In July, Cathy Engelbert walked onto the court at Phoenix’s Footprint Center, beaming before the crowd of 18,000 that watched the WNBA All-Star Game. The WNBA commissioner was not-so-secretly thrilled that Team WNBA—which bore her league’s name—notched a 117–109 upset over Olympic-bound Team USA, also made up of WNBA players. “This is going to get great reviews,” says Engelbert, 59.
The All-Star Game was just one in a string of resounding successes for the league in 2024. Fan numbers have been swelling. ESPN viewership climbed 170% to 1.2 million per game; teams sold 400,000 tickets in one month; and 21 games garnered more than 1 million viewers each—18 of which featured the Indiana Fever and their No. 1 draft pick, Caitlin Clark.
