Thirty seasons after the WNBA’s first-ever game, ESPN is bringing together three women who experienced it firsthand. Airing during WNBA Countdown Presented by Google Pixel on June 21, a special feature reunites Lisa Leslie, Rebecca Lobo and Hannah Storm to reflect on the league’s historic beginnings.
Producers Olivia Powers and Laura Ramirez discuss the collaboration, storytelling and memorable moments behind the project.
How did the idea for bringing together Lisa Leslie, Rebecca Lobo and Hannah Storm come about?
Olivia: The 30th WNBA season is momentous for the league, so we wanted to make our content special – and knowing we had the anniversary of the inaugural game on our air, this game had to be even more elevated.
Rebecca mentioned that she had never re-watched that first game in its entirety, sparking the idea of: “How great would it be to create the opportunity to do that and to share the moment with Lisa?”
Laura: On the feature side, I knew getting Lisa and Rebecca was going to be key. When you think of Sparks/Liberty from that inaugural game you think of those two women for sure. Then, adding Hannah to the mix just made perfect sense — we knew she added another perspective to that day as she was on the call. We also knew the chemistry of these three sharing their memories of that day would create something special.
This project brought together ESPN’s Features and Creative Content Unit teams. How did that collaboration shape the final product?
Olivia: Laura and I have been on the WNBA project in various ways for close to 8 years. It just made sense to join forces on such an important project. It’s been a seamless collaboration among our teams — the challenge was diversifying content within the tease segment sit-down of Rebecca and Lisa, and then for the feature adding Hannah’s voice and perspective. Laura has been an outstanding partner in this project and I really value working so closely with another woman in the creative space.
Laura: Collaborating only made the end product stronger for each of us and our teams. Both sides brought ideas to the table in regard to content, set design, and production that you will see in the finished products so it’s just a good example of how cross-collaboration really enhances the finished product.
What was it like watching Lisa Leslie and Rebecca Lobo revisit footage and memories from 30 years ago?
Laura: They certainly seemed to have fun watching it, although Lisa mentioned “she gets nervous when we bring out old school video.” With the relationship and bond these women have had throughout their careers and in retirement, it wasn’t surprising they enjoyed walking down memory lane with us. It was interesting to hear Lisa discuss some sentiments from that day and why she gets a little sad when she thinks back on that inaugural game. You’ll have to catch the full feature to hear why!
Was there a moment during production when you realized this project was going to be something special?
Olivia: The first moment we brought them to set is what will stick with me. We sequestered them pre-shoot so we could capture an organic meeting on set — which you see in our content. It was a moment of joy. As a producer, you can’t ask for a better way to start a piece than a genuine reunion of your subjects, but as a fan of the game, the significance of that moment gave me goosebumps.
Laura: For me it’s always when you hear things in real time during the filming process that you get excited about or say to yourself “oh that’s a great soundbite,” and I felt like I said that to myself multiple times during filming. Like Liv said, these women are all pioneers, so hearing their stories about that first game and showing their pride and appreciation for how far the league has come was really special.
