WBNA Playoffs - here we go!

[NycUcWbbFan]

Excluding Clark on a rookie contract, there are probably only three players in the league (Stewie, Collier, Wilson) who could say with certainty they’ll be where they are now next season. Whatever happens with the CBA and free agency, their teams will pay whatever price to keep them if they want to stay.

I think there might be more &1 &2 which will be revealed before the 2 expansion drafts (assuming certain CBA features remain the same).

&1 Non max-cored UFAs:

• Las Vegas Aces: Aja Wilson, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray
• Los Angeles Sparks: Kelsey Plum, Dearica Hamby, Azure Stevens
• Minnesota Lynx: Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride, Courtney Williams, Dijonai Carrington, Alanna Smith
• New York Liberty: Sabrina Ionescu, Emma Meesseman
• Phoenix Mercury: Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally

&2 Max-cored Breanna Stewart who is free (no possibility of being cored again) to negotiate with any team is probably going to stay in NY.

 

[ochoopsfan]

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

It's a good question. Last year, in late September 2024 the WNBA announced that the expansion draft was held on December 6th of the same year. Free agent negotiating began in mid-January 2025 with the actual signings starting on Feb. 1. And the WNBA draft was held just after the NCAA championship in April '25.

Now, how do UFA's fit in with this process? I've cobbled together a few points from various articles and/or searches:

• The expansion draft allows for the team(s) to select one unrestricted free agent (UFA) from each team. Still, I guess a GM would have to protect players regardless of their contractual status.
• If Portland or Toronto selects a UFA, that player can be designated a Core Player by the team, which means they'll be signed to a one-year, super-max contract.
• New teams can also trade players selected from selected teams to other teams.

Now, of course, the elephant in the War Room is the new collective bargaining agreement. What will come of that and how will it affect the entire process that I wrote about above? Will teams still have to make UFA's available or will it result in a scenario in which the coffers are bare for expansion teams? I've got to think the whole process is on the back burner until the CBA is signed, sealed, delivered.

Dillon77- - - Yes I agree with you there are about 98% of the players will be free agents after the Finals!
So there is no real planning available for GM's and coaches when players can go wherever the $ is!
A Gm may want to keep 2 or 3 players and those plkayers decide to go somewhere else!
Do players, such as what happened in the NBA several years ago where 3 great players wound up in Miami I think to make them a powerhouse!
It's open season for chaos!

 

[visitingcock]

Where is the money? To the extent that attendance is a factor: WNBA average attendance by team 2025| Statista.

 

[bbsamjj]

Attendance stats are skewed by the fact that several teams play in very small arenas.

Atlanta's arena only fits 3,500 for basketball
Washington's arena only fits 4,200
Dallas's arena only fits around 7,000.
Mohegan Sun is 8,500
Chicago Sky is around 10,000

These teams do play in bigger arenas multiple times a year, and get much bigger crowds for those games.

 

[cancontent]

Attendance stats are skewed by the fact that several teams play in very small arenas.

Atlanta's arena only fits 3,500 for basketball
Washington's arena only fits 4,200
Dallas's arena only fits around 7,000.
Mohegan Sun is 8,500
Chicago Sky is around 10,000

These teams do play in bigger arenas multiple times a year, and get much bigger crowds for those games.

Topping up on this post with a link to a chart that also shows season highs when teams moved games to larger venues for reference.

WNBA Attendance - Across the Timeline

 

[GamecockFam]

Topping up on this post with a link to a chart that also shows season highs when teams moved games to larger venues for reference.

WNBA Attendance - Across the Timeline

If you change the "Where" from Home to Away another interesting stat shows up...

I was curious about the attendance levels for away games, assuming the Caitlin Clark effect would give Indiana the edge -- and that proved to be true. What I wasn't expecting was the attendance highs for the remaining teams. Every team but Indiana and GS had an away game attendance high of 18064. Hmmm...what was the sell out number for the home crowd at GS? Oh yeah, 18064. 🤣

 

[cancontent]

If you change the "Where" from Home to Away another interesting stat shows up...

I was curious about the attendance levels for away games, assuming the Caitlin Clark effect would give Indiana the edge -- and that proved to be true. What I wasn't expecting was the attendance highs for the remaining teams. Every team but Indiana and GS had an away game attendance high of 18064. Hmmm...what was the sell out number for the home crowd at GS? Oh yeah, 18064. 🤣

I was and I wasn't, if that makes sense. Teams like the Aces have had sold out seasons the past couple years. Interest has been increasing steadily every year based on the data available, as noted in Chiney Ogumike's Player's Tribune article from a while back.

In my opinion, we've been distracted by these new "experts" who all of a sudden know about WNBA basketball but only repeat takes about Clark and the "NBA loses money every year" that they've seen online or heard somewhere. When people take time to actually look into the WNAB's situation, they have a different reaction.

Have a friend who has been trolling the WNBA since last year because he jumped on the Clark train. He was adamant that TV ratings weren't there unless Clark played, that the WNBA couldn't generate a good TV deal, TV ratings would tank, and attendance would be zero, when Clark was out due to injuries. I made him do a Google search on the new WNBA TV deal and sent him the Front Office Sports article that showed the attendance increases from 2024, which included the 30% jump in games that didn't include Clark. He shut up pretty quickly after that.