{"id":14959,"date":"2026-07-23T19:36:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T14:36:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=14959"},"modified":"2026-07-23T19:36:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T14:36:24","slug":"the-womens-basketball-boom-is-bigger-than-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=14959","title":{"rendered":"The Women\u2019s Basketball Boom Is Bigger Than Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Remember when women\u2019s basketball was once thought of as a niche corner of the athletic world? It feels almost impossible to picture now. During the last few years, the WNBA has truly become one of the biggest success stories in sports. There are the sold-out arenas, record-breaking TV audiences, new franchises, and in-demand merch. But what\u2019s been the most exciting is watching a new generation of young female athletes become <a href=\"https:\/\/www.glamour.com\/about\/wnba\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text link\">bona fide cultural icons<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s WNBA stars are redefining what leadership looks like. They\u2019re helping shape conversations about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.glamour.com\/gallery\/best-dressed-wnba-players\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text link\">personal style<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.glamour.com\/gallery\/wnba-couples\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text link\">relationships<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.glamour.com\/story\/new-york-liberty-players-celebrating-wnba-championship-with-kids\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text link\">motherhood<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.glamour.com\/story\/wnba-star-lexie-hull-forta-makeup-interview\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text link\">entrepreneurship<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.glamour.com\/story\/wnba-all-star-weekend-event-recap\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text link\">mental health<\/a>. They\u2019re showing up as complete people\u2014something that\u2019s often hard to do when you\u2019re a famous athlete. But by putting their whole selves out there, they\u2019re inspiring the rest of us to think differently about what success can look like in our own lives.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s something we\u2019ve always celebrated at <em>Glamour<\/em>. Even before women\u2019s basketball became appointment viewing, we were telling the stories of the athletes moving the game forward\u2014from honoring the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.glamour.com\/story\/women-of-the-year-history\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text link\">1996 US Olympic women\u2019s basketball team as <em>Glamour<\/em> Women of the Year<\/a> to spotlighting Angel Reese as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.glamour.com\/story\/student-athletes-college-women-of-the-year-angel-reese\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text link\">2023 <em>Glamour<\/em> College Woman of the Year<\/a> (look at her now!) to profiling phenoms like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.glamour.com\/story\/game-changer-sabrina-ionescu\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text link\">Sabrina Ionescu<\/a> before her WNBA debut. Of course, when we were planning our slate of 2025 Women of the Year, we couldn\u2019t not look to the WNBA and celebrate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.glamour.com\/story\/wnba-women-of-the-year-2025\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text link\">five extraordinary basketball players<\/a> as part of our class\u2014not only for what they accomplished on the court but for the ways they used their platforms to advocate for equal pay and other key issues.<\/p>\n<p>All of this makes this year\u2019s partnership with Lilly feel like a natural one.<\/p>\n<p>Together we\u2019re celebrating the unique cultural moment surrounding women\u2019s basketball while highlighting a message that feels both timely and relatable: Taking care of yourself doesn\u2019t require perfection, just a willingness to get started.<\/p>\n<p>Through its Start How You Can campaign with Caitlin Clark, Lilly is encouraging people to rethink what progress looks like. Exercise remains one of the most powerful ways to support long-term health\u2014you already know that\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.glamour.com\/story\/how-to-start-going-to-the-gym\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text link\">but taking that first step to actually do it<\/a> is often (always?) the hardest part. The campaign reminds us that everyone\u2019s starting line looks different, and that\u2019s the point. Whether it\u2019s taking a walk on a beautiful day, finally trying the workout class that has intimidated you, shooting hoops in the driveway with your kids, or just finding more opportunities to look up from your phone and move your body, progress starts wherever you want it to.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-iJvQnD cOWUYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-fnduJP iaVSwI asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-kFnjvc eKnjjD responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-gaAbQ hXaxHA asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><picture class=\"ResponsiveImagePicture-jKunQM gjCCFj AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-gaAbQ hXaxHA asset-embed__responsive-asset responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"caitlin clark prada menswear show 2026\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-dkeESL cQPiWi responsive-image__image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.glamour.com\/photos\/6a60d8b6989f1f10e1772da8\/1:1\/w_120,c_limit\/caitlin%20clark%20prada%20menswear%20show%202026.jpg 120w, https:\/\/media.glamour.com\/photos\/6a60d8b6989f1f10e1772da8\/1:1\/w_240,c_limit\/caitlin%20clark%20prada%20menswear%20show%202026.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.glamour.com\/photos\/6a60d8b6989f1f10e1772da8\/1:1\/w_320,c_limit\/caitlin%20clark%20prada%20menswear%20show%202026.jpg 320w, https:\/\/media.glamour.com\/photos\/6a60d8b6989f1f10e1772da8\/1:1\/w_640,c_limit\/caitlin%20clark%20prada%20menswear%20show%202026.jpg 640w, https:\/\/media.glamour.com\/photos\/6a60d8b6989f1f10e1772da8\/1:1\/w_960,c_limit\/caitlin%20clark%20prada%20menswear%20show%202026.jpg 960w, https:\/\/media.glamour.com\/photos\/6a60d8b6989f1f10e1772da8\/1:1\/w_1280,c_limit\/caitlin%20clark%20prada%20menswear%20show%202026.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/media.glamour.com\/photos\/6a60d8b6989f1f10e1772da8\/1:1\/w_1600,c_limit\/caitlin%20clark%20prada%20menswear%20show%202026.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"100vw\" src=\"https:\/\/media.glamour.com\/photos\/6a60d8b6989f1f10e1772da8\/1:1\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/caitlin%2520clark%2520prada%2520menswear%2520show%25202026.jpg\"\/><\/picture><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-bpPcvW kzGGxb caption AssetEmbedCaption-eZIMNW gMgneI asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseText-fEwdHD CaptionText-cQpRdU bzOmLY hbiMYj caption__text\"><\/p>\n<p><em>Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark attends the Prada fashion show during the Milan menswear fall-winter 2026\u20132027 Fashion Week in Milan, Italy.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><\/span><span class=\"BaseText-fEwdHD CaptionCredit-cUgOGk sMEbI hRFzlA caption__credit\">Victor Boyko\/Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Remember when women\u2019s basketball was once thought of as a niche corner of the athletic world? It feels almost impossible to picture now. During the last few years, the WNBA has truly become one of the biggest success stories in sports. There are the sold-out arenas, record-breaking TV audiences, new franchises, and in-demand merch. But&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media.glamour.com\/photos\/6a6025d0945797c04151bd6d\/16:9\/w_1280,c_limit\/Minnesota%20Lynx%20vs%20Golden%20State%20Valkyries.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}