Whether you think Mark Cuban is right to consider Baylor star Brittney Griner in the NBA Draft,, the Dallas Mavericks owner's comments got people talking about women's basketball.
A sport that is often pushed to the side of the national sports discourse got headlines, and for WNBA legend and four-time Olympic gold medalist Lisa Leslie, that's significant.
"What Mark Cuban has done has really helped women's basketball," Leslie told ThePostGame. "Even though some people have seen it as a ploy for himself, I think otherwise."
Leslie said she and fellow WNBA veterans have been overwhelmed with media requests since Cuban's remarks, and even though many basketball experts disagreed with what Cuban said, at least he got people talking.
"The fact that we're talking about women’s basketball and the fact that we're talking about the WNBA is great for all of us," Leslie said.
Whether Leslie thinks Griner should pursue the NBA is another question. Leslie told ThePostGame that if Griner's goal is truly to play in the NBA, than she should go for it. But Griner shouldn't feel pressured to try to break barriers because of someone else's remarks. If it's the WNBA where Griner sees herself, Leslie said, then that's the right place.
"The WNBA was made for [Griner]," Leslie said. "It was made for all those little girls who were growing up watching us play professional basketball in our country. And the fact that our league is still doing well and successful and existing in this time, I think it would be nothing short of great for her to have the opportunity to play and try to dominate at the highest level amongst the best women players in the world."
Leslie is an advisory board member for the Capital One Cup, an NCAA Division I athletic award given annually to the top men's and women's college athletics program.
