General Malaise
Footballguy
Bruh, when you look like I do, you don't get to cast aspersions on other's style choices.
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***official wnba thread*** (5 Viewers)
- Thread starter timschochet
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Bruh, when you look like I do, you don't get to cast aspersions on other's style choices.
General Malaise
Footballguy
I think this is it.....
My guess it's to cut down on travel costs. Gotta save money wherever they can
General Malaise
Footballguy
Breakout basketball star Caitlin Clark has a new achievement that hasn’t been accomplished since Michael Jordan.
The WNBA player signed a multiyear deal with Wilson Sporting Goods Co., the league’s official basketball supplier, for “signature basketball collections celebrating Clark’s continued legacy,” the company announced Tuesday.
Wilson said that Clark will “test, advise and provide feedback on a range” of its basketball products, become a brand ambassador and release new collections that celebrate her throughout the rest of 2024. In addition, she will “creatively direct her first-ever signature basketball line” that will roll out later this year.
Financial terms of the deal were not released.
She’s the first-ever female athlete to have her own collection with Wilson, a company spokesperson told CNN, with the series being built similar to Jordan’s collection in the 1980s, which included signature basketballs and apparel.
“Wilson has been with me across some of the most pivotal moments in my career so far, and I couldn’t be more excited to continue driving basketball forward alongside them,” Clark said in a press release. “It feels surreal to have my own basketball collection, and to affect what that means for future generations of athletes.”
The first collection released Tuesday on Wilson’s website, with a limited collection of gold-colored basketballs featuring a drawing of Clark along with her signature.
Wilson, which has produced the basketballs for the NBA for several decades, became the official game ball of the WNBA in 2020. The company also sells basketballs with WNBA team logos on them.
Clark, the no. 1 draft pick, joined the Indiana Fever earlier this month and has been a boon for the league since: Her debut drew an average of 2.1 million viewers on ESPN2, ESPN+ and Disney+, making it the most watched WNBA game in more than two decades.
Nike is also reportedly on the verge of signing Clark to design her shoe line, but no official deal has been formally announced. She also has sponsorship deals with State Farm, Gatorade, Panini and others, valued at around $3 million.
The WNBA player signed a multiyear deal with Wilson Sporting Goods Co., the league’s official basketball supplier, for “signature basketball collections celebrating Clark’s continued legacy,” the company announced Tuesday.
Wilson said that Clark will “test, advise and provide feedback on a range” of its basketball products, become a brand ambassador and release new collections that celebrate her throughout the rest of 2024. In addition, she will “creatively direct her first-ever signature basketball line” that will roll out later this year.
Financial terms of the deal were not released.
She’s the first-ever female athlete to have her own collection with Wilson, a company spokesperson told CNN, with the series being built similar to Jordan’s collection in the 1980s, which included signature basketballs and apparel.
“Wilson has been with me across some of the most pivotal moments in my career so far, and I couldn’t be more excited to continue driving basketball forward alongside them,” Clark said in a press release. “It feels surreal to have my own basketball collection, and to affect what that means for future generations of athletes.”
The first collection released Tuesday on Wilson’s website, with a limited collection of gold-colored basketballs featuring a drawing of Clark along with her signature.
Wilson, which has produced the basketballs for the NBA for several decades, became the official game ball of the WNBA in 2020. The company also sells basketballs with WNBA team logos on them.
Clark, the no. 1 draft pick, joined the Indiana Fever earlier this month and has been a boon for the league since: Her debut drew an average of 2.1 million viewers on ESPN2, ESPN+ and Disney+, making it the most watched WNBA game in more than two decades.
Nike is also reportedly on the verge of signing Clark to design her shoe line, but no official deal has been formally announced. She also has sponsorship deals with State Farm, Gatorade, Panini and others, valued at around $3 million.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
As a fan of the business side of sports I am really interested to see if this season will be a tipping point to see sustained growth in the league or if this season will be a momentary blip
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https://x.com/ESPNFlora
Flora Kelly
@ESPNFlora
Season-to-date (4 games), WNBA is already up 218% vs. last year.
