WNBA's first ever dunk...

[Guest Redhawk]

First of all, Lisa Leslie's dunk was kind of weak anyway, and that's the precise reason why the WNBA will always appear inferior: They made such a huge deal over a tall woman doing something that (shorter) men do several times a game. By hyping Leslie's dunk so much, they were basically saying, "Look, we're almost up there with the men now!"

 

Anyway, I just learned that Margo Dydek (sp?) of the Utah Starzz is 7-foot-2. SEVEN-foot-TWO! How in the fuck has she been playing this long and never dunked? That's just sad.

 

And on another note...is it safe to call the New York Liberty the Buffalo Bills of women's basketball?

[Guest Mad the Swine]

Dydek can dunk. She just chooses not to.

 

A short man in the NBA is usually somewhere around the same height as Leslie. Usually, tall women lack the proper calf strength to dunk. Most are beanpoles and dunking is simply not gonna happen. And don't forget that body structure is not the same in men and women.

 

Dunks in women's hoops have been recorded back into the 1970s. That's the first decade in which women's athletics were taken halfway seriously. Previously, the key aspect in a women's game revolved around the team that had the tallest girl on offense. Your other two forwards fed her the ball at every chance; a valuable tall girl could average 30-40 points per game and that was without any training other than simple practice.