#wnba lore

if you were a wnba fan in 2021, the phrase "dewanna had twins—count that twice!" likely rings in your head from time to time. 2021 marked the 25th anniversary of the wnba, and the league released an advertisement with the slogan "count it". lisa leslie listed all of the things "they said women couldn't do", like dunking, playing after having kids, promoting activism, and more. the shoutout to DB stuck in fans' minds.

let's be clear: dewanna did a lot before she had twins. she was drafted fifth overall to the phoenix mercury in 2009, when she was lucky enough to be named sixth woman of the year and a wnba champion as a rookie (and, yes, she made the all-rookie team too).

she'd win sixth woman of the year three years in a row, become a WNBA champion again in 2014, and by the start of the 2021 season, she'd been a three-time all-star.

in the middle of her success, she found love with her phoenix mercury teammate candice dupree, whom she married in 2016.

shortly after their nuptials, they started planning their family—and twins were not part of that plan (at the beginning). what they did know was that dewanna would carry the baby and miss the 2017 season, while candice would continue playing to support their new family. but candice was a twin, and she wanted their kids to have the same upbringing she did.

Just thirty minutes before Bonner was set to undergo in vitro fertilization — with a single embryo — she finally caved. Dupree had been hearing it from her twin sister and her mother. Just do it! Go for twins! “Shoot, they talked us into having twins,” Dupree said, before laughing. “Well, I kind of talked (Bonner) into having twins.” “It came down to the very last second,” Bonner said. “Because I said no. Nope. just one.” Bonner's doctor told her twins would be twice as hard. Worse morning sickness, weight, fatigue, stress on joints and even heartburn. And Bonner wasn't about all that. But Llanos [Candice's mother] was telling them that it's actually easier to raise twins than a single baby. "They always had a friend growing up," she said. Dupree couldn't argue that. She's still tight with [her twin] Crystal. And they have that weird twin thing where one knows when something is wrong with the other. She loves it. During their interview with IndyStar, Dupree broke out of the conversation to ask Bonner a question. "If you could go back would you have just one?” Bonner laughed. “You can’t ask me that now!” She eventually transferred two embryos. The twins are here and she can’t very well go on the record saying she’d rather have just one. She loves them more than she thought possible. But things are busy. “When I’m on the road, she’s up all night with both of them," Dupree said. "At least I get a break.” —"How a married WNBA couple is raising newborn twins. 'It’s my turn to sacrifice.'", Dakota Crawford, IndyStar, Sept. 6th, 2017

being married and raising twins while one mom is busy with the wnba season is hard enough, let alone when both are playing. however, candice was traded to the indiana fever in early 2017, meaning that they would be trying to raise the kids across two teams' schedules, two timezones, and two people that couldn't be together for five months out of the year (and that's before you factor in overseas travel). the difficulty of this arrangement was chronicled many times, including in a profile posted by the wnba itself.

when the wnba started to plan its bubble season in 2020, many wnba moms were asked whether they'd bring their kids with them. when dewanna spoke about bringing the twins (both before entering the bubble and while playing inside of it), her quotes included no mention of dupree. candice was still playing with the fever, and this would've presented a unique scenario for their family to be united during the season. the silence on the situation seemingly confirmed what'd been rumored for months: candice and dewanna weren't together anymore.

perhaps the biggest clue had been that dewanna chose to go to the connecticut sun in free agency earlier that year. she was definitely closer to indiana now (850 miles instead of 1,700), but had shared no word of closing the gap in her relationship. they'd spent the previous "offseason" apart, too: candice was in hungary playing for sopron basket, and dewanna was in russia, playing for dynamo kursk.

in connecticut, dewanna would be joining 2019 runner-up championship players jonquel jones, brionna jones, a young natisha hiedeman, jasmine thomas, theresa plaisance... and sun franchise player alyssa thomas.

alyssa thomas had been a fixture in connecticut since she was drafted fourth overall in 2014 from the university of maryland, former ACC juggernaut. by early 2020, she'd been a two-time all-star, made the all-defensive second team twice, and led the sun to their best season finish since curt miller was named the head coach—and had already torn both of her labrums.

she was a star, but she preferred keeping to herself. she'd quietly been in a few relationships before (including with teammate jasmine thomas), but she seemed to be single and happy heading into the 2020 season.

however, dewanna had a crush. it started with some innocent instagram story-watching, and then she told a mutual friend... who told alyssa. (major party foul, but i digress.)

they started talking regularly over instagram during the 2019-2020 euroleague season. dewanna was in russia with dynamo kursk, while alyssa was in czechia with usk praha. it was nice to make friends that shared similar goals in their careers, especially knowing that they'd be on the same team for the 2020 wnba season.

then, the 2020 season came... sort of. covid-19 put a wrench in the sports world. the wnba season was indefinitely postponed on april 3rd, and the draft was held two weeks later on zoom for players that didn't know if they'd get a rookie season that year. the league didn't get approval on holding a shortened regular season until june 15th, and players wouldn't arrive at the wnba bubble at the img academy in bradenton, florida until about a month later.

wnba moms were split on how to handle childcare while playing in the bubble. dearica hamby famously brought her daughter, amaya, while diana taurasi's son leo stayed at home in phoenix with penny. dewanna had family about an hour away from the bubble that was able to watch the twins and give them the care they would need without disrupting their schedules, as they were old enough to start attending school that fall.

leaving her babies for seven weeks was difficult, but it also meant that dewanna had time to focus on herself for once.

