WNBA players worth watching this weekend

The WNBA will tip off its 12th season Saturday at 3:30 p.m., when the Los Angeles Sparks travel to Phoenix to take on the Mercury. I plan on tuning in, and with no NBA playoff games on tap, you should get your daily dose of basketball too.

It’s fitting that the league tips off the season with the Sparks, who used the draft’s first overall pick to snag power forward Candace Parker, who has “next” status similar to what LeBron James had when he entered the NBA.

Parker will be playing next to future hall of fame center Lisa Leslie, giving the Sparks a dynamic duo reminiscent of what the San Antonio Spurs had with David Robinson and Tim Duncan.

Leslie’s game resembles Robinson’s, while the extremely versatile Parker (she can play pretty much anywhere and do pretty much everything on the court) is more of a Kevin Garnett/LeBron James hybrid.

Like the Spurs, the Sparks had a lot of luck getting their first pick power forward. The team would have most likely made the playoffs last season had Leslie not missed the season due to her pregnancy, just like the Spurs would have probably made the 1996-97 playoffs if Robinson hadn’t missed all but six games due to injury.

Making the Sparks even more exciting is the sex appeal exhibited by Leslie and Parker. Leslie has made a second career out of modeling, while Parker has countless groups on Facebook.com devoted to her hotness. Across the country, jealous men are asking what Parker’s fiancée, Sacramento Kings power forward Shelden Williams, has that they don’t.

Adding to that sex appeal, at least in my mind, is their hops (I love the idea of an attractive girl dunking on me in a game of pickup). The 6-foot-5 Leslie was the first player to dunk in a WNBA game, while the 6-foot-4 Parker was the first female to win the McDonald’s All American dunk contest (over Kentucky Wildcats guard Joe Crawford, who formerly played for Detroit Renaissance High School), and to dunk in an NCAA tournament game.

Fans should also tune into the league this season to track the success of our own Detroit Shock, and witness what could potentially be the final season for Leslie and fellow future Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes.

Top rookies, such as Sylvia Fowles and Candice Wiggins, are worth watching as they transition to the WNBA.