The one sport where there is a clear difference in fan support for men’s and women’s leagues is basketball. The NBA is leaps and bounds better than the WNBA, but it could have been different if one move had been sanctioned.
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Ann Meyers, a 5 foot 9-inch native of California, had done something two other women came close to doing. Lusia Harris and Denise Long were drafted before her but, they never signed a contract. Ann, on the other hand, had officially signed with the Indiana Pacers.
A team that would go on to finish sixth in the Eastern Conference, signed her to tryouts. But unfortunately for Meyers, she did not make the cut. That is still the closest any woman has come to signing a contract with the NBA.
The next woman who could have potentially done that was Kobe Bryant’s daughter, Gianna “Gigi” Bryant. A fierce competitor, just like her father, Bryant did not only have the look but also inherited the love of the game from her father.
Kobe was proud, and he said he wanted his daughter to play in the NBA, not the WNBA. He knew what she was capable of, but fate, unfortunately, had to intervene.
The WNBA is still some distance away from greatness- Ann Meyers could have bucked that trend
The WNBA today is a league that is scoffed at and brushed away by enthusiasts of the sport. For one, the women’s league is less competitive than the G-League of the NBA. Two, the level of skill in the league is vastly inferior.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ve-R85wmuU&list=LL&index=7
A league that gets subsidized by the NBA is not a good look for anyone. So even if you say that Diana Taurasi or Sue Bird are legends of the game, there are still some doubts.
To have a woman rise through the ranks of college basketball way before the WNBA—even before Michael Jordan was a thing. Ann Meyers was doing things that men couldn’t—such was her talent.
A quadruple-double is an incredible feat—not many professional athletes even today can notch one. Meyers did it as a college athlete at UCLA, the first person to ever do so! Not just in women’s but in the men’s division as well. Meyers was a walking bucket.
Could Gigi Bryant have gone one step further than the Phoenix Mercury Vice President?
As Kobe’s daughter, one should hope so. Not because of the name Bryant, but because of the drive of the Mamba. A product of a two-decade career, Gigi had Michael Jordan’s protégé give her liquid gold for information. Not to forget that LeBron James plays for her dad’s team.
The two have nine rings and approximately 70000 points between them. Yeah, Gigi could have made the cut in today’s NBA. However, one should not forget who officially put that possibility on the map. Ann Meyers is a walking legend and is deservedly the MVP for women’s sports.
