Nneka Ogwumike on Joining the Storm, Popularity Growth, and Expansion

WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike joined Dick Fain to talk about signing with the Storm, how to deal with the sport’s popularity growth, and the league’s expansion to Canada.

Episode Transcript

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Now from the Star Rentals Sports tous jord ninety three point three JJRFM Sports
Headlines. Sports Headlines at six o'clockbrought to you by Benu Kings dot Com
live from Jimmy's on First across thestreet from T Mobile Park or The Seattle
Mariners open up a six game homestand, three against Oakland, beginning tonight.
Brian wu gets his first start ofthe season. He's been fabulous in

(00:23):
his rehab starts. Matt Brash hadTommy John surgery. He will miss the
season. Gregory Santos had a setback as well. He won't be ready
until July at the earliest. Marinersdid get some good injury news as JP
Crawford and don can Zone are nearlyready for rehab assignments as early as tomorrow,
potentially with Tacoma. Tyler Sasseto needjust the minimum of fifteen days on

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the IL. So that is somegood news there amidst all the bad.
Well, New York came back andthey're beating Indiana right now, ninety three
to eighty five, eleven minutes leftto go. This would be really a
must win game for Indiana. They'redown to nothing and if you needed a
reason to root for a New Yorkteam, just how the Indiana coach act
like a baby, which is exactlywhat Rick Carlisle did. He was fined

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thirty five thousand dollars for public criticismof the officials and questioning the integrity of
the league after he submitted not sevendifferent place review, not eight different place
review, but seventy eight different plays. I want to know how many total
whistles were in those two games,Like, what's the percentage of plays that

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he's uh or calls? There?Almost half, I would imagine. I
mean, there's there's a lot ofwhistles in a forty eight minute basketball game.
They ain't that many whistles. Gosh, seeat to you and Grant can
You'll be entering the WCC joining theLights of Wazoo, Oregon State, and
Gonzaga beginning in twenty twenty five.And our man John Wilner reporting today that
the UC Board of Regents is goingto force UCLA to give cal A ten

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million dollars subsidy every year because ofthe gap between UCLA's Big ten money and
the money received cal from the ACC. All right, heading into the six
o'clock hour here we'll talk a littlecollege football there. Based upon on that
news. I mean, I tweetedJohn Bagers great, great reporting on his
part. But I tweeted back toJohn, I said, you know,

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you still do it if you're UCLA. You know, he kind of raised
the question, oh, would UCLAdo this all over again? Yeah,
they do it all over again becausethe Pac twelve is dead. It would
have been dead with UCLA. It'sdead without UCLA. And you are dead
if you are not either in theBig Ten Conference or the SEC. Yeah.
Well, you know, I wasencouraged to hear the news about Sale

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University and Greg Kny because if there'sone thing that college sports needs more of
its realignment, it's it's you know, it was getting too easy to keep
track of which teams from there andwhich players play for who. So you
know, I'm glad, but look, it's it's the nature of it these
days, and and jokes aside.I get it, I do, and

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these colleges and these athletic programs doneed to make the best decision for them
because a lot of these programs area financial engine that is so important to
the university. So I get it. But yeah, if you're UCLA.
You're doing that ten times out often. And the only way you're gonna
be able to compete is if you'rein one of those big two conferences.
And I think realignment's gonna continue tobe muddy until it's not. And when

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it's not is when all the bigtime teams are where they need to be,
and then that's it. That's allIt'll be. Like the NFL.
There's no realignment. In the NFL. You never have to worry what division
the San Francisco forty nine ers arein or the Green Bay Packers are in.
And pretty soon you're not gonna haveto worry what division the Washington Huskies

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are in. They're gonna be inthe Western Division of the Big Ten or
if it's not called the Big Tenanymore, if the SEC and the Big
Ten merge, sure and form thismega conference, they'll be in the Western
Division. And guess what they'll bewith the eight teams that they started with.
Yeah, and look, you know, I mean, we grew up
with all of these rivalries. AndI think that that's part of the pushback

