What it’s lacking is a bold communications strategy.

As a lifelong sports fan and a communications professional with over a decade of experience, I’ve been watching the WNBA’s growth with genuine excitement and growing frustration. As I continue to engage with this season, I can’t help but ask: Why isn’t this league being marketed like the movement it is? Why do we keep seeing the same stories—and the same players—on repeat?

📣 The WNBA is more than one person. This league is stacked with talent, culture, and charisma. And yet this past weekend, ESPN sent me five push notifications and posted eight videos/shorts about Caitlin Clark’s return from injury. She’s great, but there are more stories to tell.

Here are some other stories I’d like to hear about:

🏀 Record-breaking attendance—thanks in part to the inaugural season of the Golden State Valkyries and growing investment in women’s sports.

⭐ This year’s fearless rookie class is already showing out: Paige Bueckers, Sonia Citron, and Kiki Iriafen look like pros. Aaliyah Nye and Te-Hina Paopao are earning real minutes on teams that trust them. And 6’6″ Dominique Malonga? I’m just waiting to see who she dunks on first.
🔥 Allisha Gray is quietly putting together an incredible season. Whispers …dare I say MVP-worthy?

🎯 A’ja Wilson continues to dominate and just released her long-overdue signature shoe. Players across the league are rocking them. My question: Who’s getting the first A’One PE?

💫 And don’t sleep on Napheesa Collier, who’s having an MVP-caliber season with Minnesota.

📅 Scheduling is a real problem. Tonight (June 16), there are six games on the schedule—two at 7 p.m. and three at 8 p.m. That’s five games happening at the same time. How are fans supposed to follow more than one? How can new fans fall in love with players they can’t even watch? When the national broadcast strategy centers one team, you’re not growing the game, you’re limiting access to it.

Other leagues are getting it right.

👉🏽 Earlier this year, Unrivaled, a 3-on-3 league, launched and built a narrative engine, connecting fans to players and clubs through fabulous social media content. Sponsors showed up. Viewers connected. Players felt seen. And that’s with a fraction of the resources. The WNBA can model their storytelling after Unrivaled, leveraging the stories and personalities of the players to build equity and excitement. 

So, Cathy Engelbert (if this somehow reaches you) and WNBA leadership, here’s my open invitation: Let’s talk strategy. You’re sitting on a goldmine. The players? Talented. The stories? Compelling. The fans? Hungry and ready.

Let’s tell better stories. Let’s grow the game. Let’s stop marketing the moment. Let’s start marketing the movement.