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calbearman76 · Posted: 05/28/23 10:59 pm ::: Are super teams good for the WNBA?

Just over a week into the season it appears clear that either Las Vegas or New York will be the champion. Indeed there are two bets available that show their expected dominance. You can take the other 10 teams to win the championship and get 5/1 odds. Or you can take those same 10 teams and get 3/2 that at least one will make the finals.

When ESPN listed their top 25 players in the WNBA, the Liberty or Aces had the top 5 and 8 of the top 11. Among their starters only Betnijah Laney didn't make the list.

Is this concentration of talent good for the WNBA? It will certainly make for great games when the two teams face each other on June 29, August 6 and August 28. They also will likely play in the Commissioner's Cup final on August 15 and in the finals in October. But how about the other 237 regular season games? Will fans in the other 10 cities stay engaged?

Vote and give your thoughts.

Rock Hard · Posted: 05/28/23 11:59 pm :::

The Haves and the Have Nots. Grind and win.

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Bob Lamm · Posted: 05/29/23 12:03 am :::

I voted "unsure." Full disclosure: I'm a Liberty fan.

Here's why I'm unsure. The way this question is posed has no time frame. I view that as a serious mistake. If you told me that for the next three or four seasons it would be Las Vegas vs. New York every year in the WNBA finals, then I'd say that would definitely be a bad thing for the league. And I'd vote that way.

But I highly doubt that that will be the case. Even if people feel certain that Las Vegas and New York will play for the championship in 2023, it's just ONE season. (And I don't view that outcome as certain.) I see one season with just two superteams, if it indeed works out that way, as unfortunate but not such a big deal.

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snlMINAJ · Posted: 05/29/23 10:17 am :::

i vote no - but for the casual observer i think - for example - liberty vs. aces will draw tons of viewers because play will be very top notch.

i hate to say it so far, but the lynx, dream, fever, etc. can make some embarrassing plays and that's a potential turn off

johnjohnW · Posted: 05/29/23 11:33 am :::

I have to admit there are a lot more matchups that I have no interest in watching. It hurts having less star power spread across the league. If Vegas games continue to be blowouts and NY lives up to their potential, their games against other teams will also become less compelling. We should have a fun finals matchup though. 🤷‍♂️

willtalk · Posted: 05/29/23 4:06 pm :::

I am unsure. It could work both ways. I remember that the NBA really picked up popularity when the Celtics and Lakers dominated the league. It certainly might create more national fans for the Aces and Liberty.

Did anyone notice the rings that the Aces recieved for being Chanpions? The diamonds alone were enough to blind you. And people wonder why players sign with the Aces for less money. Its perks like that which create a lot of incentive to do so. I doubt other fanchises can match the level of perks the Aces get. I doubt there is a cost limit on championship rings.

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threadkiller1201 · Posted: 05/29/23 4:38 pm :::

My two cents: I'm not interested in seeing blow-outs...Of the 3 games yesterday the one I was least interested in watching was the Las Vegas game. And I think it's important for fans that pay for tickets to the games to feel that at least they have a chance, even if they still end up losing....

Now....back to lurking!

Beemer · Posted: 05/29/23 6:38 pm :::

Not a fan.

It's apparent that NY & LV ownership has very deep pockets compared to the other owners in the WNBA. They can afford the extras they have made available to their players which gives them an unfair advantage over the other teams. It's easy to say the rest of the league should raise their game but unrealistic when ownership simply doesn't have the means to pay for these extras on their own.

Nor am I fan of blowouts either. Give me a tight game that can go either way every time.

FWIW.

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sithinfiltrator · Posted: 05/29/23 10:43 pm :::

I am a Storm fan and we got royally screwed by the creation of the super teams. So you might think I voted “no!” But I voted “yes.” And here is why.

The WNBA needs to bring in more fans. They need more eyeballs. They needs more people getting interested. Somebody mentioned the Celtics and Lakers and they are totally right. We need some big name marketing games that can bring in big viewership. If we don’t, we will never be able to grow to the point where the players will be able to leave their off season leagues and focus entirely on the W. And I want that to happen badly.

So I will sit through some shitty Storm seasons and hope the balls bounce in our favor in the next few years while the Aces and Liberty bring in a bunch of new fans. Good for the W in the short run. But like somebody said, if we have a decade of two good teams and the rest suck, then the league is done for.

