UConn guard KK Arnold’s freshman season was all about learning on the job.

What began as an expectation to fight for minutes and steadily contribute to a title-contending Huskies team quickly escalated into Arnold’s first start coming just five games into the season after multiple injuries depleted the UConn backcourt. 

By season’s end, Arnold was the starting point guard for the Huskies in the Final Four, her 33rd start of the year. She had 14 points, 5 steals and 5 assists in a nail-biting 71-69 loss to Iowa in the NCAA tournament.

After a freshman season in which she had been unexpectedly thrown into the fire, Arnold, who averaged 8.9 points, 3.2 assists and 2.3 steals for the Huskies, proved to herself that she was more than capable of succeeding at the collegiate level. Now, as Arnold preps for her sophomore season, the Germantown, Wisconsin, native is ready to elevate her role on the team both through her on-court performance and the growth of her voice within the locker room.

Arnold spoke to Andscape about her accelerated freshman season, her experience participating in Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum’s Dawg Class, how she’s developed a fan base on TikTok, and the UConn team’s growing obsession with Legos.

Now that you’re a few months removed, how do you reflect on your freshman season at UConn?

It was definitely a great year overall in terms of just a learning experience. Our freshman class kind of got pushed into a role that we weren’t expecting at all and all the [injuries] that happened in the beginning of the season later just pushed us into a position that we weren’t expecting. So just having to adjust and learn from our upperclassmen and having upperclassmen like Paige Bueckers, Nika Muhl, Aaliyah Edwards – and the off-court leaders as well like Aubrey Griffin and Azzi Fudd – it kind of just helped us get more comfortable and acclimated. I feel like from that point on the season just kind of slowly, with each game that I played, each progressed and just showed myself and what I can do on the court at the college level.

Like you mentioned, you were thrown into the fire as a freshman. What kind of mental adjustment did you need to make when you were tasked with a larger role than you had foreseen?

Just take it one game at a time, one step at a time, but also just don’t get too hard on myself. That was one big thing, I would say. After a bad game, I could get rough on myself but I kind of had to throw that out the window after every game approached because we couldn’t have those moments when we were low on players as well. We couldn’t have those breakdown moments where I was just feeling bad about myself and how I played. I just had to keep the energy up, keep being a light for our team during those moments. Of course, we made it all the way to the Final Four and kind of our goal. That was the mentality I needed to have. Each and every game won’t be pretty, but it’s what I take from that game and what I can do outside of when I’m struggling during a game.

Did you seek advice from anyone on the team or outside of the team to aid you in that transition?

All the coaches kind of took a big deal, had a big hand in it. Talking to coach [Geno Auriemma] and just things that maybe he sees I have to work on and him just being a support. Of course there’s going to be bad games, but it’s about how you impact other parts of the game and just having assistant coaches and everyone hyping you up and just being a comfort spot for you. Having them to talk to on the side was a calming point and a [sense of] comfortability for me. 

At what point in your freshman season did you feel settled into your role?

I want to say the Creighton game where we played at Creighton. I kind of displayed my ability to shoot the ball, attacking the rim, defensive end. From that game on, I feel like I just got into a more comfortable feeling on the court with everybody else and found my role, adding defensive pressure, creating energy from the defensive end, creating for our offense.

How will your freshman experience benefit you in your preparation for your sophomore season?

It just kinda gives me a step stool of where to begin in terms of what I need to improve on from the past year, the things that will separate myself and our team, the things that we need to do, and a leadership role in terms of myself as well. I think one thing I was looking for the past season was finding a voice and leadership style. Now not having Nika [Muhl] here this year, just finding my own way in terms of how can I get this group going.

That’s a tough leap to make, has that been difficult?

With Paige being here for one more year, she kind of helps with that, just asking her questions. All of the upperclassmen as well, Azzi and them, they’ve all been in the same kind of shoes that I’m in now. Then asking my coaches in terms of what do they think. How can I be in an impactful role? Like I said, I’m a very joyful person, a very goofy person, so just kind of having that side of me as well will make me feel more comfortable.

What would your outlook be from today about what you can accomplish next season?

We take it one game at a time … Of course we all have high hopes for our team. We all know we have great players alongside us and a great team chemistry so far hanging around each other.

With the summer comes the WNBA season. Who are some of your favorite players in the W right now?

I love watching all the alums from UConn, Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart. One person that I’ve been watching is Jewell Loyd because of her point guard skills and everything that she does. Another person is Kelsey Plum. Watching her navigate and her finishing ability and her being the height that she is, it’s kind of like a reflection of who I am in terms of knowing where I need to be at the next level and also these next three years of what can I work on and kind of implement those different styles of play in my game.

Speaking of Kelsey Plum, you were a part of her Dawg Class camp in April – how was that experience?

It was a great experience. She teaches more than basketball at that camp. She also teaches the mental part and how if she goes through a rough patch, how she deals with things, how she talks to all types of different people. She just kind of showed us her support system and what you need on that next level. She was honestly just like a big sister on that side, just kind of giving us a walk-through of her journey and what she went through and how we can accomplish the same things but also like what we need to get to that level. That camp really just showed me what I’m capable of but also gave me the opportunity just to play alongside and learn from players that I don’t get the chance to. We’re always battling against each other. Having cheerful, joyful moments each and every day at that camp was pretty cool.

Like you’ve mentioned, you bring an energy and lightness to the UConn locker room. Has that always been a part of your personality?

Yeah, that’s always been part of me growing up, through AAU, high school, everything. I remember being like that when I was younger as well. My family can vouch for me on that part. I had to bring that same personality when I got to [UConn] – being that bright person, goofy person, off the court to kind of chill and calm people down and just make them laugh.

You have a huge social media presence, particularly TikTok where you have over 430,000 followers. How have you used that platform to build and connect with your fan base?

Just showing fans that there is another side to me besides basketball. We all know that, we all see the goofy side of me and I show that a lot on the mic’d ups that get posted on our women’s basketball page. Just having a balance of being myself off the court and what I like to do. I really enjoy bringing joy and doing dances and all types of stuff. I can communicate with fans if I can’t communicate with them after a game. It gives a good outlet where they can reach out, talk, different vibes and stuff like that.

What was your follower count on TikTok at the beginning of your freshman year?

I would say, maybe, 15,000? Somewhere around there. As each day went by and a video I posted just kept rising up and up.

Is that wild to you?

That was crazy. I was just talking about it with my family, how much it’s grown. You don’t even realize it until you really look at it. Having that amount of support behind you, seeing that people enjoy the content that I post and everything – it’s a great thing to see.

One aspect of your social presence that fans have gravitated to are the phrases that you’ve popularized on your account. Can you break some of them down for me? You can give a definition, then how you would use it.

All right.

First one, ‘OK, so boom.’

OK, so literally, that’s what it’s for. If I’m starting a conversation or like a story, I’lll be like ‘ok so boom so now we finna do,’ or just to start off a phrase or something.

‘Girly pop.’

Girly pop is just like addressing somebody. I would say like, “hey, girly pop,” “hey, girlie” that’s what I use that for.

‘Girl, boo.’

Ok, so girl boo is like if something is, like, ridiculous or if somebody is making a joke about me or something like that or something is just sideways, I’ll be like ‘girl, boo,’ like brushing off, basically saying no, like, bye.

Is it crazy to have fans using these phrases that they likely learned from you?

It was crazy to me. Honestly, I didn’t really get the full grasp of it until they all started commenting on every one of my videos like girlypop, girl boo and everything. I was like, oh, it’s actually like a movement now. It’s so crazy.

Have you gotten Coach Auriemma to say girl boo?

No. We’re still working on that piece. That’ll be later on.

Favorite teammate to make a TikTok with?

Paige, Ice Brady, Aubrey. We try to get everybody in there. I think this group, this year, you’ll see any and everybody in a TikTok.

You’ve done a lot of man on the street-style interviews for the UConn team account, you’re a natural in front of the camera. Is that something you’d want to pursue outside of basketball, a host of sorts?

Yeah, I kind of like it, like a media role, I feel like it’s like my personality and something that I would carry over after school.

What’s taken up your free time this offseason?

A few of us, Paige, Jana El-Alfy, me, Ayanna Patterson — we’ve been really into Legos. Right now, I’m doing a project that’s like a Disney anniversary build. We’ve gotten into Legos when we have down time. It’s just kind of something that we’ve picked up.

Yesterday we were at the store and we saw this big Camaro truck. It was huge. I was, like, it’s going to take a lot of time, but that’s on my bucket list right now. Get that Camaro.

Honestly I think it’s becoming a movement. I kind of picked up on it from Jana and Paige but also I’ve seen a couple of NBA players, they have their own collection. So I was like, ‘all right, maybe I should start my own thing.’

While the game was won by the hometown Liberty, the buzz amongst patrons centered on the rising star of the opposing team, rookie Sky forward Angel Reese.

Standing in front of the subway entrance above ground, a large group of over 30 — a mix of adults and children, all of whom are Black — pose for a photo in custom Angel Reese T-shirts. Down below, a pair of Black sisters dance in front of the turnstiles to the latest TikTok viral song — their mom recording them as an intensely decorated poster dedicated to Reese lays on the floor. Skylar, age 10, has on a Reese No. 5 Sky jersey, while Jah’nae, age 17, rocks a Reese T-shirt.

When asked what makes her a fan of Reese, Jah’nae’s response focused just as much on Reese’s off-court success as her play.

“Her game just draws me into liking her,” Jah’nae said. “I play basketball, too. Watching her, I think I could do what she does. She doesn’t care what the outside has to say. I think a lot about what other people say, and she doesn’t. She just does what she does, every day.”

Jah’nae was also drawn to Reese’s celebrity off the court — Reese’s interactions with some of today’s biggest musical artists from Glorilla to Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion caught her eye.

Reese’s integration into the pop culture space is an important aspect of her presence in the WNBA that has, at times, felt understated by the masses. It represents an important aspect of Reese’s contribution to the game’s rapid growth. While cultural crossovers between the entertainment industry and the WNBA have existed since the league’s inception, Reese appears positioned to be a part of the group at the forefront of further weaving the culture into the WNBA fabric.

