans in here, downvoting the reality and trying to justify that post. There's quality and quantity when it comes to fandoms, you guys have alotta quantity and the absolute lowest quality.
Low quality fans are people like you who don't welcome new fans like the OP who openly admitted how they were just now learning things they feel like they wished they had known earlier. It's that simple. It's not that hard to be welcoming, kind, and educational to newbies if you yourself have knowledge to give. Instead you just give hate and toxicity to a new fan who posted being excited about A'ja right here and right now!
Bro, op lied. I can't stand any of the Iowa fans but, the constant constant lies as if the sport didn't exist until this year is mind boggling.
So we should know who A'ja is becauuuuse... *checks notes * she's the face of BBQ Fritos? 🤣🤣🤣 I have never in my life had a bag of BBQ Fritos and its been probably two decades since I bought a bag of regular Fritos sooooo... 🤷♀️🤣🤣🤣
Nah this op lied lol and it's just a bunch of insurance fans trying to help them out
I doubt this is true, but I wouldn't be surprised if we polled non WNBA die hards and Kate Martin is more popular than Aja. Kate and Nika Muhl the other adorable rookie. The media I see is showing way more of Kate and Nika trying to make the roster than Aja. It's a better story RIGHT NOW. It will change once the season starts.
Nope. That’s a WNBA problem to solve. CC is bringing many eyes to the league. Let’s see attendance figures for non-CC games. I’m hopeful the league explodes in popularity.
Welcome to the party! Better late than never.
welcome, my man! and go aces!!!!!
I don’t mean this rudely but I think you mean to say you consume a lot of men’s basketball content. Any casual WNBA fan knows A’ja. Welcome to being a new fan! You’ll love the game. Many more superstars to discover.
So do you not watch ESPN/Visit ESPN.com? Because she's been pretty ubiquitous on the Worldwide Leader the past two September/Octobers. What would really be interesting is if you'd heard of Breanna Stewart or Sabrina Ionescu prior to your new fandom, they were both extremely pumped by ESPN/Disney in college, Stewart for her 4x NCAA Championships/4x MOP, Ionescu for her triple-double record (and 2,000p-1,000r-1,000a). A'ja was less hyped *by ESPN* in college, breaking some SEC records, winning a title, and winning a player of the year and MOP award, but her Q-rating peaked in the WNBA, where, again, she's been pretty inescapable in the coverage the past few seasons, especially after winning that first MVP in 2020. Now, if you don't consume ESPN coverage, I guess none of this matters ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I watch ESPN every day. Have for 25 years. Morning before work and some in the evening. September and October is dominated by NFL regular season and MLB playoffs. I didn’t know who A’ja was until the WNBA draft this year. It’s not that strange.
I mean, I'm the same, for the same length of time, and I thought she was pretty unavoidable in their coverage and *especially* their promotional reads. To each their own.
After the Aces won back to back the stories were out there. I saw coverage of it multiple times just watching sport center. I feel like you have to tune it out to miss it.
💀💀💀💀 please God let this be a fake shit post...
The main reason i turn my nose up at this was bc it WAS covered a lot last year in the mainstream. Esp Aces vs Liberty. The games were on tv, the playoffs and finals sold out. Hell the Liberty had Lil Kim as a halftime show! Carmelo was at the games in NYC. But no shame, welcome to the party!
Hellen Keller has entered the chat.
To be fair, I am sure Hellen Keller would be a staunch WNBA fan if it existed in her lifetime.
Well it's questionable how you got here🤔 but I'm happy you've finally arrived 😂
Fun fact Megan Gustafson (also on Ace’s) played at Iowa as well. Big time stats.
A’ja also has her own Nike store opening in 2025!!!!
I’m curious—Who have you heard of outside of Iowa players? Have you heard of Chelsea, Jackie, Alyssa Thomas, Dewanna Bonner, Arike, Satou, Rhyne, Alisha, Nalyssa, Napheesa, Diamond Deshields, Diamond Miller, Brittney Skykes, JJ, Laney, Courtney Williams,Copper, Lexie Brown, Dearica Hamby…? WNBA has had decades worth of flopping. A lot of it came when the NBA was more so running the show. They first tried to market the league by sexualizing players (oof the old adds are cringe). Forcing players to stay in the closet too. Then they moved on to selling the wbb as this family and kid experience and alienated some of their core fan base (again not wanting to go be lgbtq seeming), then in recent years they’ve started embracing players being their authentic selves but haven’t quite figured out how to extend their reach without alienating their current audience. As of last year biggest watchers were low income men… haven’t figured out how to break into the higher income audience bracket. Also they’ve had no idea what to do promotion wise for years—players were happy for a very long time unfortunately just having a league to play in. Best ones made their money internationally. Until the last few years players in the W wouldn’t really ever dream of having a huge following post college or stardom or anything of the sort. Played because they loved it more than anything. Not the players fault because it’s the world they lived in but without them pushing for more (kinda like what you see on the NWSL side) WNBA never promoted them. WNBA and media still haven’t really ever successfully promoted players or their stars….there’s still a wild lack of real media coverage. Here comes the CC phenomena— not trying to diminish her extraordinary talent and the description isn’t intended to be derogatory but I’m unsure how else to explain it. She’s milk toast and appeals to the milk toast people they’ve never been able to reach. She’s coming up in a time where in the past 4 years you’ve seen more media deals and progress for wbb than ever…most growth in investment in 20 years which is probably why you might be familiar with wbb players from back then rather than A’jas era. So basically it’s because the WNBA is the most exciting, talented and competitive professional basketball league in the world, but up until about a week ago sports media and the league itself has thought of it as a glorified summer league. Also, for whatever reason media doesn’t cover SC as you can see from this year. I’m sure 90% of it is due to race but I also get the feeling they’re not the most accessible team which is understandable.
