I learn more from the WNBA. They know how to dribble, how to pivot, how to use the shot fake. The organic appreciation was, in turn, appreciated by WNBA players and those who follow the league.
Having an NBA player, an All-Star with an NBA championship ring, acknowledge the women in a genuine way was an antidote to the times when the league is literally used as a sitcom punchline, or ridiculed by some sports-talk radio host with delusions that he could beat Maya Moore in a game of one-on-one. Having a male athlete put his stamp of approval on a female counterpart is seen as a way to grow the business, the fan base and the mainstream appeal of women's team sports, particularly basketball.
The problem is when appreciation of the women's game from an NBA superstar, or an NFL quarterback, is interpreted as validation for the sport. Or when a male athlete becomes a centerpiece in a women's space -- during a game broadcast, a draft telecast or a postgame interview -- so that he becomes the focus rather than a fan.
Women's basketball, in particular, has leveraged the endorsements of male counterparts in an attempt to bring more fans to the WNBA and the women's college game. The league also has encouraged superstars such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James to use social media to compliment and promote players. The No. She was must-see TV for women's basketball, and the entire basketball world took heed. She received shout-outs from Warriors coach Steve Kerr, marriage proposals from coast-to-coast and Twitter admiration from a number of basketball luminaries, including Bryant , Dick Vitale, Danny Ainge and James Harden.
In fact, Plum's game was compared to Harden's at various points during the college season, which brings up the sticky issue of comparing women to men on the basketball court. And that's fine, but I also want to be compared with Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird and players like that. And for those comparisons to never shift over to that, it's a little disheartening.
