WNBA Celebrates 30th Anniversary Season With Image Spots, Retrospectives and Merch

Sheryl Swoopes was one of the WNBA‘s first superstar players in its inaugural season in 1997. Thirty years later, Swoopes is helping the league celebrate its pearl anniversary by starring in an image spot dubbed “Raising GOATs.”

The league unveiled the image spot to promote the regular season tipoff on May 8. “Raising GOATs,” which debuts today on the league’s online platforms, features Swoopes surrounded by, yes, goats as the camera zooms in on her very determined game-on face. She picks up one of the animals and declares “Goats aren’t just born, they’re raised.”

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The spot is part of a larger campaign to mark the 30 years since the NBA became the first major U.S. sports league to launch a women’s franchise. “There’s More Where 30 Came From” is an elaborate effort to remind fans and the public of the league’s staying power and to add to the momentum that the WNBA has enjoyed in recent years amid the broader surge of interest in women’s sports.

“Season 30 arrives at the perfect transformational moment in our league’s history – marking both a defining milestone and the beginning of a new era for the WNBA,” said WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “The unprecedented growth and momentum we’re experiencing today is the result of three decades of commitment – from players, teams, fans, partners, and investors. As we step into this next dynamic era together, Season 30 is tracking to be our most memorable yet – celebrating both how far we’ve come while highlighting the limitless opportunities ahead as we continue to elevate women’s basketball to new heights.”

The goal is to connect the WNBA’s past to its bright future. As Swoopes states in the closing of “Raising GOATs,” “That all time part with the greatest of all time? It includes the future.”

The WNBA’s Court Origins Nights will feature nationally televised games involving three of the league’s original teams – the New York Liberty, Los Angeles Sparks and Phoenix Mercury — that will “turn back the clock” to 1997. There’s also a plan for “WNBA Top 30 Plays” special highlighting 30 great moments from history that will be available on the WNBA app and social platforms. On the merch front, new items will be released on the 30th day of each month during the season, which runs from May to September.

“As we tip off our historic 30th season, we’re bringing fans closer to the WNBA than ever before through bold, creative, and immersive storytelling,” said Phil Cook, WNBA chief marketing officer. “We’re building a season-long platform of activations, collaborations, and fan-first experiences designed to engage the WNBA family wherever they are. Season 30 will be our most ambitious and innovative marketing campaign ever – one that matches the current momentum of the WNBA.”

The “Raising GOATs” spot was produced with the creative agency Lucky Generals. The goal was to shine a spotlight on the players that built the league’s fandom. Swoopes played guard and forward for the Houston Comets, which surprised prognosticators by topping the Los Angeles Sparks and New York Liberty to win the first four WNBA championship titles. Swoopes was part of a pillar formidable squad that included WNBA legends Tina Thompson and Cynthia Cooper.

For Candice Drakeford, the WNBA’s creative director, the image spots are an opportunity to pay tribute and demonstrate that the league was built on the back of trailblazers like Swoopes. Two more spots will be released. The second is dubbed “Signatures,” which will highlight active WNBA All-Star players. “Confetti” will come later in the season and highlight the quest for a championship trophy.

“We talked a lot about the responsibility of really telling the story. Not only just the story of the last 30 years, but also the current players and the people that are coming in,” Drakeford told Variety. “So for us, it was really important to make sure we were threading that needle across this campaign, to make sure we’re building that excitement for the players that are coming in the upcoming season. That was something that we we took a lot of pride in making sure we got right.”

Erynn Hughes, the WNBA marketing executive who is overseeing the spots, said it’s important to let younger generations know how much work it has taken to keep the WNBA afloat.

“Not only is this great moment to look back and reflect on all that we’ve accomplished in the last 30 years, but it’s also a really good moment to look ahead. As marketers this is something we are incredibly bullish on — to continue to talk about so much more new growth, new talent, new fans joining us,” Hughes told Variety. “We have a really great quote that sums it it all, which is that 30 is the age where your soul catches up with your ambition. That’s what we’ve been continuing to tell ourselves, to remind ourselves and ground us in the true impact of what this work can do.”

(Pictured: Sheryl Swoopes speaks at the 2025 Sportico RISE: Women’s Sports event in New York)