The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - South Beach Sessions - Napheesa Collier

Episode Date: March 6, 2025

Napheesa Collier is Unrivaled. Even with an ever-growing list of accomplishments - NCAA champion, four-time WNBA All-Star, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist - Napheesa shares with Dan that her greatest achievement will always be becoming a mother. Napheesa doesn't shy away from revealing the doubts she had about resuming her playing career after pregnancy, fears of an early retirement, and why she was so determined to create an empowering women's basketball league with her fellow UConn Huskies champion, Breanna Stewart. Napheesa also doesn't mince words on how her Minnesota Lynx's controversial loss to the New York Liberty in last year's WNBA Finals has her mentally stronger and feeling "super greedy" about adding to her accomplishments. Watch Season 1 of Unrivaled on TNT, TruTV and stream on MAX. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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She's unrivaled in a lot of different ways. She wins, right? She's a four time WNBA All-Star. She's a two time Olympic gold medalist, she's an NCAA champion, and she just won one-on-one an unrivaled league she created. Nafisa Collier with us, thank you for being with us. A league she created. I don't know in the list of things that I just said what you're proudest of, but I'll

give you the chance to answer for yourself, and thank you for joining us. Yeah, thanks for having me. That's definitely something I'm proud of just because obviously all the work that's gone into it, years of just planning this and Stewie and I just like from having it be a seed of an idea to having it turn into an entire league, it's just like a crazy thought,

something I never would have thought or dreamed of growing up or in college or even a couple years ago. So it's been really cool to kind of see the process of that. Well how did it come together? This is with your husband Alex. That must present its own set of challenges. Yeah, well Alex is, I mean he's like one of the smartest business people ever that I've ever met. So he actually had a business, he had a business background before that, but from Stu and I's side, we both had been in the league for several years by the time we started thinking of this. And through that, you kinda just see the holes of what's working, what's not.

And for a lot of WNBA players, they've been having to go overseas for years to supplement the income, cuz we make money for six months out of the year. So with that, a lot of people don't realize that we make most of our money off the court. So like 90% of the money I make is off the court and so you have to be able to activate with brands. Like brand building is a huge part of our business. When you're overseas, you're essentially going dark for six months out of the year,

so you can't activate with the brands, you're losing money. You're away from your family, out of your home country, missing holidays, and then on the flip side, you still have to get better at basketball. So staying at home and training is not the same as playing. So kind of through all those things, we came up with Unrivaled. And then also just the explosion

that is happening in women's sports right now. You see it with the college game and how the WNBA and just all sports are exploding. And it feels like everyone is capitalizing off of that, except for the people, the women who are playing. And so that's where we really wanted to get into the salaries that were paying the players and having equity in the league really creating that generational wealth. I want to talk to you about all of that

and Brianna Stewart is the one you were mentioning that you partnered with I want to talk about how all of that came together. But when you look along the entirety of changes that are happening around women's sports, and you talk specifically of having to play overseas, you played briefly in Turkey, right? Yeah, I played in Turkey, France, and I was in COVID for 10 days before COVID hit. Okay, so what were the difficulties in all of that stuff? Like, where would you look to and say, man this feels awfully minor league for how good I actually am at this. I shouldn't have to do this outside the United States. Yeah.

You know I think being in different countries, they each pose their own problems. I mean different laws as you saw with like the Brittany Griner situation. And then specifically in Turkey, the last place I played, I brought my daughter with me. So that like poses a whole new set of obstacles that you have to get through.

Like, so we had to bring my dad. So the money that you're spending on childcare because she was also in daycare. So finding childcare, people that you trust, having to bring the separate people over to help with that. The travel with that was a nightmare because she's a toddler. And then, you know, obviously the time change with that too and then getting them used to like new food

and that's a hard thing when you go to different countries. It's just a lot of little things that are outside of basketball. You're not even talking about you stuff. You're talking about mom stuff. You're talking about her stuff. Like you're, there are plenty of problems without a child. Yeah, yeah. I mean, without that, again, plenty of problems without a child. Yeah, yeah.

I mean, without that, again, like the time change is hard. So trying to talk to family back home, especially when you're playing in China, there's one American per team. So it's very isolating, especially if you're a person who needs to be around other people. When I was there, I was there for a short time because of COVID, but you know,

I only had my translator to talk to and she was like an English student. So she was still learning English. So it was not like we were having conversations. Lonely, right? All of it lonely language problems. You can't talk to anybody. Yeah, exactly.

I mean, the culture's a lot different. The food is a lot different. It's just so far away from what you are used to. So it can be definitely like an adjustment period. Were you lost? In China? Just, yes. But in all of the places where you're finding yourself

culture shocked and having to fight for money in a way that an athlete of your stature generally wouldn't have to fight for money. Yeah, I would say China was definitely the hardest place because it's so different from American culture. I actually really loved, I do love learning new cultures though, so I really liked being in Turkey. I tried to make the best of it, like you know, experiencing their culture, going to their different like museums and like touristy things and eating the food. So making the best of it, but it's not if I had a choice, you know,, I'd like to be around my family and stay in the States

I always wonder around people as excellent as you they kind of have to be lopsided Because of the demands of staying ahead of everybody else Do you find it hard to be life balanced around being this kind of competitive this kind of excellent? be life balanced around being this kind of competitive, this kind of excellent? It definitely is hard sometimes. I am super lucky in just the family that I have and the support that I have. My parents have been great from the very beginning,

just like basketball is not the number one thing in our lives and I've tried to keep it that way where it's obviously a huge part of my life, especially now with Unrivaled, but it's not the most important thing in my life and I have a lot of other things that I'm interested in. So I think that helps keep me grounded as well, but definitely, especially this season,

I feel like I, as a co-founder, you have a lot more responsibility, so I'm doing a lot of media and content things, so my parents have been texting me, like, where are you? So sometimes it is hard to just take a breath and make sure that you're staying up with family and stuff Well, take me through your upbringing and take me through the roots of how you became who you became Like when you look at the landmarks throughout your childhood in getting to a basketball player

