{"id":454057,"date":"2026-02-07T07:26:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T07:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/454057\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T07:26:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T07:26:09","slug":"nneka-ogwumike-named-to-times-2026-closers-list-for-wnba-advocacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/454057\/","title":{"rendered":"Nneka Ogwumike named to TIME\u2019s 2026 Closers list for WNBA advocacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nneka Ogwumike named to TIME\u2019s 2026 Closers list for WNBA advocacy<\/a> appeared first on ClutchPoints<\/a>. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nneka Ogwumike<\/a> has yet another accolade to add to her career collection, but this one isn\u2019t coming from her on-court accomplishments. The Seattle Storm<\/a> star was named as one of TIME\u2019s \u201cThe Closers 2026\u201d recipients, which was awarded to Black leaders who are working towards equality in the United States.<\/p>\n

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Ogwumike\u2019s inclusion results from her off-court work as WNBPA President, leading the way in the players\u2019 union\u2019s negotiations with the league over a new CBA (collective bargaining agreement) this offseason. As one of the players on the frontlines of the talks, Ogwumike has been one of the W\u2019s most vocal players<\/a> when it comes to advocating for what she and others believe is an equitable agreement with the league.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you look at how much is being made, that is basically a decimal. A fair share is all we\u2019re looking for. And it\u2019s more than a million,\u201d Ogwumike said.<\/p>\n

The discussions seemed to hit a speed bump once the January 9 extension deadline came and went, even as the WNBA and WNBPA continued to meet<\/a>. However, Ogwumike remains positive about the players\u2019 chances of getting a new deal ratified before operations are supposed to start for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe energy, the experience from a player\u2019s perspective, it doesn\u2019t feel like anything but upward and forward,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s a level of leverage that comes with that in negotiating. Players understand their worth; they understand their value. That\u2019s what we want. It\u2019s what we deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her interview with TIME, the 10-time WNBA All-Star and former league MVP cited her cultural background as a first-generation Nigerian American as one factor that drives her desire to be a leader in the basketball community.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNigerian culture is very much about having loyalty and pride and a strong sense of community,\u201d says Ogwumike. \u201cHaving that kind of worldly perspective allowed me to understand there\u2019s a lot of things happening outside of what I can see right in front of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the WNBA has yet to release a counterproposal to the WNBPA\u2019s last offer, neither side has triggered a strike or lockout. The players sought a maximum salary of $1.3 million, a salary cap of around $10.5 million, and an ask for 30% of its gross revenue, among other demands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nneka Ogwumike named to TIME\u2019s 2026 Closers list for WNBA advocacy appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":454058,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[4385,170939,212509,99,212508,434,21995],"class_list":{"0":"post-454057","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-nneka-ogwumike","9":"tag-players-union","10":"tag-seattle-storm-star","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-the-closers","13":"tag-wnba","14":"tag-wnba-players"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=454057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/454058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=454057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=454057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=454057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}