Think of a basketball player. Did you think of 40,000 point scorer Lebron James? Sharpshooter Stephen Curry? Championship Winning Kobe Bryant? How about Jada Richard? SSA’s Emilee Duet and Addison Pontiff? I thought of Angel Reece, the LSU Women’s Basketball alum and current Chicago Sky player who recently rose to fame with the success of LSUWB.
Over the past few years, the popularity of women’s basketball has undoubtedly been on the rise- whether that be college basketball, the WNBA, or even our local community. This all started in 2022. Kim Mulkey walked into the LSU Pete Maravich Center with pure class and confidence, running along the sideline coaching her soon to be championship team. LSUWB is not alone with the growth of popularity. South Carolina women’s basketball, Iowa women’s basketball and so many other women’s teams have also received growing attention.
South Carolina women’s basketball has been one of the most competitive programs for years. Coached by Dawn Staley, they recently won the 2024 championship. In contrast to South Carolina, there is Iowa, who has never won a championship. However, you have probably heard of Iowa due to standout players and coaches. You may recognize the name Caitlin Clark. Clark took Iowa, an average team, and made them phenomenal. Clark is currently one of the most prominent figures in sports, and I don’t mean just women’s basketball.
So, what did women’s basketball look like before the current rise in popularity? The most obvious example of the rise in popularity of women’s basketball would be the number of fans in the stands. In 2021, very few attended New York Liberty games. In 2022, the numbers started to grow. In 2023, the stands became crowded. In 2024, the games sold out. To top off their attendance-breaking season, the New York Liberty won their first WNBA Championship.
Similarly to the rise in the number of people at women’s basketball games, the amount of people who watched the WNBA Draft also multiplied. In 2022, 403,000 people watched the draft. Only two short years later, in 2024, 4.41 million people watched the draft.
The WNBA is also expanding its teams. In September, the WNBA announced the grant of a new team to Portland, Oregon that will begin playing in 2026. This goes alongside the announcement of the Golden State WNBA team, an expansion of the NBA Warriors, and a Toronto WNBA team. By 2026, the WNBA will go from 13 teams to 15.
Another change in the basketball community is that more and more women are getting sponsored by large companies, also known as NIL deals. Many women players have recently released their own shoe lines. Caitlin Clark signed an eight-year contract with Nike worth 28 million dollars. Along with this deal came her own personalized shoes. Angel Reece has a deal with Reebok that also includes her own shoes. The Reebok deal is worth 1.8 million dollars.
Social media has also brought more attention to women’s sports. Most college and WNBA players are active on Instagram, TikTok, X, and Snapchat accounts, where they post about their lives daily. They post perfect action shots, popular “Get Ready with Me” videos, messages to fellow players and opponents, updates on injuries, etc. These fun-loving, attention-bringing social media posts have made spreading the love of women’s basketball, especially the players and their personalities, even more accessible.
In every successful women’s team I’ve observed, there has been a pattern: each team possesses one or more prominently strong leaders. LSUWB had Angel Reece and currently has Flau’ Jae Johnson and Kim Mulkey. Iowa had Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin and Lisa Bluder. South Carolina had Kamilla Cardoso and has Dawn Staley. In our local community, SSA Basketball has two prominent leaders: Emilee Duet and Addison Pontiff. The iconic Covington duo has changed basketball for our community. They are both members of the 1000 Point Club, key contributors to the first SSA Basketball District win in over 30 years, and members of the 2024 Louisiana State Basketball Teams. Just by watching one-quarter of a basketball game, it can easily be determined they are not shy about dominating the court. When asked about basketball, they had plenty to say.
Duet and Pontiff were nothing but humble when asked about leadership. “Be open to people coming to you…with you having an open mind…you don’t have to be the best[player]” is a word of advice that everyone can use from Pontiff. Duet mentioned, “Keep everyone involved.” Whether on or off the court, energy, or just support in general, involvement is not something SSA basketball players stray away from. They both mentioned that leadership has naturally come to them from a young age. “I don’t really think about it; it’s just what I do,” said Duet.
On the topic of the rise of women’s basketball, they essentially read my mind. “The past two years, it’s just skyrocketed…everyone’s not like ‘oh, it’s women,’ they’re like ‘oh, she’s actually good, male or female,'” said Duet. “It’s not like anyone has gotten increasingly better, they’ve always been good, they just haven’t been shown… social media is what pushed [it] and everyone pushing the idea that women’s sports need to come back,” said Pontiff. When asked who their favorite players are neither mentioned a single male player. They mentioned women such as University of Connecticut alum Nika Mühl because “She always gives her hardest…when she gets beat, she always sprints back” and current University of Connecticut player Paige Bueckers because “She works really hard. She had a bad injury, and she came back stronger than ever,” Pontiff said.
“Everyone thinks that women who play basketball can’t be girly-girls off the court… [with] women it’s about [knowledge of the game], running plays, finding the openings, good passes…you have to have poise,” said Pontiff.
Duet said, “It’s one of the most talked about sports now.” Pontiff said, “It gives recognition to people that have worked so hard that have never been recognized.” The future is exciting as women’s basketball continues to grow. Women’s basketball is on the rise, and that is here to stay.
Sources:
Nike Faces Pressure Following Caitlin Clark’s Recent Footwear Decision – Athlon Sports
Angel Reese debuts Reebok’s first performance basketball …
2024 WNBA draft TV ratings: Viewership shatters record set in …
WNBA draft shatters records with 2.45 million viewers
Front Office Sports on X: “WNBA Draft viewership: 2022 …