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on this, right because financially,this in the modern collegiate sports atmosphere,
this does make sense. There neededto be this tectonic shift, and it's
happening. Look, the houses thatget rebuilt on the other side of this
nil earthquake and on the other sideof this TV deal earthquake are going to
look different than the houses that werebuilt before it, but they're gonna be
there, and U dow Is probablygonna have a lot of the same neighbors

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that they used to have. Yeah, I mentioned I said eight teams.
I should say six teams because it'sreally going to be Washington, Oregon,
Stanford, cal and UCLA and USC, I mean, and then the rest
of them will be, you know, for better or for worse, left
out in the cold. Certainly forthe for worse for those fan bases.

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Stinks for Washington State, man,it totally does. But for just the
compets it all. Yeah, collegeI think college football, if you're just
a if you're just a college footballfan with no rooting interest, I think
most college football fans would want tosee the best you name the number,
twenty four teams, yeah, thirtytwo teams, thirty six teams. College

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football fans would want to see thebest whatever number it is is ideal in
the same conference playing each other allthe time, because then we don't,
then we don't get the septembers thatwe get. Because the septembers we get
in college football are awful. They'reWashington against Portland State, and Washington against
Idaho, and Michigan against Appalachian State. Yeah, it was cool one time

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when Appalashin State won, But wedon't need that and we're not. Eventually
we're not going to have that.I wonder. I wonder. I mean,
as a fan, I would lovethat. But are these schools Alabama
going to say no to just puttingit on some directional school right and getting
all their guys? You know,wins are Losses are so punitive in college

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football, and if we're gonna keepfour team or eighteen playoffs, I think
you're gonna see these premium programs reallypush back on playing all of their games
against other really good teams because you'regonna go into playoff selection time with two
or three losses instead of zero orone. I think we're in the we're
going the right direction because now threelosses still gives you a shot if you're

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in the SEC or the Big Ten. It doesn't if you're not. But
if you're in those two conferences,three losses still gives you a shot in
the twelve team playoffs. When theyexpand it even further, three losses will
almost be an automatic. Yes,So then you can start doing the college
basketball model, which is, hey, Gonzaga can play Duke in a non

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conference because we already know we're gonnabe in the tournament, and a loss
to Duke doesn't look bad, whichis exactly hopefully where we get in college
football. Yeah, I see,I see the vision here, I see
the vision, Dick. All right, well, we're gonna turn the pay
right now, and we got wegot Seattle Storm basketball season starting on Tuesday
night, which is the most anticipatedWNBA season of all time. And I

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can say that with absolute, unequivocallypositive it is the most anticipated season.
The ratings will never be better,the attendance will never be better than they
have before. And joining us nowon the air is one of the Big
Four of the Seattle Storm and aformer MVP in this league, six time
All Pro All WNBA, which shewas last year, and now joining Juwel

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Lloyd, Asie, mag mcgore,Skyler, Digg and Smith to form the
core four they call it. Youcan call it a super team, you
can call it a Core four.But Neca Goo Mackay joins us here on
ninety three eight point three KJRFM.Welcome to Seattle, Meca. How are
you doing? Thank you? I'mdoing well. I'm happy to be here.

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Oh man, it's so good tohave you here. You know,
I'm glad I don't have to sayanymore on these broadcays. I don't know
how many times at least would wouldand I and have said on the Storm
broadcast, Well, the Storm wouldhave just won tonight if it wasn't for
a neck a Guomak crash and theparty. So I'm really, really glad
I don't have to say that anymorebecause you're gonna be winning games for Seattle
instead of beating Seattle like you didso many times with the Sparks. Well,

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maybe let's just start there. Startwith the decision, the decision to
come to leave Los Angeles and comehere to Seattle. Why was it me?
You know, I think that itwas just time for a change.
I wanted to be able to accomplishsome more things in my career, and
that calls for me to look elsewhere, you know, I had a long,
a long career in LA, butyou know, I kind of wanted

