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Relocated teams

• 
  Detroit Shock – 1998–2009 (relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma)


• 
  Orlando Miracle – 1999–2002 (relocated to Uncasville, Connecticut)


• 
  Utah Starzz – 1997–2002 (relocated to San Antonio, Texas)


• 
  Tulsa Shock – 2010–2015 (relocated to Arlington, Texas)


• 
  San Antonio Stars – 2003–2017 (relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada)

Folded teams

• 
  Charlotte Sting – 1997–2006


• 
  Cleveland Rockers – 1997–2003


• 
  Houston Comets – 1997–2008


• 
  Miami Sol – 2000–2002


• 
  Portland Fire – 2000–2002


• 
  Sacramento Monarchs – 1997–2009

Season format

Regular season

Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx, MVP of the 2014 WNBA Season.

Teams hold training camps in May. Training camps allow the coaching staff to prepare the players for the regular season, and determine the 12-woman roster with which they will begin the regular season. After training camp, a series of preseason exhibition games are held.

The WNBA regular season begins in May.
During the regular season, each team plays 34 games, 17 each home and away. Each team plays one in-conference team 4 times and the remaining in-conference teams 3 times each (16 games). Each team then plays the six out-of-conference teams 3 times (18 games). As in the NBA, each team hosts and visits every other team at least once every season.

During years in which the Summer Olympics are held, the WNBA takes a month off in the middle of the season to allow players to practice and compete with their respective national teams.

WNBA All-Star Game

In 1999 the league held its first ever All Star Game where the best players of the Eastern Conference played against the best players of the Western Conference. Since the All Star games were ongoing, the West has been dominant until 2006, when the East finally won a game.

In July, the regular season pauses to celebrate the annual WNBA All-Star Game. The game is part of a weekend-long event, held in a selected WNBA city each year. The actual game is played on the selected WNBA team's home court. The All-Star Game features star players from the Western Conference facing star players from the Eastern Conference. During the season, fans vote for the players they would like to see start the game. In 2004, The Game at Radio City was in held in place of a traditional All-Star Game. The 2006 All-Star Game was the first game to feature custom uniforms that match the decade anniversary logo. No WNBA All-Star Game is held in every Olympic year since 2008. In 2010, an exhibition game (Stars at the Sun) was held.

Shortly after the All-Star break is the trading deadline. After this date, teams are not allowed to exchange players with each other for the remainder of the season, although they may still sign and release players. Major trades are often completed right before the trading deadline.

WNBA Playoffs

The WNBA Playoffs usually begin in late September, though in years of the FIBA World Cup they begin in August. In the current system, the eight best teams by regular-season record, without regard to conference alignment, qualify for the playoffs. Having a higher seed offers several advantages. Since the first two seeds get double byes, and the next two seeds get first-round byes, having a higher seed generally means one will be facing a weaker team. The team in each series with the better record has home-court advantage. Since 2016 Verizon is the official sponsor.

The first two playoff rounds follow a tournament format with each team playing a rival in a single-elimination game, with the winners advancing to the next round and losers being eliminated from the playoffs. For the first round, the matchups by seed are 5th vs 8th and 6th vs 7th. In the second round, the matchups by seed are 3rd vs the lowest remaining seed and 4th vs the highest remaining seed. In the semifinals, the matchups by seed are 1st vs the lowest remaining seed and 2nd vs the highest remaining seed. This leaves two teams left to play each other in the WNBA Finals. The first and second rounds consist of single-elimination games, while the semifinals are best-of-five series using a 2–2–1 home-court pattern, meaning that the higher-seeded team will have home court in games 1, 2, and 5 while the other team plays at home in game 3 and 4. This pattern has been in place since 2016 (changed from the best-of-three series 1–1–1 format for four teams in each conferences, where the higher seed hosted the opening game in the first two rounds).

WNBA Finals

The final playoff round, a best-of-five series between the two semifinal winners, is known as the WNBA Finals, and is held annually, currently scheduled for October. Each player on the winning team receives a championship ring. In addition, the league awards a WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award. For this round, the series follows a 2–2–1 pattern, meaning that one team will have home court in games 1, 2, and 5, while the other plays at home in games 3 and 4. The 2–2–1 pattern in the WNBA Finals has been in place since 2005.

League championships

The Houston Comets and Minnesota Lynx hold the distinction of having won the most championships with 4 titles each. The Comets folded in 2008. The Lynx have the most appearances in the championship with 6, all occurring in the 7-year period from 2011-2017.

