VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, FRANCE — GERMANY Sato Sabali Squared at the perimeter, he hit a three-pointer and the 25,000-plus crowd inside the Stade Pierre Mauroy erupted. Breanna Stewart, meanwhile, hit a long two and the fans roared again.
Here it went back and forth during the first quarter. 2024 Paris Olympicstwo Women’s Basketball (WNBA) Players representing each country are seen exchanging baskets.
Wouldn’t it be nice if this happened more often?
Unfortunately, this is very rare, as the WNBA’s priority rules require outstanding international players to choose between playing overseas or playing for the W.
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But Sabally and Stewart’s back-and-forth didn’t last past the first quarter, and the U.S. women’s basketball team once again used its immense depth to defeat Germany 87-68 in the final game of pool play on Sunday. The win sees the U.S. win Group C and advance to the quarterfinals. The U.S.’ next opponent will be announced later Sunday.
Stewart (13 points) and A’ja Wilson (14), both two-time WNBA MVPs, led the U.S. in the first half. Jackie Young, coming off the bench, led all scorers with 19 points and Kahleah Copper added nine, making 3 of 4 3-pointers.
Sabally led Germany in the women’s basketball Olympic tournament with 15 points, while Leonie Fiebich, who plays with Stewart on the New York Liberty, had 10 points. Former WNBA player Alexis Peterson had 14. Sabally said she was happy her team, the No. 2 seed in Group C, had advanced to the quarterfinals and was eager to talk about her teammates and country.
But wouldn’t it be great if Peterson could do that in the next W? If only it were that simple. As Team USA’s Kelsey Plum said Saturday, “Peterson was at our (Las Vegas) training camp and kicked my butt. A guy like Peterson can definitely be a starter on any W team.”
The WNBA, now in its 28th season, has a distinctly American feel, the opposite of the NBA, which boasts dozens of players from overseas, many of whom are playing in the Summer Olympics. They include France’s Victor Wembányama, Serbia’s Nikola Jokic and Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. Fans were spotted all over Stade Pierre Maurois in NBA jerseys, young boys and girls pointing to the court and speaking rapidly in French, German or Dutch until they shouted “Steph Curry!”
But when asked Sunday whether the game could be evidence that the WNBA needs to go global, Sabal was blunt.
“I definitely criticize the priority rule that the WNBA has put in place,” the two-time All-Star said.
This rule, written into the collective bargaining agreement, forces veteran players to choose between the W season and an overseas league (such as France) that runs until April. Players cannot arrive late to WNBA training camps because they are playing overseas. Top players overseas can earn more than $1 million per season, while the average salary in the WNBA is only $100,000.
“I think it’s really bad to punish international players… It’s unfair,” Sabal said. “I think the NBA is doing a better job of integrating international players and pushing them in the media. There’s a clear divide there… It’s about wanting to keep us in the league, and right now it doesn’t seem like the WNBA really supports or welcomes international play.”
Stewart, who spent winters overseas playing basketball to boost his income, agrees.
“It’s a complicated situation,” Stewart said. “For international players, the most important thing is to play in Europe. If you prioritize, it really limits your ability to play in both worlds. I hope the new CBA will make (the WNBA) a more attractive place for everyone.”
Would it help if the WNBA switched to a winter schedule, when basketball is traditionally played?
“I don’t think we’re there yet,” Stewart said. “There’s a lot of other things we have to work through and deal with before we get there. It’s going to be really interesting, because we really have to choose.”
To Sabally, the solution is clear. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, as Sabally put it, “has the authority to take a position where she wants to integrate international players. In the new CBA negotiations, I think that could be a point where it’s like, ‘Maybe we were too strict with our priorities’… because there’s a lot more money being made overseas. What are you going to do?”
Sabally is right. The WNBA’s summer schedule complicates things, but there must be a compromise that can further increase the league’s talent level. This season, French fan favorites Gabby Williams and Marine Johannes, both of the Seattle Storm and New York Liberty, respectively, missed the entire 2024 WNBA season because they were drafted.
There have been concerns within the NBA that a hyper-international league could turn off casual American fans, but the product is undoubtedly better when all the world’s best players are under one umbrella. The same could be said for the WNBA.
“Globalization of the game, that’s the next step for us,” said Cheryl Reeve, head coach of the U.S. women’s team and Minnesota Lynx. “If you look at the NBA’s journey, they’re obviously a more mature league — but everything they’ve done is the next step for us.
“That’s absolutely the case with the globalization of the game. The longer the league goes on and more players from other countries come into the league — I know the WNBA franchises are valuable in roster development — the longer we go on, the more we’re going to see that happen, like we’re seeing in the NBA.”
The WNBA likes to brag about being the best women’s basketball league in the world, but that can’t be true when they continue to put the best players in the world in the box.
Email Lindsay Schnell at lschnell@usatoday.com and follow her on social media. @lindsay_schnell
This article originally appeared in USA TODAY. WNBA’s priority rule stifles game growth. How do the Olympics prove it?
