The WNBA will christen its 25th season with all the pomp and circumstance possible in an attempt to celebrate a major milestone in the midst of a pandemic. With all the hype surrounding the 2021 season, it’s time to have serious conversations about growing the league.
Although it’s been a busy year for the W, the answer when it comes to expansion is less “if” and more “when.” The other hot topic in women’s basketball is allowing freshmen to enroll early, although that topic is later.
When the WNBA debuted in 1997, the league had eight teams. That number eventually grew to 16 before a tumultuous period between the start of the 21st century and 2010, when the league saw six teams withdraw due to financial difficulties. But the last decade has brought stability to the league and the WNBA now has 11 seasons with 12 teams.
Second-year commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Tuesday that the league, after having a successful bubble season in 2020, was no longer in survival mode, but “in thriving mode.” But to truly thrive in the future, the WNBA must be able to offer more than 144 total spots. With almost all 12 spots on each team already accounted for ahead of the new season, many of the 57 prospects eligible to be drafted on Thursday will likely struggle to make a roster before the season begins on May 14.
Simply put, more teams equals more jobs.
That being said, expansion likely won’t be a serious topic for at least another year, as the league enters its second season during the coronavirus pandemic, which also coincides with an Olympic year.
“A lot of moving parts obviously to ensure we have a successful season this year,” Engelbert said. “But as I mentioned, expansion is definitely on the list of things I’m thinking about in the future. It’s interesting how competitive this league is and how deep the talent is, and so it’s definitely something we’re ready to start talking about as we come out of this pandemic, hopefully next year -THE.
“I think if we have a very successful season this year, by this time next year we can definitely start talking about what expansion would look like, the number and the timeline on which it would happen.”
One way the WNBA can get around the problem of not enough roster spots is to increase the size of the roster. But Engelbert said the conversation about roster size is also a topic for the future.
“I think we’re about the right size right now for the size and breadth of our game with our current rosters,” Engelbert said. “The comparison to the men’s team is a little misleading because a shorter season, fewer teams, things like that.”
NBA teams are allowed to have 15 players on the active roster.
The commissioner stressed that roster expansion is also linked to the CBA and is an issue that should be negotiated with the players.
Along with talk of expansion, the emergence of generational talents like Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu and UConn sophomore Paige Beuckers has renewed calls to make players eligible to join the league at an earlier age. The current CBA states that any player interested in joining the league coming from an American institution must complete their collegiate eligibility, something the WNBPA has agreed to and a rule that Engelbert said will remain in effect unless the players’ union decides to bring change to the table.
“If that’s what the players want us to look at, we’re certainly willing to look at it,” Engelbert said, “but currently our rule that we negotiated on the current CBA does not allow students to first year coming directly from the American university and university system in the project.
Granted, an influx of underclassmen won’t solve the problem of already limited roster space, but the interest in younger players who can take their shot at a W spot speaks volumes about the level of interest for the league.
“It’s a good signal to the league that people are really talking about rookies in women’s soccer and how they should turn professional sooner,” Engelbert said.
As for prospects being ruled out this year, Engelbert explained that the league is working on a protocol to allow call-ups in the event of injuries or COVID cases this season.
Too much talent is a good problem for any league and it’s a problem with an easy answer. It’s just not a question that W can tackle immediately.
