🪽 ANGEL GETS HER WINGS

REESE SHINES AT VICTORIA’S SECRET FASHION SHOW

On October 15, Reese became the first WNBA player (and one of the first athletes) ever to walk the Victoria’s Secret runway as the event returned after a six-year hiatus.

2025 has been a year of victories for Angel Reese. In the winter, she starred in a McDonald’s commercial during the Super Bowl. From there, she built on a successful rookie WNBA season with a championship at Unrivaled as a member of Rose BC. In the spring, she served as a Host Committee Member at the Met Gala as she and members of the New York Liberty stole the show.

In the summer, she unveiled her first signature shoe with Reebok and was named cover athlete for the NBA2k franchise. Along the way, she’s taken on newer roles on the court and gone through growing pains as she navigates stardom. And now in the fall, she’s dominating a whole new arena.

It was another victory for Reese. However, it had a bigger meaning than that.

“I’m not just doing this for me,” Reese told Adelline Sassani and Olivia Evans of E! News. “I’m doing it for everyone who looks like me. And know that you can be anyone you want to be in this world. People are going to tell you ‘no.’ You’re going to get a thousand ‘no’s, but that one ‘yes’ is going to get you in the door and let you be whoever you want to be.”

As we’ve discussed here at the WBB Roundup, it’s crucial for women’s athletes to be in spaces like these and be their whole selves. By doing so, they reach new audiences and reap the rewards of their hard work. Players like Reese shining in these events open up more doors for athletes who want to follow in her footsteps.

Reese is one of the game’s brightest stars, and next summer she’ll get a chance to put on a show in her city…

🌟 SUMMERTIME CHI

CHICAGO TO HOST THE 2026 ALL-STAR GAME

Over the past couple of seasons, the WNBA All-Star has become a must-watch event. From Sabrina Ionescu’s record-breaking performances in the three-point contest, to Team WNBA beating the United States Women’s Basketball team, to the Studbudz takeover, etc., it’s becoming a tentpole event for the league. It’s been a long time coming and has taken a lot of work.

“With WNBA All-Star being as big as it was,” Stefanie Dolson told me in 2023, “I think it’s just growing our fans and our viewership, and I think it’s a good thing. I think the league should keep doing what they’re doing to continue growing.”

In 2026, the league aims to continue growing while also addressing a past wrong.

In 2022, the WNBA hosted All-Star Weekend in Chicago. It was the first big in-person event following the 2020 Wubble, and there were plenty of hiccups along the way. Cathy Engelbert didn’t open up the entire weekend of events to the general public and made things worse by citing “security concerns” as the reason why.

The people who actually attended the events had a good time, but the WNBA didn’t make the most of being in a beautiful city like Chicago in the summertime. Now, they have the opportunity to make amends.

On October 16, it was announced that Chicago will host the 2026 All-Star Game on Saturday, July 25. The game will serve as the closer for a weekend of activities that will take place across Chicago.

“We are so excited to welcome fans from around the globe to the WNBA All-Star game in our beautiful city with its storied basketball legacy,” Sky CEO and President Adam Fox said. “We are appreciative of everyone who worked with us to make this event happen.”

As the WNBA continues to grow and expand, events like the All-Star Weekend serve as a perfect introduction to the league. Interacting with the game’s best players and brightest personalities will help grow the game and make people want to follow what they’re doing. It’s a great time, and hopefully, Chicago can build on the recent successes of Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Indiana.

 📰 WHAT WE’RE READING

At Black Rosie Media, we love to give flowers to other writers and creators in the women’s basketball community.

Here’s what we’re reading:

• Q&A: Becky Hammon used Emmy-winning storyteller to motivate Aces over the season by Natalie Esquire, NBC Sports

• The IX Basketball’s 2026 WNBA Draft Board, V1.0 by Emily Adler, Hunter Cruse, and Lincoln Shafer, The IX Basketball

• I lost to Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics coaches by 53 points — and it was the time of my life by Noa Dalzell, Celtics Blog

• a sonic bequeathal. by Stacia L. Brown, taxonomies of home.

