Even though fans criticized the WNBA for not promoting the 2025 Draft, the league managed to attract strong viewership.

The 2025 WNBA Draft brought in enough viewers to become the second-most-watched draft in league history, per ESPN.  The draft averaged 1.25 million viewers and was the most viewed program across all television among the male 18-34 and 18-49 populations and the general 18-34 population.

The draft was defined by some notable highlights. The most obvious being the Dallas Wings selecting UConn's Paige Beuckers as the number one pick.

Other moments included the Seattle Storm drafting France's Dominique Malonga, known as the “female  Wembanyama”. There was also TCU's Hailey Van Lith being selected by the Chicago Sky and reuniting with her former LSU teammate Angel Reese.

This years draft comes second in viewership behind the 2024 Draft that shattered records with 2.44 million viewers. A draft that was defined by the selections of Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Cameron Brink.

All this comes at a time of tremendous interest in women's basketball. The WNBA is seeking to build off their rocket riding 2024 season that saw increased viewership and attendance.

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However, the league should do more in terms of promoting the draft better.

The WNBA Draft could use more hype 

The increased interest in the WNBA draft is a testament to the growth of the game. So the league should do more to hype up the draft.

The draft is an opportunity to tell the stories of the incoming class of players. A time to chronicle their journey to get to the stage and learn more about their hopes and dreams.

In addition to the storytelling, the WNBA should emphasize the impact of the draft just as the NBA and NFL does. They should dive more into why the selecting of a particular player will help the teams dynamics and thoroughly break down the strengths they bring and the weaknesses they can improve on.

There also needs to be more hype about the draft way in advance. Television commercials, social media posts, billboards, etc. are great avenues to generate interest, but it needs to come ahead of time.

The WNBA is in great position to continue its growth and interest in the draft is part of that growth.