Author In Forbes Story Pushes Same Tired Narratives About Who Makes The WNBA Popular

I was drawn to an article published by Forbes titled "How Angel Reese And A’ja Wilson Lead The WNBA’s Growth." There's nothing wrong with this title or this angle for a piece, or with most of the content in the article itself (more on that later).

Timeka Tounsel spent the first part of her article talking about how Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark has helped set viewership and attendance records for the WNBA, and how former UConn star Paige Bueckers figures to bring a lot of popularity from college with her to the pro level.

That all checks.

INDIANAPOLIS - Timeka Tounsel wrote about how Angel Reese (No. 5) and Caitlin Clark (No. 22) have helped grow the WNBA's popularity. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

The next part discussed how Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese has grown awareness for the league as well. Reese has 4.8 million Instagram followers (the most of any player in the league) and 5.5 million more on TikTok. 

Reese has also earned big sponsorship deals with McDonald’s and even has her own cereal brand.

OK, fine.

Tounsel continued and said that Las Vegas Aces forward A'ja Wilson was just as important to the league’s growth. She highlighted Wilson’s bestselling book she wrote in 2024 - Dear Black Girls: How to be True to You - and how she signed a major shoe shoe deal.

Great. Good stuff.

The final section focused on how the "Unrivaled" league brought more fans to the league as well.

Hard to argue.

This seems to be an open-and-shut case, with nothing nefarious about it. But Tounsel's ambiguous yet suggestive word choices at several points in the article show she was trying to push a tired narrative about the WNBA.

First, look at the title of the piece: "How Angel Reese And A’ja Wilson Lead The WNBA’s Growth."