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Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
WNBA's 'Line ‘Em Up" initiative has league's three-point line installed at outdoor courts around the country
Bethany Donaphin, a former player and now the head of league operations for the WNBA, remembers what it was like to grow up in New York City in the 1990s loving basketball. As a tween she would make it a point during recess to play basketball out on the blacktop. Donaphin was always the only girl playing, something that looking back was a bold choice. It was a decision that took a ton of confidence and a boat load of risk to participate in a situation where she was the only girl. It took a lot of guts for a 12-year-old Donaphin to want to set herself apart, especially at a time when most girls are looking to fit in. Advertisement Donaphin's early memories resonate for many former and current WNBA players. This idea that young girls always had something to prove and were underestimated when they stepped onto an outdoor court in a park or blacktop at school has been the inescapable reality, the status quo. This summer the WNBA is looking to challenge that common experience with the launch of their new nationwide initiative 'Line 'Em Up,' which will paint the official WNBA three-point line on outdoor park basketball courts across the United States. The league will launch this officially in New York on Thursday at the outdoor courts of Brooklyn Bridge Park, and later in July the league will take the campaign to Indianapolis for WNBA All-Star Weekend. 'This is so necessary in order to represent the league in spaces that are iconic,' WNBA Chief Marketing Officer Phil Cook told NBC Sports about the initiative. 'There's not a basketball player in the world who hasn't spent some time dribbling on an outdoor space, and we, [the WNBA] belong in that space. And women, young women, have been going to the park for as long as park basketball has been happening. They just haven't had their representation in that space.' The program has been teased by WNBA players including Atlanta Dream star Allisha Gray, Lynx point guard Courtney Williams, Phoenix Mercury point-forward Alyssa Thomas and Sparks sophomore wing Rickea Jackson in addition to personalities associated with the league including GMA's Robin Roberts and ESPN's Arielle Chambers. Last week on Instagram the teases included photos of a mysterious looking blue background which included a bright orange curved line. Advertisement Last July at WNBA All-Star in Phoenix was when Cook and his team began having conversations about how the WNBA could lay down its legacy in a tangible and more vibrant way. How could the league create something that's representative and 'replicable' but also represents the work the league has done to grow the game of basketball for women, girls and nonbinary people on a larger scale? Over breakfast in Phoenix, Cook and his staff discussed how the league could pursue a project that wouldn't just last during tentpole events including the WNBA Draft, the WNBA All-Star Game, the Commisioner's Cup, the playoffs and WNBA Finals. The league was looking for something permanent. The league enlisted the independent creative marketing company JOAN to come up with a campaign that could represent the ways in which the WNBA has attempted to challenge the status quo, grow the game and encourage empowerment of girls and young people everywhere. Representatives from the marketing agency came back to Cook and his team with the idea to paint a WNBA three-point line on outdoor courts at parks across the country working in conjunction with different cities and parks and recreation departments. Advertisement 'It's a very simple replicable idea that we hope every single outdoor park across the country, and every driveway across the country chalks up their three point line in orange chalk,' Cook said. Beyond New York City and Indianapolis as the first two major places to get these new orange three-point lines, Cook sees a huge opportunity for the league's two upcoming expansion cities in Toronto and Portland to get involved in the campaign. All of the league's current 13 teams including the newest in the Golden State Valkyries have been briefed on the campaign and how they can look to execute painting orange three-point lines in parks within their local communities. As part of the campaign, the league will make a donation to each park that participates in painting an orange three-point line on their courts. To accompany the WNBA's launch of the 'Line 'Em Up' campaign, the league enlisted Korean-Canadian director Iris Kim to create a film that would introduce the program and illustrate the need for orange WNBA three-point lines across the country. The nearly four-minute video includes shots of some of the most famous outdoor parks in the country including Rucker Park in Harlem, Venice Beach in Los Angeles, and two other New York City parks in Dykman and The Cage. Later the film introduces former players Epiphanny Prince, Chamique Holdsclaw and Sue Bird in addition to current Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles, who traveled to New York during Sun training camp to be a part of the film. The four native New Yorkers explain what it was like growing up and playing on outdoor courts and the challenges that came with often being some of only young women. Advertisement 'Growing up in Queens, NY at that time, it was really hard to be a female to get on the court,' Charles said in the film. 