“Nobody was taking our pictures when I first got into the league 12 years ago,” says Skylar Diggins, Seattle Storm point guard, six-time WNBA All Star, three-time All WNBA team member and Olympic gold medal champion. “Now, with so much attention on the WNBA, we have the ‘tunnel runway,’ people debut high fashion collaborations and products—you can use that entrance into a walking billboard.” Diggins, previously known as Diggins-Smith (she recently dropped the “Smith” from her uniform after filing for divorce from her husband of eight years) is considered one of the most fashionable and fiercely competitive WNBA veterans. “The biggest change in the WNBA now is accessibility,” she says. “We’re on national TV, there’s more branding, and the game stands for more opportunities for girls to want to play basketball globally.”
Here, Diggins, the number three pick in the 2013 draft, who, prior to joining the Storm, played for the Dallas Wings and the Phoenix Mercury, talks to Lisa Robinson about the buzz around the sport, her “gremlin” reputation, her push for better resources for pregnant players (which led to a package of reforms unofficially known as “the Skylar clause”), Brittney Griner’s incarceration, and the new women’s Unrivaled league.
The WNBA has a new collective bargaining agreement coming up, and other than the extreme inequity in pay between the men’s and women’s leagues, what are some of the changes you want to see?
With the new CBA, we do have some power to capitalize on the success we’ve had. For the greater good of the league, salary is the number one thing we’re going to fight for, and collectively, figure out quality of life things. We’re 144 different people in this league and we prioritize different things. For me, I’m going to be talking about more benefits for moms. When you switch teams and move to a different city, trying to find resources; childcare, a pediatrician, a school, playdates.
Of all your many accomplishments and accolades, what are you most proud of?
The 2021 Olympic gold medal is what sticks out the most. Especially being a mom. I went to a lot of Olympic camps and didn’t make the team, so I tried again in four years. We had the Covid year, but then, when I was able to make the team, I had my son, and it wasn’t like I played a lot of minutes, but what I had to do to get myself on that team made me proud. Without sounding corny, I’ve gone through a lot in this league and I’ve labeled myself as an overcomer.