Where are the supports the inspirations the obstacles? I think it came from my parents both played sports growing up. So we were very like sports family I mean I was in soccer by the time I could walk I played multiple sports Volleyball softball I ran track played soccer So we're always doing something but my parents didn't play professionally and they never got into that mindset of You know like the crazy parents when you're a you tournaments and things like that They were never like that like Like school is the most important thing, family is the most important thing,

like sports was a privilege. You got to do that if you were checking all the other boxes in your life. And even going to college every single summer after I was done, they're like, is this something you still wanna do? So even when they saw that I could have my school paid for, that this could be something really important

for our family and in our life, they never made me feel like I had to do this. They were never living vicariously through me like you kind of see a lot unfortunately sometimes. So I think that also gave me the confidence of I'm not living and dying by what happens on the basketball court because my value was never, that was never even a thought in my mind that my value was tied to what I was doing when I was playing. So I think that I really commend my parents in that

because they were going through everything for the first time too. So like when I was in college, your junior year, like a certain day, that's when all the colleges could talk to you and some of my teammates like college would be calling them at midnight that first night. My parents automatically said,

you can call us on Wednesday nights. If we don't return your call, we'll call you on Thursdays. You can't call any other day of the week. So they were very like locked down with that from the beginning. I was going to ask you about their discipline because it sounds that's really nice that they would give you the support and the freedom to make your own choices. But how did you become as disciplined as you are? Like what did they have to do with that? Um, honestly I don't think a lot, but in the way that they're like if you want to be good

you have to do it yourself. Like they never made me go to the gym or anything. I think just naturally we're such a competitive family. Like I wanted to be the best and if I'm not practicing there's other people playing better than me and I don't like that. So I think it was just like naturally just everything we do is competitive. So it kind of translated over to that. So that's why you wanted to be the best.

Like where does this come from? What would what did competition look like in the family? Who's throwing the board games? Like how does that one go? Definitely really competitive with everything. Me and my brother. I mean, we would play all sports together. We were just like we were like cats and dogs

I mean we would fight over everything because we're both so competitive our whole family is tell me about the good stories that get told Years later about the competition that got sideways with your brother Oh, I mean of course you have like the driveway when we're playing basketball like elbows thrown punches thrown tackles Because we will think the other is cheating. I'm taller, but he's faster, all that stuff. And then we would play football in the backyard with my dad. So he would be on whoever's on offense on their side. Like we'd run routes. And like I was taller than my brother for most of our life. He shot up like one summer. So I would just throw it over him. He'd say that's cheating because I can't run faster than him. So just stuff like that where, you know, you're

always just picking at each other. Do you know how tough you are? Do I know how tough I am? I feel like I've come into that, like come into knowing that and I think it just comes with a natural confidence is as you get older you're so much sure of yourself. You've had a lot of success that helps. Yeah yeah being successful helps. Yeah but the reason I asked about your toughness is just if you're successful helps. Yeah. But the reason I asked about your toughness is just if you're created by the fire of competition, if you're the one in the house who wants to lose the least. Did you run races track with your brother?

Like where were you competing in all of the spaces that are most likely to produce the fights? Basketball is most likely to produce? Contact sports, yeah. Football? Football? Okay, so the contact stuff. So what's the one years later that you and he can laugh about that the family still laughs about

because it's the memorable one? For example, there are pictures throughout my childhood. My brother was the mischievous one. So what you'll see is a picture of me with a patch on my eye and my brother holding a stick in separate photos, right? Like you'll see the story of our family there. Where can we see it in your family in terms of a fight that went sideways

because both of you, because you're crazy competitive. Oh, me and my brother still laugh about this. I don't even know if our parents know, but we were fighting in our room about something. We were like in the playroom where all the toys were. And we were trying to have a competition. I can't even remember what it was. But Kai, my brother, had just started watching WWE wrestling.

And so we started wrestling. And he grabbed my head and did a knee. He pulled my head down and then hit me with his knee. I was like, what the fuck? Yes, that's correct. That's the correct reaction. Where did that come from? That's right.

Just a wrestling move. Yes. I heard a crack in my skull. He's like, don't tell mom. Don't tell mom. I was like, give don't tell mom, don't tell mom. I was like, give me $100 and I won't tell mom. So we still laugh about that. Was there a negotiation down from that?

Or did he have $100 to give you? No, he had $100. I knew he had $100. Okay, so you got a hundred. That was a calculated number. And what kind of damage was left? What was the, did he indeed crack your skull? And in the story?

You had to tell a lie in exchange for the hundred dollars. No, I think I think he just rattled my brain a little bit So I heard it on the inside. I don't even know if I had a bump I just remember you have to like fake cry, you know play it up a little bit to really make him feel bad Like he's gonna get in trouble get the hundred dollars. Sure. You had to do. Yeah Your parents where would you say the reason I'm asking you about toughness specifically is I got to 50 years old without knowing how tough I was or wasn't and doubting how tough I was because I hadn't had it tested in any meaningful way.

Where are the tests for you that you, beyond the confidence of having successes on top of each other and the support of your parents, where do you find the places that you can point to and be like, no, no, I'm pretty tough? I think a couple. I would say my first true adversity in sport was definitely my freshman year at UConn because Coach Gino has said a lot of times he breaks players down to build them back up. And you go into college knowing, like I had never lifted a weight before going to college.

I knew it was gonna be hard physically, but mentally I was not prepared for how hard it was gonna be. Like in high school, if we were gonna do a back door, that was like a specific play call. We were not reading the game. And so him teaching that was the most painful process. Like I could not remember a play to save my life.

I was just like so anxious all the time. And it was so, so hard. I mean, I lost my starting spot, middle of a game, one game, barely played after that. And then I worked my ass off the whole summer. I was doing two days with my husband now. He was my trainer for a couple years before we started dating.

So in two days with him, I came back feeling better than ever. And the one thing I could do my freshman year was rebound. I couldn't do anything else. Couldn't remember a play, couldn't make a basket. I could rebound. And the practice player we were playing against, he got a rebound, coach stops practice.

He's like, Fesa, that's why you didn't play last year. That's why you'll never play this year. And that's why you'll never be good here. Get a fucking rebound. I was like, cool. The one thing I could do right. But it made me into the player I am today. Like it taught me how to read the game, how to be a smart basketball player.

Cause he would always say, it's funny cause you know, my freshman year Stewie was a senior that's when they had won four championships in a row. Never been done. And after they graduated, he's like, well, all the talent's gone. So you guys need to be smarter because we don't have any more talented basketball players. We had like six step MBA players on the, on the team still. Um, but he really instilled in us.

I understand that he's a leader and a coach and a great spokesman on that, but he can be a bit of an asshole. I think, uh, I think we can agree on that. I'll take your smile as confirmation. We'll leave it as a no comment. He's a lovable one. Yeah. Uh, but he's, he's really tough and under other circumstances Some of that stuff can be toxic but in sports it gets filed under hardening you and it and it worked Yeah, it did. I mean it did it taught me how to read the game And I feel like the next hardest thing was after I had my daughter

That was like the hardest physically like like rehab I've ever done. I don't talk about this a lot, but I thought I was gonna not be able to play anymore. Because after I had her, just the rehab after, like my body basically retaliated. I could barely bend my knees. So I had to spend the entire off season doing rehab. I wasn't even in the gym.

