WNBA - 2025 Season.

Main talking points, so far, seem to be around the large number of injuries and the standard of refereeing. The two are probably related. The WNBA seems to encourage a brand of "almost contact" basketball. Tussles for rebounds and close marking may, arguably, add to the spectacle but there can be little doubt that they are contributing to players being unavailable due to injury. When Caitlin Clark is one of those sidelined then, the entirely predictable, drop in interest in the league happens.

Refereeing seems inconsistent, at best. New York continue with their flying start accompanied by a huge number of free throws awarded. They seem to have perfected the Gerrard-Salah "dive whilst being matey-pals with the refs" technique. Dallas continue to struggle, even though referees seem positively scared of Carrington (she accuses them of "micro-aggression" in return).

All in all, a quiet few weeks as the league enters the Commissioners Cup time. The season proceeds as planned and, after a while, the top teams from each conference go through to separate knock out fixtures. I think.

It'll all kick off again big time when Clark gets back to fitness ...
 

Referees in women’s basketball are absolutely shocking at all levels. People have complained about it for decades at the college level and those are the ones the WNBA eventually hires for their games.

There’s also the matter that many WNBA players go overseas in the fall and winter months to make extra money, at the expense of their fitness and stamina.
 
The last unbeaten side finally manages not to win. Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham return from injury and inspire the Indiana Fever to a 102 - 88 win over previously unbeaten New York. The score would have been even more in Indiana's favour if they hadn't missed so many lay ups and New York hadn't been given so many fouls. Looks a bit dodgy even to my untrained eyes.

Elsewhere, the Golden State Valkyries continue to benefit from the work put in to assemble such a great squad. A team of team players who clearly enjoy playing together in front of large and enthusiastic crowds. A lesson for the struggling teams such as Dallas and Chicago, surely.

There is, currently, an ongoing ballot on the WNBA app that seems to allow fans to select players for the All Star game (a representative exhibition match, by the looks). I vote daily, mainly for the players highlighted by Rachel Demita on her YouTube channel, and not for the drama queens. Gonna keep going to try and get Temi Fagbenle voted in. She's kind of a Brit and seeing her make the All Stars game seems a good distraction to all the grief going on in the world right now ...
 

Well, the season seems to roll on with a shed load of games of varying quality and watchability. The inconsistency, to put it politely, of the refereeing continues to be the main talking point. I tried to look up what constitutes a foul in basketball but it seems very subjective. Here is some brief highlights I found on YouTube of a recent game. I'm pretty sure most of this is against the rules ...

 
The "All-Star" game is on the horizon. I don't really see the point of it, to be honest. The WNBA season just seems to be an ongoing circus of practically non-stop basketball. Someone, for some reason, decides to put an exhibition game in the middle of it all.

All the more unnecessary as there have been so many injuries this season. The best players are missing key games and, with tickets costing hundreds of dollars to see those players, fans are going to think twice before committing to a game if they have to gamble on whether they will see a particular player (probably Caitlin Clark) or not .

I reckon they need fewer games and more star players. The latter is likely to evolve quite soon. The new players coming into the league are doing well and as some of the old guard (many of whom probably only ended up playing professional basketball as it was the only thing they were half decent at) retire, the standard and competitiveness of the league should improve.

The refereeing remains pretty poor. I never thought there could be a bunch of referees worse than the shower in the premier league.

Here's an example of how little respect the players have for the refs

 
tonyhorne said:
The "All-Star" game is on the horizon. I don't really see the point of it, to be honest. The WNBA season just seems to be an ongoing circus of practically non-stop basketball. Someone, for some reason, decides to put an exhibition game in the middle of it all.

All the more unnecessary as there have been so many injuries this season. The best players are missing key games and, with tickets costing hundreds of dollars to see those players, fans are going to think twice before committing to a game if they have to gamble on whether they will see a particular player (probably Caitlin Clark) or not .

I reckon they need fewer games and more star players. The latter is likely to evolve quite soon. The new players coming into the league are doing well and as some of the old guard (many of whom probably only ended up playing professional basketball as it was the only thing they were half decent at) retire, the standard and competitiveness of the league should improve.

The refereeing remains pretty poor. I never thought there could be a bunch of referees worse than the shower in the premier league.

Here's an example of how little respect the players have for the refs

Click to expand...

Stop commenting to keep your thread alive. Let it go and let it die, it's the right thing to do, same thing needs doing with the WNBA too.
 
I disagree. All of my threads are ace, obviously (we don't need to go into all that again), but also I think a vibrant WNBA would be a good thing. You've only got to look at the enthusiasm of the crowd and the predominance of young kids watching, particularly young girls, when proper competitive role models emerge rather than the concentration of standard bearers for what many would regard as alternative lifestyles and outlooks.

I see it as mirroring many Western societies. There are reasonable arguments from many quarters. Where will the balance be found?
 

Welcome

Join Grand Old Team to get involved in the Everton discussion. Signing up is quick, easy, and completely free.

Register

Shop

Back
Top