Former NBA center Enes Kanter has claimed that eight former NBA, G-League, and European players are considering declaring for the 2027 WNBA Draft.
Highlighting the stark pay gap between G-League salaries and top WNBA contracts, Kanter argued that players could drastically increase their earnings by challenging the league’s current eligibility guidelines.
Enes Kanter Claims Multiple Men’s Basketball Players Are Ready to Declare For 2027 WNBA Draft
This whole mess started when Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham wrote an ESPN article in which she said she wanted to protect women’s sports. She wrote that biological men shouldn’t be competing against women.
That comment sparked massive debate, mostly because the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement simply states that “only players who are women are eligible.” There is no specific rule or definition regarding transgender women or biological sex.
Seeing a giant loophole and an opportunity for a political stunt, Kanter announced he was declaring for the 2027 WNBA Draft. He claimed that if self-identification is all it takes, then he meets every requirement.
Ex-NBA player Royce White quickly jumped on the bandwagon, doing the exact same thing on social media.
Now, Kanter is taking his stunt a step further. He recently posted on X that he’s talked to eight other male hoopers, including two former NBA players, three G-Leaguers, and three European pros, who are allegedly ready to “join the movement” and declare for the 2027 draft if rules aren’t changed.
“They have all said that if the @WNBA doesn’t change the rules, they’re ready to join the movement and are considering coming out as women and putting their names in the 2027 #WNBA Draft,” Kanter said.
Now, listen to me very carefully!
So far, I’ve spoken with:
2 Former NBA players
3 G-League players
3 European playersThey have all said that if the @WNBA doesn’t change the rules, they’re ready to join the movement and are considering coming out as women and putting their… pic.twitter.com/UduKj1v46Y
— Enes Kanter FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) August 18, 2026
Kanter even pointed to the massive pay gap as motivation.
“Hear me out; The @NBA G- League pays players $45,000 a year, while the #WNBA top players earn $1.4 Million. Those “men” could earn an extra $1,355,000 a year by just identifying as women. Rules are rules,” he added.
Last week, a WNBA task force composed of team presidents and general managers convened to address eligibility rules surrounding transgender athletes. However, the meeting ended without a resolution or policy changes being implemented.
The league addressed Kanter and White’s stunts in their statement after the meeting. They strongly denounced what they called “bad-faith efforts” to demean athletes and exploit the debate for political leverage.
While the WNBA slammed these moves as ‘bad-faith’ political pawns, Kanter and company show no signs of backing down.