Like I couldn't even practice. I was just doing rehab the whole time. And that was just really hard because I had no plan after basketball. Like this had been my whole life and I was like so young so I thought I had so many years left to play and then I have like this newborn baby that it's my first kid. I'm trying to navigate that. My life looks totally different so it was definitely a really hard time and then I had a great season and so it was worth it.

Well you you maternity leave you only played four games the particular season how much did you weigh the decision to have a baby given that in order to be excellent oftentimes anywhere you find ego or success you will find some selfishness and mom ain't really allowed that. Yeah. So I had always wanted to be a young mom. I knew I always wanted kids. And I think it was a little bit of like,

you don't know what you don't know because I got pregnant at the end of whatever, 2021 season. And so I had the whole off season to be pregnant. And one of my favorite players, Sylvia Fowl, is my teammate. I knew she was retiring that next year, so that was my goal, is to get back so I can play at least one game with her.

I just didn't know how hard it was gonna be. I thought I was an athlete, I would bounce back, it would be super easy, not the case. I couldn't work out for the last two months of my pregnancy because I was having some bleeding with Mila. And then I had her and you can't work out for six weeks. And then I gained a lot of weight because of that. So losing that and then of course I told you my body was hurting.

All these hormones are going through your body that I had no idea about. So I played 11 weeks after I had her. And I'm super happy I got to play with Sue. She's such a legend in our game but I mean I would not do it again. It cost you when you say your body was retaliating against you you are dealing with physical pain weight gain the emotions of having no handbook with a child like yeah what was happening what can you say was happening then that made you think that you weren't going to play anymore?

Roller coaster of postpartum stuff? Yeah, no, I mean I did have a little bit of postpartum right after I had her, but physically it was like just my knees. So something I didn't know is when the hormones in your body it's a hormone that loosens all your joints so that you can give birth, like the baby can get out. But through that process, like everywhere there was a joint,

it was so painful. Like because I was putting so much stress on it, because I was trying to play, and then these hormones are still running through my body, my knees were like so swollen. That was what I majority of my rehab was for, was my knees and like the cartilage had like worn down so much in that time. Like my feet and my shoulders,

my hips just everywhere there's a joint, it hurt to bend it at all. So like obviously you need those things to play basketball. I couldn't even shoot like a free throw. Like it hurt to bend that little. And so we found a really good physical therapist in New York and I just spent the whole offseason there. And then so just dealing with that and then like with Mila just the struggles of like new parenthood you know just trying to figure that out. It was just obviously really stressful. You're running on way less sleep than I ever had before. That's a huge thing for recovery as well. And so it was just a kind of a scary time for my career in that point because it was

like a race also to get to the, to be ready for the season. So I'm like, if I still feel this way in the beginning of the season, I cannot play. So it was just kind of stressful in that sense. Can you take us next to you at the moment that you're having the legitimate doubt and thought I'm not going to play anymore. This hurts too much. It was actually, we were in Missouri, both my husband and I are from there, we were in a church gym and I was like trying to get warmed up to work out and I'm like, I literally

can't even run down the court, it's that painful and I started crying like my husband's there, I'm like, if it feels like this, there's no way I can play and I know I have a high pain tolerance, I play through a lot of injuries and things. Well and he can't help you here like this training nothing like what does he know about childbirth and what the after effects of that exactly this is not like a training issue this is my body is and I don't know what to do so and he's still pushing you did or like how do you do how do you manage that stuff right because that ain't easy yeah no I think

you realize right away because again When you're talking about toughness, I know I'm physically tough like I know So like if I'm crying about it, he knows something's wrong so he got on the phone with my trainer in Minnesota and like We just try to figure out a plan like do all we can until the season starts and if you're still feeling this way Then we take the next steps But I knew I'm like if I feel this way, I can't play So are you scaring him with the like how prevalent a thought was my career might be over here I'm reacting more poorly to childbirth than some of my peers have mm-hmm

How is he taking that you're saying how were you and him taking the idea of? There's real doubt here about whether it is I'm going to be able to continue doing this. He's pretty positive. He's like, let's just see what the doctor says, see what the therapists say. And, you know, obviously I'm trying to keep that mindset as well, but it's scary. And I just knew like, I cannot play if I feel like this. And that's like saying a lot.

Um, so I try to do it like once about a time, like him and my trainer from Minnesota were saying, like, let's just see what the therapists say. Let's just do this rehab and try to push through as much as we can. If you had to compare them, which of the feelings was worse around basketball? The anxiety at the beginning of your UConn career or this?

It's hard because they're so different. I mean, the UConn one is hard because you're doubting yourself so much and your abilities. And that is something, once you go mentally, it's so hard to come back from that. So I'd actually say that one was probably harder because I'm lucky that I am mentally tough and was able to, it made me stronger.

But if that's something that breaks you, I mean, you see it so many times. Like, sports is 80% mental. So that was probably a worst feeling. This one was like, I'm gonna give it my best shot. Like, mentally I know I'm tough enough. It's just, is my body gonna let me do it? So that's scary from that sense,

but at least I know I'm doing everything that I can. The other one, you feel like you're failing yourself mentally in that, to me, is a worse feeling. It's interesting, too, on where it is you would get support for either of those things. The reason I ask the question is because physical pain, most people would think of it, I think, as the worst, but emotional pain when you're climbing towards something,

and Gino's riding you hard, and the anxiety is how prevalent. Can you walk me through how anxious you actually were? Because you don't have the confidence I'm tough or the confidence of much of anything. You're getting exposed by the top of the food chain champ. Do I belong here? These are champions. Am I?

Yeah, that one's really tough because everyone, especially at Yukon, you're the best from where you come from. I had not had really any adversity basketball wise Like I always played older. I was always the best team even when I the best player even when I played older You know my team won state three years in a row in high school Like I was always the best player and then you get to UConn. You're the worst player They think you're the stupidest player like you can't do anything, right? So that's I mean, it's so hard your your week. I'd never lifted before you don't do anything right. So that's, I mean, it's so hard. You're weak, I'd never lifted before.

You don't know any of the plays. There's a whole new style of, you are learning a whole new style of basketball. We would have, I like, kind of compare it to, it's like an outline of a circle with nothing filled in. So he'll give you an idea of what he wants and then you have to play and make reads and be a smart basketball player. Learning how to do that is really hard if it's something you've never done before. And you have that with the pressure of the best player

in the world as your senior, the best coach in the world, you know, nitpicking everything that you're doing. And so it's really hard. I mean, it would be like, to a point where I didn't even want to be on the floor because I was so scared I was going to mess up or that I wasn't going to know the play or something was something of that was gonna happen so it definitely like took my joy away from basketball for a little bit um but I just had to come to a point where again you have to sink or swim like I know that

I got here for a reason if he's gonna do that okay like I said I'm gonna work as hard as I can during the summer so I never feel this way again. How long was the period that you're talking about? It was a good, I would say it was a good six months. Were you close to quitting? Did you feel like? Oh, I wanted to transfer, but you couldn't transfer then because you had to sit out a year. I didn't want to sit out a year.

