RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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The WNBA will launch a centralized replay center at the start of the 2027 season, league commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced on Saturday ahead of the All-Star Game.
The quality -- or lack thereof -- of WNBA officiating has dominated discourse over the past several years, and this is a big move from the league to put more resources into addressing it.
"This is one of the most significant investments we've ever made in our basketball operations," Engelbert said. "This investment of tens of millions of dollars will help bring greater consistency, efficiency, and transparency to our officiating process while continuing to improve the quality of the game."
The NBA has had a central replay center since 2014, and the WNBA's version will be housed in the same facility in Secaucus, New Jersey. All 30 NBA arenas are connected directly to the facility, which is equipped with 94 HD monitors.
The WNBA does currently have a replay system -- coaches have up to two challenges to use per game and officials use monitors to automatically review select plays, such as shot-clock expirations, whether a 3-point shot was fully behind the line or flagrant fouls. However, the officials only have access to certain angles, as not all WNBA arenas are equipped with the same number of cameras. Also, they can only consult with the other officials working the game.
The replay center will speed up the replay process and provide additional support to the referees.
The replay center "will be directly connected to every WNBA arena, creating a seamless, high-speed replay workflow," according to the league. When a review is triggered, all of the relevant footage and angles will be transmitted "instantly" to Seacaucus, where replay personnel will identify the "most conclusive views and provide them to the officiating crew on the floor."
Some WNBA teams share home courts with their NBA counterparts and therefore play in arenas that are already equipped with all the camera angles needed for the replay center. However, many WNBA arenas will have to be upgraded accordingly during the offseason.
"We're still finalizing the operational details. There's technologies you have to implement in every arena we are in, every arena we play in," Engelbert said. "Obviously we sometimes play in different arenas, just for a few games. We're really excited about this project, the value it will bring to the game. We have a lot of people working on it behind the scenes to bring it to fruition for the start of next season."
During the 2025 WNBA playoffs, both Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve and forward Napheesa Collier put the league on blast after a controversial no-call that led to an injury for Collier. During the offseason, Engelbert announced a specialized task force to help address concerns about officiating consistency and the game's physicality. Reeve, who is part of the eight-person task force, said earlier this month that she has seen some improvements.
On Saturday, Engelbert pointed out that scoring, field goals made, field goal percentage, 3-pointers, offensive pace and offensive rating are all at an all-time high. The commissioner did, however, acknowledge that there was naturally going to be a calibration and adjustment period, which is why more fouls have been called recently. Even those numbers, though, seem to be adjusting over the past couple of weeks, Engelbert said.
"I know in officiating, we always need to be better," she said. "Our officials review tens of hundreds of hours of film. Every play and every game. Every call and non-call is reviewed. Significant non-calls are reviewed by our referee operations. We've added resources, development advisors and things like that. So we are throwing a lot at this to make sure we do have the best officials in the women's game."
While the stats might be improving, there has still been drama this season. Specifically, there has been criticism of WNBA officials for failing to protect Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark by missing calls or allowing opponents to be too physical. Last month, for example, Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas received death threats after putting her fist into Fever star Caitlin Clark's neck while scrambling for a loose ball. A foul was not called during the game, but the incident was reviewed later and Thomas was eventually given a flagrant foul 2 penalty.
The WNBA is not yet ready to introduce a Last Two Minute Report, or "L2M," the NBA's play-by-play report regarding all calls and material non-calls in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, or the last two minutes of any overtime period.
While Engelbert said she has had conversations with players about it, it has still not been officially decided one way or another because that would be "another huge allocation."
"We know it because we know what the NBA goes through," Engelbert said. "It is certainly on the list, but nothing to report on it."
"As the WNBA continues its extraordinary growth, we're committed to investing in every aspect of the game, including the technology and resources that support players, teams, and officials," said head of WNBA league operations Bethany Donaphin in a statement. "Leveraging the NBA's state-of-the-art replay center is an important step in the continued evolution of our game. It allows us to enhance the consistency and efficiency of replay reviews while embracing innovations that strengthen the competition and deliver the best possible experience for all our stakeholders."
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