“Inside that Bubble, I had all the time… I’d never been that free since I had them. I wasn’t trying to get into another relationship, especially with a teammate, after I’d just come off of one. That just was not in my goals or vision at all,” says Bonner on her mindset entering the Bubble. —"Alyssa Thomas and Dewanna Bonner are chasing a WNBA championship with the Sun while planning their wedding", Mark Schindler, SBNation, Jul. 29th, 2024

alyssa and dewanna kept it strictly platonic, focusing on learning to work together as a team.

in the bubble, every team was spending all of their downtime together, too. their feelings became harder to ignore, but they tried to approach them maturely:

Poolside lunches, walks around IMG’s campus, and playing cards were how they passed time early on as they talked. The couple openly admit that everyone there seemed to recognize their chemistry immediately, before they were even dating. Each had concerns about how a relationship might work when life returned to normal, or whatever semblance of normal there would be outside Bradenton, Florida. “I’m a mom first, and I wasn’t sure if she’d be able to handle that and understand that,” Bonner says now. “I didn’t know if I wanted to give that a chance or just keep my normal routine just me and my kids, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to put that on (Thomas).” “I wanted to make sure that we were doing everything the right way, you know? We really communicated everything about each other before we just jumped into a relationship,” adds Thomas. —"Alyssa Thomas and Dewanna Bonner are chasing a WNBA championship with the Sun while planning their wedding", Mark Schindler, SBNation, Jul. 29th, 2024

once they realized they were on the same page, they decided to go for it while still inside of the bubble. dewanna shared that their first date involved alyssa taking her to the movies, quarantine-style: she slid a handmade movie ticket under dewanna's door and surprised her with popcorn and all of her favorite snacks.

the gesture was only the first of many that has made their relationship feel special, even when basketball gets in the way. for example:

Bringing in the New Year together at the end of 2021 remains their favorite date. New Year’s is Thomas’ favorite holiday, and she was able to find some time away from Prague to close the year and surprise Bonner with a trip to Florida just the two of them. Thomas rented a house, had it decorated still with a Christmas tree and lights, and hired a personal chef to make dinner for them. “We just had good food and good music, sat down and vibed and talked. I was kind of shocked, it turned out to be perfect,” says Bonner. “I thought she was going to propose and I was like, okay way too soon.” “And then we got COVID,” chimes in Thomas. But they reminisce that the following week and a half quarantining together and enjoying their own company was unforgettable, even if unplanned. —"Alyssa Thomas and Dewanna Bonner are chasing a WNBA championship with the Sun while planning their wedding", Mark Schindler, SBNation, Jul. 29th, 2024

alyssa and dewanna would publicly confirm their relationship with a sweet instagram post on valentine's day in 2021 (archived post source here)

their relationship didn't change anything on the court, though. they became vital pieces for the sun, making it to the 2021 wnba semifinals (where they lost to the underdog chicago sky), then the 2022 finals (where they lost to the first-time champions, the las vegas aces). slowly, they were getting closer to a championship.

they were also undeniably adorable, growing closer in their relationship, and melting all of our hearts the whole time 🥹

in 2023, they were both named all-stars (dewanna had been an all-star in 2021, then alyssa in 2022). however, alyssa had much more on her mind than the all-star game that weekend, when she asked dewanna to marry her!

dewanna, of course, said yes. they're still engaged today, deeply in love and showing up for each others' biggest moments. when alyssa was named to the 2024 olympic team, dewanna was her biggest cheerleader.

around the same time, they were also the cover story of SLAM 251.

most recently, they both ended up with the mercury for the 2025 season. unfortunately, the 2025 season would end with another wnba finals loss to the las vegas aces for them. it's okay, though: their time is coming, and more importantly, they have each other.

tw: brief discussions of an eating disorder and coach/player abuse

marta xargay casademont is a former spanish women’s basketball player, widely regarded as one of the best in spain’s history.

she started playing at the age of 6, joining the spanish national youth teams at 16 and making her professional debut with cb avenida in 2009 at the age of 18. as a strong point guard, she was a fixture on the national team, winning 7 medals (including three gold medals in eurobasket).

she spent most of her career playing for top euroleague teams: after avenida, she’d play for usk praha for three seasons before moving on to dynamo kursk. she’s most recognized by wnba fans for doing a short stint with the phoenix mercury in 2015 and 2016.

while marta was establishing herself on the national and european stage, breanna stewart was dominating college basketball as one of the best power forwards to ever do it.

she had one of the winningest uconn careers ever, winning four straight national championships and being named mop in each one (plus so, so, so many more accolades—if you’re here, you already know). she was also a fixture on team usa, first being named to the U16 team in 2009 at the age of 14.

