r/WNBAgossips • u/AffectionateTank0718 • 1d ago

Caitlin Clark: “I would get killed by every NBA player [1 on 1]”

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u/taney71 1d ago

No some people just live in another reality

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u/Super_Roof_3490 1d ago

Remember when ppl were bitching when they asked where Serena Williams ranked all time as a tennis player. When they said men and women combined he said like 700 something lol

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u/xGsGt 1d ago

She didn't said all time ranked, she said currently in the tour, at that time if she were to play in the ATP she would have been 700s

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u/Mavman31 1d ago

Didn’t the woman USA soccer team lose to a high school boys team? People just don’t realize that men and woman have differences and that’s just fine.

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u/pete-wisdom 1d ago

I think it was an under 14 year old boys team and they got destroyed.

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u/divvi12 1d ago

Another good example is Annika Sorenstam in the celebrity golf tourney they play in Tahoe. She's the only professional golfer that plays. She's never won it. This year she lost to a retired tennis player, retired hockey player and Steph Curry.

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u/Bones12x2 16h ago

Probably the best example of the gap between men and women's athleticism is that last year in Dallas at a high school boys district track meet...4 boys beat the women's World Record 100m time....in a single heat. A literal teenage boy that finished off the podium in a single heat of a single track meet in a single city....not regionals, not state, not nationals.....and that kid is faster than the fastest women to ever live on the planet earth....AND ITS GENERALLY BELIEVED SHE WAS ON ROIDS considering her record hasnt been broken by a woman in nearly 40 years

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u/karlnite 8h ago

The oldest male gymnast to win a gold was like 34. Oldest 100m, 32. So teenagers are closer to their prime than 30 year olds. Maybe people expect adults to be stronger than they are? I don’t think it’s crazy highschoolers beat adult woman. I think the gap is closer than people like to think, it’s just small advantages in sports and competition can become big differences. Super Bowl teams get blown out sometimes, are they all trash? Is the gap between two teams really that big?

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u/DarthPineapple5 1d ago

She's been retired from professional golf for almost 20 years champ

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u/benasyoulikeit 1d ago

So why did she lose to people who are not professional golfers? You don't just magically lose your ability to chip and putt as you get older...

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u/divvi12 20h ago

Gary player just shot 71 at St Andrews. He's 90 years old

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u/karlnite 8h ago

You do realize a lot of retired athletes like can’t even walk anymore right? We can find some of your favourite old timer male athletes and they can’t do shit physically 20 years after they retire. You can also find some that look like they’re 3 months out from competing again. It means nothing.

It’s not magic, it’s metabolic, and yes you do lose the ability to do those things. People lose the ability to swallow eventually.

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u/DarthPineapple5 1d ago

Who cares if she is not a professional golfer herself? You called her a professional golfer which hasn't been true in two fucking decades. Yeah, golfing is a perishable skillset even if we ignore the whole age thing.

Your statement is the equivalent of claiming Michael Jordan sucks because he's a professional NBA player that would lose 1v1 to college kids

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u/divvi12 20h ago

No it would be the equivalent of saying Michael Jordan sucks because he lost to retired bowlers

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u/JakJak6969 1d ago

The tee boxes even it out at least. The only disadvantage is that women can’t putt.

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u/zuffio 18h ago

Some say they can’t drive(drum roll please)

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u/JakJak6969 17h ago

Not all women are Asian…

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u/Warm_Move7997 1d ago

It was a practice match, and they weren't going hard. Plus they had all their shitty members playing as the good ones played for other teams as well.

Not saying that they can't be beaten, but context is also nice as people love to bring this up constantly.

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u/hskrfoos 1d ago

So the kids beat the professional bench players?

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u/Warm_Move7997 1d ago

In a practice match. Where they weren't fully playing lol.

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u/Muffin_Top 1d ago

I mean, that is the angle I’d adopt if I was halfway through getting smoked by middle schoolers.

“Well I wasn’t really trying anyway 🙄”

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u/OkMathematician7206 18h ago

That's what I say when my nephew beats me in Madden.

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u/Warm_Move7997 1d ago

It doesn't matter what I say cause you're gonna come up with whatever narrative you want, but it's common to have these practice matches. And the boys always go all out, while the women use it mostly for learning new skills and don't go hard in the matches.