Former teams that have no WNBA Finals appearances:

• 
  Cleveland Rockers (1997-2003)


• 
  Miami Sol (2000-2002)


• 
  Portland Fire (2000-2002)

Players and coaches

Sue Bird, a member of the All-Decade, Top 15, and Top 20 teams

In 2011, a decade and a half after the launch of the WNBA, only two players remained from the league's inaugural season in 1997: Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson. Lisa Leslie was the longest-tenured player from the 1997 draft class; she spent her entire career (1997–2009) with the Los Angeles Sparks. Sue Bird holds both of the league's most significant longevity records—number of seasons in the league (16) and games played (508).

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 fan, media, coach, and player voting. The team was to comprise the 10 best and most influential players of the first decade of the WNBA, with consideration also given to sportsmanship, community service, leadership, and contribution to the growth of women's basketball.

Players for the WNBA's Top 15 Team were chosen in 2011 on the anniversary of the league's fifteenth season from amongst 30 nominees compiled in a similar manner to that of the All-Decade Team process. This process was repeated for the league's 20th anniversary season in 2016 with the selection of the WNBA Top 20@20.

Over 30 players have scored at least 3,000 points in their WNBA careers. Only nine WNBA players have reached the 6,000 point milestone: Diana Taurasi, Tina Thompson, Tamika Catchings, Cappie Pondexter, Katie Smith, Lisa Leslie, Sue Bird, Candice Dupree, and Lauren Jackson. The league's all-time leader in points per game is Cynthia Cooper, who averaged 21.0 points per game^[28] in five seasons with the Houston Comets (1997–2000, 2003).^[29]

In 2007, Paul Westhead of the Phoenix Mercury became the first person to earn both NBA and WNBA championship rings as a coach.

In 2008, 50-year-old Nancy Lieberman became the oldest player to play in a WNBA game. She signed a seven-day contract with the Detroit Shock and played one game, tallying two assists and two turnovers in nine minutes of action. By playing in the one game Lieberman broke a record that she herself had set in 1997, when she was the league's oldest player at 39.

Sue Bird, who has played for the Seattle Storm since 2002, holds the record for career assists^[30] with 2,831 in 508 regular-season games.^[31] The record for most assists per game is currently held by Courtney Vandersloot, an American who also holds a Hungarian passport and represents that country internationally. She has averaged 5.77 assists per game during her career with the Chicago Sky (2011–present).^[32] Vandersloot also has the top two seasons in assists per game with 8.1 in 2017 and 8.6 in 2018.^[33]

Milestones

Awards

Around the beginning of September (or late August in Olympic and FIBA World Cup years), the regular season ends. It is during this time that voting begins for individual awards. The Sixth Woman of the Year Award is given to the best player coming off the bench (must have more games coming off the bench than actual games started).^[35] The Rookie of the Year Award is awarded to the most outstanding first-year player. The Most Improved Player Award is awarded to the player who is deemed to have shown the most improvement from the previous season. The Defensive Player of the Year Award is awarded to the league's best defender. The Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award is awarded to the player who shows the outstanding sportsmanship on and off the court. The Coach of the Year Award is awarded to the coach that has made the most positive difference to a team. The Most Valuable Player Award is given to the player deemed the most valuable for her team that season. The newest WNBA award is the Basketball Executive of the Year Award, first presented in 2017 to the team executive most instrumental in his or her team's success in that season.

Also named are the All-WNBA Teams, the All-Defensive Teams, and the All-Rookie Team; each consists of five players. There are two All-WNBA teams, consisting of the top players at each position, with first-team status being the most desirable. There are two All-Defensive teams, consisting of the top defenders at each position. There is one All-Rookie team, consisting of the top first-year players regardless of position.

Most recent award winners

Winners are from the most recent season unless otherwise indicated.

Notes

Retired numbers

Lauren Jackson, one of the most notable players in WNBA history. Number 15 was retired by Seattle Storm in her honour.

Notes

Notable international players

A number of international players that have played in the WNBA have earned multiple all-stars or won MVP awards:

• 
  Elena Baranova, Russia – the first international player in the WNBA (1997), one-time All-Star (2001).


• 
  Lauren Jackson, Australia – two-time champion (2004, 2010), three-time MVP and eight-time All-Star
  


• 
  Ticha Penicheiro, Portugal – won a championship with the Monarchs in 2005 and four-time All-Star
  


• 
  Penny Taylor, Australia – three-time champion (2007, 2009, 2014) and four-time All-Star
  


• 
  Tammy Sutton-Brown, Canada – two-time All-Star
  


• 
  Sophia Young, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – four-time All-Star
  

Some of these players, among them Penicheiro, Sutton-Brown, and Young, played U.S. college basketball.

