US women's basketball vs Germany shows how WNBA's prioritization rule hurts the game

VILLENEUVE-D'ASCQ, France — Germany's Satou Sabally squared up from the perimeter, drained a 3-pointer and the crowd of 25,000-plus inside Stade Pierre Mauroy erupted. On the other end, Breanna Stewart hit a long 2, and fans roared again.

Back and forth it went for the first quarter here at the 2024 Paris Olympics , two WNBA stars trading baskets while representing their countries.

Wouldn’t it be nice if this happened more often?

Sadly, because of the WNBA’s prioritization rule, which forces top international players to pick between playing overseas or in the W, it’s an all-too-rare occurrence.

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Sabally and Stewart’s back-and-forth didn’t last much beyond the first quarter, though, as the U.S. women's basketball team again used its tremendous depth to put away the Germans 87-68 on Sunday in the final game of pool play. With the win, the United States wins Group C and advances to the quarterfinals. The Americans’ next opponent will be announced late Sunday.

Stewart (13 points) and A’ja Wilson (14), each two-time WNBA MVPs, led the U.S. and poured it on in the first half. Coming off the bench, Jackie Young led all scorers with 19 points while Kahleah Copper added 9 points, going 3-of-4 from deep.

Sabally led the Germans, in their fist women's basketball Olympics tournament, with 15 points, while Leonie Fiebich, who plays with Stewart on the New York Liberty, scored 10. Alexis Peterson, a former WNBA player, scored 14. Sabally said she is thrilled her team, as the second seed out of Group C, is headed to the quarterfinals, eager to gush about her teammates and her country.

But wouldn’t it be nice if Peterson got to do that in the W next? If only it were that straightforward. As Team USA’s Kelsey Plum said Saturday, “Peterson, she was in our (Las Vegas) training camp and kicked my butt. Someone like Peterson certainly could be a starter for any W team.”

Now in its 28th season, the WNBA has a distinctly American feel, the direct opposite of its counterpart. The NBA touts a global game, made better by dozens of players from overseas, many of whom are on display at these Summer Games, including France's Victor Wembanyama, Serbia's Nikola Jokic and Greece's Giannis Antetokounmpo. Fans have been spotted throughout Stade Pierre Mauroy wearing NBA jerseys, little boys and girls speaking rapid French or German or Dutch until they point to the court and scream “Steph Curry!”

But asked Sunday if this game should serve as proof that the WNBA needs go to global, Sabally didn’t mince words.

“I obviously criticize the prioritization rule that the WNBA implemented,” the two-time All-Star said.

The rule, which is outlined in the collective bargaining agreement, forces veteran players to pick between the W season and overseas leagues (like France’s) that run into April. Players are no longer allowed to arrive late to WNBA training camp because they are playing overseas, where top players can make north of $1 million per season compared to the average WNBA salary of just over $100,000.

“I think it’s really bad to punish international players … that’s just unfair," said Sabally. "I think the NBA does a better job of incorporating international players, also pushing them in the media. There’s a clear disparity in that … it goes to wanting to keep us in the league and as of now, it doesn’t seem like the WNBA really supports or welcomes international play.”

Stewart, who has spent many winters playing overseas to boost her basketball income, is empathetic.

“It’s a complex situation,” Stewart said. “For an international player, their main thing is playing in Europe. Prioritization really limits playing in both worlds. Hopefully with our new CBA we’re able to make (the WNBA) an even more attractive place for everyone.”

Would it help if the WNBA moved to a winter schedule, when basketball is traditionally played?

“I don’t think we’re there yet,” Stewart said. “We’ve got a lot of other things to fix and handle before that. That would be very interesting, because that would really make you have to choose.”

To Sabally, the solution is obvious. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, Sabally said, has the power to “take a stance in really wanting to incorporate international players. In the new CBA negotiations, I think that can be a point we make like, ‘Hey, maybe we were too strict on the prioritization’ … Because you make significantly more money overseas. What do you do?”

Sabally is right. The WNBA’s summer schedule complicates things, but surely there’s a compromise that would increase the league's talent level even more. This season, French players Gabby Williams and Marine Johannes, two fan favorites with the Seattle Storm and New York Liberty, respectively, are missing the entire 2024 WNBA season because they were forced to pick.

Although there have been concerns within the NBA that a hyper-international league could turn off casual American fans, the product is undoubtedly better when all the world’s best players are under one umbrella. The same would be true of the WNBA.

“Globalization of the game, that’s our next step,” said Cheryl Reeve, who is head coach of the U.S. women's team and Minnesota Lynx. “If you look at the journey of the NBA, obviously they’re a more mature league but — everything that they’ve done is sort of what’s next for us.

"That is absolutely the case with globalization of the game. The longer the league is around and the more players from other countries are coming into the league — which I know WNBA franchises find valuable to roster development — the longer we go, the more we’re going to see that, like we see in the NBA.”

The WNBA likes to brag that it’s the best women’s basketball league in the world. But that can’t be true when it continues to box out some of the world’s best players.

Email Lindsay Schnell at lschnell@usatoday.com and follow her on social media @Lindsay_Schnell

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US women's basketball vs Germany shows how WNBA's prioritization rule hurts the game