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Jordan Robinson Credit: Submitted<\/p>\n\u00a0First of two parts<\/p>\n
Jordan Robinson Credit: Submitted<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s basketball has a rich history, more than 130 years, and continues to evolve. \u201cCourt Queens\u201d (Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers) is a new picture book co-authored by Jordan Robinson and Emma Baccellieri, a \u201cSports Illustrated\u201d staff writer since 2018.<\/p>\n
Robinson is a freelance journalist, host, analyst, content creator, play-by-play announcer, and reporter based in Los Angeles. She successfully combined her passion for basketball and journalism after college and has worked as a host for the Big Ten Network, Women\u2019s Sports Network, the West Coast Conference, and FIBA. She also once hosted \u201cShe\u2019s Got Next with Jordan Robinson,\u201d the first women\u2019s sports radio show on Audacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cCourt Queens\u201d is \u201ca definitive, first-of-its-kind, richly photographic celebration of women\u2019s basketball,\u201d according to its press release. It was released March 17, and I couldn\u2019t put it down after receiving my copy in the mail.<\/p>\n
MSR recently spoke with Robinson.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasketball brings me joy, especially women\u2019s basketball,\u201d she said during a Zoom call. \u201cSo being able to tell the stories of women whose stories aren\u2019t often told, whose names aren\u2019t often mentioned alongside some of the greats, that brought me a lot of joy.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cCourt Queens\u201d book cover.<\/p>\n
The two authors organized \u201cCourt Queens\u201d in chronological order. Robinson and Baccellieri made sure Black women were prominently featured for their roles in the growth of women\u2019s basketball from its beginnings to today.<\/p>\n
Ora Washington (1898\u20131971) is a prime example, featured on pages 10\u201315.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had heard her name, but I learned so much,\u201d Robinson recalled of Washington, who excelled in both basketball and tennis. She was inducted into the Women\u2019s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018, and was nicknamed \u201cQueen of the Courts\u201d for her dominance in both sports.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had such a strong tennis background and was so dominant in tennis before finding basketball, that was super fascinating,\u201d Robinson continued. Washington is just one of countless examples where \u201cBlack women and Black players carved out something that was not there,\u201d the author added.<\/p>\n
Before the WNBA, there was the Women\u2019s Basketball League, the first U.S. women\u2019s pro basketball league (1978\u20131981). \u201cThe WBL was probably one of my favorite things I wrote about in this book,\u201d Robinson admitted. \u201cI got to sit down with three players who had played in it, and hearing their stories, not knowing they were pioneers and trailblazers, they didn\u2019t set out to be that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chronicling the Minnesota Lynx and their nearly decade-long championship run is a featured chapter in \u201cCourt Queens\u201d (pages 166\u2013174).<\/p>\n
\u201cMy favorite thing about the Minnesota Lynx champions was putting into perspective how hard that is to do, to go to the Finals that many times,\u201d she said, referring to their six appearances and four titles (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017). \u201cTo have that level of excellence\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you look back at that roster\u2026 Maya Moore, Seimone Augustus, Lindsay Whalen, Rebekkah Brunson, Sylvia Fowles, all on one team. The rivalry with the Los Angeles Sparks, with Nneka Ogwumike and Candace Parker in their prime, what a fun time in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was important to convey that duality of the Lynx, how dominant they were on the court, and how they used that platform to shine a light on more important issues,\u201d Robinson added.<\/p>\n
\u201cCourt Queens\u201d is a must-read. Is there a \u201cCourt Queens 2\u2033 in the future? A podcast, perhaps?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea of turning this book into a podcast is my dream project,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cSo I am working on it because I love podcasting.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are so many Black women throughout women\u2019s basketball history\u2026 I loved writing it. I\u2019m so happy you loved reading it, and I hope everybody loves it,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n