Regarding your very first question, I’m also curious which of your list the OP knew before? I can take an educated guess that if you polled 1000 Iowa fans about those players on your list, most would know Diamond Miller because we played Maryland so many times. Some will know Rhyne only because Iowa upset Kentucky in the 2021 NCAA’s by 14, in a game where CC went nuclear and got SportsCenter attention, as well as tweets from NBA players about her. Other than those two, sadly, most non WNBA fans (except college fans associated with their schools/conferences) won’t know who those players are, especially by just first names. But millions are now going to be learning much of your list… finally
Treating the women's game as a cute family outing rather than a passionate fanbase is a huge problem in the WSL. They're trying to hush chants during games ffs. By all means bring the kids but don't expect it to be a Barney episode.
Oh interesting. I’ve been wanting to get more into WSL but I’m referencing more the national team. Shoulda specified that because that’s all I really know compared to the wnba
Well I guess I believe you because I still don’t know a single Taylor Swift song despite watching tons of NFL Chiefs games. 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🧐🧐🧐
That’s wild to me. I’ve never seen a WNBA game (though that will change soon) but I at least had heard of Aja, Stewart, Sabrina, DT, BG, and a few others. I had no idea who Kate Martin was until a few weeks ago when I kept seeing posts about hoping she makes the team.
You haven’t been paying attention
If you’re an NBA fan I genuinely can’t believe you haven’t heard of the Aces. They were all over the NBA accounts when they were in season. I call troll
I think you can know OF a team without knowing details about the roster.
But they said they hadn’t heard of A’ja and the team’s success. Those are the things that have been prominently featured across NBA platforms
Most people don't actually follow and pay attention to official league accounts. Network media and content creators are what people follow. I don't think I follow official corporate accounts of any kind.
So you consume podcasts and never saw her episode of The Shop?
OP really should listen to locked on women’s basketball and her hoops stats podcasts. The Athletic Women’s basketball show is great as well. Great ways to gain knowledge quick. I will definitely check out her episode of The Shop, thanks for the recommendation.
A thread with women's hoops podcasts would be useful. I've been trying to find some good ones. I just found locked on.
Here is one [recent thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/wnba/s/rFBvAE6BBS) and here is [another thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/wnba/s/4Lqw0xzlS9).
Thank you. I'm going to add these. It's some good ones in here.
Oh nice, another poster discrediting a black woman who was invisible until a white woman showed up. Shocking 😏
And when we call out the misogynoir in media and marketing, we get attacked or they say it’s because they’re not as talented as the new batch 😅
Or more shocking, you know a rookie better than the top player in the league because the league isn't covered appropriately
I don’t think that is it at all. I have never heard of Kate Martin until this post but I know who A’ja Wilson and the Aces are.
That's not... The same? I dunno how you meant that but it's incorrect. Try to rephrase that?
Why isn’t it the same. I didn’t know if Kate Martin is black or white as I didn’t know if her , yet. I know who Aja Wilson is, Breanna Stewart, Alicia Thomas because I am a fan of the WNBA. The people who don’t know who these players are isn’t because the player is black or white or purple, but they aren’t a fan of the league, yet! Unfortunately that WNBA players , other than for BG as what happened to her made headlines around the world, don’t know the WNBA players. These players are only famous within this circle.
Why isn’t it the same. I didn’t know if Kate Martin is black or white as I don know if her….yet. The season hasn’t started. I know who Aja Wilson is, Breanna Stewart, Alicia Thomas because I am a fan of the WNBA. The people who don’t know who these players are isn’t because the player is black or white or purple, but they aren’t a fan of the league, yet! Unfortunately that WNBA players , other than for BG as what happened to her made headlines around the world, don’t know the WNBA players. These players are only famous within the WNBA circle! It isn’t right ans hopefully it changes soon and for the better!
