No woman has ever played in an official NBA game, but according to Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, that doesn’t mean that many of the world’s best players in the WNBA aren’t capable of keeping up with the men.
In an interview with CNN, Bryant was asked if he believes whether a woman could ever play in the NBA one day. Bryant responded that there are several current players who could make it playing alongside men right now.
“I think there are a couple players who could play in the NBA right now, honestly. There’s a lot of players who have a lot of skill that could do it. Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, [Elena] Delle-Donne. I mean, there’s a lot of great players out there. They could most certainly keep up with them.”
Although a woman has never played in the NBA, multiple women have been selected in the NBA Draft. Denise Long became the first woman to be selected in 1969 as a 19-year-old, after the San Francisco Warriors picked her in the 13th round – though the selection, meant as a PR stunt, was vetoed by the commissioner. In 1977, the New Orleans Jazz selected Luisa Harris in the seventh round, but she declined to try out for the team. In 2013, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban made waves when he said he was considering drafting Baylor star Britney Griner with a second-round pick.
