Commissioner Cathy Englebert unveils mind-boggling stats highlighting WNBA's rapid growth since 2023

Ahead of the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game on Sunday, commissioner Cathy Engelbert unveiled mind-boggling stats highlighting the league's rapid growth since 2023.

Engelbert highlighted various viewership, engagement, and sales numbers of the league, which indicate the massive growth of the league within a span of a few months.

"We've seen our highest attendance in 26 years, repeatedly set viewership records, lot of our teams are up triple-digits in attendance and we have 16 WNBA games this year that have averaged at least a million viewers, the most in any WNBA season in league history and we're only a little over halfway through the season. Our app active users are up 530%, our DTC league pass product is up 360% in subscription so couldn't be more pleased with the progress that's been made," she said ahead of All-star game.

Engelbert also deduced that the hike is not just limited to viewership and that fans have started to become engaged with the league.

"One metric I think that is particularly telling I think is All-Star voting, which compared to 2023 was up over 600%. Our fan growth is not just an increase in viewership but it is truly indicative of fan engagement. Our fans are engaged, they care a lot about what's going on with our players and the league. Merch sales have already set an all-time record for All-Star merchandise sales," she added.

The commissioner also spoke about the upcoming expansion of the league with the introduction of two new teams for the next season and stated that they aim to have 16 teams by 2028.

"As all of you know about expansion, the Golden State Valkyrie has announced their brand, became the league's 13th franchise to start up next year, and in May we awarded Toronto the 14th franchise marking the WNBA's first international expansion...The goal remains to have 16 teams by no later than 2028," she mentioned.

Team WNBA defeats Team USA in All-Star Game

The 2024 WNBA All-Star game on Sunday concluded with Team WNBA outlasting Team USA 117-109 in front of the jam-packed Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

The game was close in the first half, with both teams scoring back-and-forth as Team USA earned a two-point advantage at the end of the second quarter. However, Arike Ogunbowale outnumbered everyone in the second half, as she broke the All-Star Game scoring record in the final quarter to hand Team USA the loss.

Ogunbowale concluded the game with 34 points, three rebounds, six assists, and two steals while shooting 54.5% from the field. She was named the All-Star Game MVP for the second time in her career for her game-winning performance on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Breanna Stewart led Team USA's losing effort with her double-double performance of 31 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block in the game.