"The WNBA came to Sacramento in 1997, and Alexis Gray-Lawson would pile into the car with her 12-and-under team to make the drive. If she wanted to see women's basketball up close, that was the only option. For an Oakland girl who dreamed of the big stage, the league felt both tantalizingly close and frustratingly far away. Years later, after starring at Oakland Tech and Cal, Gray-Lawson made it to the WNBA as a player and not just a spectator. But she was the exception."
"In the last 15 years, only two women from Oakland - Gray-Lawson and Oderah Chidom - have made it to the WNBA. Go back three decades and Oakland proper still yields just four women drafted by WNBA teams or rostered during the regular season. By contrast, Oakland men have filled NBA rosters for decades, from Hall of Famers Bill Russell, Gary Payton, and Jason Kidd to modern stars like Damian Lillard."
Oakland has produced very few WNBA players despite a rich NBA legacy. Only two Oakland women reached the WNBA in the last 15 years and only four from Oakland proper were drafted or rostered over three decades. Disparities stem from infrastructure that favored boys, suburban migration, and uneven opportunities rather than a lack of talent. Early exposure required lengthy travel to games, limiting local visibility for girls. Ambiguities in defining 'from Oakland' complicate counts, as players sometimes are born in the city but play elsewhere. Broader East Bay contributions differ from Oakland proper.
Read at The Oaklandside
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