Rules and regulations

Rules are governed by standard basketball rules as defined by the NBA, with a few notable exceptions:

• The three-point line is 22 ft 1.75 in (6.75 m) from the middle of the basket, 22 ft (6.71 m) at the corners, which is a similar distance used under new FIBA rules; FIBA had increased its three-point distance on October 1, 2012 (for domestic competitions), but is 4 in (10.16 cm) shorter at the corners.


• The regulation WNBA ball is a minimum 28.5 inches (72 cm) in circumference and weighs 20.0 ounces (570 g), 1 inch (2.5 cm) smaller and 2 ounces (57 g) lighter than the NBA ball. Since 2004, this size has been used for all senior-level women's competitions throughout the world in full-court basketball. Competitions in the half-court 3x3 variant used the women's ball until 2015, when a dedicated ball with the circumference of the women's ball but the weight of the men's ball was introduced.


• Quarters are 10 minutes in duration instead of 12.

Games are divided into four 10-minute quarters as opposed to the league's original two 20-minute halves of play, similar to FIBA and NCAA women's college rules (many WNBA players play in European, Chinese, or Australian leagues, which all use the FIBA rule set).

A recent trend with new WNBA rules has been to match them with a similar NBA rule. Beginning with the 2006 WNBA season:^[47]

• The winner of the opening jump ball shall begin the 4th quarter with the ball out of bounds. The loser shall begin with the ball out of bounds in the second and third quarter. Previously under the two-half format, both periods started with jump balls, presumably to eliminate the possibility of a team purposely losing the opening tip in order to gain the opening possession of the second half. This is not a problem under the four-quarters because the winner of the opening tip gets the opening possession of the final period.


• The shot clock was decreased from 30 to 24 seconds. The rule changes signaled a move away from rules more similar to those of college basketball and toward those that provide a more NBA-like game. FIBA also uses a 24-second clock.

The 2007 WNBA season brought changes that included:^[48]

• The amount of time that a team must move the ball across the half-court line went from 10 to 8 seconds.


• A referee can grant time-outs to either a player or the coach.


• Two free throws and possession of the ball for clear-path-to-the-basket foul. Previously only one free throw was awarded as well as possession.

In 2012, the WNBA added the block/charge arc under the basket. As of 2013 the defensive three-second rule and anti-flopping guidelines were introduced. The three-point line was also extended.

Since 2017, Tissot is the official timekeeper for the league, as it uses a unified game clock/shot clock system.

Court dimensions

Business

Finance

The WNBA did not start out able to support itself. During the mid-2000s, the NBA spent more than $10 million per year to keep the WNBA financially solvent.^[49] In 2007, teams were estimated to be losing $1.5 million to $2 million a year.^[50]

The league has begun to do better financially in recent years. In December 2010 Donna Orender said that the league had its first-ever "cash flow positive" team (Connecticut Sun) for the 2010 season.^[51] In 2011, three teams were profitable, and in 2013, six of the league's 12 teams reported a profit.^[52] The league has also signed extended television contracts with ESPN and sponsorship agreements with Boost Mobile.

Activism

As the popularity of the league has grown, players have gained more voice and power to perform as activists in many fields. One of the league's main focus is the inequality between men and women's sports. Many players like Brittney Grinner, Breanna Stewart, Maya Moore have spoken about equality between gender, sexual orientation, and race.^[53] They have also supported social and political movements like Black Lives Matter, and others.

Sponsorships

On June 1, 2009, the Phoenix Mercury was the first team in WNBA history to announce a marquee sponsorship. The team secured a partnership with LifeLock to brand their jerseys and warm-ups.^[54] It was the first branded jersey in WNBA history. Following the expiration of the LifeLock deal, the Mercury secured a new uniform sponsorship deal with Casino Arizona and Talking Stick Resort on February 3, 2014.^[55]

Other teams eventually followed in the Mercury's footsteps to bring the total to eight current teams with sponsorship deals:

• 
  Indiana Fever – Finish Line, Inc.
  


• 
  Minnesota Lynx – Mayo Clinic
  


• 
  Chicago Sky – University of Chicago Medicine; team was formerly sponsored by Magellan Corporation
  


• 
  Los Angeles Sparks – EquiTrust Life Insurance; team was formerly sponsored by Farmers Insurance
  


• 
  New York Liberty – DraftKings; team was formerly sponsored by Foxwoods Casino
  


• 
  Connecticut Sun – Frontier Communications
  


• 
  Seattle Storm – Swedish Medical Center; team was formerly sponsored by Bing
  

The now-relocated Tulsa Shock (Osage Casino) and San Antonio Stars (H-E-B), plus the currently active Washington Mystics (Inova Health System), had jersey sponsorships at one time.

