The WNBA’s 20th season begins this week. It’s an anniversary that is being blown out to as epic of a proportion as the league can. It’s one that, like many seasons that come before it, comes with new hope that this will be the year that it will finally have a considerable rise in attendance and attention. And it’s one that — according to the latest cover story of ESPN The Magazine comes with the realization that one player isn’t going to save the league.

Elizabeth Merrill chronicles the history of “saviors” of the league from Candace Parker to Chamique Holdsclaw and the myriad reasons of why one person could never save the league. The search for saviors has broadcast a sort of a sense of desperation that’s never been becoming — especially from this anecdote from Tina Thompson, the first expected savior of the league, who had to be convinced to play instead of going to law school.

From ESPN:

After some negotiating, Thompson says, she was able to get her contract — including salary, endorsements and bonuses — up to six figures. (The WNBA now has a rookie salary cap.) She took a red-eye from California to Secaucus, New Jersey, to make it to the draft. Thompson says she was encouraged to act surprised when she was called No. 1. She opened her mouth and put her hands over her face when she was picked. “It was totally fake,” she says of her reaction. That night, her celebration consisted of ordering room service.

This year’s first pick, Breanna Stewart, could certainly do a lot for the league. She’s an impressive player who won four consecutive titles at UConn and is incredibly likable and will probably be a good face of the league. But, the one thing the league is doing differently finally?

It’s not asking her to be the only story.

The WNBA is full of marketable stars this season — Elena Delle Donne, Brittney Griner, Diana Taurasi and more. Its new president, Lisa Borders, has said often that she wants to market individual stories of a variety of players — which means there’s no focusing just on one former UConn star. And because of that — with a little more help from the NBA (which has been visible this offseason) — they have a chance for the latest hope to not burn out quickly.

“We feel that we have bright, shining stars,” Borders told ESPN. “But that doesn’t mean they’re the silver bullet to correct anything or enhance or amplify what we have happening. That’s just not rational. That’s like saying one person who comes in as the CEO will completely turn a company around. Nobody says that outside of sports. We know better.”

It may have taken decades to learn. But finally learning that lesson? That’s an important start.