How Long Is Clark Out?
On ESPN website, they list Clark out until August 12. They have no inside info but it is their estimate.
Indiana has signed Chloe Bibby who had played earlier this year for Golden State. She is a forward who played 13mpg and 6.4ppg. It will be interesting to see how her arrival impacts playing time for Lexie Hull, or if she would be slotted to play more 4.
The Race Right Now
Championship Tier- Minnesota (27-4) still leads New York (17-7). The Liberty will get a huge boost when Emma Meeseman of Belgium arrives. She is 32 years old and has played for championship WNBA teams, been MVP of Euro League, and led the Olympics last year in scoring. At 6’4” she will be one more player with size for the Liberty.
Championship Threat Tier- Phoenix (15-9), Atlanta (14-10), and Seattle (15-11) would like to think they could come on in the second half to be part of the Championship Tier. In all likelihood only Phoenix is a threat to Minnesota and New York.
Log Jam Tier- Indiana (13-12), Washington (12-12), Las Vegas (12-13), Golden State (11-12), Los Angeles (11-14). These 5 teams want to not only grab the last three playoff spots but are hoping to catch Atlanta or Seattle.
An interesting team in this group is the LA Sparks. Not too long ago, LA was 5-11 on the season and battling the Sun for last place. The Spark has won 6 of their last 7 games. During that stretch, they have beaten Indiana, 2x Washington, and New York. Their only loss during this stretch was to the Lynx.
Obviously the Indiana season has been a huge disappointment. Probably unrealistically fans had hoped Indiana was going to be with Minnesota and New York in the championship tier.
Possible MVP Competition
It seems like Napheesa Collier is a lock for the MVP. An interesting challenger may come from Sabrina Ionescu. With the Liberty loaded with other scorers, it is tough for any one of them to have an MVP-like stat line. That said, in the last two games Ionescu has had 29.5ppg, 6.5rpg, 7.0apg.
Play-Off Change
This year the first round will again be a best of three series, but it will be a 1-1-1 format, so each team is assured of hosting.
WNBA Income
Most experts believe that the WNBA was losing money (all the franchises) before the 2024 season. A new TV contract ups their income, more merchandise money add to income, and attendance increase increases revenue.
WNBA has gone from 6,615 average attendance in 2023 to 10,500 this season. Indiana has gone from 1,776 in 2023 to 17,036 in 2024.
No one would dispute that the WNBA is making money now.
Value of WNBA Teams
Forbes estimates the value of WNBA teams right now as- New York $400million, Indiana at $370million, Seattle at $330million, and Las Vegas at $310million. the average value is $272million.
Las Vegas Aces were bought in 2021 for $2million and today are valued at $310million. Get your calculator out to figure that return on investment.
9%, 21%, 50%
Right now the WNBA players receive 9% of WNBA income. The NBA players receive 50% of BRI. The WNBA owns 42% of the league so they claim the most the players should be entitled to would be 50% of the 42%- so they would claim 21% should be a max.
More Games- Same Pay
The WNBA expanded its regular season from 40 to 44 games this year. The CBA allowed a max of 44 regular season games. So while within contract rights, it is believed to be one of the only times in professional sports history where the number of games has increased but players’ pay was kept the same. Certainly is a model for increasing profit at the expense of employees!! How many employers would be able to ask workers to increase their work days by 10% and receive 0% pay increase?
Income- Profit- Value
Most labor experts feel the players should be shooting to get 50% of the “Basketball Related Income”.
Owners are apt to say that players pay should be impacted by the profit not the income. And anyone who has worked for any business realize the creative accountants can make profit non-existent.
The average value of a WNBA franchise is $272 million, and you have only 11-12 players, the entry level pay is $78k, and the team cap is $1.5 million.
This financial model is a great short term windfall for the owners but is not sustainable.
The change in the finances in the WNBA in the last two years is not a change that any professional sport has ever experienced. The ownership has to be willing to make the same dramatic change in the players’ contract.
The Future
WNBA is unique in how they determine the lottery teams for the WNBA draft. The teams not in the play-offs are put in the lottery. Their odds are determined by a combination of the last two seasons records.
Because of trades, it could be Dallas, Minnesota (from Chicago), Seattle (from LA), and Seattle (from LV) could be the four lottery teams. The projected possible top picks would include- 6’7” Lauren Betts (UCLA), Azzi Fudd (UConn), Flau’Jae Johnson (LSU), Ta’Nya Larson (S.Carolina). On the drama side- how would you like to be the Dallas GM if you got the #1 pick and knew your future star Paige Buecker is in a relationship with Azzi Fudd. It may not be an issue because some project Fudd as the #1 pick.
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