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Richyyy · Posted: 05/29/23 11:29 pm :::

Yeah, for bringing in casual fans, I think it's probably a good thing. NBA interest was practically saved when the Celtics and Lakers were battling, then the Jordan Bulls were a global phenomenon, and more recently the Heatles and the Warriors+Durant drove huge interest. People get drawn by these fantastically talented teams, and it also means the basketball should be about as good as it can get. The Aces can be great to watch in full flow.

But for those of us who are already fans, I definitely have sympathy with the view that the imbalance can lead to games that aren't particularly interesting or appealing. And we're going up to 40 games this year, so there's a significantly increased chance of worthless games at the end of the year on top of that. Also going to be interesting if teams actually want those 7-8 seeds (assuming the teams fighting for them still own their first-round pick). The players will keep competing, but if Vegas and NY are as good as anticipated, do you want a best-of-three against one of them, or lottery balls in a potential Clark/Brink/Reese/maybe-Bueckers/whoever draft? Could be a lot of 'injured' players down the stretch as well as the injured ones.

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Silky Johnson · Posted: 05/30/23 9:31 am :::

BamaEd · Posted: 05/30/23 9:56 am :::

readyAIMfire53 · Posted: 05/30/23 11:41 am :::

scullyfu · Posted: 05/30/23 6:26 pm :::

This reminds me of all the crap about how UCONN was ruining everything bcuz they were so much better & always won; their games were boring, etc.

Lots of folks took the tact that their superiority would force other teams to get better. And it did. There’s more parity in the NCAAW now.

So, the other WNBA teams need to step it up with better front office & coach hiring, better training facilities, better arenas, etc. to become more competitive if they want to entice more fans to get their butts in the seats.

And on the League side there needs to be a revamping of the lottery system, better scheduling, expansion, more pay, better travel, etc.

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Queenie · Posted: 05/30/23 9:05 pm :::

Bob Lamm · Posted: 05/30/23 9:37 pm :::

Silky Johnson · Posted: 05/30/23 9:39 pm :::

pilight · Posted: 05/30/23 9:43 pm :::

Bob Lamm · Posted: 05/30/23 10:26 pm :::

Silky Johnson · Posted: 05/30/23 11:09 pm :::

Richyyy · Posted: 05/30/23 11:22 pm :::

Bob Lamm · Posted: 05/30/23 11:37 pm :::

willtalk · Posted: 05/31/23 8:49 am :::

A potential and hopefull outcome of the Super teams would be the attracting of a national fandom. This is what happened with the Celtics and Laker rivally. The Celtics had fans though out the USA because of game broadcasts on TV.

Something the league needs to do to take advantage of Naitonal TV broadcasts is to instll much better media people to broadcast the games. In womans basketball they seem to not know the difference between a play by play announcer and a color anouncer. It is the play by play guy responsiblity to keep the audience geared an locked in to the games. Instead both tend to want to be color guys and often they totally ignore the game being played.

Being game announcers does require a degree of skill to understand the balance between play by play and color. Most of the time we have ex players and coaches who think their job is to impress the audience with their detailed knowledge. And often it degressess into a gossip session between the two. The are a distraction to the game at hand. Play by play nnouncers should never be ex coaches or players because it requires skills unrelated to their experience. They should be relegated to color, but also learn the times to interject their two bits worth. You don't just blather when ever you feel like it. There are specific times and they need to recognize when and when to cut themselves off.

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ChiSky54 · Posted: 05/31/23 5:49 pm :::

Bob Lamm · Posted: 06/04/23 1:21 am :::

It's very early to assess how any possible "superteam" effect will be evident in the WNBA this season. But after games of Saturday June 3rd, here's one way to break it down:

The top four teams in the standings (Las Vegas, Connecticut, New York, and Dallas) have a cumulative record of 17-4.

The middle four teams (L.A., Washington, Chicago, Atlanta) have a cumulative record of 11-11).

The bottom four teams (Indiana, Phoenix, Minnesota, Seattle) have a cumulative record of 3-16.

To put it another way, the top three teams (Las Vegas, Connecticut, New York) so far have 14 wins and the remaining nine teams have 17 wins.

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