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‘This is a real thing now’: In WNBA’s 25th season, players reflect on childhood dreams becoming reality

Diana Taurasi is a player many in today’s WNBA looked up to when they were younger. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

June 21, 1997 — The referee tosses the ball up between the New York Liberty and the Los Angeles Sparks. It hangs in the air for a moment as the crowd of 14,284 fans hold their collective breath.

The WNBA has officially tipped off, and women’s basketball will never be the same. When Sparks guard Penny Toler scores the first official basket, the significance of the moment starts to sink in.

Twenty-five years later, the WNBA is still here. And the impact of that first game is still being felt.

***

Over two and a half decades, the league has evolved on every level, from player autonomy to fan engagement and social media interaction to marketing and visibility. And along the way, it has inspired young athletes who grew up knowing that professional women’s basketball is the norm and not a novelty.

Today’s WNBA spans many generations, from 18-year veteran Sue Bird to 21-year-old rookie Charli Collier. What’s unique about this class of players, in the league’s 25th year, is the majority of them started their basketball careers with the WNBA as a real, living, breathing end goal. They could watch women play basketball for a living and think to themselves: That could be me someday.

“My first WNBA memory is going to a Washington Mystics game. It was actually the 10-year anniversary of the league, and I was playing AAU and our whole team went,” says Atlanta Dream center Elizabeth Williams. “I think one of the Miller sisters was on the Mystics at the time. I just remember the whole experience and especially kids my age being excited to even see a pro league.

“I think that was the first time where it was like, whoa, this is actually a possibility for us as female athletes.”

The image of that game stayed in the back of Williams’ mind as she got older and played college basketball at Duke University, with aspirations to make it to the WNBA. Many players of Williams’ generation had similar experiences.

“The first WNBA game I went to when I was little, I think I was eight or nine. I remember the L.A. Sparks and I remember Candace Parker,” says Kennedy Burke of the Seattle Storm. “And I knew then, I was like, oh, this is what I want to do, because I love basketball.”

A little over a decade later, Burke was guarding Parker during a game, “wowed” that the player who inspired her dreams was now her opponent.

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Candace Parker won two WNBA MVP awards and one championship in 13 seasons with the Sparks. (Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

Burke’s teammate, Breanna Stewart, went to her first game with her AAU team. They traveled from Syracuse, N.Y. to Madison Garden to see the Liberty play. Stewart hoped that one day, she would be out there, too. Washington Mystics guard Myisha Hines-Allen also went to her first WNBA game at the Garden with her AAU team, and it changed her relationship with the sport. Before that game, she was just playing basketball; afterward, she began watching it all the time.

“For so long, you’d only see men play in the NBA on TV. I’d watch women’s college games, but on the professional level, you didn’t see any women,” says Shey Peddy of the Phoenix Mercury. “So now it was like, OK, I see somebody who looks like me out here ballin’ day in and day out, just on the big stage, on TV. That was the main goal, to be on TV playing basketball in front of all of the fans, to have your family and friends cheering for you one day and, hopefully, have a miracle shot like they did.”

Jessica Shepard of the Minnesota Lynx doesn’t remember her first WNBA game, but she does remember her first WNBA jersey, which came as a Christmas gift when she was in kindergarten.

“My parents got me a [Orlando] Miracle jersey with my name on it,” she recalls. “I mean, they’re not a team anymore, but at the time I probably wore it, like, every day of the week when I was playing basketball. That was my earliest memory.”

Almost every WNBA player has one. Whether it’s a game they watched, a team they followed or a player they admired, the players understand the significance of carrying the league through its 25th year and setting an example for the next generation.

***

A’ja Wilson was born in 1996, the same year the WNBA was officially founded. So the reigning MVP and Las Vegas Aces forward never had a chance to watch some of her role models play in their prime, but that didn’t stop her from identifying with all-time greats like Lisa Leslie.

“I didn’t have the opportunity to watch her play, but she’s definitely someone that I model not just my game but the way to go about it,” Wilson says. “She’s such a lady off the court. She’s so easy to talk to. She’s just an all-around cool person. And I just hope that if I can be half of that role model that she is to me to a young Black girl, that I’m doing my job.”

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Lisa Leslie had a double-double in the WNBA's inaugural game in 1997, the start of a legendary career. (Icon Sportswire/Getty Images)

Wilson wasn’t the only one who missed out on the formative years of the WNBA. Jonquel Jones wasn’t able to watch the league on television while growing up in the Bahamas because games weren’t available in her region. She would hear about Leslie and Parker, but that was it. Instead, she watched the NBA and modeled her game after players like Rip Hamilton and, later, Kevin Durant.