in 2016, stewie was drafted first overall to the seattle storm, along with winning her first olympic gold medal. she’d spend her first few years overseas with shanghai baoshan dahua before signing with dynamo kursk for the 2018-2019 season.

they’d be joined by other notable players like piph prince and natasha howard. marta and stewie would be friendly with each other (while also too nervous to make a move). kursk would perform well in euroleague, but disaster would strike in the finals against ummc ekaterinburg:

stewie ruptured her achilles tendon—a nasty and painful injury. many people mourned kursk’s chance at the euroleague title and the russian league title (which they’d play for the following week). however, one person saw an opportunity and seized it.

when recalling their story in a video for the new york liberty, marta would say:

“Especially during Final Four, we were talking more and more and more, and that night, when she tore her Achilles, my soul was like, “Now or never!”, ‘cause she’s gonna leave.”

the injury would bring them closer, because they could lean on each other while struggling with their health and their bodies.

though marta's struggles were invisible at the time, they'd come to light a few years later. in 2021, longtime spanish women’s national team and former dynamo kursk head coach lucas mondelo was dismissed from the spanish women’s national team. after the announcement, marta revealed that she endured psychological abuse at his hand which led to developing bulimia and orthorexia during her time in kursk.

needless to say, marta and stewie were enduring hard times in 2019–but they did it together. their relationship would begin long-distance while stewie was recovering in the states and marta was finishing the season in russia. stewie missed the 2019 wnba season due to her injury and used it to her advantage by flying out to watch marta play in eurobasket that summer (spain would win gold, and marta would be the leading scorer of the final game).

stewie and marta would maintain long distance until another terrible event served as a blessing in disguise: the covid-19 pandemic.

marta's final season of professional basketball at home in girona would be cut short, as would stewie's first season with ummc ekaterinburg. the wnba delayed the start of the 2020 season until they could organize a quarantine bubble (affectionately called the 'wubble' by fans). guests were only allowed for those with support needs, such as players bringing caretakers for their children, or veteran players with a certain number of years of service, which stewie didn't have at the time—so, her storm teammates pulled some strings to make sure marta could be there with her.

the storm would win another championship...

...and, a few weeks later, stewie would have an engagement ring made. she held onto the ring for months, stating that she was waiting for the right moment to propose, which would come in may 2021.

their wedding would follow two months later in a casual, private ceremony, shortly before stewie would enter the tokyo olympics bubble and win her second gold medal.

then, they'd shock the world with the announcement of the birth of their daughter, ruby, one day after the gold medal game in tokyo!

their journey to motherhood was documented in a short video from togethxr. the documentary revealed that stewie had frozen her eggs in 2019 when she was injured, which allowed them to have a baby via surrogacy.

(ruby was a star from the moment she was born, by the way.)

marta would carry their second baby a little over a year later, giving birth to their son theo a few weeks after stewie's first wnba finals run with the new york liberty.

today, stewie and marta are still going strong, raising their babies together and professing their love for each other as much as they can—all thanks to stewie rupturing her achilles in 2019. :)

oh bestie, you're in for a wild ride

i am happy to explain this but fair warning, this is going to be long and it's probably going to make you mad (it fills me with rage, maybe even more rage than what chicago did to gabby and that's rly saying something 🫠)

so, you know how the wnba has prioritization rules? in 2023, the FFBB (french basketball federation) was trying to impose similar rules ahead of eurobasket that year, which were reported in march of that year. the issue is that the LFB (french league) season is long and goes halfway through may, so the FFBB was asking the french wnba players (namely gabby and marine) to skip the beginning of the wnba season and go straight to training with the french national team starting on may 24th.

however, there were issues on the wnba side as well thanks to the prioritization rules (prioritization on prioritization crime, if you think about it). since gabby had three years of “seniority”, she would’ve been suspended if she missed the beginning of the season. additionally, the wnba only allows players to leave two weeks before the start of international competitions (which would’ve been june 1st). in short, gabby was being put in the position of choosing between eurobasket or the wnba. however, she ended up getting a concussion in a game on may 9 (which was her second concussion in less than a year & she had a very bad reaction after trying to return too soon), so she was forced to rest and thus missed eurobasket regardless (and was able to return to the wnba later in the season once she’d been medically cleared).

marine wouldn’t have been affected by the wnba prioritization rules because she was still on her rookie contract, but she did want to spend time with new york at the beginning of the season for a few reasons: one, because there was going to be a big culture shift due to the hiring of sandy brondello and the signings of breanna stewart, jonquel jones, and courtney vandersloot; and two, because she needed to actually sign her contract with the liberty to be on the team at all.

if that wasn’t enough of a mess on its own, the FFBB president was threatening that any players who missed eurobasket 2023 “without a valid reason” would not be allowed to play in the 2024 olympics (which is insane, by the way).

she and her team apparently went back and forth with the FFBB (and the liberty) about this for months, but they ultimately decided not to put marine on the roster for eurobasket.

