Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. torched the fantasy that WNBA players could cross over and compete in men’s basketball. 

MPJ isn’t afraid to stir the pot, claiming WNBA players can’t compete with men. 

Porter’s blunt take, shared on Lonzo Ball’s podcast “Ball in the Family,” has already prompted the Nets to warn him about speaking too freely.

During the conversation, Porter recalled how, as a grade-school kid, he practiced against his college-playing sisters and WNBA pros like Sophie Cunningham.

READ: NBA Star Michael Porter, Jr. Gets Real About Brother Jontay Porter’s Gambling Problems

“I’m probably going with 8th grade because I have real experience doing this. I played my sisters. They played at the University of Missouri, and I was still a young kid. They had me playing on the scout team, and they had a few WNBA players on their team, like Sophie Cunningham and a couple others. I was in 7th or 8th grade going crazy,” Porter said.

TORONTO, CANADA – OCTOBER 17: Michael Porter Jr. #17 of the Brooklyn Nets smiles before the game against the Toronto Raptors on October 17, 2025 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/NBAE via Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 05: Sophie Cunningham #8 of the Indiana Fever looks on during the first half of a game against the Los Angeles Sparks at Crypto.com Arena on August 05, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Critics quickly jumped on MPJ, questioning the timeline of him playing against Cunningham. But the core of his message remained, no matter how hard folks on Bluesky tried to twist it: even high school boys could likely best WNBA players.

Lonzo Ball agreed.

“I mean this as respectfully as possible, but 9th-grade Lonzo Ball in the WNBA is going crazy,” Zo said, speaking in third person.

“In 9th grade, I was over six feet and dunking. I’m coming through the lane. No girl in the WNBA is doing that. I’m going backdoor, throwing it up, looking like Jordan out there.”

For Porter, the difference is simple and undeniable. “It’s just a difference, and I wish this would stop being a conversation because it should be common sense. I appreciate common sense. I feel sometimes that’s lost a little bit,” Porter said.

No one is calling for men to invade the WNBA, but some still claim top women could hang in the NBA. 

Porter and Ball pushed back, saying that male size, speed, strength and explosiveness create a gap no amount of skill can close.

BROOKLYN, NY – OCTOBER 24:  Michael Porter Jr. #17 of the Brooklyn Nets dribbles the ball during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on October 24, 2025 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)

The comments sparked outrage among activists who insist WNBA stars could compete with men. 

Even the Brooklyn Nets, the same team that once suspended Kyrie Irving over social media and vaccine issues, advised Porter to steer clear of the topic.

“To be on the internet for anything else other than basketball, I feel like that’s a summertime thing. But no, definitely, even the organization, we’ve had conversations, they would appreciate if I stayed clear of certain topics, you know what I mean? That’s why the WNBA thing is such a sensitive topic nowadays. So I try to be aware of that,” MPJ said.

Porter has also stood by an earlier claim that his high school McDonald’s All-American team could take on WNBA All-Stars, and he doesn’t think that idea is far-fetched.

“If the WNBA All-Star team or the Olympic team played the McDonald’s All-American high school players, it’s one of them things, bro. You can’t dance around it. In high school, when I was in high school… if we played the WNBA All-Star team, that, no disrespect, bro. No disrespect. I’m not even gonna say it,” Porter previously said.

While controversy follows Porter, he maintains respect for the WNBA and its athletes. He simply refuses to pretend that top WNBA athletes could survive, let alone thrive, against NBA men.

Take that, Pat Beverley.

Critics call it sexism. Reality calls it science.

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