As a league, the 2010 average of 80.35 points per game was the best, far surpassing the 69.2 average in the league's inaugural season. On May 23, 2000, the Houston Comets became the first WNBA team to be invited to the White House Rose Garden. Toxic brain dead feminist 5. Many news outlets began covering the league more frequently. Previously, in 2008, a new six-year collective bargaining agreement was agreed upon between the players and the league. The Atlanta Dream, Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun, Dallas Wings, Las Vegas Aces, Seattle Storm, and Washington Mystics do not share an arena with a direct NBA counterpart, although four of the seven (the Dream, the Sky, the Wings, and the Mystics) share a market with an NBA counterpart, two (Mystics and Dream) play in NBA G League arenas, while the Storm shared an arena and market with an NBA team, the SuperSonics, at the time of its founding. While the Atlanta Dream shared State Farm Arena with the Hawks from the Dream's inception in 2008 to 2016 and again in 2019, the Hawks never held any ownership stake in the WNBA team. Phoenix averaged a league-record 88.97 points per game in 2007; teams could not keep up with the new style of play, and the Mercury were propelled into first place in the Western Conference. The league projected losses through the 2010 season to be around $400 million.[74]. [11] As with the Sky and Bulls, the Wings and Mavericks play in different areas, with the Wings playing at College Park Center in Arlington as opposed to the Mavericks playing in downtown Dallas at American Airlines Center. You might be wondering why, on this historic birthday, Im not taking you on a trip down memory lane, peering into long-ago memories, spinning an orange-and-oatmeal ball as we backpedal to 1996. The league has finally captured a slice of cultural relevancy, and, if youre just casually paying attention, you might believe the outcome, this potential leveling up, will be determined solely by the players of the WNBA. And for the upcoming 2021 season, ESPN has split the difference, dropping to 25 games. [88], Before the 2009 season, the maximum team roster size was changed from 13 players (11 active and 2 inactive) to 11 players (all active). Paul Westhead resigned from the Mercury after capturing the 2007 title and Penny Taylor opted to stay home to prepare for the 2008 Summer Olympics, causing the Mercury to falter in 2008. With few exceptions, the same cannot be said for the W, except for the part about the playerstheyre the best 144 in the world. Most games (except broadcasts on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2, which are available on ESPN3) are available via this system. pounds its chest and Major League Baseball enjoys an inheritance, but the W.N.B.A. Its an effort thing., You know Aristotles notion, The whole is greater than the sum of its parts? The Dallas Wings, which had been the Tulsa Shock before moving to the DallasFort Worth Metroplex after the 2015 season, are not affiliated with the existing NBA team in the Metroplex, the Dallas Mavericks. The final Cup games were to be played in July, with the top team in the Cup standings from each conference advancing to a one-off Cup final in August.[29]. We are standing on the shoulders of women who didnt back down just because casual sports fans didnt think they were worthy. For example, 55 WNBA players missed the start of training camp in 2021, meaning that most teams were unable to start practice with their full rosters. The league isnt even afforded the common courtesy of apathy, which would allow curious, prospective fans to make up their own minds. On April 21, 2011, NBA commissioner David Stern announced that former Girl Scouts of the USA Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Laurel J. Richie would assume duties as president on May 16, 2011. President Laurel Richie stated that after the 2015 season ends, they will create an expansion committee and begin evaluating if and how the WNBA should go about expanding their reach. You might even start to feel your heart pounding, and you dont know these people. Now imagine Mark Cuban walks by and announces that hell give the winner a million dollars. One of the main reasons that the WNBA remains in existence is that it is subsidized by the NBA, which . This season's WNBA rookie minimum. Two teams were added in 1998 (Detroit and Washington),[8] and two more were added in 1999 (Orlando and Minnesota), bringing the number of teams in the league up to twelve. If were covered, its a highlight. So the W is forced to battle just to reach the starting line, just to remove the poison from its water. [20] On November 20, 2009, the WNBA announced that the Sacramento Monarchs had folded due to lack of support from its current owners, the Maloof family, who were also the owners of the Sacramento Kings at the time. Similar analysis doesn't seem to exist for the WNBA, but we do know its revenue is far lower. For the remaining top four picks, a selection process similar to the NBA Draft Lottery is conducted for the four teams that did not qualify for the playoffs. [122], On April 22, 2019, CBS Sports Network reached a multi-year deal to televise 40 regular-season weekend and primetime WNBA games, beginning in the 2019 season.