The WNBA Playoffs are in full swing!
Angel McCoughtry and the Atlanta Dream sent the Washington Mystics packing. Tonight I’m watching the other Eastern Conference series that might come to a close if the New York Liberty can pull out a win against the Indiana Fever on its home court. Yesterday, MVP candidate Lauren Jackson and the Seattle Storm closed out Tina Thompson and the LA Sparks. The Sparks were playing without its star forward, Candace Parker, who has been out rehabbing from shoulder surgery. Candace Parker is a tough competitor, and I expect that she will be back next season ready to lead the team to a WNBA Championship. The other side of the Western Conference final is set as well. The San Antonio Silver Stars couldn’t handle strength and dominance of Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury.
As I watched Taurasi and her teammates play, I couldn’t help but think what next season would look like without her. Last month, Taurasi publicly stated that she was contemplating taking the 2011 WNBA season off to rest. She has played seven professional basketball seasons without a break, and prior to her professional career she was a student collegiate player with the Connecticut Huskies where she led them to three consecutive NCAA National Championships. While student-athletes technically have a summer break, we all know that champions are made in the off season. Taurasi’s total is closer to eleven consecutive seasons of competitive basketball, and of course that doesn’t include high school and AAU basketball.
Prior to the 1997 inaugural season of the WNBA, women’s basketball players either played professionally overseas or stopped playing ball altogether. There were other short-lived leagues in the states, but the WNBA is the only women’s pro league that has been able to sustain itself over a long period of time. Currently, the league’s regular season runs during the summer for roughly four months (the schedule is known to adjust based on the Olympic or World Championship schedules). The timing of the schedule allows players to continue playing overseas, and play at home in front of family, friends, and hometown fans. What many fans don’t realize is that the salaries overseas are nearly five times as much as the WNBA salaries. In 2010, the WNBA league minimum was $35,880 and the maximum was $101,500.
I’m not sure if the timing of WNBA schedule was created to avoid competition with the NBA and the women’s collegiate game; or if it was created to allow players to play in both the international professional system, as well as the WNBA. Either way, we do know that the current arrangement is physically taking a toll on the players that are choosing to do both. And there’s no question that the salaries for the WNBA players need to increase. While I understand that the WNBA season is currently a fraction of the NBA season, which can partly explain why the WNBA salaries are a fraction of the NBA salaries - there is still however a big divide.
Last week Diana Taurasi re-signed with the Mercury with a multi-year contract. Not only was this a sigh of relief for Mercury fans, because who wants to watch their favorite team play without its star player? This signing also eliminated what could have been a PR disaster for the league. It is one thing when a player is out due to an injury, but it’s another when the player is out because she’s choosing the international league over the WNBA.
Luckily, this chapter ended on a high note for Diana Taurasi and the WNBA. I wonder what will happen next time this situation comes up? Will the team be able to keep its star player home and in front of the home fans?
The WNBA has grown over the last 14 seasons. More and more young girls are dreaming of becoming professional basketball players, and that wasn’t the case when I was growing up. The league has survived harsh criticism and the economic meltdown – to say the least. Let’s all remember the old saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” – and by the way neither was the MLB, NFL, or NBA.
Good Night Sports Fans,
Alana