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WNBA FINALS: SPARKS VS LYNX

September 24, 2017

Lisa Borders

Minneapolis, Minnesota

LISA BORDERS: Let me start with a few thank-you's. We've had an extraordinary season and we have moved into an even more exciting postseason. Let me first and foremost thank our players because they are the ones that entertain us every day. They are the ones that go the gym and make sure that their bodies are in elite shape, and they deliver every time we watch them play. So let me thank them.

But certainly I want to thank the teams, the coaches, the staff, the business folks, and most importantly I want to thank our fans. We love this league. We love this game. It's a global game. But without our fans, you don't need a league. Our owners are certainly to be commended, as well, because they invest in the league and in our players and in this game every day. So let me just start there. And last but not least, I want to thank you all, the media who cover us and help bring our message not only to the local markets but to the world at large, and we appreciate that very much.

So I want to talk about three things today, if that's okay with you guys. Is that okay? It should be okay because you know I'm going to do it anyway. So I want to talk about our people first, and then I want to talk about our product, and then I want to talk about the playoffs and then we'll open the floor for your questions.

I want to start with the players. They are first among equals in terms of our constituency group. We saw some remarkable basketball this year but we saw many records shattered. Let me start with [Phoenix Mercury guard] Diana Taurasi and the scoring record. We all know she passed Tina Thompson. That record stood for quite some time but Diana has now shattered it.

[Seattle Storm guard] Sue Bird, of course, shattered the assist record. She also tied Tamika Catchings for the all-time All-Star selection record. So that is exciting in and of itself.

But we had some new folks that we were watching. You could look to [Connecticut Sun forward] Jonquel Jones, who pulled down more rebounds and more defensive boards than anybody else. She, of course, plays for the Connecticut Sun; or [Chicago Sky guard] Courtney Vandersloot, who actually tied the record for assists per season. We were all excited about that.

[Seattle Storm forward] Breanna Stewart tied the record for 12 games with 20-or-more points, and of course, [Washington Mystics forward] Elena Delle Donne tied the mark for consecutive free throws. Those are exciting statistics, and it just demonstrates just how amazing our athletes are on a regular basis.

We also had athletes transfer from the court off the court. We had Tamika Catchings and Swin Cash retire, as you know, and move to the front office, along with Erin Phillips and Penny Taylor.

So these young women, who all come to us with a college degree or the equivalent from the international markets, have made their mark on the hardwood and now they have moved to the corporate setting. So we are very, very proud of them.

Those high marks translate very well to the business. The product on the floor really drives how well the business does. So let's talk about that a little bit for 2017.

So for the sixth year, we had the highest attendance in six years this year. Very grateful to our fans for coming out to see us on a regular basis.

Social media continues to be our friend. So whether you are looking at the number of likes that we've got, from 14 million, which is up 15 percent from last year when it was at 12 million; whether you look at video views, which are 140 million this year, which was up 233 percent; or the impressions at 680 million, which is significantly up, as well.

All of those things, including merchandise sales, which were up 18 percent; you all might have read that Elena Delle Donne had the best-selling jersey. The Minnesota Lynx had the best-selling team merchandise. Exciting times for the W. We are a young, growing league. We are 21 years old this year and we have all the markings and trappings of a growing and healthy business.

That's exciting for us and it's exciting hopefully for you, as well. So that brings me to the playoff format and the playoffs that we're going to start today with The Finals. Think about this.

This is the second year we've had this unique playoff format, and once again, we are going to see the two best teams in the league. Minnesota had the best record at 27-7. The L.A. Sparks had the second-best record at 26-8.

So any way you cut it, whether you just look at the team records or you look at individual statistics, these are some of the best performances that we could imagine.

At a team level, this will only be the second time that we have had two teams face each other back-to-back. The first time that happened was Houston and New York in 1999 and 2000.

Also, L.A. is looking to do this back-to-back, and they have not done it since they did it before in 2001 and 2002, and clearly Minnesota, if they take the Championship, would win their fourth championship in six years. That had not been done since the Comets, if I'm not mistaken.