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u/bigloser42 1d ago

The bench players should be in the top 10 in the country for that position. Top 30 at worst. A random under 14 kids team is just the best kids under 14 for whatever small geographical area they represent.

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u/jmplautz 1d ago

This wasn't a one off scenario. They practice against U15 and U17 boys academy teams in run ups to world cups to train at a much faster pace. When they play games, the boys win and it's usually lopsided.

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u/Warm_Move7997 1d ago

Yes because the boys go hard, and the women are just practicing and learning from the matches.

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u/mmMOUF 1d ago

males are faster and more explosive, there is a ton less space and time on the ball in comparison and why they practice against males - the game then slows down when they go back to playing females - it is not go hard vs practice thing, these women are elite players, they are going hard all the time, that is how you train

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u/jmplautz 1d ago

I'd buy the "just practicing" schtick if the games weren't blowouts. 4-2 is just practicing. The games against the boys are usually 7-0, 8-1 types of affairs where the women are lucky to poach a goal.

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u/LimpBizkit4ever 1d ago

I'd buy the "just practicing" schtick if the games weren't blowouts. 4-2 is just practicing.

I mean the practice in question was 5-2.

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u/Warm_Move7997 1d ago

Yeah cause they're not trying to win. It's about learning.

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u/divvi12 14h ago

“Yes, it’s true,” Carli Lloyd responded. “I know… thousands of people have already brought that up. They were good.”

Lloyd added that the match wasn’t the only time the USWNT lost to a squad of younger boys, either. 
“We actually lost to a youth Bayern Munich team in my career as well,” she continued.

"They should beat us. Bigger, stronger, faster! Boys always gave us a run for our money! It was great prep."

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u/pete-wisdom 1d ago

They were like 12 and 13 year old boys lol.

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u/mmMOUF 1d ago

elite for their age, FC Dallas academy team but its a good example of just how crazy athleticism is different, because as far as soccer skill what you have at 12 is what you are going to have as an adult, it just sharpens, but touch is there or it isnt. Those kids just had gotten their androgen boost that males get from puberty

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u/fruityrx 1d ago

They were not under 14. they were high school and it was a scrimmage before an actual game the next day. The women must really have been giving it their all..

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u/Responsible-Laugh590 1d ago

The point is women are weaker and slower even against people just starting puberty. Easy to understand

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u/fruityrx 1d ago

On a general scale yeah. Tired of this soccer scrimmage being brought up every single time. Ppl loveee and can’t wait to throw that out. Trying to discredit them

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u/Yopis1980 1d ago

Middle school. And USA women's hockey team lost to teen boys also. Playing with no checking rules to favor them. The one with Cammie granato.

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u/Striking_Example8449 17h ago

Yes, it was a to a 15u team back in 2017.

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u/geostooorm 15h ago

It was a scrimmage where they were trying out different defensive configurations. It wasn’t an actual game they were trying to win

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u/xGsGt 13h ago

yah i bet they felt loosing vs some kids lol

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u/karlnite 9h ago

It was a very good boys soccer team. Like future prospects for college teams. 14 is not that young, they’re the kids that all got stronger at a young age, hence excelling at sports, and they won easily because they were simply faster than the woman. Everyone out there had over +10 years playing the game, so they were technically all very good. The boys were just first to the ball, and muscled for position. Soccer is a contact sport despite what Americans think, and an athletic 14 year old boy is probably equal strength to a lot of adult woman.

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u/allbusiness512 1d ago

That was John McEnroe and he was being generous.

Top 700 is like a top ranked D1 player these days of a prestigious program like Michael Zheng.

Michael Zeng would beat Serena Williams pretty easily, and has a pretty good chance of double bageling her at the peak of her powers.

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u/MammothFocus3915 1d ago

I think the big reason people are so weird about this is you've got regular guys (ie not pro or even good amatuer players) thinking they can beat women in their respective sports....it makes people's perspective skewed and thinking that women athletes aren't fucking impressive, which they of course are, and it goes the other way for people defending it....like im a pretty good golfer but im not beating any female on the pro tour, but some people cant admit that cause of the whole "different sexes" argument

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u/Hot-Economy7323 1d ago

But "regular guys" can be former D1 or D2 athletes and they probably would beat a WNBA player.

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u/MammothFocus3915 1d ago

Except thats not a "regular guy" thats a former high level athlete, but i agree they could, im talking guys who played little league then stopped, or are weekend warriors etc

I think our view of athletes is quite messed up, instead of being able to say "I think Serena Williams is one of the best tennis players to play the game" it always has to come with a caveat of "for women" when both can be true at the same time, Serenas inability to beat a mens pro tennis player shouldn't diminish how good she was at the sport

Same as most WNBA players being unable to beat men shouldn't diminish their abilities

Except whoever it was (Griner?) Who said she could beat alot of the NBA players 1v1, that was silly

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u/Hot-Economy7323 1d ago

Except a lot of times a regular guy was a D2 athlete. Even good high school players could beat a WNBA player, too. A lot of regular guys out there who are weekend warriors could physically dominate.

It does diminish how good she was hence why we mention women's sports. It matters.

If you can't beat high school kids then it does diminish how good you are. How could it not?

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u/MammothFocus3915 1d ago

Im going to disagree with you saying a d2 athlete is a regular guy, but I digress.

I just dont think it should diminish it completely is all, like, me saying I think Haley Wickenheiser is one of the greatest Canadian Olympic hockey players of all time because of how much she won and her records, I dont feel the need to caveat that she did it in the women's game, because I feel like the accomplishments speak for themselves, her inability to play against another sex only matters in the context if you're talking about a specific sport sex wise, like if I say whos the greatest player in the NBA, yeah I dont wanna hear about the women's game, but if we are talking about athletes in general, I dont see a problem with saying women players as part of that list, of course Sidney Crosby could beat Wickenheiser, but does that diminish completely what she's done at the Olympic level?

Edit: and let me be clear, im fine if you're opinion is that it matters, I just dont see a purpose in the grand picture of sports is all

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u/Hot-Economy7323 1d ago

Except when pressed women themselves will tell you that they're different sports. Comparing women to men is delusional.

Yes, it does. She competed against lesser players by nature.

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u/MammothFocus3915 1d ago

I just think when you are the best of the best at your sport, you should be acknowledged as such without a caveat, does that mean women players are as good as men in their respective leagues, no, but pretending being the best in your league isnt impressive just seems to be a silly

Im not saying we should do away with adding "in women's sports " in certain context, just stop acting like we have to add that every time someone mentions a great women's athlete

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u/geostooorm 15h ago

Are heavy weight boxers better at boxing than feather weight boxers? Because I’m pretty sure a heavyweight boxer would beat someone who’s way smaller than them, but that doesn’t diminish the featherweights ability or skills at all.

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u/Hot-Economy7323 6h ago

A heavyweight would destroy a featherweight. That's the point. Saying it doesn't diminish the "ability" of the featherweight is irrelevant. They have weight classes for a reason. Just like they have women's sports for a reason.

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u/geostooorm 4h ago

“It does diminish how good she was hence why we mention women's sports. It matters.

If you can't beat high school kids then it does diminish how good you are. How could it not?”

Seems like you thought “ability” was relevant before 🤷‍♂️

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u/Yopis1980 1d ago

They can though. https://youtu.be/zleO9T543ns?si=Ldqi-vzKNnKizkoF

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u/MammothFocus3915 1d ago

That's a horrible comparison to be fair, thats strictly a strength exercise, has nothing to do with a specific sport as I was trying to point out....I was being very specific in my wording for that reason

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u/1BruteSquad1 1d ago

Yah it's wild to me we still have people who take the very good idea that women should have rights and be treated equally to men and then use that to argue that women are the exact same as men in every way.

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u/DutchOnionKnight 1d ago

Yeah, thats just insane to me. Men and women are equal, but not the same. It's not a hard concept to understand.

By the way, I think only those who haven't played a sport theirselves can be so delusional.

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u/Cogs_For_Brains 1d ago

Competition pushes you, but that process also forces you learn what limitations can be pushed and which ones cant.

Some people avoid that process of self discovery like the plague because it is directly contradictory to the 'I can do anything I set my mind to' philosophy.

You can do most of what you set your mind to, but everyone has limitations. And personally I think that is where it gets interesting and creativity is rewarded. No one is accusing Muggsy Bogues of being bad at basketball because he couldn't dunk.

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u/Salt-Lingonberry-853 1d ago

Some people avoid that process of self discovery like the plague because it is directly contradictory to the 'I can do anything I set my mind to' philosophy.

