Sabrina Ionescu's new signature shoe is great, but it also highlights a huge issue with WNBA coverage

Sabrina Ionescu's new sneaker represents a big WNBA problem

Howdy, folks. Welcome back to Layup Lines. It’s Sykes, ushering you into another weekend of basketball. Let’s talk sneakers for a second.

New York Liberty All-Star Sabrina Ionescu just made a little bit of history off of the basketball court.

With the announcement that the Liberty guard is launching her very first signature shoe with Nike, she becomes the eighth woman to ever have a signature shoe with the brand.

She’s also the third woman currently in the WNBA to have a signature shoe alongside Breanna Stewart’s Stewie 1 and Elena Delle Donne’s Air Deldon.

Both of those numbers need to be a lot higher, so it’s honestly great to see Ionescu donning her own sneaker here. There should be more signature models in women’s basketball.

I’m officially a Nike Basketball signature athlete!
The #Sabrina1, coming soon. pic.twitter.com/zHgCQYYHVi

— Sabrina Ionescu (@sabrina_i20) March 16, 2023

But still, after seeing this news, it’s hard not to think about this piece from the Sports Business Journal in 2021.

It highlights the disparity in media coverage between Black WNBA players and their counterparts. It ultimately all boiled down to one quote: “Black WNBA players won postseason awards. White women won coverage.”

The SBJ conducted a study reviewing media coverage from major sports media outlets covering the WNBA. Here’s what it found:

“We counted every time each active WNBA player’s name was mentioned in more than 550 articles that ESPN, CBS Sports, and Sports Illustrated posted online over the course of the 2020 season. We controlled for points and rebounds and found that across the league, Black WNBA players received significantly less coverage — seemingly because they’re Black. The box score: An average 52 media mentions for Black players, compared to 118 for white players.”

That was back in the 2020 season. And, obviously, it’s something that still persists today. It’s something A’ja Wilson has even spoken up on in the past.

“Even though our league is predominantly Black, I think it’s hard for our league to push us, in a sense, because they still have to market, in their mind, what is marketable,” Wilson told ESPN last year. “Sometimes a Black woman doesn’t check off those boxes.”

So when we see Ionescu — a one-time All-Star who has only played three WNBA seasons — get a signature shoe before a multi-time MVP and a champion in Wilson, some red flags certainly go up.

Wilson isn’t the only one here who is worthy of consideration. Jonquel Jones — another former MVP and Ionescu’s new teammate — doesn’t have a signature model, either. Yet she’s consistently been one of the best players in the WNBA.

Now, let me be clear. This is not to say that Ionescu doesn’t deserve to have a signature shoe or to pit her against her counterparts in the W. At the end of the day, the sneaker industry and media at large are all behind when it comes to shining the spotlight on this great league.

But it’s pretty clear that, collectively, we do need to have a discussion about the coverage imbalance here. Because it’s leading to more opportunities for certain groups of players over others. And that’s what we can’t have.

Remember all of that talk about how the Lakers were going to attempt to woo Kyrie Irving away from the Nets er, uh, the Mavericks this offseason? Apparently, that’s not a thing anymore. LA says it’s out on Irving this summer, according to reporting from The Athletic’s Jovan Buha.

Our Bryan Kalbrosky will believe it when he sees it.

“Buha is one of the most trusted and well-sourced reporters who covers the Lakers, and HoopsHype’s Scotto added that he has heard similar rumblings.

Considering both reporters are aligned, we should take them seriously.

But there are so many reasons why it would be foolish to completely count out Irving eventually landing in Los Angeles. Remember: LeBron gave a weird interview expressing “disappointment” that Kyrie wasn’t traded to the Lakers, and he has had similar tweets about the subject as well.”

Honestly, I’ve got to agree.

This is going to be an interesting game considering how desperate both teams are. The Warriors are trying to hold on to that 6th seed and avoid the play-in tournament but can’t win on the road. The Hawks are trying to snap a two-game skid and the upper hand in the East’s play-in mix. I’d take the Hawks minus the 4.5 tonight — no Draymond Green tonight for Golden State and they can’t win on the road.

— Everyone is roasting Paul George for saying he won “banners” with the Pacers.

— Dillon Brooks deserved a much bigger punishment for shoving a camera person, from Prince Grimes.

—Jalen Slawson dominated Virginia, but he might have an NBA future ahead of him, writes Bryan Kalbrosky.

— Bam Adebayo roasting his mom remains the funniest, from our Robert Zeglinski

That’s all, folks. Enjoy the weekend.