Why Los Angeles Sparks guard Kia Nurse is taking WNBA rookies under her wing

PHOENIX — Growing up in Hamilton, Ontario, Kia Nurse could not turn on the television to see a WNBA game on her living room television or buy tickets to see her local WNBA team play.

Both were nonexistent.

In 2011, a young Nurse saw her hero, Minnesota Lynx star and Jordan Brand athlete Maya Moore, play while visiting the States for one of her sister’s AAU tournaments. At that moment, she knew the WNBA was obtainable for her.

Seven years later, the New York Liberty selected Nurse with the 10th pick in the WNBA draft. She also joined Moore as a member of the budding exclusive group of women’s basketball players on Jordan Brand’s roster.

Now at 28, she is already seen as a veteran of Canadian basketball by her peers in the league and home base. The admiration was displayed at the second annual WNBA Canada game on May 4 when she received two standing ovations.

Along the way, she’s always found ways to represent her home country through her footwear. She’s donned multiple Canada-inspired Jordan player exclusives, saw a Kia Nurse x Air Jordan 36 “Canada” release at retail, and there’s still more on the way.

Andscape caught up with Nurse before the Sparks and Phoenix Mercury preseason game, and she shared parts of her career in the WNBA and with the Jordan family.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What was your sneaker shopping experience like growing up?

When we (Nurse’s AAU teammates) were younger, my AAU team equivalent in Canada that I played for all wore the same shoes. It always kind of was whatever was in stock for the kids at that time that became the team shoe. But there was never a woman’s shoe, right? But at least it was Jordan. We didn’t have an opportunity to go out and find a basketball shoe that was made by a women’s basketball player for women’s basketball players.

Does keeping your on-court style simple help you focus on the game and task at hand?

I find that things oftentimes kind of end up being a little bit of a distraction for me. Early on in my years, I used to do headbands a lot, mainly because I just had this curly hair, and sometimes it gets in my face and it’s in the way. But my typical hairstyles really remained the same throughout my career. It’s always really been a bun because I prefer having it up as opposed to a big ponytail swinging around my neck because I get really hot. I’m very habitual. My habits keep me basic, but the main way that I have really shown my individuality throughout my career, especially in the WNBA, has been in my shoes with Jordan.

From AAU to now playing in the WNBA, how has your court swag or individual flair that you add to your uniform changed?

I’m funny because a lot of players do the one leg sleeve swag nowadays, but my leg sleeve is actually a compression sleeve that I have to wear because of my knee injury. Yes, technically, I look cool, but medically, I need it.

How did growing up with a family of hard workers help you trust that if you work hard, you will get your own shoes?

The culture of my AAU team growing up was T-shirts with the sleeves cut off. I have always been basic and simple. We wore them instead of jerseys and people would always say to us, ‘Why don’t you guys get cooler jerseys?’ We never wanted to change who we were, that’s just Hamilton. We are a blue-collar town with a lot of people even working in steel factories. We work and earn our way. That’s where my confidence comes from and having my own shoes takes it to another level.

Since there was not a WNBA team in Canada and you were not able to access the games in your childhood home, what was it that made you believe that you could become a WNBA player? 

My sister was my ultimate role model and inspiration. My sister Tamika was the first Michael Jordan to me. If you turn the TV on in Canada, you aren’t going to find women’s basketball. It was going to be hockey, a little bit of NFL, some CFL, and the Toronto Raptors. Vince Carter was the guy in Toronto who really sparked basketball. Dino jerseys were huge.

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What were some of the ways your sister helped you navigate playing basketball in America?

Staying in Canada to play basketball for high school was really important to me. It wasn’t typical at that time for Canadian players to get scouted and get scholarships. We were going through a phase of coaches beginning to see that there were some gems in Canada. Everyone was telling me I had to go to a prep school in the States to be found. But, my dad said to me, ‘if you’re good enough, you’re fine, they’ll find you.’ I knew that was my goal and I had to get good enough and be good enough to go down there [to the States]. I ended up on the [Canada] national team at 16. What’s good for one is good for all. If there was a coach there watching me to possibly give me a scholarship, they also saw my teammates.

Out of all your Canada-inspired player edition shoes, which one is your favorite?

I have to go with two of them. First, it’s what we call the ‘Hammer’ shoe for Hamilton. You had the hammer on the top of the shoe and 905, my area code where Jordans typically had Braille. The black and gold are the colors of my high school, St. Thomas More. Hamilton made me who I am. We are a tough city. We are a basketball city. My grandfather came from Trinidad and my other grandfather on my mother’s side moved from Prince Edward Island to Hamilton. You have to put your head down and go get it and grind for it. This shoe embodied all of that for me.

My other is my Pan Am Games 2015 shoe with the Games logo colors. It was probably the first time that I had played in a Canada jersey on home soil around my family and we won the championship. I skyrocketed into this role model and face of basketball in our country. It was a heavyweight at only 20. It’s been kind of the basis of my career in Canada and kind of that stepping stone to building to where we are today. This was a pivotal turning moment for our women’s national team to be seen on a national stage.

How did it make you feel to know that little girls in Canada could buy your Kia Nurse x Air Jordan 36 “Canada”?

This was different for me. A lot of people wanted to buy my other PEs, but they were just for me. These people could buy. It was wild. It’s still hard to put into words because when I look at the shoe, it represents me playing for Canada in the Tokyo Olympics and that’s the main thing in my career that I am proud of. It just made me feel so proud to be a part of Jordan.

What emotions did you feel when you realized there was going to be a female designer (Jordan Brand senior designer Kelsey Amy) on the other side designing your PEs?

It was so special. When I was signed with Jordan, they were beginning to find their way on the women’s side. Kelsey was one of the first people I met at Jordan. When I was working with her on the shoes, I would write the story I wanted to tell in paragraphs. When I saw the shoe for the first time, I was always amazed at every detail and it was beyond what I could have ever created. With one of my PEs, my nephews’ names are on it and I can look down and see them during a game. 

How does having a leadership position on Canada’s national team help you be a better veteran to Rickea Jackson and Cameron Brink?

In Canada and at UConn, I was surrounded by great leaders. I feel like I’m on the bridge between being here for a long time and also understanding the language of a rookie. I’m also still on the younger side and understand what it’s like to be anxious. I also understand that different rookies have different forms of communication that get the best results. You’re now adults in a different space. You don’t have schoolwork, people aren’t asking you if you did your homework or study hall or what time your pregame meal is. It’s all on you.

What was your initial reaction to the possibility of a WNBA franchise coming to Canada?

The landscape of women’s sports in Canada right now is super-exciting and it’s still pretty raw. It’s another piece to the puzzle that we really, truly do need in Canada. On TSN, where I also work, we do a lot of March Madness shows and coverage of the WNBA, but it will be great for Canadians to physically be able to go to the games and maybe get a high-five and autograph. Kids need touch points with those athletes. There’s a demand for it and people want it. If it does come to fruition, it would be fantastic.