The WNBA is expected to take a huge leap in terms of viewership and overall media attention this season.
While the league has been growing in popularity over the last half decade, this air is different this year. The WNBA is welcoming a rookie class that features the likes of Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Cameron Brink. If the viewership numbers of the NCAA Women’s Tournament are any indication, this should be a banner season for the WNBA.
There’s still no definitive way to prove just how big of a positive effect this draft class will bring. And the WNBA needs to see growth, as even its strongest supporters are aware that the league is in crucial spot that will define its future.
Related: Bill Simmons makes interesting suggestions to help WNBA’s growth
So there are pundits out there who are trying to figure out a way for the WNBA to grow even further — one of them being Bill Simmons, who had previously been very critical of the WNBA and women’s basketball, but has changed his tune as of late.
Simmons has spoken glowingly about the rise of women’s basketball as of late, and he tried to assess more ways to help the league grow on “The Bill Simmons Podcast” alongside sports writer Ethan Sherwood Strauss. But an exchange between the two about a suggestion to help the WNBA has gone viral for all the wrong reasons.
“The one thing they should have done, and maybe there’s still time to do, that they didn’t do from the outset, is just use the same teams names,” Strauss said. “Why force people to learn about the Fever, why not just have the W Pacers? I think that makes it so much easier to just resonate and just cut across.”
Simmons did not outright agree, but he didn’t disagree either, instead adding on top of Strauss’ suggestion.
“Like in college when they just have the Lady Gamecocks,” Simmons seemed to agree.
Ethan Strauss thinks WNBA teams should be called like the “W Pacers” bc it’s too hard to learn the name Fever and Bill agrees pic.twitter.com/gIg8OdI6MO
— Paternity Riley (@lesterfreamon) May 8, 2024
Strauss has been a longtime writer in the sports business space who, over the past several years, has written on his Substack called “House of Strauss.” His voice has been a contentious one in the space, as he’s taken a unique stance in the sports business space that veers between independent and conservative. This includes criticisms about the NBA and NFL’s decisions to push social activism during their games.
Simmons said earlier in the podcast that he doesn’t always agree with Strauss’ views, and that he would text him when he disagrees with what he writes. That didn’t seem to be the case with this suggestion from Strauss about the WNBA.
Related: The harsh reality behind the shockingly low WNBA contracts
That led to a ton of backlash on social media, with some calling out past stories from the days when Simmons was critical about the WNBA.
This idea would be fine if the WNBA were a new concept but the W — and its teams and its branding — has been around for more than 25 years. You’re late. These discussions occurred while Bill was writing stuff like this: https://t.co/rfQOtP5lSX pic.twitter.com/nMbTKCwvoQ
— sarah kelly (@thesarahkelly) May 8, 2024
Some WNBA social accounts got in on ripping Simmons and Strauss for the suggestion.
it’s sun like s u n https://t.co/xKH8wfQQD5
— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) May 9, 2024
Sorry everyone, might have a delay on Media Day pics today.
We realized our team name is too hard to say/learn after recent developments….
😜
— Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) May 9, 2024
Even newly minted University of Southern California Trojans women’s basketball player Talia Von Oelhoffen took a shot at the two.
breaking news man can’t memorize 12 words https://t.co/hENOqJStel
— talia von oelhoffen (@TaliaVono) May 8, 2024
Some WNBA teams have actually taken a lot of inspiration from their NBA counterparts likely for ease of branding and association. For example, the Washington Mystics, Phoenix Mercury, and Los Angeles Sparks all adapted the team colors of the NBA teams from their cities.
There’s also a case to be made that this association between the men’s and women’s teams wouldn’t be new. As Simmons said, this happens at the college level, and even other professional leagues like in European soccer where teams like Arsenal call its women’s team Arsenal Women’s F.C.
More Women’s Basketball:
The harsh reality behind the shockingly low WNBA contractsIs Caitlin Clark losing money by going to the WNBA? Here are both sides of the argumentWNBA Commissioner has big plans for the league’s next media rights deal
However, outside of the ability for WNBA teams to stand on their, there are some business reasons as to why the suggestion from the two men would be difficult to implement.
There are several WNBA teams who do not play in an area where an NBA team exists, including the back-to-back WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces and the Connecticut Sun. Not all WNBA teams are owned by their NBA counterparts as well, nor do all WNBA teams play in the same arena as their NBA counterparts, so the branding decision may not be as seamless.
The WNBA has now been around for 27 years, so the idea that the teams would change to accommodate the NBA is more than likely not going to happen at this juncture.
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