WNBA For posting up when it mattered

WHEN BASKETBALL STARS CAITLIN Clark, Angel Reese, and Cameron Brink rolled up to the Brooklyn Academy of Music last April for the 2024 WNBA draft, they signaled the arrival of a new generation of talent—and the league’s cultural ascendance.

- Jeff Beer

Tickets for the event sold out in 15 minutes; viewership on ESPN averaged 2.4 million people, up 328% over 2023; and photos of the new WNBA players showing off their signature style on the red carpet lit up social media.

The event turned out to be a microcosm of the 2024 season, in which the 28-year-old league leveled up in every measurable category. By the end of the season, the league had secured a new $2.2 billion, 11-year media-rights deal with Disney, Amazon, and NBCUniversal, set to begin in 2026. That works out to approximately $200 million per year, a massive jump from the current deal, of about $50 million per year. The WNBA delivered its most-watched regular season in 24 years (with more than 54 million unique viewers) and finished with its highest attendance in 22 years. The 12-team league, which is adding the Golden State Valkyries this year, also announced expansion teams in Toronto and Portland, Oregon, to start playing in 2026. Alex Bhathal and Lisa Bhathal Merage, the brother and sister who purchased the Portland team, paid a record $125 million expansion fee.