The 2025 offseason is hotter than ever, largely due to the tense CBA negotiations pushing the WNBA and its players\u2019 union toward a possible standoff. Yet amid the back-and-forth, a new storyline has grabbed the spotlight\u2014former WNBA President Donna Orender has joined forces with Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller to launch a bold new basketball initiative that could reshape the game\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
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The initiative is called The Upshot. \u201cWe\u2019re announcing the launch of a new professional women\u2019s basketball league. It\u2019s called the Upshot League because it\u2019s all about upping everyone\u2019s shot involved. We do this at a time when women\u2019s sports growth is nothing but explosive,\u201d shared the league\u2019s commissioner. And explosive it truly is\u2014especially in viewership, popularity, and financial growth.<\/p>\n
So yes, it\u2019s the right time to launch a league, and that\u2019s where Upshot steps in. With Orender as the first commissioner and Cheryl Miller and Anne Meyers Drysdale as investors, the league is all set to debut. Operated by Zaqyer Sports & Entertainment, it\u2019s scheduled to tip off in May 2026 at Bojangles Coliseum.<\/p>\n
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Initially, it will feature four teams \u2013 the Crown, Jacksonville Waves, Savannah Steel, and a team in Greensboro, whose name is yet to be revealed. The Upshot League will begin with four to six teams competing across 80 games in the first season, with 40 hosted at Enmarket Arena. <\/p>\n
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Everything seems ready, as Orender put it: \u201cThis is a special time \u2013 and I would say, it\u2019s about time.\u201d But while it\u2019s all roses for Upshot and the players, the W has landed in a far more intense situation.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because the league is just two days away from the lockout deadline of October 31. While it had offered a 30-day extension, sources suggest the WNBPA is likely to decline. A lockout isn\u2019t new for the league \u2013 it happened before in 2019 when the last CBA was pulled out.<\/p>\n
But unlike before, this time, players have more options. They\u2019ve got foreign leagues, Unrivaled, Upshot, and many other initiatives underway. As ESPN\u2019s Brian Windhorst warned on Front Office Sports, \u201cYou also have something that the NBA doesn\u2019t have, which is potential rival leagues\u2026 You have Unrivaled, which is already operational, and you have the potential that other international leagues may start to rival the WNBA.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n He added, \u201cAnd the fact that their contracts allow them to play in those leagues is a tacit admission that they\u2019re not paying the players enough. The reason they allow them to do it is that if they didn\u2019t, for many, many years, those players would not play in the WNBA.\u201d<\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n And yes, that\u2019s true. When the NBA went into lockdown in 2011, players \u2013 restless and eager to stay in rhythm \u2013 turned to outdoor courts that defined basketball\u2019s grassroots culture. From the legendary Rucker Park in Harlem to Dyckman and beyond, pros began showing up where the game\u2019s heart truly beat.<\/p>\n That\u2019s exactly when the spotlight on AEBL, Goodman League, and others grew brighter on the national stage. So, it\u2019s possible that rival leagues to the W could see a surge in popularity too. As Orender said, \u201cIt\u2019s time.\u201d Though she\u2019s not the only one recognizing the potential.<\/p>\n While Unrivaled has already become a $340 million league in just one year, more are on the way. Project B\u2014a Formula 1 and LIV Golf-inspired 5-on-5 women\u2019s league\u2014will debut in Fall 2026, running from November to April. These leagues don\u2019t directly compete with the WNBA, but their higher pay and broader opportunities could make a major impact on the W\u2019s future.<\/p>\n So, what\u2019s next for the WNBA?<\/p>\n The priority is clear: get a new CBA done so league operations aren\u2019t halted. Over 100 WNBA players are set to hit free agency this winter, and with two expansion teams \u2013 the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo \u2013 in the works, the clock is ticking. Trades, drafts, and team building all depend on reaching a deal before the 2026 season begins.<\/p>\n If a lockout happens, everything will be delayed. To prevent that, the league\u2019s only option may be to meet some of the WNBPA\u2019s demands \u2013 starting with better revenue sharing, improved facilities, and higher salaries. That\u2019s where things get complicated, since 50% of the league is owned by the NBA, while the other 50% is split between the WNBA and private equity.<\/p>\n So, a structure like the NBA\u2019s 50-50 basketball-related income split isn\u2019t realistic. Still, there\u2019s hope the W can work things out at the negotiating table and finalize a deal by the end of November \u2013 but only if the WNBPA agrees to the extension<\/a>. What do you think \u2013 will they?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2025 offseason is hotter than ever, largely due to the tense CBA negotiations pushing the WNBA and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258582,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":{"0":"post-258581","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}