let’s be clear: the backlash was swift and i’m pretty sure they regretted their decision immediately, lmao. before i get into the backlash, i just want to pause and set the scene here:

the wnba season has already started, but gabby and marine are still with their french club ldlc asvel féminin

asvel is playing in the french league finals, on the verge of winning the championship for the second time ever (and the first time since 2019)

gabby is on concussion protocol after trying to come back from her concussion too soon, so they’re doing it without gabby (who is one of their best players)

the situation with marine and the national team is blowing up now that the general public knows about it, but the months of behind-the-scenes discussions have clearly worn her down

despite the odds, asvel won - and marine was very emotional about it. i feel like this picture really says a thousand words:

and this gives me a perfect segue back into the reaction to this situation. the man holding marine in this picture is tony parker, who is not only the majority owner of ldlc asvel but a french basketball legend. he played for the senior french national team from 2001-2016 and he was also in the nba from 2001-2019, winning four championships with the spurs.

when asked about the situation, he said: "What's happening to her is unfair. She's an incredible girl. She wants to play for the French national team. She hasn't missed a game since 2015. We want Marine on the French team. She's the European and French champion, and you want to play in the Euro without her? That's ridiculous. We guys could go back and forth to sign our contracts. It happened lots of times. She wouldn't even miss an official game. I love Toupane (Jean-Aimé, the coach) and Siutat (Jean-Pierre, the president of the federation), but at some point… For five days… I tried to weigh in. She wants to play for the French team, let's be clear about that." [translated from original quote in French]

he would not be the only one to speak up on her behalf. marine is good friends with nicolas batum, another french basketball star. batum has played for the senior french national team since 2011 and has been in the nba since 2008. he and marine are from the same hometown and he has been one of her loudest supporters from the very beginning.

andddd he was way less polite about the situation, LOL. when asked, he said: "I find the ultimatum hanging over her head extremely disgusting. For a kid who hasn't missed a single French team game since she was 15. She asks for a week to deal with a contractual issue, and they give her an ultimatum saying if you don't come, you don't play in the Olympics. I find that extremely disgusting ... I understand what the Federation means and the preparation required of the players. Marine is strong, she's with her team in the final, she's going all the way. We don't have many people at that level. Stop messing around. Leave her alone. She'll come. This girl is passionate, she has blue blood in her veins.” [translated from original quote in French]

gabby also spoke on it after asvel won the french league championship: "I would like to give Marine time to react on her own. It's been a long, difficult period, a lot has happened between this story and the championship final. She has been juggling several types of stress… I'm super proud of Marine, of the way she's absorbed it all. It's a sign of maturity. She's a unique player for her generation. Whether people agree with what's happening or not, I've seen up close what she's been through despite all the media circus. The fact that she still found a way to go for the title speaks volumes about her." [translated from original quote in French]

the national team head coach, jean-aimé toupane, and the general manager, céline dumerc, staunchly defended their decision to exclude marine from the euros. they maintained that marine would have missed too much training time by going to new york to sort out her contract, and that they had to uphold an attendance standard for everybody if they wanted to win gold (which they hadn't done since 2001).

at this time, céline seemed to have the most direct criticism for marine, saying: “Marine wants to go to the United States to play in the WNBA, which is understandable. We know her game and her qualities so well, it suits her so well, we can't blame her for wanting that. We've been having meetings since February, and what I've always said is that you have to make choices and take responsibility for the choices you make. Whether they're good or bad, it's not for us to judge, no one should judge, no one. As long as we're not in the shoes of the player or the coach who will make the selection and take responsibility for the results, we can't judge. Now, you have to be honest and say what you want. You can't do everything." [translated from original quote in french]

(more on céline shortly.)

marine managed to take everything in stride. she went to new york and had a great season, all things considered. france had their worst eurobasket finish (third place) since 2011. meanwhile, mj was a big piece to help new york win the commissioner's cup...

...and she went off in the 2023 wnba finals, to the point that lebron james tweeted about her:

andddd now we're back to céline. even though marine had moved on, the fans had not, and they'd been giving the FFBB hell for the entire summer. after marine's performance in the finals, fans started asking why the federation wasn't acknowledging her accomplishment (since they often shout out french wnba/nba players when they're doing well).

céline had been acting irritated by the situation (that she helped create, but who cares i guess) and she did not hold back when asked about marine's finals performance. i'm going to point to an entire article excerpt about this, because i think this summarizes the bullshit very well:

This incredible signature shot, comparable to those of Victor Wembanyama (whose jersey she wore before Sunday's game) with the Mets 92 last season, could go down in women's basketball history. However, basketball fans were disappointed that the French Basketball Federation (FFBB) had refrained from highlighting Marine Johannès' achievements in the world's best women's league. Céline Dumerc, general manager of the French women's team, made a (new) media statement on Tuesday that was remarkably disingenuous: “If LeBron gets involved... Do we congratulate a player every time she scores 14 points in a league? No. Well, then.” Clearly exasperated by the subject of Marine Johannès, since her much-noticed/criticized non-selection this summer during Euro 2023, the former point guard for Les Bleues may not have been aware that the French basketball teams' X account (formerly Twitter) had been praising Rudy Gobert's 9 points in an NBA preseason game for a week, Iliana Rupert's 16 points in the Italian league, and the success of Vincent Poirier and Guerschon Yabusele with Real Madrid, also in a friendly match against Dallas. - 20minutes.fr [translated from original French]

it was needlessly ugly, and it cuts even deeper because céline was once the face of french basketball, and somebody that marine looked up to when she was younger. céline had been teammates with marine and seemed to be a mentor figure to her before this point.

