Sophie Cunningham Agrees With Michael Porter Jr.'s 8th-Grade Take but Expresses Frustration Over Constant NBA-WNBA debate

Michael Porter Jr. was at the centre of social media attention after his comments on the NBA vs WNBA debate on the “Ball in the Family” podcast this week. Porter said an eighth-grade version of himself could dominate in the WNBA.

He backed up his statement by bringing up his sisters’ University of Missouri team, which he practiced against when he was in eighth grade. Porter said he completely dominated that team, which featured Sophie Cunningham and other players who would go on to make the WNBA.

Cunningham responded to Porter's comments on her “Show Me Something” podcast. While talking with West Wilson, she acknowledged that eighth-grade boys often have a physical advantage over grown women. However, Cunningham questioned why the topic keeps resurfacing.

“If you are a professional football player, basketball player, really any sport… If you’re in that elite level group, yeah, you should be able to beat the girls,” Cunningham said (timestamp: 14:27 onwards). “I’m not surprised by that. I just don’t get why it’s continuing to get brought up.

“If they [the 8th graders] are future pros, it just depends how big they are at that age,” Cunningham continued. “I don’t want to be unrealistic or delusional. Like, men are just stronger, bigger, athletic. They just are a different build. So if you put them up against females, yeah, they’re gonna win.”

During his podcast appearance, Porter also said he was tired of the topic being brought up and urged for "common sense" to prevail.

“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,” Porter Jr. said. “I was in the 7th or 8th grade going crazy. So, I have real-life experience. 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.”

Despite his frequent controversial comments, Michael Porter Jr. has said in the past that he is a huge fan of the WNBA.