This Week in Women’s Basketball: Golden State Valkyries, record viewership, a unique sponsorship and more

Catch up on the off-court WNBA news you might have missed while tuning into the season opening stretch of on-court action.

---

Prepare for the Valkyries

The 2024 WNBA season is here, but the Valkyries are coming in 2025.

On Tuesday, Golden State’s expansion franchise announced the team’s brand and identity: the Valkyries. Łukasz Muniowski covered the initial details of the reveal.

A record-breaking opener

Tuesday night’s season opener between the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun was the most-viewed WNBA game on an ESPN platform, with an average 2.1 million, and a peak of 2.3 million, tuning in.

Swish Appeal’s Noa Dalzell was there, detailing on how a disciplined and determined defensive effort from the Connecticut Sun, spearheaded by DiJonai Carrington, spoiled Caitlin Clark’s expected WNBA coronation and propelled the Sun to a 92-71 win over the Fever.

Charter flights in full effect on May 21

The implementation of the WNBA’s charter flight program has been uneven, with some teams benefitting from private air travel for their first away games while others have been forced to endure yet another commercial trek or two. According to a league spokesperson, all teams will be flying charter beginning Tuesday, May 21.

In a statement to ESPN, the spokesperson said, “As the league previously announced, we would be phasing in the program at the start of the season and can share that beginning May 21 all teams will be flying charter to games.”

For shorter distance trips, between Chicago and Indiana and between Connecticut and New York, teams will take charter bus rides.

Aces stay winning (maybe)

On Friday, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority presented all members of the Aces a $100,000 sponsorship for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, rewarding the players for how they have represented the city.

If it seems too good to be true, it might be. According to The Next’s Howard Megdal, the WNBA has opened an investigation into the payments.

Las Vegas’ tourism bureau choosing to invest in the Aces is what the WNBA and Commissioner Cathy Engelbert claim to want: an institution both recognizing and amplifying the social and cultural value of women’s basketball players.

Howard injured, Billings signed

Already without Satou Sabally, the Dallas Wings now will be without Natasha Howard for the next three to six weeks. Howard suffered a foot fracture in the Wings’ opening win.

Dallas subsequently signed Monique Billings to a hardship contract.

WNBA GMs share 2024 predictions

As the 2024 season began, the WNBA released the 2024 GM survey, with the league’s 12 general managers providing their predictions for the season. The general managers responded to a 45-question survey, and were prohibited from voting for their franchises’ players, team or personnel.

Some of the highlights include:

• The Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson received 67 percent of MVP votes, followed by the Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas at 25 percent and the New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart at eight percent.
• Wilson and Thomas also dominated the voting for the league’s best defender, with Wilson earning 42 percent of votes and Thomas at 25 percent.
• Thomas was chosen as the player with the greatest hunger to win championship, receiving 40 percent of the vote share. The Seattle Storm’s Skylar Diggins-Smith was second at 30 percent.
• Stewart was voted as the league’s most versatile player (58 percent), the best power forward (42 percent) and the player who forces opposing coaches to make the most adjustments (42 percent).
• The Aces’ Chelsea Gray claimed the top spot in six categories: best point guard (75 percent), best passer (67 percent), player who would make the best coach (42 percent), player with the best basketball IQ (36 percent) and best leader (25 percent). She tied with the Dallas Wings’ Arike Ogunbowale as the player GMs would most want to take the last shot with a game on the line (25 percent).
• The Indiana Fever topped the Seattle Storm as the league’s most improved team, with the Fever receiving 58 percent of votes and the Storm at 33 percent. However, the Storm’s signing of free agent Nneka Ogwumike was seen as the player acquisition that will make the biggest impact with 58 percent of votes.
• The Fever’s Caitlin Clark received 92 percent of Rookie of the Year votes. She also was voted as the player GMs would select to start of franchise with, edging out Wilson 50 percent to 42 percent.

Check out the rest of the results here.

SKIMS introduces WNBA campaign

Last November, the WNBA announced it’s partnership with SKIMS, the underwear brand founded by Kim Kardashian. We now know who the faces of the partnership will be, with recently-retired legend Candace Parker, the Los Angeles Sparks’ Cameron Brink, the Las Vegas Aces’ Kelsey Plum, the Connecticut Sun’s DiJonai Carrington and Seattle Storm’s Skylar Diggins-Smith featured in the inaugural campaign.

WNBA partners with Mortgage Matchup

Mortgage Matchup, the consumer-facing brand of United Wholesale Mortgage, is the first-ever mortgage partner of the WNBA. On the partnership, WNBA Chief Growth Officer Colie Edison said:

The WNBA is excited to partner with United Wholesale Mortgage, a company that shares our vision for growing women’s sports and supporting women’s basketball on all stages. Our partnership is an opportunity to amplify the reach of women’s sports alongside the Mortgage Matchup brand.

WNBA, NBRA agree to new CBA

On Tuesday, the WNBA and National Basketball Referees Association (NBRA) agreed to a new, four-year collective bargaining agreement. No terms of the agreement have been disclosed.