Oh, so the new rules, NIL, you're gone. NIL, I would have been gone, yeah. I'm glad I didn't, but I would have been. And how soon would you have been gone? How much more did you endure that you would have if the rules had been different? How long before Gino's running you right out of there because I I don't think you could have expected any of that, right? It's one thing to be weaker than everyone else It's another thing to have the coach making you such a misery that you don't want to actually go play. Mm-hmm

Yeah, so and it's hard, it's such a hard balance because yes, like, he was the reason I was feeling that way, but there's such a method to the madness. Like again, I'm glad I went through that because I wouldn't be who I am without that, but in that state change, it's hard. I would have finished the year because I'm not going to quit in the middle of the season.

I just, I wouldn't do that, but last day of classes, I'm not going to quit in the middle of the season. I just, I wouldn't do that. But last day of classes, I'm out of there. Can you explain to folks who don't understand what the cost is of greatness? I think the biggest word would be sacrifice. I mean, yeah, I've been growing up. it looks like your summers are gone, you're playing basketball, but there's a lot of trade-off. There's a lot of amazing things about sports that I want my kids to be in sports and I've learned so much, but on the flip side is you don't have a lot of friends

out of sports, you are missing stuff that's important when you're young, sleepovers, parties. I wasn't really allowed to go to a lot of parties in high school because my parents would always say you have so much more to lose. You know, you have like scholarships on the line, you can't get caught doing all these things and that's all you want to do when you're in high school. So it keeps you out of trouble but you want to be in trouble when you're younger. You lose some childhood in there. Yeah and then you know as you get older I think just

especially at this level now, I would say, I don't know, just the way that our sport is growing, I think the sacrifices, this is your career now, like you do, I said I don't live and die, but what happens, but it's also the way that you make money. So there's a lot more on a line. It's just a lot heavier, of course, than when you were younger, everything is when you're an adult. But it's not about, oh I just wanted to play, well this is like how you make money for your family. So it's even more competitive than that. And then sometimes people are like,

you're competing with your teammates because you want their playing time or you want their money or whatever it is. So you lose a little bit of the purity of the sport in that way and I kind of feel that way about NIL. So happy that athletes are finally making money in college. But I do think it takes away the purity of the sport a little bit because you're so worried about money

and people are leaving. There's like, you can leave every year and go somewhere else. So I think you lose a little bit of that in there too. Professionals always complain about the business portions of things because things can get colder, less warm when you start applying business to them. When you examine the entirety of your career, is there a place that you would like some

do-overs on some things that you might do differently where you wouldn't be quite as a, yes, I'm glad I went through this, but where you'd just like to do something differently because you'd end up in a different spot? Honestly I don't think so I'm really big on everything happens for a reason so it's hard to have a lot of regrets that way even with like I believe I'm the best player and I went six to Minnesota like to me I was like what are you guys saying because I think I'm the best player but I wouldn't be in the position I'm in now if I never ended up in Minnesota it was the perfect place for me to be. So when everything turns out well like that it's hard to have any

regrets. Is that something that you came by naturally? Like I think there's a great deal of happiness in that not looking back and just being someone who doesn't look at anything other than a growth opportunity, but usually that requires a few more years than you've lived to arrive at that kind of wisdom. Again, my parents, I had such a great foundation. They are such hard workers in everything that they do, and they just teach you to be thankful for what you have. My dad would always say, if you put all your problems

and everyone else's problems in a pot, you would grab yours back. And I feel like that is such a good approach because you never know what other people are going through and if you had to choose, you would choose your problems over someone else's, you don't know what's happening in their lives. What are the examples that you're remembering,

my parents were such hard workers, what are you watching? What's the example being set? Well, I mean, my mom grew up on a dairy farm in Missouri. My parents are total opposites. My dad grew up in Sierra Leone, West Africa. He came over during the war over there. And they met, like my mom was in nursing school, and so she was working at a nursing home

trying to get her hours up. My dad was the only place that they would hire like black people in that town at the time was a nursing home So just the way that they worked there and then just worked so hard to support me and my brother Never complained a day in their life about going to work or supporting us or all the things that came with both of us playing sports The money that that requires to travel like they did not have wives with their own I'm realizing now like as I grow up, I'm like this is so fun, we get to travel all the time,

but they never got time to themselves, and just the sacrifice that they made without once telling us about it, or making us feel like they were sacrificing, it just shows you like the kind of parents and people that they are, I'm super grateful that I had them. Were there many obstacles for you, or were they cleared out of the way?

Growing up? Yes. Yeah, there was, I mean of course, like, you know, we grew up in a super like white town, my dad's African, so, you know, going to school, just feeling so different, like, I think one of my first memories from kindergarten was, it was like a K through 12 school and I was the only black person in the whole school. And one of the little girls was like, oh we can't play with you anymore because you're black and we're white and that was the first time I ever

heard that. So just from that moment on I felt like I just really was conscious of that I look different than everyone so that's just hard growing up you know but and then you know kind of from the same thread, like everyone from that town knew each other growing up, and when my brother and I were trying to play sports, we were trying to get on the teams when we were younger, and they never had room for us on the teams to play. So my parents actually went out, and we got kids from surrounding towns

when we created our own basketball team, and we ended up, you know, winning all these championships with that team, and all of a sudden, they had room for us after that. At that age, you're just trying to fit in though, right? So it feels a little lonely to be, were you all so taller than most of the kids as well? Yeah, I was always tall.

And so you've got both of those working, right? You don't even wanna be seen that much as a kid, right? Yeah, I know as a kid you want nothing more than to blend in. That changes as you get older, but yeah, I mean it's really hard to be different when you're a kid. Kids are mean.

