Parity a sign of successful CBA in early WNBL season

The Lightning were on the brink of extinction just five months ago, with free agency having already opened. Since then, they have steered the ship into the most stable ownership structure through the next six seasons. It’s understood that success for Adelaide will be measured in years, not games. Even still, they took it to championship frontrunner Perth Lynx in their season opener, ultimately falling short 75-72.

After that game, Lightning head coach Kerryn Mitchell shared in a press conference: “We’ll take a lot from this game. We won the last three quarters. We lost the first, won the others. We just came out a little bit nervous and it cost us. So, yeah, we’ll take some learnings for sure.”

On their unflattering preseason predictions, Mitchell didn’t hold back, “I love it. Underestimate us, please. Love it. It’s so much better to be the underdog coming for you than to be the top dog and everyone’s coming. So yeah, I love it.”

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Adelaide expertly navigated the rocky waters they were faced with, making the most of the WNBL’s new CBA along the way. The first round of the regular season consisted of four games and fans were out in droves to see a new cohort of talent marked by Opals returning to Australia and a class of imports up there with some of the leagues all timers. Three of these games were sell outs with the fourth being played in a larger arena, setting a WNBL attendance record for a season opener. The latter was contested between the Southside Melbourne Flyers and the Canberra Capitals, whose general manager Christy Collier-Hill spoke with The IX Basketball:

“The Flyers were incredibly tough in Melbourne. We got out to a 22 point lead at one point, but they pegged it right back to seven. They had a three-pointer that rattled around and if that drops it could have been four.”

She continued, “Cayla George was very quiet against us and we know how much of an exceptional athlete she is. We already saw her bounce back in round two.
Once she finds her groove in Kristi [Harrower’s] system down there they’re also going to be incredibly, incredibly tough.”

In deducing how to categorise each team with so much parity early on, she uncovered, “continuity does count for a lot. You’ve got people that have been there, they understand the systems, schemes, program and the communities that they’re part of. There’s no real science to it, but you take all those pieces together and then say, this team probably looks to be up here, this team’s here, and this team’s kind of here.’

“For us, we’ve had some really great continuity with five returning players. We’ve brought in Kadi Sissoko who is just exceptional, loving having her as part of the program. [Head coach Paul Goriss] who’s been around the Caps for a long time. So we’re feeling pretty confident with where we’re placed for this year.”

While each team nestles into its position in the standings, Collier-Hill feels as though there’s a period of understanding through the first third of the season, even with the parity. “Getting those combinations and that fluidity. Getting those rotations right through the substitutes is all going to form part of this first third of the season. Once we get through that first third, that’s when we’ll start to see some clear delineation of which teams are going to be sitting on the top of that ladder and which teams might be further back down.”

Geelong Venom head coach Chris Lucas shared a similar notion in the pursuit of clarity in the early going with The IX Basketball. “[We’re focused on] building team chemistry on the offensive and defensive end. Doing this as quickly as we possibly can is the challenge for us right now as the chemistry of the team is fluctuating due to injuries, but we’re just working through that as best we can.”

They were hampered by a huge blow to import Alissa Pili just five minutes into her season, down 33-28 against the Sydney Flames at the time of her injury. With such a substantial impact on the rotation and game plan, the Venom stayed alive, but fell 85-77 in the end. In reference to the leagues imports, Lucas said:

“I feel the imports we have in the in the league this year are an upgrade without a doubt. As for our first three games, they’ve been challenging, but the level of competition is really good.”

It cannot be a coincidence that the league has attracted such talent right after the announcement of the new CBA. Bendigo Spirit general manager Daniel Jackson had a very busy offseason following the departures of WNBL MVP Sami Whitcomb and WNBA Most Improved Player Veronica Burton. Finding suitable replacements was always going to be an uphill battle, but as he revealed to The IX Basketball:

“Increases in minimum wage and increases in the overall salary cap is always going to make it easier for all teams to keep players in Australia and it will continue to do so as those increases keep hitting year after year.”

He had a slightly different view to Collier-Hill and Lucas, yet still identified the first six games as the window the Spirit were working with. “If we can survive the first six games I think it’s going to put us in a really good position later in the season as our players start to reap the benefits of the hard work they put in on the court here in Bendigo.”

He continued, “it’s a little bit up to us in terms of, we sell ourselves as a place where people can get better. We need to prove it and make sure that we make those players get better. We’ve backed ourselves to do that and hopefully we’re around the top four come finals time when they’re kind of hitting their straps and running.”

Jackson also understands he has a roster that’s largely in their infancy when it comes to their professional career. “Meg McConnell is only 23 years old, Izzy Borlase is only 21 years old. Kelsey Rees, Liv Pollerd, Georgia Booth, Micah Simpson, all so young. So those players are going to continue to get better as the season goes on.

“Particularly someone like Meg, who, fair enough, is an import and coming out from America, but it really is her first professional job. It’s going to take her time to really make an imprint on the league.”

He then took a wider look at the league and provided his own sitrep. “Look, I think the level of play overall has never been questioned in Australia. It’s always been quite higher. I think the biggest difference between this year and last year, I think last year, you can look at the calendar and say there’s a couple of easy games. Whereas this year, I just don’t think you can say that. The bottom of the league has all improved.

“Like Geelong, one of the teams outside of the playoffs looking in last year, they retooled. Shyla Heal and Alissa Pili over from the WNBA and then obviously bringing in Mackenzie Holmes who’s proving to be an absolutely fantastic player as well. When a team like that can bring in those guys it really brings the floor of the league up.”

The WNBL has always had a global respect, quality and profile. With the new CBA, it now has more financial incentive for players, attracting even more talent. It also continues to be a successful avenue towards the WNBA, with Sixth Woman of the Year Naz Hillmon and the aforementioned Burton coming off strong WNBL campaigns.

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If there are any other basketball leagues in the world tossing up between paying their players a substantial chunk more or settling for sub-mediocrity then they need look no further than the success investment has had around the world, with the WNBL serving as the most relevant case study.

As the league forges forward, early wins might be all the difference down the stretch. Teams looking to make a late push could be too late. Both of these scenarios are bound by one thing: great basketball.

The early returns on the WNBL’s new CBA are an unmitigated success.