WNBA season tips off with question mark that could become exclamation point

Nneka Ogwumike parsed through epidemiologist research, league proposals and player feedback. “With how the world has been,” the Sparks All-Star forward and players’ union president said, “what are we really sure of anymore?” With all 12 WNBA teams quarantined in Bradenton, Fla., this season’s uncertainty makes it harder than any other as games begin Saturday. The threat of one health slip that can pop the fragile bubble around IMG Academy hangs over the league every day, even though the process got off to a strong start; only two players tested positive for the coronavirus since teams arrived in Florida and both occurred during the initial quarantine period, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. Amid layoffs that have disproportionately affected women during the pandemic — women’s unemployment went from 0.1 percentage point lower than men’s in January 2020 to 2.7 percentage points higher in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Ogwumike celebrated that WNBA players would be guaranteed 100% of their salaries this season. Health concerns dampened the Las Vegas Aces’ high preseason expectations with center Liz Cambage, the league’s leading scorer in 2018, receiving a medical exemption, and point guard Kelsey Plum, a former No.