“I’ve met Beyoncé. I’ve met Megan [Thee Stallion]. I was just texting Megan this morning, I’m going to send her a jersey. I think that’s the difference between me and a lot of players. … I’m not just a basketball player. The rappers. The singers. Everyone knows who I am,” Reese said before the July 11 game versus the Liberty. “They come out to the games to support.”

Esther Wallace, founder of the streetwear clothing brand Playa Society, put it plainly:

“Angel is different.”

Popular culture has always been present in women’s professional basketball. It started with the 1996 women’s national team, after winning gold at the Atlanta Olympics, appearing on the television show “Martin” that fall.

“Everybody remembers that. The culture has always been there,” said Wallace.

The episode served as another medium to introduce women’s professional basketball to the casual fan, and felt like a harbinger for the sport to continue utilizing the culture to increase its visibility. In 1999 at Madison Square Garden, Whitney Houston sang the national anthem at the first-ever WNBA All-Star Game. Another moment came in 2000 with the WNBA’s incorporation into the cult classic movie “Love and Basketball.”

Over time, however, moments like that became more infrequent. 

“When the investment isn’t there or we lose sight of what the product is, I think that’s when it started to diminish a little bit or we had that period of time where we didn’t see it,” Wallace said. 

In recent years, however, there’s been a sense of reinvigoration around moments of cultural integration within the WNBA – particularly within the music industry. The consistency and magnitude of those interactions, which occur today at a more individual level, have seemingly been the strongest they’ve ever been. 

The league’s top talent agrees that the uptick seen in those moments unequivocally contribute to the growth of the game.

“It’s huge especially with women being the arbiters of so much culture, Black people being the arbiters of so much culture, all of the intersection of sports, culture, music, entertainment — I think it’s a great way to take a pulse on society,” Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike said during WNBA All-Star Weekend. “For the WNBA to be kind of at the intersection of all of that, I’m really grateful.”

“I think people are appreciating what we are doing as athletes,” added Storm guard Jewell Loyd. “I think from the music side, artists want to be athletes and athletes want to be artists. It’s been really great to see the growth of women supporting women.”

One of the league’s biggest cultural drivers has been Reese. Just in the first half-season of her professional career, Reese’s crossover starpower has been on full display. 

• During a recent episode of Club Shay Shay with host Shannon Sharpe, featured guest Megan Thee Stallion, referenced a basketball hoop that she has in a studio she records in. Occasionally, she said, the rapper will casually take shots on the hoop, stating “I be thinking I’m really Angel Reese.” The episode has over 2 million views on YouTube.
• In May, Reese joined Megan on stage during her tour stop in Chicago.
• In early July, after Reese notched her 12th straight double-double against the Seattle Storm, R&B artist SZA, who has more than 20 million followers on Instagram, posted a story in support of the budding rookie star. “Go crazy! I gotta go see her play,” SZA posted. 
• After the Sky’s win against the Atlanta Dream on July 2, Reese was seen connecting with R&B artist Monica, who posted Reese to her Instagram story with audio of her classic song “Angel of Mine” overlaid on the post. The Grammy winner has a Instagram following of over 13 million.
• Rapper Latto attended Reese’s pro debut on May 15 in Dallas against the Wings. What brought her out to College Park Center? “Angel Reese,” Latto said directly to the camera in a sound byte that has since become a meme amongst women’s basketball Twitter.
• On July 16, after the Sky defeated the Aces in Las Vegas, Reese recorded a TikTok with Usher in which the R&B star flipped his patented phrase “Ursher, baby” to “Angel, baby.” The video has over 3.6 million views.
• Reese has also been seen postgame interacting with artists ranging from Lil Durk to G Herbo 

“I think she really brought in other celebrities from different entertainment factors,” said Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson, who has also been a key contributor to bringing those cultural moments to the W. “The things that she’s done. The collabs that she’s had, it’s truly amazing to watch and I hope it continues to grow.” 

Reese is a product of the WNBA’s past cultural needle movers. This year’s group of WNBA All-Stars chose an array of players when asked to name who they first recalled bringing that sense of cultural integration to the league. 

For Los Angeles Sparks forward Dearica Hamby, that player was Skylar Diggins-Smith.

“Skylar was the first that kind of started it,” Hamby said. “I think she was the first that kind of brought eyes to our league in a different way.”

Ogwumike referenced Cappie Pondexter as one of the first she noticed to branch outside of solely being an athlete, a blueprint she believed was created by Candace Parker.

One name that rang consistent amongst the group, including Reese, was Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie. 

“I think Lisa was also someone we saw who wasn’t just considered a basketball player, I think she branched outside the confines of just being an athlete,” Ogwumike said. 

Said Wallace: “Lisa Leslie was everywhere. I think Lisa Leslie was on an episode of Moesha. I really think Lisa Leslie, she was her. She had these cultural aspects of her game where she was iconic. She had the red lips, she had the shorts. I think that that’s really one of the earliest representations of it.”

Then there’s the on-court style and impact that Black women in the W have had since the days of the iconic red lipstick Tina Thompson wore as one of the faces of the Houston Comets. Wilson pointed to Diggins-Smith and Parker as other original on-court influencers.

“I think the effect that Skylar really had. It was just a tie headband. She really had all the young girls doing the ninja tie headband,” Wilson added.

“Even when it came to Candace – baby hairs. You saw Candace and you saw baby hairs and she still does it. Me, the one leg sleeve. We all bring something that’s amazing to help impact the culture. I think Angel is doing a great job of that as well.”

Despite Reese’s growing overlap in pop culture, particularly Black music culture, the perception of her impact at the national level in aiding in the growth of the game can still feel at times undervalued. That’s nothing new, says Wallace.

“I think that traditionally mainstream [media] has been geared towards a certain style or genre that doesn’t always align with something like a SZA or an Angel Reese,” Wallace said. “I think that a lot of times we tend to elevate voices that aren’t the Black voices – Black women especially. We’ve seen it in culture so many times.” 

“For me, it’s about showing that I’m not just a basketball player. I’ve built a platform outside of basketball and I think that’s why a lot of people love me. I have nails, I have hair, lashes – I’m the Barbie. A lot of little girls look up to that, they say I want to be like you. They want to wear pink. They want to do girly stuff but also be a dawg on the court.”

Perhaps it’s a misunderstanding of what Reese’s presence – or any WNBA player’s presence in those non-basketball, pop culture spaces – means. As the sport continues to grow, reaching the casual fan or those unfamiliar with the league as a whole through a shared artist’s post or medium provides endless opportunities to grow the league’s base.

“They have eyes on them as well,” Hamby said of the celebrities who through their interactions with players can also cross-promote the WNBA. “People are watching them and are like, ‘Oh, they watch this; let me see what that is.’ ”

This is all particularly notable as the league itself has increasingly leaned into the incorporation of Black culture and music to help stimulate its growth. When Toronto officially announced its new expansion team in May, rapper Drake was present as a Toronto ambassador. 

The newly minted Golden State Valkyries celebrated their team’s announcement with a Block Party with rapper E-40 and R&B artist Kehlani — who also performed at last year’s All-Star Game halftime show. Halftime performers during last year’s WNBA Finals between the Aces and Liberty included Remy Ma, Jim Jones, Too Short and Lil Kim.

When it comes to valuing and equally weighing the contributions that players like Wilson, Reese and other Black players in particular are making by interacting with the culture, it’s necessary to first recognize the variety of ways that exist to grow the sport. Wallace is confident that this new generation of Black players will command an acknowledgement of their method of impact.

“I know how Angel Reese is built. I know how A’ja Wilson is built. I don’t see [the undervaluing of their impact] being allowed to happen any more as we continue to move forward,” Wallace said.

Reese’s offcourt star power is amplified by the fact that she is playing at an elite level during her rookie season. 

Reese, who was the youngest All-Star in Saturday night’s contest, has amassed a league-leading 17 double-doubles through 23 games this season. She broke Parker’s record for most consecutive double-doubles in WNBA history, ending the streak earlier this month at 15 straight. She is just five double-doubles shy of breaking the single-season double-doubles record set by TIna Charles 14 years ago. Reese currently ranks second in the WNBA in rebounds per game (11.9 rpg) behind MVP favorite Wilson (12.0 rpg). Should both players sustain their output through the end of the season, Reese would tie Minnesota Lynx legend Sylvia Fowles for the second-highest single-season rebounding average in WNBA history.

At the Olympic break, Reese is averaging 13.5 points, 11.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists for Chicago.

“She’s a dawg, that’s why I’m a fan of her,” said Skylar.

In many ways, Reese is confidently and boldly stepping through the doors opened by the generations of WNBA players before her that created opportunities for players to exist beyond basketball and without confines. That, combined with the generational tool of social media has made Reese the perfect figure to resonate with fan bases in and out of the basketball space – all this while she continues to find All-Star level success on the court. 

“For me, it’s about showing that I’m not just a basketball player,” said Reese, who became the first rookie to record a double-double in the WNBA All-Star Game. “I’ve built a platform outside of basketball and I think that’s why a lot of people love me. I have nails, I have hair, lashes – I’m the Barbie. A lot of little girls look up to that, they say I want to be like you. They want to wear pink. They want to do girly stuff but also be a dawg on the court. …

“I think that’s another reason why people gravitate towards me – the rappers, singers, [the] culture as well.”

In a game June 21 against the Connecticut Sun, one of the best teams and top defenses in the WNBA, Wilson showed, as she has in each game this early WNBA season, why she’s the league’s most dominant force.

Wilson finished the game with 26 points (9-of-17 field goals), a career-high tying 16 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks in 34 minutes of play. It’s the kind of stat line that for many could be seen as an outlier but for Wilson, this season, it’s the mean.

The performance marked Wilson’s 19th consecutive game in which she scored 20 or more points, the longest streak in WNBA history. The previous record was held by Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi with 13 straight games from 2006-07.

With the high talent level in the WNBA, Wilson has managed to separate herself from the pack in 2024. To do it, she’s currently building what could become one of the most impressive individual seasons in WNBA history.

“She’s one of the best, if not the best, player in the world,” Connecticut Sun coach Stephanie White said. “She’s taken her game to another level.”

Here is a primer on Wilson’s dominance this season:

• Wilson is averaging 27.8 points, on pace to be the most in a season in WNBA history. Should she continue at this pace, Wilson would break Taurasi’s record of 25.3 points set in 2006.

