The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Indiana Fever’s Syd Colson Talks Getting To Know Caitlin Clark, ACL Injuries, Brand Identity & More!

Episode Date: October 9, 2025

Ros sits down with two-time WNBA champion, two-time WNBA Commissioner's Cup champion, and NCAA Champion, the Indiana Fever’s own Sydney Colson! Together, they reflect on the Indiana Fever’s season. Were they cursed by the city of Phoenix? How does humor help her during ACL rehab? What has it been like getting to know Caitlin Clark? Then, Sydney gives Kelsey Mitchell her flowers. She explains where her endurance comes from throughout a rollercoaster of a career. How did Sydney find her lane? How does she deal with the haters? What was it like performing standup at WNBA All-Star weekend? Finally, Sydney breaks down how she is using fashion to meet the moment and build her brand outside of basketball. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When you're with Amex Platinum, you get access to exclusive dining experiences and an annual travel credit. So the best tapas in town might be in a new town altogether. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Terms and conditions apply. Learn more at Amex.ca. c a slash ymex what a run

this champ is picking up speed but they found a lane phenomenal launch into the air absolutely incredible air transat fly the seven time world's best leisure airline champions air transat you're listening

to draft kings network Hey, what's up, y'all, welcome to Goodfollow Show, presented by Draft Kings. I'm Ros Gold on Wode, and I am coming to you from our studio in Los Angeles, and we have a very special episode for you this week. We have an exclusive interview with a two-time WNBA champion, also a two-time commissioners' cup champion. She's won a championship at the collegiate level and NCAA champion with Texas A&M. She's a comedian. She's the face of the league, or one of them.

She's my girl, Sid Colson. What's up, Sid? What's going on? What's up, Cros? Always going to talk to you. Thank you for having me. You know, I think there's so many things to talk about, I mean, including the ACL.

But let's start first with just the special season you guys have had with the Indiana fever this year. I think it can be summed up by your end season, Instagram post. Let's take a look at this post from you, Sid. And in the caption, you said, genuinely enjoyed this team and what we did on the court and in the showers. You're so silly. I knew in the off season that God was placing me where I needed to be, to grow, and learn some necessary lessons. And that's exactly what happened. And that's a beautiful post. And actually, the comments have me rolling. Let's just look at the comments, remind her, because I'm screaming,

because your teammates are remiss. Not Caitlin Clark chiming in twice. She says, Sid, I'm thankful for your aunt, Sid, Auntie, Tasha Howard with four hearts. But look at Lexi Hull. Love you, Sid. Showering just won't be the same this offseason. Yo, y'all are really comedy. But, I mean, so just to throw it back to you, there's clearly so much love for your team.

There's a huge free agency on the way. this roster may not ever look the same again. So for you, like, what made this team so special and one to remember in your career? You know, in the offseason, it was obviously like a tough decision for me. I've been with the Aces for so long, and we did some amazing things together as a team. And like I said in the post, I could just feel, you know, God.

You know, when you could just feel like something's, you need to get uncomfortable like you're being pushing a direction and because it makes you uncomfortable kind of don't want to do it I think the the older I've gotten the stronger my faith has gotten I kind of I run to the uncomfortable honestly because I know on the other side there's going to be something some lesson that I needed and and that was what happened this season like nobody was expected me to be on this team honestly we know what what the what the views are of this organization from from the outside um but i knew enough people in it to know that we could do something special and that we could potentially change some some minds and some views and um it was it was good

like just being with another team being in another locker room i think when you leave from a situation you've been in for so long you're like am i going to be cool with as cool with you know a new group of teammates but that's just what life is you you figure it out You get a new environment and you adjust and you get acclimated. And we did something really special for us to have been together for just a matter of months and not fully healthy, everybody at the same time. So it was fun. It was really fun. And I think the Commissioners Cup championship gave us, like, even more confidence that we could go on and win a championship.

And I think we would have had we stayed healthy. Yeah. You know, people pointed to your voice as one in the locker room that everyone listened to. that you were one of the main leaders for the team. You know, people trusted you. Taking on that role, what was it like trying to overcome some of the hurdles? And was there a hurdle this season that was, like, that you guys, like, rocked y'all, like almost was so tough to really stay together from?

Yeah, I mean, from the outside, I think everybody can see the different types of adversity that hit our team. And I don't know, we just found a way. We got a lot of personalities on our team, and there's a lot of joking around. So when hard times we're hitting, we were just, like, making jokes laughing, because honestly, some stuff was just, what can you do? What can you say about some stuff? You just got to get closer together, and I think we did that. I think it showed it in our play, and the environment was positive.

