Former NBA player Enes Kanter has stated his intention to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft, but he’s apparently not content to do so alone.
In a message posted on social media, Kanter spoke specifically to NBA G League players (the NBA’s developmental league), all of whom are male, about the potential increase in earnings they could earn by pursuing a career in the WNBA.
“Now, listen to me very carefully,” Kanter said in a video posted to X. “The NBA G League pays players $45,000 a year, while the WNBA top players earn $1.4 million.”
Kanter added, “Those men could earn an extra $1,355,000 a year by just identifying as women. Rules are rules.”
But the former Knicks center didn’t stop there. He further claimed to have already spoken to several current and former male professional players about joining the WNBA.
“So far, I’ve spoken with: 2 Former NBA players, 3 G-League players, 3 European players,” Kanter said. “They have all said that if the WNBA doesn’t change the rules, they’re ready to join the movement and are considering coming out as women and putting their names in the 2027 WNBA Draft.”
Kanter did not name the men he’s contacted, nor have any players independently confirmed that the conversations took place.
Kanter’s protest, aimed much more at forcing the WNBA to definitively declare its stance on trans athletes, as opposed to actually playing basketball in the WNBA, has achieved some initial success in forcing the league to hold meetings about its rules on trans athletes.
However, the talks held last week among league executives failed to reach a definition of a woman or determine whether a male would be allowed to join.
As long as the league continues to dither on firmly stating what a woman is, Kanter’s campaign can be expected to continue.