Q: What demo grew the most?Answer: Girls: Females 12-17 are up +267%, outpacing all other demos
========================
https://x.com/ESPNFlora
Flora Kelly
@ESPNFlora
Season-to-date (4 games), WNBA is already up 218% vs. last year.
Q: What demo grew the most?Answer: Girls: Females 12-17 are up +267%, outpacing all other demos
belljr
Footballguy
Yep, it's like some college sports. They'll go to an away trip and they'll play like three different schools at one event, at least for baseball and softball
pollardsvision
Footballguy
I'd have to think it's traditionally due to wanting to keep travel costs down.
pollardsvision
Footballguy
Now imagine what happens when Taylor Swift starts dating a WNBA player!
FreeBaGeL
Footballguy
That’s fair. Just being able to compete with men, in general, was discussed many times over. That’s still a joke.Is the big 3 the nba? Ice Cube has offered her money to join that league because of the publicity. You can’t find anybody who has said she would thrive in the nba.Uhh yes, all kinds of delusional people thinking she could compete against guys. There was talks of her joining the Big 3 mens league at one point. Ridiculous. She wouldn’t even be successful against a top high school boys team.Is there even one person in the world who has said thisShe’d thrive in the the NBA though right?!
I think it was “discussed” entirely by people making unsolicited comments like yours, creating a straw man to complain about. No serious person has remotely suggested Clark can or should play against men at any level much less that she would “thrive” in the NBA.
I think offdee must have engaged with one of those hot take facebook pages that takes some mega minority hot take and blasts it on people's feeds over and over to get them to rage-reply for the facebook algorithm.
They'll throw out some bogus hot take like a photo of Caitlyn Clark in a Celtics jersey and a caption "Really though who in the NBA is stopping her?" specifically so like 15,000 people will rage reply about how she would get destroyed, so the page looks to the facebook algorithm like a high engagement page. And then all the commenters are now seen by the algorithm as engaging with that kind of content so you start getting fed bogus page after bogus page doing dumb stuff like that until you start believing those are actually common opinions because you see them so often in your feed.
pollardsvision
Footballguy
On a serious note, viewership among 12-17 year old girls is skyrocketing? That's so freaking awesome in so many ways.
pollardsvision
Footballguy
And who knows if the league makes a leap, but remember the NBA was showing the NBA FInals on tape delay 45 years ago. And then they had a particularly compelling rookie class that had captured the country's attention in college.
Desert_Power
Footballguy
This is also pretty cool: https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/40192426/angel-reese-stake-dc-power-fc-soccer-team
Desert_Power
Footballguy
@timschochet @FBG Moderator @Joe Bryant
Anyone want to give an assist in changing the thread title to reflect the broader discussion? Thanks.
GroveDiesel
Footballguy
Except they played in Connecticut, Indy, NYC and then back to Indy. So not a lotta saving on travel there.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
The massive difference is timing.
Magic and Bird not only ended up in big markets, they also ended up on the best teams of their era.
Clark's influence on the over all business can only go so far if she is on a poor team in a small to mid sized market.
There are also a ton of other viewing options of major sports and television in general. Back then there wasn't a lot of choices. Much harder to get a grip like that or turn around something that has been around this long.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
One important data point will be where the tv ratings level off. Each game she has been on has seen a decrease in viewers.
The WNBA is going to hope these level off soon
Game 1: 2.12 million
Game 2: 1.71 million
Game 3: 1.56 million
If these can level off and stay above 1 million (for her games only) that will be a very solid foundation to build off of for next season.
The WNBA is going to hope these level off soon
Game 1: 2.12 million
Game 2: 1.71 million
Game 3: 1.56 million
If these can level off and stay above 1 million (for her games only) that will be a very solid foundation to build off of for next season.
