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For many WNBA players, the end of league play means a quick break before heading overseas to play even more basketball until the WNBA season starts up again in the spring. But some players either forgo international play altogether or squeeze in other activities prior to heading out to their other teams. Here’s a roundup of what a few of those players (and teams) are doing this WNBA offseason.
Atlanta Dream
Renee Montgomery participated in Jr. NBA Week, coaching girls at the “Her Time to Play” camp in Atlanta. She also recently shared her offseason workout playlist with ESPN.
Chicago Sky
Alex Montgomery has coached the girls’ basketball team at Steilacoom High School in her hometown of Tacoma, Washington since 2016.
How is WNBA guard Alex Montgomery (@_alexANDRIA_88) spending her offseason? Coaching Steilacoom's HS basketball team https://t.co/zeZEAUTpL0 pic.twitter.com/9GN6iUPKsW
— TJ Cotterill (@TJCotterill) December 29, 2016
Connecticut Sun
Chiney Ogwumike gets to take a break from having two full-time jobs and concentrate on her ESPN duties where, as of May, she’s an NBA analyst:
“I’ve never worked a day in my life!” That’s a LIE lie! But I what I do & that’s what makes me feel so lucky and blessed! pic.twitter.com/mgqGWeIzOp
— Chiney Ogwumike (@Chiney321) October 8, 2018
Dallas Wings
Skylar Diggins-Smith is a “Her Time to Play” ambassador:
“Representation matters,” said Dallas Wings guard and Her Time To Play ambassador Skylar Diggins-Smith. “Her Time To Play is an important step towards ensuring that young women have access to mentors and others invested in helping them achieve success.”
Diggins-Smith also joined Puma’s #Reform campaign, “which seeks to enact and preserve equality and social change,” as she continues to advocate for gender equality:
Puma’s REFORM Campaign Lead By Skylar Diggins-Smith & Meek Mill https://t.co/phLq3jdtSX pic.twitter.com/pVsnWz0Lxc
— BallerAlert (@balleralert) October 9, 2018
Indiana Fever
Cappie Pondexter has signed on as official spokesperson for women’s sports advocacy organization The Ladies’ League. She’s also running a camp in her native Illinois later this month:
#WNBA Cappie Pondexter @cappa23 will be teaching what it takes to be a great basketball player in Waukegan, IL on Oct. 20. Don't miss it! pic.twitter.com/Hp7vLvlvkc
— Future Elite BBall (@FutureEliteBall) October 6, 2018
Las Vegas Aces
Carolyn Swords is on a mission to get people registered to vote in the upcoming midterm elections. She’s not only making sure her own teammates are registered, but also educating her fellow WNBA players on how to vote while playing overseas.
Swords also recently trained with the UFC’s Michelle Waterson and spoke about how MMA could improve her basketball abilities.
What better day to get registered to vote than on #NVRD? The issues we are facing require change, help create change in your community & beyond by voting this November 6th.
— Carolyn Swords (@CarolynSwords) September 25, 2018
The first step is registering: https://t.co/sq3Ll9Tw5F. pic.twitter.com/davX6yFJRu
Los Angeles Sparks
Candace Parker recently joined Turner Sports as an NBA and NCAA analyst. She’ll make regular appearances on NBA on TNT and NBA TV, and she will commentate for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.
Parker also just released her third Adidas custom shoe. It pays homage to the late Pat Summitt, her coach at the University of Tennessee.
Can't wait to talk hoops with the best in the biz! https://t.co/HsXfu15rR9
— Candace Parker (@Candace_Parker) October 10, 2018
Minnesota Lynx
Rebekkah Brunson launched her new waffle-themed food truck that you can check out if you’re in the Minneapolis area. (Oh, and in other news, she also just welcomed her first child with her wife, Bobbi Jo.)
New York Liberty
Marissa Coleman still has her Mellow Mushroom pizza franchise that she co-owns it with the Sparks’ Alana Beard. Coleman also took part in Harvard Business School’s Crossover Into Business Program in the spring, which a handful of WNBA players completed last month.
Phoenix Mercury
Devereaux Peters participated in a panel at the Young Feminist Conference in Chicago, following up on her August op-ed in the Washington Post in which she spoke about deciding who deserves her power.
Meanwhile, Mercury’s season-long documentary series, The Chase, is still pumping out episodes. The latest one focuses on the team’s run to the 2018 semifinals:
The Merc battle through two winner-take-all games on their way to the WNBA Semifinals!
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) September 28, 2018
The Chase, Episode 6. pic.twitter.com/wCKYWyP14R
Seattle Storm
Sue Bird, like Carolyn Swords, is also joining the “get out the vote” party, releasing a video for When We All Vote. Also, the WWE’s Triple H sent a custom champion belt the Storm’s way, and let’s just say Bird got into it a little bit:
I’m often asked which accomplishment I’m most proud of....
— Sue Bird (@S10Bird) October 8, 2018
Huge thank you to @TripleH & @WWE #SpeakWWE OOOOOOOYEEEAAHHHHHHHH pic.twitter.com/YdIXUCgSX6
Washington Mystics
Monique Currie is spending her first WNBA offseason not going overseas to focus on her real estate investing company, Currie Collective LLC. She’ll also be refereeing high school boys’ basketball, with an eventual goal of becoming an NBA referee.
Tierra Ruffin-Pratt and Kristi Toliver are interning with the Washington Wizards, with Ruffin-Pratt working as a video intern and Toliver as a coaching intern.
@KristiToliver: @WashMystics guard/@WashWizards coaching intern
— WNBA (@WNBA) October 2, 2018
Tierra Ruffin-Pratt: @WashMystics guard/@WashWizards video intern.
Offseason internships after a #WNBAFinals run! #WatchMeWork pic.twitter.com/7KP44BUj8H