From Miller to Bueckers: the WNBA’s most talked-about trash talkers
With the season approaching its climax, this feature examines WNBA players who have become known for trash talk on the court and in the media.
Casual fans have increasingly witnessed heated exchanges during games, though the piece notes many of those moments are competitive and often good-natured. The article asks which players across eras have turned smack talk into a defining part of their on-court persona. It assembles examples from figures who never played in the league through to recent draftees. The selection draws on peer polls, coach recollections and contemporary incidents.
Miller is presented as an archetype despite never playing in the WNBA, having retired before the league’s 1997 launch. The article notes she is considered by many the best women’s basketball player of all time and that she once scored 105 points in a high school game. It records Miller’s time at USC and her later work in the TNT broadcast booth as contexts for her reputation for talk. The narrative traces the origin of her trash-talking to back-yard games against her younger brother, Reggie Miller.
Diana Taurasi is cited as another prominent voice who mixed on-court and off-court chirping. The piece recounts a 2016 incident when she yelled over to Draymond Green, “Hey, Draymond, how does it feel to be the only person in this room who’s never been double-teamed?” It also records that Taurasi will direct persistent verbal jabs at opponents such as Caitlin Clark.
The rivalry between Reese and Clark is framed through a college NCAA Tournament exchange in which Reese reportedly pointed at Clark’s finger and said, “Where’s your championship ring?” The images from that episode made global headlines, and the article says the two have since been rivals. Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon is quoted: “They jaw at each other.” The piece adds that Clark will talk smack after a big shot and that Reese loudly predicted last year she was on the brink of a title.
The Athletic’s peer poll is cited in naming Thomas the league’s biggest and best trash talker last year. Opponents described her style with statements such as “She smiles and talks shit, that’s the crazy part, it’s psycho stuff, she’s crazy, man.” Another opponent said: “Everyone knows AT talks shit. I don’t even guard her, and she talks shit to me.” The article also records that Thomas was fined and suspended earlier this year for throwing an elbow at Clark.
The piece profiles several other notable figures. It says Bueckers, drafted just last year, has quickly become one of the WNBA’s best and is capable of hitting game-winner after game-winner. On her willingness to engage, she told Jennifer Hudson, with a smile, “I don’t really start it, but if somebody gets me going …” Nancy Nichols recalled Nancy Lieberman as “pretty spicy!” and noted Lieberman’s street-ball appearances with the Washington Generals on the Harlem Globetrotters’ tour, a background tied to her “Lady Magic” nickname. When former NBA All-Star Jeff Teague criticised Lieberman’s friend and mentee Clark, Lieberman replied, “Jeff, I love you, but, you weren’t a great player.” Michael Cooper recalled Cynthia Cooper’s playoff taunts and said simply, “She was a shit talker!” Fran Harris pointed to Weatherspoon’s biting smack talk and noted that Weatherspoon “hit perhaps the biggest shot in WNBA history (against the 1999 Comets).” The article also notes that Diggins, a veteran who received votes on the Athletic’s poll, “erupted during a game at the Minnesota Lynx bench” last year.
With the season approaching its climax, the examples collected here form part of the wider conversation around the league as it reaches its decisive phase. Those named will carry these reputations and incidents into the season’s concluding stretch.