'I know I had something to prove. We've all been through it. All the greats, all the ones that you're fans of.' And that includes Holdsclaw who told the story of how she used to hustle all the guys who underestimated her. The film also features two New York community leaders in Sharon Bond and Alex Taylor who have both founded and led organizations that try to encourage participation in basketball for women and girls. Both Bond and Taylor explain that having the new orange three-point line painted on outdoor courts is boon for representation and it sends the message that women and girls are wanted in these spaces. Bird ends the film by stating the mission statement of the entire campaign, which is that the next generation of players won't know a world without a WNBA orange three-point line painted across America. The campaign represents the very fact that the WNBA has become more mainstream and more accessible in the past few years. The league isn't distant and it's much easier now more than ever to understand that the WNBA isn't going anywhere and will be an institution that stands the test of time. Advertisement Donaphin thinks about what it would have been like if she had an orange three-point line to accompany her during those days when she was working hard on her game and often the only girl out there doing it. 'If I had had an orange line while I was going through that process, I think it would have given not just me, but the other kids around me, an understanding that, yeah, what I was doing was completely part of of what any person would do if they if they love something,' Donaphin told NBC Sports. 'And that there was a place for me there.' Check out the new 'Line 'Em Up' website and see if the WNBA's three-point line is coming to a court near you.
NBC Sports
6 hours ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
WNBA's 'Line ‘Em Up" initiative has league's three-point line installed at outdoor courts around the country
Bethany Donaphin, a former player and now the head of league operations for the WNBA, remembers what it was like to grow up in New York City in the 1990s loving basketball. As a tween she would make it a point during recess to play basketball out on the blacktop. Donaphin was always the only girl playing, something that looking back was a bold choice. It was a decision that took a ton of confidence and a boat load of risk to participate in a situation where she was the only girl. It took a lot of guts for a 12-year-old Donaphin to want to set herself apart, especially at a time when most girls are looking to fit in. Donaphin's early memories resonate for many former and current WNBA players. This idea that young girls always had something to prove and were underestimated when they stepped onto an outdoor court in a park or blacktop at school has been the inescapable reality, the status quo. This summer the WNBA is looking to challenge that common experience with the launch of their new nationwide initiative 'Line 'Em Up,' which will paint the official WNBA three-point line on outdoor park basketball courts across the United States. The league will launch this officially in New York on Thursday at the outdoor courts of Brooklyn Bridge Park, and later in July the league will take the campaign to Indianapolis for WNBA All-Star Weekend. 'This is so necessary in order to represent the league in spaces that are iconic,' WNBA Chief Marketing Officer Phil Cook told NBC Sports about the initiative. 'There's not a basketball player in the world who hasn't spent some time dribbling on an outdoor space, and we, [the WNBA] belong in that space. And women, young women, have been going to the park for as long as park basketball has been happening. They just haven't had their representation in that space.' The program has been teased by WNBA players including Atlanta Dream star Allisha Gray, Lynx point guard Courtney Williams, Phoenix Mercury point-forward Alyssa Thomas and Sparks sophomore wing Rickea Jackson in addition to personalities associated with the league including GMA's Robin Roberts and ESPN's Arielle Chambers. Last week on Instagram the teases included photos of a mysterious looking blue background which included a bright orange curved line. Last July at WNBA All-Star in Phoenix was when Cook and his team began having conversations about how the WNBA could lay down its legacy in a tangible and more vibrant way. How could the league create something that's representative and 'replicable' but also represents the work the league has done to grow the game of basketball for women, girls and nonbinary people on a larger scale? Over breakfast in Phoenix, Cook and his staff discussed how the league could pursue a project that wouldn't just last during tentpole events including the WNBA Draft, the WNBA All-Star Game, the Commisioner's Cup, the playoffs and WNBA Finals. The league was looking for something permanent. The league enlisted the independent creative marketing company JOAN to come up with a campaign that could represent the ways in which the WNBA has attempted to challenge the status quo, grow the game and encourage empowerment of girls and young people everywhere. Representatives from the marketing agency came back to Cook and his team with the idea to paint a WNBA three-point line on outdoor courts at parks across the country working in conjunction with different cities and parks and recreation departments. 