Average Male vs. WNBA

As if you didn't already know my thoughts - here you go....

Most male conversations revolve around three things: sports, sex, and money. To be honest, why would you ever want to talk about anything else? Money is essentially what our economy is dependent upon. Now, yes – I understand that we have consumers, “supply and demand,” the invisible hand, and all those other capitalistic words. However, when it is all said and done – money is what really makes the world go round.

Money is a funny thing. Many popular songs feature money: “Can’t Buy Me Love” by The Beatles, “Mo Money Mo Problems” by The Notorious B.I.G., “Take the Money and Run” by Steve Miller Band, “Got Money” by Lil Wayne. These are just a few of what is an exhaustive list of songs. If there is one thing that Lil Wayne and The Beatles can agree on, it is the fact that money is a great thing. So why not talk about it?

Sports is a very important part of a man’s life. Whether you are talking about the big 4 (football, basketball, baseball, soccer) or you are talking about eSports – you are still talking about a sport. Before one can really make the argument that sports are often talked about in male conversations, you have to be able to define sports. What really boils down is this: Does it involve competition? Can you get objectively better at it through practice? If the answer to either of these questions is no, then it is not a sport.

The key component to these questions very clearly lies in the objectivity of sports. It is incredibly surprising how something so objective is argued and talked about constantly. Basketball, for example, is a very objective sport. The team that scores more points wins the game. So, the person that scores the most points is the best player? That is not necessarily the case, and that brings in subjectivity.

When you have subjectivity, you have the ability to create disputes and verbal warfare. In a man’s world – that is a place of peace. On many occasions my wife will excuse herself from a conversation that I might be having with my buddies – not because she doesn’t know much about sports, but because she may not enjoy the conflict that happening. I could call my buddy a moron in the heat of an argument, but he knows that is not how I really feel. We are simply discussing sports. And to a man, everything is a sport.

We have all been there before. You find yourself in the middle of a conversation with some buddies; just talking about last night’s big game and how so-and-so scored 40 points. Maybe you are in the office and waiting for the next meeting to place. As you are talking about the game, you begin to re-enact some of the shots that were made. However, you are not a professional and you clearly do not have the same skills. After you bounce the first paper ball of the edge of the trash can your buddy says the key words, “I could have made that.”

Soon both of you are playing “PIG” with papered-up balls and trash can hoops. That is how a man operates. He thrives on competition. He always wants to prove to be the best. Sports and Money. Money and Sports. These are the two foundations of gambling – and there is no bigger competition that gambling.

My buddies and I get together every so often and play poker. We aren’t throwing huge bucks (we are all teachers), it is really more about hanging out and drinking a few beers with each other. The night always ends the same way – someone says something that sounds completely ridiculous, but may have some merit to the statement. Or at least enough merit to divide the group….

“I can’t believe there is a WNBA.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean; I can’t believe there is a WNBA. I can’t believe that women are paid to play sport that they are not even good at.”

Laughter ensues….

“For real? You really think they are not good at basketball?”

“Heck no, have you watched one their games? With one year of training I could start for a WNBA team, probably even be a star! I don’t even play basketball – never have – and I could become as good as them.”

 That is a real life conversation that happened just over a year ago. In fact, this argument is still brought up to this day. This is the argument that started it all. Whenever a different debate starts and sides are drawn, it always finds its’ way back to this argument.

In general, men want to always prove that they are right/better than the next man. Debating is one way to do that. Whether you are talking about sports or money – it will eventually turn itself into a debate.

Ohhhh, and don’t think I haven’t forgotten about sex. Nobody forgets about sex. In fact, this entire time I have been thinking about sex. After all, I am a man. I have been thinking positions (doggy style, the interviewer, sultry spoon, even missionary). I have been thinking about when and where the best times have been. I mean, let’s be honest, if you are a man sex is constantly on your mind. The only time you might not be thinking about sex is when you are playing sports – but, nahhhhh, you are probably still thinking about sex. The only good thing is, if you are an average male and you are playing in the WNBA, you probably don’t need to focus quite that much!

Could an (I)average male start in the WNBA with one year of training?

There are a few ways to breakdown this argument. First, we look at the average male in comparison to the elite female athlete. Second, you look what type of impact one year of training could have. Is one year of training enough?

The average height of a player in the WNBA is right 6’0” – that does take guards (who are generally the smallest players) into consideration. Brittney Griner, who is an all-star is listed at 6’8” and would be in the top ten tallest WNBA players in history. The average height for an American male is right at 5’10” – which is much shorter than what many would think. However, roughly 25% of males are taller than six feet. As well as, 7% of American males are taller than 6’2”. In turn, the average male would be a disadvantage in height – but if you lined up 4 males, the odds are in your favor of finding someone that could physically blend-in height wise. Even further, if you lined up roughly 10 males – you could find one that would be taller than most WNBA players.

Being tall is not the only needed physical attribute in basketball. You also will need, speed, vertical, and strength. The vertical leaping ability has been measured for both genders – male and female. The average vertical for males (untrained athletes) is 22.1 inches, while the elite vertical for females (95^th percentile) is 19 inches. So in turn, if you lined up five males – there is a good chance you will find a male who is just as tall (if not taller) and has a better vertical leap than the average WNBA player.

Unsurprisingly there are no real stats for WNBA speed (40-yard dash or mile time) and strength (bench, squat, etc.). Although, to be honest why would you post something that is clearly not superior to all humans. Also, I will say that many of these “strength lifts” are not needed in the game of basketball. Who cares if someone can bench 185 pounds 15 times? In fact, during the combine of the 2007 draft it is widely known that Kevin Durant could not bench 185 pounds at all. Yet, he still found himself getting drafted as the number 2 overall pick. He has since put together a hall of fame career, and also happened to win League MVP in 2013-2014.

However, many would argue that while strength is not essential to game of basketball – it can still be very beneficial. Many fans will state that Durant could not bench the required weight in the combine and he was an MVP. Yet, they refuse to admit that his strength increased dramatically throughout his playing career. He has since posted a video on Youtube of him benching 315 pounds. Apparently, he (and many in the NBA) thought that strength was important enough to increase throughout his career. While it is hard to find the average bench for many WNBA players – you can find an average for many elite lifters.

CDC’s National Center for Health did a study in 2016 and found that advanced female lifter average 145 pounds for bench press. That number jumps to 175 for a novice male lifter and to 215 for an intermediate male lifter. For the squat – the average American male – with minimal training can squat 230 pounds (average). The elite female athlete should be able to squat more than 211 pounds. So essentially, the average male (one that has lifted for a couple months) should be able to lift as much, if not more, than the elite female lifter. There should be no argument that the average male will be about as strong as the average female in the WNBA.

If strength really does play a big part in the game of basketball – men have a distinct advantage. The “Kevin Durant” argument has done nothing but prove how important strength actually is for basketball. If strength was not important then Durant would still be struggling to bench press 185 pounds. However, his training staff and the great basketball minds that surround him have decided that it must be important for him to increase his strength in order to be successful.

After the strength and physical attributes are considered, the next logical step is to look at skill. It would be an extreme injustice to try and argue that the average American male has the same skill as a professional WNBA athlete. Clearly, they have been playing the game of basketball for far longer than not only the average American male, but also 98% of Americans in general. The question herein lies: How long would it take to reach a level of skill to be able to use your physical attributes to your advantage?

Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book entitled, “Outliers.” Gladwell stated that after 10,000 hours of specified practice one could master a skill. Now, 10,000 hours is a very large number and in no way would I anticipate anyone being able to reach that within one year. In fact, it is actually impossible as there are only 8,760 hours in a year. In turn, the human body does require sleep sometime throughout the year. Mathematically speaking, the human body would require an average of 7 hours each night – especially with the training that would be taking place. That would be just over 2,500 of hours a year sleeping, leaving 6,260 hours of awake time. Clearly, this number falls well short of the required number of hours for mastery – let alone the fact that someone will not be training every single hour we are awake. It is a safe assumption to suggest that one could train for a couple hours in the morning and a couple hours in the afternoon. This would actually bring the average American male to a number much closer to 1,500 hours.

While this amount of training is far less that needed amount of hours for mastery – we also need to consider that some amount of time has already been put into training. In the grand scheme of training, most American male (athletes) will have some form of training with a basketball. Let’s just estimate that the 1,500 hours could be added to anywhere between 2,000 and 3,000 hours of decent athletic (basketball) training. That is too assume that a person may have played basketball for roughly one and half hours, three days a week, for 10 years. Honestly, that is typically more on the low side of someone who might consider themselves a basketball fan.

Even so, this total does not even come close to the needed number for mastery. However, two questions do arise from this: How many hours of training is enough? How many hours of training can be made up for by physical dominance? For example, one would be extremely hard-pressed to state that Russell Westbrook is the most skilled player in the NBA. However, Russell Westbrook was the MVP of the 2016-2017 season and a lot of has to do with his physical ability to get to the hole and just be physically faster and stronger than other guards. Does Westbrook have a decent amount of skill? Yes, he is definitely very skilled – but in comparison to other guards, he may not always be the most skilled. Essentially, physical strength, speed, height, etc. can make up for a lack of skill.

With that being said, how much skill will be needed in addition to the physical attributes that someone already possesses may not necessarily always be 10,000 hours. Also, it must be stated that the form of the argument is not: Can an average American male star in the WNBA? It is, can an average American male start in the WNBA? There are a variety of roles that must be filled in a starting lineup. One could make an argument for a player like Deandre Jordan – who is not the most skilled big man, but he is a tough big man who will rebound and play defense. It could be said, that rebounding and defense are far more physical and effort than needed skill.

There is a definite argument for an American male is who happens to be about 6’4” and is willing to put in the necessary training to excel in a needed role. The bigger question is: Am I that person?