It's just we got played with injuries, but even though the injured players, like we still tried to make it a point to to be around for practices to still be lending our voices to give whatever advice and wisdom we could even though like we weren't able-bodied you know yeah it seemed like humor was therapy for you guys um what what was it like honestly when you tore your ACL wrapping your head around that one That was just nuts. I think, and once I was falling down, I was, like, looking at my knee. Like, I felt something, but I was also seen it.

And immediately, I reverted back to college when I toured, and I was like, this isn't good. But, you know, I was trying to stay positive, but in your mind, like, you know what it is when something, when a bad injury happens, especially if you've had it before. But, shoot, like, everybody was joking. Phoenix cursed our team. the place, the city of Phoenix, we lost four bodies, I think, to Phoenix. And it was just something that we could laugh about. I mean, we even lost the staff members. Like, what?

When did that happen? You know what I'm saying? But it was just one of those things. You just, once again, use humor to keep it pushing and still try to be there for the team as best you can. Yeah, I mean, you are so silly because you actually went live on your ACL surgery or coming out of it. What inspired you to do that, girl?

Lucky, I really wanted me in TV to do an episode of our pot coming out of it, but they were like, yeah, the drugs will have worn off by the time you get home. So you probably can't do that. I was all right. Well, I'll just, I'll go live. And I love seeing you and Caitlin Clark's relationship. You know, you guys are always cracking jokes on social media, on your live. And obviously, she's a game-changing player for the league.

So, like, what, what was, what has it been like, you know, getting to know her, her humor and seeing firsthand all that's coming her way? It was, it was cool, being on a team of her, getting to see her in another light was really cool. I think over the course of her career, I think, you know, we haven't had many instances where we've seen like Caitlin. Angel page, like players come in with the sort of notoriety that they had, the sort of money that they're making, the attention, everything. It's a lot for a young person to be dealing with on top of pressure to do well as a basketball player, to lead your teams, all of that. so it was it was good to be able to see like a lighter side of her you know i think especially unfortunately when she was injured you're having to adjust your mindset you're having to get mentally tougher because i think she had like a bad injury before so now you're having to watch

your team from the outside is still you know i would be talking to her a lot about you know make sure you're still being vocal. You know, you don't want to lose this time with your teammates, and because you're injured or sideline, you're not still using the opportunity to lead or

to grow relationships. Don't let it be a wasted season just because you can't physically contribute. And I think her desire to become a better leader and you know, to come back because there were

times where maybe, you know, she thought she was coming back and then it wouldn't happen or another, and like little thing would happen that turned into a big thing. But to see her, her fun side, I think that was the most important part, to see her being jovial and lighthearted and having fun with her teammates. I don't think it was like a side that people saw a lot last season. And so I would just be telling her, like, you know, more of that. I'm glad she had, you know, a veteran like you to be in her ear. And as I said, like every player on that team kept pointing to you as a voice that people listen to.

But my question is, how did Stephanie White prepare you guys to keep new players were coming into the system and you kept having success? Like, I don't even know where that happens. The importance was that Steph and our assistants were able to get new players on the same page with us quickly. and have them buy in quickly to we're going to play defense, hard, we're going to share the ball, and we're going to play as a team. And I think most teams that have a coach that demands that out of them, like you find success at some level. Yeah.

I got one last for you about the fever here. And I think it's just you have to finish with Kelsey Mitchell. What's most important to you about the season Kelsey Mitchell had literally playing until her wheels fell off? I've been so impressed with Kelsey from like afar and then when I got to play with her at athletes like an athlete's unlimited when we were teammates there I would I would just like shoot with her before and after like practices if we were on the same team that week once I got here doing the same thing like shoot we'll have shoot around she'll stay after to get shots up with with Karima um

and I would always make sure to just tag along with her because I was just, I've always been impressed by her work ethic and this girl just, she plays hard on both ends. There have been so many seasons where she hasn't gotten the respect or the recognition that I think was owed to her. What she did this year was extremely impressive to me because this girl deals with doubles, double teams she was already impressive last year but found a way to do even more this year

and I just I look at her like what is it that you're going to do next season like what are you going to I don't know how do you elevate from here but I know she found a way this year to become even more focused defensively and I don't think that got enough credit like Like, people don't, they don't attack Kelsey on the defensive end. Like, she's going to hold her own, even when it's bigger matchups. And I don't know, I'm just, I'm constantly impressed by her. The player she is and the person she is, she's, she's just a solid individual. Hey, NFL fans, what's your favorite touchdown?

