The WNBA Is In Initial Talks To Come Back As Early As July 24

The same day the NBA announced its owners voted to approve a return to the court on July 31, reports from ESPN and The Next indicated that the WNBA could be back first.

Mechelle Voepel of ESPN reported the league is looking at playing 22 games in Bradenton, Fla., at the IMG Academy campus. Players would be paid 60 percent of their salaries if the league goes forward with the plan. Perhaps most importantly, the format would see the WNBA return to the floor on July 24, a full week prior to the NBA.

Just as when women’s basketball spoke first when it hosted the world’s first-ever pro sports virtual draft, the WNBA may become the first major American pro sports to come back. Recent indications are that training camps won’t start for the NHL until July 10 at the earliest, and it’s hard to say when Major League Baseball might return in 2020.

More than anything, it’s a major opportunity for exposure for the WNBA. Like its women’s sports cousin, the NWSL, arriving before its men’s counterpart will provide thirsty sports fans with consistent live competition for the first time in months.

The writer Lindsay Gibbs, in her women’s sports newsletter Power Plays, spelled this out almost perfectly back in April.

“Sports television networks and sports journalists across the world will be in dire need of ratings and advertisers, meaning they will cover the teams and players and storylines in women’s sports to the absolute best of their ability, and pull out all the stops to attract an audience,” she wrote.

“Fans who haven’t watched live sports in months upon months will be so happy to cheer and analyze and gamble and engage in soccer or basketball or golf or hockey that most will happily tune into women’s sports if it is their only option, especially if the media is giving the games the proper investment.”

Sound familiar? Here we are. The NWSL is orchestrating a fun tournament in Utah, and the WNBA will follow suit a few weeks later with a shortened regular season in Florida, with captive audiences both.

Timing is also important for the sake of health among WNBA teams. Unlike the NBA or NHL, the women’s game never started its season. It’s more in the camp of MLB in that it didn’t even get to takeoff. Training camp never happened.

Restarting would, for the sake of health, necessitate a longer runway. Many players were in the process of returning from overseas professional opportunities when travel restrictions were put in place and the WNBA postponed its season. If they haven’t had access to gyms or workout gear, many could be out of shape and at risk for injury.

On the other hand, the chance is immense to gain new attention. By July 24, the sports world will already have had the NWSL, a few PGA Tour competitions, and maybe even Major League Soccer or the restart of the NHL season. Still, the WNBA is typically competing with the NBA playoffs as well as the entire baseball season. The WNBA playoffs usually overlap with the start of the NFL calendar. A few dots on the sports calendar will be easier for the WNBA to escape.

As Gibbs wrote, “Healthier women’s sports leagues won’t take anything away from the success of men’s sports leagues, they will simply help sure up the entire ecosystem.”

Players will be ready mentally and, as much as possible, physically. Veterans like Candace Parker as well as youngsters like Brianna Turner have both prepared as if there will be a WNBA season. The league has to hope others have been able to do the same.

Like every sports league, the WNBA will also have to hope everyone stays out of harm’s way with regard to COVID-19. They will assuredly have testing and tracing capabilities just like the NBA and other returning leagues, but it only takes one false negative or bad rule follower to ruin it. Yet the WWE, UFC and NASCAR have thus far managed to avoid outbreaks amid their returns.

While there is undoubtedly risk, the WNBA also stands to benefit greatly from heightened exposure and a ravenous base of sports fans desperate for content.