• Wilson is averaging 11.6 rebounds, which leads the WNBA, and is on pace to be fourth-most in a season in WNBA history. She currently trails only Sylvia Fowles (11.9 in 2018), Jonquel Jones (11.9 in 2017) and Tina Charles (11.7 in 2010).

• Wilson ranks second in the WNBA in blocks per game (2.4), behind Ezi Magbegor (2.5).

• Wilson’s 1.9 steals per game are tied with Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike for sixth-most in the WNBA.

• Wilson has held opponents to 37.3% shooting when she’s the closest defender this season, sixth-lowest in the WNBA (among 58 players to defend at least 100 shots), according to Second Spectrum.

Wilson is averaging a career-high in minutes (33.4) this season for the Aces. Last season, she played fewer than 30 minutes in 17 of Las Vegas’ 40 regular-season games. In five of those games, she played fewer than 26 minutes. Of those 17 games, the Aces won 13 of them by more than 15 points.

A look at Wilson’s production in 2024 begins with her ability to meet an increased need from Aces coach Becky Hammon compared to years past.

“Her willingness to do whatever I ask of her or the team asks of her – even the things we don’t ask of her – she still does them,” Hammon said after the Aces’ win over Connecticut.

Through 14 games this season, Wilson hasn’t played fewer than 30 minutes. 

“I told you last year, if I played her a full game, she would have been averaging 28 and 13 or something like that,” Hammon said June 21 after the Aces beat Connecticut 85-74. “She’s playing more because we haven’t had those blowout 30-, 40-point wins. Now you’re seeing the numbers and how efficient she is.”

It’s not just Wilson’s increased minutes that have led to her league-leading production. How Wilson has produced this season has changed compared to a year ago. That begins with Wilson’s willingness to be even more of a creator for the Aces, particularly by putting the ball on the floor.

“Her game continues to grow and blossom. Her game is becoming a little bit like a rose petal,” Hammon said May 29 after a road win against Minnesota. “She keeps peeling off these petals and layers to her game and getting really comfortable with ballhandling and … being more of a playmaker and decision-maker for us.”

At 6-feet-4, Wilson’s ability to create in space is, in part, what makes her a matchup nightmare. It’s why the Aces emphasize getting Wilson the ball in the middle of the floor, and allow her to make plays, whether that’s creating for herself or finding an open teammate.

As a passer, Wilson is averaging an additional assist per game than she did a season ago, while lowering her turnover percentage. As a scoring threat, Wilson can comfortably take defenders off the dribble, shoot without the dribble, or drive and either elevate for a pull-up jumper or finish at the rim.

“Her reading the defense is getting so much better – her reading in space,” Hammon said June 21.

Wilson’s 69 isolations this season, defined by Second Spectrum as when the teammates surrounding the ball handler purposefully give space so that the ball handler has additional room to create a play, are the most in the WNBA. Not among frontcourt players – the entire league. She’s the only primary center or forward in the top 10 of that list. The next primary forward or center on the list is Napheesa Collier, with 37 isolations (as of Monday).

Wilson has 151 shot attempts that did not have an assist opportunity, which ranks fifth most in the WNBA, according to ESPN Stats & Information. She is, again, the only post player in the top 10 of the list. Wilson is shooting 47% on those unassisted attempts, which ranks sixth among 33 players who have made at least 75 attempts.

Wilson’s shot chart has shifted from a season ago as she continues to expand her game. She is taking fewer shots in the restricted area this season compared to 2023, and more from in the paint (but outside of the restricted area) and the midrange, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

A’ja Wilson shot attempts per game (FG percentage in parenthesis)

When looking at where Wilson is creating her opportunities, a point of focus is in the midrange. This season, 24% of Wilson’s made shots from 10-14 feet have been unassisted, more than double her rate of 11% last season from that same distadnce, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

It’s worth noting, Wilson has played 12 of 14 games this season without Aces point guard Chelsea Gray, who returned June 20 from a foot injury. It’ll be worth watching how Wilson’s method of production may change with the presence of Gray, who ranks ninth in WNBA history in career assists.

When opposing teams don’t want to rely on single coverage against Wilson, and instead throw multiple defenders at the All-WNBA forward, Wilson has shown that even that at times isn’t enough to slow her down. 

Wilson is shooting 55% this season on layups, floaters and post field goal attempts when there is more than one contesting defender, according to Second Spectrum. That’s the best field goal percentage in the WNBA among 24 players who have attempted at least 25 of those shots. Wilson has a WNBA-high 56 attempts on those shots.

“At the end of the day, she’s just elite. Doesn’t matter if you put 5s on her, 1s on her. You’re going to have to bring people because she’s just too much 1-on-1,” Hammon said June 13 after a win over Phoenix.

Despite Wilson’s individual success, as a team, the previously shorthanded Aces have had to overcome some early season struggles. After beginning the season 4-1, Las Vegas lost four of its next five games. This is a team that didn’t lose its fifth game last season until late August and lost six games in total in 2023.

Following a loss to the New York Liberty on June 15, Wilson was quick to take accountability on behalf of her team. For Wilson, being great is not defined solely by being the top performer, but also by being the leader who can bring out the best in her team.

“I’m going to go out there and I’m going to try and be the best – I get y’all saying ‘best player in the world’ and that’s great, it looks great – but I want to be the best person. I want to be the best teammate. That’s how I get the best out of my team,” an impassioned Wilson said postgame. “I don’t want to be great for you guys [media, general public], no offense, but I want to be great for my team. I want to be great for this franchise.”

The energy and care Wilson has shown publicly for her teammates is reciprocated by the locker room. When asked how she felt about extending her streak of 20-point-plus games after defeating the Sun, Wilson replied modestly, saying that while the numbers were great, the streak is just a matter of taking what the defense gives her.

“It is what it is,” said Wilson, who was named Western Conference Player of the Week for the 18th time Tuesday. “It’s something that I’m not trying to do.”

As Wilson wrapped her response, Aces center Kiah Stokes, seated to the right of Wilson, leaned into her mic to give her teammate the kudos she believes Wilson left on the table.

“OK, she’s a little too humble,” Stokes said. “I don’t think people realize how hard she works. To have your franchise’s best player be the hardest worker, I think that sets you above the rest. … When A’ja is going, we’re all going. She’s the one – extra workouts, always in the gym – trying to get better for this team.”

Wilson will play her 15th game of the season Thursday against the Chicago Sky, where she’ll become the first player in league history to average at least 25 points and 10 rebounds through the first 15 games of a season. Wilson has already clinched those averages regardless of her stat line versus the Sky, according to ESPN Stats & Information. It’s just another indicator of her blazing trajectory.

Excellence from Wilson has been something those who have followed her ascent since she was taken as the No. 1 overall pick in 2018 have come to expect. Wilson, a two-time WNBA regular-season MVP and the 2023 Finals MVP, is just doing what she does.

Since she came into the league, Wilson has stated that her goal is to leave as a great. It’s a space achieved by few, but as Wilson moves at another MVP pace in 2024, she continues to chart her chase.

“When you’re talking about greatness, it starts with consistency. Everybody can be good here and there, but who can be great every single game? Every possession? That’s what I’m striving for, and it’s hard as s—. I promise y’all, it’s hard as s—,” Wilson said June 15.

“But I promise you – I’m not going to back down.”

Phoenix Mercury point guard Natasha Cloud wants to use that spotlight to enact change. Cloud, who has a long track record as one of the sport’s most fervent activists, wants to turn that microscope into a microphone.

Since October 2023, Cloud has used her social media platforms to bring awareness to the humanitarian crisis taking place in Gaza as a result of the war between Israel and Hamas now in its eighth month. In doing so, she’s been one of few WNBA players, let alone pro athletes, who have consistently been outspoken about their support of Palestinians.

As reported by The Associated Press, as of May 30, the Gaza Health Ministry reports that more than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of the war. On May 29, an Israeli official said the war was likely to last until at least the end of 2024.

“There’s a genocide happening. People are scared to use that word – it is what it is. It’s a genocide. It’s ethnic cleansing. It’s intentional. … We’re not paying attention,” Cloud told Andscape on May 29. 

“The least that I can do with this God-given platform – in which I know he intended it to be much more than just going out here and winning games – is to be a servant for my community and others.”

Cloud first began using her platform to bring awareness to the crisis in Gaza on Oct. 11, 2023, two days after Israel ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza following a Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7.

In November 2023, she joined thousands of peaceful protesters who marched on the streets of Washington calling for a ceasefire and an end to the siege of Gaza.

Using her platform to make change is nothing new for Cloud, who has embodied what it means to be an athlete activist for most of her WNBA career. As a member of the Washington Mystics, with whom she won a championship with in 2019, Cloud was deeply involved in the Washington community, where she actively pushed for gun reform in the city.

In 2020, Cloud was a leader among her WNBA colleagues in advocating for an end to police violence. She opted out of the 2020 WNBA bubble season to focus on fighting for racial and social reform.

“I chose the path that was much greater than myself and much greater than basketball,” Cloud told Andscape in July 2020.

Cloud said that as a Black person living in the United States, she’s been disappointed by the silence she perceives in the Black community in advocating for the Palestinian people.

“We understand the struggle,” Cloud said. “There are so many similarities in the Palestinian struggle and the African American struggle here in the United States. If we can’t see that and if we can’t care about other people, how do we expect people to fight for us when we’re saying Black Lives Matter, right?”

Cloud has a personal connection to the conflict. She naturalized as a citizen of Jordan and competed with the Jordanian national team in the 2021 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup Division B. Cloud said all of her teammates on that team were of Palestinian descent.

“Why?” Cloud asked rhetorically. “Their families were pushed out post-British colonialism.

“I know people say, oh, we don’t know the history [of the region], but if you’d just read the history, you’d know. Making the excuse when we have access to the history at our fingertips, it’s no longer a thing.”

On Oct. 25, 2023, Cloud posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, in an attempt to shed light on the then-quickly escalating crisis in Gaza.

“Reminder that Genocide is happening,” Cloud wrote. 

“Just wanted to break up our privileged timelines to remind y’all WERE ALLOWING THIS TO HAPPEN. 

