It’s been over five years since Kobe Bryant tragically lost his life in a helicopter accident but his legacy continues to live on. And his words when speaking about WNBA great Diana Taurasi have never been more appropriate after she spoke about the current pay gap the league has with NBA stars.
Bryant is considered one of the NBA’s greatest players and was a huge advocate for women’s basketball, with Black Mamba often spotted at WNBA games alongside daughter Gianna, who was sadly also involved in the helicopter crash in 2020.
Around the time of his passing, now retired WNBA star Taurasi praised Kobe for his support of the game.
“He put his time and his passion toward women’s sports. I think, as of late, people are taking notice and really investing their time and money into it,” Taurasi said back in 2020.
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In turn, Kobe had previously stated that women should be allowed to partake in the NBA, with Taurasi one of three he named that could switch from WNBA to the NBA.
“I think there are a couple of players who could play in the NBA right now honestly… there’s a lot of players with a lot of skill that could do it,” Bryant told CNN.
“There’s a lot of great players out there so they could certainly keep up with them.”
Taurasi, who was titled ‘The White Mamba’, a nickname coined by Kobe, has since slammed the low salaries in the WNBA in a new documentary. In the self-titled three-part docu-series, which premieres on Prime Video this week, Taurasi outlined the struggles WNBA stars continue to face.
“I’m the best player in the world, and I have to go to a communist country to get paid like a capitalist,” Taurasi stated of her time playing in Russia during the off-season.
“We weren’t making that much money, so generational wealth was coming from going to Russia every year.
“Now we have to come back home and get paid nothing, to play in a harder league, in worse conditions, against the best competition in the world. The f**king janitor at the arena made more than me.”
The 43-year-old added that her pursuit of fairer pay meant that her personal life passed her as she had to spend months of the year playing in Russia.
Taurasi missed out on more than just money
“One time I came back and I was like, ‘Man, my parents have just gotten older and I’ve missed a big part of it,’” Taurasi added.
When Taurasi, who is widely considered to be one of the best WNBA players of all time, retired earlier this year, NBA star LeBron James was among those to praise the former Phoenix Mercury star.
“Just seeing her transcend the game, watching little girls want to play like her, her style, her flair, her bravado, you know, her swagger, it's been an unbelievable treat,” James said at the time of Taurasi’s retirement.
“She's one of the all-time greatest, and she will leave her mark on the game of basketball the moment she ties those shoes up and throws them over the pole line.”
While there are more eyes on the WNBA than ever before, player salaries still pale in comparison to those in the NBA.
At the all-star game in July, the likes of Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark took the court wearing shirts reading “Pay us what you owe us” to shine further light on the gender pay gap.
Topics: Basketball, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, NBA, WNBA
Ben McAleer