• Deaths of Hip-Hop Artists Reveal the Alarming State of Black Men’s Health by Margo Snipe, Capital B News

• Dave Niehaus statue helped his daughter get through Mariners’ ALDS win by Mike Gastineau, Seattle Times

💰 MONEY MOVES

ADAM SILVER SEES THE SUN

Throughout the year, we’ve discussed the saga of the Connecticut Sun. The Mohegan Sun tribe wants to sell the team and has gotten plenty of interest from prospective buyers who want to keep them in the northeast. The WNBA league office has thrown a few wrenches in that plan as they have other ideas as to where they should or shouldn’t go. And as we’ve gone through this process, we’ve seen the big bosses make their preferences known as well.

In addition to working for the WNBA owners, Cathy Engelbert reports to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Silver has been the Commissioner of the NBA since 2014 and, during that time, has helped the NBA reach dizzying financial heights.

As the WNBA has started to set records of its own, we’ve begun to see greater NBA involvement in its affairs. New teams coming in to the league that have NBA ownership ties, the NBA exclusively negotiating the W’s TV deal, etc. And now, they’re involved in where the Sun will play next.

Commissioner Silver was a guest speaker at Front Office Sports’ Tuned In summit on September 17. He spoke about various issues, including how fans consume the game, the controversy surrounding the Los Angeles Clippers and their star, Kawhi Leonard, among other things.

He was asked about the Sun and reiterated that the team has every right to sell in their market, but noted that Boston and Hartford didn’t put in bids for this round of expansion.

He added:

“But then we started to be contacted by people in Boston and elsewhere saying that there was a suggestion that they could buy a team in one market and take it to another. That’s sort of black-letter law in sports leagues: You can’t do that. You’re buying that market. Teams have different values in different markets, and we view those other markets as expansion markets.”

Hmm. I think I see where he and the league are coming from. Comparatively, Boston and Hartford may not measure up to Houston in terms of what the league offices are looking for. As a result, so the price of admission for those cities and ownership groups might be a bit higher.

It’s certainly unfair from a fan’s perspective as you miss out on having a WNBA team in your town due to factors outside of your control. And with the WNBA not yet expanding into the South, it appears the league has a set preference for the markets it wants to move to. They must hope their preferences won’t deter good ownership groups that want to build on the momentum the players have generated.

Back to the Sun, Silver spoke more about the process and conversations the NBA has had with the Sun’s ownership

“We went to the Mohegan Sun and said, if you want to sell your team, that’s fine if you have a buyer to play at the Mohegan Sun. Once you’re talking about moving it to another city, that’s a league matter. That’s not an individual team matter. That’s where it stands right now.”

At an NBC event promoting the return of the NBA and WNBA to NBC in early October, Silver spoke about the sale and reiterated what he said in September. Naturally, people haven’t taken well to his line of thinking…

@glucivero

Accidentally used less than 10 words to short circuit the NBA commish. • • • This is just one tiny piece of the overall discussion. ⬇️ mo... See more

The part about if you want to sell, they have to play at Mohegan Sun is cause for concern. As the WNBA continues to set attendance records, they are looking to play in larger arenas that will allow for even more fans to be there in person. Mohegan has a maximum capacity of 10,000, which puts it in the lower third of the league. Basketball interest in the northeast is exceptional, and maintaining a presence there would help the league now and in the future. This is a moment where the unique value of a team to the community they play in should be a tremendous opportunity for the league and teams.

We’ve reached a stalemate. Sun ownership aims to do what’s best for them by selling to the highest bidder who can help achieve their goal of staying in the New England area. The NBA/WNBA aims to place teams in the most glamorous and financially viable cities possible. Right now, the sides aren’t on the same page. As this saga continues, we’ll see how things continue to develop.

📲 STAY CONNECTED!

If you enjoyed this newsletter, consider subscribing to receive the latest updates from Black Rosie Media directly in your inbox—it's completely FREE! Feel free to share this with a friend so they can also stay informed.

Join our Black Rosie Media Slack Channel to interact directly with our contributors, participate in game-day chats, and much more!

You can also connect with us on BlueSky, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube!