The amazing women from the WNBA keep breaking down barriers of gender discrimination in the NBA. Nancy Lieberman and Becky Hammon are pioneers on the bench of the best basketball league in the world. Now it’s Kristi Toliver who is making headlines as she steps into the spotlight. The Washington Wizards announced they are hiring her as a player development coach for the capital entity. This move indeed will inscribe Toliver’s name in history.
Kristi Toliver
Kristi Toliver, 31, has become the first active player in the WNBA to step into the NBA making an entrance through the front door holding a position of great responsibility in with the Washington Wizards. During summer league, even though she was in full WNBA betting season with the Mystics and even led them into the finals, she helped the Wizards with greatness. Kristi is a veteran player who has 10 seasons of experience.
12 Seasons of Experience
Along with Kristy Toliver, Chasity Melvin, who played over twelve seasons in the league with teams like the Mystics and Chicago Sky, has been signed in as assistant coach of the Greensboro Swarm. The Greensboro Swarm is the affiliated team of the Charlotte Hornets in the G-League. Also the next to disembark in the league can be a legend of women’s basketball as Sue Bird.
Sue Bird and the Denver Nuggets
According to the very important sources, the amazing World and WNBA champion was present in a training session of the Denver Nuggets in which she held talks to join the Colorado team. In this case it would not be for the bench, but mainly to be more involved with the management of the franchise. If she manages to get this signing, Bird would be a welcome development for the Nuggets for everything she represents in the United States.
WNBA Stability
It’s not only these types of NBA related news that make headlines for the WNBA. Season 2018 was a very successful one in the Women’s National Basketball Association. Season 2019 will be back until May however this past season was proof that WNBA is here to stay and grow. The league will keep expanding without a doubt. Since 2010 there has been amazing franchise stability. The league has maintained 12 teams since then and although there has been some movement in regards to ownership and therefore home names, the quantity of team remain.
Expansion Benefits
There are many benefits that can come from the expansion of the WNBA. With the stability that the league is enjoying today, there could be many good things coming out of a possible expansion. First of all, more cities will get the chance to bet on WNBA and watch live matches. Currently, regional media channels, due to the lack of a nearby team, do not cover WNBA games. However, with more cities owning a team, there are higher chances of markets covering the league.
More competition overall
Another benefit of expansion is the fact that the league will become more competitive overall. If there is an expansion, the WNBA draft will also be expanded. Although new teams will most likely not even make it to the playoffs, this will impact super teams such as the Los Angeles Sparks by making them less deep. WNBA betting fans will experience a playoff race much more exciting than previous years if the expansion takes place.
Girl Basketball Power
Like we mentioned before, the WNBA is here to stay. These powerful women are breaking down barriers in a world where men used to own the spotlight. After the previous season and seeing how big names of the girls on the court are now recognized worldwide, we know for sure that we will have plenty of action for years to come.