Candace Who?
June 26, 2008 by Lyndsey D'Arcangelo
Filed under Sports Rumors
So Candace Parker is the latest Hot Dog of women’s basketball. She can not only dunk, some people even think she’s the savior of the WNBA.
But 6′8″ Brittney Griner may have something to say about that.
Griner is a freak of nature. She’s only been balling for three years and she’s already a force to be reckoned with on the court. She can dunk but, unlike Parker, she throws the ball down with force with her left, her right, both hands, off the backboard and even after spinning a full 360 degrees.
See for yourself:
Griner grew eight inches during her high school career and as a high school senior she’s already committed to playing basketball at Baylor for the 2009 season. What’s even more scary is the fact that Griner hasn’t fully developed as a player yet. Her defensive skills are uncanny for a player of her age and yet, in time, she can get even better. With her build, length and strength, some even wonder if she’ll be the first woman ever to play in the NBA.
OK — so that’s never going to happen. But … she just might end up being the best women’s basketball player ever. Even if Candace Parker doesn’t agree.
Video courtesy of YouTube
Just a hypothetical question…if a woman were to play in the NBA, do you think that would delegitimize the WNBA? Or otherwise make it irrelevant?
Fern … good question. The best way I can answer that is this: a woman playing in the NBA is never going to happen. It just doesn’t work. Remember when the Tampa Bay Lighting tried to integrate with Manon Rhéaume? I even had her poster on my wall, but it turned out to be nothing more than a publicity stunt. We live in a separate but equal world when it comes to sports between men and women. Only, I’d hardly call it equal. Though the WNBA has managed to stick around for over ten years, it still isn’t as marketable, visible or as lucrative as the NBA.
But, you did ask a hypothetical question. And no, I don’t think it would delegitimize the WNBA. Most women are just not physically capable of playing with men at the NBA level. So even if Brittney did, it would be an isolated case. The WNBA would still be around to support other players.