Being different is not the cool thing at that time. And so it is hard to do that. But again, I feel like my family was so strong that it's like, even if you feel like different at school, like you can't help but be happy because I had such a happy childhood with my family. One of my closest friends, Ricky Williams, grew up in San Diego and one of the things

that he was always dealing with was some form of the black kids didn't think he was black enough and the white kids thought he was too black or whatever it is that's in there when you're trying to make your way through some sort of, do some cultural translations. Where were the difficulties for you and how did they shape you in trying to navigate to two different worlds? I mean the same thing, but I think sports also helped a lot with that because when you're playing sports also

like all those kind of petty things that happen at school they don't happen when you're playing. You have such a like you um united goal towards something when you're playing just all my friendships were through sports um and so yeah i mean sports is a great confidence builder for kids especially if you're good at them right like it all of a sudden makes you popular especially girls it's a huge i mean there's so many stats saying the top women in their fields, they all played sports. Just the confidence that it builds, the leadership skills, the people skills,

just everything, it's great. How old were you when you realized you were really, really good? I would probably say eighth grade because I got my first college scholarship then and that was before they really, they do it a little bit more now. So I think that was it. And I almost signed like on the spot, but my dad's the one that kind of pulled me and

my mom off the ledge. He's like, you're 14. You almost signed, who was sending it though? Who was sending it? Mizzou. Cause yeah, I was from Missouri and I was like, yes, I'm ready to sign. He's like, you're 14 years old. Let's hold on a little bit.

And so he was kind of the voice of reason through that. Did you find yourself along the path then start gaining confidence right there? Eighth grade is when that's happening. Does it start pretty immediately? No, I, I've honestly always been blessed with really great coaches. So my freshman year of high school, I went to Jeff City High School before I moved to my other school. And I was actually the point guard there. And he was a really tough coach. He was like one of those coaches exactly like you know, like a yellow, really tough, expects a lot from you. And so when you're with coaches like that, they never let your head get too big. You know, they're always pushing you to be better. And he did. And so I wasn't like I went in there thinking, you know, I'm the best player in the world.

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they would tell you I often am lamenting that I wish I were a better leader, I wish I knew more about leadership. You just mentioned leadership. When did you start to become one of those? I would say when I got to Minnesota probably. I mean, I tried in college a little bit, I was just I'm not a big like vocally I was not a leader. I think I was I tried to lead by example like I always try to be the hardest worker and show that way but I was really uncomfortable with like

confrontation so holding people accountable you have to be confrontational. And so I feel like I started building the vocal side of it more when I was in Minnesota, because again, Sylvia Fowles was my vet, and her and our coach knew she was retiring soon, so they kind of like set me up for that a couple years before that happened, like saying, you know, you're gonna be in this leadership role, we need you to start working on this, this, and this.

And so just like the first step of whatever is admitting you have a problem, like just acknowledging in those situations that, okay, this, this, and this. And so just the first step of whatever is admitting you have a problem, just acknowledging in those situations that okay, this is somewhere I can grow, this is somewhere where I can say something and just naturally I got more and more confident in that. Have you gotten good at confrontation? I wouldn't say good. It's something, it's not natural to me,

so it's something I will always have to work on, but I'm definitely way better than I used to be. But how do you process it in terms of awareness? Because now, you're not emotionally getting into a fight with a teammate. You're purposefully getting into a fight with a teammate. Correct? Yeah, well I think still, that is not my confrontation style.

The word is confrontational, but I'm not confrontational about it. I try to come with it from a point of reason. So see why you're thinking that way and try to meet you where you're at. So I try to talk through in that way. Wait a minute, so you're just being direct. That's not confrontational.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Direct, confrontational is going and trying to, I don't need to explain this to you, but creating whatever friction or fuel there is in like, let me see if I can consciously instigate so that this person is better doing whatever I have to do to make this person better. Yeah, yeah, not my leadership style still.

So, confrontation is the wrong word then. I feel like I'm more direct. Like if I see a problem, I'll say it, but I'm not like trying to get it where you're riled up and in a fight. I'm trying to reason with you. And you've discovered that you are a good leader? Like what is it that's giving you the understanding

that you are a good leader? I mean, I hope I'm a good leader. I try to be a good leader for my team. I think a sign is that like, I think my team is respectful and they listen to me when I talk. I think that's a sign like I think my team is respect me and they listen to me when I talk. I think that's a sign of a good leader is when you say something they actively try to do what you're saying. We were talking before we started though and I'm not going to say you apologize for being a soft talker but you did admit that on the court you have to summon an

entirely different voice than your voice in order to be heard above the crowd, in order to what? Yeah, yeah, I don't know what it is. I think just like the level that my voice is at naturally, it's hard to hear in loud situations, so I have to make it usually lower, but sometimes higher, so it kind of breaks above or below like what the noise is. So that you can be heard by your teammates

in critical moments. Yeah, especially on the court. Like this is just communication stuff. Like that a screen is coming so they don't get cracked or like what we're doing on offense or defense. The first thing you have to do is lower your voice on an octave upon recognition. Yeah. Yeah. To change your natural cadence. So a lot of things in basketball by you have had to be learned in order, in order to successfully navigate the place that represents what I imagine is the most confident version of you we've ever seen.

Yes. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. I mean, I think the vocal side is definitely the most I was, I mean, growing up, I would say I was pretty shy. Like I wasn't a really vocal person. And that started in college where, of course they say the thing you have to do on defense you have to talk talk talk it was like exhausting for me to talk now it's so natural I mean I've been doing it for years obviously but that

was like so exhausting that you have to be always talking and calling out on defense and cheering for your team like I couldn't think of anything worse exhausting it was exhausting truly emotionally draining yes when I'm already physically so tired and then I have to talk the whole time Because why what is happening there that would make that so exhausting? I think it's because I mean honestly, I don't know I wasn't used to it Like I never had to do it really before but it's for so it's not authentic. It's not natural It wasn't it's something that has to be learned conscious and get to here But it's not any kind of natural now it is when I was. It wasn't it's something that has to be learned conscious and get to hear but it's not any kind of natural

Now it is when I was learning it wasn't now it is so natural Like I don't even think twice about it. Like in fact, if you don't do it, it's like it's like a faux pas. It's bad But before I was like, oh, I have to talk again. We're talking this whole time. Like don't you know the screens come you can't see them So it was hard at first. Did anyone ever say to you hey I can't hear you you're talking too low or you just learned over time I've got to go deeper? No it was because I was like screaming I was yelling as loud as I could and they're like we can't hear you I'm like I don't know what else I need to do so I started making my voice like higher or lower and they could hear me so. Would you be kind enough not that you're a parrot but would

you be kind enough to show me what the octave changes are between? I don't know if you'll hear me so. Would you be kind enough not that you're a parrot but would you be kind enough to show me what the octave changes are between high and between I just want to see what the difference is so that I can understand it between high and low unless that makes you uncomfortable. I don't want to make you uncomfortable. So usually I'd be like screen but especially like when I'm having to go really fast my voice goes higher so I'm like screen so it's really loud higher, so I'm like, scream! So it's really loud like that, or I'm like, we're gonna trap, we're trapping! Like try to make it a little lower. So just whatever it is, like whatever my normal voice isn't,

try to make it different so they can hear. You mentioned unrivaled having amenities that are thought of by people who have experienced things that are needed to be great professionally. You have a child care center, right? That's one of the things that you have put in place. What are some of the other things that you have tried to do, at least in part because of your experiences of not having them come while you came up? Yeah, so we went over a list of like must-haves. So you have to have a weight

room, which actually not everybody has. You have to have a weight room, which actually not everybody has. You have to have a training room. We have to have, you know, like those are just things that you have to have. Okay, what can we make those? How can we elevate those? So we got like the best of all the equipment in the weight room.