céline had retired in may earlier that year after a 26-year career, and many people felt that she was lashing out at marine unjustly because she was upset that marine would be taking her place as the face of french women's basketball.

naturally, the ugly comments led to even more backlash, and the FFBB finally seemed to figure out that they would benefit from shutting the fuck up about the situation.

despite the threats earlier in the year, she would return to the french national team in february, somehow with no bad blood, stating "I'm not going there with [a revenge] mindset. I don't want to put myself forward, but to regain my place and play my basketball in the service of what Jean-Aimé (Toupane) and the team need." [translated from original French]

i'm sure i don't need to tell anybody who is reading a post from my gay ass blog that marine did make it to the 2024 olympics, LOL. people still have a lot of opinions on the management of the french national team but marine has not been ousted, nor does she seem to hold a grudge about the situation.

(which is fine. i'll hold the grudge for her.)

2014 was an incredible year for the phoenix mercury, and it was well deserved. 2012 marked one of their worst finishes in franchise history and earned them the #1 pick in 2013, brittney griner. while they suffered growing pains in 2013 with young players and a revolving door of head coaches, it would all become worth it when phoenix won the 2014 wnba championship.

all of the team’s stars showed up and showed out, but diana was the one who was crowned the finals mvp. the future was undeniably bright for the mercury, and there was no doubt that diana would be at the helm for their next win.

however, there was one issue: diana hadn’t gotten an offseason in 10 years.

diana had been playing non-stop since she was drafted in 2004. her summers belonged to the wnba, and she’d been a fixture on team usa from her very first wnba season. the rest of her time was spent overseas: by 2014, she’d played for spartak moscow (formerly dynamo moscow), turkish rivals fenerbahçe and galatasaray, and ummc ekaterinburg.

her european resume was no less impressive than her american one: by 2014, she’d been a four-time euroleague champion and russian national league champion, a three-time russian player of the year, a two-time russian cup winner, a turkish national league champion, and a turkish cup winner, amongst other titles and accolades.

diana was valuable in every league she played in, but there were only a few willing to pay her what she was worth. in 2014, her wnba salary was slightly below the league maximum of $107,000. for the 2013-2014 season, ummc ekaterinburg paid her approximately $1.5 million. in other words, diana (like many other players) was being paid nearly 14x her wnba salary in europe.

ummc was a premier club, regularly winning the russian championship and finishing amongst the top of the euroleague. they’d last been euroleague champions in 2013, and they were hungry for more after losing in the 2014 semifinals to galatasaray.

in february 2015, diana taurasi would announce in a heartfelt letter to fans that she would be missing the 2015 season. why? because ummc offered to pay her more than her wnba salary to rest and recover over the summer to ensure that she’d come back in tip-top shape for the next russian season.

it was a no-brainer. as diana would explain in her letter,

“The year-round nature of women's basketball takes its toll and the financial opportunity with my team in Russia would have been irresponsible to turn down. They offered to pay me to rest and I've decided to take them up on it. I want to be able to take care of myself and my family when I am done playing.”

diana was far from the first player to receive an offer like this from their overseas team, but she was the first to take them up on it. this sparked discussion revolving around the wnba’s pay structure, the finances of professional athletes, and what the wnba would be willing to pay to retain its top talent.

diana’s decision paid off. she would break her hand two months after her announcement in the 2015 russian playoff quarterfinals, and she could focus on healing instead of worrying about when she’d be cleared to play in the wnba. in 2016, ummc would become euroleague champions once again with diana scoring 22 points in the title game.

by the time diana returned to the league in 2016, wnba salaries had increased marginally. the wnba also began offering “time off” bonuses with the new cba in 2014, where players could get up to $50,000 if they play 90 days or less in other leagues during the offseason. these options left much to be desired, and the wnbpa has been fighting fiercely for better pay in the ten years since diana taurasi sat out the wnba season.

sources:

Diana Taurasi's decision to sit out should spark WNBA salary changes

Diana Taurasi's open letter to Phoenix Mercury f ans

A Russian team paid Diana Taurasi to sit out 2015 WNBA season

for most hoopers that find success in the W, college recruitment is a long process that starts young. elena delle donne got her first offer in the seventh grade while attending a basketball camp at UNC, and diana taurasi hilariously recounted her eagerness to commit to walla walla community college in the eighth grade. the top prospects are sometimes scouted so early that they've built relationships with coaches and committed to colleges before they've gotten a learner's permit. this has been the reality of college recruiting for decades, though the process has adapted to the trends and changes in the college sports landscape.

in 2014, social media had become more accessible and popular than ever before. gone were the days of accidentally hitting the internet button on your LG sidekick and frantically trying to close the application before it connected (and put a bajillion dollars on your parents' phone bill). now, almost everyone had an iphone, unlimited data, and a slew of social media apps where they shared each and every detail about their daily lives.