What is the average WNBA viewership in past years?
offdee
Footballguy
39
GroveDiesel
Footballguy
From Googling it looks like last year was their highest ever and they averaged 505k per game.
The Finals last year averaged 728k, but overall playoff games only averaged 470k.
So if the numbers level off at about $1M it is a significant win and step in the right direction. Great context. Thanks.
tri-man 47
Footballguy
But remember that Kevin and Pete would always turn it off at halftime and go bowling, so it’s really only 37.
belljr
Footballguy
What about game 4&5 out of curiosity
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
these were the only games available that I saw at the time of the post. It takes multiple days for the final viewership numbers to be available after a game airs
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belljr
Footballguy
That was Saturday and Monday? Not really keeping track was just general curiosity
General Malaise
Footballguy
While we wait on @timschochet to make this the official WNBA thread, I'd like the board to know this:
Beaverton, Oregon's Cameron Brink just tied a WNBA record with 11 blocks in her 1st three games as a pro.
Beaverton, Oregon's Cameron Brink just tied a WNBA record with 11 blocks in her 1st three games as a pro.
Didn't Wemby do that his first game (I kid, I kid....just a joke).Beaverton, Oregon's Cameron Brink just tied a WNBA record with 11 blocks in her 1st three games as a pro.
General Malaise
Footballguy
Didn't Wemby do that his first game (I kid, I kid....just a joke).Beaverton, Oregon's Cameron Brink just tied a WNBA record with 11 blocks in her 1st three games as a pro.
Yeah, but not against the best!
FairWarning
Footballguy
It’s going up against summer in general. Who really wants to be inside to watch any sporting event?
msudaisy26
Footballguy
Didn't Wemby do that his first game (I kid, I kid....just a joke).Beaverton, Oregon's Cameron Brink just tied a WNBA record with 11 blocks in her 1st three games as a pro.
Not against Clark. She would have owned him.
SWC
Bromigo
i have two brohans i hang out with and they have nice spreads with tvs at outside bars one by a pool and they regularly have the wnba games on because me and all my buddies are bucketheads and we watch ball anytime and at any level we can and its good basketball in fact tonight i will be in a gym watching a womens college bball workout anyhow we enjoy it and it is a great background for summer in my opinion take that to the bank brochachos
SWC
Bromigo
show me on the doll where a successful women hurt you brohan take that to the bank
pollardsvision
Footballguy
Just checked my DVR, and it looks like Game 4 was only available on WNBA League Pass.
pollardsvision
Footballguy
Mystics-Mercury game is pretty fun.
Mercury have Kahleah Copper absolutely ripping the league apart right now playing along side a 41 YO Taurasi.
Mystics have Edwards doing well as rookie taken #6 out of UConn, and they also have a 31 YO undrafted rookie out of Belgium, Julie Vanloo, logging heavy minutes and playing great.
Mercury have Kahleah Copper absolutely ripping the league apart right now playing along side a 41 YO Taurasi.
Mystics have Edwards doing well as rookie taken #6 out of UConn, and they also have a 31 YO undrafted rookie out of Belgium, Julie Vanloo, logging heavy minutes and playing great.
Snotbubbles
Footballguy
And they banned that guy who bought courtside seats and pulled out a blanket and pillow and slept at the game.
GroveDiesel
Footballguy
Clark with an awful shooting night (though hitting the deep dagger late was money), but lead her team in assists and rebounds. Clark leading her team in rebounds is a pretty good indicator of how bad the team is.
Cameron Brink is pretty great. Deserves to have plenty of attention herself. Good player at both ends of the court.
Cameron Brink is pretty great. Deserves to have plenty of attention herself. Good player at both ends of the court.
Capella
Footballguy
I think she may end up being the biggest star out of all of this. Great player, in LA and she looks like a model. She is going to be everywhere for the next 10 years.