We got the best of all the equipment in the training room where we don't have the stuff in the W, like these equipments that we're using. And then it's like, okay, we have our necessities. Now what would, what would we just want? Just to make's like, okay, we have our necessities. Now what would we just want? Just to make the experience better. So we have like a sauna, we have an esthetician room, we have like a makeup room, we have, you know,

hot and cold tubs, which that's more of a necessity. But just stuff like that where it's not a necessity, but it's nice to have. It makes the experience nice. We have a masseuse on call like every week or every day. And so things that will elevate the experience in that way where it's like, you know, we want to make this better than what we've had.

It's not just meeting our needs. We want to make a professional experience where you have things that are just nice to have too. Are you able to concentrate on just your basketball portion of it and Alex and others can handle the business or do you have to do all of the roles? I don't have to do all the roles but I definitely am intermingling with things. I mean when I'm in the facility I am with my team I definitely try to focus on basketball but then you'll have players

come up to you and be like we want this or can this happen or you know What's going on with this and so you kind of step into that role and then at the end of the day Alex tells me Everything that goes on on the business side and then like if I have an opinion about something then you step into that role So there's definitely some intermingling, but I try to keep when I'm there like I'm with my team I'm locked in well when you say though that it's been years in the making I don't know what it's like to work with your partner on something this intertwined. What are the complications in that and what are the fulfillments? Yeah we have a lot of practice because like I said he was my

trainer for like several years before we started dating and so when we transitioned over to dating it was really hard to work together. We were questioning, should I get a new trainer? Just because it's hard to switch that off where we're partners, but you're telling me what to do. And you're critiquing me when I'm playing. And then all of a sudden, I think you have an attitude, you think I have an attitude.

It's hard to listen. So we had to have a conversation where, when we step on the court, is now you know teacher student environment like you need to listen to me. I won't be getting an attitude if I think you're not listening like whatever it is like set that aside and once we did that it was great. So you kind of have to establish those boundaries. So we had some practice in that a little bit and then once it switched over to Unrivaled it was just really collaborative because I kind of I defer to him on the business side.

He knows all the business stuff, and he defers to me on the player experience side because I know that. So I think we just did a really great job of trusting each other in our different categories, and then you come together to create the best product. How did it come to be that the trainer relationship blossomed into romance? So it was my junior year at UConn and Alex was training a couple of the players on the Knicks. So he was in New York a lot and I was struggling my junior year.

And so he would like come down to help me train. I'm like, I need to get some reps in cause I'm not feeling good. So we come down to train and it's like a three hour drive. So we would hang out for a little bit after we go to dinners or you know just hang out and talk about the season stuff and I guess it's just like naturally progressed. Okay but I'm gonna need a little bit more information here about

like how how is it that it comes to be that you have I wasn't thinking about this at all this way before and now oh I'm he's gonna be the father of my children. There are definitely some years between that. It seems that there are some holes in your story right now in terms of how it is that you're telling me how we get from he's pushing you around, he's training you. First of all, how does he become your trainer? Let's start there. So the first time I met him was right before I left for UConn and I had a different trainer

and one of my friends was just like, you know, I'm going to this workout with this guy from the company they were with was called Pure Sweat. I'm going to Pure Sweat, we're gonna work out, do you wanna just join me for this workout? So that's like technically the first time I met him. I was like, oh, I actually really like what he's doing. And then, you know, I go to college,

I have that horrible year, I'm like, I need to get better in this off season. And I knew I wanted to, you wanted to move on from my other trainer. He was starting to transition out of training. And Alex was the only person I knew. And I'm like, I really liked what he was doing. And so that's how he became my trainer. Like I said, we worked together for, like, what?

Three years doing that. And then he went to New York. And I don't know. I just thought he was really cute. And we were spending a lot of time together and you get to know people more that way. Like it's not like I'm only seeing you on the court more, no, I get to see your personality more.

I could tell he was getting flirty too. And I think he just like asked me out on a date one day, we went to dinner. He's not like he ever asked me to be his girlfriend, we just started hanging out a lot after that and it kind of just, I think the first title we had was like engaged because I don't know if you ever like asked me to be his girlfriend super interesting time to be with you too

though right like those those three years he's seeing he's got a pretty unique access to you now are going to start flourishing into the professional person that you've become yeah yeah, yeah, I would say so. I mean, and he had a lot of experience. He worked with a lot of NBA players. So he kind of saw the progression of that. Like he worked, for example, I mean, he worked with Trey Young since he was in high school.

So you see like the levels of it. Like obviously they accelerate a lot faster. They don't go through college the same way. So he kind of, it was cool to kind of lean on his expertise in that too, because I had no idea what to expect. I didn't have any WBA friends, you know? And so just knowing what that process looks like,

kind of being able to, you know, he knows what agents, like what agents you're supposed to look for in an agent, how, you know, deals are supposed to be done. So kind of leaning on his expertise in that too. When you're coming up, your dreams look like what? Have you already exceeded them? Um, I mean, I never had a dream to be a WNBA player. So I would say yes.

I mean, when I was little, like I wanted to be a teacher and then I wanted to be a doctor and then, you know, I want to be a hairstylist. I love playing with hair. I think I just accidentally fell into professional basketball. I just loved playing sports. I had a peg of sports to stick with when I was in high school and I'm like, I'm the best at basketball.

I'll stick with basketball. It turned into like, okay, I want to get my school paid for. And then I get to go to college and I'm like, oh, this is the best school. And then once you get there, I'm like, okay, I have a chance to be a professional athlete. so it kind of just took it one step at a time it's not like I'm like my ultimate goal is to be a WNBA player. But when you've done goals and stuff have you met most of them? Um I've been a

lot but not all I mean going to my rookie year I had a goal to be rookie of the year because there's just so much happening that year I mean you're going from college to a new team new, you know new city new everything you scored with 27 points in your game I know well That's why I'm like that I need something to focus me like I want to be rookie of the year and I had a horrible Preseason actually, I think I had four points between both the games and I felt like how I did my freshman year at college But like luckily I was able to I college. But luckily I was able to, I'd been there before I was able to recognize it.

