🔥 THE PLAYOFF RACE HEATS UP

TEAMS ARE BATTLING FOR PLAYOFF POSITION

The WNBA Playoffs officially begin on September 14. Barring something unforeseen, the Minnesota Lynx will be the one seed. After that, who knows!

As we enter the final stretch of the regular season, the standings are as jam-packed as ever. The New York Liberty, Las Vegas Aces, Phoenix Mercury, and Atlanta Dream are all within striking distance of each other, and each has a great chance of getting as high as the two seed. With the new 1-1-1 format for the playoffs this year, getting homecourt advantage takes on even more importance.

“This is the most talented our league has ever been,” Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said on August 19.

“It's fun to see. Each time a game is played, you know, what exactly happens in the standings, and this is probably the commissioner's dream. Three weeks to go on the season, and it's compelling. Everything is compelling. And obviously it's a good lead into the playoffs.”

As of this writing, Atlanta is in second place and Las Vegas is third, while New York is in fourth and Phoenix is in fifth. For the Dream in particular, following their win against the Lynx, they have back-to-back games against the Liberty and Aces. If they want to get homecourt, it’s going to take everything they have to get it done.

Near the bottom of the standings, the Los Angeles Sparks are making a mad dash to the eighth seed. They helped the cause with a buzzer-beater over the Dallas Wings on Wednesday night. How can they help themselves even more?

Kelsey Plum, the floor is yours…

 🤕 STILL NO TIMETABLE FOR CAITLIN CLARK

WILL THE INDIANA FEVER SUPERSTAR RETURN IN 2025?

Caitlin Clark last played on July 15. The 2024 number one pick has been out of action ever since due to a right groin injury. On August 20, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files was the first to report that Clark suffered a bone bruise to her left ankle on August 7 while training in Phoenix. Chloe Peterson of the Indianapolis Star later reported that this injury isn’t a setback and that the team is operating essentially with the same plan of giving Clark as much time as she needs to get healthy.

On the August 13 edition of the Women’s Basketball Roundup, we talked about the Fever’s injury woes when Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald suffered season-ending injuries. Since then, the team suffered another loss as Sophie Cunningham will miss the remainder of 2025 after tearing her MCL.

The Fever have held tough despite all of the absences, and the best-case scenario for the team is that Clark can return and be healthy with enough time to get back up to speed for the playoffs. At the same time, rushing a player back from injury runs the risk of making things a lot worse in the future.

“The most important thing for us is Caitlin's long-term health and getting her back to 100% before we put her back on the floor,” Fever head coach Stephanie White said.

If Clark can return for the postseason, it will make the Fever an incredibly difficult matchup for whoever they see. This season hasn’t gone according to plan for Indiana, but a magical playoff run will erase all of that.

💰 MONEY MOVES

 ANOTHER GREAT SEASON AT THE BOX OFFICE

Throughout the WNBA season, we’ve talked about the increased fan interest. Ratings are up, millions of dollars are flowing in to the league via expansion, and starting next year a new television contract will help bring even more people into the fold. It’s one thing to have lots of people watching at home. It’s even better when you can bring fans into the arena and have them experience WNBA action in person. The league has been doing that at record-breaking numbers this year.

According to Colin Salao of Sports Business Journal, the league has already surpassed its single-season attendance record with 2.49 million and counting. He adds:

“Additionally, the WNBA’s average of 11,009 per game through last night is up 12.2% over last year’s full-season record average of 9,807, putting the league on pace to draw 2.86 million with 60 games remaining.”

The league has worked to make the games more accessible for fans and has done a great job of playing in new cities like Baltimore and expanding its outreach at home and abroad. Playing in first-class arenas and creating a welcoming space for fans to have fun and be their whole selves goes a long way in building and maintaining a fanbase.

The big worry comes in the form of rising ticket prices. We’ve seen it already in places like New York and Washington, but the league has to be very careful not to price out their long-term fans that have helped the W get to this point.

Bandwagon fans come and go, but your day ones will be with you during your highest and lowest moments. They’re the ones who follow intently, discuss the game on various platforms, and help introduce the league to new people. The league SHOULD do right by them, but as we’ve seen recently, that doesn’t appear to be a concern of theirs.

As the WNBA continues to grow, the league has to strike the proper balance of getting as many people to the game as possible without pricing diehard fans out of the arena. If they can do that, they’ll be able to welcome even more people to the party while maintaining everything fun and unique about WNBA fandom.

📰 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:

• [AUDIO] Cheryl Reeve on the Lynx’s Rise, MVPhee, and Why Diana Taurasi Sat Out the Gold Medal Game by Khristina Williams for In Case You Missed It with Khristina Williams

• The Engine: Alyssa Thomas driving new-look Phoenix Mercury near the top of WNBA standings by John Marshall for the Associated Press

• Lynx-Liberty takeaways: The WNBA's hottest rivalry looks primed for another postseason showdown by Cassandra Negley for Yahoo Sports

• Adaptability and Depth Has Fueled the Lynx's Success Amidst Napheesa Collier’s Absence by Jonah Maves for Zone Coverage

• How Kelsey Plum helped Sparks snatch victory from jaws of defeat by Edwin Garcia for Silver Screen and Roll

• Unbodied 001: The Wisdom of Ourselves by Britt Julious for Unbodied

⛹🏽‍♀️ UPCOMING GAMES

Here’s the schedule for the next few days (Eastern Standard Time)

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