With his hometown Storm still fighting for the 2018 WNBA title, Nuggets point guard Isaiah Thomas published a piece on The Players’ Tribune on Monday praising “Seattle basketball royalty” and women’s basketball in general.
Thomas wrote about the joy he felt in bringing his kids to the recent WNBA All-Star Game and said simply:
If you don’t respect women’s basketball, you’re a joke. You’re a joke, man.
I’m not even about convincing people how important the WNBA is anymore. I’m not even about that. Because real heads know. They know that either you can appreciate the WNBA, and either you’re cool with the WNBA, or I’m sorry to say it but the truth is: You’re not someone who deserves a seat at the table of this conversation.
He also outlined how we can bring the W to the next level, stressing the need for support from the NBA, greater exposure and better pay:
I’ll say it: We’ve also gotta make more noise about WNBA salaries. Way more noise. WNBA players should be paid a lot more than they’re getting right now. That’s obvious. They’re professional athletes and role models and the best in the world at what they do — they should be paid like it. Better salaries are there if we want them to be. So let’s speak up about that.
Game 5 of the Conference Finals between the Storm and the Mercury is Tuesday at 10pm ET. Tune in.
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