Michael Porter Jr. has never been one to dance around a question, and his latest appearance on the Ball in the Family podcast with Lonzo and Gelo Ball proved it again. The topic was a usual one that happens once in a while on social media: the WNBA vs. NBA debate. Porter didn’t just end the comparison, but he also claimed the topic was pointless, and he backed it up with a wild story.
“I’m probably going with 8th grade because I have real experience doing this. I played my sisters. They played at the University of Missouri, and I was still a young kid. They had me playing on the scout team, and they had a few WNBA players on their team like, Sophie Cunningham and a couple others.”
“I was in the 7th or 8th grade going crazy. So, I have real-life experience. It’s just a difference and I wish this would stop being a conversation because it should be common sense. I appreciate common sense. I feel sometimes that’s lost a little bit.”
The tone of MPJ’s comments matters. He wasn’t trying to take shots at the WNBA or women’s basketball. Instead, he was talking about physical realities and the way the internet talks about the debate. In his eyes, comparing the two leagues is just disrespectful to both sides.
Porter’s perspective comes from growing up in a basketball family. His sisters, Bri and Cierra Porter, were standouts at Missouri. Sophie Cunningham, one of the players he mentioned guarding as a kid, is one of the toughest wings in the WNBA today. Those practices shaped how he understood the sport long before anyone knew his name. It’s why he feels confident saying he saw the difference with his own eyes.
He also knows the reaction that follows whenever an NBA player weighs in on the WNBA. Porter didn’t seem bothered by any of that. His point wasn’t about who could beat whom one-on-one. It was about stopping a comparison that, in his view, doesn’t help anyone.
Whether you agree with Porter or not, the message came through clearly. Respect the WNBA. Respect the NBA. And stop stacking them on top of each other like they’re built on the same physical foundation.
That was his whole point. And he delivered it exactly the way he always does, straight.