“What a privilege we all have to keep scrolling.”

A few minutes later, Cloud sent another message, this time to her WNBA colleagues, imploring them to join her in taking action.

“And I’m confused where my W sistas are at y’all been silent,” Cloud wrote. 

Amid this conflict, Cloud is one of a few WNBA players who have used their platform to bring awareness to the conflict and advocate for a ceasefire in the region.

“Have you seen anyone speak up besides me, KB [Las Vegas Aces guard Kierstan Bell] and Layshia [Clarendon of the Los Angeles Sparks]? How many players in the NBA have spoken up besides Kyrie [Irving]?” Cloud asked.

Cloud, Bell and Clarendon have joined the group Athletes for Ceasefire, which was co-founded by NFL receiver Kenny Stills. The group has collected signatures from a few hundred athletes for a petition advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza. Former player Jasmine Thomas, now director of player programs and development coach for the Dallas Wings, and Amanda Zahui B., who is not playing in the WNBA this season, also signed the petition. Cloud said that she’s met with members of the group and discussed how they can continue to act.

Notably, most of the signatures of those with ties to the country’s major sports leagues are from athletes who have retired. The signers include former NFL players such as Donté Stallworth and Michael Bennett and former NBA players such as Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Etan Thomas. The one exception is linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair of the Houston Texans.

Cloud said she is frustrated that more pro athletes haven’t used their platforms to bring attention to the crisis in the Middle East, but she isn’t surprised.

“I know why they’re not speaking up,” Cloud said. “Your money is affected by it. When you’re talking about players needing to feed their families – they’ll lose sponsorships, they’ll lose endorsements, they’ll lose their jobs.

“You have celebrities who are stepping up more than athletes right now and I think that’s disappointing. It needs the collective. We need collective voices to stand up and say what’s right. We know right and wrong. If your morals and values are not at the top of your list, your top priority, then, man, I don’t know what I can do for you. I know I’m going to continue to lead with my morals and values first…. I won’t be bought. My heart won’t be bought.”

Much of Cloud’s frustration with the perceived inaction of her WNBA colleagues stems from the fact that players have had repeated success in effecting change when they present a unified front. That hasn’t been the case in this instance.

“We’ve shown time and time again, not only in our league but in sports as a whole, that we have the ability to bring people together. S—, we saved our democracy in 2020,” Cloud said. “So, we have that power to change. We had that power to bring Brittney Griner home. Those are all things that we know we are capable of. So the fact that we’re still silent seven months later [after the escalation of the conflict], I am very disappointed.”

Cloud added that she was also disappointed in the league office when, in October 2023, the league issued a statement following the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel. The statement included support for the people of Israel without mentioning Palestine. Cloud said the statement was released early and without the players’ consent.

“We still haven’t released anything in support of Gaza and innocent lives,” Cloud said. 

Cloud has been criticized for the stance she’s taken on the conflict. She said she’s received death threats and has had “everything under the sun” said about her. That, however, has not diverted Cloud from her position.

“I’ll throw myself in the line of fire anytime. … My goal is to protect other innocent people and innocent lives,” she said.

Cloud has made clear, on numerous occasions and from the beginning of her advocacy on the topic, that she wants to see an end to all violence on both sides of the conflict. She emphasized that her advocacy for the protection of innocent Palestinians does not mean she devalues the loss of civilian lives on the Israeli side.

“As human beings, we have the capacity to care about the 200 hostages that need to be returned back home to their families and to Israel, safely. And you have the capacity to care about the same men, women and children in Palestine being brutally murdered,” Cloud said in a video on Oct. 28, 2023. “If you care about human life, you care about both. … I’m fighting for human life on both sides, which is why I’m asking for a ceasefire – which I’m asking y’all to ask for a ceasefire, too, because what has violence ever solved?”

There are those who believe Cloud hasn’t done enough for the cause and that the actions she has taken with her platform are performative. Following the Mercury’s game against the Liberty on May 29, Cloud posted a video on Instagram stories. A caption overlaid on the video read:

Free Gaza til it’s backwards. Free Congo. Free Sudan.

“What’s crazy is some of y’all can sit here and say that my activism is just for show. I truly stand on business,” Cloud said in the video. “I throw myself in front of fires every single day and I lose deals because of it. I lose deals because of it, ways of feeding my family. Ways of supporting my family. I’ma stand 10 toes every time, though.”

Though in the midst of her ninth season, Cloud continues to post about the conflict on social media. She posts the latest news from the region on her Instagram Stories, sandwiched between fit checks and stat graphics. The criticism she’s received and the loss of potential monetary opportunities are well worth the impact Cloud believes she can make by bringing awareness through her platform. She’ll continue to call out, and call on, those she believes can make an impact.

“I’m always going to continue to lead with light and love and I know that love is always going to conquer evil. But people got to start f—ing caring,” Cloud said.

“I’m going to continue to call people out. I’ll continue to be the villain if y’all want me to be the villain. My heart is in the purest form and purest place when it comes to this.”

Few, however, put on a show like Ellie the Elephant, the mascot for the New York Liberty, which has evolved into a social media sensation.

She dances alongside artists such as rapper Lil’ Kim, gets social media shout-outs from rapper Cardi B, rocks a braid and hoop earrings and owns any runway she graces. Her nickname is Big Ellie.

In 2021, after moving from Manhattan to Brooklyn, the Liberty introduced Ellie as its new mascot. Ellie has become a staple at Liberty home games and arguably one of the most popular mascots in all of pro sports.

“The cultural phenomenon that Ellie has become today definitely exceeded our expectations,” Liberty chief brand officer Shana Stephenson said. “She’s become such an integral part of our game-day experience that the energy and atmosphere within our game I don’t think would be the same without Ellie.”

The creative team behind Ellie is composed of three Black women: Liberty CEO Keia Clarke, who came up with the idea to have Ellie be an elephant; Criscia Long, the Liberty’s senior director of entertainment, who brings Ellie’s game-day performances to life; and Stephenson, who oversees Ellie’s development.

“Black women are just dope. We are the purveyors of culture. We literally create culture,” Stephenson said about the significance of Ellie having an all-Black creative team. “The idea of having these Black women work together for a professional women’s basketball team, it’s unique.

“The WNBA is a league of mostly Black women, so we are a reflection of the players in the league, on the court, the women in the community, and that’s something that’s really important to this organization. … When we were thinking about Ellie, it was never a doubt that the characteristics of Ellie would also represent that.”

Stephenson, and Ellie, sat down with Andscape for an interview about Ellie’s origin, her rise to mascot stardom and the significance of her presence in the WNBA.

Against the backdrop of the historic Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City, the site of the 2024 WNBA draft, Donaphin, who oversees the planning of the annual event, sat on a stool in the mezzanine section as preparations were completed. As the WNBA prepared to welcome in the next cohort of college basketball stars on this April evening, Donaphin reflected on how far the game has come since she first suited up as a freshman for the Stanford women’s basketball team in 1998. Back then, the WNBA was still in its infancy.

“There’s always been generational talent, but you now have generational talent met with corporate organizations knowing that they need to invest in this area,” Donaphin said. “It is a growth property.

“If I had known in 1998 that I would work in sports, I’d be thrilled to see what I’m seeing right now.”

As head of league operations, Donaphin is one of the WNBA’s most powerful stakeholders. She’s regarded as the league office’s jack-of-all-trades. As a former WNBA player who also has an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Donaphin said she’s viewed as the “translation layer” between WNBA players and its executives – the intersection of business and basketball, as WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert says.

“She does a little bit of everything,” Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard said. “I feel like if you need something that has to do with the league or if you’re talking to somebody they’ll [say], ‘oh, you should talk to Bethany, or, Bethany can get it done.’ ”

Oftentimes when Engelbert takes to a WNBA podium, Donaphin can be spotted, but is rarely in the spotlight herself. With the exception of the WNBA draft lottery, typically the only front-facing public appearance Donaphin makes each year, her work is largely done behind the scenes.

As the WNBA moves through one of the most important points in its history for growth and popularity, Donaphin will play an outsize role in helping to mold the league’s future on and off the court.

On the evening before the draft, Donaphin met with the parents of the invited college prospects, becoming their first connection to the league. Some would ask what their daughters could expect as rookies, others playfully prodded her for information on who would select their daughters.

It’s an aspect of Donaphin’s job as a WNBA executive that she never anticipated. Little about Donaphin’s journey to this point in her career, however, has been unexpected. Instead, it’s been the result of a path Donaphin charted at a young age built on intentionality and determination.

“This is not the ceiling for her,” her former Stanford teammate Lindsey Yamasaki said. “It’s almost like she knew her purpose from the moment she started and that has been a guiding force for her.

“She just excels in everything that she does.”

In the summer of 1997, following Donaphin’s junior year of high school, she played at AAU Nationals as a member of the Liberty Belles, one of New York’s top teams. Despite being a standout performer at her high school – Horace Mann, a prestigious private high school in the Bronx – Donaphin was a late bloomer to college recruiting. While her team “did OK” on the court, Donaphin says, she never received much national attention as a recruit.

During one of her games at nationals, Donaphin recalled seeing Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer in the stands. At the time, VanDerveer had led the 1996 women’s basketball team to Olympic gold in Atlanta, a feat often seen as a turning point in women’s pro basketball in the United States. VanDerveer was present as coach of a Cardinal team that won titles in 1990 and 1992 and was fresh off a Final Four run.

VanDerveer wasn’t there to watch Donaphin, though. Donaphin’s teammate on the Belles was a highly touted and heavily recruited point guard out of Christ the King High School in Queens.

“I was there to see [Sue] Bird,” VanDerveer said, laughing.

Donaphin, however, caught the eye of the legendary Cardinal coach, as well as representatives from a number of national programs who had watched her at nationals.

“She moved really well,” VanDerveer said. “She was a skilled player, had great size and was really intelligent.”

The summer of 1997 would also mark the first season of the WNBA, which began with eight teams in its inaugural season, including the New York Liberty.

“I was a huge Liberty fan,” said Donaphin, who quickly added that she’s now impartial. “As a New Yorker, I remember those first days and the fervor in the city around Teresa Weatherspoon.”