[123][124]. And once, when we finally tried a segment, it did, in fact, fall flat. As it begins its 25th season, the WNBA aims to do more than celebrate survival. More airtime would drive better ratings, would justify more airtime, would drive even better ratings. The regular season is played from May to September, with the All Star game being . It has practical implications. Ive actually thought about this a lot over the years, he said. My male colleagues couldnt name more than one player. People in every other industry understand that demand is created by the marketers and the decision-makers, says Nefertiti Walker, professor of sport business at the UMassAmherst. Maybe the Jordan is about to walk through the doors. You might believe some line about quality of play, etc. In December 2010, Donna Orender said that the league had its first-ever "cash flow positive" team during the 2010 season. The complain about wage gap but the league doesn't make any money 4. By playing in the one game Lieberman broke a record that she had set in 1997 when she was the league's oldest player at 39. However, those games will be available on-demand shortly after the conclusion of their live broadcast.[127]. Facing the reigning champion Detroit Shock, the Mercury imposed their high-scoring offense with hopes of capturing their first title in franchise history. After the 2003 season, the Cleveland Rockers, one of the league's original eight teams, folded because the owners were unwilling to continue operating the franchise. Now we have to talk about money, a touchy subject because the WNBA does not share it's financial data with the public. That was the job. Shortly after the All-Star break is the trading deadline. Now imagine one of the shooters is your wife. Over the eight years of the contract, "millions and millions of dollars" will be "dispersed to the league's teams". The CBA is transitioning toward severely penalizing veteran players for late arrival at WNBA training camps. But the Ground-Base is perfect. Teams hold training camps in May. The Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty each saw double-digit percentage losses in 2019, but half of the league's teams saw attendance increases in that season, and the number of sellouts was the same in both seasons (41).[112]. The Mercury was well-suited for the fast offense behind these three players. Almost certainly, any player who wears that uniform in the future will find, awaiting them, a rabid fan base, an elevated platformsomething like stardom. The originally planned schedule, with the first home game and first road game of each team against each of its fellow conference members doubling as Cup games, was maintained. Led by the "Big Three" of Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson, and four-time Finals MVP Cynthia Cooper, the Comets dominated every team in the league. The lockout ended on November 26, and NBA teams would play a 66-game regular season following the lockout. What is the difference between a season in the WNBA vs NBA? That's 6 months of non-stop WNBA action. Imagine watching two lousy basketball players in a game of H-O-R-S-E. They advanced to their first ever WNBA Finals and swept the Charlotte Sting. The WNBA suffers from a lack of athleticism compared to the NBA and unless we make serious strides in genetic engineering that gap will simply never be closed. There are two All-WNBA teams; starting with the 2022 season, each consists of five top players selected without regard to position, with first-team status being the most desirable. A dispersal draft was held on January 8, 2007. The Lynx have the most appearances in the championship with six, all occurring in the seven years from 2011 to 2017. His purchase is a great sign for us. Take the new maximum contract of $500,000, more than triple the previous number. The winners of each quarterfinal series advance to the semifinals, with the bracket not being reseeded. After a quarter of a century, perhaps we finally owe the WNBA a little introspection. The Comets ceased operations on December 1, 2008, after no owners for the franchise could be found. [32] Also as part of the campaign, the league unveiled The W25, consisting of 25 players determined to be the league's greatest and most influential, as chosen by a panel made up of media and pioneering women's players. Thats how we play and thats how we feel about the future. [3], While not the first major women's professional basketball league in the United States (a distinction held by the defunct WBL), the WNBA is the only league to receive full backing of the NBA. The evidence exists on socialInstagram, Snapchat, TikTokwhere images of the players fits (i.e., outfits) as they walk