2024 WNBA Thread

[MU82]

Based on comments/conversations in other threads, there seems to be enough interest to start a stand-alone WNBA thread ...

Some people had a conniption fit about what Taurasi said awaited Clark in the WNBA. But it's hard to argue that her basic point - that Clark would be facing much more talented opponents game after game with the Fever than she did at Iowa - wasn't spot-on.

She was defended well by the Sun all game yesterday, had very little room to shoot, was played physically, and had to force a lot of passes into small windows that closed quickly. She finished with 10 turnovers to go with 20 pts (5/15 shooting). And while the Fever have a couple/few good players, they are still not very good and she often won't get much help.

Indiana's schedule suggests Clark and her team has a pretty rough learning curve ahead: 2 games against NY, followed by another with Conn, followed by Seattle, LA and Vegas.

[Marquette Fan]

I’m interested to see how Caitlin Clark mania translates to the WNBA.  I had no problem with what Taurasi said and yes Clark wasn’t going to come in and dominate in the WNBA right away.

I was happy to see the Lynx win - have switched my affiliation from the Sun to them with Natisha Hiedeman getting traded to the Lynx.

Thanks for starting this thread.

[JWags85]

Based on comments/conversations in other threads, there seems to be enough interest to start a stand-alone WNBA thread ...

Some people had a conniption fit about what Taurasi said awaited Clark in the WNBA. But it's hard to argue that her basic point - that Clark would be facing much more talented opponents game after game with the Fever than she did at Iowa - wasn't spot-on.

She was defended well by the Sun all game yesterday, had very little room to shoot, was played physically, and had to force a lot of passes into small windows that closed quickly. She finished with 10 turnovers to go with 20 pts (5/15 shooting). And while the Fever have a couple/few good players, they are still not very good and she often won't get much help.

Indiana's schedule suggests Clark and her team has a pretty rough learning curve ahead: 2 games against NY, followed by another with Conn, followed by Seattle, LA and Vegas.

I think the theme of Taurasi's statement was less of an issue than her general grizzled old hater condescension for every new player.  From my perspective, it was less "she's amazing, but this is a different game" and more like "I don't get the hype, wait till she plays real players".  And thats coming from someone who LOVED watching Taurasi at UCONN and early WNBA days.

As for Clark, honestly, it was fodder for both depending on how you view her.  The Fever still are super flawed.  Boston was terrible last night and Clark was getting double teams/face up guarding from the center line in.  She's gonna struggle putting up big assist numbers due to the team she's playing with.

That being said, it was a tale of two halves.  she started 0-5, but wasn't overly forcing, rest of the game she went 5-10 and was really the only offense the Fever had in the second half.  The TOs were terrible, but the officials let her get played much more physical than she saw at Iowa, that will for sure be an adjustment.  She got smacked on 2 layups I saw that ended up with her losing the ball out of bounds that would definitely have been FTs any game last year.

If she plays like she did in the second half and even has half the TOs, she'll run away with ROY.

[MU82]

Agree that if last night's game was Clark's "floor," she's gonna be just fine, Wags. And yes, Taurasi was condescending ... but her point wasn't wrong. And of course, we're both right about the Fever. They've had the #1 pick two straight years for a reason.

I'd bet on Clark being a good, maybe even very good, WNBA player. I highly doubt she will be a generational talent at that level as she was at her previous level, but who knows?

Will be curious to see how many eyeballs were on last night's game.

[Lennys Tap]

Agree that if last night's game was Clark's "floor," she's gonna be just fine, Wags. And yes, Taurasi was condescending ... but her point wasn't wrong. And of course, we're both right about the Fever. They've had the #1 pick two straight years for a reason.

I'd bet on Clark being a good, maybe even very good, WNBA player. I highly doubt she will be a generational talent at that level as she was at her previous level, but who knows?

Will be curious to see how many eyeballs were on last night's game.

Nobody cared about the WNBA before Clark arrived. If you’re right and she only turns out to be just another good to very good player in the league people will rapidly lose interest. Only hope for the league is if she’s a star.

[Uncle Rico]

Nobody cared about the WNBA before Clark arrived. If you’re right and she only turns out to be just another good to very good player in the league people will rapidly lose interest. Only hope for the league is if she’s a star.

I hope so.  As an evangelical Christian, the idea of women’s sports being popular is very concerning

[Pakuni]

I hope so.  As an evangelical Christian, the idea of women’s sports being popular is very concerning

The players have been told diabolical lies about pursuing sports as a career, when their true vocation is breeding.

Anyhow, the old man "nobody cares" take was inevitable, facts be damned.
One should compare WNBA TV ratings vs Big East TV ratings and tell us which nobody cares about.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Nobody cared about the WNBA before Clark arrived. If you’re right and she only turns out to be just another good to very good player in the league people will rapidly lose interest. Only hope for the league is if she’s a star.

The WNBA's ratings are generally around what NBA/USA gets for the EPL. Its championship series outpaced events like the average Wimbledon coverage on ESPN. (Despite being held during the NFL regular season and MLB playoffs.)

So I don't think its fair to say that "nobody cared" about the WNBA. It by and large is a niche product in a sports world full of them.

[Uncle Rico]

The WNBA's ratings are generally around what NBA/USA gets for the EPL. Its championship series outpaced events like the average Wimbledon coverage on ESPN. (Despite being held during the NFL regular season and MLB playoffs.)

So I don't think its fair to say that "nobody cared" about the WNBA. It by and large is a niche product in a sports world full of them.

Lenny doesn’t care about women’s sports = no one cares about women’s sports.

[MU82]

Nobody cared about the WNBA before Clark arrived. If you’re right and she only turns out to be just another good to very good player in the league people will rapidly lose interest. Only hope for the league is if she’s a star.

I disagree with most of this, but I'm not in the mood for a multiple-page back-and-forth about it, so I'll let you tangle with others.

[JWags85]

The WNBA's ratings are generally around what NBA/USA gets for the EPL. Its championship series outpaced events like the average Wimbledon coverage on ESPN. (Despite being held during the NFL regular season and MLB playoffs.)

So I don't think its fair to say that "nobody cared" about the WNBA. It by and large is a niche product in a sports world full of them.

Yep, and thats totally fine!  The sooner the discussion about the league, its success , etc... is moved away from comparison to the NBA (or the other top 4/5 leagues), the better the relative success and growth of the WNBA can be measured.  And this goes for both the haters of the WNBA, and its rabid supporters.

[WhiteTrash]

Good lord. Only took a few post before hijacking MU82's attempt to have conversations about the WNBA.

(I know, welcome to Scoop  )

 

[lawdog77]

Nobody cared about the WNBA before Clark arrived. If you’re right and she only turns out to be just another good to very good player in the league people will rapidly lose interest. Only hope for the league is if she’s a star.

Attendance has been rising the past several years. There are some college players now that might make better pros-Paige Buckets, and Juju Watkins. The league is not going to fold if Clark doesnt meet expectations. It's OK to just say its not for you.

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

Just heard about the crazy Griner divorce/annulment/pregnancy story last night. Looking forward to see how that ends up.