Liz Cambage of the Aces also had a hard time following the WNBA on a regular basis due to time-zone and access challenges in Australia. But when she could watch, she spent most of her time following Penny Taylor and Lauren Jackson, who are also from Australia.

Unlike Wilson, Cambage and Jones, Sun forward DeWanna Bonner was able to watch one of her favorite players regularly.

“I liked Cynthia Cooper. I watched her a lot,” she says. “I think just her leadership and the way she led the [Houston] Comets to four championships at the point guard position. Just an unbelievable player. So she would be the player that I looked up to because of her leadership skills.”

Williams was a Yolanda Griffith fan, drawn to the Hall of Famer’s defense and reliability. Hines-Allen found a connection with Essence Carson, Leilani Mitchell and Cappie Pondexter, but Rebekkah Brunson and Alyssa Thomas have had the biggest influence on her overall.

“Brunson, just how she’s able to rebound — I was amazed by that to be honest with you. Alyssa Thomas, I’m still a huge fan of hers because we’re kind of the same size and just to see what she’s able to do … from every aspect of the game,” says Hines-Allen.

Peddy looked up to Sheryl Swoopes and Cooper on offense and Deanna Nolan on defense. But she felt an even deeper connection to Diana Taurasi when she entered the league. Peddy had watched Taurasi since her UConn days and now, the two of them are teammates with the Mercury.

Dream rookie Aari McDonald still can’t believe it when she sees Taurasi on the other bench, knowing she’s playing against her.

“It’s crazy because I’ve always loved Diana Taurasi. I loved her attitude. I loved the swag she brings to the court,” McDonald says.

Shepard distinctly remembers the moment she walked into the Lynx locker room and came face-to-face with Seimone Augustus.

“I had just gotten [to Minnesota], and Seimone walked in and I was a rather nervous little rookie. It’s surreal. I think, when you’re in it, you don’t realize just how crazy it really is,” she says. “I mean it’s awesome, just to look across and be playing against people that you grew up watching and are on the same stage as them.”

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Seimone Augustus won four WNBA championships as part of the Minnesota Lynx's dynasty with Lindsay Whalen. (David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)

Lynx guard Crystal Dangerfield had always wanted to meet Augustus, too. Growing up in Tennessee, she watched a lot of SEC basketball and became fans of Augustus and Sylvia Fowles. As a rookie in 2020, Dangerfield was playing with Fowles and against Augustus. But the most surreal moments for her are the times she plays against Parker.

“The earliest that I can remember back right now was watching Parker come into the league. I remember trying to get a Sparks jersey and everything. I just remember it goes all the way back to when she was at Tennessee,” Dangerfield says. “Being on the floor with her, having conversations while we were out on the floor is just … we’re at the same level. That’s my peer. Not at the same level playing-wise, but that’s my peer now and I’m competing against her.”

***

When Sydney Wiese was a kid, she had three goals for herself — to play on the varsity team in high school, to get a college scholarship and to become a professional basketball player in the WNBA. The now Mystics guard checked the third and final goal off of her list in 2017, when the Sparks selected her in the first round of the WNBA Draft.

“I heard my name get called, it was like, oh my gosh, this is real. This is a real thing now. Now, what do I do with this?” Wiese says. “That’s as far as I thought. It was one of those moments that you work for your whole life, but when it actually happens — and it’s so cliche — but there were really no words to describe the feeling when I heard my name.”

Wiese grew up in Phoenix, and one of her early memories of the WNBA was meeting Taurasi at a camp at a local high school. Wiese used to watch Taurasi on TV and practice Taurasi’s moves in her driveway during halftime.

“To see her in the flesh, not just in uniform, but to see her as a person, to get a picture with her, to get autographs from the whole team, it’s like you’re standing in awe of these women that you dream to be one day,” Wiese says. “And they’re right in front of you and you can ask them questions. Then you can learn from them and just take it in. It became real for me in that moment when I was a kid, where I wanted to be able to do that someday, too.”

Bonner had a similar experience when she arrived at her first WNBA training camp in 2009, after the Mercury drafted her with the fifth overall pick.

“Coming to training camp the first time and playing with Taurasi, and how hard she worked and led the team,” she says. “I had Pondexter as one of my vets as well, so just some great names there and great leadership. Just how hard they worked on the court was unbelievable to me.”

