Five Out: A'ja Wilson has a shoe, Lisa Bluder retires from Iowa, The WNBA gets charter flights
The column returns just in time for WNBA season. Five thoughts for the week of May 14, 2024.
After a bit of time off to change jobs and make a move, Five Out has returned just in time for the start of the WNBA season. There’s been a lot to talk about and dissect since the last column, but we’ll just jump in and focus on what we saw the last seven days. And hey, happy regular season folks!
1. A’ja Wilson finally has her signature shoe.
At long last, the great shoe discourse of the last few years is over. At home in Columbia former Gamecock star A’ja Wilson, the undisputed face of the WNBA since at least 2022, was able to announce a signature shoe with Nike. The ad campaign, centered around the phrase ‘Of Course She has a Shoe’ was a kind of Rorschach test for fans who were on various sides of the debate. Was it a “here, damn” type of gesture from Nike in the face of unrelenting public scrutiny? Does the campaign read more as a poke of people fighting on her behalf? Or was it for the people saying she’s unmarketable? Both groups didn’t know she had a shoe in the works. Was it worth inflaming tensions against Caitlin Clark this spring when there was knowledge internally that this was coming? Is the campaign directed at such a specific element of internet discourse that someone not consistently online may not understand it? Or is it a masterclass shot at all the haters and doubters?
Whatever answer you may find, one thing is clear above all. Wilson continues to do what she has done since the day she signed a letter of intent to play for Dawn Staley: break barriers, set a new standard and achieve things that some thought unattainable. At this point in her career, to not have a shoe would’ve been reasonable cause to leave the Swoosh, especially with Candace Parker taking a new gig over at Adidas and Angel Reese signing with Reebok. Now I just hope Nike does right by A’ja and meets this moment. Because A’One is an *awesome* name for a shoe and under no circumstance should these efforts be wasted on a subpar design.
2. The WNBA has their charter flights…kind of.
Another piece of longtime WNBA internet discourse was laid to rest as well this past week. League commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that teams would be able to charter flights for their teams during the regular season. After seasons of saying that the W needed to find options based in longevity as opposed to single season packages, the money has finally turned up. Part of that feels legitimate. The WNBA is in a very different financial situation with this class of rookies headed by Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. It makes sense that companies may want to cut deals, that TV rights estimates may be increasing in negotiations or owners can see a financial windfall on the horizon. But, in typical W fashion, they did a double backflip only to faceplant on the landing.
Questions started to be raised quickly about the potential competitive advantage afforded to teams that were able to charter first as part of the league’s phased rollout. Of course, Indiana and Clark were the first charter. I do want to say that there is a legit reason here given the Connecticut Sun’s airport situation and proximity. But the other obvious reason is easy: she’s Caitlin Clark. The issue at hand with the W is that this is a league that hasn’t felt much of a need to cater to the needs of its’ players until it comes time to negotiate a new CBA. Much like MLS did when David Beckham arrived, the WNBA is appearing to bend rules for certain teams and superstars. But unlike MLS, who famously shifts long standing rules to suit teams that are willing to spend, the W punished Las Vegas and New York for exploring charter options in the last two seasons. And that’s the type of inconsistency that is bothering long time fans of the league. It’s good that players finally have a key component of the professional experience but the league needs to tighten up its’ changes now that the spotlight is brighter than ever.
3. What will Iowa look like post-Lisa Bluder?
It was a bit of a Monday news dump when Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder seemingly retired out of nowhere. It makes one think about if she’d have called it right there in Cleveland if the Hawkeyes managed to walk away with a national title. With her departure, it opens up a variety of questions for the program. Jan Jensen, who has been with Bluder for decades, takes over and functionally it would be surprising to see their play style or program ethos change. I am curious about Lucy Olsen, the dynamic Villanova transfer who was one of the gems of the portal class, and if she knew about this before arriving in Iowa City.
Bluder finishes her career with two NCAA title game appearances, a combined nine conference tournament championships in the Big Ten and MVC as well as five regular season titles. Her greatest achievement, at least to me, is allowing Caitlin Clark the chance to develop into what we see today. Bluder’s pace, ball movement and offensive minded system — whatever you may think of its’ effectiveness in winning championships — clearly allowed Clark the canvas to be Jackson Pollock. To throw the ball out there and see where it landed, be it in the net or in a teammates hand on a break. Bluder helped change the game. And to that, we raise a glass to Coach Lisa and a heck of a career.
4. Toronto gets a W franchise…so who’s next?
Team 14 it is. The W is officially planting their flag in Canada by bringing a franchise to Toronto. Notably, the team will be playing in Coca-Cola Coliseum, an 8,000 person venue that currently hosts minor league hockey. Just down the road, ScotiaBank Arena will remain unoccupied in the summer save for some concerts and other events while the Maple Leafs and Raptors are off. Juxtapose that with the new Golden State WNBA franchise, owned by the same group as the Warriors, who will be playing in the Chase Center downtown.
I find it noteworthy because it does provide a bit of a tell in which markets may be worth elevating as shortlist candidates. If they have a NBA owner with access to that facility, it is likely that there doesn’t need to be a secondary arena in the city. If they are not, then start counting in your city what facilities are available. There aren’t as many as you might think and usually secondary arenas are ones that require extensive renovations. Of course, money changes all, but if you’re looking for clues or think pieces about where teams 15 and 16 may be, I’d recommend you start there.
5. Keep an eye on the TV rights deal
It went quietly underreported in the last month but Front Office Sports had a fascinating story about how the WNBA could unbundle their rights from the NBA and seek out its own media deal. Why is that something new this week? Well, it’s the debacle that was the broadcasting of the preseason matchups and a new story in FOS discussing over-the-air channels (think your local channel 4 news) getting in on airing WNBA regular season games. Thousands of people were tuning into pirate streams on Instagram and X to see games not otherwise broadcast on television. A logistics issue (as a TV guy, I could spend a whole article on this) but also a fumble on the W’s part of misunderstanding the level of audience for players other than Caitlin Clark.
What that showed is that the audience is starting to become educated through Clark. There is a phenomenon happening that with Clark as the prism, the kaleidoscope of interesting WNBA stars and stories comes into focus for casual fans. While longtime fans who have been with the league may bristle at that notion, there is quantifiable TV ratings data that she is a needle mover unlike anything the league has seen. The rights expire in 2025. There is word on the street the NBA may leave TNT and head to NBC. If the league unbundles its’ rights it may finally begin a process that Atlanta Dream owner Larry Gottesdinner has alluded to: divorcing the W from those in the NBA that see the league as anything other than a low overhead, high yield product undeserving of investment. So yes, as the season goes on and the ratings likely break records, think of what it may mean for the future.