The separation of women and men in sports has been a widely debated topic in recent years. Yet, in the NBA, only men have played professionally until now.
However, if it were up to Mark Cuban , that could have changed in 2012. Back then, the final stages before the NBA Draft were underway, and the Dallas Mavericks owner actually entertained the idea of drafting Brittney Griner , who had previously starred for Baylor University.
"I've thought about it. I've thought about it already. Would I do it? Right now, I'd lean toward yes, just to see if she can do it," Cuban admitted, per ESPN .
Griner to the Mavs?
Griner as a potential reinforcement for the Dallas Mavericks ? Many - with all due respect - considered this unrealistic, and naturally, the whole topic quickly caused a stir.
However, one thing must be stated: Griner herself is a master of her craft, both then and now. In her college career , she was one of the best, back then securing the second spot (currently tenth) on the list of the top female NCAA scorers with a total of 3,283 points. Standing at 6'9", the female center, who also amassed 748 blocks, dominated the game under the baskets like none of her predecessors.
Still, if she had been good enough for the best basketball league worldwide, the unanimous consensus was that Brittney surely had great skills, but first and foremost, she played the wrong position to keep up with the men. Her male big-man opponents would have simply been physically far superior.
Women's attempts to break into the NBA
Cuban, a rather talkative man, also didn't know a definite answer to this hypothesis, but trying it out wouldn't hurt anyone.
"You never know unless you give somebody a chance, and it's not like the likelihood of any late-50s draft pick has a good chance of making it," he remarked.
Still, doubts about the seriousness of his statements soon emerged, as the extroverted club owner was known to occasionally seek attention.
Nevertheless, the topic had even come up before. For instance, in 1977, the Utah Jazz selected Lusia Harris in the seventh round of the draft, but she never played for the team. This was likely a PR move in hindsight.
Three years later, Anne Meyers-Drysdale made a more serious attempt to enter the NBA and even received a contract from the Indiana Pacers. However, ultimately, she did not make the team.
Anyway, Griner responded quickly to Cuban's advances, writing on Twitter, "I would hold my own! Let's do it!"
But instead of joining the Mavs, she became the first pick of the WNBA 2013 Draft and has played - with an interruption due to a prison sentence in Russia - for the Phoenix Mercury ever since.
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