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ABL vs. WNBA

© Colleen Bittner

Imagine: Two entirely different leagues with two entirely different styles, surviving in the same country. Impossible? Maybe. Maybe not. So far the ABL (American Basketball League)and the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) have coexisted somewhat peacefully. But what happens when one league attracts every good player? The other league will most likely go down. Which league will go down is yet to be decided, and the only ones who can decide are the players themselves.

There has been a great deal of argument over which league is better. The only thing the two leagues seem to have in common is that they both use basketballs. The most common issue to be brought up is the respect the players are given. The ABL plays a forty-four game season from October through February, during the normal basketball season. The WNBA however, plays a twenty-eight game season, June through August. Some basketball fans argue that the WNBA is treating the women's teams like tokens, used only to fill the NBA stadiums during the off- season. Others argue that the league is having the women play during the summer because they feel they wouldn't get enough support during the regular season. The WNBA fans feel the league cannot compete with the NBA. According to several women's sports magazines, the WNBA even admits that their season is limited to prevent potential conflict with the NBA.

The ABL, which does not use NBA stadiums, does not seem to suffer from competition with the men's league. They do not have the same fan base. The league does admit that they lost money in the inaugural season, but feel they will gain it back in upcoming years. The average attendance for the ABL last year was 3,563, with the WNBA bringing in a resounding 9,011. Both figures are still dramatically smaller than the NBA's.

The ability of the players is another issue that the incoming players have to look at before Choosing a league. The WNBA has the majority of veterans of the European professional leagues with 73. The ABL has only 47, but makes up for it with eight of the twelve Olympic team members, the other four going to the WNBA. The talent, it has been said, has all gone to the ABL. They have Naismith award winner Kate Starbird, four time Olympian Teresa Edwards, and Olympic gold medalists Dawn Staley and Jennifer Azzi,. The WNBA did manage to attract Rebecca Lobo, Nikki McCray, and Sheryl Swoops, however. When Mel Greenberg of the Philadelphia Inquirer was asked to pick two ideal teams, six of the ten were on the ABL.

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