On August 22, 2011, the WNBA announced a league-wide marquee sponsorship with Boost Mobile.^[56] The deal would allow the Boost Mobile logo to be placed on eleven of the 12 teams' jerseys (excluding San Antonio) in addition to branding on the courts and in arenas. A source said the deal is a "multiyear, eight-figure deal."^[57]

On March 14, 2016, the WNBA completed a deal with Verizon Wireless to place its name on the front of 10 of 12 team jerseys, excluding the Stars and Sun, as well as in-arena advertising, and reserved commercial space during WNBA broadcasts. The deal also includes the sponsorship of the All-Star Game, Inspiring Women Luncheon, and other unspecified events, but not the Monthly and Yearly Awards.^[58]

On March 28, the league introduced new uniforms bearing the new Verizon sponsor name, which eliminated white jerseys and made the secondary color a basis for a uniform. The jersey font remained unchanged, as well as the primary color used for the away uniform. Teams can use either jersey for home and away games. Pictures of the jerseys can be viewed on the WNBA website.

In 2009, the Phoenix Mercury became the first American professional basketball team to feature advertisements on their uniform, when they sold an ad to LifeLock Insurance on the front of their jerseys, leading many people to wonder if ads on NBA uniforms were coming soon. Since then several other WNBA teams have followed suit. The NBA announced in the summer of 2016 that they will begin to feature advertisements on jerseys, with the first team to do so being the Philadelphia 76ers (with a StubHub sticker now on their jerseys).
Before the start of the 2011 season, every team announced a new look for their uniforms. The supplier of the uniforms for the league, Adidas, upgraded all teams to new high-tech designs, much like they did for the NBA prior to the start of their season.

Sponsorships have come from major companies such as; Boost Mobile and Farmers Insurance. Pepsi and Nike have also partnered up with the WNBA.

Salaries, rosters, and collective bargaining

Prior to the 2009 season, the maximum team roster size was changed from 13 players (11 active and 2 inactive) to 11 players (all active). Any team that falls below nine players able to play due to injury or any other factor outside of the control of the team will, upon request, be granted a roster hardship exception allowing the team to sign an additional player or players so that the team will have nine players able to play in an upcoming game or games. As soon as the injured (or otherwise sidelined) player(s) is able to play, the roster hardship player(s)—not any other player on the roster—must be waived.
In March 2014, the WNBA and players signed a new, 8-year collective bargaining agreement, increasing the number of players on a roster to 12.^[59]

The WNBA Draft is held annually every spring. The draft is three rounds long with each of the 12 teams in the league (trades aside) getting three picks each. The draft order for the eight teams that made the playoffs the previous year are based on team records, and the team with the highest previous record will pick last. 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.

Previously, in 2008, a new six-year collective bargaining agreement was agreed upon between the players and the league. The salary cap for an entire team in 2010 was $827,000 (although it was later lowered to $775,000). By 2013 (the sixth year under this agreement), the cap for an entire team was $900,000. In 2010, the minimum salary for a player with three-plus years of experience was $51,000 while the maximum salary for a six-plus year player was $101,500 (the first time in league history that players are able to receive over $100,000). The minimum salary for rookies was $35,190.^[60][61] Many WNBA players supplement their salaries by playing in European, Australian, or more recently Chinese women's basketball leagues during the WNBA off-season. The WNBA has been criticized for paying female players less than their NBA counterparts.^[62]

The decision of superstar Diana Taurasi to sit out the 2015 WNBA season was seen by some in the media as a harbinger of salary-related troubles in the future. The Russian club for which she was playing at the time, UMMC Ekaterinburg, offered her a bonus well in excess of the league's salary cap to sit out that season. Taurasi accepted, largely because she had not had an offseason since playing college basketball more than a decade earlier. Such offers have often been made to star American players, including Taurasi herself, but none were accepted until Taurasi did so in 2015.^[63]

WNBA players are awarded bonuses for certain achievements. Some of the bonuses given by the league (amount is per player) include:
WNBA champion: $10,500; Runner-up: $5,250; Most valuable player: $15,000; All-WNBA First Team member: $10,000; All-Star Game participant: $2,500.^[64]

Merchandise

The following shows the top jersey sales since the start of the 2017 season.

The following shows the top teams sales since the start of the 2017 season.

