The WNBA is the top professional basketball league for women in the United States — the women's league that matches the NBA, the famous men's one. It started in 1996 and played its first season in 1997, and the W in front is simply Women's. You say the four letters: W-N-B-A.

The WNBA is the top professional basketball league for women in the United StatesWNBA是美國最高層級的女子職業籃球聯盟——the women's league that matches the NBA, the famous men's one對應那個有名的男子聯盟NBA的女子版。It started in 1996 and played its first season in 1997它1996年成立，1997年打了第一季，and the W in front is simply Women's前面那個W就是Women's的意思。You say the four letters你要唸這四個字母：W-N-B-A。

In speech, American fans often shorten it further and just say "the W", which is friendly and a bit insider-ish. Strictly speaking, the WNBA is the organization that runs the league, so you can talk about a WNBA rule or a WNBA decision as well as a WNBA game or a WNBA player.

In speech在口語裡，American fans often shorten it further and just say "the W"美國球迷常常再縮短，直接說「the W」，which is friendly and a bit insider-ish這樣講很親切，也有點內行人的感覺。Strictly speaking嚴格來說，the WNBA is the organization that runs the leagueWNBA指的是經營這個聯盟的組織，so you can talk about a WNBA rule or a WNBA decision所以你可以說a WNBA rule或a WNBA decision，as well as a WNBA game or a WNBA player也可以說a WNBA game或a WNBA player。

Note the small grammar point that trips learners: you almost always say the WNBA, with the, exactly like the NBA and the BBC. A couple of things that make the word useful in real reading: the league plays in summer, opposite the NBA's winter season, and its players' pay and its TV coverage are a constant news topic, so WNBA turns up in articles about money and fairness in sport at least as often as in articles about games.

Note注意 the small grammar point that trips learners讓學習者容易犯錯的小文法點：you almost always say the WNBA, with the你幾乎都要說the WNBA，加the，exactly like the NBA and the BBC就跟the NBA、the BBC一樣。A couple of things that make the word useful in real reading有幾件事讓這個字在實際閱讀裡很有用：the league plays in summer, opposite the NBA's winter season這個聯盟在夏天打球，跟NBA的冬季賽季相反，and its players' pay and its TV coverage are a constant news topic而且球員薪資和轉播一直是新聞話題，so WNBA turns up in articles about money and fairness in sport at least as often as in articles about games所以WNBA出現在談運動裡金錢和公平的文章裡，至少跟出現在賽事報導裡一樣頻繁。