In recent years, we have seen the landscape of women’s basketball shift to a climate where it is on the rise.
The year 2024 told the masses that women’s basketball has not only arrived. It is here to stay and it is only going in one direction – and that is up.
The WNBA’s flagship team finally won its first championship in unforgettable fashion. There was a game-changing rookie class and expansion is continuing to happen at a rapid pace. The previous 12 months have shown us the good – and the bad – of a growing WNBA, but the year did display that the league’s premier hoopers are taking on newfound status as cultural icons alongside their on-court achievements.
Here are the 10 biggest stories in women’s basketball for 2024.
Honorable Mention – New media deals
With a growing WNBA means new outlets to watch said WNBA.
As the season wore on, and speculation about a new media rights arrangement began percolating to the surface, it was announced that starting in 2026 these new deals would take place.
The WNBA – as part of an NBA-negotiated pact – will have games distributed via ESPN as well as NBC/Peacock and Amazon Prime.
An interesting element of the deal is the distribution of the WNBA Finals. It will begin rotating among the different networks ala what the Super Bowl does with NBC, CBS and Fox.
In 2026, 2030 and 2034, the Finals will air on NBC/Peacock. Amazon will have the Finals in 2028 and 2032 with ESPN maintaining its rights to air the WNBA’s championship series.
Honorable mention No. 2 – 7-game Finals
Much is talked in sporting circles about the “aura” and “cinema” of an outstanding championship round. Much is talked about how one of the most goosebump-producing phrases in the sporting lexicon is “Game 7.”
“Game 7” is coming to the WNBA. It was announced that beginning with the 2025 season, the WNBA Finals will expand to a 7-game series with the higher seed hosting games 1, 2, 5 and 7.
In addition, it also came with an expanded playoff format the first round having a 1-1-1 structure. This guarantees each team will host a playoff contest in the first round.
The skeptic in us does somewhat think this was done primarily because Indiana did not host a game in this past year’s playoffs after being swept by Connecticut. At the very least, every team that makes the playoffs will get a chance at a home game.
Honorable Mention No. 3 – WNBPA opts out of CBA
For anyone who watched the Shattered Glass documentary which told the story of how the 2020 collective bargaining agreement between the W and players was brokered, this was expected.
Shortly after the conclusion of the WNBA Finals, the WNBPA did indeed announce it would opt out of the current CBA. This gives both sides until the conclusion of next season to iron out a new deal.
Among the issues the players want rectified are practice facilities, a more equal revenue split and for the WNBA to transition to a business model that more reflects the current financial realities of the league.
The WNBPA is looking to strike while the iron is hot – especially with the new media rights deal the W will soon have with Amazon and NBC that will bring another windfall of cash the league’s way.
10 – Unrivaled
The announcement of the Unrivaled League was a huge one. What it does (as well as Athletes Unlimited) is it gives WNBA players another opportunity to make money while remaining in the States.
While some players still opt to pursue overseas opportunities, the advent of Unrivaled as well as Athletes Unlimited are making it so going overseas is more of an option as opposed to a virtual financial requirement.
The 36 players that will take part have been sorted into six teams – Laces, Lunar Owls, Mist, Phantom, Rose and Vinyl. Participants include Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Chelsea Gray, Arike Ogunbowale, Rhyne Howard, Jewell Loyd, Kahleah Copper, Jackie Young, Angel Reese, Dearica Hamby, Kayla McBride, Marina Mabrey, Satou Sabally, Allisha Gray, Natasha Cloud, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Rickea Jackson, DiJonai Carrington, Courtney Vandersloot, Brittney Sykes, Shakira Austin, Tiffany Hayes, Brittney Griner, Azurá Stevens, Courtney Williams, Kate Martin, Aaliyah Edwards, Lexie Hull, Alyssa Thomas, Aliyah Boston, Stefanie Dolson, Rae Burrell, Jordin Canada, Katie Lou Samuelson, Cameron Brink and Sabrina Ionescu.
Also – games will air on TNT starting January 17.
