WNBA fans flock to livestream of Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso's preseason debuts amid broadcast issue
Just a few weeks after getting drafted, former college basketball stars Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso made their highly anticipated WNBA debuts.
Reese, Cardoso and the rest of their Chicago Sky teammates traveled to Minnesota for a preseason matchup with the Lynx. But fans who expected to watch the contest via the WNBA's app were disappointed to learn that the platform was not able to broadcast the game.
The league's app incorrectly listed the game as available to watch, which led to confusion. The WNBA later clarified that only Caitlin Clark’s debut with the Indiana Fever was being broadcast.
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But a social media user came to the rescue and started an impromptu livestream.
"Would y’all want me to try and stream the game on here??" @heyheyitsalli asked on X, formerly Twitter. "no promises on the quality but i can try."
Viewership numbers on the livestream varied, but on Saturday the video showed about 434,000 total views. The X user previously posted a screenshot showing that the stream peaked at 173,381 live viewers.
Shortly after the Lynx's 92-81 win over the Sky, Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve joked that the social media user who streamed the game should receive some monetary compensation for their efforts.
"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."
Reeve also acknowledged that it made sense that Clark's preseason debut took precedence. She suggested that the excitement around Clark and other players has a trickle-down effect, which ultimately works as a benefit for the "general excitement" across the league.
"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 in 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."
Reese finished the game with 13 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes. Cardoso had six points and four rebounds in 13 minutes.
Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon said she was pleased with the rookies’ debuts.
"This is a learning process for all of us.... And we’re going through that process in the right way," she 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."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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