The W: Ladies Be Ballin'

When it's the end of August/beginning of September and there are no trades being made, no big international games being played and no insane off-the-court drama, NBA news often finds itself replaced by something that can appear as filler: WNBA news. From the sports section of amNew York to case-pleading endorsements by Shoals, the last few weeks have offered the sports media the opportunity to turn their attention to the oft-neglected lady ballers. Now, as we approach the upcoming finals between the Seattle Storm and the winner of the New York Liberty-Atlanta Dream series, the fever pitch is forcing me to ask some questions of myself.

Every year--and particularly this year, when blogging has forced me to pay even closer attention to the goings-on of the basketball world--this end-of-summer interest increase gives me the same sense of the Guilties, for I have never paid close attention to the WNBA, and to this day I can count all the active players I can name on my hands and toes.

And it's hard for me to figure out why, that's the thing. I am a perpetual underdog root-forer, my girlfriend and I talk about feminism, I love small ball and get off on great point guard play, I grew up in Connecticut watching Geno Auriemma's legendary teams. Considering all that, I should have been following the W this whole time, bemoaning the media's general ignorance of its regular season and telling anyone who would listen how delightful the passing is. But instead, like most basketball fans, I have maintained my distance, not disregarding the league's legitimacy but never getting anywhere near being an actual fan.

I have to believe that this has something to do with the fact that I've been told for so long that the quality of play was inferior, that there was a lack of athleticism that made the games boring to watch, that there was something just plain comical about the premise of the WNBA. It has taken me a long time to realize, though, that while women's basketball is indeed different than men's basketball, its difference is not one of inferiority, lessened athletic ability or lack of seriousness. Not only that, but its differences--its adjusting defenses, its sharp ball movement, its fluid low-post footwork--are ones that adhere strongly to a style of play that I enjoy immensely.

Now, after watching a fair amount of these WNBA playoffs, I can say with great excitement that in addition to the above sources of appeal, the league is at a point where narratives can be drawn. There are enough dynamic individual players and stellar teams to talk about leagacies, to talk about rivalries, to talk about all the things we talk about when we talk about the sports we love. Not to say that the WNBA has never had these things before, but for a newcomer, it feels like I've come in at a time when things are really about to change. Diana Taurasi is a veteran as reliable as Steve Nash or Tim Duncan, Lauren Jackson is a athletic specimen as thrilling to behold as LeBron James or Dwight Howard, and Cappie Pondexter is as exciting a young playmaker as the Brandons Jennings and Roy.

These are not just marginal athletes. They are legitimate stars, and they look rather comfortable in that role. I'm very glad I'll now be there to see them continue to shine on.