The WNBA Enters the Superteam Era

ESPN Daily

ESPN

Sports

4.6 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 19 May 2023

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The WNBA is no longer asking nicely for your attention, they’re demanding it as we enter the league’s superteam era. It’s impossible to ignore the New York Liberty, who built a star-studded roster featuring Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Courtney Vandersloot. And don’t forget about the reigning champions, the Las Vegas Aces…who added none other than Candace Parker to their locker room. Oh, and Britney Griner is back too, making her return to the W tonight in Los Angeles as her Phoenix Mercury visit the Sparks. And of course, the serious stuff…as no league is immune to scandal. So ahead of tip-off tonight, LaChina Robinson takes us through all of this season’s can’t miss storylines…and what it means for the future of the women’s game. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Let's shine a Robinson.
0:02.4	You are a WNBA analyst for us at ESPN.
0:05.6	And tonight the W's 2023 season tips off.
0:09.3	There are a lot of big storylines to get to.
0:11.8	The rise of a pair of super teams, the return of Brittany Griner.
0:15.4	But before we get to all the new intriguing storylines, it feels like a good time to check
0:20.0	in on the state of the league and the state of women's basketball.
0:23.2	How would you characterize where the WNBA is at this moment?
0:27.4	Well, Israel, I am happy to be here with you today to say that the growth of the WNBA
0:32.9	is really skyrocketing.
0:38.1	And you would start with viewership in 2022 regular season, saw the largest audience increase
0:44.5	in the last 15 years.
0:48.0	Four of our games last season made it to the top 10 most viewed all time since 2012.
0:53.8	So the WNBA is doing really well.
0:55.7	We just came off the most watched draft since 2004.
0:59.2	But the bottom line is this.
1:01.8	The on the court product is tremendous.
1:04.1	144 of the best basketball players and athletes in the world.
1:23.6	Sabrina Inesco on the board from three.
1:28.4	But we have to give a little bit of credit for sure and the uptick we're seeing right now to the
1:33.3	women's tournament. I mean, the NCAA women's tournament championship, 9.9 million people watched.
1:39.6	That's just incredible. So we had a lot of momentum in women's basketball going into the draft,
	...

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