naturally, social media started to become part of the recruiting process. prospects would post about their home and school visits, share their top school lists, and announce their commitments. for example, a'ja wilson, the #1 overall prospect in 2014, documented much of her recruitment process on her instagram account:

ajawilson22: Just to sum up the month of September with some pictures from my Home Visits I had throughout the month. At first I didn't want any home visits cause I thought it would be awkward but it was truly a lot of fun getting to know these coaches (+plus staff) away from the gym. Some funny people,😂 I really enjoyed it! No! this isn't my "list" or "top schools" & there are no "hints" in this picture either or whatevs but my home visits w/ great people 🏡😎 {didn't get a picture with Coach Jeff Walz :/ } #UConn #Tennessee #NorthCarolina #Lousiville #Rutgers #Baylor hashtag hashtag hashtag #ItsBeenRealSeptember

(enjoy this crossover in the year 2025.)

you may notice from the second half of a'ja's caption that many fans were eager to stay up-to-date on where a prospect might go—to the point that highly-sought-after players added disclaimers to any of their posts about colleges.

in the summer of 2014, arike ogunbowale was a rising senior at divine savior holy angels high school. she was a multi-sport athlete, excelling in both soccer and basketball, eventually deciding to focus on the latter. as an explosive, athletic guard, she'd already cemented her name in wisconsin basketball history: she'd been a two-time gatorade player of the year and AP wisconsin player of the year. she'd long been a standout on the DSHA team: as a sophomore, she averaged 20.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.1 steals per game. she'd also become a usa basketball favorite, winning gold at the 2013 FIBA under-16 women's americup, the 2013 FIBA 3x3 under-18 world cup, and the 2014 FIBA under-17 world cup. additionally, she'd been named to the 2014 summer youth olympics team.

arike was a five-star, top-ten prospect. needless to say, several coaches were interested in adding arike's talent to their roster, and many fans were hopeful that she'd commit to their schools.

on july 13th, 2014, at 6:06 PM, arike would innocently tweet a recruiting update:

Arike_O: My Top 5 (alphabetical order): Louisville Notre Dame Ohio State UCLA Wisconsin

it was a completely normal post featuring schools that made perfect sense. louisville was recruiting multiple future wnba guards, including ad durr and taj cole. notre dame was dominating the ACC, but in need of some young guards to develop. ohio state had just successfully recruited kelsey mitchell, the #2 point guard in the 2014 class, and she'd need some shooters—much like ucla, who'd recruited the #1 point guard jordin canada. wisconsin wasn't a top program, but it's not uncommon for players to consider universities in their home state.

coaches, fans, and friends started liking and replying to arike's update, applauding her choices (or asking her to pick their favorite).

however, one person had something to say about a school that didn't make the list.

a mere 14 minutes after arike's post, uconn's long-time head coach geno auriemma would tweet:

genoauriemma: Stay tuned for my list of the 5 players I saw the past 7 days that I have zero interest in recruiting.... #whatajoke

while the tweet didn't name arike, it was clearly directed at her—and people had mixed feelings about it. some fans thought that it was funny or wrote it off as "geno being geno", while some assumed he wouldn't be trying to humble a 17-year-old without good reason. others thought he was being unprofessional, uncouth, and acting like an asshole (to put it plainly). years later, arike pointed out that geno had been recruiting her. with the additional context, the tweet came off as a grown man throwing a temper tantrum about not getting his way.

arike wouldn't respond publicly, and neither would geno, but his twitter account would disappear shortly thereafter.

(ten years later, in response to arike posting about the snarky tweet, 2014 uconn recruit gabby williams would say that "this was the moment they made coach delete his twitter".)

the tiff ended almost as quickly as it began... or did it?

a few months later, arike announced her commitment to the university of notre dame. arike would dominate her senior year at DSHA, scoring a record 55 points in the WIAA D1 state semifinals and going on to win the state championship. she was named the gatorade athlete of the year for the third time, along with being titled the 2015 wisconsin "miss basketball" and selected as a mcdonald's all-american. her appearance was eagerly awaited at notre dame, along with fellow five-star recruits ali patberg and marina mabrey.

at notre dame, arike was now on the front lines for a bitter rivalry between the two women's basketball juggernauts. the rivalry was born when both teams were part of the big east conference and only continued to grow as each program flourished. the tensions had been high in recent years. notre dame had defeated uconn for the big east championship in 2013, and uconn responded by defeating notre dame in the final four and going on to win their eighth national title (and the first with standout breanna stewart on the team). in the 2013-2014 season, notre dame switched to the atlantic coast conference and both teams went undefeated until they met in the ncaa championship game, where uconn would secure their ninth national title. the 2015 championship game would see notre dame losing to uconn again. (if that wasn't enough, head coaches geno auriemma and muffet mcgraw openly despised each other.)

the rivalry was passionate and popular, which is why uconn and notre dame started playing a non-conference match every december.