Donaphin ultimately chose Stanford over Duke, Harvard and Notre Dame.

Donaphin spent much of her first season on “The Farm” in awe, a member of the Cardinal program learning from a famed coach.

“The shock was being a part of Tara’s program. … I can’t believe I’m on this team,” Donaphin said. 

As a player, Donaphin was relied on for her consistency while also exhibiting a competitive edge.

“She was just a steady force,” said Yamasaki, who played with Donaphin at Stanford from 1998 to 2002. Yamasaki is now a product manager at Nike. “I would trust that she would take anyone out, that she saw blood when she saw her competitor. I think that’s how she approaches her work and her challenges. ‘I’m going to win, there’s nothing that can take me down.’ ”

What impressed Yamasaki most about Donaphin was her relentless pursuit of growth – on the basketball court, in the classroom. Yamasaki says that commitment to growth has never left.

“Bethany never stopped, not a single day, working to improve herself. She’s always had a long-term vision for what she wanted to do and accomplish,” Yamasaki said. “She modeled that if you put in the time and you’re focused and you’re consistently aligned to the mission, then it will work. She started out [at Stanford] playing a little bit here and there, and then more and more. She became a more steady force as her time went on.”

As a senior starter, Donaphin averaged 8.7 points and 4.9 assists as Stanford went undefeated in Pac-10 regular-season play and reached the Sweet 16. Donaphin went undrafted following her senior season. She was invited to New York Liberty training camp two years in a row, but was cut in both seasons and went to play overseas in Turkey and Spain.

Near the end of the 2003 WNBA regular season, she signed with the Liberty. After idolizing Weatherspoon in high school, Donaphin was now a teammate of the WNBA legend. 

In 2004, Donaphin started 16 games for New York, averaging 5.0 points and 2.7 rebounds. She sank the winning shot in Game 3 of the opening round of the playoffs to eliminate the defending champion Detroit Shock with the assist coming from guard Becky Hammon, now coach of the Las Vegas Aces.

For Donaphin, the experience of playing in New York, and the opportunity to play in Madison Square Garden in front of her friends and family was a dream realized.

“What a blessing to be able to play in the city where I was a fan and where I grew up,” Donaphin said. She was the first New York native to play for the Liberty.

Following the end of her pro basketball career in 2008, Donaphin earned her MBA in 2012 and became a consultant. In 2016, she joined the NBA as an associate vice president of basketball operations before being named head of WNBA league operations in May 2018.

“As [the WNBA has] driven a business transformation, I’ve gotten to utilize both – having been a player, having been on NBA basketball outside, having been in business school, and having worked as a strategy consultant,” Donaphin said. “I like that various parts of my background get married into what I do day to day.”

In her role, Donaphin oversees all on-court matters for the league, including officiating, and rules and regulations. Over six years, Donaphin’s responsibilities have been expanded to include aspects of the WNBA’s business and growth, from participating in collective bargaining agreement negotiations to league expansion. She runs the league’s player marketing program and oversees social justice, mental health and community engagement platforms.

“It’s really just what’s the priority of the moment,” Donaphin said. “It has expanded, but in ways that I’m really thankful for because it’s meaningful work to me. ”

“She’s really multidimensional,” Engelbert said. “I would kind of frame that as [her being] a critical cog in everything we do.”

When Engelbert became the league commissioner in 2019, she assigned Donaphin to diversify the league’s coaching staffs.

“When I came into the league, we had three or four women leading teams,” Engelbert said. “It was a really important initiative that I put in Bethany’s lap.”

Donaphin emphasized creating a pipeline for former players looking to join the coaching ranks. When WNBA teams came to the league asking for an additional seat on their coaching staff, Donaphin utilized her experience from her time in the NBA, where she ran programs for former players, to develop a solution. She ultimately proposed a policy that would require that extra coach to be a former WNBA player.

“If they hired a former WNBA player, it’s a woman, and most likely a woman of color,” Engelbert said.  

When Engelbert originally brought the coaching issue to Donaphin, she did so assuming that the league would potentially see some kind of improvement in five to 10 years.

“We moved our numbers in 2 to 3 years,” she said.

In 2022 women held 58.3% of head coaching positions (compared with 41.7% in 2019) and 64.7% of assistant coaches (compared with 61.5% in 2019). In the same year, 50% of head coaches in the WNBA were coaches of color (compared with 25% in 2019) along with 61.7% of assistant coaches (42.3% in 2019), according to the 2022 TIDES Racial and Gender Report Card.

Excellence and defying expectation has been a standard for Donaphin and her family for multiple generations. Her mother, Alexa, attended historically Black Howard University, became an architect in New York City, and succeeded as one of the few Black women in her field. As a kid, Donaphin attended Howard’s homecoming with her mom, a Washington native.

Alexa Donaphin has a lifelong love of the arts. One of VanDerveer’s lasting memories of recruiting Donaphin was seeing a number of paintings in the Donaphin family’s brownstone in Harlem.

Alexa Donaphin passed her passion for the arts to her daughter, placing Bethany in ballet at age 3. By age 9, Donaphin was dancing on Broadway in Cinderella. As Donaphin started to grow taller in a room of shorter ballerinas, her mom taught her to be comfortable in her skin.

“It was a mixture of her loving the arts and her wanting me to be someone who stands up tall,” said Donaphin, who trained with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in high school.

Donaphin’s grandfather was Samuel Barnes, a former track star at Oberlin College. He was a member of the Golden Thirteen, 13 African American enlisted men who became the first African American commissioned and warrant officers in the U.S. Navy in 1944. Barnes fought in World War II, where he commanded a Black stevedore battalion on Okinawa. He was the athletic director at Howard from 1956 to 1970. In 1970, Barnes became the first Black person to serve on the executive committee of the NCAA. Two years later, he became a member of the board of directors of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

“He had a deep love for sports,” Donaphin said of her grandfather, who died when she was 16. “His influence played out in the career path that I’ve chosen. I hope he’d be proud. I think he would be.”

As a Black woman in an executive role in a league in which almost 64% of the players are Black, according to the 2023 TIDES report, Donaphin feels a sense of pride in her work and a responsibility to succeed in her position.

“[It’s important] for me to be an advocate for things that players care about in the league office, particularly because our league is full of women of color and people I see myself in and people I hope see themselves in me,” Donaphin said. “For all those reasons, it’s a true honor to be in this role.”

In 2020, as the country grappled with a racial reckoning following the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota and the killing of Breonna Taylor in Kentucky by police, the WNBA and Women’s National Basketball Players Association dedicated their season to social justice. The result was the creation of the social justice council, composed of several WNBA players who were advised by leaders in social justice and civic engagement. Donaphin oversaw discussions and action items between the council and the league.

“That’s where my ability to translate was really critical,” Donaphin said. “To be able to go to the players and say, ‘what do you want this to be about, how can I facilitate it,’ being able to translate those messages to Nike and our apparel team and making sure that Breonna Taylor’s name was on the back of the jersey.”

Donaphin worked with players to incorporate programming by the social justice council throughout the season, from highlighting the African American policy forum to highlighting Black women killed by police.

“She listens,” New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, a member of the 2020 council, said. “She lets us know what’s possible and what’s not. Obviously she’s working on the W side, but, as a former player, understanding the things that we’re wanting and asking for, then being able to communicate that to both sides. … She is the bridge between the players and the league.”

For Donaphin, the creation and completion of the 2020 bubble season during the coronavirus pandemic remains some of the most meaningful work she has done since joining the league. Many in the league office, including Engelbert and Donaphin, believed that if they were unable to play in 2020, it’s entirely possible that it could have been a death sentence for the league.

“Bethany was really keen on getting that season done,” Engelbert said. “If we don’t get that season done, it’s pretty existential for us. A lot of people doubted us.” 

At the time, Engelbert had been the league commissioner for less than a year, and the working relationship between her and Donaphin was still in its early stages. The two quarantined together as they made final preparations for the bubble, working to create a field of play and environment that hadn’t been done before.

Donaphin wasn’t afraid to challenge Engelbert during times of uncertainty, a quality Engelbert said she valued in the moment.

“I admired Bethany because she came to me and she was really worried. Like, ‘are we going to pull this off, Cathy?’ I appreciated that because she didn’t know me that well and I’m sure it took courage for her to say. … I said, ‘Bethany we’re going to do it, we’re going to do it together.’ She trusted me. She killed it in the bubble, building the trust with the players.”

“There was so much uncertainty and so much that we were rightfully concerned about,” Donaphin said. “When you have these two global crises happening at the same time with the pandemic and a racial reckoning, it really tests your mettle.” 

The WNBA completed its abbreviated season and crowned a champion without having a single positive confirmed COVID-19 case recorded among players and staff during both the regular season and playoffs. WNBA players were seen as leading athlete activists for their social justice and political advocacy.

“My role in that means a lot to me,” Donaphin said.

Donaphin says she’s been increasingly focused on how the league uses technology to advance the game. In March, the WNBA announced that it will become the first women’s pro league in the United States to incorporate leaguewide optical tracking, which will give players, coaches and front offices deeper insight into a team’s on-court performance.

“These are things that had been in play in the NBA and G League for years. There’s no reason why a league like ours shouldn’t have that technology in place and the insights that it provides,” Donaphin said. “Being able to advance the game is also an important part of business transformation within this industry.”

The WNBA has begun its 28th season with perhaps its largest audience and public attention the league has ever seen. It’s the outcome of a historic college basketball season bookmarked by the star power of players such as Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese and national champion South Carolina. The result has been an explosion of interest in women’s basketball. With that comes a pressure on the league to meet the moment and the demands of new and returning fans.

“There’s a lot of eyes on us that have never been here before. What we would like to be able to deliver is an excellent on-court product, excellent player stories, things that allow fans who may be tuning in for the first time to get an appreciation for something that’s been here for decades,” Donaphin said. “There’s certainly pressure.”

Donaphin’s day-to-day requires her to switch her attention between player program initiatives and league innovation to on-court matters. Occasionally, Donaphin reflects on where she stands in WNBA history, allowing herself to feel gratitude for the position she holds.

“Just like these players feel they are standing on the shoulders of greats … I feel like I’m standing on the shoulders of those leaders who believed that a league like this could exist and wanted to promote it and grow it,” Donaphin said. “We’re starting to realize the potential that they saw in 1997.”

