We're presenting a bracket of 16 of the top players in women's basketball history for you to vote on, and we know some blood pressures out there are going to rise.
How could you leave her out? How could you have included her? Why is she ranked so high? Why is she ranked so low?
There are inherent hurdles in any attempt to rank performers, particularly of different eras. That's the case in everything: art, music, film, theater, literature, and, of course, sports. And there are some specific challenges in regard to ranking the best in women's basketball.
As is the case with a lot of women's sports, there were no -- or limited -- opportunities to play for many decades. Even when there was opportunity, a lot of the sport's history wasn't well-chronicled or widely observed. (Hey, we're still working on improving those things).
Also, as Americans, do we inevitably -- albeit inadvertently -- underrate non-American players? (Our list of 16 includes only one player, Australia's Lauren Jackson, who's not from the United States.)
However, I think the trickiest part of what we're trying to do here is weigh how radically different careers are for top players now versus not very long ago. You'll note our list skews toward players who came to prominence in the 1990s or later. That's not because we're ignorant of history, or because we think fans aren't aware of it.
But how do we compare a college superstar from the 1970s -- who had few, if any, options to play professionally -- with a star from the 2000s who has always had the WNBA and easier access to overseas leagues? How do we compare those players who rarely, if ever, appeared on television with those who've had hundreds of games televised?
As someone who has covered women's basketball since 1984, I struggle with this. I know my colleagues who also voted in compiling our rankings -- espnW's Michelle Smith and ESPN analysts Carolyn Peck and Rebecca Lobo -- had difficulties weighing this, too.
This is how I try to reason my way through these decisions -- and I know not everyone is going to agree. But at some point, I feel like I had to make hard calls based on the evidence that exists, not the things we project might have happened.
Yes, that seems harsh and even dismissive, which pains me. But it's hard to write about it without it sounding that way. And the further we get from the pre-WNBA days, the more difficult it will become for players from the 1970s and 1980s to hang around in these best-ever lists. Not unless the lists are separated into pre- and post-WNBA eras.
Here's a prime example: Cheryl Miller. She's universally regarded as one of the greatest ever to play, right? She's No. 4 on our collective list ... but on my list, I had her No. 13. Am I crazy?
I'm just a year younger than Miller, and I saw her play on television, and also in person once. She was a fantastic athlete: a 6-foot-2, highly skilled player who seemed ahead of her time. She was a California prep legend who was a two-time national high school player of the year.
She then helped lead USC to two NCAA titles, won the Wade Trophy, and remains the program's all-time leading scorer and rebounder after averaging a double-double in her college career (23.6 points, 12.0 rebounds).
But the combination of knee injuries, the lack of pro playing opportunities, and her pursuit of careers in coaching and broadcasting pretty much ended Miller's playing days not that long after her senior season. Her last major competition was the 1986 world championship, in which the U.S. team won gold and the then-22-year-old Miller averaged 18.0 points and 7.9 rebounds while shooting 52.8 percent from the field.
I know she was extremely talented. But I ranked her behind 12 players, all of whom had -- or are still in the process of having -- lengthy pro careers and have competed internationally.
People might think I'm unfairly shortchanging Miller because of the era she came of age in. But consider that Cynthia Cooper, who is nearly a year older than Miller, is No. 3 on my list. She was Miller's teammate at USC, and then played overseas for more than a decade before joining the WNBA at age 34. She was a two-time MVP in the WNBA, and helped the Houston Comets win four championships.
If Miller had stayed healthy and opted to keep playing, would she have had a similarly lengthy and successful pro career as Cooper? Maybe, but we don't know. It didn't happen.
And that's what, ultimately, we have to weigh when we try to rank players. In most sports, a player's longevity and body of work are usually part of what defines greatness. A lot of terrific women's basketball players simply didn't have a realistic chance at longevity. Nowadays, they do.
So how do you compare? Do you give equal weight to what you've seen one player do, and what you imagine another would have done if she'd played at a different time? Is that unfair to both?
I know what I decided. As much as I love history and respect older players, if forced to put everyone in the same bin and then rank without regard to era, I gave a lot of weight to those with longevity and a larger body of work.
You might decide very differently, but that's why we're putting it to a vote. The bottom line is it's still an intriguing way to celebrate -- as we get set for the start of the WNBA playoffs -- the best of women's basketball.