Somebody probably would have went there eventually anyway, but we can probably blame Mark Cuban on this one, as he openly admitted he would at least be willing to give Griner a look at this year’s NBA Draft. While Cuban sounded sincere in his comments stating that he would evaluate her just like any male player, there’s no doubt this would be the publicity stunt to end all publicity stunts if he went through with it.
Stunt would only begin to describe it.
Brittney Griner ended her college career as the 2nd leading scorer and number 1 all-time shotblocker in NCAA women’s history. Her combination of size and athleticism is unlike anything the women’s game has ever seen. But at 6-8 and 208 lb., it would be silly to trot her out there in an NBA uniform.
This is not meant to be some sexist rant, but in terms of all things physical men and women are just different, and (as Jamele Hill points out) why does Griner have to prove herself against men to validate what kind of player she is?
Griner’s size, strength, and jumping ability allow her to dominate the girls’ game, but let’s look back at that height and weight. Consider Nicolas Batum of the Portland Trailblazers. Batum measures in at a similar 6-8 and 200 lb., but he’s a long, agile, leaper that plays mostly the 2 and the 3. Would Griner be able to check someone with that kind of foot speed? Does Griner even have the quickness or the ability to transform her game into a wing player? If you kept her as an inside player, and if we stick to the same team, she would have to check 6-11, 240 lb. LeMarcus Aldridge. For some reason, I think you would see a lot Griner stuffed into the basket stanchion on defense and not able to do much of anything on offense.
Picture Griner trying to box out someone like Reggie Evans...damn.
When I suit up to play pick-up basketball with friends, Krissy always plays, and she more than holds her own, but she is a guard. It would be much tougher for her if she was an inside player and had to body-up guys or try to get her shot off inside against bigger players. Griner doesn’t have that luxury. (For the record, I have said 100 times that if Krissy was in a guy’s body she would be the best player out of my entire circle of friends. She would probably be a few inches taller, stronger, and would be able to jump higher. All of that combined with her skill set would have the rest of us bamboozled.)
But that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? Men and women are just physically different. Why can’t we appreciate each as their own entity and on their own merits?
The thing is that I, much like Nancy Lieberman, fully support Griner’s decision to try if she so chooses. And if she happened to somehow stick in the NBA on her own volition, I would gladly insert my foot in my mouth and heap her with all the requisite praise. But personally, I’m kind of on Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma’s side on this when he said it would be a “sham” if she made an NBA roster…more like a traveshamockery if you ask me.
Griner will in all likelihood be the number 1 pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft and, barring something catastrophic, will have a great career in the women’s game. But she doesn’t need to be thrust into an NBA jersey just for the spectacle of it all. She should focus on becoming the best women’s basketball player she can be. How well she stacks up against the boys is irrelevant in defining her as a player.
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