It's the WNBA's Time to Stand in Fashion's Spotlight

Without a doubt, the NBA is fashion's favorite sport. Always a stylish space, the tunnel through which players enter before games has transformed into a glorified runway in the last few years, with nearly every one of its 500+ players paying attention to the clothes they wear when they arrive at their respective arenas. "The 12th player in the rotation can be as recognized as the star of their team if they're putting together great looks," says Ian Pierno, the founder of LeagueFits, an Instagram account started in 2018 that documents NBA fashion. Just as much as players want to show up and show out on the court, they want to do the same before the game when they're met with flashbulbs in the tunnel below it.

For a long time, the men's league has dominated this space compared to the WNBA. Generally speaking, the NBA has been bigger in every way, from viewership to finances to style kudos. But this season, women's basketball is on a serious run of form. According to the WNBA, the first month of the 2024 season saw the highest attendance in 26 years and its most-watched start across each network ever. That same time period saw record growth at the WNBA Store, with overall transactions up 756% YoY and a 156% YoY increase in ticket sellouts. On social media, the league's channels garnered 157 million video views in the first week of the season alone, making it the most-viewed WNBA tip-off week ever (up 380% from last year).

Undoubtedly, it'll take time for the WNBA to outdo the NBA in terms of TV audiences, jersey sales, and game attendance, and perhaps it never will. But not even halfway through the 2024 season, it's already becoming clear that fashion-wise, the women's league could easily walk away with a W.

Don't believe me? Then take Pierno's word for it, who, in addition to founding LeagueFits, is also a longtime Slam magazine sports editor. Historically, he says that tunnel fashion from the NBA finals would easily outperform regular-season WNBA games on social media, but not this year. "WNBA regular-season games overlapped with the NBA finals—the biggest event of the season—but WNBA players' looks were receiving far more engagement on LeagueFits than the NBA stars on their league's largest stage," Pierno explains.

On the page, which has over one million followers, engagement on WNBA-related posts is through the roof right now. "There's always a big engagement hike for the first week of the season, whether it's NBA or WNBA, but the WNBA's momentum hasn't faltered at all now that we're past a month in," he says. And with the NBA now in its off season, LeagueFits is going all in with the W, almost exclusively posting WNBA players dressed in the likes of Louis Vuitton, Prada, Diesel, and Fendi as they prepare for tip-off.

Of course, interest in WNBA fashion and the league in general didn't just soar out of nowhere, and as much as Twitter likes to dissect the topic, there really is no question about the source of its record-breaking growth. Prior to this year's draft, it was NCAA women's basketball that was flying high—not the professional league. Graduating players like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso, Nika Mühl, Rickea Jackson, and Cameron Brink spent their last year in college playing in front of massive audiences, selling out football stadiums in Clark's case and winning championships in front of millions. The final game between South Carolina and the University of Iowa peaked at 24 million viewers, according to ESPN, the first time in history that a women's final drew a larger TV audience than the men's.

When it came time for these rising stars to graduate and join the big leagues, those who had followed their college careers joined them. On April 15, the 2024 rookie class convened in New York at the Brooklyn Academy of Music to find out which pro jerseys they'd be trading their college versions for in a few weeks' time. And fashion-wise, everyone brought their A game. Clark, the number one pick, wore Prada from head to toe, making her the first player, man or woman, to ever wear the Italian brand to the draft. Brink chose Balmain and Jimmy Choo, while Reese, who declared for the draft via an exclusive interview and spread in Vogue, donned a Bronx and Banco gown and Louboutins. (A few weeks later, the new Chicago Sky forward boarded a private jet to take her to the Met Gala, where she wore a custom 16Arlington gown.) Videos of their draft-night looks on social media hit views in the millions, as did the event itself, which became the most-watched WNBA draft of all time with 2.45 million viewers, according to Statista.

Naturally, this crew of young pros has been raising the bar stylistically ever since, all with help from their individual stylists. Clark teamed up with Adri Zgirdea of AZSN Studio, whose other clients include one of the greatest players in the NBA right now, Nikola Jokić. Reese chose Vogue editor Naomi Elizée, who styled her for both the Met Gala and her spread in the magazine. Brink went with Mary Gonsalves Kinney of MGK Style, while Mühl took up with her former UConn teammate Paige Bueckers's stylist, Brittany Hampton, who has helped make the newest guard on the Seattle Storm roster one of the WNBA tunnel's buzziest visitors.

"The 2024 class has had a major impact simply because of the reach and partnerships people like Caitlin [Clark], Angel [Reese], Rickea [Jackson], and others have," says Christopher Ruff, the founder of WNBA League Fits, an Instagram style account that focuses solely on the WNBA. "Fans are interacting at a high level and [following] certain players and teams based on their fashion and personalities." The teams these players were drafted to each have 11 others on the roster—exceptionally well-dressed people that these new WNBA audiences might just be learning of. Because of that, fans of the rookie class are now discovering the high caliber of style that's existed in the WNBA all along. Only before this year, it wasn't getting nearly enough attention or acknowledgment.

