Diana Taurasi Credits Other Millionaires and Not Caitlin Clark for WNBA’s Recent Growth: “That’s Been the Biggest Change”

The evolution of the WNBA has been a hot topic for a couple of months now. Before Caitlin Clark and the 2024 rookie class even stepped foot into the professional world, we experienced a surge in every aspect possible. From ticket sales to jersey sales to viewership, everything got multiplied. While a lot of credit has been given to this rookie class for further growth, it was not just them who did this. To put her thoughts on the endless debate, Diana Taurasi, who has been in the league for 20 seasons and has watched it grow in front of her eyes, put the spotlight on the people responsible.

When talking to Rolling Stone, Diana Taurasi spelled out her definition of change. She said, “When people say the league’s changed in all these ways, to me the biggest change has been internally, where owners are actually putting money into the infrastructure of sustaining a business, a team, an athlete. I think to me, that’s been the biggest change.” She also stated, “All the outside noise is nice for everyone else.”

Last year, Mat Ishbia, the owner of Phoenix Suns and Mercury, announced his plans for a new practice facility. While Diana Taurasi and the Mercury had been sharing the practice facility with the Suns, things have changed this year. The franchise has joined Seattle Storm and the Las Vegas Aces to have a women’s team-only practice facility.

Now, their facility is plugged with top-notch features. No doubt, Diana Taurasi sees the development on the inside as the driving force for athletes. Let us see how the investors are changing the WNBA.

Diana Taurasi and Mercury’s owner Mat Ishbia on ‘change’

The storm of change may have come this year for the WNBA from the outside. However, the winds of change were always there in the internal operations. Ishbia took hold of the Phoenix franchise in February 2023. Within 8 months, he had a special announcement for his WNBA team.

He declared to ESPN, “We want to have one of the greatest sports organizations in the world. And to do that you have to invest in the people.” Investing a whopping $100 million in what we see today as the Verizon 5G Performance Center, Ishbia stated, “We want to have a great culture for all of our employees and a place that players want to play.”

Additionally, the LVCVA CEO Steve Hill also announced that the organization will sponsor each and every player on the team. This was an addition of a whopping $100,000 in the pockets of the reigning champions. Although the WNBA began an investigation into the matter, it was a step in the direction of growth and engagement. Cathy Engelbert, the WNBA Commissioner, too has opened the gates of private charters for every team’s travel for added security.

Undeniably, the WNBA is heading on the path of growth. While the debate of whether it is all because of the 2024 WNBA rookie class or not will continue, we have one more area to think about when talking about change.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato had to say about the Reese-Clark rivalry and more, watch this video.