WNBA’s Dwyane Wade Advises Adam Silver To “Cook Up A Little Drama” After NBA’s Financial State Faces Jeopardy

The NBA isn’t struggling with talent—there’s no shortage of elite players, jaw-dropping highlights, or historic performances. But there’s something missing according to Dwyane Wade. Drama.

The league’s ratings are dipping, fan engagement is fading, and casual viewers just aren’t locked in the way they used to be. The former Miami Heat star has an idea why: “Ain’t no new storylines. So it’s nothing that keeps the fans interested in it,” Wade said. “But the WNBA? We got all kinds of new storylines.” And he’s not wrong.

Wade pointed out how the WNBA has found ways to capture fans beyond just basketball. “We got players dating players. We’re like, ‘Ooh, tell us about that.’ We see the way they dress. Our eyes are now looking at something we haven’t seen before,” he said.

He’s saying what most fans have already realized—the WNBA has something new, something fresh. And if the NBA wants to get its grip back on casual fans, it needs to start cooking up storylines that go beyond just who scored the most points last night.

Look no further than Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese for proof.

Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese: A Rivalry That Changed Everything

Do you recall Angel Reese mimicking Caitlin Clark with the you can’t see me gesture during the NCAA championship? It didn’t only go viral, this moment took over basketball conversations for the next couple of months. And not just the game, but race, sportsmanship, double standards in women’s sports.

Reese did not cave to the criticism. “All year, I was critiqued about who I was… But when other people do it, y’all don’t say nothing,” she said. And Clark shrugged off the situation: “We’re all competitors. We all show our emotions in different ways.”

That wasn’t just a moment—it was a storyline. It made people care.

Jump ahead to the WNBA, and their rivalry seems to only be growing. Viewership of Clark’s games has increased by 200%. She got a huge Nike deal worth $28 million. As a result, suddenly, more women’s basketball than ever before is getting covered in the media.

Wade is simply talking about the WNBA not just selling basketball, it’s selling entertainment.

On the other hand, the NBA is having great difficulty keeping the fan actively involved. Front Office Sports reports that NBA viewership is down 5 percent year over year, and ESPN and TNT have an average of 1.76 million viewers per game. At the same time, cable TV subscriptions are declining at an 8 percent rate per year, rendering the feat of keeping traditional viewership numbers any steeper.

But it did pick up a huge $76 billion media rights deal although it does not go into effect until the 2025-26 season. Now, they have to determine how to prevent fans from tuning out.

Shaquille O’Neal believes the NBA’s obsession with three-point shooting is making games too predictable. Others argue that the regular season is simply too long for individual games to feel important. Wade’s take? Fans aren’t invested because there’s no reason to be.

So what’s the fix? According to Dwyane Wade, the NBA needs to lean into narratives. Superstars need rivalries that feel personal. The player movement needs to feel shocking. And the league has to find ways to create off-court storylines that keep people engaged.

The NBA tried to shake things up with the In-Season Tournament, and the upcoming TV deal will put games in front of more fans. But if they really want to get people talking, they need to take a page out of the WNBA’s playbook.

Because if Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese can generate millions of new viewers in a single moment, imagine what a little NBA drama could do.