I'm like, I'm never feeling that way again. So I came out my first game, I'm like, I don't care. I'm just gonna play basketball. And I never looked back in that sense. So this period of anxiety lasted a couple of games. Yeah. And you recognized it. Yeah.

You recognized the feeling, whatever it was, the feeling of the water rising in the room. Yeah. Yeah, I was feeling not confident because it was essentially the same situation. You're going in where everyone's better than you again. They have more experience. You're the freshman again. And there's a new system, blah, blah, blah.

And I'm like, ugh, I'm just playing not confidently. And that's the feeling I don't like, is not being confident in what you're doing. It makes you second guess everything. It's the worst feeling. And so I recognize that's what was happening. I'm like, I'm not doing a whole nother season like this. What is the worst of the professional experiences that you have had?

Like, would that represent the greatest of the professional hardships? Because you've had a lot of success. You've had a lot of success. You've had a lot of success early. There's not a lot of evidence anyone can spot of these anxieties and these doubts you'd speak of. Like is that the worst mentally that I've been to life, actually?

You said professionally, you had this period of doubt that lasted a couple of pre-season games and then you scored 27 in your first one. And I don't know that you've probably done a lot of doubt since. No, I mean, I do just like everyone. I, I think it like comes and goes, but for me being able to recognize it is like great for me because I feel myself like, especially you get that like mid season slump where you're not in

the gym the same because you're just tired. You're going from game to game. You're not getting in the same rep. So like, you feel less confidence. Like when you don't study for a test, you go and you're anxious because you, you tired, you're going from game to game. You're not getting in the same reps, so you feel less confident. It's like when you don't study for a test, you go and you're anxious because you don't know anything. When you study, you go and I feel great. So midseason where it's like you're just in the dead of everything, you're not practicing as much, I don't feel as confident. And I'm able to recognize that. And then I'm like, OK, I need to get in reps in.

So I'm not feeling this way in the game because I'll have a game where like I'm hesitating before I shoot or I'm like should I and that's when I'm in my worst spot is when honestly what I'm thinking like that and so yeah just making sure that I'm aware of when I'm feeling that way. Well is this what you're referencing when you say 80% of the game is mental? Like what are the things that you're talking about when you say because you don't really believe that most of the WNBA players have your skillset, right? Or most of the top six picks in any draft have exactly your skillset or do you

believe they do have that skillset and what you have is a mental advantage? I, I also think it's both. Like I recognize I'm very skilled. I'm an athlete. Like I'm a very skilled athlete. Can I run the fastest? No. Can I jump the fastest? No. Can I do all these things? No. I'm not the best at any of those. I think I've worked really hard my footwork. I think my footwork is one of the best in the league for sure. But mentally, like I believe I'm the best when I'm out there. Like when I get to my

certain spots, I know I'm going to score. And I think you see that in a lot of players. Like I think Trey is a great example of that. Is he the best at anything? No, but he has so much confidence in himself, it makes him one of the best players in the league. He's able to do incredible things, not because of his talent, he is very talented, but because he has so much belief in himself. And I think you see that with other players like Ben Simmons, who is so talented, but

his mental is like he's come out and said he struggles really hard mentally with his confidence in himself and he's not able to do the things that he should be able to do so I really believe that sports is 80-20 mental and physical and you feel like you're sturdy there right like if I if I say to you, what is your greater advantage, your mental or your footwork? Um, I would say my mental. Yeah. When you speak of your footwork, can you explain to people when I, this is where I sort of

say, what's the cost of that? Like it's such a, a meticulous thing that you have to be taking care of so specifically until it becomes totally natural now. But what was the cost of getting your game that sculpted? Yeah, to me, it wasn't a cost to me. It was great because it, the foundation of it was that sophomore, like that freshman summer going to my sophomore year of college, where I was just so determined to not feel like shit anymore when I played that I wanted to be in the gym. Like, I was doing two days every single day. I would do skill work in the morning, I would

shoot in the afternoon every single day. And so learning that, and then when you start seeing the reps go down and it feels good, you're playing pickup, you're playing one-on-one, I'm like, I am scoring every single time. Like it builds your confidence and after that becomes natural in the way that you add it to your game. But yeah, I mean, you have to do so many reps for things to become second nature. How do you do losing? I remember in, in Miami when LeBron James was the centerpiece of losing where it looked like at the end, five minutes left with Dallas,

he's swinging the ball in the perimeter cause he doesn't want to have the ball anymore. He described himself as cast away where he goes away for a month and just stoos in his misery. What was the losing to the Liberty like? Yeah, it was awful. I mean, I felt a lot of anger. I've not been, you know, quiet about like how I felt about the finals.

So I was riding on anger for a really long time and it's still something that like I used to motivate myself even now. I mean I feel like it has pushed me to be honestly a better player because I in the way that I play I feel like I never want to be in that situation again where I'm having to complain about the refs which everyone is saying you know. I want it to be where we're winning by so much it doesn't matter what the refs are calling. And so I think it's changed my mindset and the way that I see the game, honestly,

and it's made me a better player because of it. Angry for how long? Anger is just information, so what is it that you're doing with this anger and how long are you stewing in it? I think it's changed my mentality, honestly. It's made me more mentally strong, and so During the games I feel like sometimes I would like coast a little bit where you have you know quarters or a couple minutes

Where you're like you don't need to be involved and you know you're kind of like LeBron at the end again like swinging the ball Stuff like that Now I just feel super locked in like I want to make sure that I'm contributing to the team It doesn't even have to be scoring, but I need to be going out there and I need to be playing great defense. I need to be getting rebounds, whatever it is, where I'm locked in. And I would just say it just gave me an edge

to when I play and how I play. How often do you play angry? Honestly, I feel like more and more. Just because, you know, in the Jordan documentary, he's like, I took that personally. I feel like it's easy to find little things that you take personally, and it makes you play with an edge. So, I don't know, you just like find little stuff

that kind of pisses you off, and I play better when I'm mad because it makes me really focused. So, yeah. I thought it was better to keep the emotion out of it. You found a governor, like give me some of the stuff people are doing to piss you off. Who's pissing you off? How are they doing it? Well, I don't like other people to see that I'm mad. So that is something that I still stick to. It's like,

I don't want you to know I'm mad, but I need to use it as fuel for myself. So I mean like just, you know, people are chirping or they're fouling you or they're complaining about something saying like, oh that wasn't a foul or whatever it is, you can find anything to get mad about. That's nice though, but stoicism, you're not going to let them. I don't want you to know. You're not gonna let them have the pleasure of knowing.

