Recent years have been proof enough that the WNBA is no longer knocking on the door of relevance. The league is kicking it open, marching in, and arranging the furniture as per their liking. And the reason for this growth has been a no-brainer: Caitlin Clark, of course. For her, showing up is a thing of the past. She now enters the stage and owns it, after having sold out the seats that eye it. Yet, just as her name became synonymous with the WNBA, a new challenger stepped onto the hardwood from the Bay Area. And suddenly, it looks like this spotlight might be a shared one, as per one analyst.
It all came to light at Chase Center when the Golden State Valkyries took the floor for their first-ever game, a preseason showdown that came down to the wire. However, before the final results flashed, the team had already made its mark by recording a staggering number of 17428 fans that crowded the arena. So far, this is the highest attendance number for any preseason game this year. And so, fans are buzzing across social media, wondering—if the preseason drew that kind of crowd, how gloriously chaotic is the rest of the season going to be?
That exact number stopped analyst Rachel DeMita in her tracks, and she raised one interesting question in everyone’s minds. “For their first WNBA preseason game, they had 17,428 fans in attendance, and that is the third-highest attended preseason game in WNBA history,” shared Rachel DeMita in one of her recent videos. Naturally, this brought Caitlin Clark’s name to many minds—her preseason game at CHA had drawn a sellout crowd of 15000.
Yes, Clark’s still the queen when it comes to hype—after all, tickets for her preseason game were as high as $670, whereas seats at the Chase Center were much more affordable, starting at just $14. But when you look at the bigger picture, like Angel Reese’s Chicago Sky preseason game against a Brazilian team, you start to notice a gap. While the Sky’s tickets were priced at $27, the game still wasn’t a sellout. Meanwhile, the Valkyries, despite being a brand-new team, managed to fill the arena. And that’s what makes their debut so massive and the team a real contender to the Indiana Fever’s popularity.
And there’s a reason that crowd was so electric, too—one that could help the team’s quest to challenge the league’s heavyweights, as Rachel pointed out while pointing out the new squad’s developing identity.
May 6, 2025; San Francisco, CA, USA; Golden State Valkyries guard Kate Martin (20) during the first quarter against the Los Angeles Sparks at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
“So this game was against the Los Angeles Sparks, and I was flipping back and forth between this game… but the Valkyries really impressed me,” DeMita added. “Like I’ve been saying about the Sparks, I feel like the Valkyries have a similar style of play.…Both of these teams are not going to be fun to play against,” she emphasized, issuing a warning to the rest of the league’s 11 teams.
And she’s right. Under head coach Natalie Nakase, the Valkyries are already building a reputation for a fast-paced, dynamic brand of basketball. Just take a look at the numbers: the Valkyries shot an efficient 42.4% from the field (28-for-66), while the Sparks hit 41.4% (29-for-70). That minimal difference suggests both teams were equally effective in converting their shot attempts. The two squads also mirrored each other in perimeter struggles. The Sparks hit just 27.6% from beyond the arc, while the Valkyries shot 21.4%. Even in the rebounding battle, they were nearly neck and neck—L.A. grabbed 38 boards while Golden State pulled down 37.
And if we’re talking pace and transition? That was tight, too. Fast break points were almost identical: 9 for the Sparks and 10 for the Valkyries, showing both teams are eager to push the tempo and capitalize on open-floor opportunities. No doubt about it—it felt like a playoff game.
But while the Valkyries are the league’s new kids on the block, the Sparks looked like a team reborn. What’s cooking??
The Los Angeles Sparks might be plotting something huge
The 2024 WNBA season was, to put it mildly, a rough ride for the Los Angeles Sparks. They didn’t just miss the playoffs for a fourth straight year — they hit rock bottom. An 8-32 finish marked the worst record in franchise history. That’s a bitter pill to swallow for one of the league’s most storied franchises. The numbers told the story as much as the losses did: they gave up 85.6 points per game, scoring just 78.4 in return. But the pain wasn’t just on the scoreboard. Injuries gutted the team from the inside out.
At first, Rookie forward Cameron Brink—one of the brightest young talents in the game—saw her season cruelly cut short with a torn ACL. Then, Lexie Brown, who had emerged as a key leader, missed most of the season due to complications from Crohn’s disease. And to make the case worse, veteran guard Layshia Clarendon returned for just one game after the Olympic break before deciding to retire. So when the offseason finally rolled around, the Sparks knew exactly what they had to do: get healthy, get younger, and get serious about winning.
And to their credit, they didn’t waste any time.
The Sparks went into the 2025 draft knowing they had to replenish their roster with hungry, high-character players. They started by selecting Alabama sharpshooter Sarah Ashlee Barker with the 9th overall pick. Then they added size and toughness in the frontcourt with Sania Feagin from South Carolina and Liatu King. Both bring physicality, rebounding, and rim protection — all things L.A. sorely lacked.
But perhaps the steal of the draft came after the draft itself, when the Sparks scooped up Alyssa Ustby — the undrafted guard from North Carolina. She may have slipped through the cracks on draft night, but the Sparks clearly saw something others didn’t.
And then came the blockbuster.
In a move that signaled they’re done rebuilding and ready to compete now, the Sparks pulled off a bold trade: sending their 2025 second overall pick to land three-time All-Star Kelsey Plum from Las Vegas. Plum’s arrival changed the whole equation. She’s a proven scorer, a floor-spacer, and someone who’s used to big moments.
So, the Los Angeles Sparks are once again ready to compete to dominate.
The post Caitlin Clark Aura Finds a Strong Competitor as 11 WNBA Teams Put on Notice After National Analyst’s Bold Stance appeared first on EssentiallySports.
