Kelsey Plum was picked No. 1 overall by the San Antonio Stars in the WNBA Draft last month. She’s the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer on the women’s side and fell just short of Pete Maravich’s scoring record on the men’s side. And she’s also won a gold medal with USA Basketball.
While many people appreciate what Plum accomplished in college, many others have been held back by one simple fact: she is a woman. Plum opened up about the disrespect she feels women’s basketball players receive in an interview with Bleacher Report published Friday:
I tell people, I don’t play women’s basketball, I play basketball. Putting the “women’s” next to it shouldn’t be an asterisk, like it’s “less than.” I have been given a little bit of a spotlight, and I hope to show that we can keep moving forward in convincing people that women are just as capable as men
We’ll think we’re getting there because one thing changes, but then we’re actually further behind. Like, when ESPN posted something about my breaking the scoring record, I remember reading the comments section—which I know you should never do—but it was all like, “Why isn’t she in the kitchen?” Or sexual comments. Or like, “It’s women’s basketball, of course she can break the record.” People’s perspectives need to be challenged, and if I’m able to help change people’s idea of what it means to be a female and play basketball, then, shoot, I want to by all means.
If you need proof of how Plum’s game stands up to her male counterparts, here’s what she said about playing Markelle Fultz, a point guard out of Washington and the likely No. 1 pick in June’s NBA Draft, in HORSE:
He’ll try to tell you that he won, but that is a lie. He never even came close. [Laughs.] That’s OK, though. You gotta let him have his glory moments. We’d work out all the time at school—he’s a gym rat, so after games he’d come rebound for me and stuff.
It’s not surprising to hear that. After all, Plum honed her skills going against players like Celtics star Isaiah Thomas and former Knicks and Bulls guard Nate Robinson, both of whom played men’s basketball at Washington and stay connected to the community there. She’s been playing against the opposite sex ever since she was 12 years old:
I realized at a young age that if you want to be able to hang with these guys, you can’t show any lack of confidence. The only way I would be able to stay on the court is if I could put the ball in the hole—I’d be chilling out all game at the three-point line, where I was probably going to get two shots and I’d need to knock both of them down. It was good practice: Like, I’ll have this one moment, so I’ve gotta make sure I make the most of it.
She made the most of the moment when the San Antonio Spurs had her throw out t-shirts at a payoff game in April. She spurned the t-shirt gun and used her cannon of an arm instead.
When @Kelseyplum10 helps out with t-shirt toss 🙌#SpursFamily pic.twitter.com/PBQ3ZSnhPY
— San Antonio Stars (@SAStars) April 26, 2017
And of course, Plum had the perfect response on Twitter.
Throw like a girl 😉 https://t.co/jiXzaxnGH4
— Kelsey Plum (@Kelseyplum10) April 26, 2017
