The WNBA Continues to Take Big Steps in 2025

Published: Friday, August 8, 2025

by Matthew Nazario

The 2025 WNBA season has picked up right where 2024 left off in terms of excitement, headlines and expansion.  The present and future of the league is as great as it has ever been in terms of talents. The WNBA draft in particular during recent years has blessed the league with a plethora of young talents that have garnered the attention of the basketball world. 

While some may argue that the newer generation of superstars such as the likes of Caitlin Clark or Paige Bueckers have overshadowed the rest of the league, I would argue that if anything the new found media attention has allowed more to familiarize themselves with the rest of the league. 

Viewership has grown significantly since 2024 thanks to multiple network deals across the globe and budding talent. In particular, WNBA on ABC is up 20% from last year’s regular average in terms of viewership. 

In fact, despite the absence of Caitlin Clark, last Sunday’s contest on ABC between the Indiana Fever and Seattle Storm was one of the most viewed WNBA games all year, with an average of 1.6 million viewers and peaked at 2 million during the broadcast.

In terms of expansion, 2025 has been an incredible launching point for the WNBA’s newest franchise, the Golden State Valkyries. They are smashing attendance records with an average of 18,064 fans per game, with their fans and home in Chase Center earning the nickname “Ballhalla.”

Golden State’s strong play at home in particular has helped the Valkyries be on pace to become the first expansion team in league history to make the playoffs in their inaugural season.

There are no signs of slowing down anytime soon with four new franchises entering the fray over the next few years and bringing the league to a total of 18 teams. It continues next year with the debut of the Toronto Tempo in 2026, marking the first time the WNBA has had a team outside of the United States. 

The Pacific Northwest will receive a team of their own as well in 2026 with the debut of the Portland Fire. Looking more down the line, the WNBA will make its much anticipated return to both Cleveland in 2028, and Detroit in 2029, with both cities having had teams in the 2000s before their discontinuation. For the first time ever, the city of Philadelphia will have a WNBA franchise of their own beginning in the 2030 season.

There has been quite the shakeup in terms of preexisting teams as well, more specifically the Connecticut Sun. They face the possibility of relocation as co-owner of the Boston Celtics, Steve Pagliuca, has reached a deal pending approval by the WNBA’S board of governors to purchase the Connecticut Sun for $325 million. 

While the sale at this time is not final and the team will remain in Connecticut until at least 2026, it is an important sign of the changing times for the league. Relocated franchises in the WNBA have proven to be incredibly successful in the past. 

More specifically the San Antonio Stars, who after relocating and rebranding to the Las Vegas Aces in 2018 have become one of the WNBA’s premier franchises with two championships, consistent fan engagement, and a cornerstone for the WNBA’s growth in recent years. 

This season has also been instrumental in a push for fair and equal pay across the league for WNBA talent. This was on display before this year’s All-Star game where players wore shirts which read “Pay Us What You Owe Us” in regards to the notoriously underpaid collective WNBA talent during the league’s existence, as well as what players desire in the new CBA.

The problem is so large that many often play overseas during the offseason, whether it is to make ends meet or just that the pay received from the WNBA is simply not enough. It was an incredibly powerful moment and message which garnered the support of fans and athletes alike, a united front banding together all in the name of a great cause. 

As the WNBA continues to grow as time passes, one can hope that the talent which has built the current foundation for the future of the league will be compensated fairly for it.

The landscape and future of the WNBA is changing very much for the better. There is this aggressiveness and drive from the league in recent years that was sorely missing prior. It is a drive to be great, to leave their mark on the sports world and to make sports more inclusive for fans of all walks of life. 

No matter which way you look at it, the WNBA is turning itself into a product that many saw as undesirable into something undeniable. And what is undeniable, is the importance of women’s sports and just how much impact it can have on the world.

Matthew Nazario can be reached at matthew.nazario@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: sports,