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more. So I was excited tosee that in cre agency, Seattle was
a very very viable option and theywere very aggressive as well at both getting
Skyler, Digg and Smith as wellas bringing you in as well. What
was it like coming to this citythat has always been a WMB a rabid

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market. Why what was it likecoming as a road player for so many
years to Seattle? I mean,there was always just so much energy and
support behind the team. You know, I wouldn't say at all that it
was easy to play here, youknow. I think that because there's so
much backing from the community and thecity for the storm. It just made

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it just made for an environment thatwas fun to play in but also very
hard to win in. And you'llSeattle probably one of those cities that maybe
is a little bit ahead of thegame as far as the popularity in women's
basketball, but we're seeing it everywherenow as women's basketball has never been more
popular than it is at this momentright now. So how do you capitalize

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both as the president of the PlayersAssociation and just as a league in general?
How do you capitalize on the successyour league has had and the influx
of eyeballs that your league has hadbased upon those watching college basketball the last
couple of years as well. Yeah, you know, I mean, I
think internally, we've always known whatwomen's basketball can be and is you know,

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from college all the way down toof course the professional ranks. And
lately, you know, we've seena search and a lot of this support
and investment for women's sports on thecollege level, and I think it's just
been a matter of time to seehow we can we can bridge that gap
to bring it to the pro level. And I think we're living in that
moment right now, and I justtry my best, you know, to

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engage the players, let them understandthemselves as professionals and also as members of
the union in which they can havetheir values reflected, you know, and
field and an agreement, and thenof course, you know, speaking out
for for the things that they believecan can be reflected as betting on women.

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And I'm happy to be a partof an organization that has led the
way in that and I'm seeing thata lot of the growth and a lot
of this understanding of betting on womenand investing in women in sport. It's
it's contagious and I really love tosee it, and honestly, I'm very
grateful to be a part of itat this time. Well, the Seattle

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Storm Center for Basketball Performance certainly isinvesting in women, isn't it. What
do you think of that facility thatjust opened up? I mean, it's
remarkable. You know, I'm notsure if very many players can say that
they practice in a facility like this, but I really hope that this is
the start of standardizing this. Youknow, this is what we deserve,
and we have ownership and an organizationthat recognizes that. And they put they

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you know, they put the walkto the talk. And I'm very grateful
to have said that I can experiencesomething like this in my pro career.
Neka Goomik joining us a six timeAll WNBA now member of the Seattle Storm
And you know, Mekka for years, you know, I traveled with the
team and and I know, soI kind of know what you guys go
through on a day to day basistraveling and it's not always easy. And

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it just got a little bit easierfor you guys. And I know you
were a big part of that aspresident of the players Union. So how
did you get the charter flights pushpushed through? That was a big story
that just broke in the last fortyeight hours. I mean, was it
simply just finding a sponsor willing topony up or how did that? How
did that process work? Because it'sjust a great breakthrough for you guys getting

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those charter flights for all your trips. Oh yeah, I went from a
lot easier, not even just alittle easier, you know, honestly,
you know, from the side ofthe player Player Association, you know,
it was just always a lot ofconversations, a lot of points that we
were that would we would bring upin regards to our experience, and I'm

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I'm thinking that those things came intoconsideration over time along with the building of
the business and the confidence of seeing, you know, how far that business
is going to go, and inanticipation of say a new media deal and
even you know, a potential newCVA, And so from the union side,
it was just having conversations with players, having conversations with the league and

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Kathy about our experiences and what wereally feel needs to happen for us to
be able to prioritize player health andsafety and also, of course the performance
that we see in this league.And more huge news just coming down about
twenty four hours after the charter flightnews, you guys are expanding to Canada.
Why is the time right for thew NBA to expand at Toronto?