uconn would win the game in 2015, arike's freshman year (breanna stewart and morgan tuck combined for 49 points). when march came around, notre dame would be upset in the sweet sixteen by stanford, while uconn would win their eleventh national title and the fourth in four years.

arike became a starter as a sophomore in the 2016-2017 season. though her impact was felt right away, notre dame would lose again in the 2016 meeting against uconn, despite their best efforts.

in the ncaa tournament, notre dame would be upset by stanford again, this time in the elite eight. uconn, however, would not win its twelfth title. instead, their 111-game winning streak was snapped by mississippi state in the 2017 national championship game. the crown had started to fall.

arike and the fighting irish would return in the 2017-2018 season ready to show what they were made of. they'd lose to uconn in december again, but it would be only one of two losses they endured in the regular season (the other came courtesy of louisville). they'd lose to louisville in the acc championship game as well by only two points, which lit a fire beneath them for the ncaa tournament.

uconn would be the #1 overall seed in the tournament, followed by the defending champions mississippi state and the acc champions louisville. the last 1 seed would go to notre dame.

all four schools would make it to the final four, which meant that the uconn-notre dame rivalry was being put on the national stage once again.

notre dame was not the same team that lost to the huskies back in december. jackie young had only scored 2 points that night, but on the tournament stage, she scored 32 (and snagged 11 rebounds while she was at it). kathryn westbeld doubled her points, rebounds, and assists compared to the december game. jessica shepard grew from coming close to a double-double to actually earning one with 15 points and 11 rebounds. back in december, arike had shot 8-25 from the field and an abysmal 1-10 from three. in march... she had better luck.

the game was a nail-biter with the lead seesawing all through the fourth quarter. notre dame was starting to get away with it, but uconn refused to back down, managing to tie the game in the last ten seconds and send it into overtime.

like most close games in march, it started to become a battle of timeouts, fouls, and free throws. notre dame was up 89-86 with 38 seconds to go, and arike was at the free-throw line, where she could make it a two-possession game and secure the win for notre dame.

except... she didn't. she missed both. katie lou got the rebound and crystal dangerfield bit back with another quick three (assisted by gabby williams) to tie the game again. notre dame took a timeout with 14.3 seconds left. jackie young inbounded, and the ball made its way to arike—who let it fly with just two seconds left on the clock.

geno auriemma watched from the sideline as the player he had "zero interest in recruiting" ended the huskies' season. arike had gotten her revenge—and everyone that wasn't a uconn fan reveled in the glory of it.

two days later, notre dame would face the defending champions mississippi state—and arike would hit an even more historic gamewinner, earning notre dame their second-ever championship title.

arike was a star. the moment instantly became ingrained in march madness history, the clip revived every tournament season.

a few weeks after the iconic moment, andscape would publish a feature: "Arike Ogunbowale has lived the life of a rock star, but now she wants to get back to winning." here, arike was asked about the infamous subtweet. despite the media circus surrounding it, she maintained that "I don’t really care what other people say, so it really had no effect on me. I don’t really care."

whether arike cared or not, the general public did, and they were more eager than ever to see the regular season uconn/notre dame matchup that december.

but... it wasn't going well for the newest national champions. notre dame fell behind in the first quarter and never took the lead back, despite getting painfully close several times through the game. by the fourth quarter, arike was thoroughly frustrated.

with about four and a half minutes left in the game, geno appeared to say something to arike as she ran by and she shot back at him, earning a technical foul. later, she'd get another foul for unsportsmanlike conduct and be sent to the bench.

we don't know what words were exchanged between the two, but arike stated after the game that "He said some words and I fed right into it and said something back. As a senior leader, I definitely can't do that. I have to keep my composure at a time like that."

she'd also issue an apology to the fans via twitter:

Arike_O: To my Irish family, I let my emotions get the best of me on Sunday and I apologize for displaying that type of behavior. Thank you for always supporting us through everything. We love you guys! ☘️

shortly thereafter, head coach muffet mcgraw would post an apology as well for the team's conduct.

(this would devolve into more uconn/notre dame beef that led to breanna stewart being blocked on twitter by muffet. more about that here.)

arike and the irish would get her revenge against geno and the huskies one last time, ending their season in the final four for the second year in a row. sadly, notre dame would fall short in the national championship game against baylor, losing by only a single point.

arike would move on from the beef when she was drafted fifth overall to the dallas wings in 2019...

...but it wasn't really over until paige bueckers, uconn standout, was drafted to the wings six years later.

the wings had started off the season as expected for a lottery team and were 1-10 prior to winning at home against the golden state valkyries on june 17th, 2025. geno auriemma was in attendance to watch paige, the newest wnba star to come from uconn. after the game, the long-time rivals appeared to reconcile.

arike took to twitter to spread the good news: the beef was officially over.

yes i absolutely can!! i love sharing wnba lore and i think this is especially relevant with how the sky are treating angel rn. i'm gonna get into the specifics bc i think the details are important when discussing conflict between players and franchises! (she also talked about this in bird's eye view so the details are fresh in my mind rn)

in 2018, gabby is drafted 4th overall to the sky and is very excited about it!