When asked about her desire to one day lead the league as commissioner, Donaphin began her answer by relaying what she told the 2024 draft class and their families the previous evening.

“What’s for you is for you,” Donaphin said. 

“Where I am is exactly where I’m supposed to be. … If at some point an opportunity to do more presents itself, we’ll see, but I don’t really think about that. I think about what’s needed of me in the moment, where can I have impact that’s unique to me because of what I bring to the table and because of what my background is. I don’t try to be anybody else.” 

As families of draft hopefuls gathered on the Brooklyn Academy of Music stage and excited fans lined up the length of Lafayette Avenue, Donaphin continued.

“As long as I’m able to do that and continue to see [draft] classes like this come through our league and see us grow to a venue like this, I’m satisfied,” Donaphin said.

After a thrilling and historic women’s college basketball season, the WNBA is ready to carry the momentum and unprecedented hype around the sport into its 28th season.

This WNBA season begins chock-full of storylines. A highly-touted rookie class featuring collegiate powerhouses such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson will look to make their mark on the league. The two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces will aim to become the first team in more than two decades to three-peat. The future and growth of the league have been front and center with a new franchise reportedly coming to Toronto in 2026, following the new expansion team coming to the Bay Area in 2025.

From who will challenge Clark for Rookie of the Year, to which new player will enter the MVP race to which team has the best shot to win a WNBA title, Andscape writers Sean Hurd and Mia Berry answer several questions leading into one of the most anticipated seasons in league history.

Which player returning to the WNBA are you most excited to watch? Surprise team of the year?

Hurd: Both of those answers point to the Chicago Sky. The Sky have three players on their roster that didn’t play a game in the WNBA last season – guard Diamond DeShields, forward Isabelle Harrison and guard Chennedy Carter.

DeShields, with Dallas a year ago, missed last season with a knee injury. It feels like the league still has yet to see the best of DeShields, who won a championship with the Sky in 2021. Chicago will hope to see the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 draft return to her All-Star form.

After signing as a free agent with the Sky in 2023, Harrison missed the 2023 season with a torn left meniscus. Over her last two seasons with the Wings, Harrison averaged 9.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists.

Carter returns to the WNBA after being waived by the Los Angeles Sparks in March 2023. The No. 4 pick in the 2020 draft, Carter began her career as one of the most electrifying players in the league, but has been held back by off-court issues unrelated to her talent. Carter told Andscape last July that her game has only gotten better since the last time she touched a WNBA court. If preseason is any indication, Carter could be a huge piece for this Sky team.

The Sky were counted out when the franchise talents who helped the team win its first championship departed for other opportunities. If the trio of Carter, DeShields and Harrison can each return to form, combined with strong play from vets like Marina Mabrey and Elizabeth Williams and the hyped rookie frontcourt tandem of Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, Chicago could surprise this season. It also seems wrong to ever bet against first-year head coach Teresa Weatherspoon.

Who will give Clark the biggest challenge for rookie of the year?

Berry: Heading into the WNBA draft, Rickea Jackson was labeled as the most pro-ready prospect in this year’s draft class and is expected to have a big role this season with the Los Angeles Sparks. Although taken with the fourth overall pick in the draft, Jackson tallied 10 points off the bench in the Sparks’ preseason game against the Storm. At 6-foot-2, there are very few flaws in her overall game and the Sparks are the perfect fit to maximize her athleticism. Last week, Jackson told reporters she’s getting adjusted to the increased physicality of the league. Jackson, along with No. 2 overall pick Cameron Brink, will have ample opportunity to get acclimated to the WNBA to earn their way into the ROTY conversations.

There are a lot of unknowns about how the Chicago Sky will look at full strength under Witherspoon, but after drafting Reese and Cardoso, the future is bright for the Windy City. Although Cardoso is out for 4-6 weeks after suffering an injury in a preseason game, Reese has shined in the preseason. She scored double digits in her first two preseason games and had a solid performance against the New York Liberty. It’s safe to say a rookie in either Chicago or Los Angeles could challenge Clark for the Rookie of the Year title. 

Which new player will enter the MVP race?

Hurd: Year 3 of Rhyne Howard in Atlanta feels like it could be the year that Howard takes her place amongst the league’s elite. Howard’s first two seasons in the league have been impressive. She won Rookie of the Year in her first season, and in Year 2 she led the Dream to the playoffs for the first time since 2018, averaging 17.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. 

Now the two-time All-Star is looking to take her game to the next level. Howard and the Dream coaching staff have emphasized her becoming a three-level scorer. For Howard, that means reestablishing her midrange game.

Last season, of the three scoring levels, Howard took the fewest shots (49-of-135 field goals) from the midrange, the level she posted her lowest shooting percentage (36.3%).

Howard said last week, “I already like to shoot 3s and I’ve been attacking, so that’s the only piece that’s missing.”

Which offseason signing will make the biggest impact?

Berry: Skylar Diggins-Smith spent all of last season watching from the sidelines and it should be expected that she will take full advantage of her fresh start with the Seattle Storm. The Storm finished last season 11-29 and have a lot of room to improve upon last year’s record. Before giving birth to her second child in 2022, Diggins-Smith averaged 19.7 points and four rebounds.

Despite struggling early in the Storm’s preseason game against the Mercury, Diggins-Smith is finding her role alongside former collegiate teammate Jewell Loyd, splitting point guard duties. Diggins-Smith wasn’t the only offseason roster addition the Storm made. They also signed Nneka Ogwumike, who averaged 19.1 points and 8.8 rebounds a season ago with the Los Angeles Sparks.

After the grand opening of a new practice facility and a talented roster surrounding Diggins-Smith, she has everything she needs to have an immediate impact for the Storm. 

The Phoenix Mercury finished in the bottom of the standings a season ago (9-31) and added guards Natasha Cloud and Kahleah Copper, who are expected to have major roles on the team this season.

Who is one WNBA player who will command your attention this season?

Hurd: If you haven’t watched Brittney Sykes, make sure to add that to your WNBA season to-do list. Arguably one of the most underrated talents in the entire league, Sykes is one of the game’s most entertaining players. Last season was Sykes’ best offensive performance of her career. She averaged 15.9 points and 3.8 assists per game for the Washington Mystics. Her hallmark over the course of her career has been on defense. She’s a two-time WNBA steals leader, and averaged just over two steals last year. At just 5-feet-9, Sykes’ leaping ability is second to none. She is willing to contest any shot in her airspace and produces multiple highlight-reel blocks against frontcourt shooters every season. Word to the wise: Never bet against Sykes, aka “Slim,” for a jump ball.

Sykes will take on a larger role this season as the Mystics adjust to an offseason personnel shift. After the departure of Natasha Cloud, who signed with the Phoenix Mercury in the offseason, Sykes will move over to point guard for Washington.

How will the inclusion of charter flights impact the WNBA?

Berry: After years of asking for charter flights, the WNBA announced last week that players will be getting charter flights for the entire 2024 season. From a health and safety standpoint, having charter flights will immediately improve the physical, mental, and emotional health of players, The timing is perfect for players, who will have to play a condensed schedule with fewer off days since the Olympics will cause the league to take a monthlong break from mid-July to mid-August.

For years, players have publicly documented issues with taking commercial flights such as delays and people approaching them at the airport. Last week, the Las Vegas Aces experienced a travel delay before their preseason game against the Puerto Rican national team, so charter flights couldn’t have come at a better time for the league. 

Will the Connecticut Sun’s championship window close after this season? 

Hurd: The end of the last several seasons for the Sun have seen regular-season triumphs end in postseason disappointment. Between 2019 and 2023, the Sun have made deep playoff runs, including two WNBA Finals appearances, but have been unable to be the last team standing. The Sun return their core in DeWanna Bonner, Alyssa Thomas and Brionna Jones, who returns after missing most of 2023 due to an Achilles tear. The team is led by Stephanie White, last year’s coach of the year, who led the Sun to a 27-13 regular-season record in her first season.

To reach the championship mountaintop, the Sun will have to go through multiple giants. The Aces are the favorites to win this year’s title as they bring back virtually the same roster that won them their second-straight title in 2023. Las Vegas’ opponent in last year’s final, the Liberty, are also right there in the mix and will have a year of chemistry under their belt after playing last season as a newly assembled super-team with additions Jonquel Jones and Courtney Vandersloot. A new entrant to the title race could be Seattle. With the additions of Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith, joining Jewell Loyd and Ezi Magbegor, the Storm should be in the mix.

What could potentially close the Sun’s championship window: Bonner, Thomas and Jones will all become free agents in 2025, a tall task for general manager Darius Taylor. If the Sun are going to pull through, this is the year to do it.

Who will be a first-time all-star this season?

Berry: For the second time in WNBA history, the league’s All-Star Game will feature Team USA versus Team WNBA. Minnesota Lynx guard Diamond Miller has all the tools to earn her first WNBA All-Star selection this season. After a rookie year marred by injuries, Miller was still able to finish the season averaging 12.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game last season and earned All-Rookie team honors.

In the offseason, Miller had surgery to repair her meniscus and if she can remain healthy this season she’s expected to take a big jump in Year 2. With the Lynx looking to make an extended postseason run and after another year in Cheryl Reeve’s system, expect the No. 2 overall pick in last year’s draft class to take the next step in her development and earn All-Star honors this season.

Who is this season’s diamond in the rough?

Hurd: The Dallas Wings may have found the next diamond in the rough in rookie Jaelyn Brown. While a rookie by title, Brown comes to the league as an established pro overseas. Since graduating from Cal in 2020 and going undrafted, Brown has played in France, Sweden, Hungary and Mexico. Most recently, the 6-foot-1 guard/forward played in Turkey, where she averaged 15.0 points and 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game for Antalya.

In the Wings’ lone preseason game, Brown, 25, posted a team-high 21 points and five rebounds, showcasing an impressive offensive bag in which she scored from every part of the floor. In a game where the spotlight was commanded by players like Clark, Aliyah Boston and Arike Ogunbowale, Brown was a scene-stealer for the Wings. For a team that will be without Satou Sabally until the Olympic break, perhaps Brown could become a piece that helps to cover Sabally’s missed production.

