TRENDING NFL trade deadline tracker Bills beat Vikings on MNF Wemby's on a tear NFL Power Rankings Week 10 Waiver Wire Story by Story by Former WNBA No. 2 pick shares a ‘theory’ on why players date each other Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images Luke Randall · HITC Tue, November 10, 2026 at 6:10 PM UTC · 2 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former WNBA No. 2 pick Chantelle Anderson recently pulled back the curtain on the league's dating culture .
Dating talk around the WNBA kicked right back up recently when Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd dropped a quiet update: they actually split over a year ago. What caught everyone off guard was that they managed to play an entire season together on the Dallas Wings without anyone even noticing a rift.
Their situation got fans and media talking all over again about what it's really like to date inside women's hoops, which is an interesting topic for many.
Former WNBA No. 2 pick Chantelle Anderson joined the conversation with a really honest take on why players end up dating each other. For her, it comes down to how teammates connect.
Sports give women room to build real, genuine friendships first, long before any relationship pressure or attraction gets in the way.
Talking to Michael Porter Jr. on his YouTube channel , she said: "I think I have a theory in that you have the opportunity to build genuine relationships, and there's not a lot of opportunities—or as many—for men and women to get to know each other in a pure way to where they can really get to know who this other person is.
"You know, I know my first girlfriend, we got to know each other through basketball. I had never dated a girl before, so I was just getting to know her, and then I was like, 'Shoot, I think this is something.' You know? But it was because I fell in love with who she was.
"And I think with men and women, sometimes s** is on the table so early. Or, 'What is this going to be? Is this attraction?' No. Like, can we just get to know each other with no… I think if we had those opportunities, there would be a lot more healthy couples between men and women.
"But I think in sports, you have those opportunities with women. I'm not saying that's why it's so prevalent; I just think that contributes to a lot of the dating."
Over the years, dating inside the league has produced some of the WNBA's most recognisable couples.
Legends like Diana Taurasi and Penny Taylor paved the way, while Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley literally won a ring together as wives. More recently, stars like Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner have kept that tradition alive.
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Source: Sports