into the arena get tagged and linked and reshared. A little bit of me is saying a league isnt a league unless there are players. Sue Bird, who played for the Seattle Storm from 2002 until her retirement in 2022 (though she missed the 2013 and 2019 seasons to injury), holds the record for career assists[45] with 3,234 in 580 regular-season games. Ratings still remain poor in comparison to NBA games. The Comets folded in 2008. (The network was desperate for live programming.) Why the WNBA remains irrelevant to most sports fans 21 years later Here, Ill give Bird the floor: The story of 25 years, for a lot of people, the headline is: Oh, they wouldnt exist if the NBA didnt keep them afloat; look how poorly theyre doing. The amount of time that a team must move the ball across the half-court line went from 10 to 8 seconds. Finally, there is one All-Rookie team, consisting of the top five first-year players regardless of position. Players on marquees on the strip, flying first class to All-Star; we set a bar thats so high, Wilson says of the Aces. When launched in 1996, the league was ahead of its timein almost every way. Most men do run faster and jump higher. At any given time, the WNBA has at most 144 players, but at the time of the story, "ready to ship" replica team jerseys were available for fewer than 20 of them. Perhaps you even saw your own reasoning reflected in his. But the USWNT has, among other advantages, the racial makeup of its talent poolpredominantly whiteand the rare double double of the Olympics and World Cup, two stakes-and-story-lines events. The game was televised nationally in the United States on the NBC television network. Previously only one free throw was awarded as well as possession. Some teams, among them the Lynx, offer a larger variety of ready-made replica jerseys in their online team stores. And we look at other teams and we might not have championships yet, but we are setting another kind of bar., Were here to push the envelope, says Loyd. It is during this time that voting begins for individual awards. So, in a world like this, what is the WNBA but, at best, a stepping-stone? The 2010 season saw a tight race in the East, with three teams being tied for first place on the final day of the regular season. For anyone, male or female, between the ages of nine and 11, a ball size of 27.5 inches in . The Houston Comets, Minnesota Lynx, and Seattle Storm hold the distinction of having won the most championships with four titles each. On April 3, 2020, the WNBA announced that the beginning of its own schedule would be postponed. Only 14 WNBA players have reached the 6,000 point milestone: Diana Taurasi, Tina Thompson, Tamika Catchings, Tina Charles, Candice Dupree, Cappie Pondexter, Sue Bird, Katie Smith, Sylvia Fowles, Candace Parker, Lisa Leslie, DeWanna Bonner, Seimone Augustus, and Lauren Jackson. I nodded as my friend spoke. It has turned an average $10 million net loss (revenue costs) per year, since its inception in 1996. In 2013, this was increased to $14.99. Each team would receive around $1million per year. During the mid-2000s, the NBA spent more than $10million per year to keep the WNBA financially solvent. Where there is cash, talent follows. The scoring average leader is Cynthia Cooper, who averaged 21.0 points per game[43] in five seasons with the Houston Comets (19972000, 2003).[44]. People watch sports because of how it makes them feel. But suddenly when its womens sports, you have to make a profit; now youre running a McDonalds? [90][91] Many WNBA players supplement their salaries by playing in European, Australian, or more recently Chinese women's basketball leagues during the WNBA offseason. Without NBA subsidies the WNBA would not exist. Uh, Rowling Why Does Slytherin Still Exist? - YouTube LeBron James is one of the greatest athletes in human history, but if his sport of choice generated the public interest the WNBA has, he would not be signing a $154 million dollar contract. The WNBA originated with 8 teams in 1997, and through a sequence of expansions, contractions, and relocations currently consists of 12 teams. Playoffs typically start in September. The 2020 WNBA schedule originally included a month-long break in July and August to allow players to participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. A new 50,000-square-foot practice facility near the Raiders, perhaps an arena all their ownall this after a sit-down conversation with the teams star, Wilson, to get her buy-in. NBC showed games from 1997 to 2002 as part of their NBA on NBC coverage before the league transferred the rights to ABC/ESPN. Averaging 93.2 points per game in the Finals series, the Mercury beat Detroit on their home floor in front of 22,076 fans in game five to claim their first-ever WNBA title. During the season, voting for All-Star starters takes place among fans, WNBA players, and sports media members. Says Lobo: Every time a WNBA team has gotten a new owner its like, Do they have money, or do they have