Who Wins? $1 Million Challenge Thrown Down
One of the dumbest questions in all of sports is the following: “Could dominant college team X beat terrible professional team Y?”
You see it quite often in football when fans start wondering if an undefeated college team could beat the dregs of the NFL.
Stop it. That’s a dumb question that forgets two things:
- Physiologically, there is a significant difference between a 19-year-old boy and a 28-year-old man.
- Even the worst NFL team is effectively a collegiate all-star team.
All things being equal, the winner of such a hypothetical match-up is a boring debate not worth delving into.
But what if things weren’t equal?
For instance, what would happen if the WNBA champions (currently the Las Vegas Aces, who just beat the New York Liberty in the WNBA Finals) squared off with a high school boys state championship team?
That question is one that conservative sports pundit Clay Travis wants to get to the bottom of.
Back in February, Travis turned heads when he posited that “a good state championship-level boys high school team would absolutely smoke the WNBA champions.”
“A good state championship level boys high school team would absolutely SMOKE the WNBA champions”
Blue check marks are losing their minds over @ClayTravis saying the WNBA sucks! pic.twitter.com/1MqsPabEcB
— OutKick (@Outkick) February 2, 2023
Travis did offer the caveat that schools in smaller states may not be able to field comparable talent due to lack of population.
“But for the 25 largest states in America, every single one of those states has a state champion boys basketball team that would obliterate the WNBA champion in a game,” Travis said.
On Wednesday, Travis’ comments started making the rounds again thanks to a post from the X account Hoop Herald.
That post drew the attention of three-time WNBA champion and Aces guard Chelsea Gray, who responded by simply calling Travis a “dumba**.”
The outspoken Travis clearly wasn’t going to let that go and actually doubled down by offering up his own cold hard cash.
“I’ll put a million dollars on the line, your WNBA champion team against a 2024 high school boy’s state champion team of my choice,” Travis said.
“You guys win, you get a million bucks of my money, my team wins, you all pay me a million and I give it all to the boy’s high school team. You in?”
WARNING: The following post contains language that some readers may find offensive.
I’ll put a million dollars on the line, your WNBA champion team against a 2024 high school boy’s state champion team of my choice. You guys win, you get a million bucks of my money, my team wins, you all pay me a million and I give it all to the boy’s high school team. You in? https://t.co/mYheqnZJLz
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) October 27, 2023
Travis tripled down with a bit of a jab at the WNBA’s historically moribund ratings.
“This, [by the way], would probably be the most watched WNBA game of all time,” he said.
Would the WNBA champions beat a good high school boys team?
“Ball’s in your court. Lots of boy’s state champion teams would love to compete for this money. My million is out there. Put your money where your mouth is and prove I’m wrong and make a million in the process.”
This, btw, would probably be the most watched WNBA game of all time. Ball’s in your court. Lots of boy’s state champion teams would love to compete for this money. My million is out there. Put your money where your mouth is and prove I’m wrong and make a million in the process.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) October 27, 2023
The Aces have not responded to this challenge, and it’s hard to imagine that they ever will. The potential embarrassment of losing to high school boys isn’t worth $1 million.
Because of that, this hypothetical game will be played on the plane of speculation.
Would the Aces’ fundamentals and teamwork offset the youthful athleticism of a high school boys team?
Not unlike the number of licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop, the world may never know — even with a cool $1 million sitting on the table.
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