WNBA truths and fictions: the real state of the league in 2025

Caitlin Clark is dazzling. Attendance is soaring. But the WNBA still faces questions: about refereeing, star power, media narratives and what progress really looks like

The WNBA is one of those leagues that is perpetually at the crossroads. In the 1990s, the league saw off the challenge of the American Basketball League (ABL), which paid higher salaries but lacked the NBA's marketing muscle, but perhaps that victory gave the NBA and WNBA a dose of complacency. Attendance steadily dropped for several years, and went through revolving doors from city to city - or into permanent hiatus.

Now, with women's sports in the middle of a growth spurt and the dazzling skills of Caitlin Clark on display, the WNBA has an age-old issue: More money, more problems - or, at least, more critics conjuring up more questions.