Is it a ‘bully-ball’ problem or just ‘Jordan Rules’? WNBA gets physical

The WNBA, in its 29th season, has never been more popular. But as the league grows, the style of play is also changing — and not always for the better. Some believe the “W” is devolving into “bully-ball,” but it could be that these ladies are taking a page out of the Detroit Pistons playbook.

How is the WNBA’s style of play changing?

The best women’s basketball players in the world are dealing with a physicality that wasn’t present a few years ago. Coaches and players believe something needs to be done about it, and they’re pointing their fingers at the referees.

It’s not a coincidence that the biggest superstar in the league, Caitlin Clark, is at the center of a lot of the extracurriculars. The latest incident went down during the Tuesday, June 17, game between the Connecticut Sun and the Indiana Fever. Clark was poked in the eye by a defender, and in the ensuing scuffle, she was knocked to the floor by Sun center Marina Mabrey.

Later in the game, perhaps in retaliation, Fever guard Sophie Cunningham committed a hard foul on Sun guard Jacy Sheldon during a breakaway. Cunningham was ejected. The pushing and shoving also led to the ejections of Sheldon and her teammate, Lindsay Allen. The teams could feel the trouble brewing all night. 

“This is what happens,” Fever coach Stephanie White said. “You’ve got competitive women, who are the best in the world at what they do, right? And when you allow them to play physical, and you allow these things to happen, they’re going to compete and they’re going to have their teammates’ backs.”

Who is getting the blame for the rough stuff?

The late-game dustup is the culmination of chippiness, physical play and heightened tensions that seem to be happening around the league. That particular game featured six technicals and two flagrant fouls, which included fines for the players. White did not hold back when asked if it was just about Clark. 

“Well, I’ve seen quite a few dustups in the league so far, so I think it’s a league-wide problem,” White said. “Bad officiating is bad officiating.”

Clark, however, was at the center of a confrontation in the season opener with her rival, Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky. The hard foul that Reese called a “basketball play” made headlines. As the saying goes, “Any publicity is good publicity,” but head coach Becky Hammon of the Las Vegas Aces believes it’s gone too far, and the referees need to take back control of the game. 

“I think it’s something that people really have to start looking at, because people are dropping like flies with concussions, and it’s not just our team,” Hammon said. “The other night, A’ja [Wilson] gets hit, but also Chelsea [Gray] got hit in the face. Jewell [Loyd’s] been hit in the face. Jewell has a broken nose. Like, there’s multiple things going on.”

Is there a precedent for how the WNBA has evolved?

The fact that coaches aren’t being fined for criticizing officials may suggest the league knows they have an issue. White’s certainly made her opinion clear.

“The game has changed so much, players are faster, they’re better, they’re bigger, they’re stronger,” White said. “They’re as good as they’ve ever been, they’re as athletic as they’ve ever been. The game is fast now. Things are happening quickly. Everybody is getting better except the officials.” 

According to the database Across the Timeline, there have been 44 technical fouls called a little over a quarter of the way through the 2025 season. Last year, there were a record 166 technicals called, up from 140 in 2023. The league has also increased the number of games played over the last five years.

Some have suggested that the increased physicality is part of the growth of the women’s game. Much like the NBA in the 1990s, when the Detroit Pistons created the “Jordan Rules.”

The focus was to be overly physical on defense, double- and triple-teaming Michael Jordan in an effort to slow him down and take the ball out of his hands. During an interview with WGN in 1993, Jordan described how the New York Knicks copied that playbook.

“What was happening was, because of the Detroit Pistons and the way they won, a lot of teams were trying to use that brutal type of play, the physical play,” Jordan said. “The Knicks were one of those teams who were built on intimidation — players who tried to physically demean you or make you scared of them.”

What does Clark have to say about the controversy?

For her part, Clark wants nothing to do with the narrative that she’s a target. She has mostly sidestepped questions about the physical play, leaving it to the coaches to sound off.

“I’m here to play basketball, and that’s what it is,” Clark said on Tuesday, June 17. “My game’s gonna talk, and that’s all that really matters. I love this game, and I’m going to give it everything I have, so I think that’s what competitors do. You just step right back up to the challenge.”

Much like the “Jordan Rules” failed to stop “His Airness” from getting his rings, the physicality used against Clark has not slowed her down much. In six games this season, she’s averaging 21 points, 5.5 rebounds and almost 9 assists per game. She’s also shooting 40% from three-point range.

All eyes will be on Clark on the night of Thursday, June 19. The Indiana Fever will play in front of a packed house in San Francisco against the expansion team Golden State Valkyries.