reaaaaaaal money? Because on the NBA side, people have real money. [79] Shortly after the George Floyd protests began, the league and union decided in 2020 to put Black Lives Matter and Say Her Name slogans on warmup gear and opening weekend uniforms. . [30] No details of the revised schedule were announced as of the time of the draft, and the Commissioner's Cup was ultimately not held in 2020. WNBA's 25th Season: It's Time to Start Paying Attention - Sports What Is The WNBA's Core Rule? A Guide To The Core Designation Not just the athleticism, but also the money, the culture, the fashion, the cachetit all adds up to cultural capital. Not very entertaining 2. In many ways, the league is a completely different specimen than when it launched. The Shock had three all-stars in the 2003 All-Star Game (Swin Cash, Cheryl Ford, and Deanna Nolan). [139] This became the impetus for the multi-year partnership in which CBS Sports Network would broadcast live WNBA games beginning with the 2019 season.[140]. 1. The starters are selected by a weighted vote (fans 50%, players and media 25% each), while reserves are selected by the league's head coaches. Before the start of the 2011 season, every team announced a new look for their uniforms. All the outward noises from such companies tell the story of sport as universal, of game recognizing game. I wish we would drive the conversation. (Yes, the WNBA also has the Olympics, but the team usually toils in the shadow of that years iteration of the Dream Team, the men.). And its like, get on board.. There's a general feeling that since men have a vibrant professional athletics arena, it's only fair if the women do, too; this leads to institutional impetus to create, perpetuate and subsidize. [121] Along with this deal, came the first-ever rights fees to be paid to a women's professional sports league. The issue of the players' pay has been a thorny issue, and one aspect of this discussion that has been pointed out is the fact that since it was founded, the . The retirement of legends Katie Smith, Tina Thompson, Ticha Penicheiro, and Sheryl Swoopes coupled with the arrival of highly touted rookies and new rule changes effectively marked the end of an era for the WNBA and the ushering of another. Somehow, when it comes to the first 25 years of the WNBA, the whole has been less than the sum of its parts. The simple fact that in the last two decades Diana Taurasi has not blossomed into a transcendent megastar is evidence enough that our sports world is not a meritocracy, as we like to believe. The higher seed will generally face a weaker team, and will have home-court advantage in each round. So, the WNBA does not make money. 2012 featured a long Olympic break. Why does this exist? :: F1 Manager 2022 General Discussions However, all ballots had votes for first, second, and third places, and the WNBA did not provide a voting breakdown. That aforementioned exchange, the one from my house? The Seattle Storm, whose first 2022 draft pick was in the middle of the second round, waived that pick (Elissa Cunane), and the Las Vegas Aces waived both of their picks, one of them a first-rounder. The league announced it would seek new owners to relocate the team to the San Francisco Bay area; however, no ownership was found and a dispersal draft was held on December 14, 2009. The Detroit Shock was the sister team of the Pistons until the teams' owner sold the Shock to investors who moved the team to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Late in 2008, the WNBA took over ownership of one of the league's original franchises, the Houston Comets. Should that player be traded? After 2000, Cooper retired from the league, and the Comets' dynasty came to an end. For draft purposes, "American" includes those born in the U.S., as well as those who have enrolled in a U.S. college or university, regardless of their citizenship. Lisa Leslie was the longest-tenured player from the 1997 draft class; she spent her entire career (19972009) with the Los Angeles Sparks. But thats irrational, because women watch sports for mostly the same reasons men do. As a Black woman in this country, I know my magic and value and worth. Nope the WNBA exists because the NBA is a business and women make up half of the worlds population. As of 2013 the defensive three-second rule and anti-flopping guidelines were introduced. On April 8, 2019, the WNBA announced a multiyear marquee partnership with AT&T, making them the first non-apparel partner to have its logo featured on the front of all 12 team jerseys. In this way, players of the W are burgeoning fashion icons. Youll often hear the argument that if women arent watching womens sports, then men shouldnt be bothered to care, either. I've seen bigger crowds for junior high basketball. Because I often feel some level of guilt about it, but when it comes down to it, I just think that if Im going to take the time to watch sports, I want to be watching them at the peak of how they can be playedspeed, strength, all