Not long ago, the WNBA was the side salad of American sports. By 2024, however, it became the casserole that was passed around the dinner table the most. Research showed Caitlin Clark as the most-mentioned favorite athlete in the country, outshining LeBron, Steph, Mahomes, and even Travis Kelce. Angel Reese wasn’t far behind, cracking the Top 5 women athletes. On the back of that boom, the WNBA was named the fastest-growing brand in pro sports, and major surveys now rank it as America’s fifth most popular league.

With 1 in 4 U.S. adults calling themselves fans, it’s safe to say this is the WNBA’s Golden Generation. And Seattle Storm’s Zia Cooke would happily cosign.

In an exclusive interview with Andrew Whitelaw of EssentiallySports, Cooke was asked whether the league has entered a ‘golden generation’. Her response? “It definitely is.” With the recent increase in viewership, sponsorships, and the major broadcasting deal the league bagged, we’d be fools to disagree with her. The Seattle Storm star continued, “As a kid, I would have never thought that I’ll be entering the league at a point where everything is just going up, and it’s going in the upward direction. So, for me, I’m happy to be here.” 

But how did we get to this point? Is it just because of stars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers, or is there something bigger at work here? From what Zia Cooke had to say, it was a group effort. “I think the girls from college are doing a great job at pushing the W to make it better for us as you leave from college.”

College athletes come with built-in fanbases, and the 2024 WNBA Draft showed just how contagious that hype can be. Last year’s class was a star parade with Cameron Brink, Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, Kamilla Cardoso, and Rickea Jackson. And thanks to Gen Z’s beefed-up NIL game, these rookies had tons of backing from all corners.

The league, hence, rolled out the red carpet. For the first time since 2016, the draft was public in Brooklyn, and tickets sold out in 15 minutes. The buzz carried to TVs as well. 2.446 million viewers tuned in on ESPN, a 307% jump from 2023, making it the first WNBA draft to cross the million-viewer mark. That set the stage for what was to be the most historic year in W’s history.

• Regular-season nationally televised WNBA games averaged 657,000 viewers, the highest in 24 seasons. 22 games averaged over 1 million viewers. Reached 54 million unique viewers in 2024.
• Indiana-Connecticut Game 2 averaged 2.5 million viewers on ESPN, the most-watched WNBA postseason game ever on ESPN platforms.
• ESPN: Averaged 1.19M viewers, +170% from 2023; ESPN, ABC, and ESPN2 aired their highest-rated WNBA games ever.
• CBS: 8 games averaged 1.1M viewers, +86% from 2023.
• Scripps Sports ION: 2nd season broadcasting; averaged 670,000 viewers, +133%
• NBA TV: More than quadrupled viewership from 2023; had 13 most-watched WNBA games ever. 
• 2024 attendance rose ~50% from 2023; all 12 franchises saw double-digit growth in average attendance.
• In the first half of 2024, WNBA merchandise sales skyrocketed 500%, with player t-shirts and jerseys up 1,000%. 

Zia Cooke then told us firsthand how these players are building off-court brands; ventures that aren’t just personal wins. “Even Angel Reese, for example, she’s someone that’s been taking advantage of everything when it comes to the attention that the W is getting. She’s evolving in a lot of different ways.”

“Caitlin, too. Paige is coming up. Hailey Van Lith is doing things on social media. So, I think that everyone’s just taking advantage of it, knowing that, okay, yes, we are basketball players, but we do have brands off the court that we can build. And just take advantage of everything that comes with it.” 

Neither Cooke nor we need to spell out the details of Reese’s or Clark’s brands. What we can say is that the WNBA might want to send a thank-you card to this golden generation. Why? Because these young stars aren’t just winning on the court, they’re reshaping the league’s fanbase. Today, WNBA fans are 35% younger than NBA fans, with 40% under 35, and their social media engagement has quadrupled, thanks to that, fueled by platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

• The 2024 rookies drove a 571% jump in digital mentions. 11 of 12 teams saw increases in social media engagement per post. The full social media value of the league rose by $49 million. TikTok posts saw 470% more engagement per post than in 2023.
• The Caitlin Clark effect accounted for 45% of the total broadcast value from Indiana Fever games.
• WNBA secured 551 deals worth $76 million in 2024; sponsorships, licensing, and partnerships accounted for 40% of revenue (up from 28% in 2023).
• Sponsor Media Value hit a record $136 million, benefiting brands like Nike, AT&T, and Michelob Ultra.
• WNBA fans are far more engaged than NBA fans; average TikTok engagement per 1,000 followers is 272.24 for WNBA vs. 17.07 for NBA.
• The NBA’s sponsorship deals grew by 12% annually from 2020–2025, the WNBA’s rose by 28%

This digital revolution wouldn’t be possible without a savvy, connected generation. Cooke herself hasn’t stayed behind. As part of PlayStation’s Playmakers program, Cooke joined Arike Ogunbowale and NaLyssa Smith to show off their love for gaming. But what really sets Cooke and her brand apart is her storytelling. Believe us because we got a front-row seat to witness how she does it.

But turning your off-court persona into a brand isn’t easy. Expectations are high, you need a picture-perfect public image, and even the smallest misstep can leave a mark. For rookies and younger stars, the pressure can feel overwhelming. So how does someone like Zia Cooke, now in her third season, handle it all?

Zia Cooke believes public pressure helps keep players on the right path

As a public entity, being accountable is one of the most important parts of the job. In an exclusive interview with Andre Whitelaw from EssentiallySports, Seattle Storm star Zia Cooke explained what it’s like for the players involved. “Everything that I do, I always think about like, oh, my niece and nephew might see this, or I got little kids back home that are looking up to me,” Cooke said, explaining her mindset for dealing with the public eye.

It’s a foolproof strategy, really. Fans and critics are always going to scrutinize every inch of an athlete’s public presence, especially after a bad performance. So, filtering what you say, post, and interact with is extremely important to save yourself from a world of pain. In fact, Cooke went as far as to say that this pressure is a plus for basketball players in the league.

“For me, it’s no issue. I really think it’s good, and I’m pretty sure a lot of us probably feel that way because it kind of just keeps you straight. It makes sure that you’re doing all the right things and you don’t veer off into doing things that just aren’t good for your image,” she told Whitelaw.

Keeping her content on point while managing her brand and public image is a top priority for Zia Cooke. And it’s clearly paying off. Now in her third year with the Seattle Storm, she’s already making waves in the WNBA. With the incredible talent and grit she consistently shows, Cooke is unmistakably a rising star lighting up the league.