At least big-picture, as the end of one era of the league and the beginning of another, in part because of Cathy Engelbert’s announcement earlier this month that she will step down as commissioner at the end of this year. It’s fair to say this season has been a microcosm of her up-and-down seven-year tenure: more growth than ever, excellent basketball, breakthroughs for a new generation of stars, and high highs, but also low lows – refereeing controversies and manufactured culture-war hysterics chief among them. EB Unfortunately, for the transgender panic that swallowed much of the conversation around it.
Never mind there has never been a trans woman – a person assigned male at birth who transitions to align with their gender identity – on a WNBA roster. The hypothetical eligibility question became a months-long culture-war spectacle, diverting attention from what should have been a celebration of the league’s expansion and extraordinary competitive depth. BAG There’s been plenty of talk about the WNBA’s growth in recent years, usually measured in viewers and dollars.
This season brought the growing pains that come with greater visibility, as outside narratives challenged the league’s progressive, player-first identity. But amid those tensions, the WNBA also welcomed two new teams, brought thousands of new fans into the fold and, most importantly, produced perhaps the deepest and best basketball the league has seen. SK As the year of fair play, culture wars and expansion that preceded the genuine mainstream breakout.
It also becomes notable, in retrospect, for how much A’ja Wilson’s greatness was overlooked amid the Sturm und Drang. AL I’ll go with the Toronto Tempo, mainly because I wanted to see Playoff Marina Mabrey. She was one of the league’s most exciting players through the first half of the year, and her record-tying 53-point game on 25 June will go down as one of the season’s highlights.
Unfortunately, it was also Toronto’s peak: they were hampered by injuries, including to Mabrey, and they went 2-23 from that game onward, so they were never a realistic contender. EB A year after reaching the WNBA finals, the Phoenix Mercury collapsed to 16-28 and missed the playoffs entirely. That means no Alyssa Thomas, one of the league’s dynamic talents and the engine of last year’s runners-up.
BAG I may be biased because I live there and cover them often, but it would have been really fun for the Portland Fire to have the chance to inject their signature relentlessness into the playoffs. It’s also pretty startling to realize the postseason will be played without the Phoenix Mercury on the floor. SK At a glance, the Seattle Storm having their worst season since their first season after making the playoffs in seven of the last eight years, with a pair of championships, would seem like reason to hit the panic button.
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