Arnold
Spennies
Sports InsiderWomen in the NBA?
May 23rd 2008 19:51
I don't think the NBA will ever become a co-ed league because we have the WNBA. Having a separate league for the women is pretty much saying that the NBA is a men's only league. It is not a superior league that women can move up to. In theory, the leagues are equal as men and women are equal beings on this planet. But for reasons that I'll refrain from going into depth about, the men's game has elevated to a level (in terms of popularity) far above that of the women's game. The fact that the NBA has been established for a longer period of time is one of the main reasons why. One of the obvious reasons is the fact that more people would rather watch the men play.
From the little WNBA ball I have watched over my time, I have noticed a few differences between the two games. The women's game is deliberately more slow-paced, and in my opinion, they focus more on strategy as opposed to sheer athleticism. It also seems as if they play with more of a chip on their shoulder than the men do. A couple times a game, you'll see a few guys in the NBA giving up on a play or lagging back on defense; I don't think I've ever seen that in the women's game. They're out to prove something, and I think it's obvious what it is.
I think it's safe to say that the men's game has the better basketball players (hope I don't come under fire for that one). It's not because the men train harder or anything like that, I think it's purely physical. Obviously, men and women are built differently, and I think that difference allows most men to be more physical than women. This physicality can be seen when the guys are seen driving to the hoop, elevating up for the dunk, going for the big block, etc. You don't see this stuff to the same extreme extent because most women just aren't physically capable of doing such things. When it comes to shooting, I think the playing field is a bit more even, but men still have the advantage because of their size, elevation and range. With that said, I could see a woman as a sharpshooter in the NBA. They could come off the bench and provide that long-range threat as Steve Kerr did back in the day. But unfortunately, it won't ever happen... at least not in our lifetime.
I think we would more likely see a woman in the MLB or NHL because as far as I know, they don't have professional womens leagues. But since we have the WNBA, the women will be expected to play there and not "betray" their fellow women by moving to the men's game. So, it's purely political, if you want to call it that. I don't think it would have much to do with skill because I believe that there are women out there who are better basketball players than some of the guys in the NBA. You couldn't possibly believe that the top 600 basketball players in the world are all men, could you? I know I don't.
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Comment by Stanley
the skill set of the women are unbelievable and i am always impressed at their abilities. although, i do think, parker is the best female player in the world, i do have a soft spot for lauren jackson because she is australian.