Nneka Ogwumike is the fulcrum of the WNBA, on and off the court

Editor’s Note: This story is part of a series from SB Nation profiling the 2025 WNBA All-Star teams. Today, let’s get to know Nneka Ogwumike.

Nneka Ogwumike is a WNBA Champion, a seasoned veteran, and a leader on and off the court. As the president of the WNBPA — the WNBA’s Players’ Union — she leads efforts in ensuring players are treated fairly. She is known as “Madame President” affectionately by her fellow players, WNBA media, and fans. It’s a big burden to carry — being a professional athlete is one thing, but also being a leader among your peers in a competitive industry adds a layer of pressure. Especially this year, when the WNBPA is negotiating the biggest bargaining agreement in league history.

She is extremely equipped for the role; she has a degree from Stanford in Psychology, where she also led the Cardinal to four NCAA Final Four tournaments. She went on to be drafted No. 1 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2012 WNBA draft.

Now in her 15th WNBA season, Ogwumike is the consistent, reliable force on the Seattle Storm’s roster. After spending over a decade with the Sparks, and even winning a Championship in 2016, Ogwumike opted for a change, heading to Seattle to team up with fellow 2025 All-Star Skylar Diggins. This season, she is averaging 17.1 points per game and grabbing 7.7 boards per contest.

This All-Star nomination marks Ogwumike’s 10th, which puts her into an elite class that includes only Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, and Tamika Catchings in league history.

While the Storm surge ahead in hopes of competing for a WNBA Championship — something the franchise has not done since Sue Bird retired and Breanna Stewart left — another battle for Ogwumike is brewing in the background. In 2024, the WNBPA decided to opt out of its Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the league, and it will expire in October of 2025. If a new contract is not signed by then, the league risks the players striking or starting a lockout, something that would slow the growing enthusiasm around — and success of — the WNBA.

With two new expansion teams in Toronto and Portland set to join the league in 2026, and three more in Detroit, Cleveland, and Philadelphia coming in the next five years, this would be a bad time for the WNBA to endure a work stoppage. Yet, from what the players have mentioned about how negotiations are going so far, it seems like the WNBA hasn’t been willing to meet some of their demands. Satou Sabally went so far as to call the WNBA’s counter-offer a “slap in the face.”

Ogwumike has been extremely vocal during her tenure as president about what WNBA players need to be treated fairly. As the league ascended further into popular culture in 2023, a big topic was flights during the season. Players were still travelling commercially, resulting in delays, cancelled flights, harassment by the public, and increased risk of illness, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The league first started slow by promising chartered flights during the playoffs and back-to-back game stretches. In 2024, when player harassment in airports increased, the league finally stepped in fully and allowed chartered flights for teams.

Now, the negotiation points between the two sides include higher salaries, protection for players who decide to expand their families, reproductive health benefits, and roster expansion. Ogwumike recently told reporters that the league has a perception that players don’t understand how the business works, and players have been vocal about how the league reacted to their first contract draft.

So, while trying to compete for her second WNBA championship, in her 15th WNBA season, as a 10x WNBA All-Star, Nneka Ogwumike also has to lead the negotiations of what will be a historic contract, no matter what it ultimately includes. The difference from the last time the WNBA and players agreed on a contract is apparent; the players have always known their worth, but now the rest of the world knows it, too. They have leverage, analytics, and fan support on their side.

The risk is clear too, and the players are not afraid to stop working. That would be huge for the league as it stands in a critical moment of growth. Ogwumike is the perfect person to lead this fight, and she won’t back down until a fair deal is reached.