"The WNBA has always been one of the best dressed leagues in the world," Pierno says. And we have former stars like Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, and Swin Cash, as well as current veteran players including A'ja Wilson, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Kelsey Plum, Arike Ogunbowale, Natasha Cloud, Diamond DeShields, and DeWanna Bonner to thank for that. Well, them, and icons of the sports-styling world like Khalilah Beavers and Kesha McLeod. New players from before the 2024 draft class also play a significant role in the current WNBA fashion boom, including DiJonai Carrington, Kysre Gondrezick, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, and Rae Burrell. Whether for the WNBA tunnel or a red carpet event, these women have been pulling out all the stops in the fashion department for years—even decades for some. And yet, most have garnered relatively little media and brand attention for it, especially when you compare it to stylish players in the NBA like Tyrese Haliburton, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Kyle Kuzma. But with this year's unprecedented levels of growth, that's no longer the case. Everyone's talking about the WNBA, making fashion brands across the board want to work with and dress its players.

"There's been a noticeable shift," says Amadi Brooks, a former D1 basketball player turned stylist, whose client list includes Wilson, as well as Sydney Colson, Jackie Young, and Allisha Gray. "In previous seasons, I typically initiated most of the outreach to brands, but now, more brands are taking an interest in seeing their pieces on W players and initiating that contact."

This year, after noticing the spike in interest surrounding the league, fashion retailer Revolve decided to zero in on the newest arrivals in the WNBA. "We've always worked with talent, including female athletes, to dress them for appearances and red carpet looks," Raissa Gerona, Revolve's chief brand officer, tells me. "Given the recent momentum surrounding the WNBA, we saw an opportunity to lean in further and partner in more formal capacities with inspiring players who are really becoming trailblazers within the organization and in the fashion industry." Specifically, the brand teamed up with Brink and Reese after being introduced to the rookies by fellow Revolve partner Dwyane Wade. According to Gerona, players like Reese and Brink are valuable ambassadors because of their "dedicated audiences who admire them for their authenticity and relatability, not only as athletes but as influential women in this field." Their commitment to their craft and genuine way of interacting with fans make them role models for the next generation of young female athletes but also all women, a factor that Revolve recognizes and prioritizes. Throughout their debut season, the brand will work closely with both Brink and Reese, as well as their stylists, to curate game-day looks that accurately reflect their unique personal styles and make it easy for fans to shop their outfits immediately after they exit the tunnel.

In May, Brink also starred in a Fits Everybody campaign with Skims alongside Diggins-Smith, Plum, Carrington, and WNBA legend Candace Parker. The campaign marked the beginning of the WNBA's partnership with Kim Kardashian's lauded shapewear brand, making it the "official underwear partner of the league," according to a press release. "Our brand DNA is rooted in inclusivity, representation, and women's empowerment, which are values shared with the WNBA," Kardashian said. "Championing women and women in sports is incredibly important to Skims."

Though it's clear to anyone who follows accounts like LeagueFits and WNBA League Fits that authenticity and personal expression are at the core of the WNBA tunnel's top looks, putting on a showstopping and photo-worthy outfit on game day is also in every player in the league's best interest financially. "At the start of the season, the WNBA pay gap compared to the NBA was a vast topic," says Velissa Vaughn, founder of WNBA Tunnel and co-owner of the PR and consulting agency JXV Collective. For the 2023/2024 season, the average annual salary for players in the NBA was over $10 million, with the league's minimum set at $1.12 million. To compare, players in the WNBA bring home an average salary of $116,580, with the highest earners receiving an estimated $242,000, according to Statista. "The reality is that while we'd like these women to earn as much as the men, the league doesn't have the same capital or longevity as the NBA—the math is simply the math," Vaughn says. "My hope is that WNBA style evolves in a way that allows these women to elevate their profiles for monetizing brand alliances and partnership opportunities." That way, they can close the gap to an NBA-level salary in their own way.

"If it stays on its current trajectory," Brooks says, "I believe we'll start to see the same intersectionality of fashion and sports that we've seen in male sports for so long." Major fashion and jewelry houses will tap players in the WNBA just as they have Victor Wembanyama (Louis Vuitton) and Kuzma (David Yurman). "This, in turn, will lead to even more opportunities in the beauty and entertainment industries for W players, not just in fashion," she continues.

The tunnel is a place for players to have fun and show a bit of who they are to the people who travel far and wide to see them. (For proof, just watch this TikTok.) It's a window into who they are off the court, and even if it only lasts a few seconds, that short period of time matters to the young women who look up to them. At the same time, though, fashion is one of the best routes to leveling the playing field financially with the WNBA's counterparts on the men's side. And until this season's heightened numbers in terms of viewership, attendance, and jersey sales prove to be consistent over time, it's the best chance for many players to make the kind of money they deserve given the level of dedication and hard work they bring to the court night after night when the game clock starts.

For Pierno, who knows NBA fashion like the back of his hand, the WNBA has the clear upper hand when it comes to fashion. "These girls are cooler and less afraid to post and put themselves out there than most of their NBA counterparts," he says. "I think the money that WNBA players make off the court, at least proportionally, is going to blow out the NBA." Clark already reportedly signed a $28 million deal with Nike, per CBS. Wilson's signature shoe, called the A'One, with the sneaker giant is on its way. And these are just the highlights. The relationship between fashion and the WNBA is only just beginning its ascent to the top. And I, for one, can't wait to watch it continue to rise one carefully curated game-day outfit at a time.