9 – Dearica Hamby’s lawsuit
Speaking of Hamby…
The Dearica Hamby lawsuit against the Las Vegas Aces where she alleged discrimination for having a second child had major developments in 2024.
While the WNBA and the Aces attempted to dismiss the suit, one of the targets of said proceeding – Natalie Williams – was relieved by the team of her duties as Aces general manager.
A neutral evaluation of the case is slated for Jan. 28 in Las Vegas.
8 – Candace calls it a career
And what a career it was.
While many WNBA fans were heartbroken because they sorely wanted to see one season of Candace Parker in an Aces uniform, Parker did announce early in 2024 that she would indeed call it a career.
When talking about GOATs in the WNBA, Parker certainly deserves to be in that conversation. On top of what she did at Tennessee under the late, great Pat Summitt’s tutelage, Parker remains to this day the only player to ever win an MVP in her rookie season.
And while many fans were pushing for that honor to be bestowed upon Caitlin Clark in 2024, those efforts came up short as A’ja Wilson was named MVP.
Parker won a championship with the Sparks in 2016 and another for her hometown Chicago Sky in 2021. Wherever she went, winning followed. Wherever she went, greatness followed.
In addition, she became the president of the women’s basketball division within Adidas.
7 – Women’s sports under political assault
The political assault on transgender athlete participation in sports was unfortunately ratcheted up in 2024. And given the creature who is about to once again occupy the White House, expect those efforts to once again take another large step in 2025.
We wrote about this previously in the build-up to November’s election – but there are a lot of bad actors that are claiming they support women’s sports.
The problem with this is many of these individuals and groups are only using the platform of women’s sports to further their hate and discriminatory efforts towards trans athletes.
Look at the way Black WNBA players were harassed this past season. Look at the hate Imane Khelif got for what happened in Paris at the Olympics. Understand that many of these individuals could only name two WNBA players without Googling – Clark and Griner (because of the Russia ordeal from 2022).
These are not real supporters of women’s sports. In their mind, the prototypical women’s athlete is supposed to look something more like Olivia Dunne or the Cavinder twins and less like a Megan Rapinoe, Courtney Vandersloot or a Courtney Williams.
6 – Expansion
Expansion was once again a hot topic within the WNBA.
Along with the expansion to the San Francisco Bay Area in the form of the Golden State Valkyries, the W also announced new franchises for Portland and Toronto.
Recently – it was announced that Canada’s first-ever W franchise would be named the Toronto Tempo. Portland does not have a name of a logo yet, but anticipation is building up around the Valkyries.
Jess Smith will serve as the team’s president. Former New York Liberty assistant general manager Ohemaa Nyanin will be the team’s general manager (we interviewed her around the All-Star Game this past season). Natalie Nakase, a former assistant at the Aces, will take on a role as head coach.
And, most recently, the team held its expansion draft. That initial roster includes many an international player. For now, Monique Billings, Veronica Burton, Maria Conde, Temi Fagbenle, Carla Leite, Kate Martin, Iliana Rupert, Stephanie Talbot, Kayla Thornton, Julie Vanloo and Cecilia Zandalasini make up Golden State.
In addition, the Valks will also have the fifth-overall selection in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
5 – Rookies
The 2024 WNBA draft class will likely have an ESPN 30 for 30 done on it in some years.
And while the media focused the lion’s share of its attention on Clark and Angel Reese but it desperately wanted to re-create the 2023 LSU vs. Iowa national championship game, there were plenty of other rookies that also displayed that they got now.
From Cameron Brink to Rickea Jackson to Kamilla Cardoso to Aaliyah Edwards. This was not a typical rookie class. It was an atypical rookie class.
A big problem with how the media treated every bit of hard contact Clark encountered as if it was an indication of “jealousy” from other WNBA players is it took away from the performances of the other rookies.
Those other rookies proved that they are pro-ready and they are huge reasons why franchises like the Sky and Sparks have bright futures (as long as their respective owners open the checkbook).
4 – A’One
Prior to the start of the season, Nike announced that Caitlin Clark was getting a signature sneaker without having played a single game in the pro ranks.
Many a WNBA fan and media member looked at this with disbelief. Yes – Clark deserves a sneaker but so does Wilson given everything she has achieved in the W.
