PHOENIX — Wearing a Phoenix Mercury cap topped with the purple ears of mascot “Scorch” as he watched his favorite players warm up for a pivotal Game 3 of the WNBA Finals, it was clear Brennan Hubbard would not have preferred any other setting to spend his 11th birthday.
Rooting for their hometown Mercury has become a passion of Brennan and his dad, Brodie Hubbard. Together, they sat with Brennan’s 7-year-old sister and mother at Mortgage Matchup Center on Wednesday night. Nearly a week before, when Brennan came home from school, Brodie told Brennan he wouldn’t have a blowout birthday party this year. Instead, Brodie showed his son their tickets to the finals. “I was so excited,” Brennan said.
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He texted his friends from school, amped to alert them about his gift. Leading up to the game against the Las Vegas Aces, Brennan was effusive in his gratitude. “He’s been thanking me and his mom ever since, like multiple times a day,” Brodie said.
They attended their first game three years ago. They’ve been hooked ever since.
Brennan is part of a new generation of Mercury fans and a growing segment of WNBA supporters. Alongside an influx of popular college players entering the league in 2024, the WNBA has seen a corresponding surge in Gen Z and young millennial viewers entering its fan base over the last two seasons — a significant portion of them young boys.
Unlike previous generations of sports fans, boys like Brennan grow up rooting for the NBA and WNBA. He has a Devin Booker Suns jersey, in addition to multiple pieces of Mercury gear.
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It’s no longer uncool, like it was when Brennan’s dad was a kid, for boys to cheer for female athletes. The WNBA has long fought to be recognized as more than a niche sport and part of the broader sports landscape that the entire country pays attention to.
“I still sometimes see the backlash that women’s sports gets, but it’s great that the Mercury and Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner and all these folks have really put in time to lift up women’s sports and women’s athletes,” Brodie Hubbard said. “It’s a real big source of pride.”
One glance around WNBA arenas and it’s obvious that the league has drawn in a cross-section of fans.
A young boy at a Liberty game this season cried as Sabrina Ionescu spotted him near the tunnel after a game, took off her sneakers, signed them and handed them to him as she wiped away his tears. Among the throngs of fans who line up for Angel Reese’s or Caitlin Clark’s autograph after games are boys wearing their jerseys.
Around the league, teams have committed more resources and programming to kids. Since 2023, the Dallas Wings held 10 times the number of camps and clinics they previously hosted, and their new practicing facility, scheduled to open next spring, is set up to serve the local area with multipurpose spaces for youth programs and local athletes.
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The Connecticut Sun’s youth basketball platform, Sun Academy, served nearly 2,000 students (up from around 500 in 2021-22) through its youth clinics and camps, some of which are free. In late September, the Liberty and Brooklyn Sports Entertainment opened a multi-court youth basketball training facility opposite Barclays Center to provide more access to local kids — and over time, to strengthen a generational fan pipeline.
“This isn’t just a building,” BSE CEO Sam Zussman said at the facility unveiling. “It’s a bold step in how we empower youth through sports.”
Young boys are part of this new fandom flocking to the league, as national viewership for those 18-and-younger has more than doubled since 2021, according to league-provided data. Of course, that’s not to say they are solely responsible for the massive wave of new fans embracing the league. The WNBA said in 2024 that girls 18 or younger watching the league more than tripled, representing the largest increase for a single age and gender bracket last season.
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“I would argue that (families are) one of the most imperative (groups) to our long-term sustainable growth,” said Caiti Donovan, the growth strategy lead for the WNBA. She added: “We’re really putting a lot of effort around how we approach kids and families and that younger fan in general.”
Men have made up the majority WNBA viewership since the league’s inception. This year, around 57 percent of its viewership base was male, slightly down from 59 percent last season. That’s because research suggests more men casually follow sports than women, experts say.
Even so, who a WNBA fan is is shifting. “What we’ve been really engaged with is truly that under-18 demographic and how they have been just … coming into our fan base, especially over the last two years,” Donovan said.
“Women’s sports have become culturally cool in a way that I don’t think they have been historically,” said Rachel Allison, an associate professor at Mississippi State who studies women’s sports and fan socialization.
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Several factors play into that changing perception of women’s sports, as well as the trickledown effect on who is actually attending and watching them. Allison cites a decline in overt sexism aimed at women’s sports, a fading narrative that women are inferior athletes, and less sexist media coverage of women’s sports.
Donovan also said generational fans are coming into WNBA fandom for the first time. Parents who grew up watching the brand-new league when it formed in 1996 now have kids — daughters and sons — who are becoming fans.
Ninety minutes before Game 3, Scottsdale’s Peachy Mendoza, a longtime WNBA fan, and her 7-year-old son Ryder were enjoying pregame festivities outside Mortgage Matchup Center. Ryder, wearing a purple Mercury T-shirt, was shooting on inflatable mini-hoops.
“He’s used to supporting women’s sports,” said Mendoza, who was wearing a black Sabally jersey. By pure coincidence, Ryder was present at the humane society when Sabally, one of his favorite players, was adopting her dog earlier this season. “I didn’t recognize her initially,” he said, “but when my mom told me, I was really surprised. She was so nice.”
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A lot has changed around the WNBA over the last half-decade. Now, more than ever, social media serves as a critical entry point for hoards of new fans. The league currently has some of the highest-profile athletes across all levels of basketball, including Clark, Reese and Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers. Buzz online around notable rookie debuts, expansion announcements and key games, such as the Commissioner’s Cup has helped draw in and maintain the attention of younger fans.
Video games and sneakers are another way the league has captivated younger audiences. Reese, a Chicago Sky forward, fronts the cover of NBA 2K26, and the latest Ionescu Nike signature sneaker release made headway in the marketplace. Nike’s Sabrina 2 was the second-most worn sneaker in the NBA last season, according to KixStats, a basketball sneaker analytics website. Sports gambling is an additional factor that draws increased attention of male audiences.
Donovan says the pipeline of player talent is setting up the WNBA for long-term success. And as young talent matures in the league, Donovan hopes all young fans continue watching.
Mark Campbell brought his 10-year-old son, Cashton, to Wednesday’s game. A long-time basketball fan, Mark grew up primarily watching men’s sports, but he has been drawn to the Mercury in recent years. (It helps that he went to college with Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts.)
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Cashton, wearing a Mercury T-shirt and enjoying his pregame popcorn on Wednesday night, said Alyssa Thomas is favorite player and he loves seeing Phoenix score.
“On Sunday, we only had the Mercury on (at home),” Campbell said. “Five years ago, if you would have told me that was happening, I would have been like, ‘You’re crazy.’”
Brennan, the birthday kid, and his father think the WNBA is doing a good job of cultivating new fandom. He’s proof. Although the Mercury lost in heartbreaking fashion on A’ja Wilson’s game-winning jump-shot, the occasion was still memorable. As Brennan exited with his family, another fan ran up to him and handed him an orange “Mercury vs. Everybody” T-shirt. Call it a silver lining, and a bonus present to cap off the night.
“It feels really good watching it,” Brennan said. “And now that it’s exploding in popularity, it just feels really good.”
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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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