I'm just gonna quietly stool, Stu, yeah. The pleasure of knowing that then they've won. You can't let them have that. You just have to let them give you just enough fuel so you use it as rage to eat their face. Yes, absolutely. Okay, I'm glad I articulated it for you that way. Do you, as you won the one-on-one of Unrivaled

and you are determined how much to win, to bring the Lunar Owls the title so that you can be co-founder, so you can be greedy about it. So you can be champion of one-on-one, created the league, and also won the team title. Yeah, I wanna be super greedy about it. I mean, and also like we're working our butts off.

We are in the weight room every single day, all five of us. We are in the training room every single day, all five of us. We are in the training room every single day, all five of us taking care of our bodies, the way that we stay locked into practice. We are making it so there's no competition. We want it to be where we're winning every single game. We're mad that we lost one game.

And so yeah, I mean, especially when there's 50 bands on the line for the winner, we're taking it really seriously. We want to win. Where does this rank in terms of community feeling that you've had with five players before, because nobody can really understand unless you've done it, what those bonds are like. Yeah, I would definitely compare this more to college where, because, we're just in such a confined space and there's only five of us so there's not like you have cliques that

can form on the team we're so small already we are our own clique and so and just you know the adversity of going through this together like there's a huge target on your back everyone thinks whatever they do about your team because you're winning so much and you know everyone is happy when you lose that one game. It's like their Super Bowl when you lose. So it brings you closer together. So it's been really fun. I mean, and this team is so competitive.

It's been really fun to be a part of. How about the fulfillment involved in providing something that might one day be bought by the WNBA or like just the fulfillment of these people having employment because of something you made, how much of that are you getting daily? I don't know that I feel fulfilled yet because there's still so much we wanna do.

Like we, there's a lot more that we wanna do and I think we've done amazing for our inaugural season. And I think we're changing the landscape of women's sports. Like you see it rising. I mean, overseas contracts are going up, domestic league contracts are going up. We're about to go, we're in our CBA for the WNBA. And so I think I'll feel fulfilled when we see those contracts change and see, you know, unrivaled keep going and our contracts keep going up here and just like changing what it means to be a women's athlete.

Are you hard on yourself? I would say yes. I think all professional, I think people at the top, anyone at the top of anything is hard on themselves. That's how you get there. I'd like to be better. It's something I'm always fighting with of being more forgiving, more gentle with myself. But you're saying it's kind of a job requirement.

I mean, I think it's how you get to where you are. This is probably a toxic tick, but if you're so forgiving with yourself, how are you going to push yourself to be better? How are you going to push yourself to be the greatest at something and be the best if you're not expecting that of yourself? Do you have a reason like can you tie to roots why do you want to be the best? Why is it so important? Like what where is all of that coming from? I would assume you're surrounded by people who would allege that they want the same thing. Yeah.

And you would notice they don't want it quite as much as I do. Yeah. Honestly, I think just, I feel like he's like getting greedy, honestly. Like, especially because I am naturally gifted. So I have naturally been better from a younger age. I was like, I saw that. And so you get used to that feeling and then you get people who are more talented and you're like, well, I want that feeling back so I have to work harder and then you get to the next step and people are more talented

and it's like it's running away from that feeling of You know, I'm not the best anymore And so I think that's probably what it is Honestly, the reason that I head down this path that I've also noticed I'm much older than you I'm twice your age but when I have talked to people who are excellent, top of their craft, and we look back on their careers,

almost all of them say, I wish I'd enjoyed it more. And if you're not forgiving with yourself, and if you don't stop for a minute to get balance and slow your life down, and if you don't say to yourself, God, I gotta run this business, and I gotta win this tournament, it'd be really easy to, in that greed, joy just gets lost until those moments of winning,

which can be fleeting when you don't win. Like, when you don't win, then all of a sudden you're mad at the referees. And you're the rage-filled person you are here today, where you're just fueled by just constant anger. Yeah. I don't know. I don't feel, I think I do enjoy it. Like I am having so much fun and I can, I can be proud of myself.

Like I'm not one of those people that can't be proud of themselves. I can recognize that I need to be better and also be happy about what I've done to this point. Like I'm not settling for what I have done Like I still think I can be better at a lot of things But I'm also super proud that I've been to the Olympics twice super proud that I am playing Well, like I recognize that I'm playing well, I think I can be better But I I think I'm playing great and I'm really proud of myself for what's happened It's just I want to keep that feeling I guess I want to keep being proud of what I'm doing.

Last question before we let you out of here. Your necklace, your daughter, how much have you been changed by everything that is required of a mom? Oh my gosh, so much. I mean, she's definitely like the best thing in my life. Motherhood is amazing. I mean, it's an indescribable feeling honestly. Just kids change so fast too. Just seeing her learn every day. She learns something new. Like how excited she is to see you. She doesn't care if I win or lose anything. Like she's like

mom are you playing basketball? You going to basketball today? She's just so happy. I mean kids are just such a joy. It just has really given my life purpose, I would say. And that purpose feels like what? Like how would you articulate how selfish you were before, a professional athlete, to get to, I don't even know that selfish is bad on the way to athletic greatness. It's almost kind of required.

But how have you been changed there? Because you do, like like, I would imagine that your work requires obsessive, compulsive dedication. Yeah, it's focused me a lot more. So I know that I have a finite amount of time when I'm at the gym, because I want to get home to my family. So it makes my workouts better,

because I don't have time to just be like messing around while I'm there. So I think my workouts are better now because of that. And then also it's just like, it makes me play more free because even though basketball has never been my entire life, obviously so a lot rides on that and you want to play well. So like you play tense in that way. And now it's just like she's the most important thing in my life and she doesn't

care about any of that stuff. It's like, it's not really that important what happens here. like it just like makes you play more free and it makes you and then i actually play better that way i don't think that's exactly the messaging unrivaled wants necessarily that uh it's not as important as you might think it is but definitely not as important as a child you're probably No, well you've got two children here. You've got, there are two of them here that you've made with your husband. One of them is unrivaled and the other is the basketball league. Yeah. Who's the first born? I appreciate your time. Thank you for sharing with us. It's been a pleasure to watch your excellence. Thank you. I appreciate it.

Boys, Puxa Tony Phil. Did he see a shadow? Did you not see a shadow? I don't know. I haven't kept up on Puxa Tony Phil, but the weather's starting to break a little bit. I know in Miami, the weather's starting to heat up. You know what that means? The ice cold taste of Miller Lite gets that much better when it's a little bit warmer outside from basketball and hockey to a game night. Winter means more moments with the coolest people in your life. Or if you're in Miami, it's summer all the time

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