SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
The WNBA is back and picked up right where it left off. Indiana's Caitlin Clark notched a triple-double Saturday as the Fever topped rival Angel Reese's Chicago Sky. The two - then rookies - powered a sensational 2024 for the league, which saw record attendance and viewership and a nail-biting championship series. So what comes next? To answer that, we called up Elle Duncan, who covers the WNBA for ESPN. I started the conversation asking how the league keeps pace with that banner 2024 year.
ELLE DUNCAN: I mean, there's so much momentum because, of course, of the phenomenal freshman class from last year, the rookies who really were responsible for transcendent change. I mean, the W had been trending upwards for years, but they just - it was like a nitro pack on the back of the league.
And now we have Paige Bueckers sort of leading this next rookie class and what she's going to be able to do in Dallas. So I think, you know, we are on the precipice of huge momentum and change. This is kind of a - I keep joking that is - this year is like smoke them if you got them because, with this being the final year of the CBA...
DETROW: Yeah.
DUNCAN: ...We're going to just see so much change next year, not only based on the CBA - hopefully, if they can ratify a deal, and there's no work stoppage - but also because I think it's something like, you guys, 90% of the league is under the final year of their contract in...
DETROW: Oh, wow.
DUNCAN: ...Preparation for the CBA, meaning we don't know what any of these teams could look like next year. We could see a ton of shifting and moving. So this is going to be - I think, going to go down as one of the most impactful seasons that we've seen across any of the major sports.
DETROW: Do you feel like the Caitlin Clarks, the Angel Reeses - do you feel like they feel this pressure on their shoulders of it's not just a league, but so much of the emotions and aspirations put on top of it, do you feel like that's something that weighs them down? Or do you feel like they're like, we're superstars, this is not a problem for us?
DUNCAN: Yeah, no, I don't. I think they absolutely feel the pressure, but I do not think that it is an albatross. I mean, you got to understand too - right, guys? - like, when we think about the final year of Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark season in college, Caitlin Clark and South Carolina - Iowa and South Carolina - 19 million people watched that national championship. I mean, 11 million people watched the Final Four before it. Nine million people watched Angel Reese versus Caitlin Clark in the Elite Eight. Like, they have had this load on them. And the way that Caitlin Clark carried that responsibility while still being a huge role model, while still being a student, still being a great teammate, I think that this generation's just built different. And that is evident by the fact that they are balancing not only trying to be great on the court, but also being brands.
DETROW: Last big picture question. There was an interesting quote from the owner of the Washington Spirit, the women's soccer team here in D.C., Michele Kang, who's saying, women's sports is not a charity, trying to make the case to continue narrowing that gap between women's leagues and longer-established men's pro sports. In that context, do you think, at this point, even with all the momentum we've seen in the last few years, the WNBA needs to keep making this case for itself in that kind of way?
DUNCAN: I understand why there's some skepticism, it sounds like, with what she's saying. Because I do think there are still people who are on wait-and-see mode. And, candidly, I have people all the time that ask me, like, do you think it's, like, really worth a real investment? Like, do you really think duh duh duh (ph)? Do you just think it's Caitlin Clark? Do you just - and I have to explain to them that we spend a lot of time talking about women's basketball because they have these transcendent stars. But I work at ESPN. We are seeing every women's sport over index. We are seeing softball...
DETROW: Yeah.
DUNCAN: ...Volleyball, gymnastics - they are all hitting record numbers across the board. So I think that the old style was to depend and ask sales and marketing people to have courage. It was. It was, like, we don't have a ton of data. It was always appealing to the morality. It's the right thing to do. You know, you've got daughters. You should invest, right?
DETROW: Yeah.
DUNCAN: Now we're dealing with an entirely new landscape, which is we've got data. We have the white whale that every sales and advertising is chasing, which is a young demo - 18 to 34 - are all in. Like, this is not an accident. This is part of implementation of things that have been happening for a long time, planting seeds, platforming. Like, that's happened, but certainly we have seen, as I said before, it take off and go to another stratosphere based on some of these huge names that are surrounding the sports.
But that's honestly how it's been for so long, is just trying to get people to do the right thing based on gender equality, as opposed to it being great business-minded decision. And now we have the data that proves that it's just prudent business to be investing in women.
DETROW: That is Elle Duncan, who covers the WNBA for ESPN, also hosts the podcast "The Elle Duncan Show." Thank you so much.
DUNCAN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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