On Saturday, Maya Moore-Irons was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. On Sunday, Candace Parker announced she was retiring from the WNBA. Parker, who had signed a one-year deal with the Las Vegas Aces in February, leaves the game one year after Moore announced her official retirement from basketball in 2023 following a four-season hiatus from the WNBA.

When you ask today’s players, college or WNBA, who they grew up emulating and idolizing as kids, they almost always say either Parker or Moore. The two are likely your current favorite player’s favorite player (if it wasn’t still Parker as of Sunday). 

With Moore and Parker retired, the WNBA is now without two of its most influential and impactful superstars. It’s a reality that for many women’s basketball followers is a tough pill to swallow, particularly as the excitement about the game, which Parker and Moore helped establish, has never been brighter.

With Parker’s exit comes a pervasive void, as exists for Moore, with the inability to properly celebrate the conclusion of two transformative talents. But while we will never see Moore or Parker dazzle on a basketball court again, their imprint on the game and this current generation readying to catapult women’s basketball into its next chapter, is everywhere.

On the court, Parker was unlike any player we’d ever seen.

After a legendary career at Tennessee where she won two national championships and was a two-time national player of the year, Parker began her WNBA career in 2008 as the first player to win rookie of the year and MVP in the same season. Parker’s momentous rookie season foreshadowed a legendary career which included three championships, two MVP awards, seven All-Star nods, a Finals MVP and defensive player of the year. After becoming the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game, Parker was also the first to dunk multiple times in a WNBA season.

In Parker-like fashion, she ended her 16-season career as she began – on a historic note. Her third championship, with the Aces last season, made her the first player in league history to win a championship with three different franchises.

Parker, who also won two Olympic gold medals and countless titles overseas, is the only player in WNBA history to rank in the top 10 of points, rebounds, assists and blocks. Her versatility and dominance at 6-foot-4 helped usher in a new era of positionless bigs in women’s basketball that has changed the game.

By age 29, Moore had already won four WNBA championships with the Minnesota Lynx, a Finals MVP, league MVP and was a six-time All-Star. That was preceded by a dominant collegiate career in which she won two national titles and was national player of the year two times.

Moore, who also won two Olympic gold medals, two FIBA World Championship gold medals and two EuroLeague titles, was a transcendent talent on the floor. Her game was graceful and dominant, creative and clutch. Her jump shot was pure and her ability to get a bucket unrivaled. Moore was the first women’s basketball player to sign with Jordan Brand. In 2018, when the brand launched a billboard campaign in which Moore re-created Jordan’s 1989 “Wings” poster, it felt like an adequate stamp for the face of women’s basketball. The following season, Moore announced that she’d be sitting out the 2019 season. As decorated as Moore’s career was to that point, it still only felt like it was just beginning.

The play of both Parker and Moore ignited women’s hoops fans and brought in new fans. Their impact, however, only begins on the court.

Parker’s influence is wide-reaching. Parker, who had her daughter Lailaa following her rookie season, has always been an advocate for mothers who are pro athletes, showcasing the ability to thrive as both.

In 2010, Parker became the ninth WNBA player to have her own signature shoe. She is the only Black woman to have a signature shoe in the WNBA since then.

As an analyst and commentator with TNT, where she has worked since 2018, she became the first woman to serve as a game analyst for the NBA All-Star game in 2023. In 2021, she was the first female NBA 2K cover athlete and also co-owns the NWSL team Angel City FC with her daughter.

Moore’s off-court impact centers on her social activism. In 2016, she was a part of a demonstration held by Minnesota Lynx captains who, following the police shooting deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, wore shirts at a pregame news conference that on the front read “Change starts with us. Justice & Accountability” and “Black Lives Matter” on the back along with the names of Sterling and Castile.

“If we take this time to see that this is a human issue and speak out together, we can greatly decrease fear and create change,” Moore said in 2016.

In 2019, two years after winning her fourth WNBA championship, Moore left the WNBA to advocate for the release of Jonathan Irons, who had been sentenced to 50 years in a Missouri state prison after being convicted of burglary and assault at the age of 16. His conviction was overturned in July 2020. Moore’s sacrifice to aid in Irons’ eventual release, done while she was widely considered the face of women’s basketball, made her a trailblazer in athlete activism, and attracted substantial attention to the flaws of the American criminal justice system and the need for reform.

Parker and Moore left a footprint on the sport that, most likely, won’t be fully understood in magnitude for years. It’s a shame that they won’t be able to be part of the momentous wave the sport is currently experiencing. But a large part of their legacy is directly reflected in the game’s next generation of stars, many of whom were inspired by Moore and Parker.

Aces forward A’ja Wilson, the reigning WNBA Finals MVP, and Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston, the league’s rookie of the year in 2023, have both called Parker their GOAT. Caitlin Clark, who enters her highly anticipated rookie season in the WNBA after ending her collegiate career as the all-time leading scorer in NCAA basketball history, has reiterated how Moore was her childhood hero in hoops.

That’s the thing about the life cycle of sports vanguards. Though we may never get to watch them forever or decide when their on-court careers end, we can still find joy in watching their legacies live on.

While there, Augustus, a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, had the opportunity to visit the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, which was just months away from opening. 

Augustus remembers being wowed by the historical hoop timepieces before her. She ingested each of the different highlighted eras celebrating the history of the game – her jaw dropping when she saw that skirts were once worn as standard uniforms. She marveled at the jerseys of the sport’s changemakers. At the time, Augustus didn’t quite believe that her jersey could one day join them, but the idea had been planted.

“Once you have the visual, what’s the saying – once you see it, you can be it,” Augustus said. “Subconsciously, I believe I just started to work toward it.”

Lauded then as a teen phenom, as a high schooler Augustus was saddled with Michael Jordan-level expectations. Nicknamed “Money Mone,” Augustus went on to become one of the game’s greatest talents while playing for one of the WNBA’s few dynasties. She ended her 15-year WNBA career as a four-time champion with the Minnesota Lynx, eight-time All-Star and a Finals MVP in 2011. She won three Olympic gold medals with USA Basketball.

On Saturday, 25 years after her first visit, Augustus will return to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, this time as one of the inductees in the Class of 2024. In August, Augustus will head to Springfield, Massachusetts, where she’ll also be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

“Now that I look back, you know maybe the universe was trying to tell me a long time ago that you might be here one day,” Augustus said.

Andscape caught up with the basketball great to discuss her Hall of Fame moment, how she views her impact on the game, which current player she sees herself in and her ambitious goal as a player-turned-coach.

‘Seimone Augustus, Hall of Famer’ — has that sunk in yet?

It hasn’t. I don’t think it will for a while. For everyone here at home, and the people who are celebrating me, it has. They’re so proud. When I share those moments with them, the people in my community, my family, then it kind of hits you with the, ‘oh my God,’ kind of feeling. But it hasn’t sunk in yet.  

Has there been anything that has surprised you about post-playing life that you didn’t anticipate?

It’s very slow post-playing days. Obviously, we aren’t like the men where we can go chill on the beach or something like that. If you haven’t planned for your post-playing career, now you’re trying to figure out what that is, who you are, what the things are that you’re interested in outside of basketball. For myself, I’ve been playing ball for so long, I’m just like, well, what do I like to do? It’s been great kind of rediscovering myself and finding new passions outside of the game.

To go into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame alongside Taj [McWilliams-Franklin] and Maya [Moore], with whom you won a championship with in 2011 and have known for years, how special is that for you?

It’s crazy to even think that. Obviously we knew Maya, but we didn’t expect people to go in at the same time. I expected to kind of be, like, in the crowd, cheering them on like I did [Lindsay] Whalen just a year ago at her Hall of Fame ceremony. For us to all be going in at one time, experiencing that and knowing what we meant to the game, what we meant to each other, it really means a lot to be able to share this moment with them. … I can’t even wrap my mind around it. I’m like, wow, four of the five starters are in the Hall of Fame. It’s crazy.

The three of you were honored at the Final Four earlier this month. How was it to be reunited? What did you connect about or reflect on?

We were catching up on life. Once Maya left, we hadn’t seen her in so long. It’s just like, all right, let’s see your baby, let’s see your husband, let’s meet everybody. When it comes to memories and basketball, I don’t think that’s going to hit us until the [week of the ceremony] where we really have to talk about it, think about it, be in it – how great of a team we were, how great of a family and bond that we built and what we meant to the game of basketball. Even hearing Caitlin Clark talk about, ‘oh, I was a Minnesota Lynx fan.’ To think about the impact she is having on the game is directly related to the impact we had on her as a young basketball player. It’s crazy to think of the inspiration and things that we did.

You mentioned Caitlin Clark. You saw a great Final Four in Cleveland — what are your impressions of the current state of the game today and the amount of change that’s taken place even in the short period since your retirement?

It happened so quickly. I feel like I saw it happening in 2018, 2019. One minute we were the superteam, then you look around and it’s like oh, wow, where did these people come from? What’s happening? Players that were rookies and babies when we were in the league are now like the faces of the league. A’ja Wilson is now the face of the league. It was different.

To see the game and how quickly it changed, it’s how everybody’s been saying on the internet, we told you so. We told you we had a great product, we just needed more visibility. It’s great that Caitlin Clark is Caitlin Clark and her movement has helped bring that visibility to us. Now what we said was going to happen: Everybody has found a player, a team, or something that they can connect to. This is what we deserved, this is what we’ve been waiting for and it’s finally here. Hopefully we respect it, take advantage of it, but also be grateful for what we have.

Who in today’s game do you see yourself and your game in?

Everybody is like JuJu [Watkins]. Everyone is like JuJu is a bucket, you used to be out there getting buckets. When I got to watch JuJu and USC play in the tourney, I was like, ‘oh, shoot, that’s me.’ She is fearless. Her game is controlled. Though she has to put up a lot of shots for her team, every shot that she takes, in my opinion, is a good shot because it’s a shot she would normally take. It’s within her range she gets to her spots, gets to them well. She knows how to find her teammates or at least set them up for success when she’s in it. I was like, ‘wow, I’m literally looking at a mini me in JuJu.’ I love her game, it’s very smooth. That’s what you hope to see. Some people play wild ball. I don’t like the wild ball people. She’s very methodical and she’s very strategic with the way that she attacks. She’s a precision player.