of it. While the 2020 CBA led to maximum player salaries nearly doubling from 2019 to 2022, the team cap only increased by slightly less than 40% in that period. Teams selected in inverse order of their 2006 records; Chicago received the first pick. It also includes inherited story lines, which fuel media coverage, and will always exist regardless of the specific personnel in the league. (Exemptions are provided for national team commitments, graduations, and other significant life events.) Or perhaps it will be some blue-chip company recognizing it can partner with womenpredominantly Black womenand benefit from a quarter-century of the leagues blood, sweat and tears? The Indiana Fever won that year's WNBA championship. For other uses, see, Top-level sport leagues in the United States, Houston domination and league expansion (19972000), The L.A. Sparks; new league ownership and contraction (20012002), Bill Laimbeer leaves his mark (20032006), Bringing "Paul Ball" to the WNBA (20072009), New CBA and Commissioner's Cup plans (2020), 'Count It' campaign celebrating 25th anniversary (2021). These teams include the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty, the Indiana Pacers and Fever, the Los Angeles Lakers and Sparks, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, the Phoenix Suns and Mercury, and the Washington Wizards and Mystics. The Mercury beat the Fever in game five, this time on their home court, to capture their second WNBA championship. [100], In recent years, the lack of roster space for rookies, thus hampering their professional development, has become a major issue. Number retired by the franchise when it was playing as the. Before the 2012 season, it was announced that users of LiveAccess would have to pay a $4.99 subscription fee to use the service. 16. Maybe that was true during the 2000s, but its not anymore. However, about half of the decline in attendance from 2017 to 2018 was due to the New York Liberty moving from 19,812-seat Madison Square Garden to the 5,000-seat Westchester County Center. Some teams offer games on local radio, while all teams have some games broadcast on local television stations: From 2010 to 2011, the regular-season broadcast drew 270,000 viewers a growth of 5 percent from 2010's numbers. Many teams have experienced drops in their attendance; (San Antonio Stars: 37.4%, Washington Mystics: 7.9%, Tulsa Shock: 7.2%)[110] these losses have caused the attendance of the WNBA to drop. If something is supportedmonetarily, or in love, or in going the extra milethen success is going to happen, says former WNBA star Dawn Staley, the current coach at South Carolina. But also because I think sports fans are ready for more context, more critical thinking about what drives their interest, as well as a leagues growth. is a behemoth, the N.B.A. Yet somehow that logic didnt extend to the WNBA. This percentage is still lower than the percentage in the NBA. [104] In a 2021 episode of a podcast hosted by Napheesa Collier and A'ja Wilson, Collier raised the prospect of players choosing to abandon the WNBA for higher overseas salaries, telling Wilson "If Im not making that much in the league, if its not enough for me to survive on during the year, Im going overseas and having the summer off. The previous CBA allowed a team to designate a player as "core"similar to the. [98], WNBA players are awarded bonuses for certain achievements. The salary cap for an entire team in 2010 was $827,000 (although it was later lowered to $775,000). This sale of teams also led to two teams folding, the Miami Sol and Portland Fire, because new owners could not be found. And there are times when some of those anchors, they know their s---, and you can tell. ), to the small things like how players should be marketed, how they should look in a photo shoot (straight). (You can see that here.) The Most Improved Player Award is awarded to the player who is deemed to have shown the most improvement from the previous season. Women's National Basketball Association - Wikipedia Were actually growing.. Mens sports will invade our personal space, often without permission: Apple TV will literally interrupt whatever show youre streaming to alert you that a game is close. [26], During the 2018 season, the WNBA players' union opted out of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the league, which then ended after the 2019 season. The takeaway is that we love investing in men. The main arc is essentially identical to that used by, The regulation WNBA ball is a minimum 28.5 inches (72cm) in circumference and weighs 20.0 ounces (570g), 1 inch (2.5cm) smaller and 2 ounces (57g) lighter than the NBA ball. The members of the WNBA's All-Decade Team were chosen in 2006 on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the WNBA from amongst 30 nominees compiled by fans, media, coach, and player voting. After missing out on the Finals in 2004 and 2005, the Shock bounced back in 2006 behind newly acquired Katie Smith, along