As discussed on yesterday’s episode of The GIST of It, the WNBA is hosting its first expansion draft since 2008 today as the Golden State Valkyries post up to join the league. With today’s draft seeing historic interest from media and sponsors, the W is primed for the big leagues.

The Players Era Festival — a new men’s college basketball tournament — may not include women’s teams (yet), but its payout structure highlights a unique workaround that allows student-athletes to earn financial rewards without technically violating NCAA rules.

Unrivaled — the new 3v3 pro women’s basketball league tipping off in January — is primed for success. As Front Office Sports recently highlighted, savvy leadership decisions and partnerships have positioned the league to profit as interested parties continue to sign on before ticket sales officially go live this week.

It seems every U.S. city wants in on the WNBA’s 16th franchise. As of yesterday, there’s one more contender: An Austin, Texas, bid led by former Houston Comets player and Shark Tank alumna Fran Harris.

On Friday, the Indiana Fever hired former Connecticut Sun head coach (HC) and former Fever player (and HC) Stephanie White. She fills one of seven recent HC vacancies as the league sees unprecedented turnover: Nearly 60% of last year’s coaches are no longer in the same role, the most for any WNBA hiring cycle in history.

ICYMI, Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark’s autographed memorabilia sold out in mere minutes last week — a sign that collectibles are just the latest space where the WNBA is making waves.

The WNBA’s in its transformation era after a record-breaking season, but what does all this growth mean specifically for league sponsorship? Data platform Relo Metrics released a report this morning exploring how brands are thriving thanks to their women’s hoops investment.

As the WNBA reaches new heights on and off the court, we chatted with basketball icon Candace Parker about her latest gig — curating a hoops trading card collection with eBay — and her vision for the W’s future as the popularity of women’s basketball continues to surge.

As discussed on yesterday’s episode of The GIST of It, the WNBPA announced it’s opting out of its historic 2020 collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The news was expected, meaning yet another precedent-setting CBA is imminent — let’s hoop to it.

Unrivaled, the new 3x3 league founded by WNBA superstars (and current Finals opponents) Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, inked an exclusive multiyear media deal with TNT on Wednesday.

The NY Liberty and Minnesota Lynx battled it out on the hardwood in last night’s thrilling Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, but the cherry on top of the women’s hoops cake has been the league’s postseason viewership numbers.

The Golden State Valkyries announced a multiyear partnership with Kaiser Permanente (KP) yesterday, making the Oakland-based healthcare organization a founding partner of the expansion WNBA team and furthering the healthcare sponsorship trend in pro women’s sports.