I have been known to geek out about the WNBA in general, and stats in particular, quite a bit. Its why I’ve written articles about my per 36-minute All-Stars and the WNBA’s potential three-point reckoning. As an analyst, I think it is my job to shine a light on the most intriguing stories in women’s sports, and using advanced statistics is one of the best ways I know how to do that.

That is why, when I received an email from the WNBA last week asking me to take a two-minute survey providing feedback on their Advanced Stats experience, I got more excited than any person ever should be to take a survey. I have long wished for more/better stats for women’s sports in general, and the WNBA in particular. I am hopeful that this survey is an indication that more stats are on the way that can lend an even deeper understanding to this game that we love. With that in mind, here are five WNBA stats we need for next season (whenever that is).

1. Playtype Stats

One of the things I wrote in my survey is that, at a base level, I want all the same stats for the WNBA that we have for the NBA. That isn’t to say that the NBA has all the stats we need or that I want the WNBA to simply copy the NBA, but it would be a start. There are a lot of stats I wish we had for the WNBA, but perhaps the most important, in my view, are playtype stats. I would love to know which teams run the most pick-and-roll, and who does it most efficiently. Do the Minnesota Lynx really score a ton of points on cuts, or does it just seem that way because I watched some of their best games? Which teams are still relying heavily on post-ups, and is it still effective in the modern game? These are all questions that we have to answer anecdotally, or from watching film, because we don’t have access to the playtype stats that could provide more insight.

2. Pace Stats

In the beginning of the offseason, I wrote about four potential strategies that WNBA teams could bring from the NBA. Chief among those was pressuring higher up the court on defense and pushing the pace on offense. Unfortunately, even if those things come to pass this season, we don’t currently have great stats to capture it. Pace is a fine approximation for how fast a team plays by measuring the number of possessions used per 40-minute game, but it doesn’t tell us how a team is getting there. A team may play at a fast pace because they shoot early in the shot clock, or because they push the ball in transition, or because they turn the ball over a lot. Knowing the pace is high is great for identifying which players we want to use for fantasy, but there are potentially better statistics for actually analyzing strategy. I would love to know how quickly teams get the ball over half court, or get into their first action. A team can play fast but still take a while to find a shot. That is useful to know.

3. Shot quality Stats

One of the things I have learned about myself recently is that I like it when I can use statistics to collaborate or contradict what I am seeing with my own eyes. This is true of my sports fandom as well as in my personal life. This year, I have gotten back into running and eating healthy(er), and while I haven’t seen great improvement (yet) in my running performance or on the scale, I have noticed that I have a lot more energy than when I was spending most of my free time in front of my computer.

Last year, I bought a new Garmin running watch, which has a feature they call Body Battery. I’m not sure exactly how it works, but I love that I can open my app and see that my Body Battery has been higher the last three weeks than in any of the six previous months. Rather than telling my friends or my therapist, “I have more energy,” I can say, “Look at this graph”.

That’s what I want from my WNBA stats. When I watched the Dream and Valkyries jack up threes last season, I often wondered whether or not they were actually good shots. Atlanta was second in offensive rating and three-point attempts despite finishing seventh in three-point percentage, so I guess the answer is yes, those were good shots. But I would love to know if they were actually good shots, based on who was shooting them and how open they were.

4. Potential assists

The problem with assists as a player stat is that they are dependent on the player who received the pass, making the shot. Veronica Burton finished fourth in the WNBA in assists last season, which was awfully impressive and was one of the reasons she was the 2025 WNBA Most Improved Player. I would argue Burton was even more impressive than her assists stat would indicate. The Valkyries were last in the league in field goal percentage. It stands to reason that if Golden State surrounded Burton with better shooters, she would have had more assists, but we’ll never know for certain. I would love to know how many passes per game Burton threw that directly led to a shot, and how that compares to the other assist leaders around the league. Would it turn out that Burton actually created more looks for her teammates than players with similar assist totals like Courtney Williams, Skylar Diggins, and Kelsey Plum?

5. Better Usage Stats

Usage, as currently calculated, is useful but limited. That is basically the case for all of the stats I want. They expand on the stats that are currently available. In this case, I wish that usage included shot creation. If Kelsey Plum brings the ball up the court, comes off a screen, gets into the paint and then sprays the ball to an open shooter in the corner, that play doesn’t count towards her usage. But if she makes that same exact play, and the other team steals the pass, that does count. In either case, I would argue that Plum used that possession far more than the teammate who stood in the corner for a catch-and-shoot opportunity. It is great that usage includes turnovers and free throws, but I believe a pass that leads directly to a shot should count as well.