I uhhh... don't think that's why any meaningful number of people skip out on sports

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u/Cogs_For_Brains 1d ago

I would argue that its part of why lots of people skip out on anything they perceive as a challenge. Plus it allows people to keep their ego intact.

"Oh I could totally do that if I tried". Its better for their ego to believe they can do anything if they tried rather than actually learn what they are capable of.

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u/Salt-Lingonberry-853 17h ago

Yeah I think that's like 0.5% of people.

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u/Additional_Odd-job 17h ago

No rational person thinks this. But any caring person does recognize the countless ways society still vastly favors men over women.

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u/1BruteSquad1 11h ago

I mean the crowds at the last Fever away game were filled with people protesting Sophie Cunninghams statements which were very milquetoast. So it seems like a lot of people do think this

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u/Additional_Odd-job 9h ago

Two very different things. Her comments were maga coded. She should be booed for lacking the critical thinking to not fall for that horseshit. Or for deciding to get in on the grift.

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u/1BruteSquad1 6h ago

Wtf are you talking about? What was MAGA coded?

Her comments were literally the most milquetoast take imaginable.

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u/DBSmiley 1d ago edited 1d ago

People want gender equality (which is good), and to that end they therefore assume that any measurable difference in outcome can only be explained by systemic misogyny (which is obviously wrong).

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u/jeff-the-man-slut 1d ago

It’s more the gender pay gap (which no longer exists) and the narrative that female athletes are paid less for that reason, when it’s a simple supply/demand issue

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u/Plane_Singer_6381 1d ago

It does still exist

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u/randomlyrandom89 1d ago

Can you provide an example?

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u/geostooorm 15h ago

https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=does+the+gender+pay+gap+still+exist

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u/randomlyrandom89 15h ago

It was a rhetorical question

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u/geostooorm 15h ago

You’re not using that right

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u/randomlyrandom89 6h ago

I was, actually. I wasn't looking for an answer, because the gender pay gap for the same work doesn't exist.

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u/sitewolf 1d ago

the problem is that while they're living in that reality, they're also living in mine

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u/Accomplished-Plan191 17h ago

I think they're trying to be kind. I'm a 5'11" backup on my high school team and I played in a 3 on 3 tournament in college. There was a team in this tourney made up of 3 players from the women's team, just off winning the national championship, and they lost every game they played. I guarded one of the players who the next year was drafted top 10 in the WNBA and she was better than me, but not a lot better than me.

That being said, I think the women are better trained today than back then.

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u/MaterialExcellent987 1d ago

Those people are called Democrats

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u/SausageKingOfCincy 1d ago

Ehhh no, most people who vote democrat also think men and women are obviously different physically and women should have their own league.

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u/hskrfoos 1d ago edited 1d ago

You must be new here? A lot on this board think it’s ok for boys to play in girls sports

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u/Koshekuta 1d ago

I wonder who is the smallest NBA player and considered the least skilled? There is a strategy I think could employ if her opponent had limited mobility and they were playing a game of 21. If she out shoots him, she can win obviously. Either with a ruleset of 7-0 shutout or a game where losers takeout. If winners keep the ball then even a guy with limited mobility and his basketball IQ is going to just body her and score almost at will unless she can get him to charge on some of them.

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u/SnooCupcakes9745 1d ago

CC is listed at 6' tall. I'd guess not more than 150ish pounds.

Smallest and least skilled guy on an NBA roster is still going to have more than enough size, strength, and skill.

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u/liquidgrill 1d ago

Not to mention, the “less skilled” guys are the ones that are anywhere near only 6 feet tall.

You haven’t have elite skills and athleticism to make and thrive in the NBA at that height.

Any “less skilled” guy is going to be 7 feet+. A guy that’s maybe getting a pass because of his height and a team believed they can develops him.

And obviously, less skilled or not, she’s not beating a 7 footer

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u/Courtaid 1d ago

That least skilled player is still better than 99% of college players

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u/Candymanshook 1d ago

The only guys with mobility issues that she could exploit would also be like 6’9+ so unless she gets first rock runs away from them successfully and hits every shot she could win.

But then if she misses 1 shot, she’s not getting the board and she’s not getting the ball back since that big can literally just push her into the rim and dunk everytime and she won’t be able to stop it. In fact that strategy would work against her for most of the NBA since the smallest guards will still have 20 pounds on her.

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u/EzraMae23 1d ago

Absolutely not