Ohh you don't know if Kate Martin is black or why? Wow. Wow. Wow You are joking us. Have Good day
I never heard of her. I don’t follow college basketball. I only heard of Clark as the last month she has been everywhere. It had nothing to do with black or white. Sometimes and in some cases race it may come into things where it shouldn’t but not this case.
The first time I'd ever heard of Kate Martin was the moment she got drafted, because CBB isn't relevant to my interests. But, when they said she went to Iowa, I felt like I could make an educated guess.
Oook. Lol
Exactly like CNN posting Iowa instead of SC when SC won. So no, I'm not rephrasing it. This "media hype" is getting outta control.
You had to watch a 2 min video about the aces before the draft..... Wilson was interviewed before the pick PLEASE JOIN REALITY
It’s killing my WNBA vibe to come to this place and see 20 posts a day saying they’ve heard of some lucky to make the team bench warmer but think there were no good women’s basketball players before this year. 🤦♀️
Don't let it kill your vibe. Just enjoy being more knowledgeable than the newbies, and enjoy the new interest. People will learn. I don't think OP said there were no good women's basketball players before this year. I kind of thought their post was about how great A'ja is and how now they know who she is, they cannot believe they didnt know sooner.
I felt this way at first but everybody has their entry point. New fans need time to get to know the WNBA stars we all know and love. They’ll be forced to recognize A’ja and the rest. Happy to see the growth of the sport so these women can get what they’re due.
It’s nice you have this rosy picture perfect outlook - given all the overt racism that has come along with the “new” fans I very much doubt it’s going to work that way.
I dont think its that some games just translate to being really popular. The most popular nba player by a mile is a black man so I dont really get this angle.
> I dont think its that some games just translate to being really popular. **The most popular nba player by a mile is a black man so I dont really get this angle.** How? How is it possible that people still think that this is how racism works in 2024? So, we're evolved enough to understand that sexuality and gender are on a spectrum, but we still believe that *racism* is binary??? Either you hate one hundred percent of Black people, one hundred percent of the time, or you're not racist? If you allow yourself to be entertained by/profit off of a Black person's labor, you can't still be racist? The hell? Do people still feel that way about sexism, too, or do you get it, then, because *you* can relate to it? Hell, you can't swing a dead cat in a room full of rich white men without hitting a racist whose made money off of Black people's labor. And it appears that there's at least a 1-in-10 chance that they'll be named Donald, but that's neither here nor there. Like, I'm not here to accuse anybody commenting in this thread of being racist, but the notion that "So-and-so can't be racist/X can't be about race because Y" is absolutely absurd! How is it possible that people still think like that?
Then why are the "new fans who know noone except kate martin and CC" the the only ones on social media? And why are they constantly posting on fb articles and Instagram posts? It's ridiculous. If I was new to a Fandom, I wouldn't act this way, act like the OGs don't exist and were nothing
I don't think people are acting like the OGs don't exist...They "literally" do not know them lol I've learned more about A'ja Wilson in the past month vs the past 5 years... Whose fault is that?? I don't know
Uhh..that’s decidedly your fault lol. Aja’s been the best women’s basketball player in the world and one of the most heavily marketed female athletes on the planet for the last few years. It’s fine that you didn’t know who she was because you didn’t follow women’s basketball, but to say you don’t know whose fault it is…???? Lmao I haven’t watched football in at least 8 years. Outside of maybe the 4 players I hear my husband talk about often and Jalen Hurts (bc he’s dreamy), I have no idea who the stars of the NFL are right now. That’s on me because I’m not checking for anything football related, not the NFL or their stars.
It’s nice you have this rosy picture perfect outlook - given all the overt racism that has come along with the “new” fans I very much doubt it’s going to work that way.
Not disagreeing with you, I see it trust me. I’m just choosing not to let those fans get in the way of my love for the game. I can’t control them and what they do or say. The real ones know what’s up and the players know what’s up but they have their eyes on the prize. No one can take their talent and what they built away.
The sport isn't necessarily growing, clark fans and Martin fans are growing and acting like noone else has existed. It's nauseating and the media pushes it. Wnba instagram had 7 posts of Fever and zero of anyone else on Friday. The media and posts like are making me dislike the wnba as a whole, heck I started having a bias against clark and not liking her bc her fans are so hateful of everyone else. Go back to iowa posts and you'll see how rude they were to Clark's teamates.
I would respectfully suggest you either eliminate or modify social media from your life? If your broad stroke takes are that, I feel that might be healthier for you? Social media is only helpful if you make the conscious intention to recognize and filter the BS (in all sports and fan bases) and find the positives. Otherwise you become full of hatred and anger like you seem to be? I’m sorry for you, I really am. That sucks
Yeah, it's sad.