Peddy’s connection to the WNBA was more personal. Peddy’s first WNBA game was in Cleveland, where she and her mom could watch the Cleveland Rockers and Michelle Edwards, who played with Peddy’s mom when they were younger. The experience has stayed with Peddy to this day.

These kinds of stories are common among today’s WNBA players. The long and winding thread of the league has been woven into the fabric of their lives, in one way or another, and it will continue to do the same for generations to come.

“It’s funny how life kind of works like that,” says Williams. “Things come full circle. I’m always humbled to be in this position, to even be in the league. And I’ve been in the league for a couple of years now, so then it’s even more humbling.

“We all kind of play for that little girl that grew up watching the game. So, it’s cool that now there are other girls watching us.”

USC’s McKenzie Forbes: From Gap Year to the NCAA Tournament

As part of our 1-v-1 video series, USC’s India Otto sat down to interview her teammate McKenzie Forbes. 

Here are five things to know from our conversation with the graduate transfer from Folsom, California.

#1 Inspired by USC’s Head Coach, Lindsay Gottlieb, McKenzie wants to be a basketball coach or work in the front office in the future.

When weighing in on what makes a good coach, McKenzie said x’s and o’s are important but “Coaching is a lot of relationship managing and people managing. I think you have to be a good people person and be able to build those relationships, but also in that same breath, you can’t be afraid to have people dislike you in moments. I think that’s a big part of leadership.”

#2 McKenzie says the trajectory of her career changed when she made the decision to transfer from Cal to Harvard.

 In order to transfer, she was forced to take a gap year and spend a lot of time in the gym. “I completely transformed my body and, going into the Harvard season, felt like I was a completely different player. Going to Harvard and playing in a more mid-major conference, I had the ball in my hands a lot more than I might have if I transferred to another Power 5. It really developed other parts of my game.”

#3 How does McKenzie think USC will do in the Women’s College Basketball Tournament?

“I’m not going to give a typical interview answer. I want a Final Four. We have that potential and capability. Like why not? Why not us? I think we have all the pieces.”

#4 Her older brother, Marcus, was her biggest mentor growing up.

“He was basically my trainer from Elementary school on until he went to college.”

#5 Fun facts about Forbes:

She can juggle and she was the quarterback of her Pop Warner football team. “I was slow but I could throw it!”

Watch the full conversation on the Just Women’s Sports YouTube channel.

Christen Press back training with Angel City FC

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Christen Press #23 of Angel City FC waves to fans following a game between the Portland Thorns and Angel City FC at BMO Stadium on October 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)

Christen Press continues to inch her way back to a return, having returned to training with her club team Angel City. 

Angel City FC coach Becki Tweed said on Wednesday that Press is back with the team full-time as she continues to make her way back from an ACL injury. While she’s still working on rehab, her being back with the team gives staff a better picture of her progress. 

"Christen [Press] is back with us full time which is amazing,” she said. “Having her in and around the team every day, continuing to work hard on rehab ... she's in a space where being in with the team is really important to her and her progression as well.”

The status update comes days after Press posted videos to social media that featured her doing lateral movement in cleats on grass. 

“Look out world she’s on the move !” Press captioned it. 

Press has been sidelined with an ACL injury since 2022, which caused her to miss the 2023 World Cup. She’s since had four separate surgeries to help repair her ACL.

Press told The Athletic a month ago that she’s been “relentless” in her optimism with her recovery despite it being a “slow process.”

“I have a bit of relentless optimism,” she told The Athletic. “I never, ever doubted that I would make it back on any of the timelines I’ve been on."

"Every single time I’ve heard, ‘You have to have surgery,’ I’m completely shocked,” she said. “When somebody asks me how it’s going, I’m like, ‘It’s going great. And it was going great every time. So I don’t know what to tell you anymore!’”

Sophia Smith re-signs with Portland on record deal

(Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports)

Sophia Smith is now the NWSL’s highest-paid player. 

The Portland Thorns announced on Wednesday that they have signed Smith to a new contract through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, the team did reveal that Smith is now the highest-paid player in the league on an annual basis.

It’s the latest in what has been a series of record-breaking contracts in the NWSL offseason. 

Chicago Red Stars forward Mallory Swanson, Bay FC forward Racheal Kundananji, and Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda all signed multi-year deals worth between $2 million and $2.5 million in total. While Smith’s contract is shorter and not worth as much over the long-term, the annual worth is higher. 

“We are over the moon to have Soph commit again to the Thorns. She is a proven, world-class talent and one that we are excited to have contribute to the team’s continued success,” said head coach Mike Norris in a statement. “We look forward to working with her in a Thorns jersey as she continues to shine as one of the top strikers in the world.”

