The WNBA is entering its 25th season in 2021 and to celebrate, the league launched a new “Count It” campaign, paying homage to the players and coaches that helped pave the way to this point, proving a women’s pro basketball league can not only exist but thrive on and off the court.
#CountIt pic.twitter.com/cEA9cKCtUV
— WNBA (@WNBA) March 15, 2021
As part of the campaign, the league has created a committee that will select the W25, the 25 greatest players in WNBA history, as well as the 25 greatest moments the WNBA has seen. The league will also further their work off the court with increased efforts with the Social Justice Council to continue driving change for racial and gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, and more. On the court, the WNBA will also introduce the Commissioner’s Cup, which will be a 10-game in-season competition, where each team will have 10 games designated as Cup games on their normal regular season schedule, with a championship game coming out of the Olympic break.
The WNBA’s 25th season also marks the debut of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup, an innovative and multi-faceted competition platform. A “competition within a competition” that features player prize pools, the Commissioner’s Cup is comprised of ten designated regular season games per team and culminates in a championship game between the two teams atop the standings in each conference. Uniquely, the Commissioner’s Cup platform also convenes fans, players, and partners in local communities for conversations and programming centered on equality and social justice. The Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game will take place following the Olympic break as an exciting jumpstart to the resumption of WNBA regular season action.
The league also will be getting a new game ball from Wilson as part of the 25th season celebration, with Wilson adding Liz Cambage of the Las Vegas Aces to their player council to give them feedback from the WNBA perspective on potential changes to the ball going forward.
In all, the 25th season of the WNBA will feature a number of new initiatives as they celebrate a quarter century of women’s hoops, with an eye on the future as well with how they can continue to grow the women’s game.