WNBA
Former President Barack Obama surprised the WNBA All-Stars at their practice at his new Presidential Center on Friday.
In addition to Saturday’s All-Star game at the United Center and Friday’s three-point contest at Wintrust Arena, events will be taking place around the city throughout the weekend.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs, Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever and former Chicago Bulls NBA MVP Derrick Rose were revealed Wednesday as the cover athletes for NBA 2K27.
Chicago Sky forward Rickea Jackson suffered a torn ACL in her left knee in a win over the Minnesota Lynx, the team announced Tuesday.
The Chicago Sky got off to a hot start to the WNBA season, but the health of young star Rickea Jackson is foremost on their minds after she had a non-contact injury on her left knee in Sunday’s win over Minnesota.
The Atlanta Dream acquired two-time WNBA All-Star Angel Reese from the Chicago Sky on Monday in exchange for first-round draft picks in 2027 and 2028.
The WNBA says it cannot substantiate claims that racist fan behavior took place during a game in Indianapolis between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever earlier this month.
The game between Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever and Angel Reese’s Chicago Sky drew an average of 2.7 million viewers, which made it the most watched WNBA game on ESPN platforms. Clark posted a triple-double while Reese had 12 points and 17 rebounds in the blowout loss for Chicago.
The WNBA is investigating racial comments directed toward Angel Reese by fans during the Chicago Sky’s loss to Caitlin Clark and the Fever at Indiana on Saturday, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Sold out arenas became the norm. Soaring television ratings helped expand the fan base. Clark, Reese, the presumptive league MVP A’ja Wilson and others continually chased record-breaking statistics. And routine conversations and social media posts spurred sometimes heated debates about everything from basketball to culture.
The figures are the latest evidence of the surging popularity of the WNBA since it added prominent rookies including Indiana’s Caitlin Clark, Chicago’s Angel Reese and Los Angeles’ Cameron Brink, all of whom drew big audiences playing in college.
The Chicago Sky rookie said the perception that it’s only Indiana’s Caitlin Clark that’s raising the profile of the league is misleading. The league’s had tremendous growth in attendance, TV ratings and merchandise sold already.
Ratings have been historic. ESPN’s broadcast of Clark’s opening night game when the Indiana Fever played the Connecticut Sun had the highest viewership for a WNBA game on the network. ESPN picked up the Chicago-Indiana game on June 1 that will feature the first meeting between Reese and Clark.
The Chicago Sky looks different this year with brand new leadership and players on the roster including Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso.
The WNBA's app had incorrectly listed the game as available to watch, leading to confusion from fans before the league clarified that only Caitlin Clark’s debut with the Indiana Fever was being broadcast.
The WNBA draft came eight days after the college women’s basketball season ended with a historic championship game. Nearly 19 million people tuned in for the matchup, making it the most-watched basketball game at any level, regardless of gender, since 2019.