The WNBA launched the "Line 'Em Up" initiative Monday — a plan to paint the WNBA 3-point line on streetball courts around the United States. The line has already been painted at two courts in New York City: Brooklyn Bridge Park at 150 Furman and Rockefeller Battery Park at River Terrace & Warren Street. The lines make a powerful statement about the lasting impact of women's basketball and the legacy of women who have doggedly played for decades with little to no audience and reception... and they also give new fans of Caitlin Clark the opportunity to get a few shots up just like their favorite Indiana Fever star.
The WNBA 3-point line will also be added to courts at four additional parks: Danny Farrell Riverbank State Park (New York), Bolden Mack Park (Amityville, NY), Gantry Plaza State Park (Long Island), and Roberto Clemente Park (Bronx).
The league also launched a short film featuring Tina Charles, Sue Bird, Chamique Holdsclaw, Epiphanny Prince, and Hoop York City founder Alex Taylor that dives into the impact of women's basketball. As the women in the film explain, the women's game has always been just as thrilling as the men's — it's the rest of us that had to catch up.
Caitlin Clark is one of a long line of greats
Clark's impact on the WNBA and women's basketball is undeniable. For an athlete who is only in her second year of professional basketball, she has already raised the bar for greatness in a way that hasn't really been seen before. That's partly because of her own innate ability and appeal, but also because she came along in the perfect era for exactly this kind of basketball hero. She's wildly talented, engaging, funny, competitive, and seems genuinely grateful to be experiencing the moment, and intent on bringing as many people along with her.
The Line 'Em Up campaign is another step in that direction, and it's something that might not have been possible before this current period in time. It's not that women weren't talented, engaging, funny, and compeititive on the court before, it's that now more people than ever before are actually paying attention and enjoying the women of the WNBA for who they are — not props to entertain or look a certain way, but tough, strong, killer athletes.
The park is the heart and soul of basketball. No matter where you are, if you have a ball you can find a place to shoot around. Everyone belongs at the park — and adding the WNBA 3-point line is tangible proof of exactly that.