The WNBA is suffering because of the constant coverage on Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky star Angel Reese.
At what point does a sport stop being about basketball and start becoming something closer to reality TV?
Right now, that’s the unavoidable question surrounding the WNBA, where headlines are driven less by games and more by Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese, Shaquille O’Neal feuding with Robert Griffin III, and sports talk shows treating this like a pro wrestling storyline.
The tipping point was made crystal clear this week on ESPN Radio’s The Sportsocracy, when host Tank Spencer laid it out plainly.
“Here’s my stance on the WNBA power struggle, quote, unquote, that is between Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark. I don’t like either of them, and it’s not because I don’t like WNBA basketball. It’s because I’ve seen both of them interact with people and with each other, and I’ve seen them play basketball. I don’t really like the product as entertainment. It doesn’t grab me. It’s not entertaining to me. But what is entertaining to me is drama. Personalities, things like that,” Spencer said.
“In this situation, this is Antonio Brown and Terrell Owens fighting with each other, and I don’t care, honestly, I don’t like either one of them. I don’t like Caitlin Clark. I don’t like her personality. I just think she’s the JJ Redick of women’s basketball to me. Can’t stand her.
“I mean, she is, you watch her until just now, you watch her play, and she is out there knowing that she’s the best one on the floor, and she is going to run this thing however she chooses. She’s all the time instigating the type of crap that people bash Angel Reese for. Again, this is not a defensive either of them, because, again, I don’t care.
“But from the way I take this story and this interaction between Shaq and RG3. I mean, I would never say it to his face, but Shaq, lighten up, Karen, because this, to me, is him getting upset that there’s a man talking about women.
‘That’s how this reads. His quote here that says you need to leave those girls alone, that he would respect the views of RG3 if it came from Lisa Leslie, okay, so this is the only girls can talk about girls’ basketball, which is dumb, which is stupid. It’s absolutely stupid. If you want equality in sports, this is it. This is your chance, right? Stop bitching and whining that people are being critical of two athletes who, I mean, they’re not above reproach, right? Angel Reese is terrible at offense, terrible. She’s a really good rebounder, awesome. And she’s had a really nice stretch for about three weeks. Awesome. She’s the WNBA’s Dennis Rodman, sweet, I can sell that, right? Caitlin Clark, she’s the Steph Curry. She’s the best shooter you’ve ever seen in your entire life. Awesome. She’s a terrible person, and so is Angel.
“Like I said I don’t like either of them, but don’t come to me, Shaq, with this whole you’re a man you can’t talk about women’s basketball. No, we can. We can and it’s not a personal slight just because RG3 thinks Angel Reese is not good at shooting a basketball that you’re going to threaten to punch him in the face because you talk about your will girlfriend.
“Who’s the soft one here? Who’s the one that’s out of line? To me, it’s Shaq, and I love Shaq. Always have, always will. We could disagree on this one little subject, but my friend, I believe you are overstepping your bounds here going after RG3.”
It’s a brutally honest take, but it speaks to a larger truth.
The WNBA is now being driven by drama, not basketball.
Instead of talking about the Las Vegas Aces’ dynasty aspirations or how good A’ja Wilson really is, we’re now spending every news cycle parsing through social media jabs between Reese and Clark, analyzing who said what postgame, and watching former athletes like Shaquille O’Neal threaten to fight RG3 on live television over comments about Angel Reese.
What’s getting lost here is basketball.
The sport itself has reached new heights in terms of visibility, ticket sales, and conversation.
Yet the conversation isn’t about basketball. It’s about narratives, social media beef, and personality clashes.
The longer it stays that way, the more people like Tank Spencer will tune out the sport.
That’s a dangerous line for any sport to walk. Once it becomes about the circus and not the sport, the game itself risks becoming unwatchable.
If you need proof of how unserious this is starting to look, consider comedian Shane Gillis getting a standing ovation at the ESPYS for joking about his buddy’s wife being an all-star playing in the WNBA.
The punchline? “Yeah, I’m just joking around that’s my friend’s wife, I knew none of you knew WNBA players.”
The crowd laughed because, whether you like it or not, there’s still truth in it.
The WNBA’s future depends on whether it can shift the focus back to basketball. If the headlines continue to be about Shaq, RG3, Clark, Reese, and everything but the actual quality of play, don’t be surprised if even the new fans who showed up for the drama eventually leave when the novelty wears off.
Category: Basketball