Because for me, it's the next one. With Draft King Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NFL, every TD puts cash in your hands. First score, anytime CDs, live bets, every snap is an opportunity. Your team hitting pay dirt pays out to you. Download the Draft King Sportsbook app and use code GoodFollow. That's code GoodFollow to turn five bucks into $200 in bonus bets if your bet wins. In partnership with Draft Kings, the crown is yours. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler. In New York, call 8778-8-8-Hope-N-Y or text Hope-N-Y 467-369-369. In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-7-9-77 or visit ccpg. Please play responsibly. On behalf of Boot Hill Casinoin Resort in Kansas. Fees may apply in Illinois. 21 and over. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Boyd in Ontario. Bet must win to receive reward. Minimum minus 500 odds required. Bonus bets expire seven days after issuance. Four additional turn.

and responsible gaming resources, see dKNG.co slash audio. Rumor has it, new NHL hockey cards have arrived at Tim's, and every pack tells a story, with rare finds, fan favorites, and exclusive prizes. Ready to score big? Start collecting today, only at Tim's. I participate in restaurants in Canada for a limited time. I don't think. it's as well known that, you know, your path here is hard.

You've had to overcome quite a bit, you know, to get where you're at. And there's been a lot of starts and stops or reinventions of yourself, if you will. I'm just going to point it out for those watching at home, you know, you tore your ACL, your sophomore year in college, you make it to the WNBA, you know, you're waived by the Connecticut Sun, your rookie season. then you spent three years overseas. You're out the league for three years. And then you return to the WNBA, a little bouncing around, but you stuck a bit with the San Antonio stars for three years. Then after that stint, you were out of the WNBA again in 2021.

You played Athletes Unlimited, which you said was helpful. And then after that, you joined the Aces and win championships with them in 2022, 2020, 23. And now you're with the fever, which was a big decision, an uncomfortable decision to go try a new chapter there. It's a very interesting season with highs and lows and it ends for you with a torn ACL. So my question is,

how have you had so much endurance through your career? You know, as competitors in basketball, like we just want to play. Like, if we see people playing that we played against and we battle, we're just like, oh, I mean, if they still playing, like for sure, I can play. I just need the right opportunity.

And it really kept being. in that pretty much my whole career was just need the right opportunity, right opportunity. And, you know, sometimes it would work playing time-wise. Sometimes it wouldn't. But I know every place that I was in, I was supposed to be there. I think my faith helped me understand that I was in every situation that I was in for a reason, whether I played or not, there was something to gain from that team experience. There was something to gain from someone I met, something I lost, whatever.

it was there was a lesson and a lot of the stuff and it helped me to keep keep my drive very high even when I was out of the league there were definitely times where it was tough like being out of it but I still I still had that passion even when it wasn't logical anymore it's like all right you could probably call it quits around this time and that's that's how I felt in 2019 when I was overseas in Poland, I was like, yeah, I'm about ready to wrap this up. I'm tired of dealing with these crazy coaches overseas. Like, I'm not making enough money for this. That 2019 season, I get to the Aces and me and Chris, the, the social media person with the AIS who does, he's always done a phenomenal job, but he started capturing me doing the Lady Aces

chant. So this was when I started getting more of a following on social media because people were, they were seeing that. Thought that that was fun. Yada, yada. then I go to Chicago and I get cut after the bubble season. So 21, I'm not playing, but Athlete's Unlimited, it starts. And that's in Vegas. Oddly enough, I have a good year, a good first year in AU. The Aces staff, like Becky would be there, Nikki was there. They offered me a training game contract.

This was the first year that Becky was going to be there. And they were saying that they were looking for, you know, veteran and somebody for the locker room to impact culture and I go there we win two years we don't win in 24 leaves to come to the fever and you know obviously we know how this season went but everything was in its timing like I in hindsight I understand everything clearly yeah I mean so much of that story is like look how maybe one closed door pivoted you to the next blessing and opportunity, you know what I'm saying? And you look back on that and you think about where it placed you now. Girl, you literally are one of the faces of the league. But you can't,

but you at one point literally was out of it. And there was not really a path to that. So what a testimony. You've defied the norm, like things that used to be reserved only for literally the superstars of the league. You are, you are captivating. You are funny. The way people are consuming the WNBA is changing and evolving. So now, my girl, you got commercials with T.J. Max, Ally, Deloitte, Kia, DirecTV. You're doing commercials with Diana Tarasi, Brianna Stewart, Paige Beckers. Like, how have you found your lane to crack open and break through the zeitgeist? And literally, like, it's not something funny.

