Did Monica McNutt Play in the WNBA? Explore ESPN Analyst’s Basketball Career

ESPN’s sports analyst Monica McNutt has created a buzz all over after she called out Stephen A. Smith on live TV. The incident occurred during ESPN’s First Take’s opening segment when Smith talked about the league’s rough treatment of Caitlin Clark, who has people talking about the league unlike ever before. However, McNutt rebutted the next moment saying, “Stephen A respectfully, with your platform, you could’ve been doing this 3 years ago if you wanted to!” This unexpected response given by McNutt left Stephen A. Smith speechless as he couldn’t say anything other than repeating “wows” back-to-back.

McNutt’s remark had Stephen A. Smith mulling over the conversation as evidenced by his prolonged talk on the topic in his podcast. “Factually incorrect,” he called it, reasoning that no one has spoken more about WNBA than First Take. While one debates over it, here’s Monica McNutt, the former basketball player, and ESPN analyst, at the center.

Monica McNutt’s college basketball career

Although McNutt has carved her career path in broadcasting, she first came to be known as a hooper. As a sports analyst for ESPN since 2019 and being a part of the 2021 NBC Olympic coverage, McNutt has garnered a great level of popularity. But let’s not draw any parallels as she has been on the other side of the cam, being a college basketball athlete. Playing for the Georgetown Hoyas, Monica McNutt was an intimidating force on the floor.

As a freshman, though often playing off the bench, McNutt, played every game to average 5.6 points. The next year, it rose to 8 points.

As a junior, McNutt was added to the team’s starting lineup, leading the Hoyas to a 26-7 record overall. Hence, the program finished the 2009-10 regular season attaining 2nd place in the Big East Conference. In doing so,, the Maryland native averaged 21.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 2.1 steals per game.

Also emerging as a menace on both ends of the court, McNutt became the 6th best player in the Big East conference with 37.6% 3-pointers and 93.8% of free throws. Her scoring ability with her offensive and defensive skills led her to the second-team All-Big East alongside Skylar Diggins-Smith and Tiffany Hayes. Thereafter, McNutt in her senior season at Georgetown, averaged 10.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.6 steals per game.

Throughout her 4-year career at Georgetown, McNutt also garnered some notable accolades.

Her achievements at Georgetown

In her collegiate career, Monica McNutt averaged 11.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.8 steals. Moreover, she amassed a career 1172 points, 474 rebounds, 139 assists, 192 steals and 36 blocks. Both in her junior and senior years, she led the Hoyas to two consecutive national championship runs, including a spot in the 2011 Sweet 16.

In 2010, she ranked in 6th position for averaging 2.2 steals per game. Hence, she won the second-team All-Big East honors. At the time of her graduation, Monica McNutt became the all-time leader in games played in the history of the Georgetown program. However, McNutt had her eyes on a completely different goal.

As a result, she started writing a column in the Washington Post, advising high school athletes. Besides this, she also did some broadcast work for her alma mater. In 2013, she enrolled at the graduate school of the University of Maryland to obtain a master’s degree in journalism. Hence, Monica McNutt exemplifies excellence in a diverse range of options if one is willing to work for it!