The WNBA is gearing up for another electrifying season with the draft set for next Monday, April 14, and the National ChampionPaige Buckers will be the top pick. Training camps begin on April 27 and the regular season officially begins on May 16. This will be the second year in the league for most of the outstanding 2020 recruiting class in college basketball – Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso and Cameron Brink – a group whose NCAA dominance has raised the bar for future stars.
Clark and Reese, in particular, have been in the spotlight since Reese’s LSU team upset Clark’s Iowa in the 2023 national championship, igniting a rivalry that’s carried over to the pros. The WNBA is betting big on the dynamic, giving Clark’s Indiana Fever vs. Reese’s Chicago Sky top billing during the league’s inaugural Rivals Week. But as the hype builds, a recent promotional video from the WNBA has sparked backlash for barely featuring Reese, despite her stellar rookie performance.
Reese is Defended by One of Clark’s Fever Teammates
The WNBA released a 45-second promo called “From Draft Night to the W” to build excitement for the 2025 Draft, featuring last year’s breakout rookies. The clip dazzled with glamorous draft night moments and game highlights featuring Clark, Brink, Cardoso and Rickea Jackson. But Reese? She got little more than a passing glance – a snub that left fans and players stunned. Sophie Cunningham, a veteran guard and Clark’s new teammate at Indiana, didn’t hold back when she weighed in during a March Madness watch party hosted by Quest Nutrition. Speaking to Mirror U.S. Sports, she said, “Reese had an incredible rookie year – let’s be real. When you’re breaking records for rebounds and double-doubles, you deserve to be in the center of the video.” She’s right.
Even with an injury that cut her season short, Reese averaged a double-double of 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game, led the league in boards, and set a single-season record with 446 rebounds – surpassing Sylvia Fowles’ old mark of 404 and later passed by MVP A’ja Wilson. Cunningham called out the apparent envy behind the omission, saying, “If you’re hating or jealous, you’re missing the point.” The video’s slight has fans wondering why Reese, an undeniable force, isn’t getting her due.
A Blockbuster Season Ahead
Last year was a game-changer for the WNBA, raking in $200 million while ESPN viewership increased 170%. The league inked a massive $2.2 billion media deal with Disney, Amazon and NBCUniversal, and games like the June 23 Fever-Sky game drew 2.3 million viewers, the highest for a regular-season game in more than two decades. Building on that momentum, the WNBA is rolling out its inaugural Rivals Week from August 9-17, 2025, headlined by Clark vs. Reese. Their rookie-year matchups were so massive that the Sky are moving home games against the Fever to the United Center to accommodate more fans.
But that’s not all – Rivalry Week also features a Finals rematch between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx, and Brittney Griner’s Atlanta Dream takes on her former team, the Phoenix Mercury. Clark also has another big matchup against the Dallas Wings, who are poised to draft Paige Buckers with the first overall pick. Could a new rivalry spark between these two No. 1 picks? WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert applauded the move, noting, “Ally’s commitment to elevating women’s sports is making a real difference. With last season’s record-breaking buzz still reverberating, this year’s schedule promises to take the league even higher.
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