In just four seasons in the NWSL, Smith has led the Thorns to five trophies – including the 2022 NWSL championship – while winning league and championship MVP in 2022. In 61 appearances with Portland, she has 34 goals – including a brace to start this season against Kansas City. 

She’s also a member of the USWNT, having scored 16 goals in 44 international appearances.  Set to become a free agent at the end of this season, she told ESPN she “thought of all the options” but ultimately Portland felt like the right decision.

"There is no place like Portland," Smith said in a small roundtable interview that included ESPN. "I don't believe there's an environment like Portland to play in and it's a city that's so special to me and a city that I feel like I've grown up in almost and become who I am."

She also told ESPN that the team’s new ownership “changes everything.” The club is now led by the Bhathal family, who bought the club after Merritt Paulson was forced to sell it following his part in the NWSL’s abuse scandal. 

"Since I've been here there has been a lot of things going on with this club -- a lot of not-great things going on with this club -- and I have just been waiting for some stability and some reassurance that this club is headed in the right direction, and the Bhathal family coming in is doing exactly that, if not more,” Smith said. 

"Their vision for this club is so exciting, and you can just tell how passionate they are about making this what it should be and continuing to push the standard in women's soccer globally.”

Caitlin Clark offered $5 million to compete in Ice Cube’s league

IOWA CITY, IOWA- MARCH 25: Guard Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates as time runs out in the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during their second round match-up in the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball Championship at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 25, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark has been offered $5 million to play in Ice Cube's Big3 league, he confirmed on social media Wednesday after the offer leaked.

"We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship," Ice Cube wrote on social media. "But I won't deny what's now already out there: BIG3 made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn't we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3."

While there has yet to be a women's player in the league, both Nancy Lieberman and Lisa Leslie have been part of the league as coaches and won championships.

"The skeptics laughed when we made Nancy Lieberman the first female coach of a men's pro team, and she won the championship in her first year," Ice Cube continued. "Then Lisa Leslie won it all in year two. With our offer, Caitlin Clark can make history and break down even more barriers for women athletes."

Ice Cube, whose name is O’Shea Jackson, says that the offer was made with the intention that Clark be able to compete in the WNBA “offseason.” Clark is largely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft in April. But it’s unclear how the scheduling of the two leagues would work. 

The 2024 Big3 season is set to tip off on June 15, with 10 games spanning through mid-August. The WNBA regular season, meanwhile, begins on May 14 and ends on Sept. 19.

On “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday, Jackson said that the league has yet to hear back from Clark. 

“We just need an answer, as soon as they are ready to give it to us,” he said. “It’s always 50-50 till we get a no. At the end of the day, it’s a generous offer.”

The offer – as well as the confusion on Jackson’s part about the timing of the WNBA season – caused some current WNBA players to react. 

"It's funny cause I be seeing his son at W games.. they don't talk?" wrote former No. 1 pick Rhyne Howard

"So no other women's basketball player has came to mind in the last 7 years?" wrote Lexie Brown, adding that she'd support if Ice Cube wanted to build a women's iteration of the league. She later discussed it on the Gils Arena Show, noting that his reasoning of wanting to “uplift and support WNBA players and women athletes” is a “cop out.”

Kalani Brown, meanwhile, told Clark to "take that money" and start a women's Big3.

WNBA salaries has been a talking point in recent months as more collegiate stars declare for the league. WNBA stars have often made more money playing abroad than they have in the WNBA. Clark is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on April 15, with a rookie salary of $76,535 for lottery draft picks (Nos. 1-4) that rises to $97,582 by her fourth season. But she also has an NIL valuation of almost $3.5 million.

Diana Taurasi famously skipped the 2015 WNBA season at the request of her Russian club, who paid her more to sit out than she would have made in the W. Her contract with the club was reportedly near $1.5 million per year.

Jackson also seemed to suggest that his league could be an alternative to going abroad

“America’s women athletes should not be forced to spend their off seasons playing in often dismal and dubious foreign countries just to make ends meet,” he wrote. Although it’s unclear whether or not the rapper intends to make offers to additional WNBA players. 

While the league does hold prioritization rules in its CBA, those typically apply only to players playing in overseas leagues. It’s unclear whether or not that would prevent Clark’s participation in the Big3 league.

WNBA players that don’t want to go overseas currently have the option of playing in Athletes Unlimited, which competes in the WNBA offseason.

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