Miami Heat forward Shane Battier, who has played several pickup basketball games with women over the years, predicts that the NBA is not far away from having its first female player.

"There's no doubt that in our lifetime, there will be a woman NBA player," Battier told ESPN.com after Thursday's Heat practice at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, said Tuesday night that he would consider drafting Brittney Griner, the 6-foot-8 senior star for Baylor who just wrapped up her college career over the weekend.

In terms of the first woman to play in the NBA, is Griner the one?

"I don't know if it's Griner or if it's someone who is 5 years old right now," Battier said. "But we'll see it. It'll happen in our lifetime. Just the law of averages."

When asked what type of player that breakthrough athlete might be, Battier said it likely would be a quick, athletic female guard rather than a taller player such as Griner.

Battier pointed to his own teammate, LeBron James, as a comparison of combined athleticism and strength.

"I don't think it would be out of the realm of possibility that [one day] we'll see a female LeBron," Battier said. "You could be the most skilled player in the world that the women's game has ever seen, but that won't cut it in the NBA. She'd have to be a physical specimen."

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle wasn't willing to weigh in on the issue when asked about Cuban's comments.