Nneka Ogwumike, a nine-time All-Star and former league MVP, was one of the top free agents on the market heading into WNBA free agency. The two-way wing who last played for the Seattle Storm can do it all, and despite being 34 years old, she’s fresh off one of the most efficient seasons of her career. On Friday evening, Ogwumike announced she was re-signing with the Storm — and she had her sister Chiney Ogwumike, a basketball analyst on ESPN, break the news live on television.
Nneka Ogwumike announced her WNBA free agency decision in the coolest way possible
Ogwumike, the 2016 WNBA MVP, is returning to the Seattle Storm — and had her sister Chiney break the news on ESPN.
Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images
Noa Dalzell is a senior writer covering the WNBA and all of women’s basketball for Breakaway, SB Nation’s women’s sports vertical, as well as the Celtics for CelticsBlog.
“My answer just got personal when it comes to winners of free agency,’” Chiney said on air. “She wants me to break the news, so I’m gonna do it.”
It’s the second time Nneka has had her sister break her free agency news — the first being when she initially committed to the Storm last offseason.
This time, Ogwumike is fresh off a season that was individually a massive success — she averaged 16.7 points on 51.1% shooting alongside 7.6 rebounds en route to her 7th All-WNBA Team selection.
But, the newly formed Storm core of Ogwumike, Jewell Loyd, and Skylar Diggins-Smith didn’t result in the type of sustained winning that many anticipated. Seattle finished the season with a 25-15 record and was swept by the Las Vegas Aces in the first round of the playoffs.
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Last month, the Storm cored free agent forward Gabby Williams, which in turn keeps her in Seattle on a one-year supermax deal, unless she requests a trade. They also traded Jewell Loyd to Las Vegas in a three-team trade that landed them Li Yueru and the No. 2 pick from the Sparks (Loyd had reportedly requested a trade after she alleged she faced harassment and bullying by the Storm coaching staff — and after ESPN reported that the investigation concluded without any violations).
The Storm’s other big free agent is Diggins-Smith, who averaged 15.1 points and 6.4 assists last season. Whether or not she will re-sign has yet to be announced — but Ogwumike’s re-signing indicates the franchise is looking to win now, despite acquiring a lottery pick in last week’s trade. That pick could be flipped for another impact player — or, Seattle may simply opt to throw a player like Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles or USC’s Kiki Iriafen into the mix next season.
In any case, Ogwumike remains one of the league’s elite two-way players at 34 years old, and despite an offseason of turmoil that included trade requests and bullying allegations, she’ll return for another season under head coach Noelle Quinn.
The coolest part? How she got to share the news with the rest of the world.
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