It seems like Wanda Sykes always tells it like it is. Whether in movies like Evan Almighty, Monster-in-Law and My Super Ex-Girlfriend, on television in The New Adventures of Old Christine or in her finely honed stand-up comedy, she always seems to have the perfect words of sarcastic wisdom. Come to think of it, she would make a perfect bossy little point guard. Well it turns out Sykes is a huge basketball fan; in fact she’s a season ticket holder for the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA.

What do you like about WNBA action?
I got hooked onto it with the 1996 Olympic team with Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes and all those girls. Then when I moved out to L.A., the daughter of a good friend of mine who is a writer was a really good high school ball player and she played college ball. So I kind of got to following the women’s games. Since she’s come out of college, there are not a lot of opportunities for the girls to continue their careers, so I wanted to try go to the games and support it. I think it’s important for the women to have the same options as the men.

Do you also enjoy the NBA?
Yes, I do. I don’t have season tickets for the Lakers, but I go.

You have the perfect point guard personality. Did you ever play hoops?
I did. I played in junior high and then in high school everybody grew but me. I couldn’t make the varsity team, so I didn’t play anymore.

You have appeared on the screen with some great movie divas like Uma Thurman. I think Uma could hold her own on the court. What do you think?
I think she could. She definitely has the height, but I don’t know if she has good hands. Let me think, going through her film career. You know what, she has great hands. If you look at Kill Bill, the way she fights with the swords. If we could talk her out of doing movies and get into the WNBA, then that would bring more people to the game. The way that the critics killed My Super Ex-Girlfriend, she might be thinking about that.

Having faced down audiences doing stand-up comedy, do you feel a kinship with the men and women who get on the basketball court and hear the screams of the crowd?
In some ways I do. When they hit the three or make a great play and people are cheering, I kind of get a sense of what that is like. With them, they can hit the baskets and have a high score, but then still lose the game. With us, if we’re getting laughs all the way through it’s a win. We don’t have Ws and Ls. If they laugh, we win.

From the Sept/Oct 2007 issue