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Anyone whoвЂ™s watched Taurasi play-or walk onto the court, or sit on the sidelines, or be anywhere, really-knows that sheвЂ™s impossible to look away from. The simple fact that in the last two decades Diana Taurasi has not blossomed into a transcendent megastar is evidence enough that our sports world is not a meritocracy, as we like to believe. You might believe some line about quality of play, etc. The league has finally captured a slice of cultural relevancy, and, if youвЂ™re just casually paying attention, you might believe the outcome, this potential leveling up, will be determined solely by the players of the WNBA. The promise of this second inflection point for the WNBA is to take it from subsisting to thriving.

From nothing to something, it was an inflection point for the game unlike any seen before, or since.

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Some version of that exchange has played out millions of times-in cars and bars and coffee shops, among people of all genders and ages, in every year of the leagueвЂ™s existence.ДЄ quarter century ago, a group of stakeholders-led by former NBA commissioner David Stern-believed the media exposure from a successful 1996 Olympics could serve as a springboard for the larger goal of launching a newly formed professional basketball league, with the backing of the NBA. That aforementioned exchange, the one from my house? ItвЂ™s not an anomaly. But also because I think sports fans are ready for more context, more critical thinking about what drives their interest, as well as a leagueвЂ™s growth. ( You can see that here.) The league, its foothold and its future, has never been guaranteed, so why not simply celebrate a milestone reached?ДЇor one, because public reminiscing translates only if most people agree that something matters, and, as a culture, we havenвЂ™t yet agreed the WNBA matters. You might be wondering why, on this historic birthday, IвЂ™m not taking you on a trip down memory lane, peering into long-ago memories, spinning an orange-and-oatmeal ball as we backpedal to 1996.

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In 2020 the WNBA saw all meaningful metrics-social media impressions, TV ratings, merchandise sales-skyrocket during its bubble season, and just months after the players signed a new collective bargaining agreement that doesnвЂ™t just raise salaries but encourages player movement, the fuel for year-round relevancy. Today everyone inside the league feels similarly: that the world has finally caught up, that a movement has met its moment. Here we are, on the WNBAвЂ™s 25th anniversary, and societyвЂ™s margins have reconfigured themselves. Not only are comparisons to the men ubiquitous-and the differences rendered clearer because of the unique intimacy of the sport-but also, more important, no womenвЂ™s league has a higher percentage of Black athletes, meaning that for nearly a quarter century the WNBA has been rowing against the headwinds of racism, sexism and anti-LGBTQ sentiment. Rather than passively believing the WNBA is biologically inferior, we can actively recognize that no athletes in modern history have faced more cultural obstacles than the players of the W. Understanding why we watch sports isnвЂ™t just a thought experiment. I canвЂ™t think of another league that gets hit with every single last knock, and I donвЂ™t see that going away, but weвЂ™re not going to let that stop us.вЂќ ThatвЂ™s what makes our league better, because we have faced those hurdles.

We are standing on the shoulders of women who didnвЂ™t back down just because casual sports fans didnвЂ™t think they were worthy. вЂњPeople think youвЂ™re supposed to look and talk and be a certain way, but the WNBA blasts all of those things out of the water,вЂќ says AвЂ™ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces.

Long before Big Business saw the value, the players of the W stood against racial injustice, and for equality, and took the hits-вЂњEvery direction we turned, we were walking into a wall,вЂќ says WNBA legend Sue Bird-for representing the folks at societyвЂ™s margins. When launched in 1996, the league was ahead of its time-in almost every way. To name a few: the American Basketball League (1996вЂ“98), the WomenвЂ™s United Soccer Association (2000вЂ“03), the WomenвЂ™s Professional Softball League (вЂ™97вЂ“01) and WomenвЂ™s Professional Soccer (вЂ™07вЂ“12).

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In the U.S., this lie is the serial killer of womenвЂ™s professional leagues. ItвЂ™s chronic, and irrational, and itвЂ™s been stalking the WNBA since its founding. This reasoning presents itself as more than logical itвЂ™s biological.ДЄctually, itвЂ™s pathological. Hell, it even seems to pardon the women themselves: ItвЂ™s not your fault sports fans crave something you just canвЂ™t give them. ItвЂ™s foolproof, too, because this reasoning doesnвЂ™t just absolve sports fans of any further introspection, but more important it absolves the marketers, the TV networks and the sports apparel companies. ItвЂ™s a soothing rationale, this little story we tell ourselves about our insatiable appetite for windmill jams.