There’s no sport growing at a faster pace than women’s basketball. Women’s basketball is seeing success at every level, the game boasting endless talent, star power and storytelling.
With a rise in popularity, long-term fans such as myself must enjoy the benefits and suffer the consequences of the games new found fame. Since rising in popularity, the discourse surrounding women’s basketball has gained a similar level of toxic discourse as its male counterpart.
Look no further than the toxicity that surrounded Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese after their battles in the 2023 and 2024 NCAA March Madness tournaments. The online discourse that surrounded their National Championship and Elite 8 matchups reached astronomical heights.
But, online talking heads aside, their matchups as well as other star professional and collegiate players such as A’ja Wilson, Paige Bueckers and Juju Watkins have popularized women’s basketball like never before.
The young women playing today have charisma beyond measure. But their charisma isn’t the only thing driving fans to watch them duke it out on the court.
I don’t mean to brag, but I may have foresight. I saw this coming a long time ago. When I began avidly watching women’s basketball in 2016, my friend and I predicted the growth of women’s basketball.
While “basketball” fans were trashing the women’s game online, we were piecing together the future of women’s basketball.
Women’s professional basketball in the States has not always been around. The fact that the WNBA tipped off its inaugural season in 1997 is unbeknownst to most. The league just celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2021.
Evolution is natural, inevitable if I may. The game and the product were always going to improve. The players were always going to get better. It was only a matter of time before the growth of women’s basketball was going to happen.
Starting with women’s college basketball and its historic programs such as UCONN, Tennesse, Maryland and USC to name a few. The game has continued to rise and rise in popularity. Now, these top women’s hoopers are becoming household names.
The game is growing and the players have evolved – the players and coaches are more marketable than ever.
So how do we keep this momentum going? How do we continue to grow the game?
The answer is both simple and complex. There isn’t a singular answer or one specific area of focus. In order to continue growing the game, you have to tackle every single aspect of what women’s basketball is.
So, allow me to lay out my plan and how I would continue to grow the game.
The most important piece of this puzzle is continuing to target the younger generation. The game can only continue to grow if we prioritize the development of youth basketball. The late great Kobe Bryant understood the importance of this, and I hope his work is continued.
Another important aspect is globalization. With a chance to put the most popular and potentially most talented USA women’s basketball roster in the 2028 Olympics, we have to focus on marketing the game beyond America.
It’ll take some time, especially with the Olympics being in Los Angeles, but a big reason for the growth of the NBA was the Dream Team’s outreach in the 1992 Olympics.
The final key to understanding how to advance the game is increasing the viewership. The WNBA has signed recent television deals with media companies such as ION and Amazon Prime, but this is only the beginning.
The marketing of key women’s college basketball events such as Rivalry Week and the Tennessee vs. UCONN series, which was recently revived, needs to improve. Both college basketball and the WNBA need to continue to bring eyes to their games. The more exposure the better.
Now again, I don’t mean to brag. But to me, this is like one of those “I told you so” moments. I couldn’t be happier with the growth of the game.
As a true basketball fan, the growth of women’s basketball means everything to me – it should be celebrated.
But there’s still work to be done. If we want to see these players receiving equal pay, if we want the game and the product to continue to evolve, we have to continue working to grow the game.
So for now, let’s celebrate the recent success. But remember to acknowledge the work yet to be done. It’s time for women’s basketball to take off.
