Olympic gold medals are rare, but Jordan Chiles found something at Barclays Center that briefly gave hers some competition.

Chiles was courtside at a New York Liberty game when she got a hands-on look at the WNBA's Season 30 diamond chain, and her reaction quickly went viral.

"Season 30 WNBA. This goes crazy. I'm so proud of everybody. Like, this is heavier than my gold medal. Like, this goes crazy. I need one in my stash. So, the W, where is the guy with me?" Chiles said in a video shared by the WNBA on Instagram on July 3, 2026.

The Season 30 Chain, which was made by GLD to celebrate the league’s 30th anniversary, is adorned with over 5,200 hand-set stones and tips the scales in excess of 1,000 grams, making it quite a legitimate candidate as heavier than most Olympic medals. Chiles took her gold medal in the women’s gymnastics team all-around at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Chiles' viral moment came during a game that had plenty happening on the court too. The Liberty beat the Minnesota Lynx 99-86, just days after New York captured the Commissioner's Cup by defeating the Las Vegas Aces.

Breanna Stewart led the charge with 36 points, passing Angel McCoughtry for third all-time in career 30-point games. Sabrina Ionescu added 17 points, while Jonquel Jones controlled the paint with 14 points and 15 rebounds.

Between Stewart's milestone night and Chiles' jewelry-induced excitement, the Liberty gave fans plenty to talk about, both on and off the court, as the WNBA continues celebrating a season built around bigger moments and bigger stars.

The WNBA's path to this celebration has taken thirty years, so it didn't happen instantly.

Inside The WNBA's Journey To Its Golden Era

The expansion of the league was not an easy task, and several years of collective bargaining led to improvements in terms of pay, travel, and facilities, even though these factors were subpar throughout the whole history of the league until 2026. w

When the new CBA was signed, players got their first million-dollar salaries, compared to the maximum $117,500 of 2019.

Better travel and training facilities have enabled players to stay domestic rather than play abroad for more money in tough playing conditions. This change is proving to be beneficial for both the players' health and the quality of basketball being played.

Attendance speaks for itself as well. Attendance per game was an average of 9,661 in the league’s debut season and remained over 9,000 for six consecutive seasons before dropping off. With a spike of 48% in 2024 from 2023, attendance again exceeded 9,000 for the first time since the early 2000s.

So have media rights. Media rights have received a fresh contract for $2.2 billion with Disney, Amazon, and NBCUniversal to commence ‌this season and last for 11 years, besides those already held by USA Network and CBS.

Comment below about what gets you excited about the future of the WNBA for the next 30 years.

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Written by

Utsav Gupta

Edited by

Utsav Gupta