How the 2024 WNBA Rookies have used Social Media to Introduce a Younger Generation to an Excited League

Barclays Center shook and the strobe lights danced over the crowd as if this was a concert. A roar of applause erupted as the stars walked out. People held up phone cameras, trying to capture the moment. 

Kendrick Lamar was playing over the speakers, but he wasn’t who walked out.

Instead, it was the hometown New York Liberty and the Chicago Sky, one team stacked with superstars, the other with super rookies. By the end, Sabrina Ionescu led the Liberty to a dominating 91-76 victory over Angel Reese and the Sky in front of a Barclays Center record of 17,758 fans. 

It would have been hard to imagine this happening a few years ago, though, with attendances to Liberty games being particularly low. 

Even the league overall averaged just 6,614.5 fans per game in 2023 according to Across The Timeline. As for 2024, the league is averaging 9,598 fans per game, a 145 percent increase. 

So why the sudden change? According to many league observers, social media featuring the rookie class is the biggest reason for the surge in popularity. 

“Caitlin Clark has led the charge here, and she’s done things for girls basketball that we have never seen before,” Courtside Club podcaster Rachel DeMita said on TikTok .

“And now with social media and NIL and so many different ways that these girls can build up their brands both on and off the court, we have even more stars that even casual fans can ride behind.” 

One of the main proponents of this movement is Paige Bueckers. Bueckers hasn’t even left college at the University of Connecticut but continues to provide content to 2.7 million followers, while Reese’s TikTok account also has a great following of over 3.6 million, and Caitlin Clark has over 1 million views for each of the videos on her account.

While all talented players, it’s this internet popularity that has fed the WNBA, providing more interest from younger fans. TikTok has become a place for people all over the world to share anything, and many college basketball stars used it to share their achievements and post relatable and funny content. 

“It's easy to use, it’s easy to engage with and it’s in real-time,” said Jessica Scaparro, a 35 year old Liberty fan.

Much of the content posted by WNBA-related accounts are just short snippets of the most entertaining and skillful plays. However, TikToks from the stars themselves often include more informal, funny content. Many of Reese’s recent videos include ‘fit checks’ in which she shows off her outfit to her followers. Buecker’s videos often include her dancing with her friends. 

Clark, Reese, Bueckers and Cameron Brink have all become famous on TikTok and ignited virality in the Women’s March Madness tournament earlier this year. 

The mainstream interest in women’s basketball was unheard of, but the direct link between popularity on social media and popularity of the sport was obvious. The final game between Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes and fellow WNBA rookie Kamilla Cardoso’s South Carolina Gamecocks drew 18.7 million views. A record in itself, it also beat viewership for the men’s final, which sat at 14.82 million.  

The considerable attention for the rookies made it obvious that interest in the WNBA was to increase when they were drafted. Between the 2023 draft and the announcement of those who declared for the 2024 draft, the WNBA’s TikTok account averaged 52,462 views per video. After the 2024 draft, videos averaged 356,206 views. According to TikTok data, interaction with the account, which directly feeds into interaction with the sport, increased by nearly 680 percent after the new rookies entered the scene. 

Many of the videos feature the new rookies, as the account is giving people what they want to see. However, when fans engage with the account for the rookies that they know and love, they are also getting exposed to other less famed players, providing a wider opportunity to interact with the league. This drives interest in the sport, potentially pulling in new fans and even sponsors.

“By leveraging a variety of social media platforms, leagues like the WNBA are not only connecting fans with their favorite athletes and teams but also creating valuable opportunities for sponsors.” Lindsey Darvin, an assistant professor of sports management at Syracuse University, wrote in Forbes.

“If having a higher percentage of fans engaging on social media will boost sponsorship influence, these findings highlight the value of the WNBA for potential future sponsors and activations.”