No broadcast, no problem.
An enterprising fan stepped in to do what the WNBA couldn’t do during the league debut of Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. The WNBA app, despite claiming that it would have the broadcast of the game between the Minnesota Lynx and the Chicago Sky, only broadcast Caitlin Clark’s debut with the Indiana Fever.
Enter an X user named Alli, who volunteered to stream the game herself.
“Would y’all want me to try and stream the game on here??” she asked on X. “No promises on the quality but i can try.”
Angel Reese, #5 of the Chicago Sky, boxes out during the game against the Minnesota Lynx during a WNBA preseason game on May 3, 2024, at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
X users flocked to the stream and, at one point on Saturday, it showed nearly 434,000 views.
Alli may have done more to bring attention to the WNBA in one night than any WNBA executive has done in 25 years.
Someone who also thinks Alli should be rewarded is Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve.
“Anybody that watched it should send three bucks to the person. I don’t even know who it is,” Reeve said. “I think that what I would say is that the growth is happening so fast. It’s so accelerated. And I’ve been saying this in our own organization — that business as usual isn’t going to work anymore.
“You’re gonna get left behind, and this is an example.”
Reeve says she has no hard feelings about Clark’s league debut being the one that got broadcast.
Angel Reese poses for a portrait after being drafted by Chicago Sky during the 2024 WNBA Draft on April 15, 2024, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, New York. (Brandon Todd/NBAE via Getty Images)
“People want to see that, but they also want to see, you know, it’s not just about Caitlin,” Reesv said. “This isn’t Caitlin’s fault in any way. It’s more, you know, the recognition that there’s general excitement about the WNBA in ways that we haven’t seen before. And so we have to capitalize to really ensure that this is a movement.”
Reese’s Chicago Sky lost to the Lynx by a final of 92-81. However, the rookie had a very solid debut. The Former LSU star had 13 points to go along with nine rebounds in 24 minutes of action.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
