As women’s basketball evolves, the legacy of the WBL persists

On Aug. 16, former players from the WBL, American Basketball League (ABL) and the WNBA were honored during the Dallas Wings game against the Connecticut Sun alongside the non-profit organization Legends of the Ball, Inc. (LOB, Inc.). LOB, Inc. treasurer Charlene McWhorter Jackson spoke with The Next about how the organization continues to make the history of the WBL known and the impact the league has on the game today.

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“Our goal is to continue to make known the relevance of the WBL,” she said. “We want to make known that women’s basketball and the women of the WBL really, truly went on and did remarkable things by being recipients of Title IX and taking advantage of what that door opened for us and stepping through that door and really benefiting from it. It helped us with … all walks of life.”

Per McWhorter Jackson, LOB, Inc. has a ways to go before reaching its ultimate goal. Events like the one hosted by the Wings, and the increased recognition of the WBL by other organizations has helped moved the needle forward.

How McWhorter Jackson has seen the game evolve

During her WBL career, McWhorter Jackson, as a post player, averaged 11 points and four rebounds per game. She was also named the Most Valuable Player of the league’s 1980 All-Star Game, scoring a game-high 31 points in the contest.

“I was a post player, okay, and that I always stress,” she said. “I know the outside game is very important, but my goal has always been and my philosophy has been to work the ball inside and then it’s going to open up the outside. And I just wish I could see more post play in the league overall,” she said. “Take it inside, work the ends, work the game from the inside out. I think it’s a beauty and a greater beauty than what we see right now.”

The WNBA is moving toward being a position-less sport — most WNBA athletes have the ability to play the one through five positions. In this transition, McWhorter Jackson believes playing through the post has become a lost art to a certain degree. Her point isn’t missed on a Wings team that boasts two 6’7 centers in Kalani Brown and Teaira McCowan. The Wings’ bigs led the team towards a league-leading 38.7 rebounds per game in 2023 and into second place in the league in offensive rebounding this season.

Still, McWhorter Jackson would like to see a greater emphasis on post play in today’s game.

“I know how important [post play] is because you’re not just out there to get rebounds and not just out there to get beat, but also there to score and help the team to have success; I’d like to see them do [that] a little bit more comfortably,” she said.

Looking back to look forward

LOB, Inc. president Liz Galloway-McQuitter and the non-profit’s executive board members are all trailblazers of the game. The players from the WBL have made an imprint on all levels of the game — many of them became coaches, including McWhorter Jackson. LOB, Inc. continues to focus on the importance of showcasing these trailblazers and allowing them to tell their stories to educate fans about how the WBL shaped today’s game. As the WNBA enjoys unprecedented attention and notoriety, women’s basketball fans benefit from listening to the legends who set the foundation for today’s success.

“I feel real good about the fact that we put in a lot of effort and time throughout our careers and now we’re seeing people really benefit from what we have done,” McWhorter Jackson said. “As far as Legends of the Ball, we want to get the message out that basketball has been good for a very, very long time. Young people need to know the history of those people that paved the way for them to be able to see all of the notoriety, the NIL deals, contracts, all of the popularity. Everything they’re getting now is a result of what we did. We did it because our love for the game and our desire to see the game become better than what it was years ago.”