NEW YORK — Let’s hope the WNBA, and its new fans, learned something from the debacle of last season.
Barring some shocking turn or a kidnapping by aliens, Paige Bueckers is going to be the first pick of Monday night’s WNBA draft. She is a transformational player, one who will help drive attendance and attention to the Dallas Wings and the league overall.
What Bueckers is not is a “rival” of Caitlin Clark. Or Angel Reese. Or any other player, for that matter. (Not yet, anyway.) Nor is Bueckers some shrinking violet who needs protecting or hand-holding. She’s a hooper, and should be treated as such.
So should have Clark, and much of the drama last season was created by people who thought Clark needed to be shielded from both the physicality of the W and the expectations that have always accompanied star players.
“Obviously Caitlin had an unbelievable impact on the court, and her adjustment was quick and very, very productive. You saw how Indiana got hot and how dangerous they were late in the year, and a lot of that was a credit to Caitlin’s quick adjustment,” Wings general manager Curt Miller said last week. “I think the other thing that we all took notice of around our league is something as simple as security for our players and how to navigate the increased viewership, the increased fandom and how our players deserve to be protected and amplified at the same time.
“It’s a players-first league. Our job all around the league is to create an incredible environment for these players.”
That’s teams having their own practice facilities and flying charter, yes. But it’s also giving the players the respect and credit they deserve.
Approaching its 30th season, this is the golden era for the WNBA. It is finally seeing the interest and investment it has long deserved, and fans and sponsors alike are clamoring for more.
After 15 years with just 12 teams, the W begins an expansion boom with the addition of the Golden State Valkyries this season. Portland and Toronto begin play next year and there will be at least one more team, and likely several others, by 2028.
ABC will broadcast a record 13 games this season, CBS will air its first primetime game and ION will duplicate the Friday night doubleheaders that proved so successful for Unrivaled. A massive new media rights deal is coming next year.
And the popularity of the college game ensures the WNBA will keep growing. Last year, it was Clark and Reese arriving with hefty fan followings from their time at Iowa and LSU, respectively. This year, it’s Bueckers, who is fresh off UConn’s NCAA title run. Next year it’ll be Olivia Miles. Then JuJu Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo.
Are some players, like Clark and Reese, or A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, more popular than others? Sure. Just as LeBron James, Steph Curry and Nikola Jokic have star billing in the NBA. But every player contributes to the success of a league, and anything that negates or ignores that does a disservice to everyone.
The WNBA acknowledged that too late last year. It cannot make the same mistake again this year, or it risks alienating fans and players alike.
Bueckers has a different game and a different personality than Clark. There is more than enough room for both in the WNBA, and no one needs to be knocking one player down — or worse — in an ill-informed attempt to lift another up.
There’s likely to be an adjustment period for Bueckers, as there is for pretty much any rookie in any league. But she, like Clark, is ready for the W. All of it.
Here’s hoping fans, and the league, are, too.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.