Over 19k in LA for the game last night. Amazing.
pollardsvision
Footballguy
Basketball-wise she seems like a cheat code. Certainly between her and Rickea, it seems like LA just had a franchise changing draft.
Watching this Fever-Sparks game, Sparks are a fun team to watch. Hamby is awesome. Her and Brink make a hell of a frontcourt.
The Aaliyah Boston-Brink match-up is also a lot of fun.
I would also say to anybody that ever laments about the physicality of the NBA today compared to 40 years ago, just watch the WNBA. These ladies ain't playing around. When they set a screen or commit a foul, somebody's getting laid out.
pollardsvision
Footballguy
Seriously folks, go watch that Fever-Sparks game.
Boston-Clark is gonna be a big thing. Both are great, and just learning to play with each other. They've only had 11 practices together so far. Started to click in this game. On the Clark front, she couldn't hit the broad side of a barn In this game, but she had a major impact on it. Even when they looked dead in the water at halftime. She kept creating for teammates, and they pulled off a big comeback.
And the Sparks? Wow, the future is so bright. Rickea and Brink are going to be a problem for a long time.
Boston-Clark is gonna be a big thing. Both are great, and just learning to play with each other. They've only had 11 practices together so far. Started to click in this game. On the Clark front, she couldn't hit the broad side of a barn In this game, but she had a major impact on it. Even when they looked dead in the water at halftime. She kept creating for teammates, and they pulled off a big comeback.
And the Sparks? Wow, the future is so bright. Rickea and Brink are going to be a problem for a long time.
Todem
Footballguy
What the hell is the WNBA?
Ministry of Pain
Footballguy
There's a professional women's basketball league?
Drunken knight
Footballguy
family and friends?
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
Clark had 8 points on only 8 shots last night in another blow out loss.
They are 1-6 now and in 11th place. Top 8 teams make the playoffs.
They are 1-6 now and in 11th place. Top 8 teams make the playoffs.
FreeBaGeL
Footballguy
8 out of 12 teams make the playoffs?
And to think I was upset about college football devaluing the regular season by letting 12 of 133 in.
FreeBaGeL
Footballguy
I saw that the Sparks/Fever game broke attendance records at Crypto.com arena. Not just for Sparks games but for the arena as a whole (including Lakers games). I don't know how all these arenas track attendance records since we see this all the time and it's not like the Lakers haven't sold out the arena before. I'm guessing every so often they let a few people in beyond capacity so they can say they "broke the record" for publicity, and this was probably the perfect opportunity to hype the team up, but still cool that it was a sellout reportedly at full price ($251 average ticket price).
DA RAIDERS
Footballguy
I said this about the college game too. I said the sissy’s in the nba wouldn’t be able to take the physicality. It’s startling
Spartans Rule
Footballguy
I remember when Bill Laimbeer was coaching in the WNBA and would pop up in NBA rumors, he always said he preferred his WNBA job because they were playing the 80s/90s NBA style basketball he knows and loves, while the NBA was moving a different direction.
It's kind of ironic that the old school curmudgeons who yearn for that type of basketball ignored the WNBA until it got Caitlin Clark, the player most likely to lead an evolution away from that style.
Desert_Power
Footballguy
Definitely feels a lot more like the NBA of that era than the modern game. College feels about the same, although I think Clark got a lot of star treatment there.
Good stuff from Angel after a hard foul: https://x.com/byjuliapoe/status/1794563793898352770
pollardsvision
Footballguy
Aces-Fever. Wow.
Jackie Young is phenomenal.
Jackie Young is phenomenal.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
I have seen some recent fouls on Clark and Reese.... I can't say I have watched much (any) WNBA before but my goodness, these fouls come off like the vets are jealous that this crop of rookies who have lifted the WNBA from barely surviving on it's own to selling out games. They should be thankful for these young ladies as they elevate their league much like how Magic/Bird did for the NBA but some of the comments and these fouls make at least the optics to come off as pure jealousy.
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