It’s 2015 and you’re sitting in the stands of the WNBA All-Star game in Uncasville, Connecticut. The stadiums are packed, not as packed as an NBA All-Star game, but even so each cheer shakes the floor. And out of nowhere you see a woman, of all people, soaring through the air, ball grasped in her hands.
In a moment of silence, barely milliseconds long, she’s floating there, almost motionless. And the ball magically swishes through the net, leaving its carrier on the rim. Cheering rocks the stadium once more. This mysterious dunker is none other than Brittney Griner. She makes dunking seem as easy as Shaquille O’Neil makes it seem.
You hear similar stories: Sue Bird making an effortless layup from underneath the net, guarded by several defenders. Nneka Ogwumike swooping into the paint to snatch the rebound from underneath her opponents’ hands. Kayla McBride sinking shot after shot without any sign of wavering.
These women are just some of the more well-known WNBA players, and yet they don’t even make the top five for most high-paid. In fact, only 14 players in the WNBA have a salary of $200,000 or more. The average is around $120,000. In comparison, 17 NBA players earn at least $35 million per season and its players earn an average of $7.5 million a year.
In a three-part documentary directed by Kristen Lappas following Indiana’s 52-0 run to the Olympics, one of the players remarked that their $50,000 stipend for a year of cross country and international play was worth about as much as an infraction in the NBA.
This severe lack of funds has led many of the WNBA’s top players to play internationally as well. Among these players was Brittney Griner, who was playing in Russia before officials arrested her. Since then, she has not been heard from.
The WNBA has gone very far since Title IX. As Ruthie Bolton, a player on the Olympics 1995-96 team, states, “I look at the women before Title IX… the ones that didn’t get to play. The ones that even when they started playing, they played half court… It’s very amazing to see how far the game has come, even though we’ve got a long way to go. But I’m glad that I’ve been one of the players that helped change the trajectory of women’s basketball.”
It’s amazing that the WNBA stands firm still, but basketball isn’t just about being there or showing up, so each player plans to continue the fight for true equity.
In a moment of silence, barely milliseconds long, she’s floating there, almost motionless. And the ball magically swishes through the net, leaving its carrier on the rim. Cheering rocks the stadium once more. This mysterious dunker is none other than Brittney Griner. She makes dunking seem as easy as Shaquille O’Neil makes it seem.
You hear similar stories: Sue Bird making an effortless layup from underneath the net, guarded by several defenders. Nneka Ogwumike swooping into the paint to snatch the rebound from underneath her opponents’ hands. Kayla McBride sinking shot after shot without any sign of wavering.
These women are just some of the more well-known WNBA players, and yet they don’t even make the top five for most high-paid. In fact, only 14 players in the WNBA have a salary of $200,000 or more. The average is around $120,000. In comparison, 17 NBA players earn at least $35 million per season and its players earn an average of $7.5 million a year.
In a three-part documentary directed by Kristen Lappas following Indiana’s 52-0 run to the Olympics, one of the players remarked that their $50,000 stipend for a year of cross country and international play was worth about as much as an infraction in the NBA.
This severe lack of funds has led many of the WNBA’s top players to play internationally as well. Among these players was Brittney Griner, who was playing in Russia before officials arrested her. Since then, she has not been heard from.
The WNBA has gone very far since Title IX. As Ruthie Bolton, a player on the Olympics 1995-96 team, states, “I look at the women before Title IX… the ones that didn’t get to play. The ones that even when they started playing, they played half court… It’s very amazing to see how far the game has come, even though we’ve got a long way to go. But I’m glad that I’ve been one of the players that helped change the trajectory of women’s basketball.”
It’s amazing that the WNBA stands firm still, but basketball isn’t just about being there or showing up, so each player plans to continue the fight for true equity.