WNBA Presidents

• 
  Val Ackerman, 1997–2005


• 
  Donna Orender, 2005–2010


• 
  Laurel J. Richie, 2011–2015


• 
  Lisa Borders, 2016–2018

Attendance

In 2012, average attendance per game dropped from 7,955 to 7,457 (-6.3%). Attendance per game stayed consistent at around 7,520 per game. In 2015, the WNBA's attendance per game decreased by 3.4 percent to 7,318. This was a record low for the WNBA since it was created in 1997. Many teams have experienced drops in their attendance; (San Antonio Stars: -37.4%, Washington Mystics: -7.9%, Tulsa Shock: -7.2%)^[65] these losses have caused the attendance of the WNBA to drop.

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.

Media coverage

Currently, WNBA games are televised throughout the U.S. by ABC, ESPN2 and NBA TV.

In the early years, two women's-oriented networks, Lifetime and Oxygen, also broadcast games including the first game of the WNBA. NBC showed games from 1997 to 2002 as part of their NBA on NBC coverage before the league transferred the rights to ABC/ESPN.

In 2007, the WNBA and ESPN came to an 8-year television agreement. The agreement would be the first to pay television rights fees to the league's teams. Never before had an agreement promised rights fees to a women's professional league. The agreement ran from 2009 to 2016 and is worth millions of dollars.^[71]

In June 2007, the WNBA signed a contract extension with ESPN. The new television deal runs from 2009 to 2016. A minimum of 18 games will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 each season; the rights to broadcast the first regular season game and the All-Star game are held by ABC. Additionally, a minimum of 11 postseason games will be broadcast on any of the three stations.^[72] Along with this deal, came the first ever rights fees to be paid to a women's professional sports league. Over the eight years of the contract, "millions and millions of dollars" will be "dispersed to the league's teams."^[71]

In 2013 the WNBA and ESPN signed a six-year extension on the broadcast deal to cover 2017–2022. In the new deal, a total of 30 games would be shown each season on ESPN networks. Each team would receive around $1 million per year.^[73]

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 2010s’ numbers.^[74] As sponsorships continued to grow with deals from ESPN to air WNBA games on ESPN and ESPN 2. The league did experience some success on the digital forefront. Its saw increases on it mobile page views by 26 percent along with a major increase in its social media space; Instagram grew by 51 percent this past year.

WNBA League Pass

In 2009, the WNBA announced the launch of WNBA LiveAccess, a feature on WNBA.com that provides fans with access to more than 200 live game webcasts throughout the WNBA season. All of the WNBA LiveAccess games are then archived for on-demand viewing. Most games (except broadcasts on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2, which are available on ESPN3) are available via this system. The first use of LiveAccess was the E League versus Chicago Sky preseason game.^[75]

Prior to the 2011 season, LiveAccess was given an overhaul, and the system became more reliable and many new features were added. Before the 2012 season, it was announced that users of LiveAccess would have to pay a $4.99 subscription fee to use the service. In 2013, this was increased to $14.99. In 2014 the streaming service was renamed WNBA League Pass.

Viewership

On the 2008 season opening day (May 17), ABC broadcast the Los Angeles Sparks and Phoenix Mercury matchup to showcase new rookie sensation Candace Parker. The game received a little over 1 million viewers.

Ratings still remain poor in comparison to NBA games. In 2008, WNBA games averaged just 413,000 viewers, compared to 1.46 million viewers on ESPN and over 2.2 million on ABC for NBA games.^[82] In addition, WNBA games have much poorer visibility, attendance, and ratings than NCAA games.^[83]

All-time franchise history

• ¹ The Connecticut Sun was known as the Orlando Miracle from 1999–2002.


• ² The Dallas Wings were known as the Tulsa Shock from 2010–2015 and the Detroit Shock from 1998–2009.


• ³ The Las Vegas Aces were known as the Utah Starzz from 1997–2002, the San Antonio Silver Stars from 2003–2013, and the San Antonio Stars from 2014–2017.

See also

References

• 
  Evans, Jayda (July 16, 2007). "WNBA Gets First Rights Fee". The Seattle Times. Retrieved July 16, 2007.
  


• 
  Heath, Thomas (July 12, 2006). "A Matter of Value". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 12, 2006.
  


• 
  "Minimum NBA Salary". Inside Hoops. August 10, 2005. Retrieved September 4, 2006.
  


• 
  "Salary Cap for 2004-05 Is $43.87 million". National Basketball Association. July 13, 2004. Retrieved July 13, 2004.
  


• 
  "History of the WNBA". Women's National Basketball Association. Retrieved September 4, 2006.
  


• 
  "Start of Season Conference Call". Women's National Basketball Association. May 14, 2007. Retrieved May 14, 2007.
  


• 
  "Hoops Happening: Today in women's basketball". Tamryn Spruill. May 1, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Women's National Basketball Association.

• 
  Official website


• WNBA statistics at Basketball-Reference.com