The WNBA Finals Are Playing A Championship Game Thursday Afternoon

There are only so many ways to tell the WNBA you don’t take its audience seriously, and apparently one is scheduling a potential championship-clinching game for 12:30 p.m. on a Thursday.

Yes, you read that correctly. Not Thursday night. Not Thursday evening. Thursday at lunchtime, when millions of people are sitting in offices, working from home, pretending to pay attention on Zoom calls, or trying to squeeze a sandwich into a 30-minute lunch break.

And these are the people we expect to tune in to Game 6 of the WNBA Finals between the Atlanta Dream and the Golden State Valkyries? The same people who have spent years arguing that women’s basketball deserves the same respect, attention, and investment as the men’s game?

Make it make sense.

After a weekend of frantic discussions and scheduling negotiations, the WNBA announced that Game 6 would tip off at 12:30 p.m. ET Thursday at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena. The Valkyries lead the series 3-2, meaning a win could give Golden State its first championship. Atlanta, meanwhile, needs to win to force a decisive Game 7 on Saturday in San Francisco.

This is a championship. The stakes are enormous. The players have spent an entire season working toward this moment. And the league is asking fans to watch it while they’re supposed to be working.

Cathy Engelbert Praised The Collaboration Between The WNBA & NBA

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert praised the collaboration among the league, the NBA, the Hawks, the Dream, the Valkyries, and broadcast partners that made the scheduling change possible. She also celebrated the opportunity to get thousands more fans into State Farm Arena, ESPN reports.

That’s great. And we understand the logistical headache. The Hawks play the Cleveland Cavaliers Thursday night, both teams play Wednesday, and the league wanted to save Saturday for a potential Game 7. All three Finals games in Atlanta have required scheduling adjustments, and moving Game 6 earlier avoids the possibility of playing a championship game in the Dream’s much smaller 3,500-seat arena.

But somewhere in all those negotiations, somebody should have asked a painfully obvious question: What about the millions of people who actually want to watch this game but have jobs?

Dream coach Karl Smesko acknowledged the problem himself, saying he hoped as many people as possible would watch but recognizing that the time would make it unrealistic for some fans.

Translation: We know this is inconvenient. Good luck, everybody.

Despite The Disrespect, It Will Be Business As Usual For Both Teams

Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase expressed confidence that her team’s devoted fans would find a way to watch on their phones. Angel Reese and Allisha Gray similarly brushed off the early start, with Gray saying she would be ready to play whether tipoff was at 8 a.m., 10 p.m., or midnight.

And that’s exactly what you would expect from professional athletes competing for a championship. They’ll show up and play. The question is why fans should have to jump through hoops to watch them.

As expected, social media isn’t thrilled that the WNBA Finals are being treated like the ugly stepchild of sports; you can see those reactions below.