How Chiney Ogwumike Went From All-Star Basketball Player to All-Star Broadcaster

Photographs: Getty Images; Collage: Gabe Conte

For months now, the dominant narrative around women’s basketball—and for good reason—has been about how a rising generation of players, led by Caitlin Clark, has boosted the sport to heights previously unreached. But what’s gotten a bit lost in that conversation is the fact that those young hoopers are building upon a foundation, both on the court and in the media, built by their predecessors and peers.

Chiney Ogwumike sits right at that generational intersection: she was a two-time All-Star and former Rookie of the Year, and in recent years has become a burgeoning star at ESPN. While she played in the WNBA as recently as a year ago, Ogwumike has taken a step back from her playing career to focus on her work as a broadcaster. The transition, while a big shake up, has brought her peace. She knows she’s pushing things forward in her new role. Providing visible representation for Black women discussing sports on TV—and knowing that it’s harder for women to get a seat at the table than it is for men—is an edifying experience for Ogwumike. “I have to prove it, and I don't mind that challenge,” she beamed.

She hasn’t made an official retirement announcement yet—and might not ever share one. But the fact is that, after seven injury-affected seasons in the WNBA, she’s not on a roster right now. “I think life will transition you naturally,” Ogwumike told GQ. “I don’t think people realize I played most of my career—no, not most—I played my entire pro career hurt. It's weird because I feel like I still have stuff left to give [in basketball], but I also know that impact is what motivates me, and my impact is exponential in this arena.”

That arena is the sprawling ESPN universe of studio shows. She’s a regular on NBA Today, and previews games on NBA Countdown. But she was especially juiced by her experience earlier this year covering the NCAA Women’s Tournament for the first time, finding instant chemistry with her in-studio crew of Elle Duncan and Andraya Carter. As more people tuned into women’s March Madness than ever before, many found themselves captivated by the trio of women, who remained unapologetically themselves while serving high-level basketball analysis. They earned a “Big Three” nickname and widespread Internet praise.

As nice as it was, the experience was novel for Ogwumike. “I think Elle, Dray, and I all felt like it was strange to be receiving flowers,” she said of the newfound admiration. “As women in sports, we’ve never gotten that. You hope that one day, people will see you for the work that you do. But we've never expected it. For it to be happening—not only happening, but happening to us—was big pinch me energy.”

Ogwumike isn’t making quite the same player-to-broadcaster transition that most athletes do. When she played for the Connecticut Sun from 2014 to 2018, she was close enough to ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol to pull double duty: she did TV spots for the network by morning and played for the Sun at night. Being on TV was cool, to be sure, but it was a challenge, too. Years before anyone was getting upset about Clark’s rookie salary, Ogwumike—an established All-Star—was working a second job.

“I used to have to be on the 7 a.m. SportsCenter, because it was hard to find analysts that would get into the studio at 7 a.m.,” she recalls somewhat fondly. “I'd be there from 6:30 a.m. to about 3 or 4 p.m. Then I'd drive back, do my workouts in Niantic, Connecticut, and then come back home, and watch the games starting at 7 p.m. I did that for a couple years, and it was a very difficult shift both as a professional athlete and as a professional broadcaster.”

Not that she’s any less busy these days. Ogwumike logged into our Zoom conversation on what she reckoned was her first day off since the NBA All-Star break in February. Ogwumike was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks in 2019, and has remained in LA since. When the trade went down, Ogwumike was also reunited with her older sister, Nneka, for the first time since the two were teammates at Stanford. Chiney points to Nneka (herself an eight-time All-Star and 2016 WNBA MVP) as one of the biggest influences in her life. With Nneka having a year on her, big sis was also able to provide a bit of guidance when little sis made it to the WNBA and came face-to-face with an intimidating pillar of greatness.

“I was like, ‘Nneka, I'm going up against Diana Taurasi, tell me what I need to do,” Chiney recalls. “She said, ‘Chiney, the first thing she's going to do is run up to you and punch you, and you need to withstand that punch. That’s it.’ I was going to set a screen. She was going to fight through the screen, and as she fought through the screen, guess what I did? I hit her first. Boom. [Later in the game] I walked to the free throw line, and I turn, and Diana's smirking. She's supposed to be in the backcourt, not on the free throw line. She said, F this. I'm coming to see this girl. I was like, ‘Oh, God.’ She turned and was like, "I see you, rook. I see you, rook.’ I was like, ‘Hey, Diana, I love you.’”

Though Taurasi, who turns 42 in June, is still playing, her generation—and the iteration of the WNBA that they built—is fading into the rearview. And as a new class of women’s basketball stars comes into focus, Ogwumike thinks the kids will be more than alright. “This is a class that’s truly gifted,” she says of the rookies. “First of all, the talent is so deep. This is also a class that has dealt with the most media exposure that we've ever seen in the history of our sport. They know what it's like to have the spotlight and perform. We all know what Caitlin does. We all know what Angel [Reese] does. I think they're going to soar.” One could say that Ogwumike and her generation flew so the Clarks and Reeses of the world could soar.

Sports

From those meme’d hand gestures to why one *First Take* host thought it was bad television, this is the story of how Windhorst’s captivating two-minute monologue came together.

Whether it was making the All Pac-12 team each of her four years at Stanford, or becoming the first Black woman to host a national radio show for ESPN, Ogwumike has always been at the forefront of greatness. But that greatness, she explains, used to be shrouded in anonymity.

“When I started doing NBA analysis, people would say, ‘Oh, it's Richard Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins, Malika Andrews, then that WNBA player.’ They didn't say my name.” Now, she says, that’s changing. “Now, I'll go places, and it’s like, ‘Oh, Chiney Ogwumike!’ I'm like, ‘Wow, look at how far we have come.’”

Originally Appeared on GQ

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