Women’s basketball continues to be a hot topic in the sports world, with the long-awaited WNBA regular season debuts of Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink and more.
On the latest edition of “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” Simmons is joined by Ethan Strauss, a former NBA beat writer and current author of “House of Strauss,” to talk about how the WNBA is building unprecedented interest in its league. I’ve shared some of my ideas on how it can be done.
Strauss suggested that one of the WNBA’s past shortcomings has to do with how the league decides to brand its teams.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Detail of the WNBA logo is seen on a basketball during warm-ups for the Seattle Storm vs. the Connecticut Sun at Climate Pledge Arena on June 20, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Strauss suggested that assigning a name to a WNBA franchise that is completely separate from the NBA teams that play in a given market would be detrimental to fans and would ultimately slow the growth of women’s professional basketball in the United States. did.
WNBA plans to offer full-time charter flights for teams starting this season
Wilson Ball before the 2023 WNBA Draft at Spring Studios on April 10, 2023 in New York, New York. (Michel Falci/NBAE via Getty Images)
“The only thing they should have done, and there’s probably still time to do it, that they didn’t do in the first place is just use the same team name,” Strauss said. “Like, why do we need people to learn about the Fever? Why not just have ‘W Pacers’? I think that would resonate and make it much easier to cross.”
“I’ll be ‘Lady Gamecock,’ just like I was in college,” Simmons replied.
At the heart of Strauss’ discussion was the idea that because the WNBA essentially operates as a “subsidiary of the NBA,” the league needs to find a way to differentiate itself from the men’s league.
Indiana Fever player Caitlin Clark (center) poses with general manager Lin Dunn (left) and head coach Christy Sides after a WNBA basketball press conference on Wednesday, April 17, 2024 in Indianapolis. . (AP Photo/Daron Cummings)
Note that not all WNBA teams share cities or ownership groups with NBA franchises. Five NBA teams: Indiana Pacers (Indiana Fever), Minnesota Timberwolves (Minnesota Lynx), Washington Wizards (Washington Mystics), Brooklyn Nets (New York Liberty), Phoenix Suns (Phoenix Mercury) owns a WNBA team.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In October, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that she had given the Golden State Warriors an expansion team. The first season of the franchise is scheduled to begin in 2025.
The new team will play its home games at Chase Center in San Francisco, but will be based in Golden State’s old practice building in Oakland. The name of the new franchise is still being finalized.
Follow Fox News Digital X sports broadcastplease subscribe Fox News Sports Huddle Newsletter.