'It's a very simple replicable idea that we hope every single outdoor park across the country, and every driveway across the country chalks up their three point line in orange chalk,' Cook said. Beyond New York City and Indianapolis as the first two major places to get these new orange three-point lines, Cook sees a huge opportunity for the league's two upcoming expansion cities in Toronto and Portland to get involved in the campaign. All of the league's current 13 teams including the newest in the Golden State Valkyries have been briefed on the campaign and how they can look to execute painting orange three-point lines in parks within their local communities. As part of the campaign, the league will make a donation to each park that participates in painting an orange three-point line on their courts. To accompany the WNBA's launch of the 'Line 'Em Up' campaign, the league enlisted Korean-Canadian director Iris Kim to create a film that would introduce the program and illustrate the need for orange WNBA three-point lines across the country. The nearly four-minute video includes shots of some of the most famous outdoor parks in the country including Rucker Park in Harlem, Venice Beach in Los Angeles, and two other New York City parks in Dykman and The Cage. Later the film introduces former players Epiphanny Prince, Chamique Holdsclaw and Sue Bird in addition to current Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles, who traveled to New York during Sun training camp to be a part of the film. The four native New Yorkers explain what it was like growing up and playing on outdoor courts and the challenges that came with often being some of only young women. 'Growing up in Queens, NY at that time, it was really hard to be a female to get on the court,' Charles said in the film. 'I know I had something to prove. We've all been through it. All the greats, all the ones that you're fans of.' And that includes Holdsclaw who told the story of how she used to hustle all the guys who underestimated her. The film also features two New York community leaders in Sharon Bond and Alex Taylor who have both founded and led organizations that try to encourage participation in basketball for women and girls. Both Bond and Taylor explain that having the new orange three-point line painted on outdoor courts is boon for representation and it sends the message that women and girls are wanted in these spaces. Bird ends the film by stating the mission statement of the entire campaign, which is that the next generation of players won't know a world without a WNBA orange three-point line painted across America. The campaign represents the very fact that the WNBA has become more mainstream and more accessible in the past few years. The league isn't distant and it's much easier now more than ever to understand that the WNBA isn't going anywhere and will be an institution that stands the test of time. Donaphin thinks about what it would have been like if she had an orange three-point line to accompany her during those days when she was working hard on her game and often the only girl out there doing it. 'If I had had an orange line while I was going through that process, I think it would have given not just me, but the other kids around me, an understanding that, yeah, what I was doing was completely part of of what any person would do if they if they love something,' Donaphin told NBC Sports. 'And that there was a place for me there.'
New York Times
30-01-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever to play exhibition game at Iowa in May
By Scott Dochterman, Sabreena Merchant and Jenna West Caitlin Clark is returning to Iowa — this time to play an exhibition game with the Indiana Fever. The Fever will take on the Brazilian National Team at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on May 4 as part of its preseason schedule, the WNBA team announced Thursday. Advertisement The game will pit Fever forward Damiris Dantas, a native of Brazil, against her former squad after she played with the Brazilian National Team in the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. 'We couldn't be more excited to play at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and we know Iowa fans will deliver an unforgettable homecoming for Caitlin,' Kelly Krauskopf, the Fever's president of basketball operations, said in a statement. 'Countless Hawkeye fans have become Fever fans, and we consider them family. That's what will make this preseason matchup so special for us.' Iowa, are you ready? 🔥 we're coming to Carver-Hawkeye Arena for a preseason game against the Brazilian National Team on Sunday, May 4! 📝: — Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) January 30, 2025 Clark achieved historic levels of success over her four seasons at Iowa. She scored 3,951 points — the most ever in NCAA men's or women's Division I history. She also broke the record for 3-pointers in a single season, made two national championship appearances and was named the National Player of the Year twice. Those are just some of her accolades from a career so prolific that Iowa is retiring her No. 22 jersey at Carver-Hawkeye Arena this Sunday after its game against No. 4 USC. GO DEEPER Iowa to retire Caitlin Clark's No. 22 jersey in February In 2024, the Las Vegas Aces took on the Puerto Rico National Team at South Carolina, the alma mater of Aces superstar A'ja Wilson. Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said then, after more than 13,500 people attended the exhibition game, that these types of contests should happen more often, and the Fever are following in those footsteps by bringing a preseason game to Clark's old stomping grounds. The WNBA has ventured beyond the league's cities in recent seasons, hosting two preseason games in Canada and regular-season games in Boston. Minnesota and Chicago met in Toronto in 2023 (before the announcement of the Tempo as an expansion team); Los Angeles and Seattle faced off in Edmonton in 2024; and the Connecticut Sun had a regular-season game against the Sparks in Boston last season, with another Boston game against Indiana on the docket this year. Advertisement Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said during the 2024 WNBA All-Star Weekend that she admired what the NBA has with its global games platform and would like to expand the WNBA's imprint internationally. She also suggested the league would continue to grow its footprint domestically. 'Do you do neutral sites in the U.S. to test out expansion markets?' Engelbert said. 'That's another option to do either preseason games or regular-season games.' — Sabreena Merchant, WNBA staff writer Clark's return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena for a preseason game will generate plenty of buzz at a location that has become the epicenter of women's basketball. The Hawkeyes have sold all women's basketball tickets for the last two seasons, including Clark's final campaign in 2023-24. Iowa has experience hosting NBA preseason games, notably Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls in 1990. That appearance came a season after the Bulls selected former Iowa standout B.J. Armstrong in the first round. The Fever's preseason game has the potential to garner more local interest, in a similar fashion to the Crossover at Kinnick exhibition featuring Clark's Hawkeyes against DePaul on Oct. 15, 2023. That event drew 55,646 spectators, the most for a game in women's basketball history. — Scott Dochterman, Iowa beat writer
USA Today
29-01-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Caitlin Clark will not participate in NBA All-Star Weekend 3-point contest: report
If you were thinking Caitlin Clark would be part of the NBA All-Star 3-point contest, don't get your hopes up. The WNBA star will not be participating in any of the NBA's All-Star Weekend festivities next month, her representatives at Excel Sports told ESPN on Wednesday. Instead, Clark wants to do her first 3-point contest when the WNBA All-Star Game is held in Indianapolis in July. After finishing up her rookie season in the WNBA last year, there was speculation Clark would participate in some event at the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend in San Francisco. Ideas included her taking part in the 3-point contest, or having a showdown with an NBA star, similar to when Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry faced New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu in an NBA vs. WNBA 3-point challenge during the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend. Curry won the matchup. Clark, who won WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2024 after she was drafted first overall by the Indiana Fever, did not participate in the last year's WNBA 3-point challenge. She did play in the All-Star Game, which was Team WNBA vs. Team USA ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend will be at Clark's home arena in Indianapolis. NBA All-Star weekend be Feb. 14-16 at the Chase Center, home of the Warriors. WNBA All-Star Weekend will be July 18-19 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Clark will have her jersey retired in Iowa on Sunday, when the Hawkeyes host Southern California.
USA Today
29-01-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Will Caitlin Clark be in the NBA 3-point contest? Here's the latest.
Caitlin Clark's rookie season is complete, and she's enjoying her offseason while still staying active. You might wonder if she will participate in the NBA's All-Star Weekend 3-point contest in February. Here's the latest: She's reportedly leaning against it. According to Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal, despite still being in discussions with Clark's team, she has allegedly informed the NBA that she is reluctant to participate in the 3-point contest next month. Part of the reported hang-up is that the contest's setup (shooting basketballs off the rack) doesn't align with Clark's typical catch-and-shoot practice style. Unless that changes, she could likely decline the invitation. However, Stephen Curry's involvement is another factor to consider that could keep the door open. Like the competition Curry and Sabrina Ionescu had in last year's 3-point contest, Curry could return the favor by participating in a contest at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis.
