Yesterday, the WNBA announced that partner CarMax activated its Tip-Off Test Drive promotion once again, meaning fans can catch the beginning of the season on WNBA League Pass for free. Sponsoring exclusive, free content is a fantastic way to rev up positive brand association, which is especially key in a space where consumers reward their favorite sponsors.

With the WNBA season tipping off tomorrow, we’re seeing an increase in aspirational companies choosing to partner with the W. And according to the latest data insights from Sports Innovation Lab (SIL), there’s a reason why brands like Fenty Beauty are choosing the WNBA, especially teams like the NY Liberty and Golden State Valkyries.

While the remaining NBA playoff teams are locked in second-round battles, the league’s worst squads are eyeing the ping pong balls that’ll decide their draft fate. That’s right, in addition to the high-stakes hoopla, tonight’s the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes NBA Draft Lottery at 7 p.m. ET. In the meantime, here’s the latest from a wild weekend on the hardwood.

On Wednesday, the NY Liberty announced a partnership with Rihanna’s billion-dollar Fenty Beauty empire. The collab is the latest example of a popular, celeb-driven brand carefully curating its sports sponsorships, namely by working with teams and athletes that have prestige and influence.

Think your bestie’s bachelorette was chaotic? Try the NBA Playoffs. For the first time in league history, two 60-win teams are down 0-2 in the second round — an unprecedented double whammy that has us questioning everything.

Turns out home is where the heartbreak is after all four second-round hosts lost their respective Game 1s for the first time in NBA history.

Before digging into the high-stakes hoopla, it’s only apt that we give San Antonio Spurs coaching legend Gregg “Pop” Popovich his flowers after the icon announced on Friday that he was stepping down as the team’s head coach after 29 years.

WNBA ticket demand is at an all-time high: This year’s All-Star Game sold out within a day, and according to ticket sales platform StubHub, the W is much more popular this season. At a time when the industry needs to know where W fans are showing up, here’s more insight from StubHub’s data as we approach May 16th’s season tipoff.

Like your friends in their late twenties, NBA teams are on very different trajectories: Some are preparing for the start of the second round, others are still locked in a tightly-contested first-round series, and a few more are catching flights to Cancun. Let’s dig in.

Yesterday, the WNBA made history (again) by announcing that all games in its expanded preseason slate will be broadcast or streamed this year. The move comes as the W continues to monetize its product, and with this whole new chunk of games, brands can reach WNBA superfans like never before.

Despite what the now-eliminated Miami Heat would have you believe, it’s not nearly quitting time — the postseason NBA fun has only just begun as the feisty first-round matchups continue. Nothing but net (and drama).

It’s only been a few weeks since Paige Bueckers was drafted to the WNBA’s Dallas Wings, but the entire ecosystem is already benefiting from the “Bueckers Effect.”