Today, even the most casual of WNBA fans have watched some of the league's biggest stars talking trash on the court. But while the snarling convos look heated, most of the time, they are good-natured, competitive fun.
Still, we wondered, who are the best trash talkers in the game? Which players over the years have turned talking smack into an art form? Let's explore.
OK, Miller never played in the league – she retired before the W's launch in 1997 – but if there was a trash-talking trophy in the WNBA, it would to be named after her. Miller is considered by many to be the best women's basketball player of all time (she once scored 105 points in a high school game), and those who saw her at USC or heard her in the booth on TNT know that she can really . Of course, her talent for it began in the back yard playing against her younger brother, fellow Hall of Famer Reggie Miller. From there, a legend was made.
Another candidate for greatest player of all time and, like Miller, Taurasi had a knack for talking smack. She did it both on and off the court. For example, in 2016, when the men's and women's US basketball teams were together on a cruise ship, Taurasi yelled over to an already-blustery Draymond Green, "Hey, Draymond, how does it feel to be the only person in this room who's never been double-teamed?" Taurasi doesn't mind – she'll even go after the league's biggest names, chirping incessantly in the ears of players like Caitlin Clark.
Like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, these two players will for ever be linked. It all began in college in the NCAA Tournament when Reese talked some legendary trash to Clark, pointing at her finger as if to say, "Where's your championship ring?" Those images made global headlines. Since then, the two have been rivals. (Even the famed former Showtime point guard has noticed.) "They jaw at each other," offered Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon. But their trash talking isn't only reserved for each other. Clark is willing to talk smack to anyone after a big shot and Reese is on the brink of a title – something she predicted loudly last year. But despite all their verbal battles, Reese and Clark, like Bird and Magic, seem to be more than amicable off the floor these days.
In a poll by the Athletic last year, Thomas was voted by her peers as the biggest and best trash talker in the league. That's saying something, but Thomas wears the crown proudly. Explained one opponent: "She smiles and talks shit, that's the crazy part, it's psycho stuff, she's crazy, man." Said another: "Everyone knows AT talks shit. I don't even guard her, and she talks shit to me." Certainly, Thomas is not one to back down from anything. She was even fined and suspended earlier this year for throwing an elbow at Clark. While that isn't exactly verbal communication, Thomas did send a message.
Drafted just last year, Bueckers has quickly become one of the WNBA's best. She's an assassin on the floor, capable of hitting game-winner after game-winner. And she'll let you know about it, too. She'll strike even if you're on the bench, before nailing a three. Whether she's speaking up for fellow players or talking smack to her opponent after a hard foul, Bueckers is not someone to mess with. "I don't really it," she told Jennifer Hudson, with a smile, "but if somebody gets me going …" Yes, that would be a bad idea.
Lieberman is one of the legends of the women's game. Known in her heyday as "Lady Magic" for her skill at point guard, she was also one of the most biting trash talkers, according to her former GM with the Women's Professional Basketball League's Dallas Diamonds, Nancy Nichols. "From my experience, Nancy Lieberman was pretty spicy!" Nichols tells the Guardian. "Especially when she played street ball with the Washington Generals on the Harlem Globetrotters' tour." That's right: Lieberman was so good that she was a standout in the men's and women's game. More recently, though, when former NBA All-Star Jeff Teague criticized Lieberman's friend and mentee Clark, Lieberman came to the Fever star's defense, telling Teague, "Jeff, I love you, but, you weren't a great player."
When the Guardian reached out to two-time WNBA champion coach Michael Cooper for his thoughts on the greatest trash talkers in league history, he was quick to mention Cynthia Cooper (unrelated). A two-time MVP and four-time champ with the 1990s Houston Comets, Cynthia was a marvel on the floor. But she didn't go about her business silently, often making her feelings known to Michael's LA Sparks in the playoffs. "We were playing them for their second title and I was an assistant coach," Michael says. "She walked by me during a timeout and said, 'Coop, we beating y'all like the Celtics did in 8'84.' I couldn't help but laugh. She was a shit talker!"
Speaking of those 1990s Comets, one of their former players, Fran Harris, was quick to note Weatherspoon's trash talking ability. Of course, Weatherspoon hit perhaps the biggest shot in WNBA history (against the 1999 Comets). But even before that, the two-time Defensive Player of the Year filled arenas with her biting smack talk, not unlike another former DPOY, Gary Payton.
There was another marquee player on the Athletic's poll who received several votes – a veteran who has long been considered a premiere trash talker. If there was ever any doubt about Diggins's smack talking prowess, it was silenced last year when she erupted during a game at the Minnesota Lynx bench.