You are one of the faces of the league. I just, I'm just, I'm me everywhere I go. I think authenticity is going to always get you where you need to be, even if it's not what you picture. And a lot of mine just happens to be forward facing, but a lot of that can be attributed to our showrunner, our director for the Sit and T.P. show, Charlie, they came up with the idea for TP and I to be the faces of the league. and I remember when they pitched it to us, we were like, absolutely, like, we love self-deprecating humor. We're totally okay with what our paths have looked like in the WMBA, because while I love basketball, it's not my everything. Like, I'm a multifaceted person, so if basketball hasn't gone the way that I thought it would go, like, that's, that's okay. Like, I'm still, I've still been in a very blessed position and one that I'm very fortunate for.

a lot of minutes or not like it's been a real treat to be in the W for this long I can't say that I expected this so to see that really turn into us being in the faces of the league I hope that it's inspiring to people to just

bet on yourself and like make yourself a brand like be authentic stay true to it and like the people that are supposed to find you will find you yeah and I mean so your show that you have with TP Teresa Plaisant's

unsupervised. Let's play a little clip from that show real quick. Somebody under this video will inevitably say, damn their voice is deep. Damn them, man. And the babysitters come after them. Like, I've seen comments where, like, somebody's like, what's wrong with those women's voices? So at least they're acknowledging the fact that we're women.

But then somebody's like, no, they ain't women. I mean, when you put yourself out there, you also put yourself out there to haters. So how do you handle that aspect of? of it. Oh man. I used to just trolling back because like there's nothing that you can say about me that'll hurt my feelings. Like I literally do not know you. And some of some of the responses are bots, you know, for me to get my feelings heard about people, I got to respect you. I got to value your opinion. A lot of things go into it. So like you being a stranger, I, I could care less about

you talking about how many points I'll score and minutes. I don't care. No, let's see you and and ask for a picture, you know? But you haven't been, you haven't shied away from it at W&B All-Star in Indianapolis. I know what goal of yours is to be a comedian. And you did it. You put yourself out there. You did a stand-up routine.

So now that it's done, because you were super mysterious about it before. So now that it's done, like what was it like to do stand-up and prepare for it and execute it? Man, it was good. I will say, like, I wish I had given more time and preparation to it. Like, I had an idea, and I didn't start, like, nearly as soon as I should have

to really just, like, have it all memorized. But it was just good practice. It had been over two years since I'd done stand-up. So when this opportunity presented itself, my girlfriend was, like, you've got to do it so that you hold yourself accountable to, like, get back to practicing. And now that the off-season is here, like, a couple people have. asked me so like, yeah, I definitely have to go somewhere here and perform and give back into a rhythm so that I can, you know, become like a, I don't want to say respected, but just

somebody who's doing the work. Like, you're constantly, constantly, you know, going to open mic nights or practicing your jokes. So I want to get to that point. And so that's my, that's my goal, you know, before the end of the year to do it at least twice. You've also been a coach. You were an assistant coach at Rice University. Like, did you enjoy that role? Could we ever see coach said? So I enjoyed it so much. I think same for when I've played.

I enjoy the relationship aspect of everything I do more than the actual thing, typically. So coaching was cool. It was fun. Like playing basketball is cool and it's fun. But it's the people that I get to meet and interact with and the way that that human interaction, like y'all can change one another's lives, just by something you say, something you do.

So it was more about that, me being able to impact young women. And so if I ever got back into it, it would be, you know, because I miss being able to do that, honestly. As we come to an end here, you mentioned Amati, your, Amati Brooks, your girlfriend. Is she also your official stylist because she's a well-known fashion stylist? Okay. So how is she helping you put your style?

together and be ready to meet all of these different moments that we just described for you. She had a vision. She's like, look, if you're at the end of your career and you want to go into acting, like people need to start seeing you in a different light visually, like they need to see you as a brand and see you, you know, we got to elevate your style. And if you look at my outfits from last year with the Aces, and this year, it was such a big jump. And I think the recognition that she got, that I got, the people that were reaching out to send stuff, like, she did that in a matter of months. And it was super impressive.

I just, what she shows me, I trust the vision. I let her get very creative with the things that we do. She knows that she can try stuff out. Like, if it's masculine and feminine, like, all way or it all. like it's cool like let's do it and so I think she did a really good job of letting people see like me just wear

different stuff and you know hopefully they can see me doing that like on screen you know so I'm very fortunate that that I have heard by my side okay and just words how would you what would you describe your style as what would I describe my style as

I would say like versatile I would say um like what like fuck like what's what what what hey hey buddy she said hey buddy she said hey girl

hey like versus all and like elevated street wear and like elevated street wear and like we get we like make stuff colorful sometimes like I like a lot of colors so we'll be like outgoing I think usually how she dresses me

it reflects my personality a lot, I think. Okay. Yeah, I'm going to need you to also know your style. Not you need to know all this help. Yeah, no. I don't know none of them. She said, I'm going to need you to know your style. You're crushing it, my girl.

It's really inspiring the journey that you've been on. And we only see, like, the bright lights, but all that it took to get here. And I appreciate just everything you gave us today. Thank you. I love you, my girl. Thank you for having me, too. It was great to catch up with Sid Colson. of the Indiana fever.

That'll do it for this episode of Goodfollow. We'll catch you next time. Thank you.