During the WNBA's long off-season, it's never too late for WNBA Finals analysis.
In a feature on the Atlanta Hawks by Rembert Browne of Grantland, forward Josh Smith dropped a little WNBA analysis on the basketball world.
This wasn't the Josh Smith I was expecting to meet, observe, and talk to. Based on his freak athleticism, tendency to jack up 3s without hesitation, and occasional tendency to let the game take over his emotions, I unfairly expected a personality mirroring a brash wide receiver or 100-meter sprinter. The team-building, smiley, introspective 26-year-old who uses the WNBA to illustrate different types of team configurations? ("They have one outstanding superstar in Tamika Catchings on the Fever, but to be honest with you, the Lynx shouldn't have lost.") Not so much.
Although Smith (along with Atlanta native Dwight Howard) has been known to attend Atlanta Dream games, it's easy to see how the moment Browne describes might strike some NBA fans as ironic: on my list of NBA players whose style of play reflects what basketball fans appreciate about the WNBA, Smith wouldn't be near the top of the list, as unfair as that may be.