this is also the same year that she first reaches out to the french national team and expresses her interest to play for them. at the time, france doesn't really gaf because they aren't familiar with her (she had no international presence yet) and because bria hartley was playing for france at the time (she has similar ancestry as gabby). fiba rules only allow one "naturalized" player on a national team at a time (gabby is a true dual citizen, but fiba considers her naturalized because she didn't get a french passport before she turned 16).

gabby plays with chicago for three years (2018 through 2020). she's very fond of and close to her teammates but she doesn't really have a defined role on the team, so she's had a bumpy ride in her w career so far.

despite this, she had full intentions to stay in chicago. a traditional rookie contract is three years, but a team can elect to extend the contract for another year, which is what the sky did with gabby in the 2020-2021 offseason.

what else is happening in the offseason? gabby is playing in hungary for sopron basket and she is fucking killing it!! she wins euroleague dpoy, she makes the all-euroleague first team, and sopron wins the hungarian championship that year.

it's impossible to ignore gabby at this point. the french national team takes notice of her and she gets her first opportunity to play for france. a few things to note about this:

this is one of gabby's biggest career dreams being realized

along with her performance in the euroleague, gabby also gets this opportunity because bria hartley tore her acl in the 2020 wnba season (so the french team has a new space for a "naturalized" player)

this is a really odd year for fiba basketball because the olympics were pushed back one year due to the covid-19 pandemic but eurobasket (which normally occurs every odd year) was not, so there are two major international competitions happening almost back-to-back, which means gabby would miss the majority of the wnba season as a result

of course, gabby went to the sky about this ASAP and communicated her intentions. they butted heads about it (chicago wanted gabby to stay, gabby wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to play for france) but they agreed that either chicago would trade her to another team or that she'd finish out the season with chicago after the olympics. at the time, james wade (chicago's head coach) is publicly supportive of gabby playing for france and gabby says that she was told explicitly by chicago not to come to training camp that year.

however, this was when the wnba was starting to mess around with the prioritization rules. in 2021, if you missed five days of training camp, your team could suspend you (meaning you cannot play or get paid for the entire season) without any further justification.

the day after gabby gets back to the states from hungary, she says that her agent called her at 6 AM and told her that she needed to fly out to chicago ASAP because they were going to suspend her for missing training camp. gabby then calls chicago's director of basketball operations, who has no idea what's going on because she also thought that gabby would be returning to play after the olympics.

before gabby can even get a straight answer from chicago, she learns through twitter (the same time as everybody else) that she has been suspended due to doing exactly what the sky told her to do.

y'all, i can't even properly express how insane this day was. EVERYBODY was shocked and confused. players, media members, fans. nobody knew wtf was going on! least of all gabby, i remember she tweeted something like "guys... is this my villain origin story" 😭

james wade also switched his tune immediately and started making scathing comments to the media about how gabby wasn't prioritizing the sky and had not made him aware of her plans to play with the french team. (this contradicted gabby's story and also his own words about the situation a month earlier.)

gabby spoke with multiple people in the sky front office after this, including the owner at the time michael alter who told her that he didn't understand why she wanted to play in the olympics and not be in america.

that being said, the backlash for chicago was SWIFT. everybody was on their asses, so they all of a sudden found it within themselves to fulfill the wishes gabby had in the first place and traded her to the LA sparks. despite the trade, the suspension was not reversible, and gabby would not be allowed to play in the wnba again until 2022. at that point she was traded to the storm, so she never actually played for the sparks.

gabby has cited this as a huge growing up moment for her, where she realized that the franchise viewed her as dollar signs in the business instead of as a person, and that the sky was not a family for her like she once thought. however, she's also said that she wouldn't change a thing, because 2021 ended up being one of the best basketball years of her life.

she's said before that joining the french national team made her fall in love with basketball again, that she had so much fun with her new team and she was the happiest she'd ever been after winning bronze in tokyo. she also obviously got to form some very special relationships that changed her life, too :)

(i also remember her family being petty on her behalf about the suspension, lol. i'm pretty sure her sister tweeted "when you make the most of being suspended" after france won bronze 💀)

over the years, gabby has slowly revealed more about just how fucking dire the chicago franchise was/is. her constantly expressing her gratitude for the storm has made it pretty obvious that the sky treats their players like dirt, but she's also talked about specific things that are fucking insane. for example, in an article earlier this summer, she talked about how the sky ceo adam fox sat the players down in 2018 and showed them a powerpoint explaining why they don't get paid more or invested in.

hi friend! as someone who has been there for chennedy's entire WNBA career arc, i am happy to explain her background :) i couldn't stop thinking of things to mention, soooo this became a full lore post, LOL. enjoy!

were the lights too bright?: chennedy "hollywood" carter's complicated history in the wnba

chennedy "hollywood" carter, an incredibly skilled point guard, was an absolute standout at texas a&m from 2017 to 2020. despite only playing three seasons and leaving early to join the wnba, she is one of the most decorated aggies of all time.

today i’ve seen some people very upset with the size and placement of the cibc logo on the toronto tempo jerseys, so i wanted to make a quick and informal wnba lore post! here’s how the jerseys used to look in the league: