CHICAGO — Chicago Sky center Elizabeth Williams delivered a block on Washington Mystics star Elena Delle Donne ith 4:27 left in the fourth quarter and the score tied 62-62, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
The Sky, who had been down by as much as 16 in the second half Friday night, were playing their first home game of the season in front of 7,304 adoring fans decked out in blue and yellow at Wintrust Arena.
Williams was called for a shooting foul on the play and the Sky-faithful let officials hear their displeasure. After a successful coach’s challenge by James Wade — his third converted challenge in three games — the call was overturned and fans cheered with a fervor one might find at a playoff game, not the third game of a season.
Despite the attempted comeback, the Sky lost to the Mystics 71-65. All was not lost though. Fans assembled in multiple areas postgame, cheering for players as they left the court, offering words of encouragement. The Sky and their fans have come a long way — from the bottom of the league to a championship-winning season to a hopeful future — and their zeal just continues to grow.
Women’s basketball is having a moment.
Highly touted high school players’ college decisions are shared to thousands. College players are creating rivalries and branding themselves as known entities. WNBA players are selling everything from cars to potato chips to eyelash extensions. Former players like Rebecca Lobo, Dawn Staley and Sheryl Swoopes have become stewards of the game as commentators and college coaches. With the increased visibility of these athletes, expansion — at two levels — seems more imperative now than ever.
It’s no coincidence the WNBA is pushing its year-over-year growth numbers.
The Phoenix Mercury-Los Angeles Sparks game on ESPN saw an average of 683,000 viewers on opening night, with more than one million watchers at its peak, according to the league. It was the most-viewed regular-season game on cable in 24 years. Showing rapid growth makes the game more appealing and makes people want to open their pockets. Fans are tuning in — and showing up — in record numbers.
The Sky attendance at Friday’s home opener is an indication that interest in the league locally is also trending up. Despite the offseason roster turnover, there is still enthusiasm surrounding the team, and the emergence of so-called “super teams” in Las Vegas and New York has highlighted the need for more teams and more players.
To grow the number of teams, the league must first expand the rosters.
Former LSU star point guard Alexis Morris recently apologized for tweets she made after being cut by Connecticut after the Sun drafted her in April. In a string of now-deleted tweets, Morris expressed displeasure with what she perceived as roster spots held by veterans, making it more difficult for young players to make the cut. While her method wasn’t the best, it highlights the need for roster expansion — a move that would have an immediate impact.
There are currently 144 players on the WNBA’s 12 teams, making it extremely tough to make a roster. Some teams carry fewer than the allocated 12 players in order to pay certain individuals or two more. Each year when the deadline for setting rosters approaches, coaches and general managers have tougher decisions with such limited availability.
The Sparks played the Las Vegas Aces Thursday with only nine players. One-third of the team’s roster was out, leaving them thin against a stacked Aces team that includes two-time league MVP A’ja Wilson and two-time WNBA champions Chelsea Gray and Candace Parker.
Expanding the number of eligible players gives teams a better shot at playing their best, managing injuries and infusing new talent. Increased visibility of women’s college basketball means fans now follow their favorite players to the WNBA. And star players bring — or create — their personal brands.
The Sky’s Kahleah Copper is signed with Adidas and Deloitte, and she’s appeared People Magazine and The Players’ Tribune along with teammate Dana Evans. Playstation and the WNBA recently announced a new multiyear partnership to make PlayStation the official console and marketing partner of the WNBA. These partnerships with players, and the league itself, bring more visibility and investment and makes expansion — both the rosters and the number of teams — feel more tangible.
When asked about roster expansion, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert doesn’t agree it’s immediately necessary.
“We think today our rosters are the right size,” she said before the draft. “But that’ll be for sure a discussion in the next round of collective bargaining, as will a variety of other issues. And I think with expansion on the horizon, my personal view is to give 12 to 24 and hopefully more roster spots will be something obviously that expansion will afford us.”
But league expansion, according to Engelbert, is still a few years out. Talented players like Morris and former South Carolina standout Brea Beal, who were draft picks just a month before, were waived and hoping to be claimed by another team with a need — a chance that is still quite slim — and likely, as was the case with both, completely left out of the league to start the season.
College players have started to cultivate their own fanbases who follow everything they do and will move to the WNBA with them. Waiting for expansion means the league is fumbling an opportunity to capitalize on the visible and enthusiastic growth surrounding the college game. The decision to try and let the situation resolve itself could be an unforced error with long-term impact on growth.
Women’s basketball is having a moment and a movement, it’s time for the WNBA to take the lead. The future of the product depends on it.