{"id":521545,"date":"2026-03-13T17:25:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T17:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/521545\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T17:25:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T17:25:10","slug":"wnba-star-naz-hillmon-thought-she-knew-every-angle-of-the-game-then-she-stepped-behind-the-lens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/521545\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA Star Naz Hillmon Thought She Knew Every Angle of the Game. Then She Stepped Behind the Lens."},"content":{"rendered":"

“Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links.”<\/p>\n

Naz Hillmon knows how to shoot. Most days, the Atlanta Dream forward is doing it with a basketball in her hands. But lately, she\u2019s been practicing a different kind of shot\u2014one that takes her off the court and behind the lens.<\/p>\n

The WNBA star<\/a> has been curious about photography since her younger years, capturing AAU road trips, morning dew on the grass, and any memory she wanted to hold on to. She took a photography class in high school, where she learned how to shoot on film and develop the images herself. But she leveled up her hobby game about a year ago when her mom gifted her a Sony a7 III<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s my baby,\u201d Hillmon tells Women’s Health. The camera travels with her now, tucked in her bag for road games and pulled out whenever she needs a mental break.<\/p>\n

\"two<\/p>\n

Naz Hillmon<\/p>\n

Basketball can easily become all-consuming\u2014practices, games, film, travel. Hillmon is currently halfway around the world with the USA Basketball 3×3 Women\u2019s National Team, competing in Bangkok, Thailand. Before she got her camera, basketball road trips often meant ordering food to her hotel and staying in for the night, her mind racing about the game before or the game after. \u201cNow, I\u2019m getting a chance to explore the city a little bit, get some fresh air, and not be cooped up in my hotel room,\u201d she says. Photography creates a pause in a schedule that doesn\u2019t stop moving. \u201cIt really does take my mind off of everything, because I\u2019m thinking about the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"golf<\/p>\n

Naz Hillmon<\/p>\n

Hillmon shares her photos on Instagram on her dedicated photography page, @nazgraphy_pics<\/a>. The subject matter varies, but she\u2019s especially drawn to the architecture of big cities like New York\u2014bridges, buildings, clean lines, and symmetrical windows.<\/p>\n

She spent much of this WNBA offseason, however, under the sunny skies of Miami, Florida, playing for the Laces Basketball Club in the Unrivaled 3-on-3 league<\/a>. She photographed days off on South Beach and playing golf with her Dream teammates Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard. She also got the opportunity to combine her two loves, photographing an Unrivaled game between Mist BC and Vinyl BC on January 25.<\/p>\n

Hillmon says she had fun\u2014and was challenged\u2014experiencing the game as a photographer. \u201cI was telling [the other photographers], I\u2019m like, \u2018I don’t know how you watch this,\u2019\u201d she says with a laugh. \u201cI’m just running around with my camera trying to take the best picture. I don’t even know who’s winning.\u201d (For the record, the Mist won this game, 76-71, and then went on to win the championship a few weeks later.)<\/p>\n

In typical athlete fashion, Hillmon is already reflecting on what she can do better the next time she\u2019s on the sidelines\u2014she wants to take more shots of the bench, and capture more reactions and celebrations. \u201dThere’s so much happening during the game,\u201d she says. As a player, she can break things down easily on the court, but she\u2019s still getting used to a photographer\u2019s widened perspective. \u201cWhen things slow down for me on that side, I think I’ll be able to really have an eye for what’s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

For someone who first picked up a camera as a way to step away from basketball, it was a full-circle moment bringing her job and her hobby into the same frame. \u201cThings move very, very quickly in the sports world. It’s easy to get caught up in tomorrow’s game and next week’s practice,\u201d she says. \u201cPhotography gives me an opportunity to be present.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"iguana<\/p>\n

Naz Hillmon<\/p>\n

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