Everyone who likes to watch a bit of basketball is familiar with the NBA, where the top athletes go to try out for the best teams in the world, gain as much money as possible and compete against the best for a title which is very highly regarded in the basketball world. The only competition which comes close is the quadriannual FIBA World Cup.
Then, the WNBA is also there, another league in the United States, or rather, the top tier professional basketball league for women. The existence of this league is not known to many, outside the fans of basketball and punters. Yes, punters love leagues which are not as popular as the main-trending ones, because they get to earn more money. They earn more money through bookmakers not being familiar with the leagues enough, thus making favorable quotas, at least for the bettors. Online bookmakers help with this a lot, but they are a feast or famine bunch, some sites being awesome, some being really bad. Bet and play with Genting if you want to get a good online experience, especially with the WNBA.
Speaking of which, what should a person know about the WNBA should they want to bet, or even watch it? Here are the details regarding the Women’s National Basketball Association.
The WNBA Formation and Early Years
In 1997, the WNBA came to be, playing the first match on June 21st. The league was formed in 1996, however the first match was actually played in 1997. Following a very successful run of the US Basketball Women’s National Team at the Olympic Games in 1996, earning a gold medal, the WNBA was expected to become highly popular. After its first match, however, the response was not as anticipated.
There were 8 teams in the first version of the WNBA, the Utah Starzz, Sacramento Monarchs, Los Angeles Sparks and Phoenix Mercury for the Western Conference. The Eastern Conference was made of the Houston Comets, Cleveland Rockers, New York Liberty and Charlotte Stings.
The Current Teams and Format
Today, 12 teams exist in the league, 6 for each conference. The Eastern Conference has the Atlanta Dream, Chicago Sky, Indiana Fever, Washington Mystics, New York Liberty and Connecticut Sun. The Western Conference still has the Los Angeles Sparks and Phoenix Mercury, but among them also the Las Vegas Aces, Seattle Storm, Dallas Wings and the Minnesota Lynx. The Lynx are tied with the Comets with 4 championship titles each.
The format is similar to that of the NBA. Each team plays a single team from their conference 4 times and the other teams from their conference 3 times each. That amounts to 16 games. Then they play the teams from the other conferences 3 times each, amounting to 18 games. In total, each team plays 34 games, half of that on their home turf, the other half away.
The playoffs being after the regular season, with the top eight teams qualifying for playoffs. The 5th and 8th team play one versus another and the 6th and 7th, in the first round. The matches are single elimination. The 3rd and 4th team wait in the second round, or quarter-finals, while the 1st and 2nd team get a bye into the semi-finals.
The WNBA is every bit as fun as the NBA, so if you like basketball, you shouldn’t miss out on these annual matches.
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