لخّصلي

Angel Reese's Chicago Sky debut sends X wild with crazy streaming numbers. Reese and Kamilla Cardoso's debut in the WNBA for the Chicago Sky garnered significant attention and impressive viewership figures, despite a broadcasting hiccup from the league.

On a Friday night preseason opener against the Minnesota Lynx, fans were disappointed to find that the WNBA's streaming app failed to broadcast the game, contradicting its initial promise to stream all preseason games.In a quick fix, a fan at the game in Minneapolis began a live stream from their cell phone, stepping in to fill the gap left by the official broadcasters.

The fan, @heyheyitsalli, queried her followers on Twitter, now known as X, "Would y'all want me to try and stream the game on here?? No promises on the quality but I can try."

The response was overwhelming, with the video reaching over 545,000 views by Sunday morning and the post amassing a staggering 2.4 million views.

In the face of these "WILDEST numbers," as @heyheyitsalli described, the league issued an apology, explaining that only Caitlin Clark's debut with the Indiana Fever was officially streamed.The incident drew comments from several high-profile individuals within and outside the league, including WNBA legend Sue Bird, who praised the fan's effort on X: "This is amazing," and humorously added, "I hope you got that mophie!"

During the game, Reese, the seventh overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, scored 13 points for the Sky, though they lost 92-81 to the Lynx. Cardoso, picked third overall and a former star at South Carolina, added six points.The incident sparked broader discussions about the WNBA's handling of its media coverage.

New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu critiqued the league during a media day, stating that the WNBA "dropped the ball" and should explain the preseason broadcasting confusion.

Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve suggested that fans should have compensated the impromptu broadcaster, emphasizing the rapid growth and changing dynamics in the league, "Anybody that watched it should send three bucks to the person," Reeve stated.

Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon reflected on the situation as a learning opportunity, emphasizing leadership and confidence within the team: "This is a learning process for all of us.And we're going through that process in the right way. We got our leaders leading them, pulling them along. Keeping them confident. That's what matters. So we're in a great place, and they're in a hell of a great place."

The Sky is scheduled to host the Liberty in another preseason game, setting the stage for continuing discussions on how the league can leverage its growing popularity and avoid future missteps in fan engagement and media coverage.