Why was the wnba structured as a single-entity league when it was founded?

The Women's National Basketball Association was first structured as a single-entity because professional basketball leagues for women had smaller revenues and structure, struggling to find economic balance and withstand more than a couple years. By structuring the league as a single entity, the WNBA, which was owned by the NBA, had the financial stability of a well established league. This structure provided control of player costs and all team's ownership, instead of individual teams, allowing investors to just "operate" them. Today the WNBA teams are owned by their NBA counterparts.