WNBA Fails To Show Promised Key Preseason Game, So Fan Steps In And Has Huge Livestream Results

Women’s basketball interest is growing so fast, even the WNBA can’t keep up.

On Friday night, the Chicago Sky faced the Minnesota Lynx in their preseason opener. The game was of major interest to followers of women’s basketball, as it featured the league debuts of prominent rookies Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso.

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The WNBA’s streaming app did not air the game, despite listing that all preseason tilts would be watchable from the app.

That’s when a fan, @heyheyitsalli, stepped in and began livestreaming the game on their cell phone while attending the game in Minneapolis. The livestream quickly exploded past the 400,000 views mark.

The game ended in a 92-81 win for the Minnesota Lynx.

The WNBA later clarified that only Caitlin Clark’s debut with the Indiana Fever was being broadcast on the app.

@heyheyitsalli jumped into the fray with a quick question.

“Would y’all want me to try and stream the game on here??” the X user asked, “no promises on the quality but i can try.”

Viewership numbers on the livestream showed about 434,000 total views as of Saturday. The X user previously posted a screenshot showing that the stream peaked at 173,381 live viewers.

“Y’all these are some of THE WILDEST numbers WOW,” the user tweeted.

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said after the game that @heyheyitsalli deserves “three bucks” per viewer.

“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 said she understands that Clark’s game would be broadcast, and is “all for that.”

“People want to see that, but they also want to see, you know, it’s not just about Caitlin,” Reeve 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 finished the game with 13 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes. Cardoso had six points and four rebounds in 13 minutes.

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