Nneka Ogwumike at all times regarded out for the WNBA like household, and now it’s rising because of her care

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If there’s one factor to find out about Los Angeles Sparks ahead Nneka Ogwumike, it’s that she doesn’t action about her household.

Ogwumike is the oldest of 4 sisters, all of whom performed aggressive basketball whereas rising up in a Nigerian family in Tomball, Texas.

Ogwumike was the embodiment of big-sister power. She regarded out for her youthful sisters, impressed and confirmed them what was attainable, and supported their private ventures.

She vigorously inspired her sister Erica as she pursued a medical diploma in dermatology. She celebrated her sister Chiney as she rose via the ranks of the published business and broke each main improvement in her massive sister’s profession. Nneka Ogwumike was her household’s pillar — via and thru.

Nneka Ogwumike (heart) is the oldest of 4 sisters: Erica Ogwumike (left), Chiney Ogwumike (proper) and Olivia Ogwumike (not proven).Meg Oliphant / Getty Images

“For the women who paint my world in hues of strength and grace, your light is the masterpiece that guides my journey,” Ogwumike wrote in a 2025 Instagram put up that includes her sisters.

In some ways, the WNBA grew to become Ogwumike’s second household, and Ogwumike, via her contributions on and off the courtroom, personified the league’s “big sister.” She invested in and watched over its improvement, sacrificed components of herself for its betterment and — after asserting Wednesday that she’ll retire following the conclusion of this stretch — is ready to observe it develop into its subsequent period.

While Ogwumike, 36, was at all times fast to offer flowers to those that preceded her and even these arising, she has by no means requested for her personal. Despite being the most effective gamers to ever grace a WNBA courtroom, she by no means lobbied for the eye she sorely deserved however by no means correctly obtained in full over her 15 seasons.

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“There were times when I would perform better than other players that were playing college basketball, and nothing would be said,” she recalled in a 2019 interview with Andscape. “It didn’t matter to me, but I heard it enough to realize I’m just one of those players where I just have to work hard no matter what.”

According to ESPN Stats and Information, Ogwumike will finish her WNBA profession rating within the high 5 all time in factors (fourth), rebounds (third), steals (fifth), discipline objective proportion (fifth) and made discipline objectives (third). She is one in every of 5 gamers in league historical past with 7,000 profession factors and three,000 profession rebounds.

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Ogwumike’s presence on groups supplied gamers a way of consolation and stability. To have Nneka Ogwumike in your roster was to have a consummate vet who not solely had your again but in addition saved you accountable. Young gamers lauded what it meant to be taught professional habits from Ogwumike, and in return she regarded out for and mentored the following era.

“Since I came into the league, you’ve shown me nothing but love and treated me like I was one of your own. … Thank you for always pouring into me, believing in me and having my back,” Atlanta Dream ahead Angel Reese wrote in an Instagram put up Wednesday. “Like I already told you, your 15 years in this league were FLAWLESS, but somehow the person you are off the court speaks even louder than everything you accomplished on. … LOVE YOU SIS.”

“Thank you for always pouring into me, believing in me and having my back,” the Atlanta Dream’s Angel Reese (left) wrote in a tribute to Ogwumike on Instagram.Tyler Kaufman / NBAE through Getty Images

Ogwumike has been the president of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) since 2016, incomes reelection by her friends thrice over the previous decade. She has strategically led gamers via two historic and transformational collective bargaining agreements with grace and power.

She regarded out for her “little sisters” — in the present day’s WNBA stars and the following wave to come back — by shepherding a wage improve that created the league’s first million-dollar contracts. According to ESPN Stats and Information, the deal marked the primary complete revenue-sharing mannequin in ladies’s skilled sports activities.

She additionally regarded out for previous gamers, her elders, to ensure they had been taken care of via the CBA’s veteran recognition fee, compensating them for paving the way in which.

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Sometimes, serving to her household meant sacrificing part of herself. While navigating the calls for that got here with being union president in the course of the league’s unprecedented bubble stretch in 2020, Ogwumike advised Andscape that her on-court attempt suffered drastically that stretch. However, she knew that was the price of being president even earlier than she took on the position — and she or he did so anyway.

“As President for the last decade, Nneka understood that leadership was not simply about having a seat at the table; it was about using that seat to move the game and the business of the game forward for every player — today and for generations to come,” WNBPA government director Terri Carmichael Jackson stated in an announcement posted to Instagram. “We are profoundly grateful for the countless ways Nneka has championed her teammates, strengthened this union, and helped shape its future.”

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It definitely feels as if Ogwumike wouldn’t depart the WNBA except she knew the league was arrange for future success. Like a giant sister, she ensured it was steady earlier than strolling away.

And very like the reflections of youthful siblings later in life, the WNBA possible received’t grasp the complete weight of Ogwumike’s contributions to its progress for years to come back.

Sean Hurd is a senior author for Andscape who primarily covers ladies’s basketball. His athletic peak got here on the age of 10 when he was named camper of the week at a Josh Childress basketball camp.