So if you look at the individual team members, we will have four regular-season MVP's playing: Minnesota boasts Sylvia Fowles just this year; last year it was Los Angeles's Nneka Ogwumike; in 2014 it was Maya Moore; and in 2013 it was Candace Parker. So you can see these two teams have been showing up and showing out with their players, as well.

MVPs even more The Finals, you could say there are four of those, as well: Seimone Augustus was in 2011; Maya Moore in 2013; Sylvia Fowles in 2015; and of course, Candace Parker in 2016.

Let's move from the players to the coaches. You've got two of the best coaches ever. Each of them have been Coach of the Year. Cheryl Reeve has done it twice. Brian Agler has been a coach not only here in L.A., but also in Seattle and held two titles, or holds two titles. So that's remarkable in and of itself. Cheryl, of course, has led the Lynx to three championships in six years.

So I would invite you to look at these two teams, the playoff format that we have brought to you. It's exciting but the results in and of themselves demonstrate just how good these athletes are and how good our teams are.

Let me transition for just a second to everything that's going on beyond the hardwood. We all have watched television today and our social media feeds, and we know this is an interesting time in our country.

Let me just say that our commissioner, my colleague and my friend, Adam Silver, put out a statement yesterday, and I want you all to know and everyone watching to know that I personally, the [WNBA], all of us stand in full support with Adam, our big brother, the NBA and our entire enterprise.

So we want you all to understand that we are not insensitive to what's going on around us. In fact, our players are some of the most socially conscious that you will ever find. You all have seen that in the years before I got here, and I'm sure it will continue in the future.

A point of personal privilege here. This is a very difficult time for all of us but I want to say, as a daughter of the South and someone who grew up during the civil rights era and who benefits every day, as we all do, from the work that was done then; we still have more work to do. America is a democracy, but this is an experiment that has worked better than anywhere else in the world, but it is an experiment, and we work to perfect the union every day.

So we want to be part of a constructive dialogue. Our players have been working in their communities, not just this year or last year. This has been an ongoing effort by the WNBA since its inception. So our players, I am sure, will continue this, as will I and all of us that are working at the league.

With that, let me stop and turn it to the audience for questions.

Q. If I could follow up on that. Last year when some of the players initially wore the shirts, there was a fine, you all rescinded it. I know you had a lot of dialogue with the players. The players I've talked to said they feel like the league has done a really nice job being in support with them. Can you walk us through that whole process of where you guys were last July to where you are now with that situation?
LISA BORDERS: Sure. I think first and foremost, thank you, Mechelle, for the question and for being here.

Last year was my first year and it was an interesting year in and of itself. We had terrific business results but we had things happen that had never happened in our league or in any other league. And I think it was a time for us to stop and reflect on what our rules were, whether it was about uniforms or anything else, and give it a really hard look.

And that impetus actually came from the outside; as you know, the issues around violence and communities who felt disenfranchised. So that conversation started external to the WNBA, but was very quickly internalized with our players and with our staff at the league.

So the initial response, Mechelle, was almost automatic. If you wear the wrong shirt, if you wear the wrong socks, you automatically get a fine.

What we had to do was stop, take a breath, step back and evaluate exactly what was going on in the context of what was going on across the country. Those conversations were very fruitful. They were very productive and constructive.

Our players have been very open, not only then but they continue today. We talk to them regularly but I think the conversations are more intense, and I think they are more insightful.

You know, as a little girl, I was taught you have two ears and one mouth for a reason. You should listen twice as much as you talk. So that was the perfect manifestation of that teaching, and I continue along with the rest of the folks at the league to do just that; listen twice as much as we talk.

Q. If a player or a group of players or a team from that wins a championship refuses to the to go White House or if they get invited to the White House and refuse that, will you support that wholeheartedly?
LISA BORDERS: So, Charles, thank you for being here, too. You know I hate hypotheticals. You know I hate that, Charles.

Here is what I would tell you: We support our players and their right to express themselves freely and fully. That's guaranteed by the Constitution. So us supporting it is just the right thing to do, but that's who we are. This is the culture that we have created; one that is inclusive and enjoys spirited debate and perspective from every point of view.