As it turned out – Of Course She Had a Shoe.
Spring 2025 is when the A’One will have its release. An article at Boardroom mentioned how in addition to the kicks themselves there will be an apparel collection plus youth and adult sizes for slides and sneakers.
One can expect for the rollout of these A’Ones to be every bit as ballyhooed as the announcement itself. After all, it occurred around the same time the Aces were at Colonial Life Arena to compete in a friendly with the Puerto Rican national team.
The same Colonial Life Arena where Wilson rose to national prominence. The same Colonial Life Arena where she has a statue outside of its entrance. And at the same University of South Carolina where Black people (including Wilson’s grandmother) once upon a time could not step foot on.
3 – 38-0
Speaking of South Carolina…
After five from South Carolina were selected in the 2023 WNBA Draft, it was expected that Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks may take a step back in favor of teams such as UConn, Southern Cal, Iowa and LSU.
Instead – Coach Staley’s “daycare” was taking care of business game in and game out.
It turned out that being denied in the previous season’s Final Four by Caitlin Clark and Iowa actually was fuel to South Carolina’s fire to finish its unfinished business.
And finishing that unfinished business meant it was matched up in Cleveland at the Rocket Mortgage Arena against the same Iowa team that bested them the previous season.
Tessa Johnson was making clutch buckets left and right. The Gamecocks had a Caitlin Stopper in Raven Johnson that made things difficult for No. 22. And as a result, South Carolina added 2024 to go alongside 2017 and 2022 as seasons where it won national championships.
2 – Liberty At Last
For Loyals of the New York Liberty, the long wait for a championship was indeed a long wait.
This is a team that had been close on a number of occasions but were stopped short of climbing the last rung on the ladder to get that brass ring.
This also included the previous season when New York was denied in four games courtesy of the Las Vegas Aces.
One would think 2024 had to be the year. New York took care of business in the regular season to ensure the path to a championship would go through the Barclays Center.
The Liberty made short work of the Atlanta Dream in the first round then earned victory in the semifinals over the same Aces that bested them the previous campaign.
All that stood between the Liberty and its first-ever championship was a Minnesota Lynx team determined to re-establish itself as among the W’s elite. The Lynx and Liberty met earlier in the season at UBS Arena on Long Island in the Commissioner’s Cup final in a hard-fought get-together that went the way of Los Lynx.
New York dropped a heartbreaker at home in Game 1 that would have mentally debilitated many a team. But the Liberty bounced back to earn victories in Games 2 and 3 only for the Lynx to even it up at two apiece in Game 4.
Then came Game 5 back at Barclays. And that was a Game 5 that went overtime. But New York made more of the plays when it mattered most and the final remaining Original Eight team to have yet to win a championship finally Owned the Crown.
1 – U-S-Eight!
While the Liberty’s first championship was certainly huge, a common rule of thumb ought to be that international competition automatically supersedes anything on the domestic circuit.
Remember the Olympics? Arguably the most patriotic Black Twitter has ever been?
Team USA was going after its eighth consecutive gold medal dating back to when it won its first in Atlanta at the 1996 Olympics. Team USA’s performance at those Games were integral in laying the groundwork for what is today’s WNBA.
And while the “new” women’s basketball media tried to manufacture a story about the supposed snubbing of Caitlin Clark from the roster, the team still presented 12 that could bring gold back to the States.
Those 12 included A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, Kahleah Copper, Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Jewell Loyd, Napheesa Collier and Alyssa Thomas.
If the 2024 Olympics showed us anything, it is that other countries are indeed catching up to the U.S. in terms of women’s basketball talent. The whole Games came down to the Gold Medal final where Team USA was matched up against – of all countries – the host country in France.
France took the Stars and Stripes to the limit – and then some. But despite a 19-point, seven-rebound, three-steal performance from Gabby Williams, Team USA earned the 67-66 victory and its eighth consecutive gold medal.
Copper came off the bench and scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds and collected a pair of steals. Wilson may not have resembled vintage Wilson but still managed a double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds plus four blocks.
