198 WNBA Demise - editorialpinups

If you had an opportunity to all of a sudden have your product brought from a consumer base of three hundred thousand prospects to a few million consumers, how would you handle the situation?

 

This is a question that I have been trying to figure out since the 2024 WNBA season.  That is the year that a young lady from Iowa introduced us to the league.  Not that the league did not exist before that, but it was known by a very small audience.   I wrote this article https://itstooimportant.com/what-is-the-history-of-the-wnba.html when I was first saw what was happening in this league and the negativity that was directed at Caitlin Clark.

 

What happened positive since Caitlin Clark joined the league?  Charter flights versus flying commercial coach.  Two or four to a hotel room versus single rooms.  Some games being played in front of seventeen thousand plus fans versus maybe fifteen hundred fans.  In 2025, better pay. The mainstream public knowing about the players before Caitlin Clark who were not found before hand.

 

So imagine how the fan that came along after Caitlin Clark sees a product that in many ways does not look like basketball.  Many men relate to the women’s game as it is played below the rim using layups versus dunk shots, passing fast breaks, and everyone thinks they can shoot from downtown.

 

This one player introduced the league to the masses.  Stuart, Mitchell, Boston, Plum, and yes, A’ja Wilson to mention a few.  Plus there was the additional young talent that on its way that in part was introduce to the world by Caitlin Clark.

 

The 2024 Indiana Fever had a team that had a number of good players who had not won much in the past.  Their coach, Christie Sides took a while to figure out how to win with Caitlin Clark.  She even drew my ire.  But the problem Sides had was she did not accurately communicate that the team had not had a chance to practice and get used to each other.  If she had fans, would have been patient as they were used to Clark winning the majority of her games. Her success with the team came after the Olympic and all star break as the team had a chance to practice and work on getting used to each other. A losing record before the break and a winning record after the break.  Playoffs, not something that the Fever had had in a long time and something that many of the players on that team had not had.

 

I said at the end of the 2024 season that Christie Sides had earned another year.  But the 2025 Indiana Fever management disagreed and brought in a coach who had some success but also has past controversy. Stephanie White has a system and tries to put players into it.  I have seen this done in the NFL where great college players are minimized due to “systems”. With White’s system, Clark managed to get injured and out for the season.  White was able to coach a team that led the league in season ending injuries to within two points of the WNBA finals.

 

We are now in the 2026 season.  There was an anticipation that Clark being back and would be running the show again.  But the pounding is happening again even though the league supposedly said they were going to clean it up.  Clark has missed games again.  Other players are also missing games. Kelsey Plum, Cameron Brink to name a few.  The refs are just as bad.  There really is very little change.

 

And I say this as Aliyah Boston gets beat up game after game differently than A’ja Wilson.  Boston and Clark make one of the best pick and roll combinations.  Kelsey Mitchel also gets beat up when Clark is playing.  It goes on and on.

 

The WNBA could have set up a very positive environment introducing the new players into the league as the older players retire.  Expansion could have been faster returning teams to cities that had them and adding new teams giving more players opportunities to shine.

 

But that does not seem to be happening. While some of the new players are not getting destroyed up to now like Clark has been, it is starting.  Olivia Miles was getting smacked and beaten around and is livid with refs.  Paige Bueckers has been starting to see the fisticuffs and is screaming.  This may be in reaction go Clark’s complaints of being targeted.

 

So what will be be left with the WNBA after Clark’s fan base says enough is enough?

 

Cathy Engelbert’s spreadsheet and misconception says nothing will change.  The masses will continue to watch the league.  This comes as the viewer numbers tanked after the Indiana Fever exited the 2024 playoffs.  The viewer numbers tanked after the Indiana Fever 2025 playoff exit.  Clark was at the games but did not play and her fan base stayed loyal to her.  And there was some very good basketball and Boston and Mitchell shined along with others.

 

But I predict that if the WNBA and the Fever decide to hang Caitlin Clark out to dry again, the fan base will say they have had enough.  The numbers will drop.  Advertiser promises by the WNBA will not be met. Refunds and pull outs will happen.  Teams will start going in the red worse than before.

 

There will be no advertisers on the uniforms.  There will be no team names to be put on the uniforms.  There will be no players as there will be no league.  Clark’s college fans followed her to the WNBA so they could watch her brand of basketball.  Unfortunate for women this continuation is at risk due to reasons that good management could control and expand on!