I would say the players will decide as an organization, as they always do, at the franchise level, whether they will go or whether they will not go and we will support our players.

Q. Do you view the Lynx as a model for WNBA franchises, not only the community involvement but the ownership involvement here? Not saying that 11 other franchises can exactly duplicate the culture that's been created here, but do you feel like if other teams are able to take the best aspects of what Minnesota has done here, it could raise the league to an even higher level?
LISA BORDERS: Thanks, Seth, for that question.

Minnesota is undoubtedly one of our best franchises on and off the court but I would tell you, there are many attributes of many of the other teams that you may not be aware of. So I think there are probably pieces of every team that we could take and roll it up into the perfect team.

So have they done some fantastic things in Minnesota? Absolutely. But the same can be said of Connecticut or L.A. or Washington or Chicago. So I don't want to isolate one group out and say they are the very best.

I think we'd have to take a study of all of them and say, what are the attributes of the best team and you'd have to decide what you're going to measure before you could say, "this is the best."

Q. A lot of fans throughout the league have been frustrated at the lack of availability of merchandise in stores like Walmart or Target. I was wondering if the league was going to address this, or what plans they have to expand on the merchandising to be able to get WNBA-related stuff to the fans who want to buy it the most.
LISA BORDERS: Sure. Thank you for that question. As I mentioned, merchandise sales are up 18 percent, so that says there's a demand, right? There's a demand for it. And as we have the privilege of being broadcast on networks like ABC, part of the ESPN and Disney family, we know that that's only going to increase the exciting basketball and folks want to wear those jerseys. The short answer is yes. I don't know a time frame. Do you know somebody at Walmart that I might call?

I'm happy to make a call and go see anybody, anywhere, any time. When we look at viewership being up seven percent, and ratings being up 16 percent on ESPN2, we know that people are paying attention. We're grateful to our broadcast partner.

ESPN, as you know, has been with us since the beginning. So the short answer is yes. Retail numbers are up. The merchandising is flying off the shelves; the merchandise that we have, but we need to have more.

I also hear we need to have greater variety, and people are telling me we need it for babies and pets. So I got it. I got the memo. Thank you for that.

Q. What do you think of the Williams Arena and the University of Minnesota community, just in general for a WNBA Finals?
LISA BORDERS: It's awesome. First and foremost, hats off to Glen Taylor, the owner of the Minnesota Lynx and Timberwolves, putting air conditioning up in here. It's almost like a meat locker; it's so cold.

But when these fans get in here and we know there's going to be a ton of them; we are in Minnesota and we are in Game 1 of The Finals, everyone is going to be very comfortable.

So being able to support a local school -- this school is where Lindsay Whalen graduated. She's a native daughter, right. Lindsay is the winningest WNBA player in history. She's remarkable. This is her school. But it's a school that is local to the Minnesota Lynx market.

So we are thrilled to be here. It's an interesting arena. It has a raised floor. There are not many of those left in the country. The players like it just fine. It doesn't matter what I think. It matters what the players think, and they are comfortable playing here. So that's a thumb's up.

Q. What about the playoff format at this point? We've had two years now of the single elimination. I think there's some good, but if you're the team that is single eliminated, there are some concerns about it. What do you think moving forward the dialogue will be about that?
LISA BORDERS: That's a great question, Mechelle, so thank you for it.

Just to remind everyone, we started this format last year, and the first two rounds are single-elimination, and the semifinal round and the final round are best-of-five.

So we have gotten some good data from last year, Mechelle. We will collect the data from this year, how the business performed; how many fans turned out. We'll do that evaluation again and decide. I'm sure we will keep it, but your question is a good one about may we tweak it a little bit in that second round or the third round. We don't know yet.

We want to look at all the data and make an informed decision, but what we do understand is that the fans love it. When you look at the ratings, when you look at the viewership, when you look at the attendance, this attendance has been off the chart for this postseason and now headed into The Finals.

So we want to keep that momentum going, but if we can perfect it just a little bit more, we absolutely will. So right after the season, we will take a look at that, our basketball operations folks will tell us how things went, ESPN will report in, everybody will weigh in on how well they think it went and what we could do to make it even better.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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