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I mean, I think, youknow, we've seen the past couple of
you know, preseasons with games inCanada, and the turnout has been amazing.
I really do feel as though that'sprobably one of the first places that
we should expand to. You know, it's clear that the demand is there,
it's clear that there's infrastructure there,and I'm just really happy to know

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that it's happening so soon. AndI'm hoping that everybody in Canada is also
excited to know that we're going tobe expanding the NBA past the border and
it's going to be a part ofthis growth that we're seeing with women in
sport and specifically women in basketball.New Seattle storm star Nekiaguo McKay joining us
here in ninety three point three KJRFM. Let's talk about this basketball team and

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your performances recently. I mean,you had your highest scoring season last year,
since you won the MVP in twentysixteen, just talk about maybe the
reasoning for that, for that spikelast season. I mean, I just
tried my best to stay very disciplinedin who I am as a pro athlete,
and honestly, I didn't I didn'tnecessarily expect to have to perform with,

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you know, finishing with those typesof numbers. But I am.
I'm grateful to know that I'm stillcapable, and I'm very hopeful that I
can continue to do that here inSeattle as well. And obviously capable,
but what's kind of nice. It'sgot to be nice that it's not a
necessity, Like you don't. Iwould assume you don't feel the weight on
your shoulders where you have to goout and get fifteen and ten or your

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team's not gonna win because you haveso much talent around you here. You
know, there's an there's incredible balancein the talent that we have on this
team. And I think, youknow, it's not just having the talent,
but everyone recognizing it within themselves forus to be able to come together
and do something collectively. You know, we have we have goals, you
know, both individual and as ateam, but the amount of talent and

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also the amount of personality and thetypes of people that we're working together through
an intentional an intentional goal setting season, I think is something that's really going
to differentiate differentiate us from other teamsand perhaps even you know, in the
history of the Seattle Storm. Youknow, we have to uphold the legacy

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in our own way in your previousexperience. How long has it taken for
new pieces to come in and gelbecause this is a very new team compared
to what it looked like last year, how much how much grace period to
see how Storm fans need to giveyou guys to kind of to get everything
smoothed out. Well, I mean, I think right now we understand that

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this is a moment that we don'twant to waste. And you know,
in years past, I've had I'vehad years of gelling, and I've also
had you know, stints where youknow, certain teams just kind of got
it. And I feel as thoughright now we're just focusing on trying to
keep everything together and keep everything inslow and keep everything in perspective, and

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I'm seeing I'm seeing chemistry and flowhappen very early, and I think it's
more about sustaining it rather than achievingit per se, and I look forward
to seeing how long we can wecan maintain this slow in chemistry for our
success. Final couple of minutes withNakagomackay new Storm superstar to goal along with
the other three superstars they have onthis basketball team. And it's just it's

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one of a small handful. Imean, you can call it super teams,
you guys call it the Core four. What have you? You know,
Fifteen of the top twenty two playersin this I don't know if you've
seen the new ESPN Top twenty fivethat was just released in the last twenty
four hours, and fifteen of thetop twenty two players listed, including yourself
and the other three Storm members,are on four teams. I mean,
so, what are the positives andnegatives to superstars being grouped on a few

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teams in this league? I mean, I think that it's definitely showing,
you know, the intention behind theseplayers and what they want to get out
of their careers and their MP seasons. You know, if people want to
play at a high level with otherpeople that play at high levels. And
I can also imagine with expansion thatthis also changed the landscape of things,

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you know, and you know,the talent may spread around and may concentrate,
but it's certainly creating for exciting narrativesfor fans, for players, and
ultimately exciting play. Well, it'sgoing to be a lot of fun calling
your games. Can't wait for Tuesday. And thank you, as you know,
as a Storm crazy and not onlyan employee, but as a Storm

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fan, you know, thank youfor deciding to bring your talents up here
to Seattle so you can stop beatingus, all right, So thank you
for coming up coming on with us, Niga, Thank you, I appreciate.
I'll see you soon. Sounds good. That's Nika Ago McKay here on
ninety three point three kJ RFM.Is gonna be a lot of fun coming
up beginning on Tuesday, opening nightat Climate Pledge Arena, and we will

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have it for you all year longwith myself and Elise Woodward on the call.
Bring Jackson Bevans back into the fold. Coming up next on ninety three
point three kJ RFM Live from Jimmy's