NBA Scheduling Power Puts WNBA Finals in the Shadows

The NBA kept a regular-season game on the calendar for the same Thursday as Game 6 of the WNBA Finals, even though it could have offered a later date. NBA owners control 42 percent of the WNBA, and the scheduling clash puts the league’s biggest moment of the season up against the NBA’s own product.

The WNBA Finals game in Atlanta is scheduled to tip off at 12:30 p.m. ET Thursday. The analysis called the timing a missed opportunity, and said responsibility reaches beyond WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and WNBA leadership. NBA commissioner Adam Silver could have moved an NBA regular-season game to a later date, giving the Finals a wider television audience. The NBA didn’t have to move the Hawks’ home game, the analysis said. But it questioned why the league didn’t offer another date for a regular-season game it described as having little consequence.

Who Controls the Calendar

The WNBA knew in late September, after the first round of the playoffs, that Games 3, 4 and 6 would be held in Brooklyn or Atlanta. Yet the league’s contingency for a possible Atlanta Game 6 depended on the Hawks making their already booked arena available. The Atlanta Dream don’t own State Farm Arena, and they aren’t affiliated with the Hawks.

The Dream’s owners are a three-person group. The team had played sold-out postseason games at the Hawks’ downtown arena and was due to make it its home the following year. Without access to that building, the alternative for a Finals game was the Dream’s 3,500-seat home gym. The Hawks had already moved their home-season opener to a later time so State Farm Arena could host Game 4 on Oct. 24. The analysis argued the WNBA needed a stronger backup plan than hoping the series ended in five.

The New York Liberty and the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets share owners and an arena. The Tsai family had accommodated Liberty Finals games in Brooklyn before. The contrast is plain in the scheduling facts: owners and teams control access to major venues, while the league’s championship audience depends on whether those arrangements get made.

The WNBA was described as worth $5.5 billion, and its first three Finals games drew strong ratings despite Caitlin Clark not being there. The analysis argued the NBA should market the WNBA and treat it as a revenue-generating asset. It also suggested that if Clark and the Indiana Fever had advanced, and the Finals schedule conflicted with a Pacers home game, Tyrese Haliburton and his teammates would have had to yield; Pacers Sports & Entertainment owns both franchises. That scenario was hypothetical. The analysis speculated that a Clark game might have displaced a primetime NBA matchup, even if the WNBA had set its Finals schedule in December 2025.

Injuries, Rules and the Cost to Players

Anthony Edwards will undergo right knee surgery Thursday after scoring 47 points in an overtime loss to Cleveland on Monday. Minnesota is planning around a possible two-to-three-month absence while waiting for a clearer estimate; team sources speaking anonymously to The Athletic said doctors would know the exact recovery time only after surgery. The NBA’s 65-game awards rule means missing two months would again make Edwards ineligible for awards.

The Timberwolves need perimeter depth. LaMelo Ball and Ayo Dosunmu will take on more offensive responsibility, and Terrence Shannon Jr. could play a larger role. But replacing Edwards’ broader impact on each possession will be harder than replacing his scoring. That’s the team’s assessment of what one injured player’s absence means on the court.

Utah is also short-handed. Jaren Jackson Jr. tore his right MCL and was expected to miss six to eight weeks after injuring his knee in the first half of Monday’s loss to Memphis. He had played three games for Utah after the trade deadline before the team shut him down for the rest of the season; he was then out after three games and part of his fourth contest this season. The Jazz also had to manage without Jusuf Nurkić because of a foot injury. Jaxson Hayes missed Monday’s game while banged up, and Mo Bamba was available for significant minutes alongside Lauri Markkanen, who had a sprained wrist and was day-to-day.

The newsletter also described early-season flop technicals as a point of emphasis for officials. Some calls helped reduce flopping; others appeared forced or incorrect. The article noted that such points of emphasis historically haven’t lasted until Christmas. The league sets the rules. Players absorb the calls, and the season keeps moving.