WNBA teams resumed play just four days after the end of the Paris Olympics. For some players, this has been a difficult turnaround.
Two-time WNBA MVP and New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart spoke out about the lack of time off for the players that represented the U.S. in Paris and brought home gold for the U.S. for the eighth consecutive Olympics.
"I think that even in a non-Olympic year, you think about All-Star, it’s like, everybody needs some time after All-Star break, or it’s not a break. So trying to kind of push that into the CBA, I think would be really important," Stewart told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "Especially following the Olympics, because we’ve never had an Olympics in a 40-game season, except this season."
Fellow two-time WNBA MVP and Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson, who won Olympics MVP in Paris, said the lack of time off after the Olympics could lead the players to bring the issue "to the table."
"I think if it is a chance for us to go to the table and say, ‘Hey, we should get more rest time,’ even if it’s... just a couple of days. It’s crazy to see players play fresh off of a plane in a sense. So yeah, I don’t mind asking for that," Wilson told The Associated Press.
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Wilson's comments come just months prior to a potential contract negotiation between the league and the player's union.
The league's collective bargaining agreement is set to run through the end of the 2027 season. However, there is an option for the union to opt out this year if they give written notice before the end of November. Wilson and Stewart are major figures in the league's union, the WNBPA.
WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson told reporters during a red carpet walk at The Sports Emmy's on May 21 that the players decided to opt out in pursuit of a new contract this offseason is possible. Her comments came amid questions of the league's handling of a universal charter flight program for all teams that began this year.
"It's up to the players," Jackson said. "There's an opportunity to opt out of this current CBA, let's see what the players decide."
The charter flight rollout was heavily criticized by players, including Stewart, Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese and Phoenix Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham, as some teams did not have access to the flights while others did in the early part of the season.
"I recognize that the league was kind of scrambling to get this in place for the start of the season," Jackson said. "Their decision-making came together kind of late in the process as I understand.
"(The league) is working as hard as they can to roll it out for everybody, so there's some bumps and there's some hiccups," Jackson said.
Now, months later, Wilson has indicated that the players may already have new demands in mind if they do end up at a negotiating table.
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For Wilson, who is 28 now and will be 32 in 2028 when the Olympics comes to Los Angeles, that extra time off is a priority.
"I definitely needed some time to decompress. Playing USAB (is) a whole other thought and mind process that you might not necessarily have to exert that much energy when you play with your respective team," Wilson said. "So definitely needed just a couple of days just to kind of decompress, whether that’s just get back into the flow of things, or just get my feet underneath me, because that was a long time away with a lot of just back and forth."
The WNBA paused play in mid-July for the All-Star break on July 18 and extended its intermission this year for the Paris Olympics all the way until Aug. 14. But for the 12 American players and 19 other WNBA pros who represented other countries in Paris, and especially for the 12 players among those who also played in the All-Star game, it was anything but time off.
For a handful of U.S. players who were on both in All-Star game, at the USA basketball showcase and played in every single game in Paris, that was a total of eight games played within those weeks off. Those games were accompanied with long-distance travel to Phoenix, Arizona; London, England; Paris, France, and then back to the U.S. with just a few days, if any for some teams, to suit up for the resumption of the regular season.
The WNBA's TV ratings and attendance levels are at all-time highs this year, it announced in a June press release. The players would have more leverage than they ever have.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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