with six remaining members from their 2003 Finals run (Cash, Ford, Holland-Corn, Nolan, Powell, and Riley). ", "W.N.B.A., Going on 7, Has Grown-Up Labor Dispute", "DREAM: Atlanta's WNBA Team Named Atlanta Dream", "Liberty Has Its Moment in History, if Not a Victory", "The First Regular Season Outdoor Game in Professional Basketball History", "With rebound, WNBA solidifies spot at ESPN", "No, the WNBA is Not a Major Sport (And That's Fine)", "WNBA Approves Relocation of Shock from Tulsa to DallasFort Worth", "Mark Davis agrees to purchase Las Vegas Aces WNBA team", "WNBA And WNBPA Reach Tentative Agreement On Groundbreaking Eight-Year Collective Bargaining Agreement", "What the new CBA means to the WNBA and its players", "WNBA expands to 36-game schedule, adds Commissioner's Cup", "WNBA Statement Regarding the Start of the 2020 Regular Season", "WNBA season to play out in Florida at IMG Academy", "WNBA unveils new logo for 'Count It' campaign", "WNBA Continues Celebration Of Landmark 25th Season, Names Greatest Players In League History, "The W25", "WNBA Announces Innovative Blueprint, New Partnerships and Significant Prize Pool for Inaugural Commissioner's Cup", "Las Vegas Welcomes Franchise Legend Becky Hammon Back To The Family As Team's Head Coach", "Jim Dolan parting ways with New York Liberty was only a matter of time", "MSG to Operate Liberty While Continuing to Pursue Sale, Westchester County Center to Serve as Team's Primary Home for 2018", "Nets minority owner Joseph Tsai buys WNBA's Liberty", "NBA Board of Governors approves sale of Nets to Joe Tsai", "WNBA Announces Relocation of San Antonio Stars to Las Vegas", "Google Named New WNBA Changemaker and Presenting Partner of the WNBA on ESPN as Part of Multiyear Agreement", "WNBA Career Leaders and Records for Points Per Game", "WNBA Career Leaders and Records for Assists", "WNBA Career Leaders and Records for Assists Per Game", "WNBA Single Season Leaders and Records for Assists Per Game", "Delle Donne first in WNBA to join 504090 club", "Detroit's Plenette Pierson Named 2007 WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year", "WNBA Cares Community Assist Past Winners", "WNBA Announces New Process for Selecting All-WNBA Teams and Unveils End-of-Season Awards Schedule", "Chicago Sky's James Wade Named 2022 WNBA Basketball Executive Of The Year", INDIANA FEVER TO RETIRE CATCHINGS' NO. The Comets defeated Lobo's New York Liberty in the first WNBA Championship game. All listed winners are from the 2022 season. Currently, WNBA games are televised throughout the U.S. by ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, Twitter, NBATV, CBS, and CBS Sports Network. [39] Through the 2017 season, the San Antonio Spurs and Stars were also paired, but that relationship ended in October 2017 when the Stars were bought by MGM Resorts International and moved to Las Vegas.[40]. Its almost never a story line, which offers continuity, which sparks debate, which has elements of inheritance, passed down from one generation to the next. Each player on the winning team receives a championship ring. The new influx of young talent into the league gave many teams something to be excited about. In the beginning, the league was trying to have players fit the image they werent, says reigning WNBA Finals MVP Breanna Stewart. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The WNBA generates revenues of $60 million annually, but it also has costs in excess of $70 million annually. Mens sports transcend sports itself and becomes a part of the larger cultural consciousness. Thats what makes our league better, because we have faced those hurdles. The NBA is more popular than ever, generating more than $7 billion in revenue with each franchise now being valued at $1 billion or more. Atlanta Dream forward Angel McCoughtry was the first player in league history to average over 20 points per game (21.6ppg) while playing under 30 minutes per game (27.9mpg). During its tenure in Tulsa, it was not affiliated with Oklahoma's NBA team, the Oklahoma City Thunder. As the 2020 deadline for a new collective bargaining agreement approached, the players knew that a lot of foundational issues needed reworking, issues going back to the beginning. Lets start here: my house, a couple of months ago, a good friend over for dinner and the conversation turning toward the article youve just started. Here we are, on the WNBAs 25th anniversary, and societys margins have reconfigured themselves. As soon as the injured (or otherwise sidelined) player(s) can play, the roster hardship player(s)not any other player on the rostermust be waived. The Aces are owned by an owner who also owns an NFL team (Mark Davis of the Regardless of the discipline, well passionately watch any Olympic event. Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles set a league record for double-doubles in a season with 23. [78] The players have also supported progressive social and political movements such as Black Lives Matter and others.