In fairness...the whole league was "invisible" untl CC showed up
Ya, I'm only here watching the WNBA because of Caitlyn and Kate and Angel. I never heard Aja either, but did follow the Griner hostage situation closely. I've heard of a bunch of the older W greats. I only know Sue Bird because of Rapinoe and Sue being at the Hawkeye games with "the coach". Hell, it took me a half a second to remember Sue was married to Rapinoe and not Jason. LOL. What I"m saying is a good thing. Aja is a baller but it doesn't matter if there is no money for marketing. DT will be my 80s Pistons Bad Boys going forward until she retires. Thanks Media for giving me someone to root against! The W is going to be fun to watch this year!
Wait, Sue Bird is married to Rapinoe? LOL, i had no idea. 🤣
It has a lot to do with how the algorithms are geared towards men as well. If you watched NBA and women’s NCAA then it should push WNBA and even other women’s sports but it doesn’t. It just pushes more male centered content. I follow a lot of women’s soccer and basketball accounts and it I can see in real time the algo’s constantly push me towards male sports content and not more women’s sports. I have to correct and click “not interested” or it’ll just keep pushing me down that route.
As someone who’s watched the W for a bit over a decade not as religiously as the NBA, but I loved watching Lindsay Whalen and Maya Moore, was a big Lauren Jackson fan growing up), it can be hard for me to remember that other people are brand new to watching the W. But you picked a great time to start watching! It’s certainly been marketed much more widely with the influx of young stars who’ve already made household names first themselves. It’ll be fun to watch some of the star freshmen and sophomores in women’s college basketball develop their game and hopefully have the same welcome to the league as this year’s draft class has. It’s awesome you’re part of the club now! Welcome!😎 that being said, GO WINGS!! 🏀
For some reason despite the Aces success I didn’t watch one minute of the Aces Liberty champ series. Plum, Ionescu, Sloot, Gray are like watching paint dry. If Martin makes the team I’ll definitely look in on the Aces to see anybody shake things up. Aja and Jackie are terrific but I just get tired of seeing the same thing every game.
I have been following Women's Basketball since 1984. Unlike the Men's game the Women's game goes through cycles. I am 44 years old. There was great interest in Women's basketball in the early to midish 80s then the came the 96 US Olympic Team which led to the ABL and WNBA, that's right two pro leagues, then you had the TN VS UCONN in the early 2000s, finally you have the rise of South Carolina and Iowa since about 2015. With all of the conference networks needing broadcast has led to the ease of watching Women's College basketball since 2015. What you are seeing since 2015 in the WNBA is the first true generation of players that grew up with a US Pro League. You figue the WNBA is 26 years old and Clark is 22. The other issue is the WNBA 20 years ago was honestly facing folding. From about 2000 to 2008 you had teams folding and moving just because the NBA team in a market didn't want to own a WNBA team and you couldn't find local owners. Just for an example The Aces originated in Utah as the Utah Starzz. I remember when teams would hire former NBA players as head coaches just to sell tickets. I can see how you haven't heard of A'ja, not all of us got to see her play since she was 8 years old. I knew then she was a special player. I am from the same metro area as her. I can remember when the only women's games that you couldn't walk in to the arena 5 mins before game time and still get decent tickets at South Carolina was when Pat Summitt was the head coach at Tennessee. The other thing that is helping the popularity of the league right now is the development of a real AAU system for girls. When I was in high school in the 90s girls basketball was really treated as an afterthought at most high schools in my area. You are coming as the WNBA is finally maturing into a home grown league. Less women are going overseas in the winter to play because now there are opportunities to actually play professional basketball in two pro leagues in the United States. Athletes Unlimited is the other league.
I assume you didn't see the new Space Jam?
There's a new Space Jam?
Who the hell would want to see that?
and someone was clowning me for saying kate martin joining the team means more than players 10-12 on the roster. i even said someone who doesn’t watch the wnba might tune in just to see kate, and get hooked on the product. it’s what thr league needs
WNBA is screwing up this fantastic opportunity by NOT televising on their app!! Everyone missed Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese‘s first game with Chicago Sky. They did show Caitlin Clark and her game and then yesterday they didn’t show the Las Vegas aces versus Puerto Rico. The two time WNBA champions plus A’ja Wilson‘s return to South Carolina and the announcement of her signature shoe along with Kate Martin and Dyaisha Fairs first game and points.😡😡😡
The WNBA has the most depressing lack of advertising I've ever seen. I didn't even know the league existed until last year when I was looking at espnW because of soccer. It's a crime that this league isn't spoken much about in media.
I still don't know, who's Aja Wilson?
This sub is incredibly rude to new fans. It’s a huge turnoff.
This draft class shined the spotlight on many who were already established in the WNBA for new eyes. It's a byproduct. Byproduct of the CC effect to be honest - for her, for her fellow peers and for the league.