Inside USA Basketball’s Gold-Standard Mindset with Elena Delle Donne

We’re nearly a month out from the WNBA Finals, but we still have a lot to discuss.

We start with the WNBA’s booming business, its growth in viewership, and some of the new demographics tuning in. But we also look at the historic ways in which WNBA viewership was suppressed despite the demand for women’s basketball. (For those who want to learn more, the quotes we reference during this discussion come from Those Guys Have All the Fun, by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales - https://www.amazon.com/Those-Guys-Hav... ).

Also on the agenda: how past CBA negotiations are playing out in the league today, including prioritization and playoff bonus money.

Then we welcome WNBA legend Elena Delle Donne, who helped grow the league when she joined in 2013 as part of the “The Three to See,” along with Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins-Smith. Elena Delle Donne talks about what she misses and doesn’t miss about playing pro, how she built a life off the court during her career, and what it was like to practice in a local rec center.

Plus, she describes the nerve-wracking achievement of being the first WNBA player to enter the 50-40-90 club, and what it was like to welcome Napheesa Collier to the exclusive club.

A Touch More: The Podcast is produced in partnership with VOX MEDIA and TOGETHXR.

Listen to every episode on your favorite podcast platform: https://link.chtbl.com/atouchmorepod

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Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
04:03 - Check in
07:14 - WNBA Viewership
19:30 - WNBA Attendance
30:45 - Welcome, Elena Delle Donne!
39:50 - Elena on Napheesa's Statement + CBA Negotiations
45:29 - The 50/40/90 Club
51:20 - "Kids these days will never know!"
56:05 - More than an athlete
1:00:15 - USA Women's Basketball
1:04:53 - Bench, Start, Cut
1:09:07 - Road to Greatness Presented by Volkswagen
1:11:26 - A Touch More