Shaquille O’Neal has an idea to bring more viewers to the WNBA. But A’ja Wilson isn’t into it.
Shaq took to Instagram on Sunday night to double down on his suggestion that the rim should be shorter in the WNBA than it is in the NBA. Currently, the rim is set at 10 feet in both leagues. And since women, on average, are much shorter, there’s a lot less dunking in the WNBA than in the NBA.
And O’Neal thinks that’s a shame. So he called out 2024 WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson to help champion the change.
“60% of the fans said Dunking is their favorite thing,” Shaq wrote on Instagram. “The WNBA has none of that. So they make much less money. Just trying to get you that 300 million dollars you deserve @aja22wilson #shaqwbnacommisioner. Love yall @wnba.”
The Hall of Fame big man added in a comment: “Do it for the WNBA All-Star Game and watch the ratings go through the roof.”
It’s not a crazy idea. In virtually all sports, adjustments are made to account for the size and strength differences between the two sexes. In volleyball, the net is shorter in the women’s game than it is in the men’s. In track and field, the women jump lower hurdles than the men do. Even in hoops, the ball is smaller and lighter in the WNBA than it is in the NBA.
But Wilson is not down with Shaq’s proposal.
During a recent appearance on the Roommates Show with Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, the Las Vegas Aces star explained why she thinks lowering the rim doesn’t make sense.
“What is it gonna do?” Wilson said. “I would much rather just gear my offseason to, ‘Okay, vertical, maxing it out, let’s focus on this jumping.
“Versus lowering it an inch? That could change all of our shots. Do y’all not understand that?”
She has a point. So much of basketball involves muscle memory. And changing the rim height could be disastrous for shooting efficiency.
And maybe Shaq is wrong about what people really want to see in the women’s game. After all, Caitlin Clark brought the WNBA more popularity than it’s ever seen before — and it’s certainly not because of her dunking skills.