If you played in the NIL era at LSU, what’s the first deal you’d want as a student-athlete?

The first deal –– ooh, I’m a fat a–, so it would have been like Cane’s (Laughs.) It would have been some food spot. Raising Cane’s was one of the things during my time. What other food spot? Jack in the Box was right there on campus. Anything outside of that, when I was in college I was into fashion. I probably would have found some fashion brand or a sneaker company. They used to have a Foot Locker on campus that I would sneak to and get Jordan’s and stuff that people didn’t know about. I think Flau’jae [Johnson] has a deal with Athlete’s Foot that’s on campus now. So definitely would have been sneakers, clothes and food.

What do you hope your contribution was to the game and has your view of that contribution changed from the time you retired to now?

It definitely changed. I don’t think I thought about legacy as much. I said it in my speech in Minnesota when I was getting my jersey retired, it wasn’t until Cheryl Reeve brought it up. I remember we had had one of the worst seasons in our tenure and she was like ‘what do you want your legacy to be?’ We were all like, ‘well, we don’t know.’ She said that’s something that you need to think about because that’s going to fuel you moving forward. From that point on, I think all of us – myself, Whalen, all of us that were on the team currently – were just like, well, we want to be able to inspire, we want to be able to pave a path or a way, use our voices, do all of these amazing things. From that point on, we did. 

We had the situation with Philando Castille where everybody spoke up. Wore Black, did their thing. LGBTQ. This, that and the other. More than just on the court, off the court, we started to establish ourselves and use our voices. On the court, our legacy was basically, like, we’d seen what great talent looks like, that doesn’t fulfill the desire, or destination or whatever people believe that they should do. We wanted to be something different. We wanted to be a great group of talented people that fulfilled that goal, that vision, that plan. From that point on, the mindset was to win. Win a lot. For the most part, we locked in. Everybody was able to sacrifice for the greater good of the team and make some amazing things happen.

I previously spoke to Candice Dupree for a story and we discussed all-time players who didn’t get the farewell they deserved. Dupree brought you up as an example as someone who deserved more at the end of your career. Do you feel like you were adequately celebrated at the end of your career for what you gave to the league and the impact that you made?

Aww, Candice. I think between me and her we’re probably [two] of the most underrated people. When you look at Candice’s game – she’s top 10 in scoring, she’s all over the record books and yet her game was so quiet. That was the same way with me.

During my time, everybody was like, ‘yeah, Money was doing her thing out there, but Maya’s impact on the game and her visibility was so massive that people were just like Maya, Maya, Maya, and you gotta take that. Our saying was always we never cared who gets the light. So Maya had the majority of the light, and we kind of just basked in whatever light that we had and made it work.

Coming toward the end – with the way it ended, had I been in Minnesota and finished – it probably would have been different. That didn’t happen. Going to Los Angeles, they did as best they could with trying to send me out, give me flowers, stuff like that. The celebratory thing across the league, I don’t know if I even wanted that, to be honest. If I had been in Minny and it happened, I probably would have pulled a Becky Hammon and announced I was retiring halfway through and did it halfway. I was never the type of player that wanted that type of pressure on me for a final season anyway. 

To be honest, not saying I wasn’t deserving of it, but it’s just like, eh, don’t put me up there. That’s for Candace [Parker], Maya, Diana [Taurasi] – let them have that. I get more out of hearing my peers. To get those DMs on social media, like nah, you was a dog – that matters more to me than anything.

In 2022, you had your jersey retired in Minnesota. In 2023, you had your own statue unveiled at your alma mater, LSU. In 2024, you’ll be inducted to both basketball Hall of Fames. What’s it been like to have these markers of your impact on the sport happen in succession?

It’s crazy. That’s why I don’t need a celebration. I’m getting my celebration. My work spoke for itself that all of this is happening for me. I’m just like, ‘wow, it’s a lot.’ For me, I’m thinking about having to give all these speeches and I’m not a talker. I wish you could go up, get the award, smile, wave and walk off the stage. No, I’m truly thankful, and the fact that it’s happening in one full year? Naismith, that’s the hardest one to get into. To be a first-ballot [Hall of Famer] and go in that first time, that’s amazing. I got to see Whalen go in last year and I wasn’t even thinking about myself. I was just so proud, like, that’s my teammate! Now I’m going to be switching positions with her. I can’t even put it into words.

When you get the itch to watch some old game tape, is there a game or play that you go to first?

Somebody sent me some old high school stuff and a little bit of college. So I was like, all right I’ll watch this snippet or whatever – and I really felt like I’m owed some money. (Laughs.) I need some back pay. I was like, ‘oh, I was putting on a show.’ When you’re out there doing it, you don’t know. You feel the energy and the vibe of people and people expressing how they feel and admiration, but to see it, I don’t know if I really sat down and fully, as a fan, watched myself play. Every time I watch the game, I’m analyzing it strategically for how we’re going to attack a team or whatever. First time I got to sit down and see it I was like, ‘Oh, no, NCAA owes me some money. WNBA owes me a few dollars.’ (Laughs.) That was amazing.

You’re a part of the USA Basketball selection committee that will pick a team for Paris, what’s that been like and how hard will that decision be?

Extremely hard. It was hard when I was playing. Seeing the talent and the emerging talent, it will be very hard to pick. Basically, looking at the rest of the world and trying to assemble a team that can compete because the rest of the world is getting better and catching up with our talent, so strategically we have to be very smart with what we need when we get ready to get over to Paris. It’s going to be a very tough job but I don’t think we can go wrong with any player that we select to be a part of the team.

In this current chapter, where have you found joy? How would you define that?

Reintroducing myself to my family. For so long, it’s been kind of like in and out, in and out with going overseas, playing in the W, heading back overseas. I would see my parents maybe six weeks out of the year with the way that our schedule was. Actually getting to know my parents and where they are right now in life and just experiencing them – and them experiencing me. Now, I’m 40 years old, a grown woman. When I went off I was 21, 22 years old. A lot has changed. That’s been a great journey.

Then I dipped my toe into coaching, not really knowing what’s going on or what’s in store. I think I found my new passion. I’m starting that journey and just kind of like gaining knowledge and figuring out where to lay roots.

What goals do you want to accomplish in the sport in this next chapter?

I’m trying to do it all over again. I didn’t know that you could go in [to the Hall of Fame] multiple times – player, coach, whatever. I think it wasn’t until Bill Russell went in there as a player (1975) and coach (2021) where I was like oh, you could do that? I was like, ‘yeah, I’m going back in there.’ That’s my goal, to try and do this all over again. We’ll be sitting here again like, hey, you’re going into the Women’s Hall of Fame and Naismith as a coach,’ hopefully. That’s the goal.

The Athletic reported Wednesday night that Clark was set to sign an eight-figure endorsement deal with Nike that would include the release of her own signature sneaker. Clark, Division I college basketball’s career leading scorer who has been with Nike since 2022 when she signed an name, image and likeness deal with the apparel giant, will join Elena Delle Donne (who won’t be playing this season), Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty) and Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty) as active WNBA players with their own signature shoes.

Following the report, while Clark was celebrated, questions were also raised about the prolonged silence surrounding a signature shoe for her WNBA peer, A’ja Wilson, who is also a Nike athlete. Despite Wilson’s accomplishments on and off the court, Nike has yet to announce a shoe for the reigning WNBA champion.

The question for basketball fans, many of whom have been calling on Nike for a Wilson shoe for years, is: What’s the holdup?

Each of the players with signature shoes in the league has had them announced since Wilson entered the league in 2018. In 2022, Puma released Stewart’s Stewie 1 and Nike released Delle Donne’s Nike Air Deldon. Nike released the Sabrina 1 in 2023. Stewart and Ionescu are the two active signature shoe headliners. Delle Donne is taking a hiatus.

To be clear, this isn’t a debate about Wilson getting a signature shoe instead of Clark and it’s not meant to minimize her star potential. There has never been this much hype and attention about a WNBA rookie like Clark. We can look directly at the WNBA’s recent draft viewership numbers to confirm that. If the response to Clark’s impending release is anything like it has been with any other game, event or product Clark has been associated with, the shoes will fly off the shelves. It’ll be another benchmark in the growth of women’s sports. This is a smart business decision by Nike.

But it’s an equally poor business decision to not have announced a shoe for Wilson by now. Wilson is the current face of the WNBA, a two-time champion and league MVP. She’s an Olympic gold medalist and will help lead USA Basketball in the upcoming Paris Games in July.

There are implications that are made, whether intentional or not, when the only players in the league with signature shoes are white women. That becomes compounded when the league they play in is 70% Black and not short of Black superstars.

A Black woman hasn’t had a signature shoe since Candace Parker’s two signature shoes with Adidas in 2010-11. The last time a Black woman had a Nike signature shoe was more than 20 years ago when Sheryl Swoopes’ Nike Air Swoopes Premier dropped in October 2002. Maya Moore was signed to Jordan Brand, but never had a signature shoe.

Is it a question of Wilson not being viewed as being able to connect with broader demographics? Is it an assumption of potential Black spending power? With the sport where it is, with its visibility, it feels like a no-brainer to amplify Wilson in this light. The moment feels akin to a musical artist ready to deliver new music to fans but who is at the mercy of the record label sitting on the album. A signature shoe is the pinnacle of basketball superstardom. For Wilson to not yet have that, when clearly a market for WNBA shoes has been reestablished, is baffling.

This is also not an issue of marketability. 

The on-court accolades Wilson has collected at age 27 are remarkable. Off the court, she was named to Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2024. Her recently released memoir Dear Black Girls was named a New York Times best seller. She was featured in a Saweetie music video that has more than 35 million views and was the first female athlete to sign with Ruffles as the face of a new product. For anyone who follows the WNBA, Wilson is also known to have one of the most infectious personalities in the league.

The material has been there in plain sight.

Shoe companies, however, continue to send the message that white women are considered more marketable. As women’s basketball continues its upward trajectory and reaches newer and larger audiences, that message will only be amplified.

Wilson’s signature shoe announcement is likely coming. But instead of invoking the feeling of being right on time like it does with Clark, for Wilson, it will be viewed as long overdue.