The Case For
Obviously, it would be a marketing bonanza... and marketing is the NBA's oxygen.On skill alone, there are probably women who could compete at certain positions right now... people like Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks or Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury are highly accomplished basketball players, regardless of gender.
They probably don't have the physical ability to compete with male players, most of whom are bigger, stronger and more athletic... but that could change. Women in other sports are coming very close to performing at the same level as men; Serena Williams serves as as hard as many men, and many observers think elite female distance runners will surpass their male counterparts within a generation.
In addition, the physical aspect of the game has, to some degree, been de-emphasized by rule changes. Ten or fifteen years ago, tough perimeter defenders like Derek Harper could use "hand checks" to shove smaller guards around. Today, hand-checking is verboten, and even the most incidental contact on the perimeter generates a whistle. Take physical strength out of the equation, and the idea of a woman playing in the NBA seems a lot more reasonable.
The Case Against
Or does it? Let's not forget -- even the smallest players in the NBA -- Knicks' 5-7 guard Nate Robinson, for example -- have off-the-charts athleticism. Taurasi (6-0) and Parker (6-4) are both taller than Robinson -- but I wouldn't like their chances in a game of one-on-one.And Robinson is a slam dunk champion. In the WNBA, dunks are still very rare. This is not to suggest that one need to dunk to succeed in the NBA -- two-time MVP Steve Nash disproves that theory all by himself. But it is a symptom of a larger difference between the women's game -- which is played below-the-rim, like an NBA game from the fifties or a lower-level college game -- and basketball at its highest levels.
Was Stern Serious?
It seems fair to ask if Stern was being 100 percent truthful when he made the statement. The man never opens his mouth without considering how his words will advance the league's priorities. Does he really think women are that close to competing at the NBA level? Or was he trying to prop up interest in the struggling WNBA -- a league which has folded four teams since 2000.Christina Settimi, writing for Forbes' Sports Money blog, takes that idea one step further, suggesting that Stern was actually trying to appease WNBA players and fans in advance of the league's inevitable collapse.
