Angel Reese and Kamila Cardoso’s WNBA debuts were widely watched on a fan’s social media livestream after the league’s app did not broadcast the game. The former LSU star and her South Carolina counterpart debuted as pros and teammates when the Chicago Sky took on the Minnesota Lynx on Friday night.
The WNBA’s streaming app had incorrectly listed the game as available, leading to confusion among fans. The league later clarified that only Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever debut was being streamed. Thankfully, X user @hayheyitsalli stepped in to ensure fans can see the Chicago game. ‘Would y’all want me to try and stream the game on here??’ She wrote. ‘No promises on the quality but i can try.’
The user, who appears to be a Lynx fan, live-streamed the game from her seat at the Target Center. While the viewership varied throughout the stream, the video holds over 493,000 views at the time of this writing. The user also posted a screenshot showing that the stream peaked at 173,381 live viewers. ‘Y’all these are some of THE WILDEST numbers WOW,’ she tweeted.
After being asked about the stream postgame, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve claimed that fans should pay @hayheyitsalli $3 per view. ‘Anybody that watched it should send three bucks to the person, I don’t even know who it is,’ Reeve said. ‘I think that what I would say is that the growth is happening so fast. It’s so accelerated. And I’ve been saying this in our own organization — that business as usual isn’t going to work anymore. ‘You’re gonna get left behind, and this is an example.’
Additionally, Reeve pointed out how she understands the broadcasts being ‘all about’ Clark’s debut. ‘People want to see that, but they also want to see, you know, it’s not just about Caitlin,’ Reeve said. ‘This isn’t Caitlin’s fault it any way. It’s more, you know, the recognition that there’s general excitement about the WNBA in ways that we haven’t seen before. And so we have to capitalize to really ensure that this is a movement.’
Nevertheless, Reese finished the game with 13 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes. On the other hand, Cardoso had six points and four boards in 13 minutes as the Sky fell 81-92 to Minnesota.
Results aside, Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon praised the rookies on their debut performances. ‘This is a learning process for all of us. And we’re going through that process in the right way,’ Weatherspoon said. ‘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.’
