CHICAGO — NBA All-Star weekend featured a new crossover 3-point contest Saturday between the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry and the New York Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu.
Curry, a four-time NBA champion, holds the league’s record for most career 3-pointers made (3,642) and Ionescu has the WNBA record for most 3-pointers in a single season (128). Her 37 points out of a possible 40 — some shots are worth one point, others are two — in last season’s WNBA All-Star 3-point contest topped Curry’s shootout mark for a record across both leagues. It was truly a matchup of two of basketball’s best shooters.
During Saturday’s competition, Ionescu shot from the NBA 3-point line with a WNBA ball while Curry used an NBA ball. Ionescu scored 26 points, matching the total Damian Lillard needed to win the NBA’s 3-point competition earlier in the night. Curry won the head-to-head event with 29 points. According to reports after the event, viewership spiked during the crossover competition making it the most watched portion of the evening.
As Curry and Ionescu competed, NBA legend Kenny Smith, who was on commentary during the broadcast, repeatedly suggested Ionescu should’ve shot from the WNBA 3-point line. His discussions with Reggie Miller, whose comments were far more favorable to Ionescu, drew the ire of many. But some were on Smith’s side. They didn’t see Ionescu as a worthy opponent for Curry and viewed the contest as a gimmick to draw attention to the WNBA.
Fans of women’s basketball were offended by the discourse and passionate arguing ensued long after the contest had been decided.
“Women’s sports fans are so protective over their product and that is a good and bad trait to have,” women’s basketball reporter and analyst Terrika Foster-Brasby told the Tribune. “It’s a good trait to have because in order for the sport to grow, debate does need to happen. You need to have discussions and conversations. But you need to have healthy debates.”
But a lot of the “debates” regarding women’s basketball aren’t healthy at all. They have come from disingenuous detractors who simply want to diminish the game because it’s played by women. They believe the men’s game is superior and the women’s is by and for women only. On its face, basketball should be basketball. Sure, there are differences like 3-point line distance, ball size and style of play. But the game is the game, right?
“It was a great display of sportsmanship, skill and talent. It was already a fair contest,” Foster-Brasby said. “She scored as much if not more than the NBA players in the actual 3-point contest. So what exactly was unfair about the display? It’s comments like that from people who have a platform that hinders the growth of the respect that women deserve in these spaces. If you like basketball, you like basketball. Is there some mandate that if a game is played by women, women must be fans of it?”
But should men be supportive of the sport? Are they the missing factor in increasing the popularity of women’s sports? Is fighting for the approval of the male gaze necessary?
“I do think men need to be more supportive of the sport, not necessarily to make the sport thrive but for the simple fact that if you are a basketball fan, this is a good product of basketball that is continuing to grow and evolve. I do not believe women should go above and beyond to do specific things to invite men into their sport,” Foster-Brasby said.
I couldn’t agree more.
The WNBA is comprised of athletes who are at the top of their game. They are some of the best basketball players not just in the United States, but the world. Sure, they do not make as much money as men — and there is room to discuss that elsewhere — but almost no one who diminishes the players could beat them at what they do. If you don’t want to watch and don’t enjoy watching, you’re entitled to that. But to act as if there is some kind of amateurism to their game is to ignore what’s in front of you. It is willful ignorance. It’s misogyny.
“There is no longer an ability to deny them. The recent numbers indicate the sport is growing and the market for women’s sports is growing. The investment in women’s sports is not growing as rapidly as we’d like to see, but is indeed growing,” Foster-Brasby said. “Just a year ago, we watched LSU and Iowa bring in a million-plus people to tune in for the NCAA championship. It’s no longer easy to bring up charts and graphics that indicate the WNBA is quote-unquote losing money or if there is no interest in it. More eyes obviously will bring in more viewers, which can help bring in more money and investment.”
Fans of the WNBA and women’s college basketball should exercise caution when engaging with disingenuous arguments. The goal of those who diminish them is not to gain understanding or clarity in those conversations, but to trap supporters in a game of goalpost moving. For every answer given in defense, there becomes a new hurdle to jump. Like GOAT debates, it’s an unwinnable argument only meant to frustrate.
Women’s basketball has seen growth in its year-over-year viewership numbers and some of the biggest names in the college game are women. Gone are the days when men’s teams dominated the news cycle. The WNBA has its version of dynasties and super teams. Women’s college basketball has never been more popular. Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and JuJu Watkins are bringing in new fans and winning over veteran ones as well.
If you truly love the women’s game, there’s no time for arguing with people who likely aren’t even watching. You might miss greatness.
“It’s difficult for people to make these arguments so they’ll find and pick any and every little thing to keep this narrative going that women’s basketball just isn’t it,” Foster-Brasby said. “It’s just not true anymore.”
