It's About Time: WNBA Teams Join the 'NBA Live 18' Roster

The ladies of the WNBA will finally grace the court in this September's NBA Live 18, the very first game to feature the whole, up-to-date roster of teams and athletes. In a trailer released today, avatars for the biggest stars of the WNBA can be seen jamming opponent's shots, landing layups and chest-bumping with abandon on the court.

I'm excited for more support and inclusion of women's sports in games, something I've long been a proponent of, albeit less vocally than some other things (I've heard enough sexist jokes about women athletes to last me a few thousand lifetimes). It's rad that the ladies of the league are being included here, especially the promotion's most visible stars: Brittney Griner, Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi, and several others had their faces scanned for the game.

The WNBA has often been treated like something of a kid sister to the NBA—our very site published a piece in 2013 that struck somewhere between joking sexism and grudging respect for the actual athletes, and that tone has been pretty par for the course, if you'll excuse a different sports metaphor. A much more thoughtful Huffington Post essay from last year shows a path forward, and this game could help as well.

I'd like to think that the ability to play as the most skilled women basketball players in the world will do something to help that reputation, and that these women start to get the respect they deserve.