The WNBA has seen several players set new records this season. But one analyst believes that the pursuit of record-breaking stats is what is ruining the WNBA. Analyst Jason Whitlock recently tagged a fan comment that pointed out the same.

The post noted that several players had standout seasons in the W this time, including Indiana Fever guards Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell, who recorded career games with the greatest number of points scored, both individually and together.

Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles also broke records for 3-pointers and assists set by Clark. In his X post, Whitlock blamed the league for it.

“This is true. The entire WNBA, including CC & KM, chase stats. No league in history has been more stat-centric than the W. I don't blame the players. Social media demands new stats/records on a daily.  The first to reach this combination, the first to do this, blah, blah…” Whitlock wrote on X on August 31.

The post that led Whitlock to make this statement also pointed out that once a player was done winning records, their drive to play plateaued.

It noted that Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas no longer focused her energy on shooting and was mainly trying to increase her assist counts.

“Alyssa Thomas stopped shooting and is just out here chasing assists now. Olivia Miles getting 0 assists while her team loses and she's shooting more than anyone else on her team bcuz she's chasing a rookie scoring record,” the X post pointed out.

Whitlock suggested the WNBA’s recent obsession with statistics was interfering with the integrity of the sport.

Since fans and analysts seemed to care more about points scored and records broken, players were also more interested in individual achievements, even if it came at the expense of the team losing.

This is not the first time Whitlock has criticized the WNBA's priorities. In his podcast, Whitlock explained exactly why the league gave so much importance to stats. 

Whitlock continues to blast the WNBA’s money making scheme

Recently, Whitlock discussed why the WNBA is so obsessed on his podcast, Fearless with Jason Whitlock. On the August 31 episode of the Fearless podcast, he pointed out that the focus on stats was a business decision by the league.

“If I want to make the most money, I should come on and pretend like only points and assists are the only stats that matter,” Whitlock said. “And in 1982, that was true. Points, assists, and rebounds. And but in this era of analytics and these advanced stats, everybody knows that's not true. There's a deeper way to look at these...”

The analyst explained that this stat-based system had given rise to the concept of ‘points created’, which completely disregarded the other aspects of a player’s performance and skill that coaches take into account. 

But what it did account for was exposure on social media, via podcasters and content creators.

“Social media in this era actually financially rewards,” Whitlock added. “It's it's just money making. It's capitalism.”

Whitlock explained that social media allowed casual fans to use stats and ‘points created’ to oversimplify player comparisons, and generate more traction online, which in turn creates more revenue.

So, the league was benefiting by reducing a player's impact and achievements down to a count of their scores in a game or season, according to Whitlock.

Written by

Arundhoti Palit

Edited by

Arundhoti Palit